Sunday 7 June 2020

Northern Mild 1960 - 1965

The Northern breweries straddle the Pennines and stretch over into Scotland with William Younger.

No surprise that the cheapest beer is from the nationalised Carlisle State Management Scheme. They generally sold their beer 1d per pint cheaper than their rivals.  The two keg Milds are noticeably more expensive than the other examples. Though do also have the highest gravities and ABVs.

The common feature most have is a very high degree of attenuation: the average is almost 83% and the highest are over 90%. There’s a great degree of variation in colour from 20, which is pale even for a Bitter, to 105 which is a very dark brown.


Northern Mild 1960 - 1965
Year Brewer Beer Price per pint d Acidity OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation colour
1964 John Smith Mild Ale 15 0.04 1030.9 1008.5 2.80 72.49% 30
1960 Carlisle State Management Mild 11 1031.2 1008.8 2.90 71.79%
1960 Greenall Whitley Mild 12 1030.8 1004.65 3.40 84.90%
1960 John Smiths Mild 12 1033.6 1009.65 3.10 71.28%
1960 Tetley Mild Ale 12 0.05 1031.9 1003.6 3.54 88.71% 60
1960 Thwaites Mild 12 1031.1 1004.95 3.40 84.08%
1960 Wilson Mild 12 1031.2 1005.8 3.30 81.41%
1961 Cornbrook Keg Mild 17 0.14 1035 1002.3 4.09 93.43% 20
1961 Threllfalls Keg Mild 16 0.12 1034 1003.2 3.85 90.59% 75
1961 Workington Mild 14 0.04 1029.6 1004.7 3.11 84.12% 105
1961 Younger, Wm. Mild 15 0.05 1029.2 1004.5 3.21 84.59% 75
1960 Hammond United Best Mild KB 12 1032.7 1005 3.60 84.71%
Average 13.3 0.1 1031.8 1005.5 3.36 82.68% 60.8
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.
Which Beer Report, 1960, pages 171 - 173.


The above is an extract from my book Austerity! Which tells the fascinating story of UK beer after WW II. You can buy it here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/austerity/23181344





5 comments:

Chris Pickles said...

Was there a significant price rise after 1960? There seems to be quite a hike between the 1960 and 61 examples, and not just the keg ones.

Robin Oldfield said...

Websters (Halifax) had a pale mild called Green Label. Used to be very widespread where I grew up in Leeds.

Ron Pattinson said...

Chris Pickles,

if anything, the opposite should be true. The tax on beer was reduced in 1960 and again in 1961. Prices also varied regionally. Beer in Scotland was usually more expensive than in England.

Ron Pattinson said...

Robin Oldfield,

I've drunk both Green Label and Webster's Dark Mild in Leeds. I remember TV adverts for Green Label which never mentioned the "M" word.

Rob Sterowski said...

William Younger's XXPV was being brewed to a colour of 77 in 1960, so it seems clear that they were indeed selling the same beer as Light in Scotland and Mild in England.