Tetley's grists in 1946

Tetley’s grists show differences, but also quite a degree of continuity with those from pre-war.

The most obvious similarity is the use of just one type of malt, pale. As was often the case, it might have all been pale malt, but there were multiple versions of it. Three or four types described as “English” or “Shropshire”. Not sure why Shropshire gets a specific mention, as that’s also in England. I’d have been more surprised had there been any malt made from foreign barley at this point.

At the outbreak of war, Tetley’s preferred adjunct was grits. Which was a slightly unusual choice. Most UK breweries preferred their maize in flaked form, probably because it required no extra equipment and you could just throw it in the mash tun. Though it only appeared in the cheaper beers.

That they had switched to flaked barley by 1946 is no surprise. And not really the brewery’s choice. A big difference is that it features in all their beers. The quantity used is much lower than the near quarter of the grist that grits made up in the beers which used it. As a result the percentage of malt has increased in the Mild Ales.

The sugars appear to have all changed. Though maybe not as much as it appears. As I suspect that the A Dem. and Barbados, from 1939 and 1946, respectively, are both types of raw cane sugar. The percentage of the grist made up by sugar remained about the same at 20%.

Both before and after the war, Tetley's beers contained more than the average amount of sugar, which for all UK brewers was 15.75% in 1939 and 13.73% in 1946.*

Tetley's grists in 1946
Beer	Style	OG	pale malt	flaked barley	caramel	ERC	Barbados	total sugar
LM	Mild	1030.5	64.99%	13.84%	1.11%	10.03%	10.03%	21.17%
M	Mild	1033.8	65.74%	13.64%	1.14%	9.74%	9.74%	20.62%
LB	Pale Ale	1029.9	66.27%	14.06%	0.16%	19.52%		19.68%
B	Pale Ale	1042.1	66.27%	14.06%	0.16%	19.52%		19.68%
Source:
Tetley brewing record held at the West Yorkshire Archive Services, document number WYL756/ACC3349/565.

* 1955 Brewers' Almanack, page 62.