Scottish Stout 1947 - 2004

We're finally there. At the last part of my look at Scottish Stout. Through numbers. What better way is there to look at beer?

There are so many beers in this table - no surprise as it runs from WW II to the present - I've used a little spreadsheet maths to help me out. These are the averages it spat out:

OG 1017.3, FG 1040.9, ABV 3.06%, apparent attenuation 57.00%.

Of  the 85 beers in the table (there are actually 86 beers in the table, but I have no FG for one), 27 had less than 50% attenuation. Here are the figures in more detail:

attenuation	no. of beers	%
30 - 39%	6	7.06%
40 - 49%	21	24.71%
50 - 59%	24	28.24%
60 - 69%	21	24.71%
70 - 79%	11	12.94%
80 - 89%	1	1.18%
90 - 99%	1	1.18%
total	85	100.00%

Only 13 beers had attenuation of over 70%, which is about the level I would call normal. That's just 15% of the total.

In terms of OG, the results are even more conclusive. More than 90% of the beers are below 1050º. 60% are below 1040º. Here's it all in convenient table form:

OG	no. of beers	%
<1030º	1	1.18%
1030-1039º	50	58.82%
1040-1049º	26	30.59%
1050-1059º	2	2.35%
1060-1069º	5	5.88%
1070-1079º	1	1.18%
total	85	100.00%

The stronger Stouts are so few in number as to be insignificant.

The numbers for ABV are just as convincing. Over 80% of the beers were less than 4% ABV. That's not so surprising. For much of the period covered by the table the average OG of beer brewed in Britain was a rock-solid 1037, or about 3.7% ABV. It's the proportion below 3% ABV that's more significant: exactly 60%. Here are the full numbers:

ABV	no. of beers	%
<2%	11	12.94%
2-2.9%	40	47.06%
3-3.9%	20	23.53%
4-4.9%	9	10.59%
5-5.9%	2	2.35%
6-6.9%	2	2.35%
7-7.9%	0	0.00%
8-8.9%	0	0.00%
>9%	1	1.18%
total	85	100.00%

Weird, isn't it, how a beer style whose name means "strong" should have become so weak as to not really be an intoxicating drink.

Which confirms what I've been saying about 20th century Scottish Stout: it was relatively low gravity, poorly-attenuated and effing sweet. No surprise, I know. But the confirmation of numbers is reassuring. There were still odd beers that didn't fit into the Sweet Stout style, but these were a small minority.

Here's the full table. Feel free to make your own analysis of it. I'm off to lie down. All these numbers are  making my head hurt.

Scottish Stout 1947 - 2004
Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation	Flavour
1947	Campbell, Hope & King	Draught Stout	Stout	12d	pint	draught		1010.5	1032.5		2.85	67.69%
1947	Jeffrey & Co	Double Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1004.5	1076.5		9.53	94.12%	Very sour.
1947	Jeffrey & Co	XXX Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1014.5	1064.5		6.52	77.52%	Very sour.
1947	McEwan	Stout	Stout	14d	pint	draught		1006	1030.5		3.18	80.33%
1947	Tennent	Stout	Stout	1/1d	pint	bottled	0.06	1018.18	1030.7	1 + 11.5	1.61	40.78%
1947	Younger, Robert	Stout	Stout	14d	pint	draught		1007.5	1028		2.66	73.21%
1948	Ballingall & Son	Angus Stout	Stout			bottled	0.10	1011.09	1037.6	1 + 19	3.43	70.51%
1948	Belhaven	No. 1 Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1011	1035		3.11	68.57%	Sweet, thin, lightish in colour.
1948	Calder Alloa	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1015	1039.5		3.16	62.03%	Sweet, slightly tart, lightish in colour.
1948	Maclachlan	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1009.5	1032		2.91	70.31%
1948	McEwan	Imperial Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1018.5	1047		3.68	60.64%
1948	Tennent	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1015.5	1030		1.86	48.33%	Sweet lightish in colour, resembles brown ale more than stout.
1948	Younger, Geo	Extra Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1017.5	1036.5		2.44	52.05%	Sweet dark colour looks more like stout.
1949	Aitken	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1020	1038.5		2.38	48.05%
1949	Belhaven	No. 1 Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1015.5	1035.5		2.58	56.34%
1949	Bernard	Export Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1010	1040		3.89	75.00%
1949	Blair	Invalid Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1016	1035		2.45	54.29%
1949	Calder Alloa	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1013	1038.5		3.30	66.23%
1949	McEwan	Imperial Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1017	1039.5		2.90	56.96%
1949	McEwan & Co.	Imperial Stout	Stout		half	bottled	0.06	1014.4	1046.4	1 + 15	4.14	68.97%
1949	McEwan & Co.	Manx Oyster Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.06	1014.3	1046.4	1 + 14.5	4.16	69.18%
1949	McEwan & Co.	Manx Oyster Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1014	1040.5		3.43	65.43%
1949	Tennent	Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.05	1018.3	1034.9	1 + 12	2.13	47.56%
1949	Tennent	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1017.5	1032		1.86	45.31%
1950	Calder Alloa	Milk Stout	Stout			bottled	0.07	1029.7	1069.3	1 + 14 B	5.10	57.14%
1950	Bernard	Stout (Export)	Stout	1/1d	half	bottled	0.11	1014.1	1045.5	1 + 10	4.07	69.01%
1950	McEwan	Imperial Stout	Stout	1/1.5d	half	bottled	0.06	1014.4	1043	22 B	3.70	66.51%
1950	Tennent	Milk Stout (Export)	Stout		half	bottled	0.16	1020	1063.2	1 + 17	5.60	68.35%
1951	Younger, Wm.	Sweet Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.06	1019.5	1035.7	1 + 10	2.08	45.38%
1953	Dudgeon & Co	Bellhaven Heavy Stout	Stout	1/3d	nip	bottled	0.05	1029.6	1059	1 + 16	3.77	49.83%
1953	Steel Coulson	Sweet Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1032
1953	Younger, Robert	Sweet Stout	Stout	1/2.5d	half	bottled	0.05	1017.2	1035.7	1 + 12	2.38	51.82%
1954	Aitken	A Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.04	1021.2	1041.4	1 + 20	2.59	48.79%
1954	Bernard	Export Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.04	1013.3	1043.9	1 + 14	3.96	69.70%
1954	Calder	Scotch Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.04	1015.9	1040.9	1 + 14	3.23	61.12%
1954	Jeffrey & Co	Nourishing Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.05	1019.3	1036.1	1 + 14	2.16	46.54%
1954	McEwan	Sweet Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.05	1019.3	1036.1	1 + 19	2.16	46.54%
1954	McLennan & Urquhart	Dalkeith Stout	Stout			bottled	0.06	1019.7	1037.1	450	2.23	46.90%
1954	Steel Coulson	Elephant Stout	Stout	1/2.5d	half	bottled	0.04	1017.5	1038.9	1 + 17	2.76	55.01%
1954	Steel Coulson	Elephant Sweet Stout	Stout	1/2.5-	half	bottled	0.07	1014.1	1041.7	350	3.57	66.19%
1954	Younger, Geo.	Extra Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.05	1018	1037.5	1 + 30	2.51	52.00%
1954	Younger, Wm.	Nourishing Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.05	1021.6	1046.3	1 + 16	3.18	53.35%
1954	Younger, Wm.	Capital Stout (Lactose present)	Stout	1/4d	half	bottled	0.04	1019.7	1046.5	250	3.45	57.63%
1955	Blair & Co	Sweet Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.05	1010.9	1033.1	300	2.87	67.07%
1955	Fowler	Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.04	1018.6	1038	400	2.49	51.05%
1955	J & J Morison	Sweet Stout	Stout	9d	nip	bottled	0.04	1012.3	1035.7	325	3.02	65.55%
1955	J Aitken	Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.05	1019.5	1040.3	325	2.67	51.61%
1955	Maclachlan	Extra Sweet Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.05	1014.8	1035.8	225	2.71	58.66%
1955	McEwan	Sweet Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.04	1018.6	1038.4	375	2.55	51.56%
1955	Murray W	Export Stout	Stout	1/3d	nip	bottled	0.05	1015.8	1064.6	350	6.36	75.54%
1955	Tennent	Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.05	1019.3	1034.7	325	1.98	44.38%
1955	Younger, Geo.	Extra Stout	Stout	15d	half	bottled	0.05	1015.8	1038.5	575	2.93	58.96%
1955	Younger, Geo.	Sweetheart Stout	Stout	26d	16 oz	can	0.04	1024.5	1036.4	225	1.52	32.69%
1955	Younger, Wm.	Sweet Stout	Stout	15d	half	bottled	0.05	1017.5	1034.9	200	2.24	49.86%
1956	Deuchar R	Edinburgh Sweet Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.04	1016.8	1042.9	300	3.37	60.84%
1956	Younger, Geo	Sweetheart Stout	Stout	1/3d	half	bottled	0.04	1024.6	1037.6	225	1.66	34.57%
1957	Tennent	???? Brand Stout	Stout		half	bottled	0.06	1020.8	1059.4	300	4.99	64.98%
1958	Bernard	Export Stout	Stout	26d	16 oz	can	0.05	1014.7	1046.4	225	3.96	68.32%
1959	Aitchison & Co	Dalkeith Sweet Stout	Stout	15d	half	bottled		1021.3	1037.3	600	2.05	42.90%
1959	Aitken	Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1022.3	1039.4	250	2.19	43.40%
1959	Calders	Scotch Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1021.5	1042.2	300	2.66	49.05%
1959	Deuchar, R	Edinburgh Sweet Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1019.7	1043.5	275	3.06	54.71%
1959	Murray, Wm	Extra Sweet Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1018.3	1039.6	175	2.74	53.79%
1959	Younger, Geo.	Sweetheart Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1024.4	1036.4	275	1.53	32.97%
1959	Younger, R	Sweet Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1018.3	1035.5	250	2.21	48.45%
1959	Younger, Wm.	Capital Stout	Stout	15d	half	bottled		1021.6	1043.7	376	2.84	50.57%
1959	Younger, Wm.	Sweet Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1013.1	1033.3	300	2.61	60.66%
1960	Younger, Wm.	Sweet Stout (lactose present)	Stout	12d	half	bottled	0.03	1016.9	1034.8	250	2.24	51.44%
1961	Aitken	Stout (no lactose)	Stout	15d	half	bottled	0.04	1022	1038.9	275	2.11	43.44%
1961	Calders	Stout (no lactose)	Stout	16d	half	bottled	0.06	1019.8	1041.3	250	2.69	52.06%
1961	Dudgeon & Co.	Milk Stout (lactose)	Stout			bottled	0.04	1025	1048.4	374	2.93	48.35%
1961	Mackays	Stout (no lactose)	Stout	14.5d	half	bottled	0.06	1016.2	1037.9	250	2.71	57.26%
1961	Tennent	Stout (no lactose)	Stout	13d	half	bottled	0.04	1019	1033.6	300	1.82	43.45%
1964	Tennent	Milk Stout	Stout			bottled	0.05	1023	1061.8	250	4.85	62.78%
1964	Tennent	Sweet Stout	Stout	16d	half	bottled	0.04	1019.9	1032.7	425	1.60	39.14%
1966	Belhaven	Dunbar Sweet Stout	Stout			bottled	0.04	1018.9	1038.2	280	2.41	50.52%
1966	Tennent	Sweet Stout	Stout	18.5d	half	bottled	0.04	1016.9	1034	300	2.14	50.29%
1967	Campbell, Hope & King	Sweet Stout	Stout	19d	half	bottled	pH 4.5	1023	1036	250	1.63	36.11%
1967	Tennent	Sweet Stout	Stout	19d	half	bottled	pH 4.4	1017.1	1033.2	280	2.01	48.49%
1967	Tennent	Sweetheart Stout	Stout	19d	half	bottled	pH 4.29	1024	1035.7	280	1.46	32.77%
1967	Younger, Wm.	Sweet Stout	Stout	19d	half	bottled	pH 4.26	1015.3	1034	300	2.34	55.00%
1993	Broughton	Oatmeal Stout	Stout			draught		1010.7	1040	130	3.8	73.25%
2004	Bridge of Allan	Bannockburn Ale	Stout			draught		1011.7	1044		4.2	73.41%
2004	Bridge of Allan	Glencoe Wild Oat Stout	Stout			draught		1013.3	1048		4.5	72.29%
2004	Broughton	Scottish Oatmeal Stout	Stout			draught		1012.6	1045		4.2	72.00%
2004	Fyne	Vital Spark	Stout			draught		1008.7	1042.5		4.4	79.53%
Sources:
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
1993 Real Ale Drinker's Almanac
Good Beer Guide 2005
Document from the Steel Coulson archive held at the Scottish Brewing Archives