Bottled beers in the 1870's

As my series on bottled beers winds its way towards the sunset, here's a look at some random bottled beers of the 1870's.

It's quite a small set. Not sure why. Odd that I should have more examples from the 1860's. There's no logical reason, just an irrational result of my anarchic research. Anyway, let's try and make the best of what data we have, shall we?

The vast majority of the examples fall into one of three styles: IPA, Pale Ale and Stout. Though the line between Pale Ale and IPA could be quite arbitrary. Which Bass being described as both Pale Ale and East India Pale Ale amply demonstrates. There was really a stronger differentiation between Light Bitter and Pale Ale than IPA and Pale Ale. Assuming the latter two were both Stock beers.

What strikes me is how many of the bottled beers come from a few large, well-known breweries and are, in effect, brands which are promoted. Bass with its IPA, Guinness with Extra Stout, William Younger with IPA and Scotch Ale, Barclay Perkins with Stout and Carlsberg with Lager. With the exception of Barclay Perkins, all were still going strong a century later. This is really the beginnings of branded beer.

Not e that the two most popular styles - Porter and Mild Ale - are completely absent. Though there are two examples of Cooper, which was supposedly a mixture of Porter and Stout. I suspect it might have actually been bottled Porter, just sold under a more marketable name.

This is quite an early date for Lager in Britain, which only arrived, in the form of imports, in the late 1860's. Initially, the Vienna and Munich styles were dominant. Carlsberg clearly got their foot in the door early doors. I doubt the beer here was the Pilsner that Carlsberg is now famous for. More likely it was the Munich type, which I know was where they began, Lager-wise.

You'll be pleased to hear that I have details of some of the beers. The William Younger ones. I can match them 100%, but I know they're in there. The IPA and Stout aren't such a problem, as there is only really one candidate for each in the brewing records. The Strong Ale is trickier, as Younger brewed loads of them. I've included 100/- to 160/- in the table. It must have been one of those. Or No. 1, so I've put that in, too. Here they are, in all their glory:

William Younger beers
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
4th Sep	1868	XP	IPA	1052	1013	5.16	75.00%	10.00	2.60
3rd Dec	1869	DBS	Stout	1066	1019	6.22	71.21%	12.76	4.11
25th Nov	1868	No. 1	Strong Ale	1099	1041	7.67	58.59%	6.46	3.37
24th Aug	1868	100/-	Ale	1076	1034	5.56	55.26%	6.67	2.73
24th Aug	1868	120/-	Ale	1088	1037	6.75	57.95%	7.14	3.57
25th Aug	1868	140/-	Ale	1102	1043	7.81	57.84%	6.36	4.12
8th Sep	1868	160/-	Ale	1116	1053	8.33	54.31%	8.16	5.35
Source:
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive document number WY/6/1/2/21.

That's me done. Just the main table and I'm gone.

Bottled beers in the 1870's
Brewery	Place	year	beer	style	price per dozen	size	source
Byles & Co	Henley	1876	Cooper	Cooper	2s 6d	pint	Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Beds, Bucks ..., 1876
Biden & Co.	Gosport, Hants	1876	Cooper	Cooper	2s 6d	Imperial pint
Wm. Younger	Edinburgh	1870	India Pale Ale	IPA	4s 6d	pint	"Street's Indian and Colonial Mercantile Directory for 1870", page xiv
Bass	Burton	1871	East India Pale Ale	IPA	4s 9d	Imperial pint	Edmund Oxborrow price list
Bass	Henley	1876	Pale Ale	IPA	4s 6d	pint	Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Beds, Bucks ..., 1876
Bass	Burton	1876	East India Pale Ale	IPA	6s	quart	Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 22 December 1876, page 1
Bass	Burton	1876	East India Pale Ale	IPA	4s 6d	Imperial pint	Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 22 December 1876, page 1
Bass	Burton	1876	East India Pale Ale	IPA	3s 6d	reputed pint	Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 22 December 1876, page 1
Bass	Burton	1876	East India Pale Ale	IPA	2s 3d	imperial half pint	Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 22 December 1876, page 1
Bass	Burton	1879	Pale Ale	IPA	4s 6d	Imperial pint	The British Library
Carlsberg	Copenhagen	1872	Danish Beer	Lager	2s 6d	pint	Aberdeen Journal - Wednesday 10 July 1872, page 4.
Carlsberg	Copenhagen	1872	Danish Beer	Lager	5s	quart	Aberdeen Journal - Wednesday 10 July 1872, page 4.
Ind Coope	Romford	1871	AK	Pale Ale	3s	Imperial pint	Edmund Oxborrow price list
Byles & Co	Henley	1876	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	3s	pint	Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Beds, Bucks ..., 1876
Byles & Co	Henley	1876	Old Strong Pale Ale	Pale Ale	5s 6d	pint	Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Beds, Bucks ..., 1876
Biden & Co.	Gosport, Hants	1876	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	4s	Imperial pint
Biden & Co.	Gosport, Hants	1876	Family Pale Ale	Pale Ale	3s	Imperial pint
Wm. Younger	Edinburgh	1871	Strong Scotch Ale	Scotch Ale	4s	pint	Edmund Oxborrow price list
Wm. Younger	Edinburgh	1870	Extra Stout	Stout	4s 4d	pint	"Street's Indian and Colonial Mercantile Directory for 1870", page xiv
Barclay Perkins	London	1871	Brown Stout	Stout	3s	Imperial pint	Edmund Oxborrow price list
Barclay Perkins	London	1871	Double Brown Stout	Stout	4s 9d	Imperial pint	Edmund Oxborrow price list
Guinness	Dublin	1871	Double Brown Stout	Stout	4s 9d	Imperial pint	Edmund Oxborrow price list
Byles & Co	Henley	1876	Stout	Stout	3s 6d	pint	Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Beds, Bucks ..., 1876
Biden & Co.	Gosport, Hants	1876	Extra Stout	Stout	4s	Imperial pint
Guinness	Dublin	1876	Dublin Stout	Stout	6s	quart	Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 22 December 1876, page 1
Guinness	Dublin	1876	Dublin Stout	Stout	4s	Imperial pint	Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 22 December 1876, page 1
Guinness	Dublin	1876	Dublin Stout	Stout	3s 6d	reputed pint	Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 22 December 1876, page 1
Guinness	Dublin	1879	Extra Stout	Stout	4s 6d	Imperial pint	The British Library
Wm. Younger	Edinburgh	1870	Double Strong	Strong Ale	5s	pint	"Street's Indian and Colonial Mercantile Directory for 1870", page xiv
Bass	Burton	1871	Very Strong Ale	Strong Ale	4s 9d	Imperial pint	Edmund Oxborrow price list