Scottish Stout 1920 - 1939

Hi there. It's time for more about Scottish Stout. You know the score, I assemble a pretty little table of numbers and then bullshit about it. Fun you can never tire of.

A quick glance at the should tell you a few things.  

First, that I've a much more varied range of sources and far more breweries represented.  

Second, that they're a right disparate bunch of beers. Gravities going from 1078º all the way down to 1024º. The level of attenuation is just as varied, from a nice round 80% down 37.5%. Nourishing Stout? You're having a laugh.

The evolution of Tennent's Milk Stout is a marvel. Starting in 1924 with an OG of 1038.3,and ABV of 3.56% and 71.80% attenuation. By 1933 it was down to OG 1024, 1.16% ABV and 37.50% attenuation. 1.16% ABV. That's even lower that the watery German top-fermenting beers of the 19th century.

As you've probably guessed, there are several differnt types of Stout jumbled up in there. There are some old-fashioned style ones like McEwan's Double Imperial Stout, Bernard Imperial Stout, Usher Export Stout, Wright Crown Stout and George Younger XXX Stout. When the 1930's roll around, this type has mostly disappeared. Replaced by Nourishing Stout and Milk Stout.

Now here's a strange phenomenon. Some of the Milk Stouts are quite high OG - William Younger an McEwans, for example, which are over 1060º - and are normally attenuated, that is 70%-odd. You'd expect a Milk Stout, if it contains any amount of lactose, to have a much higher FG. Other, like Murrays, are much more like you would expect: low attenuation, low ABV.

And, of course, there are those barely-alcoholic Nourishing Stouts. Which must have been pretty damn sweet. Certainly sweeter than most of the Milk Stouts.

That's it for now. Though there's still one more instalment to come: the postwar years. If anyone is still awake.

Scottish Stout 1920 - 1939
Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1920	Usher	Stout	Stout		pint	draught		1021	1048		3.52	56.87%
1920	Usher	Export Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1024	1067		5.51	63.58%
1921	Brown (Coldstream Brewery)	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1016	1050.8		4.51	68.50%
1922	Calder	Stout	Stout		pint	draught		1011	1053		5.47	79.24%
1922	Ushers (Edinburgh)	Extra Stout (Belgian sample)	Stout		pint	bottled		1022	1069.2		6.15	68.50%
1923	Bernard	Imperial Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1023	1057.6	366	4.40	59.21%
1923	Henderson, Alloa	Stout	Stout		pint			1008	1040		4.16	80.00%
1923	Wright (Perth)	Crown Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1017	1050		4.27	66.00%
1924	Ballingall	Imperial Stout Special Quality	Stout		pint	bottled		1016	1038.7		2.87	57.62%
1924	McEwan	Double Imperial Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1022	1056.5		4.49	61.59%
1924	McEwan	Double Imperial Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1020	1078		7.57	74.36%
1924	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1011	1038.3		3.56	71.80%
1925	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1011	1037		3.37	70.27%
1927	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1014	1039		3.23	64.10%
1928	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1015	1039		3.10	61.54%
1928	Usher	Stout	Stout					1022	1045		3.11	52.22%
1928	Wright (Perth)	Stout XXX	Stout		pint	bottled		1013	1035		2.84	62.86%
1929	McEwan	Imperial Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1010	1044		4.42	77.27%
1929	Murray	Oatmeal Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1016	1044		3.62	63.64%
1929	Younger, Geo	XXX Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1012	1047.5		4.61	74.74%
1930	McLennan & Urquhart	Dalkeith Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1020	1040.5		2.70	51.85%
1931	Caler	Milk Stout	Stout		nip	bottled		1023	1059		4.65	61.02%
1931	Dryborough	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1014	1033		2.45	57.58%
1931	McEwan	Special Stout Red Label	Stout		nip	bottled		1019	1043.8		3.19	56.62%
1931	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout	3d	nip	bottled		1016	1039		2.97	58.97%
1931	Younger, Geo	Milk Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1020	1044		3.09	54.55%
1932	Bernard	Double Brown Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1010	1035.5		3.37	73.24%
1932	Jeffrey & Co	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1012	1031		2.45	61.29%
1932	Morrison	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1016	1033		2.19	51.52%
1932	Reid	Special Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1012	1051.5		5.14	76.70%
1932	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1012	1030		2.32	60.00%
1933	Dryborough	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1019	1031		1.54	38.71%
1933	Murray	Milk Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1018	1036		2.31	50.00%
1933	Tennent	Light Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1014	1032		2.32	56.25%
1933	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1015	1024		1.16	37.50%
1933	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1014	1029		1.93	51.72%
1933	Tennent	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1013	1031		2.32	58.06%
1933	Younger, Wm. & Co	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled			1052.6
1936	McEwan	Milk Stout	Stout	6d	half pint	bottled	0.07	1013	1064.4		6.70	79.66%
1936	Younger, Wm. & Co	Milk Stout	Stout	10.5d	pint	bottled	0.08	1015	1063		6.30	76.67%
1937	Calder Alloa	Milk Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1022	1055.8		4.32	60.09%
1937	Murray	Milk Stout	Stout	6d	pint	bottled	0.06	1019	1044.8		3.30	57.14%
1937	Younger, Geo	Cream Double Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1026	1045.5		2.56	43.96%
1937	Younger, Wm. & Co	Milk Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1020	1068		6.24	70.59%
1939	Calder Alloa	Milk Stout	Stout	5d	half pint	bottled		1021	1052.5		4.06	60.00%
1939	Younger, Wm. & Co	Milk Stout (Monk Export Brand)	Stout			bottled	0.08	1024	1065.8	1 + 25	5.42	63.68%
1939	Younger, Wm. & Co	Milk Stout	Stout	6d	half pint	bottled		1019	1065.5		6.04	70.99%
Sources:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Younger, Wm. & Co Gravity Book document WY/6/1/1/19 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Thomas Usher brewing record TU/6/1/6 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252