Who was branding their beers in 1954? (part one)

I’ve been thinking more about branding. When did it really start? When did it become popular? What was its purpose?

I can identify two types of branding. The first is generic. Toby is a good example. A brand applied not to a specific beer, but to a whole range. This seems to have been the most common type early doors.  It’s still around today, for example Hyde’s Anvil Ales.

Branding individual beers, by giving them their own name, is the second type. Beers used to have generic names. Though these weren’t always the same inside and outside the brewery gates. X Ale/Mild is a good example. As is PA/Bitter or KK/Burton. Or be named by place of origin: London Porter, Edinburgh Ale, Dublin Porter.

Did I mention that I collect the details from 19th-century price lists? My spreadsheet has about 4,500 beers extracted from them.  The first named beer in the set is “Velvet” brewed in 1856  by Bircham & Sons of Reepham, Norfolk. But between then and 1890, I’ve very few examples. This is the full set:

Early branded beers
Year	Brewery	Town	Beer
1856	Bircham & Sons	Reepham, Norfolk	Velvet
1875	Mew Langton	Newport, IOW	No. 1 Royal Osborne Ale (as supplied to her majesty)
1875	Mew Langton	Newport, IOW	Guinea Pale Ale
1881	Lewis & Ridley	Leamington	Gem Sparkling Dinner Ale
1888	Watkins & Son's	Hereford	Golden Sunlight Ale
1888	Watkins & Son's	Hereford	Sunflower India Pale Ale
1890	Nottigham Brewery	Nottingham	Golden Ray Ale
1890	Cook Brothers	Colchester	Jubilee Pale Ale
1892	Wm. Whitmarsh & Co.	Sheffield	Hallamshire Export quality
1892	Lucas, Blackwell & Arkwright	Leamington	Gem Light Sparkling Dinner Ale
1892	Daniell & Sons	Colchester	John Bull Bitter Ale
1893	Hull Brewery	Hull	Champagne Bitter
1893	Major Lucas & Co	Northampton	VA Victoria Ale
1897	William Stones	Sheffield	Samson Extra Strong
1897	William Stones	Sheffield	Sparkling Light Bitter Beer
1897	Ash & Co	London	Light Tonic Dinner Ale
1897	Ash & Co	London	Canterbury Ale
1897	Ash & Co	London	Gold Medal Ale
1898	Waltham Bros.	London	The Half Guinea Ale
1898	Mew Langton	Newport, IOW	O.P.A. Osborne Pale Ale (as supplied to Her Majesty's Household)
1902	Brook's Cubley Brook Brwry	Sheffield	Wearncliffe Extra Strong Mild
1907	Benskins	Watford	Primrose Ale
1908	Walker & Homfray	Salford	Comet Ale
1925	Barclay Perkins	London	Red Label Stout
1930	Richard Clarke	Stockport	BB Crystal PAle Ale
1930	Hull Brewery	Hull	Anchor Ale
1930	Benskins	Watford	Jubilee Ale
1930	Benskins	Watford	Colne Spring Ale
1931	Hammerton	London	V.C. Ale
Sources:
Various brewery price lists

What’s interesting  - or perhaps rather, totally predictable – is that naming beers seems to start taking off around the same time as bottled beer, in the 1890’s. And indeed the majority of the beers in the table above were bottled. At a time when pump-clips didn’t exist, branding a draught beer wasn’t easy. Whereas with bottles, you had a colourful label to tempt drinkers.

Flipping forward to the fifties, let’s see who was a branding fan. 

Leading the pack by quite a distance is Flowers, with 16 branded beers. Not much of a shock, as I know Bernard Dixon, the man in charge at Flowers, was a big fan of naming beers. Here’s the set:

Flowers branded beers in 1954
Brewery	Beer	Type
Flower & Sons	Green Label	Bottled
Flower & Sons	Original Bitter	Draught
Flower & Sons	Shakespeare Ale	Bottled Beer
Flowers Breweries	Anchor	Brown Ale
Flowers Breweries	Brewmaster	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Little Imp	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Sable	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Green Ribbon	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Kelly's Eye	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Luton	Light Ale
Flowers Breweries	Lutorian	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Old Gold	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Poacher	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Stingo	Bottled
Flowers Breweries	Dragon's Blood	Old English Ale
Flowers Breweries	Ravensburg	Bottled
Source:
Brewery Manual 1953-1954, pages 382 - 394.

Not sure why they haven’t identified Poacher as the Brown Ale it was. Nor Sable as a Stout. Stingo, obviously, was a Strong Ale. And I’m pretty sure Lutorian should be Lutonian.

Fascinating that some are branded Flower & Sons and others Flowers Breweries. The former are beers from the original Flowers brewery in Stratford-upon-Avon, the latter from J.W. Green in Luton. Flower & Sons, despite being relatively modest in size, had built up a good reputation for some of their beers well outside their core area. Original Bitter, in particular, made inroads outside their tied estate. Doubtless the strong branding of Flowers was why the J.W. Green name was ditched, despite being the senior partner in the new firm.

More branding to come.