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Shut up about Barclay Perkins - UK-brewed Lager after WW II
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The small number of UK breweries producing Lager carried on pretty much where they had left off before the war. As a mostly bottled product, Lager would have suffered during the war when shortages of bottles and crates limited production.
When restrictions such as these were removed, the sales of Lager although still very small, continued to increase. It seems to have reached a tipping point at the end of the 1950s when many regional breweries jumped in with Lagers of their own.
There was steady growth in Lager sales throughout the 1960s, but they really took off in the 1970s. As Lager sales increased, the number of Lagers available tended to decline, as national brands pushed aside the versions from regional breweries.
UK Lager sales 1960 - 1989 |
Year |
% |
Year |
% |
Year |
% |
1960 |
1.0 |
1970 |
7.0 |
1980 |
30.7 |
1961 |
1.0 |
1971 |
9.9 |
1981 |
32.0 |
1962 |
2.0 |
1972 |
11.7 |
1982 |
33.0 |
1963 |
2.0 |
1973 |
14.9 |
1983 |
35.9 |
1964 |
2.0 |
1974 |
16.4 |
1984 |
38.9 |
1965 |
2.0 |
1975 |
19.7 |
1985 |
40.9 |
1966 |
2.0 |
1976 |
23.5 |
1986 |
43.4 |
1967 |
3.0 |
1977 |
24.5 |
1987 |
46.6 |
1968 |
4.0 |
1978 |
26.9 |
1988 |
48.8 |
1969 |
6.0 |
1979 |
29.1 |
1989 |
50.3 |
Source: |
“The Brewers' Society Statistical Handbook 1990” page 17 |
The type of Lagers being brewed immediately after war’s end hadn’t all quite become the style that marched to domination. There were still some examples with above-average gravities, such as Graham’s Golden Lager (rebranded as Skol later in the 1950s) and Black Label. By the 1960s, few UK-brewed Lagers would have an OG much over 1030º.
The beers in the table below, with the exception of Black Label and the Steel Coulson beer, were ones which had been around before WW II. Though beers like Red Tower and Barclay Perkins, which had been big brands before the war, weren’t to last very long. The Barclay Perkins Lager brewery finished its days brewing Harp for Courage, Barclay’s London Lager having been dropped.
UK-brewed Lager after WW II |
Year |
Brewer |
Beer |
Price per pint |
OG |
FG |
ABV |
App. Atten-uation |
colour |
1947 |
Barclay Perkins |
Draught Lager |
26 |
1033 |
1006.4 |
3.46 |
80.61% |
8 |
1950 |
Barclay Perkins |
Lager |
30 |
1036.1 |
1008 |
3.65 |
77.84% |
11 |
1950 |
Barclay Perkins |
Lager |
31 |
1036.1 |
1008 |
3.65 |
77.84% |
11 |
1950 |
Red Tower |
Lager |
30 |
1035.8 |
1008.2 |
3.58 |
77.09% |
13 |
1947 |
Unknown |
Pilsner |
|
1035 |
1010 |
3.24 |
71.43% |
|
1950 |
Alloa Brewery |
Light Lager |
|
1043.4 |
1009.1 |
4.46 |
79.03% |
7 |
1950 |
Alloa Brewery |
Graham's Golden Lager |
30 |
1040.6 |
1010.6 |
3.89 |
73.89% |
9 |
1952 |
Carlings (Brewed in Sheffield) |
Black Label |
32 |
1042.3 |
1009.9 |
4.21 |
76.60% |
10 |
1954 |
Steel Coulson |
Lager Beer |
30 |
1032 |
1004.3 |
3.60 |
86.56% |
11 |
1955 |
Tennent |
Lager |
30 |
1036.1 |
1007.7 |
3.69 |
78.67% |
9 |
Sources: |
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive. |
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002. |
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