Shut up about Barclay Perkins - London Mild before WW II

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As before WW I, London tended to have stronger examples than more rural districts. The difference after WW I, was that the price was around the same for a beer of the same strength whether you were in London or the provinces.

While London brewers often had three Milds of different strengths: Ale at 1028-1030º retailing for 4d per pint, standard Mild at 1034-38º for 5d per pint and Best Mild at 1042-1044º for 6d per pint.

By far the most common of the three types was 5d Mild. The cheaper Ale was mostly brewed in tiny quantities. For example, in 1938 Whitbread brewed 4,237 barrels of LA, their 4d Mild and 216,200 barrels of X Ale, a 5d beer.

Not every London brewer produced all three classes of Mild. Whitbread, for example, only had a 4d and 5d version. While Fullers brewed a 5d and a 6d Mild, but no 4d. It probably depended on the types of pub a brewery owned.

In general, London Milds were quite dark – in the 80-90º L range. But there were still plenty of semi-dark examples. Barclay Perkins X and XX were both around 45º L as brewed, but there were also versions of both that were coloured up with caramel at racking time to the darker 80-90º L shade.

These are some examples of London Milds in the cheapest price class:

London 4d Mild Ale before WW II
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (d)	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1939	Barclay Perkins	A	4	1030.8	1007.5	3.08	75.65%
1935	Charrington	Ale	4	1031.5
1935	Mann Crossman	Brandon's LA	4	1031	1004.4	3.46	85.81%
1935	Meux	Ale	4	1028.3
1935	Truman	Ale	4	1030.0
1935	Watney	Ale	4	1031.5
1938	Whitbread	LA	4	1028.3	1008.0	2.69	71.73%	80
	Average		4	1030.2	1006.6	3.08	77.73%	80.0
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.
Whitbread brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/01/105.
Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/01/623.
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252.

These are some Ordinary Milds:

London 5d Mild Ale before WW II
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (d)	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1938	Barclay Perkins	X	5	1037.8	1011.9	3.35	68.52%
1938	Charrington	X	5	1037.8	1011.9	3.35	68.52%
1937	Courage	X	5	1035.3	1007.9	3.56	77.62%
1938	Fullers	X	5	1032.3	1006.6	3.40	79.43%
1938	Ind Coope	X	5	1036.1
1938	Mann Crossman	X (5d)	5	1035	1010.3	3.20	70.57%
1937	Meux	X	5	1036.7	1009.7	3.50	73.57%
1938	Taylor Walker	X	5	1034.2	1012.9	2.75	62.28%
1938	Truman	X	5	1037.1	1009.9	3.53	73.32%	90
1938	Watney	X	5	1036.6	1012.6	3.10	65.57%	105
1938	Wenlock	X	5	1038.8
1937	Whitbread	X	5	1038.6
	Average		5	1036.4	1010.4	3.30	71.04%	97.5
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252.

And finally Best Milds:

London 6d Mild Ale before WW II
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (d)	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1938	Barclay Perkins	XX	6	1042.5
1937	Courage	MC	6	1039.3	1011.1	3.74	71.83%
1938	Fullers	XX	6	1042.5	1009.4	4.37	77.82%
1938	Mann Crossman	X (6d)	6	1040.7	1008.8	4.15	78.38%	90
1937	Taylor Walker	X	6	1042.6	1012.8	3.86	69.95%
	Average		6	1041.5	1010.5	4.03	74.50%	90.0
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.
Courage brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/08/263.
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252.

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