J & R Tennent Beers 1947 – 1989

It's time for our second look at the beers of J & R Tennent. We're looking at post-WW II beers.

As before, I'll begin with their Lager. Three analyses and the bare bones of a more recent version. It's a bit odd the way the strength yoyos up and down between 3.7 and 4.1% ABV. What immediately strikes me is how little the strength has dropped from the pre-war version which, if you can remember back a couple of days, was 1043.1º and 4.39% ABV. The attenuation is also very constant at 78%. Though that doesn't mean that the beer necessarily tasted much the same over this period. Who knows what the hopping was like. Or the malts used.

It should be borne in mind just how weak most British Lagers were in the 1950's and 1960's. You know what? I've plenty of analyses from that period. Let's see the averages.

Origin	FG	OG	ABV	app. Atten-uation
Scottish-brewed	1009	1036.6	3.55	75.53%
UK brewed	1008	1037.4	3.92	76.54%
Imported	1008	1042.1	4.32	79.69%

I must admit that I'm shocked by that. I would have guessed that UK-brewed Lagers averaged around 1032º and just over 3% ABV, That's not the case. The OG is about dead on the average gravity of 1037º. The Scottish ones are a tiny bit weaker, but not much. The Lagers brewed outside the UK are still quite a bit stronger and a little more attenuated.

For once we've actually got a couple of Milds. AT least if we accept that 60/- by the 1970's was effectively a type of Dark Mild. Before the war, it would almost certainly have designated a sort of PAle Ale. 1031º is a pretty typical gravity for a 1970's Mild. I should know, I drank enough of the stuff.

There aren't a great number of Pale Ales this time. And most those weren't brewed at Wellpark but at the former Jeffrey's Heriot Brewery in Edinburgh. Only the ones from 1960 and 1961 are from Glasgow. One is piss weak at under 2.5% ABV. The other looks like a typical Export, with an OG in the low 1040ºs. The 80/- of the 1980's looks very similar. At least in terms of strength. I wonder how similar the recipes were?

This time about half the analyses are for Stout. With three exceptions, the sweet, low-alcohol Scottish type. Rarely getting as strong as 2% ABV. I'm getting very intrigued by these beers. Never having had one, I'd love to have a taste. Sweetheart Stout is still brewed, after all. I must look for it next time I'm in Scotland. That Sweetheart Stout with 32.77% attenuation is the least-attenuated British beer I've seen.

The Milk Stouts are funny ones. In that you'd expect a Milk Stout, if it contained lactose, the attenuation would be low. Yet it's 63% to 68%. Fairly normal. And much higher than the Sweet Stout. A gravity of 1060º is very respectable for a post-war Stout. The Export Milk Stout, with 0.16% acidity, is a bit tart. Was that deliberate, I wonder?

Finally there are the two Strong Ales. Both are pretty dark. And about typical strength. Not much to say, really. I wonder if it was discontinued after they started brewing Fowler's Wee Heavy in the early 1960's after the closure of the brewery in Prestonpans?

That's me all blethered out. Here's the table:

J & R Tennent Beers 1947 – 1994
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1955	Lager	Lager	1/3d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1007.7	1036.1	9	3.69	78.67%
1957	Lager Beer	Lager	1/8d	12 oz	bottled	0.04	1008.6	1040.6	11	4.16	78.82%
1963	Lager	Lager	27d	16 oz	can	0.04	1007.8	1036.9	7.5	3.64	78.86%
1994	Tennent's Lager	Lager		pint	bottled					4.10
1994	Tennent's Dry	Lager		pint	bottled					5.50
1994	Tennent's Super	Lager		pint	bottled					9.00
1977	60/-	Mild		pint	draught			1031
1979	60/-	Mild		pint	draught			1031
1960	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	10d	half pint	bottled	0.02	1011.8	1029.9	26	2.26	60.54%
1961	Export	Pale Ale	15d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1010.6	1042.3	22	3.96	74.94%
1982	80/-	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1040
1983	Heriot Brewery 80/-	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1042
1986	Tennent's 80/-	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1042
1989	Tennent's 80/-	Pale Ale		pint	draught		1009.7	1042		4.20	76.90%
1947	Stout	Stout	1/1d	pint	bottled	0.06	1018.2	1030.7	1 + 11.5	1.61	40.78%
1948	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1015.5	1030		1.86	48.33%
1949	Stout	Stout	1/3d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1018.3	1034.9	1 + 12	2.13	47.56%
1949	Stout	Stout		pint	bottled		1017.5	1032		1.86	45.31%
1950	Milk Stout (Export)	Stout		half pint	bottled	0.16	1020	1063.2	1 + 17	5.60	68.35%
1955	Stout	Stout	1/3d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1019.3	1034.7	325	1.98	44.38%
1957	???? Brand Stout	Stout		half pint	bottled	0.06	1020.8	1059.4	300	4.99	64.98%
1961	Stout (no lactose)	Stout	13d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1019	1033.6	300	1.82	43.45%
1964	Milk Stout	Stout			bottled	0.05	1023	1061.8	250	4.85	62.78%
1964	Sweet Stout	Stout	16d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1019.9	1032.7	425	1.60	39.14%
1966	Sweet Stout	Stout	18.5d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1016.9	1034	300	2.14	50.29%
1967	Sweet Stout	Stout	19d	half pint	bottled	pH 4.4	1017.1	1033.2	280	2.01	48.49%
1967	Sweetheart Stout	Stout	19d	half pint	bottled	pH 4.29	1024	1035.7	280	1.46	32.77%
1994	Sweetheart Stout	Stout		pint	bottled					2.00
1953	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	1/2.5d	nip	bottled	0.06	1021.2	1066.4	14 + 40	5.86	68.07%
1958	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	25d	16 oz	can	0.06	1022.7	1068.4	100	5.71	66.81%
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
The Best of British Bottled Beer
Good Beer Guide 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1990