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28-03-2019, 07:13
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In WW II, the Republic of Ireland was in a similar position to The Netherlands or Denmark in WW I: not directly involved in the conflict but still greatly affected by it.

Disruption of international trade was the main problem faced by Irish brewing. Which made the shipping in of ingredients and shipping out of beer (Ireland being a big exporter) much trickier. For hops they had always depended on imports, but during the war it was also necessary to import barley. We’ll get to why later.

Luckily, the biggest export market was close at hand: the UK. Before the war, good for around 1 million barrels a year. Almost all of it was in the form of Guinness. Despite owning a brewery in London, Guinness still shipped large quantities of beer from Dublin to the UK.

Irish beer production held up very well during the war. It remained steady in terms of standard barrels and increased considerably in terms of bulk barrels, due to the fall in gravity. I’m slightly surprised by the increase in consumption

The border between the two parts of Ireland is notoriously difficult to control. Its course is fairly random, never having been intended to be an international border, and is crossed by dozens of tiny roads. Was that beer really being drunk in the South, or was some being smuggled into Northern Ireland?

Before the war, a very high percentage of Irish beer was exported, over 50%. Despite the relative ease of exporting to the UK, the war did impact exports. They fell considerably in the middle years of the war. This was partly due to a dispute between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.




Changes in UK and Republic of Ireland brewing 1938 - 1949



Output; Standard barrels
Bulk barrels
Consumption bulk barrels
Average Gravity
Exports: Standard barrels


Ireland
-2.68%
20.73%
79.49%
-19.35%
-28.75%


UK
-9.11%
11.50%
10.06%
-18.50%
-9.68%


Sources:


Brewers' Almanack 1955, pages 50 and 57.


“1955 Brewers' Almanack”, pages 107 - 110.



Once the war was over, exports picked up again. The 1949 figure of 760,000 barrels may look considerably smaller than the million barrels of 1938, but they’re standard barrels. In 1938, when Guinness Extra Stout had an OG of 1055º, the standard and bulk barrel figures were about the same. But 760,000 standard barrels is around a million bulk barrels at 1042º.

As in the UK, beer gravity fell during the war, from 1052º to 1042º. In percentage terms, the fall was just shy of 20%, which is even slightly more than the fall in the UK. Though it did kick off the war 10º higher. Unsurprisingly, average Irish OG is eerily close to the OG of Guinness Extra Stout at the time.

In most aspects, Irish brewing fared better than that in the UK. Output, in terms of standard barrels, was only slightly down, while in the UK the decline was almost 10%.




Irish brewing 1938 - 1949


Year
Output; Standard barrels
Bulk barrels
Consumption bulk barrels
Average Gravity
Exports: Standard barrels
% exported


1938
1,652,844
1,755,774
623,238
1051.78
1,066,094
64.50%


1939
1,368,661
1,472,678
643,495
1051.12
770,562
56.30%


1940
1,401,188
1,494,036
651,858
1051.58
789,864
56.37%


1941
1,335,171
1,465,569
623,387
1050.11
767,209
57.46%


1942
1,451,782
1,750,140
659,008
1045.62
905,165
62.35%


1943
1,293,862
1,631,009
759,621
1043.63
691,275
53.43%


1944
1,242,754
1,534,040
937,509
1044.57
483,031
38.87%


1945
1,458,419
1,798,450
982,533
1044.60
661,674
45.37%


1946
1,665,815
2,063,093
1,069,649
1044.41
802,122
48.15%


1947
1,480,769
1,952,583
1,060,552
1041.71
676,485
45.68%


1948
1,490,218
1,988,580
1,046,639
1041.51
700,291
46.99%


1949
1,608,606
2,119,583
1,117,859
1041.76
759,846
47.24%


change 1938 - 1949
-2.68%
20.73%
79.49%
-19.35%
-28.75%
-26.77%


Source:


“1955 Brewers' Almanack”, pages 107 - 110.




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