Truman Burton Pale Ale grists in 1939

The grists of Truman’s Pale Ales aren’t the most exciting in the world. Pretty dull really. And, as they were parti-gyled, they’re identical for all three.

The malt percentage, 87.5% is quite high for a pre-war beer. Around 75% was more usual. Though these were classy products, so that might be expected. At just 4.5% the amount of sugar is very low. Pre-WW I, top-class Pale Ales often contained surprisingly large quantities of sugar. It was there for a reason: to keep the body and colour of the beer as light as possible.

Which makes the presence of high-dried malt a bit strange. As this was a darker kilned malt. Truman used it in all their Burton-brewed beers, though the percentage is higher in their darker beers, such as Mild Ales.

I’ve no idea what the sugar was, other than some form on invert. My guess would be No. 1 invert, but it could also be No. 2 invert. They were the types usually employed when brewing Pale Ales.

The hops were all English, from the 1937 and 1938 harvests. Most likely quite classy ones, like East Kent Goldings. But as the brewing logs don’t record any details other than the grower, that’s impossible to know for certain.

Truman Burton Pale Ale grists in 1939
Date	Beer	OG	pale malt	high dried malt	flaked maize	invert sugar
28th Apr	Pale2	1047.4	74.34%	13.27%	7.96%	4.42%
1st May	Pale1	1053.5	74.34%	13.27%	7.96%	4.42%
28th Apr	Pale1 B	1053.5	74.34%	13.27%	7.96%	4.42%
Source:
Truman brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/339.