Branded Bitter in 1953

How could I have forgotten Bitter? Only the second most popular style of the day. I blame Pale Ale.

Because in my own table I make no distinction between Bitter and Pale Ale. I list both as Pale Ale. Why? Because there is no effing difference between them. Simple as that. No need to make things any more complicated than they already are. You can see the confusion of the two terms was common: several of the brands in the table are called Pale Ales.

I’m sort of wondering how they came to classify some beers as Pale Ales and others as Bitters. They haven’t even used the conventional Bitter = draught, Pale Ale = bottled divider. It all just seems . . . random.

As only one of the breweries – Everard’s – still exists, it should come as no shock that most of these beers are long gone. Ruddle’s County is the only one to have survived, though obviously not at its home brewery. I’m surprised it made the list. In the 1950’s, Ruddle’s was a tiny brewery in a not very fashionable part of the country.

I can remember seeing bottles of English Stock – with its distinctive, garish label – in Whitbread pubs in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Fremlins was, of course, long gone by then. But the brand continued a sort of zombie exietence. I was never tempted to try it, just intrigued by the odd labels.

Getting back to County, it was a very trendy beer, in its day, amongst nerdier drinkers. Never cared for it myself. I always found it too sweet and heavy. Mind you, I didn’t like their Ordinary Bitter, Blue, much more. Just one of those breweries whose beers just didn’t appeal for some reason.

Nice to see Newark beer Hole's Golden Age make the cut.

Branded Bitter in 1953
Brewery	Brand	Type
Hartley's Brewery	Golden Star	Best Bitter
G. Ruddle	County Ale	Best Bitter, bottled
Alton Court Brewery	Diamond Pale Ale	Bitter
Alton Court Brewery	Queen's Ale	Bitter
Bents Brewery	King Hal	Bitter
H. & G. Simonds	Reading Pale Ale	Bitter
James Hole	Golden Age	Bitter
Tennant Brothers	Queen's Ale	Bitter
Thomas Ramsden	Riding	Bitter
Whitwell, Mark	Amber Ale	Bitter
Fremlins Ltd.	English Stock	Bitter Ale
The Ely Brewery	Golden Gleam	Bitter Ale
Moors' & Robson's	Red Cap	Bitter Beer
Buckley's Brewery	Special Welsh	Bitter, bottled
John Aitchison	Best Cellar	Bitter, bottled
West Auckland Brewery	Oak Tree	Bitter
Everard's	Red Crown	Burton Bitter
Duncan Gilmour	Windsor Ale	Draught Bitter
Newcastle Breweries	Exhibition Pale Ale	Draught Bitter
Lamb Brewery	Rouser	Strong Bitter
Source:
Brewery Manual 1953-1954, pages 382 - 394.

I’ve definitely not finished. I spotted some other categories I’ve missed when plucking this set.