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10-06-2021, 19:48
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“Which brands would have been available in an ordinary English pub of the 1950s or 1960s, including spirits and wines?” – paraphrased from correspondence To answer this, let’s pick a year; and let’s make that year 1965 because we’ve got a good reference to hand: James H. Coombs’ Bar Service: careers behind the bar – volume one.
We’ve written about this little volume before. First, there was a post about its advice on beer (https://boakandbailey.com/2017/03/advice-pub-staff-1965/). Then there was a companion piece with some nuggets on pub life (https://boakandbailey.com/2017/03/advice-pub-staff-1965-pt-2-pub-life/).
The bit we’re going to look at today, though, is arguably the most boring section in which Mr Coombs provides a long list of the types and variety of booze a good pub ought to carry.
Here’s the raw information from those, oof, twelve chapters. We’ve only included items where a brand name was mentioned, plus a couple of example of beers where ‘brewery’s own’ would be the brand.
Bottled beers
Brand
Pale ale (light ale)
Brewery’s own
Brown ale
Brewery’s own
Double Diamond
Ind Coope
John Courage (JC)
Courage
Red Barrel
Watney Mann
Ben Truman (Ben)
Truman
Barley Wine
Brewery’s own
IPA
Worthington
Colne Spring Ale
Benskins (Ind Coope)
White Shield (natural beer’)
Worthington
Bass (Red Shield – ‘natural beer’)
Bass
Green Shield (pasteurised)
Worthington
Bass (Blue Triangle – pasteurised)
Bass
Lager
Carlsberg
Lager
Tuborg
Lager
Holston
Lager
Löwenbräu
Lager
Oranjeboom
Lager
Heineken
SKOL
Ind Coope
Black Label
Carling
Guinness
Harp
Mackeson (milk stout)
Mackeson (Whitbread)
Guinness Extra Stout
Guinness
Russian Stout
Barclay’s (Courage)
Draught beers (cask)
Brand
Mild ale (XX)
Brewery’s own
Bitter
Brewery’s own
Bass
Bass
E
Worthington
Draught beers (keg)
Brand
Red Barrel
Watney Mann
Red Hand
Ind Coope
Toby
Charrington
Flowers
Flowers (Whitbread)
Tankard
Whitbread
Tavern
Courage
Bass
Bass
E
Worthington
Cider
Brand
Apple Vintage Wine
Merrydown
Babycham (sweet)
Showerings
Babycham (dry)
Showerings
Baby Bubbly
Goldwell
Pink Lady
Goldwell
Soft drinks and mixers
Brand
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Pepsi-Cola
Pepsi
7-Up
7-Up
Perrier Water
Perrier
Vichy Water
Various
Apollinaris (water)
Apollinaris
Hunyadi-Janos (water)
n/a
Contrexeville (water)
Perrier
Evian (water)
Evian
Malvern (water)
Schweppes
Buxton (water)
Buxton Mineral Water Co.
Springwell (water)
n/a
Wines
Brand
Tio Pepe (sherry)
González Byass
Dry Fly (sherry)
Imported by Findlater Mackie Todd
Double Century (sherry)
Pedro Domecq
Celebration Cream (sherry)
Pedro Domecq
Bristol Cream (sherry)
Harvey’s
Bristol Milk (sherry)
Harvey’s
Bristol Dry (sherry)
Harvey’s
Various sherries
Wiliams and Humbert
Carlito (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Dry Sack (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Canasta Cream (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Walnut Brown (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Various sherries
Varela
Port
Croft, Dow, Fonseca, Cockburn, Sandeman, Warre, Rebello Valente, Taylor, etc.
Porto Branco
Sandeman’s
Champagne
Ayala, Bollinger, Clicquot, Goulet, Heidsieck, Pol Roger, Moet, etc.
Ginger Wine
Stone’s
Vermouth
Martini
Vermouth
Noilly Prat
Vermouth
Cinzano
Spirits
Brand
“Straw-tinted” gin
Booth’s
Gin (Geneva)
Holland’s
Gin
Plymouth
London Dry Gin
Squires
London Dry Gin
Cornhill
Fruit cup
Pimm’s
Caroni Rum
Tate & Lyle
Lemon Hart Rum
United Rum Merchants
Lamb’s Navy Rum
United Rum Merchants
Daiquiri Rum
United Rum Merchants
Ron Bacardi
Bacardi
Various brandies
Martell, Hennessy, Otard, Courvoisier, Remy Martin, etc.
Bitters and aperitifs
Brand
Bitters
Angostura
Bitters
Underberg
Fernet-Branca
Fratelli Branca
Dubonnet
Dubonnet
Pernod 45
Pernod
Amer
Picon
Now, clearly, you wouldn’t find all of these in every pub but, per the original query, if you included these brands as dressing for a film set in 1965, they’d probably look appropriate.
So, that’s the boring list. What about other, sexier sources? Advertising from the period, for example…
https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stones_wines.jpg?resize=580%2C425&ssl=1SOURCE: Brewery Manual 1966. https://i2.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/heineken_1965.jpg?resize=580%2C928&ssl=1SOURCE: Brewery Manual 1966. https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/varela_sherry_1965.jpg?resize=580%2C931&ssl=1SOURC E: Brewery Manual 1966. …or beer mats…
https://i2.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/beer_mats_1960s.jpg?resize=580%2C369&ssl=1Some beer mats from our collection from the 1960s and 70s. … or old photos.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/crown_hotel_hadleigh.jpg?resize=580%2C326&ssl=1The Crown Hotel, Hadleigh, 1965. SOURCE: Hadleigh and Thundersleigh Community Archive. (https://www.hadleighhistory.org.uk/content/main-subjects/places/place/the_crown_hotel_hadleigh) In the above pic, also from 1965, we can’t make out many brands but we’ve definitely got Watney’s Red Barrel, Double Diamond and something not on Mr Coombs’s list, Tia Maria.
FAQ: Which brands would have been on sale in a 1960s pub? (https://boakandbailey.com/2021/06/faq-which-brands-would-have-been-on-sale-in-a-1960s-pub/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (https://boakandbailey.com)
More... (https://boakandbailey.com/2021/06/faq-which-brands-would-have-been-on-sale-in-a-1960s-pub/)
“Which brands would have been available in an ordinary English pub of the 1950s or 1960s, including spirits and wines?” – paraphrased from correspondence To answer this, let’s pick a year; and let’s make that year 1965 because we’ve got a good reference to hand: James H. Coombs’ Bar Service: careers behind the bar – volume one.
We’ve written about this little volume before. First, there was a post about its advice on beer (https://boakandbailey.com/2017/03/advice-pub-staff-1965/). Then there was a companion piece with some nuggets on pub life (https://boakandbailey.com/2017/03/advice-pub-staff-1965-pt-2-pub-life/).
The bit we’re going to look at today, though, is arguably the most boring section in which Mr Coombs provides a long list of the types and variety of booze a good pub ought to carry.
Here’s the raw information from those, oof, twelve chapters. We’ve only included items where a brand name was mentioned, plus a couple of example of beers where ‘brewery’s own’ would be the brand.
Bottled beers
Brand
Pale ale (light ale)
Brewery’s own
Brown ale
Brewery’s own
Double Diamond
Ind Coope
John Courage (JC)
Courage
Red Barrel
Watney Mann
Ben Truman (Ben)
Truman
Barley Wine
Brewery’s own
IPA
Worthington
Colne Spring Ale
Benskins (Ind Coope)
White Shield (natural beer’)
Worthington
Bass (Red Shield – ‘natural beer’)
Bass
Green Shield (pasteurised)
Worthington
Bass (Blue Triangle – pasteurised)
Bass
Lager
Carlsberg
Lager
Tuborg
Lager
Holston
Lager
Löwenbräu
Lager
Oranjeboom
Lager
Heineken
SKOL
Ind Coope
Black Label
Carling
Guinness
Harp
Mackeson (milk stout)
Mackeson (Whitbread)
Guinness Extra Stout
Guinness
Russian Stout
Barclay’s (Courage)
Draught beers (cask)
Brand
Mild ale (XX)
Brewery’s own
Bitter
Brewery’s own
Bass
Bass
E
Worthington
Draught beers (keg)
Brand
Red Barrel
Watney Mann
Red Hand
Ind Coope
Toby
Charrington
Flowers
Flowers (Whitbread)
Tankard
Whitbread
Tavern
Courage
Bass
Bass
E
Worthington
Cider
Brand
Apple Vintage Wine
Merrydown
Babycham (sweet)
Showerings
Babycham (dry)
Showerings
Baby Bubbly
Goldwell
Pink Lady
Goldwell
Soft drinks and mixers
Brand
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Pepsi-Cola
Pepsi
7-Up
7-Up
Perrier Water
Perrier
Vichy Water
Various
Apollinaris (water)
Apollinaris
Hunyadi-Janos (water)
n/a
Contrexeville (water)
Perrier
Evian (water)
Evian
Malvern (water)
Schweppes
Buxton (water)
Buxton Mineral Water Co.
Springwell (water)
n/a
Wines
Brand
Tio Pepe (sherry)
González Byass
Dry Fly (sherry)
Imported by Findlater Mackie Todd
Double Century (sherry)
Pedro Domecq
Celebration Cream (sherry)
Pedro Domecq
Bristol Cream (sherry)
Harvey’s
Bristol Milk (sherry)
Harvey’s
Bristol Dry (sherry)
Harvey’s
Various sherries
Wiliams and Humbert
Carlito (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Dry Sack (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Canasta Cream (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Walnut Brown (sherry)
Wiliams and Humbert
Various sherries
Varela
Port
Croft, Dow, Fonseca, Cockburn, Sandeman, Warre, Rebello Valente, Taylor, etc.
Porto Branco
Sandeman’s
Champagne
Ayala, Bollinger, Clicquot, Goulet, Heidsieck, Pol Roger, Moet, etc.
Ginger Wine
Stone’s
Vermouth
Martini
Vermouth
Noilly Prat
Vermouth
Cinzano
Spirits
Brand
“Straw-tinted” gin
Booth’s
Gin (Geneva)
Holland’s
Gin
Plymouth
London Dry Gin
Squires
London Dry Gin
Cornhill
Fruit cup
Pimm’s
Caroni Rum
Tate & Lyle
Lemon Hart Rum
United Rum Merchants
Lamb’s Navy Rum
United Rum Merchants
Daiquiri Rum
United Rum Merchants
Ron Bacardi
Bacardi
Various brandies
Martell, Hennessy, Otard, Courvoisier, Remy Martin, etc.
Bitters and aperitifs
Brand
Bitters
Angostura
Bitters
Underberg
Fernet-Branca
Fratelli Branca
Dubonnet
Dubonnet
Pernod 45
Pernod
Amer
Picon
Now, clearly, you wouldn’t find all of these in every pub but, per the original query, if you included these brands as dressing for a film set in 1965, they’d probably look appropriate.
So, that’s the boring list. What about other, sexier sources? Advertising from the period, for example…
https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/stones_wines.jpg?resize=580%2C425&ssl=1SOURCE: Brewery Manual 1966. https://i2.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/heineken_1965.jpg?resize=580%2C928&ssl=1SOURCE: Brewery Manual 1966. https://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/varela_sherry_1965.jpg?resize=580%2C931&ssl=1SOURC E: Brewery Manual 1966. …or beer mats…
https://i2.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/beer_mats_1960s.jpg?resize=580%2C369&ssl=1Some beer mats from our collection from the 1960s and 70s. … or old photos.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/crown_hotel_hadleigh.jpg?resize=580%2C326&ssl=1The Crown Hotel, Hadleigh, 1965. SOURCE: Hadleigh and Thundersleigh Community Archive. (https://www.hadleighhistory.org.uk/content/main-subjects/places/place/the_crown_hotel_hadleigh) In the above pic, also from 1965, we can’t make out many brands but we’ve definitely got Watney’s Red Barrel, Double Diamond and something not on Mr Coombs’s list, Tia Maria.
FAQ: Which brands would have been on sale in a 1960s pub? (https://boakandbailey.com/2021/06/faq-which-brands-would-have-been-on-sale-in-a-1960s-pub/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (https://boakandbailey.com)
More... (https://boakandbailey.com/2021/06/faq-which-brands-would-have-been-on-sale-in-a-1960s-pub/)