Saturday 26 April 2014

Hoare draught Stout 1870 - 1933

Here, as threatened, is my second instalment on Hoare's beers. This time it's the turn of draught Stout.

Which was, along with Porter, their original specialisation. This time I've split it into two parts, one for draught versions the other for bottled. You'll see why that makes so much sense when you've looked at the tables.

I'll start with the three examples from 1870. They come courtesy of the British Medical Journal. I can make a decent stab at what they were sold as. In ascending order of strength: Stout, Double Stout and Treble (or Imperial) Stout. Don't believe me? Well here are Truman's equivalents from the very same year:

Stout 1070.1
Double Stout 1079.5
Imperial 1083.7
Source:
Truman brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/072.

It's very strange what happens in the 1930's. At the beginning of the 1920's, it's very much what you would expect: 9d a pint and a gravity in the mid-1050's. (If you're wondering, Guinness Extra Stout was 1055 in the 1920's.) Then after 1923 the price drops to 8d a pint. Now I understand why the gravity would drop in 1931: Snowden's emergency budget that raised beer duty from 80 shillings a standard barrel to 114 shillings.


Hoare draught Stout 1870 - 1933
Year Beer Price size Acidity FG OG ABV App. Atten-uation
1870 Stout 0.23 1025.9 1090.9 8.29 71.49%
1870 Stout 0.20 1014 1068.1 6.96 79.43%
1870 Stout 3.5d pint 0.22 1014.5 1078.4 7.81 81.50%
1921 Stout 9d pint 1023.2 1054 3.97 57.04%
1922 Stout 9d pint 1020.8 1056.8 4.65 63.38%
1922 Stout 9d pint 1018.7 1054.2 4.59 65.50%
1923 Stout 9d pint 1020.4 1055.4 4.52 63.18%
1923 Stout 8d pint 1017.4 1054.4 4.79 68.01%
1923 Stout 8d pint 1017.5 1050.5 4.27 65.35%
1925 Stout 8d pint 1013.2 1052.7 5.13 74.95%
1928 Stout 7d pint 1013.6 1046.6 4.28 70.82%
1928 Stout 7d pint 1012.6 1053 5.26 76.24%
1929 Stout 8d pint 0.12 1010.9 1052.1 5.37 79.08%
1929 Stout 8d pint 0.09 1018 1056.2 4.95 67.97%
1930 Stout 8d pint 1022.6 1055 4.18 58.91%
1930 Stout 8d pint 0.08 1013.9 1053 5.08 73.77%
1930 Stout 8d pint 1019.2 1047 3.58 59.15%
1930 Stout 8d pint 1015.2 1050 4.51 69.60%
1930 Stout 7d pint 1048.2
1931 Stout 8d pint 0.06 1016.5 1044.8 3.66 63.17%
1931 Stout 8d pint 0.14 1012.6 1054.2 5.41 76.75%
1931 Stout 8d pint 1015.2 1041 3.33 62.93%
1931 Stout 8d pint 1038.3
1932 Stout 8d pint 0.07 1015 1041 3.36 63.41%
1932 Stout 8d pint 0.06 1012 1042 3.89 71.43%
1932 Stout 8d pint 1039.1
1932 Stout 8d pint 1042.4
1933 Stout 8d pint 0.11 1013.8 1042.2 3.67 67.30%
Sources:
British Medical Journal June 25th 1870, page 658.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252


The gravity of Stout prior to the budget makes working its effect a piece of piss. Because averaging around 1055, it was standard gravity (a standard barrel was 36 gallons of beer with an OG of 1055). Which means the tax on a barrel of Stout increased by 34 shillings. Or 11.33d per gallon. That's near as dammit 1.5d per pint.

What most breweries in London did was to cut the gravity of their draught Stout to 1047 and increase the price from 8d to 9d. Here are some examples:

London draught Stouts
Date Brewer Beer Price size OG
1931 Barclay Perkins Stout 9d pint 1050.9
1931 Barclay Perkins Stout 9d pint 1049.6
1931 Charrington Stout 9d pint 1049.3
1931 Charrington Stout 9d pint 1043
1931 Courage Stout 8d pint 1047.6
1931 Courage Stout 8d pint 1046.9
1931 Mann Crossman Stout 9d pint 1046.3
1931 Mann Crossman Stout 9d pint 1046.8
1931 Taylor Walker Stout 8d pint 1049.5
1931 Taylor Walker Stout 9d pint 1046.9
1931 Truman Stout 8d pint 1044.3
1931 Truman Stout 8d pint 1048.8
1931 Watney Stout 8d pint 1047.8
1931 Watney Stout 8d pint 1043.3
1931 Wenlock Stout 8d pint 1046.7
1931 Wenlock Stout 8d pint 1045.6
1931 Whitbread LS 8d pint 1045.3
Average 1047
Sources:
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252
Whitbread brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numberLMA/4453/D/09/124

That gravity cut and price increase makes sense when you look at the tax paid: per bulk barrel at the rate of  114 shillings per barrel:

OG tax per barrel (shillings)
1041 85.0
1039 80.8
1047 97.4

At 1047, about 17.5 shillings more tax was due, which is about 6d per gallon or 0.75d per pint.

The table tells you what Hoare did: they dropped the gravity so much that the tax die was about the same as before the budget, namely 80 shillings per barrel. I guess most breweries thought that was just too drastic. I agree with them. A gravity of 1040-ish is just too low for a Stout.

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