Blog Tracker
11-06-2015, 07:19
Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2015/06/benskins-beers-1944-1960.html)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHdHpPXFtXM/VWv-G08ulzI/AAAAAAAAXdw/Ejm-hPKkqEc/s400/Benskins_Doouble_Stout_1960.jpg (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHdHpPXFtXM/VWv-G08ulzI/AAAAAAAAXdw/Ejm-hPKkqEc/s1600/Benskins_Doouble_Stout_1960.jpg)
Here, as promised, are Benskin’s beers for the immediate post-war years.
It looks like pretty much a full set of their beers, which is nice. There’s a reason for that. Watford being just outside London, it was on Whitbread’s patch. So a competitor, and quite a large one as they had 600-odd pubs. They were bound to have attracted Whitbread’s attention.
Let’s start with the strongest, Colne Spring Ale. Notice something strange about it? A really high degree of attenuation for a beer of its strength. That screams one thing at me: Brettanomyces. It’s hard to see how you could get the FG so low without Brettanomyces playing a part. As you can see, it wasn’t cheap at 5 shillings a pint. Then again, it was four times the strength of their weaker beers.
What else is there? A bog-standard looking Brown Ale. It looks very much like a bottled version of the X Ale. And look there – the IPA is one of the weakest beers. Looks very much in the Southern, low-gravity styles. Light Sparkling Ale seems to have had its name chopped down to just Light Ale in the mid-1950’s. Around 3% ABV is what you’d expect it to be.
The Stout is an interesting one. It looks like a Scottish one, with attenuation below 50%. You can see that the OG fell and the FG rose as the 1950’s progressed. Sweet and barely alcoholic. A bit like me, really.
Not sure what the beer for the Belgian market was. I can’t read the name. Maybe it’s a Scotch Ale. No, a bit weak for that. Pale Ale, maybe. Why have a Jubilee Beer in 1953? Surely it should be a Coronation Beer?
Moving on to the draught beers, they look, well, normal. I’ve seen weaker ones in the 1950’s.
That’s all for Benskin’s for now.
Benskin bottled beers 1944 - 1960
Year
Beer
Style
Price
Acidity
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
colour
1953
Colne Spring Ale
Barley Wine
60
0.05
1090.7
1008.2
10.95
90.96%
1 + 8
1955
Colne Spring Ale
Barley Wine
60
0.08
1091.8
1011.1
10.69
87.91%
75
1960
Colne Spring Ale
Barley Wine
0.04
1092.2
1007.6
11.25
91.76%
68
1951
Nut Brown Ale
Brown Ale
16
0.06
1032.9
1008.1
3.22
75.38%
11 + 40
1951
India Pale Ale
IPA
20
0.07
1029.3
1006.3
2.98
78.50%
20 B
1944
Bitter Ale
Pale Ale
0.06
1027.6
1008.1
2.52
70.65%
22 B
1956
Light Ale
Pale Ale
19
0.04
1031.4
1009.8
2.79
68.79%
25
1946
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
13
0.04
1028.9
1004.9
3.12
83.04%
20.5 B
1947
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
12.5
0.08
1029.4
1008.7
2.68
70.41%
18.5
1947
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
16
0.08
1029.6
1007
2.93
76.35%
20.5
1951
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
16
0.08
1032.6
1008.1
3.18
75.15%
18 B
1951
Brown Stout
Stout
20
0.06
1039.2
1013.6
3.31
65.31%
1 + 18
1953
Brown Stout
Stout
21
0.07
1036.6
1014.2
2.89
61.20%
1 + 11.5
1953
Brown Stout
Stout
21
0.04
1037.6
1018.3
2.48
51.33%
275
1955
Double Stout
Stout
24
0.04
1036.2
1018.6
2.26
48.62%
250
1955
Double Stout
Stout
22
0.02
1036.1
1018.3
2.29
49.31%
275
1950
???? Ale Bottled in Belgium
Strong Ale
0.09
1060.3
1011.3
6.40
81.26%
18 B
1953
Jubilee Beer
Strong Ale
30
0.06
1054
1017.7
4.70
67.22%
14.5 + 40
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.
Benskin draught beers 1952 - 1953
Year
Beer
Style
Price
OG
colour
1953
X
Mild
13
1031.5
84
1952
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
18
1039
23
1953
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
16
1037.2
18
Source:
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2015/06/benskins-beers-1944-1960.html)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHdHpPXFtXM/VWv-G08ulzI/AAAAAAAAXdw/Ejm-hPKkqEc/s400/Benskins_Doouble_Stout_1960.jpg (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHdHpPXFtXM/VWv-G08ulzI/AAAAAAAAXdw/Ejm-hPKkqEc/s1600/Benskins_Doouble_Stout_1960.jpg)
Here, as promised, are Benskin’s beers for the immediate post-war years.
It looks like pretty much a full set of their beers, which is nice. There’s a reason for that. Watford being just outside London, it was on Whitbread’s patch. So a competitor, and quite a large one as they had 600-odd pubs. They were bound to have attracted Whitbread’s attention.
Let’s start with the strongest, Colne Spring Ale. Notice something strange about it? A really high degree of attenuation for a beer of its strength. That screams one thing at me: Brettanomyces. It’s hard to see how you could get the FG so low without Brettanomyces playing a part. As you can see, it wasn’t cheap at 5 shillings a pint. Then again, it was four times the strength of their weaker beers.
What else is there? A bog-standard looking Brown Ale. It looks very much like a bottled version of the X Ale. And look there – the IPA is one of the weakest beers. Looks very much in the Southern, low-gravity styles. Light Sparkling Ale seems to have had its name chopped down to just Light Ale in the mid-1950’s. Around 3% ABV is what you’d expect it to be.
The Stout is an interesting one. It looks like a Scottish one, with attenuation below 50%. You can see that the OG fell and the FG rose as the 1950’s progressed. Sweet and barely alcoholic. A bit like me, really.
Not sure what the beer for the Belgian market was. I can’t read the name. Maybe it’s a Scotch Ale. No, a bit weak for that. Pale Ale, maybe. Why have a Jubilee Beer in 1953? Surely it should be a Coronation Beer?
Moving on to the draught beers, they look, well, normal. I’ve seen weaker ones in the 1950’s.
That’s all for Benskin’s for now.
Benskin bottled beers 1944 - 1960
Year
Beer
Style
Price
Acidity
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
colour
1953
Colne Spring Ale
Barley Wine
60
0.05
1090.7
1008.2
10.95
90.96%
1 + 8
1955
Colne Spring Ale
Barley Wine
60
0.08
1091.8
1011.1
10.69
87.91%
75
1960
Colne Spring Ale
Barley Wine
0.04
1092.2
1007.6
11.25
91.76%
68
1951
Nut Brown Ale
Brown Ale
16
0.06
1032.9
1008.1
3.22
75.38%
11 + 40
1951
India Pale Ale
IPA
20
0.07
1029.3
1006.3
2.98
78.50%
20 B
1944
Bitter Ale
Pale Ale
0.06
1027.6
1008.1
2.52
70.65%
22 B
1956
Light Ale
Pale Ale
19
0.04
1031.4
1009.8
2.79
68.79%
25
1946
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
13
0.04
1028.9
1004.9
3.12
83.04%
20.5 B
1947
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
12.5
0.08
1029.4
1008.7
2.68
70.41%
18.5
1947
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
16
0.08
1029.6
1007
2.93
76.35%
20.5
1951
Light Sparkling Ale
Pale Ale
16
0.08
1032.6
1008.1
3.18
75.15%
18 B
1951
Brown Stout
Stout
20
0.06
1039.2
1013.6
3.31
65.31%
1 + 18
1953
Brown Stout
Stout
21
0.07
1036.6
1014.2
2.89
61.20%
1 + 11.5
1953
Brown Stout
Stout
21
0.04
1037.6
1018.3
2.48
51.33%
275
1955
Double Stout
Stout
24
0.04
1036.2
1018.6
2.26
48.62%
250
1955
Double Stout
Stout
22
0.02
1036.1
1018.3
2.29
49.31%
275
1950
???? Ale Bottled in Belgium
Strong Ale
0.09
1060.3
1011.3
6.40
81.26%
18 B
1953
Jubilee Beer
Strong Ale
30
0.06
1054
1017.7
4.70
67.22%
14.5 + 40
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.
Benskin draught beers 1952 - 1953
Year
Beer
Style
Price
OG
colour
1953
X
Mild
13
1031.5
84
1952
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
18
1039
23
1953
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
16
1037.2
18
Source:
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2015/06/benskins-beers-1944-1960.html)