Boiling in WW II

The war had a direct impact on boiling techniques. Fuel was in short supply and curtailing boiling times was an obvious way to conserve it.

There was considerable variation between breweries in the length of boil and between different beers in the same brewery.

During both wars the government struggled to keep coal output at a sufficient level to meet demand. As things like kettles were generally powered by coal, a shortage of it caused acute difficulties. Even more so in breweries where everything was steam powered.

"The shortage of coal created further difficulties which were often aggravated by its poor quality. This need to conserve coal raised the question of copper boiling, and brewers found they had to reduce their boiling period almost to the limit of safety. It was also often difficult, with the low-quality of coal available in some districts, to maintain a sufficient head of steam on the boilers to obtain a suitable boiling temperature. When the coal situation became difficult brewers were asked to take the necessary steps to conserve fuel as much as possible. The experience of the last war, however, had taught them a lot about the saving of fuel, and its rising price in the intervening years had encouraged efficiency in this direction, so that there were not many improvements that could be carried out. Notwithstanding this they were subjected to frequent visits from inspectors and advisers from the Ministry of Fuel, many of whom knew little more than the theory of fuel consumption."
Journal of the Institute of Brewing Volume 52, Issue 3, May-June, 1946, pages 124 - 125.

Not getting a decent boil could be as problematic as too short a boil. A brewer’s life wasn’t an easy one in wartime.

I have found brewers who did adapt their boiling practices. Whitbread providing a good example of brewery which reduced its boiling times during the war.

Whitbread Mild Ale 1938 - 1947
Date	Year	Beer	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp
25th Feb	1938	X	1035.3	1010.0	3.35	71.67%	7.44	1.11	1.25	1.25	65º
26th Sep	1939	X	1033.9	1010.5	3.10	69.03%	8.27	1.11	1.25	1	65º
25th Apr	1940	X	1033.5	1008.5	3.31	74.63%	8.12	1.12	1.25	1	65º
20th Nov	1940	XX	1031.1	1010.0	2.79	67.85%	8.42	1.07	1.17	0.75	66º
10th Oct	1941	XX	1031.2	1009.0	2.94	71.15%	6.38	0.76	1.25	1.25	65º
30th Jan	1942	XX	1029.1	1007.5	2.86	74.23%	5.84	0.75	1	1	65º
30th May	1942	XX	1028.4	1007.0	2.83	75.35%	6.19	0.75	1	1	65º
5th Apr	1943	XX	1027.8	1008.0	2.62	71.22%	6.07	0.76	1	1.25	65º
22nd Feb	1944	XX	1028.5	1009.0	2.58	68.42%	5.79	0.69	1	0.75	65º
4th Apr	1945	XX	1028.2	1009.0	2.54	68.09%	5.63	0.70	1	0.75	65º
12th Sep	1946	XX	1027.3	1008.0	2.55	70.70%	6.02	0.71	1	1	65º
3rd Jan	1947	XX	1027.5	1005.5	2.91	80.00%	6.02	0.68	1	0.75	65º
Sources:
Whitbread brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers LMA/4453/D/01/105, 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, LMA/4453/D/01/112, LMA/4453/D/01/114.

 At the start of the war, the boil time was already quite short at 85 minutes. The mere 60 minutes to which it fell in 1942 is extremely short. Probably at the limit of safety as mentioned above. 

Similar reductions were made at Barclay Perkins, though starting from a somewhat higher level:

Barclay Perkins XX Mild Ale 1939 - 1947
Year	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)
1939	1042.7	1011.5	4.13	73.08%	7.00	1.18	2.5	2.25	2
1940	1037.7	1010.5	3.59	72.11%	7.00	1.02	2	1.75	1.5
1941	1037.7	1009.0	3.80	76.15%	4.94	0.76	1.75
1942	1031.4	1006.0	3.36	80.89%	6.00	0.78	1.5	1.25
1943	1031.4	1008.0	3.10	74.52%	7.38	1.00	1.75	1.5
1945	1031.4	1009.5	2.90	69.75%	5.49	0.71	1.5	1.5
1946	1027.6	1008.5	2.53	69.20%	5.40	0.67	1.5	1.5
1947	1030.4	1008.8	2.86	71.22%	7.39	0.93	1.25	1.25
Sources:
Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/623, ACC/2305/01/624, ACC/2305/01/625, ACC/2305/01/626 and ACC/2305/01/627.

Over the whole period the length of the boil was about halved.