Burton beers ca 1955 (part two)

http://www.arcticalchemy.com/Back to Andrew Campbell's "The Book Of Beer" to conclude his roundup of Burton beers. I hope you enjoy it.

We start with Ind, Coope and Allsopp:

"The parent company [Ind, Coope and Allsopp] brew at Burton, Romford and Alloa and also at Wrexham - Graham's Golden Lager. In 1948 a substantial interest was acquired in Taylor's Brewery, Nairobi, in whose extended and rebuilt premises many brews are prepared including Allsopp's White Cap Lager. At home their most celebrated brews are a pale ale available on draught as Diamond and in bottle as Double Diamond, which since 1946 has, largely as a result of advertising but also because the combine controls more than 3,300 licensed houses, become one of the three national beers. It has the same dry quality of the other Burton I.P.A.s, perhaps a little softer and lighter in flavour than Bass or Worthington.

Allsopp's have the distinction of being the first brewery to form a laboratory, appointing a Mr. H. Bottinger as scientific adviser in 1845 and in 1852 they were invited to prepare a special brew for the expedition that was sent in search of Franklin, and was such a great success that it was taken on other expeditions to the polar regions.Called Arctic Ale, it travelled with the British North Greenland Expedition in 1952. It is a strong ale, less sweet than a barley wine, but quite rightly described by one admirer as 'mellow as old burgundy and nourishing as beefsteak'.

Ind, Coope and Allsopp's draught bitter has a very light sweet touch and is quite pleasantly sharp on the tongue, their Burton is rather light, not sweet at all. A recently introduced beer specially intended for the home consumer is Coronet, selling at a shilling a half-pint, with a slightly sweet but positively malty flavour. It is said to be fully fermented, but throws a slight sediment and should be poured with care. It is a nice beer, and is bottled in screw-top pints as well as the usual half-pint."
"The Book Of Beer" by Andrew Campbell, 1956, pages 203-204.

You know the score by now. Here's where I theatrically pull the technical details of the beers just mentioned from the Whitbread Gravity Book. You'll find Double Diamond, Ind Coope Bitter and Burton in the table below. Sadly, no Arctic Ale. Though I hope soon to have the opportunity to taste a recreation of this legendary beer.

Ind Coope beers in the 1950's
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	attenuation
1950	MA	Mild	1/-	pint	draught	1008.9	1027.9	7 + 40	2.46	68.10%
1950	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	1/3d	pint	draught	1005.6	1032.1	22 B	3.44	82.55%
1950	Mild Ale	Mild	1/3d	pint	draught	1009.6	1039.2	40 + 9	3.84	75.51%
1951	Ale	Mild	1/-	pint	draught	1008	1029.4	3 + 40	2.77	72.79%
1951	Bitter	Pale Ale	1/3d	pint	draught	1005.2	1035.3	22 B	3.92	85.27%
1951	Double Burton	Burton	2/-	pint	draught	1013.9	1054.3	17 + 40	5.25	74.40%
1954	Strong Mild Ale	Mild	1/7d	pint	draught	1010.7	1043.5	17 + 40	4.26	75.40%
1957	Mild Ale	Mild	1/3d	pint	draught	1008.4	1034.9	95	3.44	75.93%
1957	Double Diamond	Pale Ale	1/8d	pint	draught	1008.1	1043.8	20	4.65	81.51%
1957	PA	Pale Ale	1/5d	pint	draught	1006.5	1036.3	19	3.88	82.09%
1957	Best Bitter	Pale Ale	1/5d	pint	draught	1008	1035.2	19	3.53	77.27%
1957	Mild Ale	Mild	1/3d	pint	draught	1006.6	1032	70	3.30	79.37%
1959	Red Hand	Pale Ale	1/10d	pint	draught	1011.5	1037.5	18	3.37	69.33%
Source: Whitbread Gravity Book

Check back on the first part of my posts on Burton beers and you'll see that Double Diamond was in reality a good bit weaker than Bass or Worthington IPA. Perhaps bottled Double Diamond was stronger. Unfortunately, I have no details of that version. Their Strong Mild was just about the same strength as draught Double Diamond. I'm not sure what that tells us. I'll let you know when I work it out.

I was going to finish the Burton beers today. But the post was getting a bit long. And I know what a short attention span people have today. Almost as  short as mine.