Simonds beers 1938 - 1965

I bet you can't guess what this post is about. Really. You think it's going to be another one of those boring table posts, don't you? One with just loads of numbers about beers from a brewery that closed before you were born. Well it isn't.

This post is more a celebration of getting through the Whitbread Gravity Book volume II. It's in alphabetical order, the Whitbread Gravity Book. But, for reasons I won't annoy you with, I finished with Simonds. The former Reading brewer. That was gobbled up, chewed and then spat out again by Courage. There are two factoids I can remember about Simonds:

1. they took part in one of the first copyright lawsuits, being sued by Bass for having a hop-leaf logo that was too similar to their own red triangle
2. the Simonds name lives on, as does their flagship Hopleaf Pale Ale (and logo), in Malta

That's all the interesting stuff. ("Interesting" is a relative term in this context..) I know - what about a nice table of Simonds beers? You know it makes sense.

Simonds beers 1938 - 1965
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	attenuation
1938	Stout	Stout	10d	pint	bottled			1053.2
1946	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	13d	pint	bottled	0.05	1005.1	1029.4	25 Brown	3.16	82.65%
1947	SB Ale	Pale Ale	13d	pint	bottled	0.05	1007.2	1028.6	24.5	2.77	74.83%
1947	SB Ale	Pale Ale	13d	pint	bottled	0.06	1008.2	1029.1	23.5	2.71	71.82%
1947	Special Stout	Stout	12d	pint	bottled	0.06	1022.6	1043.9	1 + 14	2.73	48.52%
1948	Pale Ale	Pale Ale			can	0.06	1007.8	1028.8	22.5	2.72	72.92%
1948	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	18d	pint	bottled	0.05	1006.3	1025.6	40 + 16	2.50	75.39%
1948	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	18d	pint	bottled	0.05	1006.4	1025.7	40 + 16	2.50	75.10%
1948	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	15d	pint	bottled	0.05	1006.7	1026.3	40 + 8.5	2.54	74.52%
1949	E. IPA	IPA	1/6d	pint	draught	0.05	1007	1039.7	23 B	4.26	82.37%
1949	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	15d	pint	bottled	0.05	1008	1026.1	23 + 40	2.34	69.35%
1949	Special Stout MS brand	Stout	12d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1018.9	1045.4	1 + 13	3.42	58.37%
1949	Bulldog Pale Ale (imported into Belgium by John Martin, bought in Brussels)	Pale Ale			bottled	0.08	1011.9	1069.8	25	7.59	82.95%
1950	Ale	Mild	12	pint	draught			1030.4	56
1950	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	14d	pint	draught			1031.5	26
1950	Berry Brown Ale	Brown Ale	15d	pint	bottled	0.07	1007.3	1029.5	10 + 40	2.88	75.25%
1950	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	9d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1008.5	1032.5	26	3.11	73.85%
1951	Luncheon Stout	Stout	9d	half pint	bottled	0.07	1013.1	1034.1	1 + 14	2.71	61.58%
1951	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9d	half pint	bottled	0.06	1009.6	1029.2	19 + 40	2.53	67.12%
1951	Mild Ale	Mild	1/2d	pint	draught	0.05	1005.5	1032	80	3.44	82.81%
1951	Mild Dark Sweet	Mild	1/2d	pint	draught	0.06	1005.7	1031.5	80	3.35	81.90%
1952	Berry Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9.5d	half pint	bottled	0.06	1005.5	1032	5 + 40	3.44	82.81%
1952	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1009.7	1029.9	17 + 40	2.61	67.56%
1953	Velvet Stout	Stout	26d	pint	bottled	0.05	1022.5	1046.2	1 + 13	3.05	51.30%
1953	Old Berkshire Strong Ale	Strong Ale	14.5d	nip	bottled	0.06	1033.2	1076.7	16 + 40	5.61	56.71%
1953	Tavern Pale Ale	Pale Ale	10d	nip	bottled	0.05	1012.3	1044.9	21	4.23	72.61%
1953	Archangel Stout	Stout	16.5d	nip	bottled	0.05	1041.2	1084.6	1 + 10	5.57	51.30%
1954	Velvet Stout	Stout	14.5d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1023.8	1047.5	350	3.04	49.89%
1955	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	9d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1009	1033	21	3.11	72.73%
1955	Bulldog Pale Ale	Pale Ale			bottled	0.05	1018	1067	20	6.38	73.13%
1956	Bitter Ale	Pale Ale	1/-	half pint	bottled	0.04	1010	1030.1	25	2.60	66.78%
1956	Berry Brown Ale	Brown Ale	16d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1011.9	1031.9	85	2.58	62.70%
1956	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	10d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1010.3	1033.4	21	2.99	69.16%
1957	Velvet Stout	Stout	14.5d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1022.2	1047.9	250	3.31	53.65%
1957	Luncheon Stout	Stout	11d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1014.9	1033.6	275	2.41	55.65%
1959	Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	22d	pint	draught	0.04	1007.3	1037.4	19	3.76	80.48%
1959	Velvet Stout	Stout	16d	pint	bottled		1022	1047.9	275	3.33	54.07%
1959	SB Light Ale	Pale Ale	10d	half pint	bottled	0.02	1010.3	1034.2	19	3.09	69.88%
1959	Light Ale	Pale Ale	11d	half pint	bottled	0.02	1012.1	1034.4	19	2.88	64.83%
1959	Tavern Export Ale	Pale Ale	17d	halfpint	bottled	0.04	1013	1045.8	18	4.25	71.62%
1960	Best Bitter	Pale Ale	19d	pint	draught	0.05	1007.5	1042.3	17	4.35	82.27%
1960	IPA	IPA	14d	pint	draught	0.04	1010.2	1035.4	18	3.15	71.19%
1960	Velvet Stout	Stout	16d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1020.3	1042.3	300	2.83	52.01%
1960	Luncheon Stout	Stout	10d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1010.4	1034.4		3.11	69.77%
1964	Milk Stout (lactose present)	Stout		pint	bottled	0.05	1021.6	1066.3	250	5.80	67.42%
1965	Martins PA (sold in Belgium)	Pale Ale			bottled	0.05	1019.7	1068	17	6.04	71.03%
Sources:
Truman Gravity Book
Whitbread Gravity Book

There are a couple of beers I was really pleased to find in there: Archangel Stout, Martins PA, Bulldog Pale Ale, Tavern and Berry Brown Ale (just because of the name. And of course an authentic, traditional IPA. None of that new-fangled, high-gravity bollocks.

Oh shit. This did end up just a table post. The brewery shut in 1980. That's in case you want to check if it closed before you were born.



You can find a history of Simonds in pdf format here.