UK Beer Imports in the late 19th century

I don’t have exact details on the source of imports. Just some hints, in the form of the port of destination.

In most cases the port of destination was in Northern Europe. The beer coming from Copenhagen and Christiania must have been Danish. With the others, it’s a bit more guesswork. That coming from Hamburg and Bremen was probably German.

Where the port was in Belgium or Holland, things are much less certain. I’m sure some being shipped from Amsterdam and Rotterdam was Dutch. But I’m sure some was also German. As Belgium had no great reputation for beer, the chances are that most, or all, of the beer coming through Antwerp and Ostend was German.

It’s interesting how much was being imported through the Clyde, which was presumably intended for the Scottish market. Perhaps a sign of the early popularity of Lager in Scotland. And the links between Carlsberg and William Younger, given that more than 50% of the beer coming from Denmark was landed on the Clyde.

UK beer imports in 1897
From	London, pkgs.	Liverpool, pkge.	Hull pkgs.	Harwich, pkgs.	O. E. Ports, pkgs.	Dublin. pkgs.	Clyde. &c. pkgs.	Total, pkgs.	%
Hamburg	7,885	3,977	2,215	700	1,604	457	908	17,746	12.42%
Bremen	20,827	1,075	1,351	-	-	-	3,825	27,078	18.95%
Rotterdam	18,593	171	4,129	11,183	725	9,098	1,831	45,730	32.01%
Antwerp	4,574	732	18	4,576	672	-	3	10,575	7.40%
Amsterdam	14,718	282	5,655	-	2,754	-	3,064	26,473	18.53%
Copenhagen	1,882	106	2,033	-	-	-	5,275	9,296	6.51%
Christiania	154	-	618	-	14	-	66	852	0.60%
New York	100	45	-	-	-	-	50	195	0.14%
Ostend	4,934	-	-	-	-	-	-	4,934	3.45%
Totals, 1897	73,667	6,388	16,019	16,459	5,769	9,555	15,022	142,879
Do. 1896	63,267	10,779	13,468	14,026	4,997	8,250	14,655	129,442
Do. 1895	55,429	11,868	11,775	17,082	4,079	8,282	14,130	122,645
Source:
Brewers' Journal 1898, page 64.