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Though much reduced in gravity, Burton remained a popular style in London and was still a standard draught beer.

It was generally brewed as a 9d. draught beer, that is with a gravity of around 1055º. There were stronger versions, but these were mostly sold in bottled form or on draught or as a winter seasonal.

One exception was Fullers Old Burton Extra (OBE), which was a draught beer that wasn’t limited to a specific season. But it was brewed in tiny quantities: at most 40 barrels, often fewer than ten barrels at a time, when Fuller’s brew length was 400-500 barrels. That’s the glory of parti-gyling, being able to efficiently brew a low-volume beer on a large kit.

The fall in gravity, as with Stout was about 20 points. Like Stout, draught Burton Ale was a 9d. per pint beer. Fullers OBE, Barclay Perkins KKK and Courage KK are very similar to pre-war draught KK. Clearly there was still a demand for strong Burton Ales, despite the price.

The draught Burton Ales available in London after WW I all looked pretty similar.

Assuming an average OG for KK of around 1072º before the war and about 1054º after it, that’s a fall of 25%, which is slightly more than the average 23% drop.

London Burton Ale after WW I
Year Brewer Beer OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation lbs hops/ qtr hops lb/brl
1921 Barclay Perkins KK 1055.2 1015.0 5.32 72.83% 9.60 2.12
1924 Barclay Perkins KK (bottling) 1070.3 1023.5 6.19 66.57% 14.00 4.24
1924 Barclay Perkins KKK 1082.1 1028.0 7.16 65.90% 14.00 4.75
1924 Camden SA 1055.1 1013.9 5.46 74.87% 10.42 2.31
1923 Courage XXX 1053.5 1015.2 5.06 71.50% 7.26 1.73
1923 Courage KKK 1073.4 1025.5 6.34 65.28% 11.00 3.28
1925 Fullers BO 1061.5 1018.8 5.65 69.40% 7.30818 1.83
1925 Fullers OBE 1072.2 1021.1 6.77 70.85% 7.21355 2.15
1923 Whitbread KK 1055.4 1017.0 5.08 69.31% 9.07 2.08
Sources:
Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/609 and ACC/2305/01/611.
Camden brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/9/5.
Courage brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/08/253.
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery.
Whitbread brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/01/088.


Draught London Burton Ale after WW I
Year Brewer Beer Price OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation
1923 Barclay Perkins KK 9d 1051.9 1010.4 5.41 79.96%
1923 Cannon KK 9d 1054.9 1011 5.72 79.96%
1923 Charrington KK 9d 1055.9 1014.4 5.39 74.24%
1923 City of London KK 9d 1052.1 1012.6 5.14 75.82%
1923 Courage KK 9d 1052.8 1012.8 5.20 75.76%
1923 Hoare KK 9d 1054.9 1019.4 4.59 64.66%
1923 Huggins KK 9d 1054.5 1013 5.40 76.15%
1923 Lion KK 9d 1054.1 1013.6 5.27 74.86%
1923 Mann KK 9d 1058.7 1013.2 5.93 77.51%
1923 Meux KK 9d 1054.6 1009.6 5.87 82.42%
1923 Truman KK 9d 1056 1012 5.73 78.57%
1923 Watney KK 9d 1059.4 1012.9 6.06 78.28%
1923 Wenlock KK 9d 1053.7 1010.2 5.67 81.01%
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.


This is an extract from Armistice!, my wonderful book on brewing in WW I.












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