There's something interesting that happened during 1923. But I'll tell you about that in the next instalment of this fascinating series.
Here's the first:
Nottingham Evening Post Friday 19th January 1923.
"Since Beer was Brewed
in this island of ours none better has ever been brewed than Wm. Younger's Scotch Ale. This honest product of good malt and hops is today in greater favour than at any period in it long history because its soundness, its flavour, and its quality are those in which our forefathers delighted. Cheering, stimulating, warming - it is just the right winter drink for Britons.
William Younger's
Scotch Ale
Brewed in Edinburgh
The beer with a bite in it. "
That's definitely No. 3 on the barrel again. I'm certain now that's the beer being advertised. Here they go with the dodgy claims again - cheering, stimulating, warming. Maybe they'd get cheering past the Advertising Standards people. Maybe. Absolutely no way they could say stimulating.
And there's that claim about pure malt and hops again. I happen to have Younger's brewing records from 1922 and 1923. Let's see, there's a No. 3 that was brewed 6th October 1922. Was it pure malt and hops? Like buggery. Of the 28 quarters used in brewing 11.5 were maize grits. That's a long, long way short of pure. Admittedly, it didn't contain any sugar.
Nottingham Evening Post Friday 16th March 1923.
"To the Last DropI'm convinced these are both Elizabethan dress. Bizarre. I suppose they were just trying to conjure up pictures of merry old England.
You will thoroughly relish that wonderfully fine ale - Wm. Younger's Scotch Ale. As a winter drink it is ideal: stimulating, warming and nourishing. Its fragrance and flavour tell the tale of pure malt and hops and ideal brewing. The proof is that the demand is steadily increasing everywhere. You'll be right if you order
William Younger's
Scotch Ale
Brewed in Edinburgh
The beer with a bite in it."
Pushing Scotch Ale as a winter drink is very much a theme. And sure enough, all the adverts appeared in the colder months of the year. In London, Younger's No.3 occupied the same slot on the bar as Burton, which was also more of a winter than a summer drink.
One thing has been puzzling me. Where was this No. 3 sold in Nottingham? The lack of bottles in the adverts suggests that it was a draught beer (though I could be wrong about that). Whose pubs was it sold in? Or was it just in the free trade? My recollections of Nottingham are of wall to wall tied houses. So many questions.
I vaguely seem to remember No3 on sale in Nottingham-may have been late 1960s (before I realised that there were beers other than Home and Shipstones which were worth drinking).Could it have been in the Strathdon Hotel?
ReplyDeleteAs for "pure malt and hops" no doubt the malt was pure when it was bought. That it was mixed with grits afterwards would have been regarded as a separate issue.