Northwestern Bitters in 1978

We're flipping over to the other side of the Pennines for a look at Bitters in the Northwest. Which I define as everything West of the Pennines from Cheshire to Scotland. Arbitrary, but simple. Oh, and a bit of North Wales, as I had just the one entry from Wales.

I didn't say much about the Daily Mirror scores last time. The last set averaged 9.1 out of 12. Not too bad, given that a 9 qualifies as "good". This is their scale:

The highest mark given is 12—for perfection; 11— excellent; 10 —very good; 9—good; 8—pretty good: 7—acceptable; 6—fair; 5— poor; 4—very poor; 3—bad; 2—very bad; 1—appalling; 0—undrinkable.
Sunday Mirror - Sunday 17 September 1978, page 22. 

The Northeast average was brought down by quite a few beers scoring an 8 and one, Newcastle Amber, just a 6. While this set has an average score of 9.3, with four 8s the lowest scores. Oddly enough, those two were from well-respected brewers Hydes and Lees. I'm amazed that Wilsons, which I never cared for, scored higher.

Most of the other numbers are pretty similar. The average price is 0.4p per pint cheaper. That's not surprising, as Manchester was known for its cheap beer. Average OG, ABV and attenuation are all a fraction higher, but not by much.

Best vale were Higsons and Oldham, who both sold their 4% plus Bitters for just 26p.

One last point: note how few of the beers have names. Most are simply called Bitter or Best Bitter. How easy that made life. No need to enquire what the hell type of beer "Reflective View" is. 

Fascinating to see Pollard included. Which was one of the earliest new breweries founded in the wake of CAMRA. The Theakston brewery in Carlisle was the old state brewery.

Northwestern Bitters in 1978
Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (p)	º gravity per p	% ABV per p	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	score	Flavour
Mitchells	Extra Special Draught Bitter				1045	1009.5	4.62	78.89%	10	Good, strong taste, full bodied.
Robinson	Best Bitter				1042	1009	4.29	78.57%	10	Excellent all-rounder.
Greenall Whitley (Wem)	Festival				1040.2	1006.05	4.45	84.95%	9	Clean bright keg. Pleasant.
Hartleys	Bitter	30	1.30	0.12	1039.1	1010.2	3.75	73.91%	10	Real nutty flavour. Excellent.
Higsons	Bitter	26	1.49	0.17	1038.7	1005.7	4.30	85.27%	9	Lovely, distinct bitter flavour.
Oldham Brewery	O.B. Bitter	26	1.45	0.15	1037.7	1006.9	4.01	81.70%	11	Superb creamy beer. Beautiful and rich.
Wilsons	Great Northern Bitter	29	1.30	0.13	1037.6	1007.7	3.89	79.52%	9	A delight from the wood as per this sample.
Theakston (Carlisle)	Best Bitter	32	1.17	0.12	1037.5	1007.6	3.89	79.73%	10	Nice fruity flavour.
Hydes	Best Bitter	27	1.37	0.14	1037.1	1008.2	3.75	77.90%	8	Sharp, tangy taste.
Greenall Whitley	Bitter	27	1.36	0.14	1036.8	1007.4	3.82	79.89%	10	Good head. Good taste. Nice.
Lees	Lees Bitter	28	1.31	0.16	1036.7	1003.15	4.38	91.42%	8	A qood malty flavour.
Boddington	Bitter	31	1.15	0.11	1035.7	1008.3	3.56	76.75%	8	A real “bitter" drinker’s tipple.
Pollard	John Barleycorn	30	1.19	0.13	1035.6	1006.1	3.84	82.87%	8	A new boy. Malty. Promising.
Matthew Brown	Best Bitter	28	1.25	0.13	1035.1	1006.7	3.69	80.91%	9	Nice, malty, meaty beer.
Jennings	Bitter	28	1.25	0.13	1035	1007.4	3.58	78.86%	11	Creamy, lovely ale.
Yates & Kackson	Bitter	29	1.20	0.13	1034.7	1006.2	3.71	82.13%	10	Good taste. Dry and hoppy.
Burtonwood	Bitter	29	1.20	0.13	1034.7	1005.2	3.84	85.01%	10	Excellent creamy drink.
Thwaites	Mature Bitter	29	1.20	0.12	1034.7	1007.1	3.58	79.54%	9	Hoppy, full bodied flavour
Border	Best Bitter	30	1.14	0.11	1034.1	1008.7	3.29	74.49%	9	Good flavoured creamy topped beer.
Average		28.7	1.27	0.13	1037.3	1007.2	3.91	80.65%	9.3
Source:
Sunday Mirror - Sunday 17 September 1978, pages 22 - 23.