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Shut up about Barclay Perkins - The effect of WW I on British brewing
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It would be easy to see WW I as marking the end of the glory days of British brewing. Many aspects of Britain's brewing industry were irrevocably changed by the war. Exports and gravities would never be as high again. Even worse, much of the fight was knocked out of brewers. Rather than the aggressive expansion of the 19th century, simple survival dominated their thinking.
Let's start off with some figures because, if a picture paints a thousand words, numbers are at least good for a few hundred.
The effect of WW I on British brewing |
Year |
Production (bulk barrels) |
Production (standard barrels) |
Exports (standard barrels) |
Imports (standard barrels) |
Average OG |
1913 |
34,805,291 |
33,286,515 |
651,768 |
|
1052.60 |
1914 |
37,558,767 |
36,056,416 |
|
74,205 |
1052.80 |
1915 |
34,765,780 |
32,964,280 |
481,183 |
49,790 |
1052.15 |
1916 |
32,110,608 |
30,289,061 |
|
19,700 |
1051.88 |
1917 |
30,163,988 |
26,621,091 |
|
|
1048.54 |
1918 |
19,085,043 |
13,814,101 |
|
16 |
1039.81 |
1919 |
23,264,533 |
12,922,391 |
|
|
1030.55 |
1920 |
35,047,947 |
25,113,447 |
317,167 |
590 |
1039.41 |
1921 |
34,504,570 |
26,731,631 |
|
|
1042.61 |
1922 |
30,178,731 |
23,528,436 |
260,914 |
4,033 |
1042.88 |
1923 |
23,948,651 |
18,601,570 |
257,454 |
7,017 |
1042.72 |
1924 |
25,425,017 |
19,896,231 |
262,668 |
1,392,576 |
1043.04 |
1925 |
26,734,825 |
20,960,103 |
266,933 |
1,545,953 |
1043.12 |
1926 |
26,765,610 |
21,037,769 |
295,488 |
1,576,381 |
1043.23 |
1927 |
25,100,461 |
19,751,781 |
276,758 |
1,349,515 |
1043.28 |
1928 |
25,435,145 |
19,964,277 |
328,029 |
1,427,174 |
1043.17 |
1929 |
24,608,000 |
19,283,724 |
352,942 |
|
1043.10 |
1930 |
25,061,956 |
19,548,326 |
328,524 |
1,522,906 |
1042.90 |
1931 |
23,900,000 |
18,468,182 |
289,516 |
|
1042.50 |
1932 |
20,790,812 |
15,513,726 |
244,525 |
1,373,450 |
1041.04 |
1933 |
17,950,303 |
12,898,109 |
217,981 |
1,203,063 |
1039.52 |
1934 |
20,182,308 |
15,041,324 |
213,813 |
1,276,270 |
1040.99 |
1935 |
20,864,814 |
15,576,532 |
224,087 |
1,332,277 |
1041.06 |
1936 |
21,969,763 |
16,385,449 |
311,663 |
1,392,457 |
1041.02 |
1937 |
22,724,450 |
16,981,362 |
329,498 |
1,385,833 |
1041.10 |
1938 |
24,205,631 |
18,053,000 |
271,114 |
1,163,046 |
1041.02 |
1939 |
24,674,992 |
18,362,680 |
274,272 |
838,269 |
1040.93 |
Sources: |
Brewers' Almanack 1928, p. 110, 115 |
Brewers' Almanack 1955, p. 50, 51, 57 |
Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser - Friday 17 April 1914, page 12. |
Statistical Handbook of the British Beer & Pub Association 2005, p. 7 |
I've included the standard barrel* figure because that highlight more accurately the decline in beer production as it takes into account the fall in gravity as well as the fall in volume. You can see that in 1932 in terms of standard barrels beer output was only around a third of what it had been in 1914.
The effect on beer gravity is very obvious. Average OG remained 10 points or more lower than it had been in 1914. On the eve of WW II in 1939, average gravity was 22% lower than on the eve of WW I.
The fall in exports was equally dramatic, falling to about a third of the 1913 level before levelling off about 50% down. Though this fall wasn't evenly spread around the UK. Scottish brewers were much more successful in hanging onto their export markets than their English colleagues. As can be seen from this table:
Beer Exported on Drawback and Free of Duty |
|
England and Wales |
Scotland |
Ireland |
United Kingdom |
UK exports |
1916 |
|
|
|
|
|
1917 |
|
|
|
|
|
1918 |
|
|
|
|
|
1919 |
|
|
|
|
|
1920 |
|
|
|
|
|
1921 |
|
|
|
|
|
1922 |
|
|
|
|
|
1923 |
|
|
|
|
|
1924 |
|
|
|
|
|
1925 |
|
|
|
|
|
1926 |
|
|
|
|
|
1927 |
|
|
|
|
|
1928 |
|
|
|
|
|
1929 |
|
|
|
|
|
1930 |
|
|
|
|
|
1931 |
|
|
|
|
|
1932 |
|
|
|
|
|
1933 |
|
|
|
|
|
Sources: |
Brewers' Journal 1919, page 65, |
Brewers' Journal 1922, page 71. |
Brewers' Journal 1925, page 83. |
Brewers' Journal 1928, page 87. |
Brewers' Journal 1928, page 87. |
Brewers' Journal 1934, page 162. |
Brewers' Almanack 1928, p. 115 |
Brewers' Almanack 1955, p. 57 |
The net result being that by the 1930's Scottish brewers were exporting more beer than English brewers. Quite an achievement given the relative sizes of the English and Scottish brewing industries.
The war indirectly also affected beer imports. If you consider the move to Irish independence to have been set in motion during the war. Those million plus barrels suddenly being imported to Britain are, of course, virtually all Guinness. It had been the largest brewery in the UK in 1914. Ultimately Irish independence led to Guinness building a brewery in London in the 1930's.
* A standard barrel is 36 gallons of beer with an OG of 1055ยบ.
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