Blog Tracker
11-05-2017, 09:36
Visit the Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog site (http://boakandbailey.com/2017/05/the-loss-of-local-preference-as-observed-in-1966/)
https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/monckton_cover.jpg?resize=650%2C650H.A. Monckton’s 1966 book*A History of Ale & Beer is these days interesting mostly for what its epilogue tells us about the period of its writing, and about the tension between local and global.That section of the book covers the rise of keg beer and the trend towards consolidation from an industry insider’s perspective (Monckton was on the board at Flower’s of Stratford-upon-Avon)*but there’s a particular bit we want to zero in on here because it chimes with our Session post from last Friday which touched on the globalisation of taste (http://boakandbailey.com/2017/05/session-123-the-cyber-is-huge/):
Throughout history certain districts have favoured their own types of beer. There are definite differences between those beers brewed in the North, in the Midlands, and the South. Recently the strong preferences of certain districts have begun to weaken, not because of a change in the customer’s palate but rather because brewery amalgamations are bringing about the closure of many local breweries, which has meant the discontinuation of many local beers… In the case of bottled beers the situation was usually accepted without undue trouble, but often customer reaction to the introduction of new draught beers was strong. So strong has it been in several instances that the substituted beers have had to be changed to a type more in line with local requirements…
Unfortunately, he doesn’t break this down much further except to observe that sweeter beers were particularly popular in places like London, Birmingham and Coventry with high concentrations of manual workers, especially during and after World War II when sugar was rationed. He observes that:
All the successful beers launched on a national scale in the ten years following the last war, whether pale in colour or dark, were sweeter rather than drier. Now, some twenty years later, the situation is changing again, and full-drinking bitter beers, both in bottle and in cask, are returning to prominence. It is interesting that some premises in the Midlands are now selling increasing quantities of draught bitter beers where only mild ales have been sold for a quarter of a century.
Dry, bitter beers, he suggests, are simply better suited to our climate than*‘soft sweet beer’ — an argument we don’t quite follow, if we’re honest.
But, anyway, that’s stage one of homogenisation, driven by national consolidation and distribution, and countrywide marketing: everyone drinking the same style whether town or country, north or south, toff or scruff.
https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/harp_lager_beer_mat_detail_672.jpg?resize=524%2C29 5
Then*in the last paragraphs of the book*he forecasts (or, rather, fails to forecast) stage two: in the midst of a great push that saw lager’s share of the UK market creep up from less than 2 per cent to 7*per cent by the end of the decade he suggests a certain scepticism about its suitability for the English weather. He was wrong, and lager now makes up something like 70 per cent of the market in the UK, and the vast majority of the global market.
On a related note,*Alec Latham has an*interesting post on lager in the UK (http://www.mostlyaboutbeer.co.uk/little-look-at-the-lack-of-local-lagered-lager/) at*Mostly About Beer in which he observes that*‘Lambic has leap-frogged Lager’. (It’ll make sense when you read it.) If not exactly a return to local tastes as described by Monckton the failure of new breweries to engage with the market for lager does at least suggest — in some small way, in odd ways — some sort of shift.
And, while we’re pointing outwards, here’s a thought on a declaration by Carlsberg’s chief executive Julian Momen that the Danish giant is considering acquiring a UK craft brewery (http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Drinks/Beer/Carlsberg-plans-to-buy-UK-craft-brewery). Rather than join the (admittedly fun) game of guessing at specific breweries that might be in the frame (http://thebeercast.com/2017/05/one-will-betray.html)*we’ll just observer that previous UK acquisitions by global players have tended to be conservative. Camden, Meantime and Sharp’s all had strong brands popular in mainstream outlets; flagship beers at accessible strength (under 5% ABV); in classic styles (lager, bitter, pale ale); and straightforward, easy-drinking takes on those styles*at that. (We’re being polite to Doom Bar, there.) In other words, breweries that already act*‘global’ seem more likely candidates than those that go out of their way to express any particular local or otherwise distinct character.
The Loss of Local Preference as Observed in 1966 (http://boakandbailey.com/2017/05/the-loss-of-local-preference-as-observed-in-1966/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2017/05/the-loss-of-local-preference-as-observed-in-1966/)
https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/monckton_cover.jpg?resize=650%2C650H.A. Monckton’s 1966 book*A History of Ale & Beer is these days interesting mostly for what its epilogue tells us about the period of its writing, and about the tension between local and global.That section of the book covers the rise of keg beer and the trend towards consolidation from an industry insider’s perspective (Monckton was on the board at Flower’s of Stratford-upon-Avon)*but there’s a particular bit we want to zero in on here because it chimes with our Session post from last Friday which touched on the globalisation of taste (http://boakandbailey.com/2017/05/session-123-the-cyber-is-huge/):
Throughout history certain districts have favoured their own types of beer. There are definite differences between those beers brewed in the North, in the Midlands, and the South. Recently the strong preferences of certain districts have begun to weaken, not because of a change in the customer’s palate but rather because brewery amalgamations are bringing about the closure of many local breweries, which has meant the discontinuation of many local beers… In the case of bottled beers the situation was usually accepted without undue trouble, but often customer reaction to the introduction of new draught beers was strong. So strong has it been in several instances that the substituted beers have had to be changed to a type more in line with local requirements…
Unfortunately, he doesn’t break this down much further except to observe that sweeter beers were particularly popular in places like London, Birmingham and Coventry with high concentrations of manual workers, especially during and after World War II when sugar was rationed. He observes that:
All the successful beers launched on a national scale in the ten years following the last war, whether pale in colour or dark, were sweeter rather than drier. Now, some twenty years later, the situation is changing again, and full-drinking bitter beers, both in bottle and in cask, are returning to prominence. It is interesting that some premises in the Midlands are now selling increasing quantities of draught bitter beers where only mild ales have been sold for a quarter of a century.
Dry, bitter beers, he suggests, are simply better suited to our climate than*‘soft sweet beer’ — an argument we don’t quite follow, if we’re honest.
But, anyway, that’s stage one of homogenisation, driven by national consolidation and distribution, and countrywide marketing: everyone drinking the same style whether town or country, north or south, toff or scruff.
https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/harp_lager_beer_mat_detail_672.jpg?resize=524%2C29 5
Then*in the last paragraphs of the book*he forecasts (or, rather, fails to forecast) stage two: in the midst of a great push that saw lager’s share of the UK market creep up from less than 2 per cent to 7*per cent by the end of the decade he suggests a certain scepticism about its suitability for the English weather. He was wrong, and lager now makes up something like 70 per cent of the market in the UK, and the vast majority of the global market.
On a related note,*Alec Latham has an*interesting post on lager in the UK (http://www.mostlyaboutbeer.co.uk/little-look-at-the-lack-of-local-lagered-lager/) at*Mostly About Beer in which he observes that*‘Lambic has leap-frogged Lager’. (It’ll make sense when you read it.) If not exactly a return to local tastes as described by Monckton the failure of new breweries to engage with the market for lager does at least suggest — in some small way, in odd ways — some sort of shift.
And, while we’re pointing outwards, here’s a thought on a declaration by Carlsberg’s chief executive Julian Momen that the Danish giant is considering acquiring a UK craft brewery (http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Drinks/Beer/Carlsberg-plans-to-buy-UK-craft-brewery). Rather than join the (admittedly fun) game of guessing at specific breweries that might be in the frame (http://thebeercast.com/2017/05/one-will-betray.html)*we’ll just observer that previous UK acquisitions by global players have tended to be conservative. Camden, Meantime and Sharp’s all had strong brands popular in mainstream outlets; flagship beers at accessible strength (under 5% ABV); in classic styles (lager, bitter, pale ale); and straightforward, easy-drinking takes on those styles*at that. (We’re being polite to Doom Bar, there.) In other words, breweries that already act*‘global’ seem more likely candidates than those that go out of their way to express any particular local or otherwise distinct character.
The Loss of Local Preference as Observed in 1966 (http://boakandbailey.com/2017/05/the-loss-of-local-preference-as-observed-in-1966/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2017/05/the-loss-of-local-preference-as-observed-in-1966/)