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23-08-2012, 08:15
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I never dreamt when I first got interested in beer seriously in the 1970's that one day I'd be writing about Skol. Stuff I wouldn't have baited a slug trap with.

The beer had a far more interesting history than I could have imagined. And one that winds in and out of a few obsessions of mine.

Where does the story begin? At the end of the 19th century in Burton, of all places. Allsopp, deciding that Lager was going to be the next big thing, bought a state of the art Lager brewery from the USA. It opened in 1899, just as Allsopp was starting to get into serious financial difficulties. They did have a degree of success with their Lager, especially in export markets, but their Pale Ale trade collapsed. Between 1900 and 1910 Allsopp's sales fell by 40%. By 1911 a receiver had been appointed to run the business.

In 1912, John Calder of Calder's Brewery in Alloa was brought in to run Allsopp. This forged a link between Allsopp and Alloa that was to play a key role in the later formation of Allied Breweries. It also brought Lager brewing to Alloa, for in 1921 Allsopp's Lager plant, which had lain idle in Burton, was moved to Arrol's Brewery, where John Calder was also a director. In 1927 a new beer was brewed in Arrol's Lager brewery - Graham's Golden Lager.

It was a big success. As Arrol's were brewing all their Lagers, it's no surprise that Allsopp's took a controlling interest in the company in 1930, even before their 1934 merger with Ind Coope. Arrol's was completely bought out in 1951 and the brewery converted to a Lager-only plant.

In 1959, Graham's Golden Lager was rebranded ads Skol, though for a while it had the ungainly name of Graham's Skol Lager. It became the main Lager of Ind Coope and later the whole Allied Breweries group. Allied Breweries set up an international consortium in 1964 to brew Skol abroad and soon it was being made in more than a dozen countries. And, though British Skol went to the great cellar in the sky, it's still brewed in several countries.

That's got the history out of the way. Now we can get onto the beer itself. Luckily, I've quite a few analyses from across the years.




Graham's Golden Lager / Skol 1933 - 1994



Year

Brewer

Beer



Price

size

package

Acidity

FG

OG

colour

ABV

App. Atten-uation



1933

Alloa Brewery

Graham's Golden Lager






pint

bottled






1010.5



1044.5








4.42



76.40%



1939

Alloa Brewery

Graham's Golden Lager









bottled



0.04



1008.6



1045.2



8.5



4.77



80.97%



1950

Alloa Brewery

Graham's Golden Lager



15d

half

bottled



0.05



1010.6



1040.6



9



3.89



73.89%



1952

Alloa Brewery

Graham's Golden Lager



15d

half

bottled



0.04



1014.3



1039.2



15



3.22



63.52%



1957

Alloa Brewery

Graham's Pilsener Lager



20d

half

bottled



0.04



1007.2



1035.6



9



3.69



79.78%



1957

Alloa Brewery

Graham's Golden Lager






half

bottled



0.04



1007.3



1030.4



11



3.00



75.99%



1960

Alloa Brewery

Skol Pilsner Lager



18d

half

bottled



0.04



1007



1033.4



8



3.30



79.04%



1961

Ind Coope

Grahams Skol



20d

half

bottled



0.03



1007.2



1033.6



9.5



3.30



78.57%



1961

Ind Coope

Grahams Skol



20d

half

bottled



0.03



1007.2



1033.6



9.5



3.43



78.57%



1962

Ind Coope

Skol Export



24d

half

bottled



0.04



1008.3



1035.4



8



3.52



76.55%



1962

Ind Coope

Skol Pilsener



19d

half

bottled



0.04



1006.4



1033.9



7



3.57



81.12%



1963

Ind Coope

Skol Pilsener



21d

half

bottled



0.04



1006.5



1033.6



8.5



3.52



80.65%



1972

Allied Breweries

Skol



15p

pint

draught






1007



1033.2








3.40



78.92%



1994

Ind Coope (Burton)

Skol Lager






pint

bottled

















3.60






Sources:



Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11



Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001



Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002



Daily Mirror July 10th 1972, page 15



The Best of British Bottled Beer




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The first thing that strikes me is the gravity. Up until 1952, the gravity is above the average for all beer brewed in the UK. Soon after the complete takeover of Arrols by Ind Coope (coincidence?), the gravity drops below the average and remains around 11% below it.




Skol OG and average OG



year

Skol OG

average OG

difference



1933



1044.5



1039.52



11.19%



1939



1045.2



1040.93



9.45%



1950



1040.6



1033.88



16.55%



1952



1039.2



1037.07



5.43%



1957



1035.6



1037.42



-5.11%



1957



1030.4



1037.42



-23.09%



1960



1033.4



1037.25



-11.53%



1961



1033.6



1037.41



-11.34%



1961



1033.6



1037.70



-12.20%



1962



1035.4



1037.70



-6.50%



1962



1033.9



1037.70



-11.21%



1963



1033.6



1037.70



-12.20%



1972



1033.2



1036.90



-11.14%



Sources:



Brewers' Almanack 1955, p. 50



Brewers' Almanack 1962, p. 48



Brewers' Almanack 1971, p. 45



Statistical Handbook of the British Beer & Pub Association 2005, p. 7





To give some idea of just how bad value for money Skol was, in 1962 a half pint bottle of Double Diamond cost 15d, 4d less that Skol though its gravity was 13 points higher at 1047ยบ. remeber that Double Diamond was a heavily-promoted, premium product. A pint of Ind Coope Mild Ale, with a gravity almost exactly the same as Skol, cost just 14d that year. Or less than half the price for the same amount of alcohol. It makes you realise why large breweries pushed Lager and neglected Mild.

Which has prompted me to think of another reason beer styles decline and die. When a style becomes the most popular, it's very difficult to keep selling it as a premium price. It's new types of beer, fashionable ones, that can demand a higher price. So there's a clear financial incentive for brewers to push the new at the expense of the old.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5445569787371915337-5175066621494019717?l=barclayperkins.blogspot.com


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