Brewery profits in WW II

Just like WW I, despite all the restrictions on their activities, the war was good for brewers’ profits. With virtually limitless demand, selling beer was no problem. Even if its quality left much to be desired.

Benskins is a good example of a medium-sized brewery, of which there were still a large number in the 1940s. I’ve selected them pretty much at random.

Their story parallels the vicissitudes of the UK brewing industry in the 1930s and 1940s. The dip in profits in 1932 was typical. In 1931 there was an increase in the tax on beer which had a dramatic effect on beer consumption and, with it, brewery profits.

After the tax increase was rolled back in 1933, trade picked up and this is reflected in a modest increase in profits, which then stabilised at around £250,000 until the start of the war. Dividend also picked up, from a low of 10% in 1932 to 18.5% when war erupted.

Despite massive increases in the price of malt and the rate of tax, after a small dip in 1940, profits rose steadily throughout the war, peaking in 1947. The dividend rose to 20% in 1944 and remained there until 1949. The fall in profits in 1948 and 1949 reflects the difficult economic circumstances in post-war austerity Britain and falling beer consumption.

Post-war profits were boosted by a refund of the wartime Excess Profits Tax, which in 1946 amounted to £67,001.

During the war, Bekskins were able to build up considerable reserves of cash: £525,000 for general purposes and £265,000 for repairs and improvements to their tied houses.

The war, despite all the difficulties it brought with it, was good for Benskins financially, as it was for the industry in general. The cash reserves would have been very useful post-war, as very little investment could be made in either the brewery or tied houses during hostilities due to restrictions on building work and the impossibility of sourcing new equipment.

Benskins Brewery profits 1921 - 1929
Year ending 30th Sept.	brought in	net profit	carry forward	to reserve	to reserve for property improvements	dividend ordinary shares
1931	£166,081	£215,674	£107,995	£22,000	£25,000	11.5%
1932	£107,995	£187,936	£135,231	£20,000	£25,000	10%
1933	£135,231	£207,442	£134,482	£20,000	£25,000	12.5%
1934	£134,482	£220,217	£143,399	£25,000	£25,000	15%
1935	£143,399	£243,515	£152,814	£25,000	£25,000	17.5%
1936	£152,814	£258,692	£154,777	£24,828	£25,000	20%
1937	£154,777	£266,101	£163,978	£28,000	£25,000	20%
1938	£163,978	£255,167	£163,925	£37,000	£25,000	18.5%
1939	£163,925	£257,008	£177,713			18.5%
1940	£177,713	£238,847	£173,340	£25,000	£25,000	18.5%
1941	£173,340	£246,325	£176,446	£25,000	£25,000	18.5%
1942	£176,446	£257,481	£181,771	£50,000		18.5%
1943	£181,771	£263,221	£186,772	£40,000	£25,000	18.5%
1944	£186,772	£281,667	£188,187	£48,878	£26,475	20%
1945	£188,187	£282,579	£193,866			20%
1946	£193,866	£290,891	£207,857	£45,000	£25,000	20%
1947	£207,857	£303,866				20%
1948		£294,640				25%
1949		£277,778				20%
Sources:
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Tuesday 01 December 1931, page 13.
Herts and Essex Observer - Saturday 03 December 1932, page 4.
Aberdeen Press and Journal - Saturday 02 December 1933, page 10.
Herts and Essex Observer - Saturday 08 December 1934, page 2.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Friday 29 November 1935, page 14.
Aberdeen Press and Journal - Thursday 26 November 1936, page 11.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Thursday 02 December 1937, page 12.
Nottingham Journal - Friday 02 December 1938, page 8.
Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Tuesday 05 December 1939, page 3.
Belfast Telegraph - Tuesday 03 December 1940, page 6.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Thursday 21 November 1940, page 5.
The Scotsman - Monday 01 December 1941, page 2.
Dundee Courier - Saturday 05 December 1942, page 4.
Birmingham Daily Post - Saturday 05 December 1942, page 4.
The Scotsman - Saturday 04 December 1943, page 3.
The Scotsman - Saturday 20 November 1943, page 2.
Western Mail - Friday 24 November 1944, page 4.
Halifax Evening Courier - Wednesday 21 November 1945, page 3.
The Scotsman - Wednesday 20 November 1946, page 2.
The Scotsman - Friday 14 November 1947, page 2.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Saturday 13 November 1948, page 5.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Friday 12 November 1948, page 3.
The Scotsman - Tuesday 15 November 1949, page 2.

 

 

Brewery profits in wartime

I was quite surprised to discover that WW I, despite all the restrictions placed on brewing, was actually good news for most UK breweries.

The years immediately leading up to the war had been particularly tough. A fall in the value of pubs had a dramatic impact on many breweries' assets and led to a marking down of the value of their share capital. Profits were low and few breweries were able to maintain their usual level of dividends. The war changed all of that.

Brewery profits soared even as the quantity of beer produced fell. The net result was that most breweries were in a few more secure financial state in 1919 than they had been in 1914.

But what about WW II? Was that equally good for brewery profits? It seems like it was, based on this report on Benksins financil results in 1943.

"Brewery Profit Record
The full accounts of Benskins Watford Brewery, Ltd., show that net profits increased by £5739 to £263,221, after providing for Debenture interest, directors' fees, and taxation, the last named amounting to £188,604, against £165,244 in the previous year. The maintenance of the dividend at 18.5 per cent has been previously reported. Mr W. H. Briggs, the chairman, congratulates the stockholders on a successful year despite the difficulty of war conditions. Government orders and regulations controlling the use of brewing materials, fuel, petrol, transport maintenance, and labour had continued, he said, to test the capabilities of their depleted but nevertheless experienced staff. The gross profit earned was a record although the increase in taxation affected the net profit. He estimated that taxes and duties had increased by £1,500,000, compared with the last pre-war year although only six months of the last increase in duty had accrued when the accounts were made up. While the Company's properties had been kept in reasonable repair many repairs had to be deferred. After the war heavy expenditure would be needed to make up excessive wear and tear during the war in plant and transport vehicles and on the structure of the brewery and mailings. For this  provision was being made. The accounts show that £40,000 has been set aside from profits for repairs and contingencies, bringing the total reserve for this up to £158,122. A further £25,000 is placed to reserve for improvements to properties, bringing it up to £231,805. Altogether reserves total £1,151,000, while liquid assets at £1,309,810 are £318,072 in excess of liabilities. The £1 stock units are valued at 84s."
The Scotsman - Saturday 04 December 1943, page 3.

What isn't mentioned here is how in some ways the war reduced brewers' costs. Beer zoning, for example.  This was a scheme whereby brewers only delivered to their tied houses which were close to the brewery. More distant houses were supplied by breweries closer by. Which must have reduced breweries' transport costs.

Of course, during the war brewers could easily sell every drop of beer the made. And having some staff away serving in the armed forces reduced labour costs, although that must have presented its own challenges.

Towards the end of the article it mentions one of the big traps: the impossibility of improving, or even in some cases maintaining, buildings and equipment. Less foresighted brewers than Benskins who didn't put away money to pay for outstanding maintenace after the end of the war, were left in precarious financial position.

That's one of the factors behind the rash of mergers and takeovers in the 1950s. Some brewers hadn't invested anything in their plant for more than a decade. At a certain point they would need to replace large bits of their brewing kit for which they simply didn't have the money. The solution was to sell up.

Colne Spring Ale

I’ve been making some sweeps through the newspaper archive. And finding some useful stuff. Including, surprisingly, price lists.

I’ve written about Benskins legendary Colne Spring Ale several times before. I’m saddened that I never got to taste it. But I was heartened to spot it in a Benskins advert from 1890. But looking a little more closely, it told me something very surprising.

What style was Colne Spring Ale? Barley Wine? Old Ale? No. According to Benskins, it was a Mild Ale.

Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette - Tuesday 28 January 1890, page 1.

I’m glad of two things: that they numbered their beers and that they grouped them by style. The numbering means that I can be sure that XXXXA Ale and Colne Spring Ale are the same thing. Who would have thought Colne Spring Ale was a type of Mild?

The price list also tells me something I’d long suspected: that Cooper was just the name for bottled Porter. Nice to have that confirmed.

Here’s my guess at the OGs, based around 1055º being the gravity of a beer costing 36s per barrel.

beer	price per barrel	est. OG
No. 1 Indian Pale Ale	54	1082.5
No. 2 Guinea Ale	42	1064.2
No. 3 Pale Ale	36	1055.0
No. 4 XXXXA Ale	72	1110.0
No. 4 XXXX Ale	60	1091.7
No. 5 XXX Ale	54	1082.5
No. 6 XX Ale	36	1055.0
No. 7 Double Stout	54	1082.5
No. 8 Single Stout	42	1064.2
No. 9 Porter	36	1055.0

The gravity is too high for the Indian Pale Ale. You had to pay a premium for IPA. My guess would be that the OG was really around 1065º.

Ind Coope other bottled beers 1950 - 1960

Time to look at the rest of Ind Coope’s bottled beers. Which tell us a little about brewing of the period.

I’ll go through the styles alphabetically because I can’t be arsed to think of anything more clever. Dull old me. Which means we start with Barley Wine. Of which they had two: Arctic Ale and Colne Spring Ale. The former was the descendent of beer really made for Arctic voyages and the other a brand acquired with the purchase of Benskin.

Arctic Ale is pretty strong for the 1950’s, at a little under 8% ABV. But it’s puny compared to its ancestor. These are the vital statistics of the 1875 version, analysed in 1961*:

Present gravity	1053.4º
Original gravity	1126.4º
Alcohol (v/v)	9.65%
Colour (E.B.C.)	156º

Note the massive finishing gravity, which isn’t that much lower than the OG of the 1950’s version. It says much about how British beer had changed since the 19th century.

I was surprised to see that Colne Spring Ale was cheaper, despite being considerably stronger than Arctic Ale. It’s actually not bad value when you consider it has four times the ABV of the weaker Stouts and Brown Ales.

Ind Coope other bottled beers 1950 - 1960
Date	Beer	Style	Price per pint d	Acidity	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1950	Arctic Ale	Barley Wine	54	0.05	1079.8	1020.1	7.80	74.81%	18 + 40
1951	Arctic Ale	Barley Wine	52.5	0.08	1078.1	1019.1	7.71	75.54%
1952	Arctic Ale	Barley Wine	54	0.07	1080.3	1020.2	7.85	74.84%	21 + 40
1953	Arctic Ale	Barley Wine	54	0.08	1079	1018	7.98	77.22%	18 + 40
1950	Arctic Ale No. 1	Barley Wine		0.10	1079.9	1020.8	7.72	73.97%	40 + 16
1956	Arctic Barley Wine	Barley Wine	54	0.05	1077.1	1019.7	7.49	74.45%	105
1959	Benskins Colne Spring Ale	Barley Wine	47	0.10	1092.8	1009.3	11.08	89.98%	80
1950	Allsopp Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	15	0.04	1029.9	1007.7	2.88	74.25%	7.5 + 40
1955	Double Brown Ale	Brown Ale	25	0.04	1047.8	1012.6	4.57	73.64%	45
1950	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale		0.06	1029	1009.5	2.52	67.24%	40 + 9
1950	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	18	0.05	1032.3	1008.6	3.07	73.37%	40 + 9
1951	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	18	0.04	1032.6	1007.7	3.23	76.38%	40 + 8
1951	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	19	0.05	1031.9	1008.3	3.06	73.98%	17 + 40
1952	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	19	0.05	1030.9	1011.7	2.48	62.14%	11 + 40
1954	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	19	0.04	1030.7	1009.7	2.72	68.40%	11 + 40
1955	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	22	0.04	1033.6	1011.2	2.90	66.67%	105
1956	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	20	0.04	1032.2	1012.3	2.57	61.80%	90
1959	"Dry Club" Stout	Stout	26	0.02	1038.7	1013.2	3.30	65.89%	240
1950	Allsopp Special Stout	Stout	36	0.05	1034.4	1010.4	3.11	69.77%	1 + 40
1951	Allsopp Special Stout	Stout	24	0.05	1037.8	1011.9	3.35	68.52%
1953	Allsopp Special Stout	Stout	30	0.05	1038.1	1013.4	3.19	64.83%	1 + 11
1959	Allsopp's Sweet Stout	Stout	28		1037.8	1015.4	2.89	59.26%	275
1960	Allsopp's Sweet Stout	Stout	26	0.04	1037.7	1017.3	2.63	54.11%	300
1960	Nourishing Stout	Stout	20	0.04	1031.9	1015	2.18	52.98%	275
1950	Special Stout	Stout		0.05	1035.9	1011.7	3.13	67.41%	1 + 14
1950	Special Stout	Stout	24	0.05	1038.2	1014.9	3.01	60.99%	1 + 14
1951	Special Stout	Stout	24	0.08	1038.3	1013.4	3.22	65.01%	1 + 14
1951	Special Stout	Stout	29	0.07	1037.1	1015.3	2.81	58.76%	1 + 16
1952	Special Stout	Stout	23	0.05	1037.9	1011.5	3.42	69.66%	1 + 11.5
1956	Special Stout	Stout	26	0.04	1038.1	1014.9	2.99	60.89%	250
1956	Sweet Stout (lactose present)	Stout	28	0.05	1038.5	1016.5	2.83	57.14%	250
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

I’ve not much to say about Nut Brown Ale. Other than that they clearly deliberately made it sweeter after 1952 by dropping the level of attenuation. Oh, and they seem to have upped the gravity a bit when tax fell in 1950.

It’s nice to see a Double Brown, a stronger type of Brown Ale that mostly died out in the 1950’s. This one is a bit weaker than Whitbread’s, which was over 1050º and disappeared in 1955. The colour is quite pale (80 is Dark Mild). So more in the direction of Newcastle Brown.

All that’s left are the Stouts. All two of them. Clearly Special Stout was rechristened Sweet Stout in 1956. Looks like they raised the FG by adding lactose at the same time. Leaving a beer you’d need to drink several gallons of to get any kind of buzz. You can see that the gravity of the Stout was also raised a bit in 1950.

Draught beers next time.





* The Brewer, volume 67, 1961, pages 511 - 513.

Benskin’s beers 1944 - 1960

Here, as promised, are Benskin’s beers for the immediate post-war years.

It looks like pretty much a full set of their beers, which is nice. There’s a reason for that. Watford being just outside London, it was on Whitbread’s patch. So a competitor, and quite a large one as they had 600-odd pubs. They were bound to have attracted Whitbread’s attention.

Let’s start with the strongest, Colne Spring Ale. Notice something strange about it? A really high degree of attenuation for a beer of its strength. That screams one thing at me: Brettanomyces. It’s hard to see how you could get the FG so low without Brettanomyces playing a part. As you can see, it wasn’t cheap at 5 shillings a pint. Then again, it was four times the strength of their weaker beers.

What else is there? A bog-standard looking Brown Ale. It looks very much like a bottled version of the X Ale. And look there – the IPA is one of the weakest beers. Looks very much in the Southern, low-gravity styles. Light Sparkling Ale seems to have had its name chopped down to just Light Ale in the mid-1950’s. Around 3% ABV is what you’d expect it to be.

The Stout is an interesting one. It looks like a Scottish one, with attenuation below 50%. You can see that the OG fell and the FG rose as the 1950’s progressed. Sweet and barely alcoholic. A bit like me, really.

Not sure what the beer for the Belgian market was. I can’t read the name. Maybe it’s a Scotch Ale. No, a bit weak for that. Pale Ale, maybe. Why have a Jubilee Beer in 1953? Surely it should be a Coronation Beer?

Moving on to the draught beers, they look, well, normal. I’ve seen weaker ones in the 1950’s.

That’s all for Benskin’s for now.

Benskin bottled beers 1944 - 1960
Year	Beer	Style	Price	Acidity	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1953	Colne Spring Ale	Barley Wine	60	0.05	1090.7	1008.2	10.95	90.96%	1 + 8
1955	Colne Spring Ale	Barley Wine	60	0.08	1091.8	1011.1	10.69	87.91%	75
1960	Colne Spring Ale	Barley Wine		0.04	1092.2	1007.6	11.25	91.76%	68
1951	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	16	0.06	1032.9	1008.1	3.22	75.38%	11 + 40
1951	India Pale Ale	IPA	20	0.07	1029.3	1006.3	2.98	78.50%	20 B
1944	Bitter Ale	Pale Ale		0.06	1027.6	1008.1	2.52	70.65%	22 B
1956	Light Ale	Pale Ale	19	0.04	1031.4	1009.8	2.79	68.79%	25
1946	Light Sparkling Ale	Pale Ale	13	0.04	1028.9	1004.9	3.12	83.04%	20.5 B
1947	Light Sparkling Ale	Pale Ale	12.5	0.08	1029.4	1008.7	2.68	70.41%	18.5
1947	Light Sparkling Ale	Pale Ale	16	0.08	1029.6	1007	2.93	76.35%	20.5
1951	Light Sparkling Ale	Pale Ale	16	0.08	1032.6	1008.1	3.18	75.15%	18 B
1951	Brown Stout	Stout	20	0.06	1039.2	1013.6	3.31	65.31%	1 + 18
1953	Brown Stout	Stout	21	0.07	1036.6	1014.2	2.89	61.20%	1 + 11.5
1953	Brown Stout	Stout	21	0.04	1037.6	1018.3	2.48	51.33%	275
1955	Double Stout	Stout	24	0.04	1036.2	1018.6	2.26	48.62%	250
1955	Double Stout	Stout	22	0.02	1036.1	1018.3	2.29	49.31%	275
1950	???? Ale Bottled in Belgium	Strong Ale		0.09	1060.3	1011.3	6.40	81.26%	18 B
1953	Jubilee Beer	Strong Ale	30	0.06	1054	1017.7	4.70	67.22%	14.5 + 40
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Benskin draught beers 1952 - 1953
Year	Beer	Style	Price	OG	colour
1953	X	Mild	13	1031.5	84
1952	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	18	1039	23
1953	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	16	1037.2	18
Source:
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252

Benskin’s Watford Brewery (part two)

We’re back with the report of the chairman of Benskin’s. He wasn’t a happy man.

Here’s some grade A whingeing about the government sticking its nose into his business:

“In July of this year the Licensing Act, 1949, became law, but the Government has not yet enforced all its provisions. These relate mainly to the sale of intoxicants in New Towns, of which there are five in the area of the company's operations. In some of these towns the company is the principal owner of licensed properties and if the Government takes over these houses serious loss of trade may ensue to the company. The Home Secretary announced in Parliament that, subject to advice, he is prepared to allow private enterprise in our trade to compete side by side with State controlled houses. Tills, however, appears to be dependent upon the advice of committees to be set up in Now Towns called New Towns Advisory Committees. It would appear to be only common justice that in view of the interests of the brewing trade and owners of the licensed houses the industry should have representation on such committees. Even from the point of view of the interests of the consumers, and the public at large, it should be obvious that some such representation is desirable if only to give advice on the most efficient, economical and prudent way of building and conducting licensed premises. I think even the most ardent planner would acknowledge that our long years of experience must have some value in this matter.”
"Brewing Trade Review, 1950", page 86.

I’d never heard of the government thinking about taking over the pubs in New Towns. The Big Daddy of them all, Milton Keynes was only 35 miles away and presumably within their trading area. I assume the others were Stevenage, Crawley, Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield.

They wouldn’t want to lose their pubs in these towns as they were probably some of the largest and most modern in their estate. And profitable. If you see how close many of the New Towns are to Watford – and how close together – Benskin’s faced the possibility of big no go areas around their brewery. I guess he did have a point.

The chairman really didn’t like the idea of government-controlled pubs:

“There is a distinct tendency on the part of municipal corporations and such like bodies to enter into our trade and, in fact, the Government has inserted clauses in now Bills, such as the Housing Bill and the Bill before Parliament dealing with park land and open spaces, encouraging local authorities and empowering them to take this action. It would seem to be very unfair for these bodies to compete with private industry which maintains them by paying rates and taxes.”
"Brewing Trade Review, 1950", page 86.

With all the discussion about the relationship between pub companies and their tenants, this sounds quite topical:

“The relations between brewers and their licensed tenants have been reviewed during the year and brought into line with present day conceptions. For instance, years ago a tenant was subject to three months' notice, and this was considered to be reasonable, but our licensees are now entitled to 12 months' notice except in circumstances of default and they are entitled to be supplied with wines and spirits at ruling current market prices.”
"Brewing Trade Review, 1950", page 86.

Bastards. Having security of tenure and a right to be supplied at the normal price. Pure socialism.

Fancy a look at Benskin’s beers? Yeah, ‘course you do. We’ll do that next.

Benskin’s Watford Brewery

Here’s another annual report and another famous name from brewing’s past: Benskin’s. Brewers of the legendary Colne Spring Ale.

“BENSKIN'S WATFORD BREWERY
The 52nd annual general meeting of this company was held on 14th December in London, Col. W. H. Briggs, D.L. (chairman), presiding. The following is an extract from his circulated statement :—

The year's trading has resulted in a net profit of £277,778 after making provision for all outgoings and expenses and after deductions of profits tax and income tax: on the year's profits. The latter with £294,640 in the corresponding period of 1948. The profits for that year were a record, and were £83,529 over the figures for 1947 which were more normal. Therefore this year's profits are more in accord with the company's usual earnings. In all the circumstances the directors consider the accounts for the year to be satisfactory. In the early part of the year trade fell very seriously, and although the company has made up considerable leeway during the summer, it has not been possible to overtake to the full extent the fall in the spring.”
"Brewing Trade Review, 1950", pages  85 - 86.

It looks as if the brewery was pretty solid financially.

A bit about the history of Benskin’s. This being the 52nd annual meeting, you’d expect the brewery to have gone public in 1898. But in fact that happened in 1894. Not sure why there are four annual meetings missing. Isn’t there a legal obligation to hold one each year?

The firm had been started in 1722 by John Pope and it remained in his family for the next century. When Joseph Benskin got his hands on it in 1867 (for 34,000 quid), the brewery already had an estate of 42 pubs. It didn’t last long after this report as an independent company, falling to Ind Coope in 1957. At the time it had 636 pubs. It closed in 1972.*

These chairmen’s reports follow a routine path. First they say how wonderfully the company is doing. Then complain bitterly of how much better they’d be doing, if it weren’t for the government. A bit like today’s business leaders, really.

Here’s a moan about government wage controls:

“The expenses of conducting licensed houses rise in every direction and are steeply accentuated by such Acts as the Catering Wages Act which places very serious increases in wages upon the cost of running a licensed house, but despite this increase in wages, lighting, heating, furnishings, food, rates, and in fact in every way, selling prices are expected to be kept at the same figure, if not lower.”
"Brewing Trade Review, 1950", page 86.

This is really interesting:

“Brewing materials, though restricted by the Ministry of Food principally to home produce, are good and this year's crop of barley has been very satisfactory indeed. In this part of the country barley has been good and plentiful and obtainable at comparatively reasonable prices. As those notes are being written hops are coming on to the market and what have been seen are up to a good standard.”
"Brewing Trade Review, 1950", page 86.

I’d noticed in the numbers that – and brewing records – that for the first time since the 1840’s exclusively British ingredients were being used. Three things had made this possible: a fall in the quantity of beer brewed, a fall in beer strength and a huge increase in barley growing in WW II.

Next time a look at Benskin’s pub trade and their worry of the government muscling in.





* “A Century of British Brewers”, by Norman Barber, 1996, page 41.