Lagers during WW I

I wonder about myself sometimes. I can't believe I've never written about this yet.

I've just been going through my photos of some of the documents other than brewing records I've photographed. Mostly to use some of the images in tweets. One  as notebook from someone called R.W.R. Laws. He must have worked on the brewing staff at Barclay Perkins, because the notebooks loose lesaf pages are filled with information about brewing. But also about specific types of beer. For example, IBS, also known as Russian Stout.

But I was stopped dead in my tracks when I got to this page. It has analyses of Lagers, both British and foreign, from WW I.

How on earth had I never transcribed the details into my spreadsheets? It's full of useful information and encompasses three of my obsessions: British Lager, WW I and Scotland. It would be hard to think of something more down my street.

I knew Barclay Perkins had experimented with brewing Lager during the war. Presuambly because of an interruption in supplies from Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Nice little business opportunity there. I also knew that Lager was brewed at Allsopp, the Wrexham Lager Brewery,  Jeffreys and J & R Tennent (in the notebook incorrectly spelled as Tennant). But I didn't realise Peter Walker was brewing it at such an early date.

As you can see, the examples are plenty much split down the middle between Pilsener and Munich-style Dark Lager. It's only really after WW II that Lager came to associated with the pale colour of Pilsener. Before then, various shaded of Lager were both sold and brewed in the UK.

Anyway, here's the information in handy table form:

Lagers during WW I
Date	Year	Brewer	country	Beer	Style	Price	package	Acidity	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	attenuation
28th Jan	1915	Allsopp	UK	Pilsener	Pilsener		bottled		1010	1049		5.08	79.59%
28th Jan	1915	Peter Walker	UK	Pilsener	Pilsener		bottled		1010.3	1044.4		4.43	76.80%
28th Jan	1915	Tennent	UK - Scotland	Munich	Münchner		bottled		1015.3	1049.2		4.39	68.90%
1st Feb	1915	Salamon	UK	Non-alcoholic Lager	Lager		bottled		1027.5	1038.5		1.06	28.57%
1st Feb	1915	Haantje	Holland	Munich	Münchner		bottled		1011.6	1043.8		4.18	73.52%
1st Feb	1915	Haantje	Holland	Pilsener	Pilsener		bottled		1014.4	1044.8		3.93	67.86%
17th Mar	1915	Wrexham Lager Brewery	UK	Pilsener	Pilsener		bottled		1013.9	1051.3		4.86	72.90%
12th May	1915	Jeffrey & Co	UK - Scotland	Pilsener	Pilsener		bottled		1009.8	1039.9		3.85	75.44%
12th May	1915	Jeffrey & Co	UK - Scotland	Munich	Münchner		bottled		1012.1	1041.3		3.71	70.70%
26th May	1915	Barclay Perkins	UK	Pilsener experimental	Pilsener		bottled		1008.4	1050.8		5.25	83.46%
26th May	1915	Barclay Perkins	UK	Munich experimental	Münchner		bottled		1020.2	1051.6		4.00	60.85%
26th May	1915	Tennent	UK - Scotland	Pilsener	Pilsener		bottled		1010.3	1047		4.73	78.09%
26th May	1915	Tennent	UK - Scotland	Munich	Münchner		bottled		1015.6	1050.4		4.51	69.05%
26th May	1915	Peter Walker	UK	Munich	Münchner		bottled		1013.2	1048.7		4.59	72.90%
26th May	1915	Carlsberg	Denmark	Light Lager	Lager		bottled		1014	1053.6		5.10	73.88%
26th May	1915	Barclay Perkins	UK	Dark pasteurised	Münchner		bottled		1019.9	1051.9		4.15	61.66%
26th May	1915	Barclay Perkins	UK	Dark not pasteurised	Münchner		bottled		1019.8	1051.6		4.08	61.63%
26th May	1915	Barclay Perkins	UK	Light pasteurised	Lager		bottled		1011.8	1051.5		5.10	77.09%
26th May	1915	Barclay Perkins	UK	Light not pasteurised	Lager		bottled		1010.5	1051.2		5.25	79.49%
4th Jul	1915	F.W. Lyckholm, Gothenburg	Sweden	Red  Label	Lager		bottled	0.048	1009.4	1047.5		4.95	80.21%
4th Jul	1915	F.W. Lyckholm, Gothenburg	Sweden	Blue Label	Lager		bottled	0.048	1012.6	1050.5		4.90	75.05%
20th Aug	1915	Anheuser Busch, St. Louis	USA	Budweiser	Lager		bottled		1015.9	1050.5		4.46	68.51%
28th Aug	1915	Tuborg	Denmark	Lager	Lager	4.5d	bottled		1011.3	1045.1		4.30	74.94%
22nd Apr	1919	Allsopp	UK	Lager	Lager		bottled	0.075	1007.9	1043.9	14	4.69	82.00%
Source:
Notebook held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/01/712.

Note that most have a gravity between 1048º and 1050º, which for a Pilsener is on the high side. While for a Münchner, it's a little low.

I'd wondered when Barclay Perkins stopped experimenting and started selling their Lager. I's suspected that it wasn't until they had completed their Lager brewery in the 1920's. But that wasn't the case. BEcause the notebook also has Lager sales figures for 1919.