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01-05-2013, 07:06
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Yes, it's finally come. The last post in my series on Birmingham breweries. About Davenports.
"Beer at home means Davenports,
That's beer, lots of cheer,
Straight from brewery to your home,
Why collect, we'll deliver.
Soon you'll know why folks all say,
Beer at home means Davenports."
What does it say about the power of advertising, that I can remember the Davenports song more than two decades after the brewery closed?
The advertising must have worked on my Dad, too, because he had Davenports delivered. Now I think about it, the first beer I ever tasted was almost certainly Davenports of my Dad. Top Crown Deluxe, perhaps? I think that was the name of the posh Pale Ale they sold. I do know that it was a Bitter of some sort. Two Bitter for my 12-year old self.
It was a bold move of Davenport to sell off some of their pubs and get ionto the home delivery business. Did it pay off? Difficult to say. As they no longer exist, probably not. But that move was one reason their beers were frustratingly difficult to find in their home city of Birmingham. I can only remember ever going to one of their pubs, somewhere just off Hurst Street in the city centre.
They suffered the brewery equivalent of a fate worse than death: they were bought by Greenall Whitley in 1986 and closed three years later. Drinkers were lucky tthey closed so quickly. Greenall's quickly turned the beers of breweries they took over into parodies of themselves. Such poor imitations, that most fans were glad when they were finally put out of their misery and discontinued.
I suppose I should say something about their beers. Specifically the ones in the table. The Best Mild and Traditional Bitter from 1989 were brewed at Shipstone.
The 1949 Brown Ale definitely looks like a bottled Mild. Not sure about the one from 1931. That's a touch strong for a Mild of the day. That's possibly a standalone Brown Ale. If you know what I mean.
It's a shame that there's no pre-war Mild for comparison purposes. The postwar beers have very typical Mild gravities for most of the country, but are a couple of points weaker than other Birmingham Milds.
These a bit more to work with in the Pale Ales. You can see that before the war they made two Bitters, the stronger BEst Bitter with a hefty gravity of over 1050º. That's comparable to the Best Bitters of London. The weaker Bitter Beer is a couple of degrees lower in gravity that London ordinary Bitters, which were mostly 1042-1045º. WW II knocked a massive 30 gravity points off Best Bitter. That's a pretty low gravity for a Bitter 1033, even in 1949. From the 1970's on there was very little change in the gravity, which is pretty typical. In general, gravities of many beer remained around their mid-1950's level.
The Stouts present a confusing picture. The Extra Stouts bracketing WW II, with close to 80% attenuation, clearly weren't Sweet Stouts. Again, they nicely demostarte the effect of WW II on gravities.
Celebration Stout looks like a sweeter replacement for Extra Stout. Not the much lower level of attenuation. Until 1965, when there was a huge change: its gravity doubled and the attenuation went back up. Maybe. Because the two examples from the same year have very different degrees of attenuation.
Not much to say about the Strong Ale, except to point out the high degree of attenuation of the 1931 example.
There. That's Brum done. Any other town take your fancy?
Davenport beers 1927 - 1989
Year
Beer
Style
Price
size
package
Acidity
FG
OG
colour
ABV
App. Atten-uation
1931
Brown Ale
Brown Ale
6.5d
pint
bottled
0.07
1014.2
1044.8
3.96
68.30%
1949
Brown Ale
Brown Ale
1/1.5d
pint
bottled
0.06
1004
1031
5 + 40
3.51
87.10%
1943
Dark Ale
Dark Ale
bottled
0.08
1009
1036.8
7 + 40
3.61
75.54%
1943
Light Ale
Light Ale
bottled
0.07
1007.3
1038
18
3.99
80.79%
1961
Continental Light Ale
Light Ale
15d
half
bottled
0.04
1005.3
1034
8
3.59
84.41%
1949
Mild Ale
Mild
1/1d
pint
draught
0.07
1007.9
1032
4.5 + 40
3.12
75.31%
1977
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1033
1979
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1033
1981
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.5
1982
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.5
1983
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.5
1986
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.8
1989
Best Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1010.3
1035
3.20
70.71%
1927
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
7d
pint
bottled
1054.4
1927
Bitter
Pale Ale
5.5d
pint
bottled
1040.5
1929
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
8.5d
pint
bottled
0.07
1014.5
1053.1
5.01
72.69%
1929
Bitter Beer
Pale Ale
5d
pint
bottled
0.05
1008.5
1040.5
4.16
79.01%
1931
Bitter Beer
Pale Ale
6d
half
bottled
0.08
1007.3
1036.7
3.82
80.11%
1931
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
8d
pint
bottled
0.08
1017.9
1053.9
4.66
66.79%
1931
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
5.5d
half
bottled
0.11
1013.2
1055.8
5.54
76.34%
1949
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
9.5d
half
bottled
0.07
1006.6
1039.5
21 brown
4.28
83.29%
1949
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
1/2d
pint
bottled
0.06
1006.5
1032.8
19 brown
3.42
80.18%
1977
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038
1979
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038
1981
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1982
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1983
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1986
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1989
Traditional Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1008
1038
3.90
78.95%
1931
Extra Stout
Stout
7d
reputed pint
bottled
0.14
1012.3
1057.9
5.94
78.76%
1949
Extra Stout
Stout
9.5d
half
bottled
0.08
1008.1
1040.2
1 + 15
4.17
79.85%
1953
Celebration Stout
Stout
11d
half
bottled
0.06
1014.7
1041.9
1 + 17
3.52
64.92%
1965
Celebration Stout
Stout
12.5d
half
bottled
0.04
1017.3
1042.1
275
3.10
58.91%
1965
Celebration Stout
Stout
12.5d
half
bottled
0.04
1021
1085
275
8.00
75.29%
1965
Celebration Stout
Stout
12.5d
half
bottled
0.04
1033
1085
275
6.50
61.18%
1927
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
6d
half
bottled
1073.9
1931
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
6.5d
half
bottled
0.08
1012.4
1064.1
6.76
80.66%
Sources:
Good Beer Guide 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990.
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
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C7uXPgxJ_FM/UXo2IVpz5yI/AAAAAAAAQ70/pfJ80d6rrv8/s320/Davenport_beers_1927_1989.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C7uXPgxJ_FM/UXo2IVpz5yI/AAAAAAAAQ70/pfJ80d6rrv8/s1600/Davenport_beers_1927_1989.jpg)
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2013/05/davenport-beers-1931-1989.html)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QE1jdchOGWs/UXpAwtTehkI/AAAAAAAAQ8E/8rcGzWLVplw/s320/Davenports_Stout.jpg (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QE1jdchOGWs/UXpAwtTehkI/AAAAAAAAQ8E/8rcGzWLVplw/s1600/Davenports_Stout.jpg)
Yes, it's finally come. The last post in my series on Birmingham breweries. About Davenports.
"Beer at home means Davenports,
That's beer, lots of cheer,
Straight from brewery to your home,
Why collect, we'll deliver.
Soon you'll know why folks all say,
Beer at home means Davenports."
What does it say about the power of advertising, that I can remember the Davenports song more than two decades after the brewery closed?
The advertising must have worked on my Dad, too, because he had Davenports delivered. Now I think about it, the first beer I ever tasted was almost certainly Davenports of my Dad. Top Crown Deluxe, perhaps? I think that was the name of the posh Pale Ale they sold. I do know that it was a Bitter of some sort. Two Bitter for my 12-year old self.
It was a bold move of Davenport to sell off some of their pubs and get ionto the home delivery business. Did it pay off? Difficult to say. As they no longer exist, probably not. But that move was one reason their beers were frustratingly difficult to find in their home city of Birmingham. I can only remember ever going to one of their pubs, somewhere just off Hurst Street in the city centre.
They suffered the brewery equivalent of a fate worse than death: they were bought by Greenall Whitley in 1986 and closed three years later. Drinkers were lucky tthey closed so quickly. Greenall's quickly turned the beers of breweries they took over into parodies of themselves. Such poor imitations, that most fans were glad when they were finally put out of their misery and discontinued.
I suppose I should say something about their beers. Specifically the ones in the table. The Best Mild and Traditional Bitter from 1989 were brewed at Shipstone.
The 1949 Brown Ale definitely looks like a bottled Mild. Not sure about the one from 1931. That's a touch strong for a Mild of the day. That's possibly a standalone Brown Ale. If you know what I mean.
It's a shame that there's no pre-war Mild for comparison purposes. The postwar beers have very typical Mild gravities for most of the country, but are a couple of points weaker than other Birmingham Milds.
These a bit more to work with in the Pale Ales. You can see that before the war they made two Bitters, the stronger BEst Bitter with a hefty gravity of over 1050º. That's comparable to the Best Bitters of London. The weaker Bitter Beer is a couple of degrees lower in gravity that London ordinary Bitters, which were mostly 1042-1045º. WW II knocked a massive 30 gravity points off Best Bitter. That's a pretty low gravity for a Bitter 1033, even in 1949. From the 1970's on there was very little change in the gravity, which is pretty typical. In general, gravities of many beer remained around their mid-1950's level.
The Stouts present a confusing picture. The Extra Stouts bracketing WW II, with close to 80% attenuation, clearly weren't Sweet Stouts. Again, they nicely demostarte the effect of WW II on gravities.
Celebration Stout looks like a sweeter replacement for Extra Stout. Not the much lower level of attenuation. Until 1965, when there was a huge change: its gravity doubled and the attenuation went back up. Maybe. Because the two examples from the same year have very different degrees of attenuation.
Not much to say about the Strong Ale, except to point out the high degree of attenuation of the 1931 example.
There. That's Brum done. Any other town take your fancy?
Davenport beers 1927 - 1989
Year
Beer
Style
Price
size
package
Acidity
FG
OG
colour
ABV
App. Atten-uation
1931
Brown Ale
Brown Ale
6.5d
pint
bottled
0.07
1014.2
1044.8
3.96
68.30%
1949
Brown Ale
Brown Ale
1/1.5d
pint
bottled
0.06
1004
1031
5 + 40
3.51
87.10%
1943
Dark Ale
Dark Ale
bottled
0.08
1009
1036.8
7 + 40
3.61
75.54%
1943
Light Ale
Light Ale
bottled
0.07
1007.3
1038
18
3.99
80.79%
1961
Continental Light Ale
Light Ale
15d
half
bottled
0.04
1005.3
1034
8
3.59
84.41%
1949
Mild Ale
Mild
1/1d
pint
draught
0.07
1007.9
1032
4.5 + 40
3.12
75.31%
1977
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1033
1979
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1033
1981
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.5
1982
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.5
1983
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.5
1986
Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1034.8
1989
Best Mild
Mild
pint
draught
1010.3
1035
3.20
70.71%
1927
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
7d
pint
bottled
1054.4
1927
Bitter
Pale Ale
5.5d
pint
bottled
1040.5
1929
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
8.5d
pint
bottled
0.07
1014.5
1053.1
5.01
72.69%
1929
Bitter Beer
Pale Ale
5d
pint
bottled
0.05
1008.5
1040.5
4.16
79.01%
1931
Bitter Beer
Pale Ale
6d
half
bottled
0.08
1007.3
1036.7
3.82
80.11%
1931
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
8d
pint
bottled
0.08
1017.9
1053.9
4.66
66.79%
1931
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
5.5d
half
bottled
0.11
1013.2
1055.8
5.54
76.34%
1949
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
9.5d
half
bottled
0.07
1006.6
1039.5
21 brown
4.28
83.29%
1949
Best Bitter
Pale Ale
1/2d
pint
bottled
0.06
1006.5
1032.8
19 brown
3.42
80.18%
1977
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038
1979
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038
1981
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1982
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1983
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1986
Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1038.9
1989
Traditional Bitter
Pale Ale
pint
draught
1008
1038
3.90
78.95%
1931
Extra Stout
Stout
7d
reputed pint
bottled
0.14
1012.3
1057.9
5.94
78.76%
1949
Extra Stout
Stout
9.5d
half
bottled
0.08
1008.1
1040.2
1 + 15
4.17
79.85%
1953
Celebration Stout
Stout
11d
half
bottled
0.06
1014.7
1041.9
1 + 17
3.52
64.92%
1965
Celebration Stout
Stout
12.5d
half
bottled
0.04
1017.3
1042.1
275
3.10
58.91%
1965
Celebration Stout
Stout
12.5d
half
bottled
0.04
1021
1085
275
8.00
75.29%
1965
Celebration Stout
Stout
12.5d
half
bottled
0.04
1033
1085
275
6.50
61.18%
1927
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
6d
half
bottled
1073.9
1931
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
6.5d
half
bottled
0.08
1012.4
1064.1
6.76
80.66%
Sources:
Good Beer Guide 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990.
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
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C7uXPgxJ_FM/UXo2IVpz5yI/AAAAAAAAQ70/pfJ80d6rrv8/s320/Davenport_beers_1927_1989.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C7uXPgxJ_FM/UXo2IVpz5yI/AAAAAAAAQ70/pfJ80d6rrv8/s1600/Davenport_beers_1927_1989.jpg)
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2013/05/davenport-beers-1931-1989.html)