Light Ale sugars 1968 - 1984

Loads and loads of sugars. Two full tables worth. Starting with the ones I understand.

Malt extract was a surprisingly popular ingredient. Unlike other sugars, it was added in the mash tun, not the copper. For the simple reason that it was there for extra enzymes. Something many UK brewers worried about after WW II. Note that the quantities in the Fullers and Shepherd Neame examples are tiny.

Next, it’s the invert sugars: No. 1 and No. 3. Now, the former, being very pale, is exactly what you would expect in a Style like Light Ale. But No. 3? That’s just odd. Especially in the quantity found in the Shepherd Neame beer, 11%. Which explains why it’s by far the darkest in colour of the set.

It’s interesting that glucose and fructose, the component parts of invert sugar, appear in beers which also include a numbered invert. Not sure what the point of that would be. Possibly because it was paler in colour than the numbered sugars, even No. 1.

Finally, cane sugar. Which I assume means raw cane sugar. Making it the simplest of all the sugars used.

Now for the difficult bit: all the weird proprietary sugars.

I’ve little idea what any of them are. Wortex seems to be a wort extender, which would be a combination of invert sugar and maltose.

Caramel. I know what that is. Though not something you’d expect to see much of it in a style like Light Ale.  And, it this case, that’s all there is. A tiny amount, presumably for colour correction. 

Light Ale sugars 1968 - 1984
Year	Brewer	Beer	malt extract	no. 1 sugar	no. 3 sugar	glucose	fructose	cane
1977	Adnams	LBA		15.03%			11.28%
1971	Boddington	Bod	5.36%
1984	Eldridge Pope	BAK
1968	Fullers	LA	0.65%		1.94%	1.29%
1972	Shepherd Neame	LA	0.55%		10.93%
1969	Truman	LK						7.85%
Sources:
Adnams brewing record held at the brewery.
Boddington brewing record held at Manchester Central Library, document number M693/405/134.
Eldridge Pope brewing record.
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Shepherd Neame brewing book held at the brewery, document number 1971 H-5O5.
Truman brewing record held by Derek Prentice.

Light Ale proprietary sugars 1968 - 1984
Year	Brewer	Beer	Fla	Br	Flowsweet	PEX	Wortex	caramel
1977	Adnams	LBA						0.40%
1971	Boddington	Bod	4.29%	4.29%
1984	Eldridge Pope	BAK			8.96%
1968	Fullers	LA				1.29%
1972	Shepherd Neame	LA					6.56%
1969	Truman	LK
Sources:
Adnams brewing record held at the brewery.
Boddington brewing record held at Manchester Central Library, document number M693/405/134.
Eldridge Pope brewing record.
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Shepherd Neame brewing book held at the brewery, document number 1971 H-5O5.
Truman brewing record held by Derek Prentice.