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23-10-2012, 08:17
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This must rank as one of the simplest predictions of all time: that WW I would knock back beer production. It certainly did that. Probably to an even greater extent than the author anticipated.


"THE CONSUMPTION OF BEER.
PROBABLE DECREASE OWING TO THE WAR.
The ultimate effects upon the brewing industry are difficult estimate, states the Allied Brewery Traders' Circular. The consumption of beer in the country must almost certainly diminish as money is spent on the war. There will probably be no sudden drop, but the heavy national expenditure and the increased prices of food must be reflected in a decreased barrelage.

The Excise returns the output of beer for the first three months of the current financial year show an increase for the United Kingdom of 324,403 barrels, equal to 3.6 per cent., as compared with the output the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

In the world production of beer Germany ranks second to the United States, and the United Kingdom takes a third place. According to a Viennese calculation, 5,552,000 more hectolitres were produced throughout the world last year than in 1912, an increase which exceeded by 4,119.000 hectolitres, the production of 1911. The total figures for 1913 are:— 336,630,000 hectolitres of 22 gallons each, equal 205,718,000 English barrels, a quantity which is nearly six times as great as the production of the United Kingdom.

The taxes or duties levied the beer produced are estimated at £60,000,000, and this points to an average about of about 6s per barrel, which seems to be an over-estimate, says the circular.

It is claimed behalf of the brewing industry that it has contributed more men to the forces in the field than any other single industry. One Midland firm has sent 300 employes service. In every case situations are kept open, and the difference between army pay and the usual wages have been made up to dependents at an annual cost to the firm of £13,000."
Newcastle Journal - Saturday 03 October 1914, page 7.Fascinating that the UK produced one sixth of the world's beer in 1913. It's not hard for us, with hindsight, to see what a dramatic impact the war would have on beer production in the top three producers: the USA, Germany and the UK. Compared to the other two - in both Germany and the USA beer production came to a complete stop, though for very different reasons - Britain got off lightly.

An average of 6s tax per barrel? Oh right, that's taken over the whole world. Here's the beer tax in Britain around WW I:




UK beer tax before, during and after WW I


Year
Total Tax £
Tax/Bulk Brl.
Tax/Std. Brl
price pint
tax pint
Tax (% retail price)


1914
13,622,971
7s 4d
7s 9d
3d
0.30d
10.08


1915
15,856,412
9s 1d
23s
3d
0.38d
12.67


1916
33,747,269
21s
23s
3d
0.88d
29.19


1917
31,567,940
20s 11d
24s
4d
0.87d
21.80


1918
19,108,663
20s
25s
4.5d
0.83d
18.54


1919
25,423,393
21s 10d
50s
5d
0.91d
18.21


1920
71,276,230
40s 8d
70s
6d
1.69d
28.25


1921
123,406,257
71s 6d
100s
7d
2.98d
42.58


Sources:


1928 Brewers' Almanack



By 1921 British brewers were paying twice as much beer tax as the whole world had in 1913. Almost 10 times tax as much as they had paid in 1914. That's a huge increase in anybody's terms.




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