Hopping rates in 1943

Following up on yesterday's post, here's some more about the reduction in hopping rates. Hope this isn't too rabbit-holey. I genuinely find this sort of stuff fascinating.

Cutting hopping rates to stretch out the available hops made sense. But what about brewers who already hopped at low rates? There was fear that a blanket percentage cut night leave the hopping levels of such brewers too low for safety.

"Reduction in Hop Rates:
The Committee had had under consideration the position of brewers who, after observing the 20% reduction in hop rate per standard barrel, are left with a dangerously low rate. It was proposed to ask the permission of the Ministry of Food to allow some concession in such eases by fixing a minimum rate of hops per standard barrel below which no brewer need go. Calculation was being made to ascertain at what level it was possible to fix such a minimum having regard to the extra consumption of hops which it would entail and to the: available supply."
The Brewing Trade Review, February 1943, page 39.

The solution was to impose a minimum level of hopping at 1 lb per standard barrel. That's a theoretical 36 imperial gallons of beer with an OG of 1055º. So for a beer of 1027.5º, the rate per bulk barrel would be 0.5 lb, half the standard barrel rate.

But there was one exception to the rule.

"Reduction in Hop Rates:
On the recommendation of the Society, the Ministry of Food had agreed to the minimum rate of hops of 1 lb. per standard barrel, except in the case of a brewer who used less than 1 lb. in the datum year ended September, 1939, when the minimum rate would be his 1939 rate. The Committee considered a proposal that this minimum rate should be set at a higher figure but, after full consideration, they came to the conclusion that, having regard to the grave shortage of hops, it would be undesirable to do so."
The Brewing Trade Review, April 1943, page 99. 

Who was hopping at below the 1 lb per standard barrel rate in 1943? Let's have a look. I've picked four breweries from different parts of the country. Adnams (East Anglia), Tetley (Yorkshire), Whitbread (London) and William Younger (Edinburgh).

Hopping rates in 1943
Brewer	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/bulk brl	hops lb/standard brl
Adnams	XX	Mild Ale	1027.0	1005.5	2.84	79.48%	4.63	0.51	1.04
Adnams	PA	Pale Ale	1036.0	1010.5	3.37	70.76%	7.20	1.02	1.57
Adnams	DS	Stout	1039.0	1012.7	3.47	67.33%	5.88	0.96	1.36
Tetley	LM	Mild	1028.8	1008.0	2.75	72.12%	3.16	0.37	0.70
Tetley	M	Mild	1033.5	1004.2	3.88	87.60%	3.18	0.44	0.72
Tetley	B	Pale Ale	1041.3	1005.5	4.73	86.58%	3.37	0.55	0.73
Whitbread	XX	Mild	1028.2	1008.0	2.67	71.63%	6.07	0.73	1.43
Whitbread	IPA	IPA	1031.3	1007.5	3.15	76.04%	8.53	1.11	1.96
Whitbread	PA	Pale Ale	1039.2	1010.5	3.80	73.21%	6.03	1.00	1.41
Whitbread	XXXX	Strong Ale	1043.1	1010.0	4.38	76.80%	6.67	1.23	1.57
Younger, Wm.	XXX	Mild	1033.0	1014.0	2.51	57.58%	2.94	0.38	0.63
Younger, Wm.	XXPS	Pale Ale	1038.0	1013.5	3.24	64.47%	3.57	0.52	0.76
Younger, Wm.	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1041.0	1013.0	3.70	68.29%	4.05	0.63	0.85
Younger, Wm.	3	Strong Ale	1044.0	1016.0	3.70	63.64%	3.83	0.65	0.81
Sources:
Adnams brewing record held at the brewery,  Book 30.
Tetley brewing record held at the West Yorkshire Archive Cervice, document number WYL756/ACC3349/561
Whitbread brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/01/110.
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/2/81.

Unsurprisingly, one under the minimum rate was from Scotland. Though it was an brewery from the North of England, Tetley, with the lowest hopping rate. What had their rates been like in 1939?

Hopping rates in 1939
Brewer	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	hops lb/standard brl
Tetley	X1	Mild	1042.9	1011.4	4.18	73.55%	4.23	0.71	0.91
Tetley	X1 Pale	Mild	1042.9	1013.9	3.85	67.74%	4.23	0.71	0.91
Tetley	K	Pale Ale	1047.6	1011.6	4.76	75.58%	4.77	0.89	1.03
Tetley	X2	Mild	1055.4	1011.9	5.75	78.50%	4.72	1.08	1.07
Tetley	XXX	Strong Ale	1090.9	1030.2	8.03	66.77%	4.72	1.76	1.07
Younger, Wm.	XXX	Mild	1037.0	1012.0	3.31	67.57%	2.50	0.35	0.52
Younger, Wm.	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046.0	1015.0	4.10	67.39%	3.04	0.53	0.63
Younger, Wm.	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1046.0	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	4.13	0.73	0.87
Younger, Wm.	3	Strong Ale	1053.0	1017.0	4.76	67.92%	3.00	0.60	0.62
Sources:
Tetley brewing record held at the West Yorkshire Archive Cervice, document number WYL756/ACC3349/557.
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/2/76.

Well under the minimum in the case of Younger. But probably only just for Tetley. Three of their beers were just over. However, they were the stronger, less popular beers.

Hop supply problems

The supply of sufficient hops to the brewing industry was a big problem during WW II. Before the war, considerable quantities of hops had been imported. A majority from the USA, but also from Germany, Belgium and Czechoslovakia.

There were fewer imports than before WW I, but the UK didn't produce enough hops in the interwar years to be self-sufficient. Needing to import 30,000 to 40,000 cwts annually. These dried up almost totally after 1940. Making the UK crop a vital resource.

 "Hops Committee.
There had been no meeting of the Hops Committee, but Colonel G. B. Winch, the chairman, reported that an informal meeting with members of the Hops Marketing Board had taken place on the 3rd December, on the subject of the determination of the average price of the 1942 crop. The bulk of the figures upon which this calculation was made had already been agreed, but the Board put forward a request that the extra expenses to which growers had been put in carrying out picking in war circumstances should be taken into account. They had also claimed that the cost of cultivation during the remaining 11 months of the season had been materially enhanced, because growers were forced to rely largely on inefficient labour, and consequently had to employ more people than usual to carry out the necessary work. The basis in the agreed schedule for ascertaining increases or decreases in the cost of production, which was laid down before the war, did not. provide for any adjustment of labour costs except such as arises from increases or decreases in the statutory rates of wages. The Board had been asked to submit figures to support their contentions under these two headings, and these figures were now under examination by the Society’s accountant. As soon as his report was available the Hops Committee would meet to consider the line to be taken at the forthcoming meeting of the Permanent Joint Hops Committee when the average price for the season had to be fixed."
The Brewing Trade Review, January 1943, pages 6 - 7.

Hops were, as pretty much everything else, getting more expensive. No surprise there.  Over the course of the war a cwt. of hops rose from £9 to £21

But there also weren't going top be enough of them:

"The attention of the Council had been drawn at the last meeting to the fact that the 1942 crop was not sufficient to provide a full year’s supply of hops to each brewer, even at the reduction of 20% in pre-war rates per barrel. A large number of brewers had written to the Society stating that the fulfilment of only 80% of their contracts would leave them short of hops, and asking that some of the small balance of the crop which is to be distributed by the Society should be allocated to them. This balance of the crop, however, was only equal to about 3% of the total contracts, and it was obviously impossible to make up every brewer’s shortage in full. The margin of stocks in the hands of any brewer was very narrow when compared with pre-war practice. The figures of each brewer’s stock of hops, his monthly consumption and his standard barrelage level were now under examination by the Society, and taking into account the quantity of hops supplied under his 1942 contract, the date up to which each brewer has enough hops to maintain his present level of output was being worked out. From these figures the average date up to which brewers have Enough hops would be arrived at. Brewers who have not enough hops to last up to that average date would be allocated hops out of the available balance of the crop. It was most unlikely that the average date would work out later than some time in December, 1943, and it might even be earlier than that, basing the figures on the level of output of the last 12 months. If, as seemed possible, there was a reduction in the demand for beer during the coming year this would, of course, ease the position somewhat."
The Brewing Trade Review, January 1943, page 7.

 Reducing hop rates seems to have worked. Because more hops were grown than used in every year of the war. There was a small increase in the acreage dedicated to hops. As you can see in this monster table.

Hops: home production and imports
Year ended 31st Dec.	Acreage	Estimated Produce	Yield per acre	Average Price of English Hops per Season, Sept. to Dec.	Imports: Less Re-Exports	Exports: British Hops	Consumption Years ended 30th Sept. following
		Cwts.	Cwts.	£ s. d.	Cwts.	Cwts.	Cwts.
1914	33,661	507,258	13.84	4 3 9	83,690	9972	450,231
1916	31,352	307,856	9.82	6 14 0	146,150	10,765	263,386
1918	15,666	130,491	8.3	18 15 0	259	6,923	503,140
1920	21,002	281,042	13.4	19 10 0	455,799	3,672	454,258
1921	25,133	224,172	8.9	19 10 0	216,571	2,200	398,506
1922	26,452	301,000	11.4	12 0 0	127,539	2,818	328,688
1923	24,893	229,000	9.2	14 10 0	12,111	22,051	350,428
1924	25,897	444,000	17.1	10 5 0	89,632	44,316	362,554
1925	26,256	355,000	13.5	10 15 0	90,305	44,541	355,376
1926	25,599	332,000	13	11 5 0	35,040	78,574	337,721
1927	23,004	255,000	11.1	12 10 0	96,917	54,630	330,662
1928	23,805	242,100	10.2	11 16 0	66,183	17,651	320,315
1929	23,986	359,100	15	5 0 0	62,208	13,192	307,289
1930	19,997	253,000	12.6	4 15 0	44,199	22,302	277,406
1931	19,628	169,000	8.7	7 5 0	50,303	22,388	219,587
1932	16,531	188,000	11.4	9 15 0	14,952	19,264	222,868
1933	16,895	210,000	12.8	16 10 0	44,829	20,298	233,419
1934	18,037	259,000	14.4	9 0 0	30,046	13,382	248,744
1935	18,251	248,300	13.6	9 0 0	35,186	16,223	258,300
1936	18,317	252,000	13.7	9 0 0	31,953	19,987	270,692
1937	18,093	235,000	13	9 0 0	40,406	16,130	277,846
1938	18,460	257,000	13.9	9 0 0	45,287	12,580	286,716
1939	18,812	288,000	15.3	9 10 0	7,840	16,050	265,512
1940	18,592	270,500	14.5	12 0 0	14,675	26,830	251,354
1941	18,158	262,800	14.5	15 0 0	31	17,209	223,007
1942	18,420	261,900	14.2	17 10 0	2,963	30,673	231,689
1943	19,131	285,200	14.9	18 0 0	198	24,941	243,900
1944	19,603	253,900	13	20 0 0	--	26,525	244,822
1945	19,957	282,900	14.1	21 0 0	574	32,337	226,197
Source:
1955 Brewers' Almanack, page 63.

 Aren't numbers fun? I'm surprised by how many hops were exported during the war. I'm guessing most went to Ireland.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1940 William Younger Export

I'm still trundling slowly through William Younger's wartime records. Publishing some of the recipes makes me feel like I'm not totally wasting my time.

No surprise that the gravity of Younger’s Export has fallen since the start of the war. But not disastrously, just by 3º. It remained considerably stronger than the average.

I’m guessing it was at least sometimes sold on draught. Which would have made it about as strong as regular draught beer came. It remains generally the same: lightly hopped and with a very simple grist.

The only change to the grist is unexpected. With the proportion of grits being increased. The opposite is what I would have guessed, as grits needed to be imported. Perhaps Younger had stocked up before the start of hostilities. A small amount of malt from Californian barley was bulked out by English and Scottish malt.

Nothing very exciting about the copper hops, which were all from Kent. Mostly from the 1938 harvest, but with some from 1939.

1940 William Younger Export
pale malt	10.25 lb	82.00%
grits	2.25 lb	18.00%
Fuggles 105 min	1.00 oz
Fuggles 30 min	1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1051
FG	1013
ABV	5.03
Apparent attenuation	74.51%
IBU	22
SRM	4
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

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Make your birthday special - by brewing a beer originally made on that date.

For a mere 25 euros, I'll create a bespoke recipe for any day of the year you like. As well as the recipe, there's a few hundred words of text describing the beer and its historical context and an image of the original brewing record.

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A trio of temperance twats

Despite zero encouragement either from the general public or the government, temperance twats kept banging their old battered drum.

First off, a Northern Irish Unionist MP asking that beer be rationed:

"ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR (RESTRICTION)
Dr. Little (Down, Ulster, Unionist) asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will consider placing the sale of all alcoholic liquor on points ?

Mr. Mabane : My noble Friend is of opinion that my hon. Friend’s suggestion, even if desirable, would be impracticable.

Dr. Little : Does not the hon. Gentleman consider that in fairness to all, when the necessaries of life are rationed, there should be rationing of a luxury like alcohol ?

Mr. Mabane : My hon. Friend spoke of points. I think he will appreciate the difficulty of proper pointing as between champagne and mild and bitter.

Dr. Little : As the answer to this Question was so unsatisfactory and as the matter is one of vital importance to the nation at this time, I beg to give notice that I will raise the Question again on the Adjournment.
The Brewing Trade Review, May 1943, page 16

Hats off to Mr. Mabane for his answer "I think he will appreciate the difficulty of proper pointing as between champagne and mild and bitter." That put the bastard in his place.

This was a common temperance theme (along with the "destruction" of food in the production of alcohol): bread was many basic foodstuffs were rationed so why wasn't beer? Yes, beer wasn't rationed. But that didn't mean there was an infinite supply. Pubs regularly ran out of beer. 

And the whole point of rationing was to ensure that everyone got their fair share of essential goods, such as bread and meat. Not to limit supplies, which is what the temperance twats wanted to do with beer.

Next we have the first woman to sit in the House of Commons.

"CEREALS, SCOTLAND (WHISKY MANUFACTURE)
Viscountess Astor (Plymouth, Sutton, Cons.) asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is prepared to take any action for the prohibition of the use of grain in Scotland for the manufacture of whisky ?
Mr. Mabane : No cereals from the next harvest will be allocated to whisky manufacture."
The Brewing Trade Review, May 1943, page 161.

I've some across Viscountess Astor quite a few time when researching the interwar period Because of the sort of material I look at, it was all related to temperance shit. It seems, however, that wasn't her least attractive opinion. 

She also turns out to have been anti-semitic and anti-catholic. Plus a bit of a closet Nazi, meeting von Ribbentrop in the 1930s when he was Germany's foreign minister.

Third and final of the temperance trio is Eleanor Rathbone. Who was MP for a university constituency. It's the first I'd heard of their being MPs specifically for universities. They were abolished in 1948 by the post-war Labour government.

"N.A.A.F.I. CANTEENS (SOFT DRINKS)
Miss Rathbone (English Universities, Ind.) asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that at Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes canteens mineral drinks are so often unobtainable that Service men and women wanting cooling drinks at dances, &c., are driven to drink beer and that many girls are thus acquiring a taste for it ; and will he therefore take steps to secure a greater supply of temperance drinks at such canteens?

Sir J. Grigg : All N.A.A.F.I. canteens are instructed to have available ample supplies of soft drinks, and I am not aware of the shortage referred to by my hon. Friend. The manufacture of aerated mineral waters has been cut down all over the country in order to save labour and transport, but the supply of non-alcoholic cordials to canteens has been increased.

Miss Rathbone : Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that my information comes from an entirely unbiased source according to which canteens are pushing the sale of beer because of the higher profit ? Ought that not really to be overome in the interests of avoiding imported materials, as well as in the interests of temperance ?

Sir J. Grigg : Profits from N.A.A.F.I. canteens go back to the troops, so that that motive cannot be a very strong one. In the second place, the hon. Lady has sent me a letter containing complaints, but as the place of the complaints is unidentifiable, I can only say that unless she sends me more information I cannot investigate the matter.
The Brewing Trade Review, May 1943, pages 161 - 162.

Eleanor Rathbone seems a rather nicer person than Viscountess Astor, campaigning on many social issues, especially ones relating to women.

Surely beer, though, especially during the war, was a temperance drink?

The perils of the blackout

It's hard to imagine living in a city without lights. At least, without any lights outdoors. Inevitably, this led to accidents. Like that of this man who lost a finger:

"HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE KING’S BENCH DIVISION
11th January, 1943.
Before Mr. Justice Humphreys
Bennett v. Hughes

Mr. Thomas A. Bennett, of Leighton Road, Kentish Town, London, successfully claimed damages against Mr. William

J. Hughes, licensee of The Bull and Last, Highgate Road, London, for injury to a finger, which was dislocated and had to be amputated, caused through Mr. Bennett stumbling down a step at the exit from the saloon lounge into the yard.

The defendant denied negligence.

M R. Justice Humphreys, giving a reserved judgment, said the law applicable to the case was not in dispute. It was the duty of the licensee to keep his premises reasonably safe, and to take reasonable steps to look after the safety of those whom he “invited” there. It was also the duty of a customer to take reasonable care of himself. It was not suggested that the Lighting Restrictions Order affected that duty, in fact the Order had increased the necessity for care on the part of both parties.

It was virtually impossible in the present state of things for any premises which under the Order had to be kept in darkness to be made reasonably safe for people who were strangers there. All that could be done was the best that a reasonable person could do. At this exit a small lobby had been cut out of the lounge to screen it from the light in the lounge, and there was a double door, with the right-hand one permanently fixed. The left-hand door opened inwards. Outside was a stone step and a drop of six inches.

Although plaintiff was a regular customer, there was nothing to contradict his evidence that he never used this exit before and must be taken to be a stranger to the yard. The question therefore was: Was the defendant guilty of negligence in not warning him of the existence of the step?

Having regard to the peculiar construction of the lobby, his lordship had come to the conclusion that there was a duty on the defendant, although he was away at the time, to warn the plaintiff of the existence of this very awkward exit to the yard. Plaintiff had not warned, and was entitled to damages, which were entered at £256 and costs."
The Brewing Trade Review, February 1943, page 53. 

£256 was quite a lot of money om 1943. When a pint of Ordinary Mild cost 11d per pint. That 256 quid would have bought you over 5,000 pints. Enough to last anyone a couple of months.

The Bull and Last is still trading. Though it seems to be a gastropub, unfortunately.

 

Don't grow Goldings

WW II was a funny old time. Shortages of pretty much everything meant people had to use materials as efficiently as possible. From recycling paper to deciding which variety of hops to grow.

With imports pretty much dried up, UK brewers were dependent on hops grown domestically and existing stocks. At the time, the majority of English-grown hops were Fuggles, Goldings or something similar. There was a bit of Brewer's Gold knocking about, but not a huge amount.

Brewers preferred the flavour of Goldings. But it was harder to grow than Fuggles.

"The author refers to the question of quantity and shows how it is still below brewers’ requirements. This shortage is likely to continue, and as it is doubtful whether American or Continental hops will be imported for some years to come, for they are short themselves, he is of opinion that at least another 3,000 acres should be planted. If permission should be given, what hops should be planted ? First of all there is the rivalry between Fuggles and Goldings. The Golding grower wants more money for his product because it is more expensive to grow, but one of the reasons given for this is that it is more liable to disease. It is true that the Golding is of higher flavour quality than the Fuggle, but is it really economical deliberately to grow a hop liable to disease for the sake of this comparatively slight difference in flavour. We say slight difference because we do not believe the general public can distinguish beers brewed with Fuggles from those brewed with Goldings, other things being equal. There are in fact quite a few brewers who, although well able to tell the difference between a Golding and a Fuggle whole hop, cannot tell their difference in the finished beer, especially in a chilled and filtered bottled beer. It is difficult to justify further growth of the Golding from the national economic point of view."
The Brewing Trade Review, March 1943, page 74.

Out with Goldings, in with Fuggles, then. I've no hard evidence that such a switch occurred. Very little evidence of any kind, unfortunately.

Just  snippets from Barclay Perkins brewing records which, unusually, record the hop variety. 1943 - 1945, most of the hops they used were Fuggles, with occasionally Goldings, especially for dry hops. But the same was also the case in 1938, before the outbreak of war.

Let's Brew - 1885 Thomas Usher IPA

A late 19th-century Scottish IPA here, which shows the traditional Scottish aversion to using evil English hops. But, rather than having just a sweet malty gloop, they've thumbed their noses at the English and used American and German hops. The splitter bastards.

 Unusually, the malt was all Scottish. Which was pretty untypical for this period. 

Weak, but rigorously hopped, it could be a modern session IPA. For people who don't understand what the word session means. Or IPA.

1885 Thomas Usher IPA
pale malt	10.75 lb	100.00%
Cluster 90 min	1.75 oz
Spalt 30 min	1.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1047
FG	1013
ABV	4.50
Apparent attenuation	72.34%
IBU	64
SRM	2
Mash at	156º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

The above recipe appears in my excellent book on Scottish brewing:

 

Closing during Permitted Hours

Opening your pub for fewer hours than you were allowed to might seem an odd idea. Since WW I, landlords had been frustrated by the limits on when they could open

So why would you you want to use all your opening hours? It did make sense

"Closing during Permitted Hours
A brief review of some of the more striking points in the reports of Brewster Sessions is given on page 75 of this issue. One of the lessons to be drawn from these reports is the unwisdom of licensees who, having too little beer to meet the needs of their customers, have mil. kept their houses open during the whole of the permitted hours. In some districts there has been an understanding with the licensing justices beforehand, in others the justices have not hesitated to criticise strongly such closing. It is not only the closing of houses in the evening at an earlier hour than that provided under the Licensing Acts, but at such times for instance as the afternoon hours allowed on market days. The Brewers’ Society have on several occasions deprecated such a practice, because in their view it is not the proper way in which to deal with the undoubted difficulty in which the licensee is placed where supplies are short—as in most districts they must be under war conditions. Wherever possible retailers should ration out their beer supplies over the whole week rather than meet the full demand at certain times and close at others, and they should spread their daily sales over the whole of the permitted hours, particularly the latter part of them, and at week-ends. There is something to be said for special arrangements in districts where circumstances such as the withdrawal of transport at an early hour would prevent the staff reaching their homes, but even here any early closing should be the subject of a definite arrangement and should not be at the whim of the individual licensee. The first consideration should be given to the fair distribution of available supplies to the public, and a policy on the part of a licensee of first-come-first-serve is, to say the least, unfortunate, and one which may have repercussions later on."
The Brewing Trade Review, March 1943, page 65.

 Simple, really. If you only have enough beer to last for half your permitted hours, why bother opening for all of them?

How exactly was a publican expected to spread sales cross the day? Limit how many pints each drinker could have? Something which would be sure to piss people off. Far easier and  less stressful just to open for fewer hours.

Greene King worries about hops

Company annual reports can be an unexpected source of information. And I don't mean the dull financial stuff.

This one from Greene King contains many traditional elements. Such as moaning about the level of taxation on beer. Which had been a feature, well, since annual reports started.

This being wartime, there were some very specific, conflict-related complaints. In particular, relating the problem of being dependent on domestically-grown hops, of which there weren't enough.

Have a read and then I'll get back to the subject of hops.

"Greene, King & Sons.— The fifty-sixth ordinary general v meeting was held at Bury St. Edmunds on 26th June. In moving the adoption of the report and accounts the Managing Director, Mr. E. L. D. Lake, said : I beg to move the adoption of the Report and Balance Sheet, but before doing so I have to tell you that the Chairman has sent the following message, which explains itself:—

“Owing to the fact that the Annual General Meeting can only be of a purely formal nature, and as no travelling ought to be undertaken unless it is absolutely necessary, I ask the meeting to excuse my attendance this year.

“I cannot, however, let the occasion pass without once more placing on record my appreciation and that of the Board, of the good services of the management, staff and all employed by the firm during the past year. We realise that they have had to carry on during very strenuous and difficult times, and that they have once again proved their efficiency, and their loyalty to the firm.”

Under present conditions, I have very little, to add. In the 1942 Budget the beer duty was increased by approximately 48s. per barrel, and again by 24s. in 1943. These additions make all comparisons useless.

We still have to rely on home-grown materials, and we hope that both barley and hops will be a good crop this year. The position with regard to hops will soon become serious, as every year we, as a trade, consume more than we grow, and stocks are getting exhausted.

We shall continue to carry on to the best of our ability but conditions are not easy. Of our original staff of 400 we have lost 250 to the Forces, of whom I regret to have to report that five have given their lives in the service of their country.

We can only hope that hostilities will finish sooner than at one time seemed possible, and that we shall be able to welcome back all the other original members of our staff who are now serving with the Forces."
The Brewing Trade Review, July 1943, page 234. 

I just happen to have photos of Greene King's brewing records for 1943. (If you're wondering why I've published no recipes, it's because of an NDA I signed.) And guess what I found? Oregon hops in beers brewed in June 1943. So not completely dependent on UK-grown hops, then.

It's not the first time I've come across Oregon hops around this point in the war. A small quantity of the 1942 harvest seems to have slipped in.

Though they would be the last US hops to reach the UK until after war's end.

Hop imports 1938 - 1949
Year ended 31st March	Hops
	Cwt.
1938	45,336
1939	44,056
1940	2,024
1941	11,055
1942	171
1943	3,254
1944	134
1945	30
1946	563
1947	26,928
1948	7,766
1949	174
Source:
1955 Brewers' Almanack, page 64.