Fowler's other beers 1862 - 1961

Fowler may have been best known for their Twelve Guinea Ale, but it wasn't the only beer they brewed. OH no indeedy. They brewed a normal range of a Scottish brewery: Pale Ale, Stout, IPA, etc.

As you should be aware by now, Fowler's brewery in Prestonpans closed in 1962. That means I've beers spanning the last 100 years of their existence. Cool, eh? Back in the 19th century, like the brewers of Edinburgh and Alloa, they were as famous for their Pale Ales as their strong Scottish Ales. Bit of a recurring theme that one. Breweries specialising in both Pale Ale and Barley Wine type things. It explains why I've several analyses of Fowler's Pale Ale from the 1860's.

Straight away there's something that jumps out: the 19th-century PA's aren't that strong. A proper top-of-the-range Pale Ale of the 1860's was 1060º to 1065º. All of Fowler's are under 1060º and one is even below 1040º. That's kiddy beer for the Victorians. There's something else. The acidity. 0.27 to 0.29% is rather a lot. You'd expect a Pale Ale to be well below 0.10%.

The interwar Pale Ales are pretty weedy, too. Most are under 1030º. Even cheap London Pale Ales would have been over 1040º. Note the change in level of attenuation. The 19th century Pale Ales are 75% to 95%, the interwar ones 61% to 75%. That's quite a shift.

There's not much change after WW II. Most of the Pale Ales hover around the 1030º mark. Again, that's a few points off the pace. An average Bitter just after the war's end was around 1035º. The final analysis, Export Ale from 1961 is uncharacteristically strong. In fact, about exactly where you would expect an Export to be, gravity-wise. 1040º to 1054º the BJCP says the gravity range of Export is. They should know.

IPA. Every time I think I'm getting the hang of how brewers used the term, they surprise me again. I suspect it was just random whether a beer was called a Pale Ale or an India Pale Ale. Fowler's two pre-war IPA's are a good bit stronger than their Pale Ales at 1046º. Postwar, it's a feeble 1030º. I'm surprised the Style Council didn't jump all over them.

Heavy. I've explained its meaning in Scottish brewing several times, but it doesn't hurt repeating. Strong, that's all it means. Not a specific style. Just strong. As is clear from the 1948 Heavy Ale. It's not Heavy as in 70/- Pale Ale, but Heavy as in Strong Ale. I know it's confusing. What in Scottish beer isn't?

I really wish a colour had been given for the Sweet Ale. If it was dark, I suppose it could be classified as a Brown Ale. As it is, I've no idea what to call it. With that high finishing gravity, it must have been sweet as its name claims. It doesn't resemble any other beer I can remember coming across. Bit of a weird one.

The one Stout doesn't tell us much. Except that it's in the sweet, low-gravity, low-attenuation Scottish style. Which is no real surprise.

Here's the table itself:

Fowler beers 1862 - 1961
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation	Flavour
1862	Prestonpans Beer	Pale Ale					1010	1047.1		4.86	78.77%
1862	Pale Ale	Pale Ale					1008	1057.4		6.50	85.89%
1869	Pale Ale	Pale Ale			draught	0.29	1013	1053.55		5.34	74.94%
1869	Pale Ale	Pale Ale			draught	0.29	1013	1054.76		5.38	76.57%
1869	Pale Ale	Pale Ale			draught	0.27	1007	1044.99		4.95	84.51%
1869	Pale Ale	Pale Ale			draught	0.28	1002	1039.15		4.93	95.71%
1928	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	3d	half	bottled		1010	1027	30	2.20	62.96%
1928	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	4d	half	bottled		1014	1036	35	2.84	61.11%
1930	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	3d	half	bottled		1009	1027.5	31	2.39	67.27%
1930	Pale Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1012	1039	46	3.50	69.23%
1931	Pale Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1009	1028	32	2.46	67.86%
1931	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	4d	half	bottled		1007	1027.5		2.72	76.36%
1931	Pale Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1007	1026	31	2.46	73.08%
1932	Sweet Ale	Ale		pint	bottled		1021	1040.5		2.57	49.38%
1939	I.P.A. (XP)	IPA		pint	bottled		1011	1046.25	7 – 8	4.61	76.76%
1939	90/- Pale Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1010	1037.5	10	3.63	74.67%
1939	I.P.A. (XP)	IPA		pint	bottled		1011	1046.5		4.68	77.42%
1939	60/- Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1010	1038.5	11	3.70	74.03%
1940	Pale Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1011	1037		3.37	70.27%
1946	60/- Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1009	1029		2.59	68.97%	Sweetish. Appears to be primed. Lacks all character.
1947	120/- Ale	Pale Ale		pint	bottled		1011	1039.5		3.69	72.15%	Sound good round beer. Drinks full. Bright.
1947	Heavy Ale	Strong Ale		pint	bottled		1026	1081.4		7.27	68.67%
1948	Strong Ale	Strong Ale		pint	bottled		1020	1079.5		7.84	75.47%
1948	54/- Ale	Pale Ale		pint	draught		1007	1028		2.72	75.00%
1949	XP (extra Pale)	Pale Ale	9s 3d per dozen	pint	bottled		1009	1029.5		2.65	69.49%
1949	India Pale Ale (Extra Pale)	IPA		pint	bottled		1009	1030		2.72	70.00%
1955	Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.04	1019	1038	400	2.49	51.05%
1961	Export Ale	Pale Ale	15d	half	bottled	0.04	1014	1044	20	3.79	68.86%
Sources:
"The lancet 1853, Volume 2", 1853, page 631.
British Medical Journal August 28th 1869, page 245
Younger, Wm. & Co Gravity Book document WY/6/1/1/19 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002