George Thompson interview part one

George Thompson, talks about his time at the Drybrough in Edinburgh, including continuous fermentation and brewing with raw barley.  

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1990 Youngs Ordinary

Bucketloads of PA, as Ordinary was called in the brewhouse, were brewed. Sometimes in batches of over 1,000 barrels. Obviously, a popular beer. It’s what I usually drank in Youngs pubs. I preferred it to the Special.

Not much to say about the recipe. It being parti-gyled with the Light Ale we’ve already seen. Other than that No. 3 invert is an interesting sugar choice for a Pale Ale. No. 1 or No. 2 is more usual.

While most Ordinary Bitter was sold in cask form, it was kegged for outlets like clubs which sold small amounts of beer. 

Once again, I’ve bumped up the hopping level to hit the correct bitterness level (as recorded in the brewing record).

1990 Youngs Ordinary
pale malt	7.50 lb	88.70%
crystal malt 120 L	0.125 lb	1.48%
torrefied barley	0.50 lb	5.91%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.33 lb	3.90%
Fuggles 70 min	2.25 oz
Goldings 10 min	0.50 oz
OG	1037
FG	1007.5
ABV	3.90
Apparent attenuation	79.73%
IBU	34
SRM	6.5
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	167º F
Boil time	70 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

Listen to brewer John Hatch explain how they brewed at Youngs in the 1990s.  

UK beer exports to Europe

I love the Statistical Handbook so much. Even more so as I get a free copy every year via the British Guild of Beer Writers. More from it today.

It's the turn of UK beer exports this time. Specifically, exports to Europe.

Before 1990, the only European country importing significant quantities of UK was Belgium. No real surprise there. Before WW II it was the main destination for UK exports to Europe. Though this really dropped off in the 2000s. Partly, I think, because some beers which had been brewed in the UK had production moved to Belgium. For example, John Martin Pale Ale.

France is a weird one. Going From fuck all in 1970 to almost half European exports in 2010. Before falling quite a long way back again. I wonder which beers were being sent to France? I can't imagine it was Lager.

Ireland followed a similar trajectory, with tiny amounts before 1990, then surging after 2000. Accounting, in the most recent years, for a bout half UK exports to Europe. In this case, it probably was Lager. Stuff like Tennents would be my guess.

Italy, too, saw a big increase in 1990, followed by a fall and the then recovery. Overall, pretty up and down. I can't help but think that Brexit had something to do with the big fall in exports between 2010 and 2020.

I'm quite surprised at how much was being exported to Holland from 2010 onwards. I can't for the life of me think what beers that might be. I don't exactly see a lot of British beer over here.

Spain is the only destination where exports increased substantially between 2010 and 2024. Probably lots of lovely Carling and John Smiths Smooth. 

UK beer exports (1,000 hl) to Europe
Destination	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010	2020	2023	2024
European Union
Austria	-	-	-	-	0.7	5.8	5.6	8.7	10.9	6.3
Belgium & Luxembourg	54.6	164	236.8	272.3	101.5	57.2	65.2	11.1	126.6	27.4
Cyprus	4.2	15.1	17.8	1.6	4.4	5.2	111.2	4.9	14.8	19.6
Denmark	-	-	1.0	5.6	0.8	15.8	26.1	20.8	34.3	32.8
Finland	-	-	-	-	6.7	8.3	19.6	15.3	11.4	14
France	1.1	1.3	4.3	23.9	25.5	699.8	2,273.3	245.3	346.9	316.3
Germany	5.1	8.7	48.6	31.4	47.6	23.8	131.3	79.3	35.1	73.7
Greece	0.2	0.04	0.2	0.2	23.7	13.7	8.9	4.8	6.4	12.6
Ireland	6.9	10.8	17.0	32.1	383.5	277.1	1,372.3	1,531.3	1,264.5	1,285.9
Italy	0.1	0.9	1.8	26.7	77.3	273.2	159.5	59.8	80.0	135.9
Malta	-	-	-	0.5	0.5	1.6	8.1	2.1	4.6	6.1
Netherlands	-	-	11.5	40.1	69.0	79.0	470.7	197.8	379.9	290.3
Poland	-	-	-	-	-	-	9.1	13.1	15.6	17
Spain	-	-	2.0	4.1	76.2	97.9	87.3	143.1	161.3	237.5
Sweden	-	-	25.2	3.3	11.1	42.8	120.9	58.9	53.2	51.7
Other EU Countries	-	-	-	-	-	-	13.2	53.5	64.5	57.6
Total	-	-	-	-	829.3	1,597.2	4,882.4	2,449.7	2,610.0	2,584.9
The Rest of Europe
Norway	-	0.05	-	0.5	0.3	7.7	13.7	14.4	12.1	12.7
Russia	-	-	-	-	2.1	19.5	24.1	140.6	0.2	0.1
Switzerland	-	-	3.3	2	3.9	37.1	7.7	20.9	17.2	22.9
Other countries	-	-	-	-	8.7	22.6	6.5	25.2	54.7	45.3
Total	-	-	-	-	34.7	103.1	52.1	201.2	84.2	81
All Europe	-	-	397.9	458.4	864.0	1,700.2	4,934.5	2,650.9	2,694.2	2,665.9
Sources:
“1955 Brewers' Almanack”, pages 58-59.
“1962 Brewers' Almanack”, pages 56-57.
The Brewers' Society Statistical Handbook 2025, page 18.

 

Pub or offie?

Where do UK drinkers buy their beer? 

Historically, it was overwhelmingly in pubs. Before WW II, When the number of standalone off-licences was relatively small, even beer for home consumption was often purchased in pubs. Sometimes in bottled form, but often draught beer filled into jugs. 

Children were often sent to fetch the beer, despite being underage. This was allowed as long as a seal was put on the jug to prevent illicit sipping on the way home. My mother did this as a girl, fetching a pint of Old and Mild for her mum. But I digress.

After 1960, the number of off-licences increase rapidly, doubling by 2000. While, at the same time, the number of pubs has decreased. Which has shifted the balance between on- and off-licences considerably. S you can see in the first table.

As recently as 1980, not far short of 90% of beer sales were in pubs. That's been in decline ever since. But it was only in 2015 that a majority of sales were in offies.

Obviously, there was a big drop in pub sales during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Since when pub sales have increased a bit. The latest figure of 42% pub sales is still quite impressive compared to most other countries. Where a far higher percentage of beer is sold in shops rather than bars. 

Pubs and off licences 1905 - 2000
Date	Total Pubs	Off Licences	total	% pubs	% off licences
1905	99,478	25,405	124,883	79.66%	20.34%
1910	92,484	24,438	116,922	79.10%	20.90%
1920	83,432	22,198	105,630	78.99%	21.01%
1930	77,605	22,125	99,730	77.82%	22.18%
1940	73,365	21,884	95,249	77.02%	22.98%
1950	73,483	23,532	97,015	75.74%	24.26%
1960	69,184	23,670	92,854	74.51%	25.49%
1970	64,702	27,910	92,612	69.86%	30.14%
1980	67,091	37,252	104,343	64.30%	35.70%
1991	74,299	47,944	122,243	60.78%	39.22%
2000	77,876	45,450	123,326	63.15%	36.85%
Sources:
1924 – 1972: The Brewers' Society Statistical handbook 1973”, page 50.
1973 - 2010 2011 Statistical Handbook of the BBPA, page 74
"Brewers' Almanack 1971", page 83.

Location of UK beer sales (%)
Year	on sales	off sales
1980	87.7	12.3
1985	83.0	17.0
1986	81.6	18.4
1987	80.7	19.3
1988	80.1	19.9
1989	79.6	20.4
1990	79.6	20.4
1990	78.5	21.5
1991	77.7	22.3
1992	76.7	23.3
1993	75.4	24.6
1994	74.5	25.5
1995	72.6	27.5
1996	72.0	28.0
1999	68.1	31.9
2000	67.6	32.4
2001	65.7	34.3
2002	63.6	36.4
2003	61.7	38.3
2004	60.4	39.6
2005	59.4	40.6
2006	57.9	42.1
2007	56.5	43.5
2008	54.2	45.8
2009	53.8	46.2
2010	51.9	48.1
2011	52.4	47.6
2012	52.4	47.6
2013	50.7	49.3
2014	50.0	50.0
2015	49.1	50.9
2016	48.4	51.6
2017	46.9	53.1
2018	46.0	54.0
2019	45.0	55.0
2020	23.6	76.4
2021	30.7	69.3
2022	41.3	58.7
2023	41.9	58.1
2024	42.1	57.9
Source:
BBPA Statistical Handbook 2025, page 14.

 

 

 

Cask vs keg since 1980

More numbers. This time, including sales by method of dispense. Such as cask and keg.

They kick off in 1980. When "traditional" keg outsold Lager almost two to one. And cask by more than that.

Apologies for the incompleteness of the figures. The Statistical Handbook hasn't always broken sales into the same categories. Nor included the same things in their tables. Hence the big holes.

Cask held steady in the early 1980s, went into a slow decline, before recovering in the second half of the 1990s. And its been pretty much downhill all the way since then. The 2024 figure of marginally over 5% is pretty worrying.

Though, in comparison to the fortunes of keg and nitrokeg, cask has come off pretty well. "Traditional" keg dropping from 39% in 1980 to a dismal 1.6% in 2024. Cask outselling keg beer three to one would have sounded good in the 1990s. Now, it just means treble bugger all.

Nitrokeg has fared a little better, though it's still seen a 75% drop in sales since 2000.

Stout is the only type to see growth over the period 2000 to 2024. And only by a small amount. Even draught Lager couldn't dodge the downwards trend. Though its share of the draught market increased from 53% in 2000 to 64% in 2024.  

Cask defeated keg. A sort of Pyrrhic victory, really, given the current tiny sales of both. 

UK draught beer sales by type (%)
Year	Cask condi-tioned ale / stout	Nitro-keg ale	Tradit-ional keg ale	Stout	Lager	Total
1980	16.8		39.0		23.0	78.8
1981	17
1982	17
1983	17
1984	17
1985	17
1986	16
1987	15
1988	15
1989	15
1990	14.3		24.4		32.5	71.2
1991	15
1992	16
1993	17
1994	17
1995	16
1996	14
1997	12
1998	11
1999	11
2000	9.4	10.5	5.0	4.4	33.0	62.3
2001	8.8	10.0	4.4	4.3	33.1	60.6
2002	8.3	9.4	4.0	4.2	32.8	58.6
2003	7.8	8.9	3.5	3.9	33.2	57.1
2004	7.4	8.5	3.1	3.8	33.2	56.0
2005	7.2	8.2	2.7	3.8	33.4	55.2
2006	7.0	7.7	2.3	3.7	33.0	53.7
2007	7.1	7.5	2.0	3.7	32.1	52.4
2008	7.2	7.0	1.8	3.7	30.5	50.2
2009	7.5	6.9	1.6	3.6	30.3	49.9
2010	7.3	6.4	1.4	3.5	29.6	48.2
2011	8.0	5.7	1.5	3.3	29.3	47.8
2012	8.1	5.4	1.6	3.2	29.4	47.7
2013	8.2	5.0	1.5	3.1	28.7	46.4
2014	8.2	4.7	2.0	3.1	28.5	45.8
2015	8.3	4.7	1.8	3.0	27.8	45.1
2016	8.1	4.4	1.3	3.0	27.9	44.7
2017	7.6	4.1	1.4	3.0	27.2	43.4
2018	7.0	3.8	1.5	2.9	26.7	41.9
2019	6.6	3.4	1.6	3.0	26.4	41.1
2020	3.5	1.6	0.6	1.4	13.4	20.4
2021	4.3	2.0	1.0	2.0	18.4	27.7
2022	5.6	2.9	1.3	3.2	25.0	38.0
2023	5.5	2.7	1.4	3.8	25.0	38.5
2024	5.1	2.5	1.6	4.6	24.7	38.6
Source:
BBPA Statistical Handbook 2025, page 13.