Recipe find has drinkers in a froth

Dating to about 1825, the “Recipe for Cheap Beer” has been unearthed at the Treasure House in Beverley and explains how to make 72 pints for about £8.05. And it claims it will taste “equal to London Porter”, a dark ale still brewed today.

The recipe, which was found in a handyman’s notebook, requires a “peck” of barley, four ounces of hops, seven pounds of treacle, and the boiling of several gallons of water.

Sam Bartle, collections officer for East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service, said: “The recipe is contained within the notebook of a 19th century general handyman, possibly from the Goole area. The instructions are quite simple but anyone wanting to try out the recipe would have to do so at their own risk. Following the recipe would produce a huge amount of beer, 72 pints, and it actually recommends a nine gallon cask for brewing. For it to be tried in most modern homes it would probably require some scaling down of the quantities.”