Whitbread Burton 1939 - 1945

The recipe of Whitbread’s Burton is very revealing about what brewers experienced in the war years. Especially the change to the recipe, which were mostly involuntary. We’ve already seen how brewers were compelled to cut their hopping rates. Several changes in cereal usage were forced upon brewers. Something that’s reflected in the recipes.

First the malts:

Whitbread Burton Ale grists 1939 - 1945 malts
Date	Year	Beer	OG	pale malt	PA malt	crystal malt	choc. Malt	total
21st Sep	1939	33	1061	25.27%	52.17%	2.45%		79.89%
11th Apr	1940	33	1060	6.35%	85.71%		3.17%	95.24%
14th Aug	1940	XXXX	1052.8	5.92%	79.93%		2.96%	88.82%
16th Oct	1941	XXXX	1046.2		88.85%		2.81%	91.66%
29th Jan	1942	XXXX	1044.4		79.44%		2.80%	82.24%
28th May	1942	XXXX	1042.9		77.14%		2.86%	80.00%
22nd Jul	1943	XXXX	1042.8		71.43%		2.86%	74.29%
24th May	1944	XXXX	1042.9		76.80%		3.20%	80.00%
8th June	1945	XXXX	1043.4		67.92%		3.23%	71.16%
Sources:
Whitbread brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers LMA/4453/D/01/107, LMA/4453/D/01/108, LMA/4453/D/01/109, LMA/4453/D/01/110, LMA/4453/D/01/111 and LMA/4453/D/01/112.

PA (or Pale Ale) malt was a high quality pale malt, usually reserved to the posher beers, like Pale Ale. It’s a bit odd to see it used in a dark beer like 33 or XXXX. SA (Stock Ale) malt was the preferred variant base malt for Burton Ale. The main reason being that it produced a less readily-fermentable wort.

If it had occurred before 33 was reduced in strength, I’d have said that the switch to chocolate was to preserve the colour.  The percentage of chocolate was a fairly constant 3% or so.

The percentage of malt in the grist overall varied considerably, from a low of 71% to a high of 95%. Most of which was due to the enforced use of unmalted grains. Something Whitbread didn’t use before the start of the war. Their beers had been malt and sugar only. Which was slightly unusual, especially for such a large brewery.

Unmalted grains next:

Whitbread Burton Ale grists 1939 - 1945 other grains
Date	Year	Beer	OG	flaked barley	barley meal	flaked rye	flaked oat	total
21st Sep	1939	33	1061
11th Apr	1940	33	1060
14th Aug	1940	XXXX	1052.8
16th Oct	1941	XXXX	1046.2
29th Jan	1942	XXXX	1044.4	9.35%				9.35%
28th May	1942	XXXX	1042.9	6.67%	1.90%	2.86%		11.43%
22nd Jul	1943	XXXX	1042.8				17.14%	17.14%
24th May	1944	XXXX	1042.9	11.20%				11.20%
8th June	1945	XXXX	1043.4	12.94%				12.94%
Sources:
Whitbread brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers LMA/4453/D/01/107, LMA/4453/D/01/108, LMA/4453/D/01/109, LMA/4453/D/01/110, LMA/4453/D/01/111 and LMA/4453/D/01/112.

For the first couple of years Whitbread managed to keep their Burton adjunct-free. Until compelled to substitute some flaked barley for malt. It saved the energy normally used in malting. In 1943 the government hit on the wheeze of using some of a bumper crop of oats to thin out the need for malt even further.

Compulsory use of oats was only around for a year or so before, as the recipe shows, brewers reverted to flaked barley. Use of which continued after the war until supplies of maize resumed. Most brewers went back to that.