Let's Brew Wednesday - 1942 Whitbread XXXX

The war was witness to some strange recipes. Usually not at the instigation of brewers, but rather the government. Which sought to shuffle scarce resources to where they could be best used.

Whitbread changed the name of their Burton Ale in 1940 from 33 – referring to 1933, the year the tax on beer was lowered – to XXXX. Accompanied by quite a drop in gravity, from 1056º to 1053º. By 1942, a further ten points had been whittled off the OG.

A quick look at the grist reveals the traces of government interference. Whitbread used no adjuncts in any of their beers in 1939.  And here there are now fewer than three: flaked barley, barley meal and flaked rye. The latter is a slightly off one. I assume the Rye was UK-grown, even though it wasn’t that popular a crop. There must have been some lying around that the government didn’t know what to do with, so dumped it on the brewers.

There wasn’t a shortage of barley per se during the war. UK production of barley rose from 17,840,000 cwt in 1939 to 42,160,000 cwt in 1945. True, imports of barley dwindled to nothing, but in most years the increase in local production more than compensated for that. Only in two years, 1941 and 1942, was the total quantity of barley available significantly less than in 1939.

UK barley production and imports 1939 - 1945 (cwt)
year	UK production	imports	total
1939	17,840,000	13,740,000	31,581,939
1940	22,080,000	9,146,000	31,227,940
1941	22,880,000	1,277,000	24,158,941
1942	28,920,000	0	28,921,942
1943	32,900,000	0	32,901,943
1944	35,040,000	0	35,041,944
1945	42,160,000	2,037,000	44,198,945
Source:
1971 Brewers' Almanack, page 61.

The good supply of barley most years was the reason flaked barley was so popular as an adjunct during the war. Its use had little impact on the brewing process and flaking consumed less energy than malting.

The hops were Whitbread Mid-Kent from the 1941 harvest and East Kent from the 1939 and 1941 harvests, the former having been kept in a cold store. I’ve interpreted the Mid-Kent as Fuggles and the East Kent as Goldings.

1942 Whitbread XXXX
pale malt	7.50 lb	77.84%
chocolate malt	0.25 lb	2.59%
flaked barley	0.67 lb	6.95%
barley meal	0.125 lb	1.30%
flaked rye	0.25 lb	2.59%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.75 lb	7.78%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.09 lb	0.93%
Fuggles 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 40 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 20 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1043
FG	1013.5
ABV	3.90
Apparent attenuation	68.60%
IBU	25
SRM	19
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	60 minutes
pitching temp	62º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale