Mann Stout quality 1922 - 1925

The end is almost in sight. We won't be swimming against the current is a stream of Stout for much longer. It'll be odd when I'm done. What will I write about? Maybe I'll think of something.

Time for some random-ish newspaper cutting about Mann. First further evidnce of what a dangerous place a brewery could be:

"FELL INTO BOILING BEER.
At the inquest, at London Hospital on Saturday, on Henry Carter Westfield (44), a foremen employed by Messrs. Mann, Crossman and Paulin, brewers, it was stated that deceased slipped through the round lid of a vat containing many hundred gallons boiling wort - beer in one of its preparation stages. Westfield was taken out, suffering terrible pain, and removed to the London Hospital, where he died. George William Bartle, employed by the same firm, said that the lid, through which the hops were put in, had tilted through not being in its proper place, a fact which could easily be overlooked. A verdict of "Accidental death” was returned, the Coroner remarking that if it was anyone's duty to see that the lid was safe, it was that of Westfield himself."
Lincolnshire Echo - Monday 14 January 1924, page 3.

That sounds like a particularly horrible way to die, boiled alive in wort. I like the way the coroner blamed the victim for the accident. Nice.

Now a less fatal accident:

"£1,881 FOR A LEG
Mr. George Mordaunt Ford, of Dagenham, lost a leg following an accident with a barrel washing machine while he was working for Messrs. Mann, Crossman, and Paulin, brewers. He was awarded £1,881 damages against them on Wednesday in the High Court."
Chelmsford Chronicle - Friday 26 February 1937, page 12.

Almost two grand was a pretty tidy sum back then. You could have lived off that for decades, which is probably what poor Mr. Mordaunt would have to do.

Still, that sum pales into insignificance compared to what the directors of the company were making. One left almost half a million:

"Estate valued at £446,814 gross, with net personalty £397,191, was left by Mr Percy Crossman, a director of the brewing firms Mann, Crossman and Paulin, and Watney and Son."
Aberdeen Journal - Monday 25 November 1929, page 6.

Another more than a million:

"ESTATE OF £1,139.940
Mr. Douglas Crossman, of Royston, Herts, and London, director of Mann, Crossman and Paulin, Brandon and Putney Brewery, and D. Watney and Son, left estate, "so far as can at present be ascertained," valued at £1,139,940 gross, net personalty £992,502. Duty paid amounts to £518,171."
Derby Daily Telegraph - Wednesday 08 August 1945, page 8.

This explains why the directors were rolling in dosh:

"MANN, CROSSMAN AND PAULIN.
Net profits of Mann, Crossman and Paulin, Ltd., in the year to September last were £454,237, a decline of approximately £22,000 from last year. General reserve receives £11,632, against £11,633, and loan and property reserve, £23,352. The Ordinary shares, which are privately held, receive a total 36 per cent., compared with 40 per cent. A sum of £158,993 is carried forward, against £162,239 brought in."
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Friday 27 November 1931, page 13.

The company was profitable, but also the Ordinary shares were held privately. Which means they were mostly in the hands of the Mann, Crossmann and Paulin families. Consequently they got the most benefit from the company's profits.

Now Mann's Stout. First off, it's of the stronger 9d (8d after 1923) Stouts. It has a gravity slightly above average and an attenuation well above average, leaving it about .5% ABV stronger. But what's its score?

Mann Stout quality 1922 - 1925
Year	Beer	FG	OG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	Flavour	score	Price
1922	Stout	1013.6	1058.6	5.86	76.79%	good	2	9
1922	Stout	1011.5	1053.5	5.47	78.50%	v fair	2	9
1922	Stout	1010.2	1047.7	4.88	78.62%	v fair	2	9
1922	Stout	1010.6	1056.1	5.94	81.11%	v poor	-2	9
1923	Stout	1010.6	1049.5	5.06	78.59%	??? going off	-2	9
1923	Stout	1013.5	1055.5	5.46	75.68%	fair	1	8
1923	Stout	1013.6	1060.1	6.06	77.37%	good	2	9
1923	Stout	1011.2	1051.7	5.27	78.34%	only fair	1	9
1923	Stout	1010.4	1053.9	5.67	80.71%	poor	-1	9
1923	Stout	1012.8	1054.8	5.47	76.64%	rather sweet good	2	8
1923	Stout	1013	1054.5	5.40	76.15%	unpleasant flavour	-3	8
1924	Stout	1013.6	1055.3	5.42	75.41%	good	2	8
1924	Stout	1009.8	1054.9	5.89	82.15%	v poor	-2	8
1925	Stout	1013.2	1056.7	5.66	76.72%	good	2	8
Average		1012.0	1054.5	5.54	78.05%		0.43
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001

Mmm. Another really mixed bunch. Nine of 14 achieved positive scores, including six of 2. But unfortunately there three -2 and a -1, which leaves the overall score at 0.43. OK, but not great.

Time-travelling advice: ask for a taster before buying. Bet they'll love you doing that back in the 1920's.