Beer output in the UK and Germany in the late 19th century

I've really had my title writing hat on this week. Today's is another classic. I'm continuing my Summer of Statistics with a comparison of German and UK beer production. I think it's instructive, But numbers are lego for me. I can happily play with them all day.

The numbers cover a really crucial period. That is when Germany first passed the UK to become the largest producer of beer in Europe. The odd war year excepted, I'm sure that's been the case ever since.It's symbolic of the emergence of Germany as both an economic and political force in the last decades of the 19th century. This is also when German industrial production outstripped Britain's.

There's one really weird feature of 19th-century British beer statistics. And it explains why the figures for UK output only begin in 1881. It also demonstrates the usual source of these numbers. Between 1830 and 1880 there are no accurate figures on British beer production, just guesses. The reason is simple: because there was no tax on beer in that period. As the government wasn't recording it for tax purposes, the number wasn't recorded. It's a bit of a bummer for me as it leaves a big hole in my tables. The best you can do is make an estimate from the quantity of malt used in brewing. You see that was recorded as malt was taxed. Number of quarters times 4 is the usual formula.

On with the tables. First ones showing the number of hectolitres brewed and the percentage change from the previous year:

Change in German beer production 1872 - 1900 (hl)
year	production	% change	year	production	% change
1872	32,945,000		1887	47,100,000	4.51%
1873	36,989,000	12.28%	1888	47,696,000	1.27%
1874	38,194,000	3.26%	1889	54,420,000	14.10%
1875	38,936,000	1.94%	1890	52,830,000	-2.92%
1876	38,857,000	-0.20%	1891	53,205,000	0.71%
1877	38,269,000	-1.51%	1892	54,780,000	2.96%
1878	37,425,000	-2.21%	1893	55,623,000	1.54%
1879	37,184,000	-0.64%	1894	55,369,000	-0.46%
1880	38,497,000	3.53%	1895	60,695,000	9.62%
1881	39,109,000	1.59%	1896	61,621,000	1.53%
1882	39,324,000	0.55%	1897	66,378,000	7.72%
1883	40,873,000	3.94%	1898	67,968,000	2.40%
1884	42,374,000	3.67%	1899	69,500,000	2.25%
1885	41,857,000	-1.22%	1900	70,857,000	1.95%
1886	45,068,000	7.67%	1881 - 1899		77.71%
Source:
"European Statistics 1750-1970" by B. R. Mitchell, 1978, pages 283 and 285.

Change in UK beer production 1872 - 1900 (hl)
year	production	% change	year	production	% change
1881	44,955,000		1891	52,757,000	1.26%
1882	45,057,000	0.23%	1892	52,470,000	-0.54%
1883	44,784,000	-0.61%	1893	52,520,000	0.10%
1884	46,036,000	2.80%	1894	52,743,000	0.42%
1885	45,176,000	-1.87%	1895	53,574,000	1.58%
1886	45,239,000	0.14%	1896	56,284,000	5.06%
1887	46,216,000	2.16%	1897	57,791,000	2.68%
1888	46,507,000	0.63%	1898	59,218,000	2.47%
1889	49,755,000	6.98%	1899	61,214,000	3.37%
1890	52,100,000	4.71%	1881 - 1899		36.17%
Source:
"European Statistics 1750-1970" by B. R. Mitchell, 1978, page 284.

1887. That's the year German beer production outstripped the UK's. It's nice to pinpoint that. In the period 1881 to 1899 German production increased by more than double the amount of the UK's. There are some other fascinating points. Like 1885 being a year of negative growth in both countries. And 1889 being a particularly good year in both. Also there were only three years between 1881 and 1899 in both countries when beer output fell.

Here's a graph of the same information:

The next set of tables show beer production per head of population:

German beer output per head 1872 - 1900
year	population	output (hl)	litres per head
1872	41,058,800	32,945,000	80.24
1874	42,000,000	38,194,000	90.94
1877	43,610,000	38,269,000	87.75
c1880	45,234,100	38,497,000	85.11
c1885	46,840,600	41,857,000	89.36
1888	48,170,000	47,696,000	99.02
1890	49,428,100	52,830,000	106.88
1893	50,760,000	55,623,000	109.58
1896	52,750,000	61,621,000	116.82
1900	56,356,200	70,857,000	125.73
2000	82,797,400	110,429,000	133.37
Sources:
European Statistics 1750-1970 by B. R. Mitchell, 1978, pages 283 and 285.
Deutscher Brauer-Bund Bonn
http://www.populstat.info/

UK beer output per head 1881 - 1900
year	population	output (hl)	litres per head
1881	34,934,476	44,955,000	128.68
1885	36,015,601	45,176,000	125.43
1891	37,802,381	52,757,000	139.56
1895	39,220,114	53,574,000	136.60
1900	41,154,646	60,726,112	147.56
2000	59,511,500	55,279,000	92.89
Sources:
Brewers' Almanack 1928, p. 110
European Statistics 1750-1970 by B. R. Mitchell, 1978, page 284.
Statistical Handbook of the British Beer & Pub Association 2005, p. 7
http://www.populstat.info/

The UK figure was about 50% higher in 1881, but by 1900 Germany was closing in fast.  It's interesting to see that Germany's output per head was higher in 2000 than 1900, while the UK's was lower.


I've just about squeezed the last dropd of fun juice out of these numbers. I'll have to find some new ones.