Blog Tracker
13-07-2023, 07:40
Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2023/07/brown-ale-in-1972.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjbS1H_41WBrpf02r5gVPPP2eauq95NWuTKnwGC3MWS rUlgII6xq7UvNq1sXkn2hGfuhxkQ6I0O-dfbLUyACR81-ReOQsixriQK2E6LICsJhXp89LJmSTXd3Wj68NMNdJ7OP0asZzh 2nCmQ1ZyZI8FOhnckbtv6n6Yp9a8OdqkUEr1Q505nhj3qrjELk/w253-h400/Cook_Nut_Brown_Ale.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjbS1H_41WBrpf02r5gVPPP2eauq95NWuTKnwGC3MWS rUlgII6xq7UvNq1sXkn2hGfuhxkQ6I0O-dfbLUyACR81-ReOQsixriQK2E6LICsJhXp89LJmSTXd3Wj68NMNdJ7OP0asZzh 2nCmQ1ZyZI8FOhnckbtv6n6Yp9a8OdqkUEr1Q505nhj3qrjELk/s1005/Cook_Nut_Brown_Ale.jpg)
A slight change of pace as we look at a bottled beer, rather than the draught beers discussed before.
It's a shame that most of the Mirror articles only covered draught beers. It did make sense, as, at the time, the vast majority of beer was drunk in draught form: around 80%. But it means that I have little information on the bottled beers of the 1970s. As the Good Beer Guide only listed the OG of draught beers. Other than the handful of beers which were still being bottle conditioned.
We're starting with Brown Ale. A style which had been very popular between the wars and in the 1950s, but which had started to fall out of favour by the 1970s. It's not a type of beer I ever considered drinking. Mostly on cost grounds. Now I realise that most of the examples were also barely alcoholic.
The cheaper examples come out at 12p or 14p per pint. More expensive than Mild, which was around 11p. But also weaker. Only five of the Brown Ales are over 3% ABV. And two of those are the very atypical Newcastle Brown and Double Maxim.
Worst value, now here's a surprise, were the London-brewed beers. Which averaged a pathetic 2.7% ABV. Mostly as a result of poor attenuation. In that respect they parallel London Mild Ales. Just even weaker.
The beers from the North and the Midlands generally show a greater degree of attenuation. And average almost 3.5% ABV. Take out the two strong ones, and it comes to ever so slightly above 3% ABV. Still not great, but at least intoxicating. Interesting that those two strong ones were some of the best value, with Double Maxim far out in front.
The Southern beers were even more poorly attenuated than those from London. and averaged a pathetic 2.53% ABV. I wonder if drinkers were aware of just how watery Brown Ale was. I can only imagine that such a revelation would have reduced demand even more.
What next? Maybe Light Ale. A type of beer which is almost totally extinct.
Brown Ale in 1972
Brewer
Beer
Price per half pint (p)
ยบ gravity per p
% ABV per p
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
London
Truman
Trubrown
8.5
3.76
0.29
1032
1012.6
2.50
60.62%
Charrington
Toby Brown Ale
8
3.89
0.31
1031.1
1011.7
2.50
62.38%
Young
Brown Ale
8
3.96
0.37
1031.7
1008.6
3.00
73.03%
Mann
Brown Ale
8
4.15
0.31
1033.2
1013.8
2.50
58.43%
Whitbread
Forest Brown Ale
7
4.61
0.40
1032.3
1010.65
2.80
67.03%
Courage
Brown Ale
7
4.81
0.41
1033.7
1011.3
2.90
66.47%
Average
7.8
4.20
0.35
1032.3
1011.4
2.70
64.66%
Midlands and North
Wolverhampton & Dudley
Banks Brown Ale
8
4.16
0.38
1033.3
1010.1
3.00
69.67%
Theakston
Brown Ale
9
3.47
0.32
1031.2
1008.8
2.90
71.79%
Scottish & Newcastle
Newcastle Brown Ale
9.75
4.71
0.46
1045.9
1011.3
4.50
75.49%
Vaux
Double Maxim
8.5
5.16
0.49
1043.9
1011.5
4.20
73.80%
Jennings
Castle Brown Ale
9
3.73
0.38
1033.6
1007.4
3.40
77.98%
Greenall Whitley
Bullseye
8
4.20
0.35
1033.6
1011.9
2.80
64.58%
Average
8.7
4.24
0.40
1036.9
1010.2
3.47
72.22%
South
Greene King
Harvest Brown Ale
7.5
4.36
0.37
1032.7
1011.1
2.80
66.21%
Ind Coope
Brown Ale
7
4.57
0.34
1032
1013.4
2.40
58.13%
Cook
Nutbrown Ale
7
4.70
0.34
1032.9
1014.3
2.40
56.53%
Adnams
Brown Ale
6
4.97
0.42
1029.8
1010.5
2.50
64.93%
Devenish
Bosun Brown Ale
8.75
3.68
0.31
1032.2
1011.3
2.70
64.91%
Hall & Woodhouse
John Brown
8
4.25
0.30
1034
1015.4
2.40
54.71%
Average
7.4
4.42
0.35
1032.3
1012.7
2.53
60.90%
Source:
Daily Mirror - Tuesday 11 July 1972, page 9
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2023/07/brown-ale-in-1972.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjbS1H_41WBrpf02r5gVPPP2eauq95NWuTKnwGC3MWS rUlgII6xq7UvNq1sXkn2hGfuhxkQ6I0O-dfbLUyACR81-ReOQsixriQK2E6LICsJhXp89LJmSTXd3Wj68NMNdJ7OP0asZzh 2nCmQ1ZyZI8FOhnckbtv6n6Yp9a8OdqkUEr1Q505nhj3qrjELk/w253-h400/Cook_Nut_Brown_Ale.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjbS1H_41WBrpf02r5gVPPP2eauq95NWuTKnwGC3MWS rUlgII6xq7UvNq1sXkn2hGfuhxkQ6I0O-dfbLUyACR81-ReOQsixriQK2E6LICsJhXp89LJmSTXd3Wj68NMNdJ7OP0asZzh 2nCmQ1ZyZI8FOhnckbtv6n6Yp9a8OdqkUEr1Q505nhj3qrjELk/s1005/Cook_Nut_Brown_Ale.jpg)
A slight change of pace as we look at a bottled beer, rather than the draught beers discussed before.
It's a shame that most of the Mirror articles only covered draught beers. It did make sense, as, at the time, the vast majority of beer was drunk in draught form: around 80%. But it means that I have little information on the bottled beers of the 1970s. As the Good Beer Guide only listed the OG of draught beers. Other than the handful of beers which were still being bottle conditioned.
We're starting with Brown Ale. A style which had been very popular between the wars and in the 1950s, but which had started to fall out of favour by the 1970s. It's not a type of beer I ever considered drinking. Mostly on cost grounds. Now I realise that most of the examples were also barely alcoholic.
The cheaper examples come out at 12p or 14p per pint. More expensive than Mild, which was around 11p. But also weaker. Only five of the Brown Ales are over 3% ABV. And two of those are the very atypical Newcastle Brown and Double Maxim.
Worst value, now here's a surprise, were the London-brewed beers. Which averaged a pathetic 2.7% ABV. Mostly as a result of poor attenuation. In that respect they parallel London Mild Ales. Just even weaker.
The beers from the North and the Midlands generally show a greater degree of attenuation. And average almost 3.5% ABV. Take out the two strong ones, and it comes to ever so slightly above 3% ABV. Still not great, but at least intoxicating. Interesting that those two strong ones were some of the best value, with Double Maxim far out in front.
The Southern beers were even more poorly attenuated than those from London. and averaged a pathetic 2.53% ABV. I wonder if drinkers were aware of just how watery Brown Ale was. I can only imagine that such a revelation would have reduced demand even more.
What next? Maybe Light Ale. A type of beer which is almost totally extinct.
Brown Ale in 1972
Brewer
Beer
Price per half pint (p)
ยบ gravity per p
% ABV per p
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
London
Truman
Trubrown
8.5
3.76
0.29
1032
1012.6
2.50
60.62%
Charrington
Toby Brown Ale
8
3.89
0.31
1031.1
1011.7
2.50
62.38%
Young
Brown Ale
8
3.96
0.37
1031.7
1008.6
3.00
73.03%
Mann
Brown Ale
8
4.15
0.31
1033.2
1013.8
2.50
58.43%
Whitbread
Forest Brown Ale
7
4.61
0.40
1032.3
1010.65
2.80
67.03%
Courage
Brown Ale
7
4.81
0.41
1033.7
1011.3
2.90
66.47%
Average
7.8
4.20
0.35
1032.3
1011.4
2.70
64.66%
Midlands and North
Wolverhampton & Dudley
Banks Brown Ale
8
4.16
0.38
1033.3
1010.1
3.00
69.67%
Theakston
Brown Ale
9
3.47
0.32
1031.2
1008.8
2.90
71.79%
Scottish & Newcastle
Newcastle Brown Ale
9.75
4.71
0.46
1045.9
1011.3
4.50
75.49%
Vaux
Double Maxim
8.5
5.16
0.49
1043.9
1011.5
4.20
73.80%
Jennings
Castle Brown Ale
9
3.73
0.38
1033.6
1007.4
3.40
77.98%
Greenall Whitley
Bullseye
8
4.20
0.35
1033.6
1011.9
2.80
64.58%
Average
8.7
4.24
0.40
1036.9
1010.2
3.47
72.22%
South
Greene King
Harvest Brown Ale
7.5
4.36
0.37
1032.7
1011.1
2.80
66.21%
Ind Coope
Brown Ale
7
4.57
0.34
1032
1013.4
2.40
58.13%
Cook
Nutbrown Ale
7
4.70
0.34
1032.9
1014.3
2.40
56.53%
Adnams
Brown Ale
6
4.97
0.42
1029.8
1010.5
2.50
64.93%
Devenish
Bosun Brown Ale
8.75
3.68
0.31
1032.2
1011.3
2.70
64.91%
Hall & Woodhouse
John Brown
8
4.25
0.30
1034
1015.4
2.40
54.71%
Average
7.4
4.42
0.35
1032.3
1012.7
2.53
60.90%
Source:
Daily Mirror - Tuesday 11 July 1972, page 9
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2023/07/brown-ale-in-1972.html)