Charrington

None of my local pubs open on Boxing Day. And I can't be arsed to go into town. Nothing for it but to get on with some work.

This morning I expanded my article on the history of Swedish beer. Admittedly using stuff from blog posts. But that's the point of the blog; encouraging me to gather material.

I've really neglected the Whitbread gravity book these last weeks. I managed to knock off four more pages after lunch (the remains of yesterday's duck). I've gone back to the draught beers. Bass and Charrington, two names that go together like disaster and waiting to happen. For most of the period covered, they were still separate concerns.

Here goes then. First the period of WW II.



Nothing that exciting there. They do seem to have kept their Bitter at a reasonable strength for most of the war.

Now for the immediate postwar years.

Most noteworthy here is a rare spotting of Burton (another of my many beer-themed obsessions). Considering later (by the time I started drinking in the early 1970's) IPA was their main product, it doesn't turn up a great deal in these records. In contrast to Whitbread, Charrington's IPA was stronger than their PA.

Finally, here's the mid-1950's onwards.


The appearance of weak, expensive keg beers, like Toby Keg. A real high point in British brewing.