Shepherd Neame grists in 1956

Time to look at what went into Shepherd Neame’s beers in 1956. What fun that’s going to be.

Let’s kick off with their Pale Ales. Because they’re the simplest. Just pale malt and the merest hit of malt extract. All-malt beers were extremely rare in Britain in the 20th century. I’m trying to think of any others I’ve come across, but am stumped. Just about every beer, other than Guinness, contained some sugar.

Do you see what else is missing? Crystal malt. Most Milds and Brown Ales would have contained some. This is the fun of looking at new breweries. Every so often there are real surprises. Like the malts Shep’s used. Who would have guessed that the four would be pale malt, black malt, wheat malt and oat malt? There’s only one dark malt and that was only used in one beer.

Talking of which, the black malt wasn’t mashed to the Stout but added during the boil. There’s a very good reason for that: the Stout was parti-gyled with BA. The first wort was used for BA and the second wort, which had the black malt and all the sugar added to it, formed the majority of the Stout. Robert Younger did something similar. Presumably they were forced to brew this way due to low demand for Stout. They didn’t need as much as a full brew length.

The Strong Ales, Brown Ales and – weirdly – LDA – all have the same recipe and were parti-gyled together. They contain about 19% sugar, which is towards the high end. 15-20% was pretty normal. No. 3 is what you would expect. No idea what Wortex is, other than a type of proprietary sugar.

The hops all came from their own gardens.

Shepherd Neame grists in 1956
Beer	Style	OG	pale malt	black malt	wheat malt	malted oats	no. 3 sugar	malt extract	caramel	Wortex	UKCS	cane	hops
Br	Brown Ale	1026.3	76.51%		4.03%		13.42%	0.67%		5.37%			Kent
DB	Brown Ale	1029.4	76.51%		4.03%		13.42%	0.67%		5.37%			Kent
MB	Mild	1030.2	88.11%				5.59%	0.70%			5.59%		Kent
LDA	Pale Ale	1029.4	76.51%		4.03%		13.42%	0.67%		5.37%			Kent
BB	Pale Ale	1030.2	98.63%					1.37%					Kent
BA	Pale Ale	1032.4	98.63%					1.37%					Kent
PA	Pale Ale	1035.5	98.63%					1.37%					Kent
SXX	Pale Ale	1039.3	98.63%					1.37%					Kent
SS	Stout	1026.3	74.07%	11.11%		3.70%		1.23%	4.94%			4.94%	Kent
AA	Strong Ale	1044.3	76.51%		4.03%		13.42%	0.67%		5.37%			Kent
ESXA	Strong Ale	1052.6	75.50%		3.97%		13.25%	0.66%		6.62%			Kent
Source:
Shepherd Neame brewing record held at the brewery.

Let's Brew 1932 Lorimer & Clark XXP 8

Here’s another of Lorimer & Clark’s Pale Ales, this time the top of the range 8d one.

You may have noticed something with these pre-war Pale Ales. 6d, 7d and 8d are about the same gravity as post-war 60/-, 70/- and 80/-, respectively. Funny that. I’m still not convinced that 60/-, 70/- and 80/- were ever really the hogshead price of the beers bearing the name. Were they just totally random?

There isn’t much I can say about the recipe that I didn’t bring up when discussing XXP 7. Because their four Pale Ales were all parti-gyled together. So this is just like the XXP 7, but with a little more of everything. Except for the dry hops. All four Pale Ales have the same quantity of dry hops. Odd that. Usually the dry-hopping is proportionate to the strength.

Best Bitter is how I’d describe this. Though with fewer hops than an English version. Er, I’m really running out of stuff to say. Malty, I would guess. Don’t believe me? Brew it up, write in and call me an idiot if it’s different.

1932 Lorimer & Clark XXP 8
pale malt	7.75 lb	77.50%
flaked barley	1.25 lb	12.50%
malt extract	0.50 lb	5.00%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.50 lb	5.00%
Fuggles 90 min	0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 min	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 min	0.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1045
FG	1011
ABV	4.50
Apparent attenuation	75.56%
IBU	28
SRM	5
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	62.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Brewers' Exhibition 1950

It’s an odd thought that the first large beer event in Olympia wasn’t the Great British Beer Festival. Also that beer competitions are nothing new.

“16,000 BOTTLES OF FREE BEER - BUT NOT TO DRINK
EIGHTEEN men with 16,000 bottles of free beer stood in a gallery at Olympia today, at the Brewers' Exhibition.

Almost gloatingly, it seemed to the observer, they raised the bottles to the light and inspected their contents, then had them opened by eager helpers and sipped the contents.

But, to the disgust of the spectators, kept back by uniformed attendants, not a drop was drunk.

The great beer-tasting competition was in progress to decide from where comes the best bottled beer from, north or south. Bottles from all parts of Britain, from 584 different entrants, competed for the honour and there were more from the Empire.

Beer-tasting is a ritual, the chairman of the tasters, Fred J Bearman of Weymouth, stated. "First" he said, "the bottle is lifted to the light to ensure that it is absolutely brilliant. Then it is opened and there come the test for head, aroma, and condition, then the palate takes over.

"Not a drop must drunk. No taster could afford to spoil his palate."”
Leicester Daily Mercury - Monday 02 October 1950, page 7.

Eighteen judges for 16,000 bottles? Though that can’t be 16,000 different beers, it’s still an awful lot. With almost 600 companies entering, there must have been at least a couple of thousand beers. Which is still a lot for eighteen judges to get through. As obviously more than one judge would try each beer.

Though I guess if you aren’t drinking it, you’d be able to get through more. But if you don’t swallow beer, you can’t fully taste it. Especially bitterness on the back end. The use of the word “sip” implies a small taste. I suppose by not drinking they mean not drinking the whole bottle.

Never had uniformed attendants at any beer judging I’ve done. Then again, there wasn’t ever an audience, either.

Here’s a wonderful example of local press homerism:

“Brewers' Exhibition
The most typically Scottish stall at the 62nd Brewers' and Allied Traders' Exhibition, which opened this morning, is that of a Glasgow firm which makes labels and show cards for nearly every kind of beverage — alcoholic and non-alcoholic — known to man, and whose designs reach the farthest flung outposts of the world. Gaily decorated in Macdonald tartan upholstery, the stall, which occupied a commanding position in the National Hall at Olympia, is proving a Mecca for the visitors who will throng the hall until the exhibition closes on Friday.

This is the oldest trade show to be held in Britain, and as the years have gone on it has grown in importance. For the first time this year it occupies two halls at Olympia, the Empire Hall and the National. The heavy engineering section is representative of the latest types of brewing and bottling machinery, some of which is exhibited for the first time. Allied industries embrace coopering, brewing ingredients, bar equipment, and materials and machines used in the soft drinks trade.

An important feature is the number of competitions to be judged during this week. They are for the best brew of bottled beer; the best Empire Wine; the best fomented beverages made from apples and pears; and the best barley and hops. Scotland is well represented in the entries, particularly in the grain section, Fife and the Borders being especially prominent.

Other Scottish exhibits include those of an Edinburgh firm specialising in soft drinks and cordials, which has a papier-mache Highlander as a motif; and of two Glasgow firms, one exhibiting refrigerator equipment and the other stationery and labelling devices.”
The Scotsman - Tuesday 03 October 1950, page 4.

Indeed, what could be more Scottish than tartan upholstery and a papier-mache Highlander?

“best fomented beverages made from apples and pears” That would be cider and perry then. Weird to use such a convoluted terms when two simple ones will suffice.

Was it really the oldest trade show? It did start in the 19th century, so it could be true. I’d look it up, but I’m in a bit of a lazy-arse mood.

The show ran 2nd – 6th October, from 10 am to 6 pm and cost half a crown to get in.

You can see how quick some brewers were to show off their awards:

BREWERS' EXHIBITION 1950
QUALITY ALWAYS TELLS
WELLS & WINCH'S CROWN ALE
Awarded
1st PRIZE - SILVER MEDAL
FOR
BOTTLES PALE ALES
OF ANY GRAVITY
*
Obtainable in all their Houses at
11d. pre Small Bottle (Public Bar)

Biggleswade Chronicle - Friday 06 October 1950, page 10.

Here’s another:

Another Diploma
for
HEY'S
GOLD CUP ALE

awarded

in the Bottled Beers Competition at the 1950 Brewers Exhibition, Olympia, London

J. HEY & CO. LTD. BRADFORD
Yorkshire Evening Post - Wednesday 11 October 1950, page 5.

And another:

BREWERS’ EXHIBITION 1950
Russells' PALE ALE First Prize
Russells' IMPERIAL STOUT Second Prize
RUSSELLS. BREWERS. MALTON
Yorkshire Evening Post - Saturday 18 November 1950, page 2.

I could continue, but I fear it would bore you. I’m yawning as I type.

Shepherd Neame beers in 1956

Last time we looked at Shepherd Neame’s beers from a very grim time, the late 1940’s. With hardly any beers over 3% ABV. Let’s take a look and see what things were like almost a decade later.

In the late 1940’s Shep’s only brewed six beers (I say brewed because I’m sure they marketed more, Brown Ale for example): four Pale Ales, a Mild and a Stout. By 1956 they’d added several more beers, boosting their range to five Pale Ales, two Brown Ales, two Strong Ales, a Mild and a Stout.

Amongst the new beers were two stronger Pale Ales, PA and SXX. Leaving them with what looks like far too many beers in the style. The five only cover a spread of 10 gravity points, 1029º to 1039º. PA is only a little higher in OG than BA was in 1947. It looks like the gravities of both BA and BB were dropped to create room for PA. SXX was slotted in at the top as a new Best Bitter.

Adding a stronger Bitter was common in the early 1950’s. A brewery’s flagship PA would have been knocked down to the mid-1030’s by WW II. When a little more wiggle room was created for stronger beers, many added a new, stronger Bitter. Shepherd Neame must have added SSX and PA between 1947 and 1950. Because they’re not in the 1947 book but are in the 1950 one.

AA is an interesting one. I was wondering what the hell it stood for until I looked at my Whitbread Gravity Book analyses for Shepherd Neame. There’s a beer of 1044º called Abbey Ale. That must be it. You’ll notice that I’ve called it a Strong Ale. Given its strength and colour (8 EBC) it could be a Pale Ale. But it was parti-gyled with their Brown Ales, not their Pale Ales. So I’ve plumped for Strong Ale as style.

Not sure what ESXA might stand for. But it has a similar OG to Bishop’s Finger. Possibly it’s an early version of that. I’m really not sure.

The biggest surprise was seeing two Brown Ales, both under 1030º. I assume DB stands for “Double Brown”, though “Single Brown” or even “Three-quarters Brown” would be more appropriate. I assume that in 1947 their Brown Ale was simply a bottled version of their Mild. So it’s odd that they introduced two new Brown Ales.

The Stout has managed to get even less Stout. In 1956 it was scarcely over 2% ABV, making it look quite Scottish. Though not quite as sweet as those Stouts from north  of the border. When we look at the grist I’ll explain the weird way this beer was brewed. Again quite Scottish, now I think about it.

Shepherd Neame beers in 1956
Date	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)			Pitch temp	max. fermen-tation temp
9th May	Br	Brown Ale	1026.3	1008.3	2.38	68.42%	4.38	0.52	1.75	1.5		61.5º F	68º F
9th May	DB	Brown Ale	1029.4	1010.5	2.49	64.15%	4.38	0.58	1.75	1.5		61.25º F	68º F
19th Oct	MB	Mild	1030.2	1007.2	3.04	76.15%	4.95	0.60	2	1.5		62.25º F	68º F
9th May	LDA	Pale Ale	1029.4	1010.0	2.57	66.04%	4.38	0.58	1.75	1.5		62º F	68º F
15th Oct	BB	Pale Ale	1030.2	1006.4	3.15	78.90%	8.82	0.75	2	1.5	1.5	62º F	68º F
15th Oct	BA	Pale Ale	1032.4	1006.6	3.41	79.49%	8.82	0.81	2	1.5	1.5	62º F	70º F
15th Oct	PA	Pale Ale	1035.5	1007.2	3.74	79.69%	8.82	0.88	2	1.5	1.5	62.5º F	70º F
15th Oct	SXX	Pale Ale	1039.3	1009.4	3.96	76.06%	8.82	0.98	2	1.5	1.5	61.5º F	71º F
4th May	SS	Stout	1026.3	1009.4	2.24	64.21%	1.68	0.23	2	1.5		62º F	68º F
9th May	AA	Strong Ale	1044.3	1016.9	3.63	61.87%	4.38	0.87	1.75	1.5		60.25º F	70º F
24th Oct	ESXA	Strong Ale	1052.6	1017.7	4.62	66.32%	5.55	3.67	1.75	1.5		61.75º F	71º F
Source:
Shepherd Neame brewing record held at the brewery.

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1956 Shepherd Neame MB

It’s a very special beer for a very special day.

For two reasons. Today is my 60th birthday and this beer was brewed on the day that I was born, October 19th 1956. That it’s a Mild just makes it even more appropriate.

In most other respects, it’s not that special a beer. It isn’t particularly strong, though the gravity had increased a tad since 1947. Just about enough to tip it over into intoxicating land. It just manages to scrape in over 3% ABV, usually my bottom limit for bothering.

Shepherd Neame didn’t go for complicated recipes. This one just has a single type of pale malt, a dash of malt extract, No. 3 invert sugar and something called UKCS which must be some type of proprietary sugar. I’ve just bumped up the No. 3 content to allow for this.

At this point Shep’s seem to have only been using hops from their own gardens. At least that’s all that turns up in the photos I have. It makes perfect sense, the brewery being located in Kentish hop country. I am surprised by the modest level of their hopping. I’ve always imagined breweries in Kent being enthusiastic hoppers.

I quite like the fact that it’s such an ordinary beer. One meant for supping by the gallon down the pub with your mates. It seems appropriate for a beer born on the same day as me.

1956 Shepherd Neame MB
pale malt	5.50 lb	84.49%
no. 3 sugar	1.00 lb	15.36%
malt extract	0.01 lb	0.15%
Fuggles 120 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.50 oz
OG	1030.2
FG	1007.2
ABV	3.04
Apparent attenuation	76.16%
IBU	19
SRM	9
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	62.25º F
Yeast	a Southern English Ale yeast

Random Dutch beers (part forty-five)

More Dutch Boks. Not sure how much fun it will be this time, as it's a couple of industrial jobs.

It's been a much quieter week. And this is my second weekend in a row with no travel time to relax. In a beery sort of way.

Despite the name, this is probably brewed at Dommelsch. My joint least-favourite Dutch brewery along with Bavaria.

Hertog Jan Bokbier, 6.5% ABV
It looks the part with a very dark brown colour. Quite an unusual aroma. Which fruit is that? Cherries. Artifical cherry flavour. In the mouth it's sweet and thin, with no discernable bitterness. It's amazing how you can make a beer of 6.5% this blad. It tastes like watered-down cherryade. How bizarre. Not undrinkable, as I'd feared. I've had some real stinkers from Dommelsch in the past.

Both the kids are up and it's only just after 1 PM.

"Do you want to try my beer, Lexie?"

"What is it?"

"Hertog Jan Bokbier."

"Hm."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know. It tastes like it comes out of a barrel."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's a bit woody, sort of. It tastes like the beer they throw into gravy.

"Do you want to try my beer, Dolores?"

"Mmm. It's OK."

It's now Sunday and thebeef joint I picked up in Margate is roaasting in the oven. Even Andrew is back from his mate's. Not looking that lively, mind. And very grey. I can't understand the way these young kids drink to excess. You'd never catch me doing that.

I approach the next Bok with some trepidation. Because despite it being the best-selling Bok, it isn't to my taste.

Grolsch Herfst Bok, 6.5% ABV
I grabbed it in Dirk's yesterday. It can't have cost that much, but I don't remember exactly. Smells of sugar and metal. Really sweet in the mouth, ending with a weird metallic sugariness. Like licking sugar off a cast-iron frying pan. And not in a good way.

"Do you want to try my beer, Dolores?"

"Mm. It's nice that one. Very sweet, but not nasty. Which one is it?"

"Grolsch."

"It's not as horrible as most of the beers you have me try."

Shepherd Neame beers in 1947

I’ve worked my way through all Shepherd Neame’s beers in 1947. I suppose I should share the details with you.

The six beers are an exciting bunch. Unless you feel like getting tipsy, in which case they wouldn’t be a great deal of use. The strongest is just 3.74% ABV. In fact all of them qualify as genuine session beers, being below 4% ABV.

Having four beers at 1027º is something I’ve not seen before. And all are different styles: Mild, Stout, Light Ale and Light Bitter. I’m particularly impressed by a Stout of that gravity. How the world had changed since the 18th century.

Given the low OG, it’s surprising how high the rate of attenuation is. Quite often you’ll see the FG of low-gravity beers being left quite high, presumably to leave a little body. The AK, at just about 85% attenuation must have been pretty thin. But at least it was just about strong enough to get you intoxicated.

Other defining features: quite high pitching temperatures, though the low OGs partially explain that; quite longs boils at 2 hours; quite a low level of hopping.

To expand on the latter point, Whitbread PA, which had a gravity the same as BA, contained 50% more hops. While their XX Mild, also with an OG of 1027º, contained double the weight of hops that MB did. Whitbread’s beers had between 6 and 9 lbs of hops per quarter, while Shepherd Neame’s were all under 5 lbs.

Shepherd Neame beers in 1947
Date	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)			Pitch temp	max. fermen-tation temp
6th Jan	MB	Mild	1027.1	1005.5	2.86	79.74%	3.84	0.44	2	2		63º F	68º F
16th Jan	LDA	Pale Ale	1027.1	1007.2	2.64	73.47%	4.47	0.52	2	2		62.75º F	68º F
15th Jul	AK	Pale Ale	1027.1	1004.2	3.04	84.69%	4.80	0.53	2	2	2	62.5º F	68º F
6th Jan	BB	Pale Ale	1031.3	1006.6	3.26	78.76%	4.75	0.61	2	2		62.75º F	68º F
16th Jan	BA	Pale Ale	1034.3	1006.1	3.74	82.26%	4.70	0.65	2	2		63º F	70º F
10th Jan	SS	Stout	1027.1	1006.1	2.79	77.55%	4.09	0.49	2	1.83		62.75º F	68.25º F
Source:
Shepherd Neame brewing record held at the brewery.

Next we’ll move on to grists.

Shepherd Neame grists in 1947
Beer	Style	OG	pale malt	black malt	flaked barley	malted oats	no. 3 sugar	WCCS sugar	CD	JC	malt extract	hops
MB	Mild	1027.1	68.70%		9.16%		9.16%	3.05%			9.92%	English, Kent
LDA	Pale Ale	1027.1	74.42%		9.30%		15.50%				0.78%	English, Kent
AK	Pale Ale	1027.1	92.31%		6.29%						1.40%	English, Kent
BB	Pale Ale	1031.3	85.04%		14.17%						0.79%	English, Kent
BA	Pale Ale	1034.3	86.90%		12.41%						0.69%	English, Kent
SS	Stout	1027.1	60.94%	9.38%		9.38%			9.38%	7.81%	3.13%	English, Kent, 3lbs hopulon
Source:
Shepherd Neame brewing record held at the brewery.

They aren’t the most complicated of recipes. The Pale Ales, with the exception of LDA, were mostly pale malt with some flaked barley and a little malt extract. The other beers all included sugar, some No. 3 invert and some proprietary sugars.

The most complicated grist belongs to the Stout, which has two different types of sugar, the only coloured malt and malted oats replacing flaked barley.

It’s interesting that Shepherd Neame used no crystal malt. I’m not so surprised in the case of their Pale Ales, as it’s only really in the 1950’s that crystal became common in Bitters. But it’s definitely strange that there’s none in their Mild. Whitbread in this period used crystal malt in all of their Ales with the exception of Double Brown.

No surprise that the hops are all English. Shepherd Neame is located in the middle of hop country. Also the UK was self-sufficient in hops in this period. And short of foreign exchange which would have been needed to buy US hops.

Poles and off-licences

It’s strange how often news reports from the past seem to echo the present.

Many today have forgotten that the current influx of Poles into the UK isn’t the first. Large numbers of Poles settled in the UK after WW II, mostly because they didn’t fancy returned to a communist-controlled Poland. I knew vaguely about this, but not the details. I explain some of them after the article.

“MAGISTRATES GRANT BEER LICENCE
SUPERINTENDANT OPPOSES APPLICANT
Morpeth Magistrates on Wednesday granted a request by Edward William Allen, 13 Castle Street, Morpeth, for bottled beer to be sold on the premises known as Morpeth Common Camp Stores. Representing the applicant, Mr. J. Kent told the court that the present residents of Crash Camp were 60 per cent Polish and 40 per cent English.

Since Mr. Allen opened the shop four weeks ago there had been a weekly increase in his sales. He had been approached by both Poles and Englishmen with a view to selling bottled beer. Until Mr. Allen had opened the shop nearly all of the shopping had to done in Morpeth. This meant either walking across fields or going a longer way round by road.

Mr. Kent went to tell the court that the Poles often preferred to drink beer in their own homes rather than going out to public houses. If drink was the cause of trouble in the camp, it would have happened long before now. When questioned by Superintendant Goodfellow, Mr. Allen replied that at present he was under a weekly tenancy. The premises were partitioned off so as allow room for storage, a relative of his also occupied part of the premises. Mr. Allen stated that his sister would take charge of the store while he was elsewhere. The superintendant asked if he thought it would be alright to leave his sister in charge of the stores when 60 per cent of the camp residents were Poles. Mr. Allen said it was alright.

When the superintendant asked the applicant if he knew there were more people in Stobhillgate than at the Crash Camp, Mr. Allen said he knew, but the folk Stobhillgate could visit Morpeth or a public house much more conveniently than those at the Crash Camp.

147 FAMILIES
Mr. Robert Scott Powers, an employee of Morpeth Council who lives at the Crash Camp, took the stand.

He told the court that there were 147 huts in the camp and about 147 families. The greater majority of the families were Polish. There had only been, in Mr. Powers’ opinion, one serious incident at the camp in which the police had to informed. Mr. Powers told the court that the English and Polish families got along well together. but the Poles mostly kept to themselves.

Superintendent Good fellow asked Mr. Powers if he took drink, to which he replied he did. Mr. Powers said he had never tried to order beer, but had recently put in order for mineral waters to be delivered to him from Morpeth. This had been refused because his was in an awkward delivery area.

OPPOSED BY POLICE
Superintendant W. Goodfellow said he opposed the application. The huts were only under a weekly agreement and could be terminated at any time. As regards the dwellings they could be done away with at any time the Ministry of Health required.

Mr. Kent reminded the superintendant that most council houses came under agreement where they could be terminated at a week’s notice. It was the Ministry of Works and not the Ministry of Health who had authority to close the camp. This action was not at all probable as alternative accommodation for 500 people could not easily be found.

Supt. Goodfellow continued and stated that the premises in which the beer was proposed to be sold were not suitable. "If Stobhillgate can manage without an off-licence store, then surely the Crash Camp can. If a licence was granted to every 300 inhabitants I don't know what would happen,” said, the Superintendent. Then he continued "If the people at the Crash Camp want beer in their homes they could the same as many other people do and have it delivered.”

The magistrates granted the licence condition that Mr. Allen would undertake only to sell bottled beer.”
Morpeth Herald - Friday 24 February 1950, page 1.

The Crash Camp was a resettlement camp for Poles in a former army camp on the outskirts of Morpeth. It operated between 1947 and 1962 with families living in huts. Eventually they were all rehoused into proper homes. The name Crash is an acronym of one of the army units that had been stationed there: County Regiment of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. There’s a personal account of life in the camp here:

http://www.polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/morpeth.htm

It sounds like it turned into a small Polish town with a chapel, club and community centre. And obviously a licensed grocers, too. The camp was demolished in 1964 and Craik Park is now on the site.

Personally I’m amazed people were still living in army huts in 1962.

Let's Brew - 1947 Shepherd Neame LDA

Now I’ve started I may as well finish the full set of low-gravity Shepherd Neame Pale Ales. And this is the weakest of the set.

In fact, it has the lowest gravity you’ll ever see in post-WW I beers. No-one brewed a beer below 1027º because however low the gravity was, the minimum beer duty was set at 1027º. It made no sense to make a weaker beer as you’d be paying the tax for a 1027º beer anyway. It the late 1940’s you see quite a few beers at this minimum level. Shepherd Neame had three: this, Mild and Stout.

LDA was always parti-gyled with something else. In this case BB, the one step up Pale Ale. Interestingly, this recipe is different from the single-gyle brew of BB in that it contains No. 3 invert sugar. And quite a bit of it: 20% of the grist. Which means the BB from this brew must have been darker in colour.

Or did it? Just had a closer look at the brewing record. It clearly shows that all the No. 3 was in the second copper with the weaker wort. And the BB only had 6 barrels (of 121 in total) from the second wort. Meaning the No. 3 was really only in the LDA. Ah, the joys of parti-gyling.

For some reason LDA is always written in red in the brewing books. Why is that? At first I thought it may have been because it was a bottled beer. But surely the Stout was only bottled, too. And that isn’t written in red ink. Bit of a mystery, that one. Red ink usually indicates something unusual, something that changed in that brew or something that went wrong.

There can’t have been a huge amount of drunkenness in the late 1940’s, judging by the strength of most beers. I doubt anyone over the age of 8 could get pissed on this one.

Almost forgot to tell you what style this is. It’s a Light Ale. LDA usually stands for “Light Dinner Ale” which around this time was shortened to just Light Ale.

1947 Shepherd Neame LDA
pale malt	3.75 lb	67.57%
flaked barley	1.00 lb	18.02%
no. 3 sugar	0.75 lb	13.51%
malt extract	0.05 lb	0.90%
Fuggles 120 mins	0.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.50 oz
OG	1027.1
FG	1007.2
ABV	2.63
Apparent attenuation	73.43%
IBU	15
SRM	8
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	62.75º F
Yeast	a Southern English Ale yeast