Shut up about Barclay Perkins - A nip in the air calls for

Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site

By the end of 1949 few genuinely strong beers were starteing to escape from breweries. Some were even confident enough of their ability to supply such beers that they advertised them. Like Friary, with their Audit Ale.

Audit Ales were extremely strong beers originally brewed once a year for colleges at Oxford and Cambridge. After they closed down their own brewhouses, the colleges contracted the brewing out to commercial brewers.

I'm not sure that Friary's Audit Ale has any connection with either university and genuine Audit Ales. Other than it being pretty strong.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wY1Robyob...Ale_1949_a.jpg

"A nip in the air calls for FRIARY AUDIT ALE
There's nothing like a nip of Friary Audit Ale for making you forget the weather. Extra strong, and specially brewed to take the sting out of an English Winter, Friary Audit at 15/6d. per dozen nips coats that little extra — but by Jove it’s worth it!
THE STRONG ALE THAT WARMS LIKE WINE
TYLER & CO LTD
WOKING SURREY"
Chichester Observer - Saturday 03 December 1949, page 7.

And exactly how strong was extra strong? Around 8% ABV is the answer. So genuinely pretty strong. Here are the details of it and some other beers of the period, inlcuding several Audit Ales.

Audit Ale and other Strong Ales 1948 - 1958
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (d)	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1948	Usher	Strong Ale		1090.5	1024.5	8.63	72.93%
1949	Flower	Extra Strong		1078	1012	8.68	84.62%
1949	Fowler	Prestonpans Twelve Guinea Ale	45	1077.7	1030.3	6.13	61.00%	100
1949	Mann Crossman	Strong Ale	30	1071.2				128
1951	Barclay Perkins	Strong Ale	37	1079	1011	8.96	86.08%	120
1951	Friary	Audit Strong Ale	46.5	1084.6	1022.1	8.17	73.88%	52
1953	Friary Holroyd	Audit Ale	45	1084	1025.1	7.67	70.12%	52
1955	Dales (Brewed by Wells & Winch)	Audit Ale	36	1062.2	1023.5	5.00	62.22%	115
1955	Greene King	Audit Ale	36	1083.2	1017.7	8.59	78.73%	100
1955	Wells & Winch	Audit Ale	36	1062.2	1023.3	5.03	62.54%	115
1958	Lacons	Audit Ale	54	1095	1017.8	9.65	81.26%	90
Sources:
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252.
Thomas Usher Gravity Book held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document TU/6/11.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Not that the Friary beer was quite a bit paler than all the other Audit Ales.

More...