Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site

I never dreamt when I first got interested in beer seriously in the 1970's that one day I'd be writing about Skol. Stuff I wouldn't have baited a slug trap with.

The beer had a far more interesting history than I could have imagined. And one that winds in and out of a few obsessions of mine.

Where does the story begin? At the end of the 19th century in Burton, of all places. Allsopp, deciding that Lager was going to be the next big thing, bought a state of the art Lager brewery from the USA. It opened in 1899, just as Allsopp was starting to get into serious financial difficulties. They did have a degree of success with their Lager, especially in export markets, but their Pale Ale trade collapsed. Between 1900 and 1910 Allsopp's sales fell by 40%. By 1911 a receiver had been appointed to run the business.

In 1912, John Calder of Calder's Brewery in Alloa was brought in to run Allsopp. This forged a link between Allsopp and Alloa that was to play a key role in the later formation of Allied Breweries. It also brought Lager brewing to Alloa, for in 1921 Allsopp's Lager plant, which had lain idle in Burton, was moved to Arrol's Brewery, where John Calder was also a director. In 1927 a new beer was brewed in Arrol's Lager brewery - Graham's Golden Lager.

It was a big success. As Arrol's were brewing all their Lagers, it's no surprise that Allsopp's took a controlling interest in the company in 1930, even before their 1934 merger with Ind Coope. Arrol's was completely bought out in 1951 and the brewery converted to a Lager-only plant.

In 1959, Graham's Golden Lager was rebranded ads Skol, though for a while it had the ungainly name of Graham's Skol Lager. It became the main Lager of Ind Coope and later the whole Allied Breweries group. Allied Breweries set up an international consortium in 1964 to brew Skol abroad and soon it was being made in more than a dozen countries. And, though British Skol went to the great cellar in the sky, it's still brewed in several countries.

That's got the history out of the way. Now we can get onto the beer itself. Luckily, I've quite a few analyses from across the years.


Graham's Golden Lager / Skol 1933 - 1994
Year Brewer Beer
Price
 size package Acidity FG OG colour ABV App. Atten-uation
1933 Alloa Brewery Graham's Golden Lager

pint bottled
1010.5
1044.5

4.42
76.40%
1939 Alloa Brewery Graham's Golden Lager

bottled
0.04
1008.6
1045.2
8.5
4.77
80.97%
1950 Alloa Brewery Graham's Golden Lager
15d
 half bottled
0.05
1010.6
1040.6
9
3.89
73.89%
1952 Alloa Brewery Graham's Golden Lager
15d
 half bottled
0.04
1014.3
1039.2
15
3.22
63.52%
1957 Alloa Brewery Graham's Pilsener Lager
20d
 half bottled
0.04
1007.2
1035.6
9
3.69
79.78%
1957 Alloa Brewery Graham's Golden Lager

half bottled
0.04
1007.3
1030.4
11
3.00
75.99%
1960 Alloa Brewery Skol Pilsner Lager
18d
 half bottled
0.04
1007
1033.4
8
3.30
79.04%
1961 Ind Coope Grahams Skol
20d
 half bottled
0.03
1007.2
1033.6
9.5
3.30
78.57%
1961 Ind Coope Grahams Skol
20d
 half bottled
0.03
1007.2
1033.6
9.5
3.43
78.57%
1962 Ind Coope Skol Export
24d
 half bottled
0.04
1008.3
1035.4
8
3.52
76.55%
1962 Ind Coope Skol Pilsener
19d
 half bottled
0.04
1006.4
1033.9
7
3.57
81.12%
1963 Ind Coope Skol Pilsener
21d
 half bottled
0.04
1006.5
1033.6
8.5
3.52
80.65%
1972 Allied Breweries Skol
15p
 pint draught
1007
1033.2

3.40
78.92%
1994 Ind Coope (Burton) Skol Lager

pint bottled

3.60
Sources:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002
Daily Mirror July 10th 1972, page 15
The Best of British Bottled Beer

The first thing that strikes me is the gravity. Up until 1952, the gravity is above the average for all beer brewed in the UK. Soon after the complete takeover of Arrols by Ind Coope (coincidence?), the gravity drops below the average and remains around 11% below it.


Skol OG and average OG
year Skol OG average OG difference
1933
1044.5
1039.52
11.19%
1939
1045.2
1040.93
9.45%
1950
1040.6
1033.88
16.55%
1952
1039.2
1037.07
5.43%
1957
1035.6
1037.42
-5.11%
1957
1030.4
1037.42
-23.09%
1960
1033.4
1037.25
-11.53%
1961
1033.6
1037.41
-11.34%
1961
1033.6
1037.70
-12.20%
1962
1035.4
1037.70
-6.50%
1962
1033.9
1037.70
-11.21%
1963
1033.6
1037.70
-12.20%
1972
1033.2
1036.90
-11.14%
Sources:
Brewers' Almanack 1955, p. 50
Brewers' Almanack 1962, p. 48
Brewers' Almanack 1971, p. 45
Statistical Handbook of the British Beer & Pub Association 2005, p. 7


To give some idea of just how bad value for money Skol was, in 1962 a half pint bottle of Double Diamond cost 15d, 4d less that Skol though its gravity was 13 points higher at 1047ยบ. remeber that Double Diamond was a heavily-promoted, premium product. A pint of Ind Coope Mild Ale, with a gravity almost exactly the same as Skol, cost just 14d that year. Or less than half the price for the same amount of alcohol. It makes you realise why large breweries pushed Lager and neglected Mild.

Which has prompted me to think of another reason beer styles decline and die. When a style becomes the most popular, it's very difficult to keep selling it as a premium price. It's new types of beer, fashionable ones, that can demand a higher price. So there's a clear financial incentive for brewers to push the new at the expense of the old.


More...