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12-05-2020, 07:46
Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2020/05/uk-brewing-in-1950s.html)
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Just for a change, let's travel back to the 1950s rather than WW II.
Once into the 1950s, things began to pick up. Gravities crawled up a little, average OG hitting 1037º in 1951. Where it remained for several decades.
Worryingly for brewers, beer output and consumption continued to fall. The trend was only reversed in 1960. It’s no coincidence that was also the year there was a cut in the tax on beer. Even so, beer production didn’t get back to its 1948 level until 1967.
The restrictions on brewing were gradually relaxed. One of the main results of this was the replacement of flaked barley – which the government had forced brewers to use – by flaked maize, which had been the adjunct of choice before the war.
With building restrictions also relaxed, many brewers took the opportunity to enlarge or modernise their bottling plant. Bottled beer was all the rage and was one of the few growth areas. It also provided greater profit than draught beer.
In the early years of the 1950s really strong beers began to reappear for the first time since 1940. The coronation in 1953 in particular prompted the brewing of special celebratory strong beers. Some of these remained permanent fixtures.
The final years of the decade saw an upsurge of interest in Lager and many breweries, even quite small ones, starting brewing one.
UK beer production and average OG
Year
bulk barrels
average OG
1948
30,408,634
1032.66
1949
26,990,144
1033.43
1950
26,513,997
1033.88
1951
24,891,746
1036.99
1952
25,156,489
1037.07
1953
24,883,227
1036.87
1954
24,582,303
1036.97
1955
23,934,215
1037.13
1956
24,551,158
1037.22
1957
24,506,524
1037.42
1958
24,647,978
1037.48
1959
23,783,833
1037.52
1960
26,115,012
1037.25
1961
27,098,240
1037.41
1962
27,495,836
1037.70
1963
27,813,506
1037.70
1964
28,964,230
1037.66
1965
29,528,050
1037.67
Sources:
1955 Brewers' Almanack, pages 50 & 80.
1971 Brewers' Almanack, pages 45 & 75.
This is an excerpt from my book Austerity! Which you can buy here. All the fun of post-war Britain.
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Just for a change, let's travel back to the 1950s rather than WW II.
Once into the 1950s, things began to pick up. Gravities crawled up a little, average OG hitting 1037º in 1951. Where it remained for several decades.
Worryingly for brewers, beer output and consumption continued to fall. The trend was only reversed in 1960. It’s no coincidence that was also the year there was a cut in the tax on beer. Even so, beer production didn’t get back to its 1948 level until 1967.
The restrictions on brewing were gradually relaxed. One of the main results of this was the replacement of flaked barley – which the government had forced brewers to use – by flaked maize, which had been the adjunct of choice before the war.
With building restrictions also relaxed, many brewers took the opportunity to enlarge or modernise their bottling plant. Bottled beer was all the rage and was one of the few growth areas. It also provided greater profit than draught beer.
In the early years of the 1950s really strong beers began to reappear for the first time since 1940. The coronation in 1953 in particular prompted the brewing of special celebratory strong beers. Some of these remained permanent fixtures.
The final years of the decade saw an upsurge of interest in Lager and many breweries, even quite small ones, starting brewing one.
UK beer production and average OG
Year
bulk barrels
average OG
1948
30,408,634
1032.66
1949
26,990,144
1033.43
1950
26,513,997
1033.88
1951
24,891,746
1036.99
1952
25,156,489
1037.07
1953
24,883,227
1036.87
1954
24,582,303
1036.97
1955
23,934,215
1037.13
1956
24,551,158
1037.22
1957
24,506,524
1037.42
1958
24,647,978
1037.48
1959
23,783,833
1037.52
1960
26,115,012
1037.25
1961
27,098,240
1037.41
1962
27,495,836
1037.70
1963
27,813,506
1037.70
1964
28,964,230
1037.66
1965
29,528,050
1037.67
Sources:
1955 Brewers' Almanack, pages 50 & 80.
1971 Brewers' Almanack, pages 45 & 75.
This is an excerpt from my book Austerity! Which you can buy here. All the fun of post-war Britain.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/austerity/23181344 (http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/austerity/23181344)
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Labels: my books (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/search/label/my%20books)
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2020/05/uk-brewing-in-1950s.html)