Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site

Zythophile has thankfully just corrected a grave error in my last post. One, I may add, that I had copied from Andrew Campbell. Mixing up London's two Hodgson's breweries. The one in Kingston was completely unrelated to the famous one in Bow. Where IPA was supposedly "invented". Apologies for any confusion.

As Zythophile commented, Hodgson's of Bow became Smith Garrett before being gobbled up by neighbours Taylor Walker in 1927. He should know, as he's written an article for the Brewery History Society on the brewery. This seems a good excuse to post a couple of titbits about Smith Garrett.

This first is taken from an interview in the 1890's with a local policeman. He wasn't very impressed with their beer:

"Charringtonīs is about the best beer in the neighbourhood. But a great deal of filthy stuff is sold. The Brewers put in as managers men to whom they have advanced large sums. These men must make money. To makemoney they must adulterate. If they donīt, they lose and the brewers foreclose. Some firms are very hard. Perhaps the worst are Brewers at the corner of the Bow Road just before you come to the Stratford Bridge;their name is Smith & Garrett and the beer they sell is bad. Taylor Walker in Limehouse used to be large brewers and do a great Indian trade as well as own the houses in Limehouse. But the India trade has failed them and trade has left Limehouse so they are in a bad way now compared to former years."
*Interview with Inspector Carter*
B346 pp100-107
http://booth.lse.ac.uk/notebooks/b346/jpg/101.html
Next are the details of some of Smith Garrett's beers, just before they disappeared:


Smith Garrett beers
Year
Beer
Style
Price
size
package
OG
1926
Porter
Porter
5d
pint
draught
1035.1
1926
Porter
Porter
5d
pint
draught
1031.7
1926
X
Mild
6d
pint
draught
1041.9
1926
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
7d
pint
draught
1044.4
1926
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
7d
pint
draught
1047.5
1927
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
8d
pint
draught
1055.68
Source:
Truman Gravity Book


That's it. Just a little interlude, really.


More...