Boddington beers in 1923

1923 is the year when UK beer reached a new normality. The dramatic changes of the war years were finally over and average gravity hit 1043º, the level it would remain art for the rest of the decade.

WW I had an enormous impact on UK beer. It wasn't just gravity that was reduced, but also the range of beers. Anything that was marginal or very strong got the chop towards the end of the war. Some returned once things had settled down, but most didn't. Boddington is a fairly typical example.

In 1914, Boddington brewed eight different beers:three Milds, three Pale Ales, a Strong Ale and a Stout. That wasn't a particularly large set before the war.

It was normal for provincial breweries to have three or even four Milds in their portfolio. Though often they were all parti-gyled together. Boddington, on the other hand, brewed all their beers single-gyle.

Boddington beers in 1914
Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
IP	IPA	1053	1016	4.89	69.81%	4.00	1.35
B	Mild	1037	1010	3.57	72.97%	2.86	0.51
BB	Mild	1048	1016	4.23	66.67%	3.28	0.88
XXX	Mild	1051	1015	4.76	70.59%	3.67	0.99
AK	Pale Ale	1044	1013	4.10	70.45%	2.92	0.57
PA	Pale Ale	1046	1014	4.23	69.57%	3.33	0.97
Stout	Stout	1054	1018	4.76	66.67%	3.10	0.94
CC	Strong Ale	1062	1020	5.56	67.74%	3.53	1.18
Source:
Boddington brewing record held at Manchester Central Library, document number M693/405/126.

Nine years later, only three of those beers survived, IPA, CC and Stout. In addition, there was a new Mild, XX.

Boddington beers in 1923
Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
IP	IPA	1049	1015	4.50	69.39%	5.29	1.54
XX	Mild	1034	1010	3.18	70.59%	6.17	1.19
Stout	Stout	1050.25	1014	4.80	72.14%	5.63	1.52
CC	Strong Ale	1057	1018	5.16	68.42%	5.16	1.64
Source:
Boddington brewing record held at Manchester Central Library, document number M693/405/127.

What's interesting is how little the gravity of the three surviving beers had fallen. It's only 7% or 8%. While average gravity for the UK fell from 1053º in 1914 to 1043º in 1923, or about 19%. So why such a small decrease at Boddington? There is an explanation.

There was considerable variation in beer strength in different parts of the country. In particular, London beers were quite a bit stronger than those from elsewhere. For example, A London X Ale was over 1050º in 1914, a standard London Stout around 1065º-1070º and a Strong Ale 1070º-1075º.

After the war, beer strengths became much more standardised across the country. Generally fitting in with the gravity bands of the last set of price controls. Which meant that the fall in gravities was greater in London than elsewhere.

Boddington continued to brew those four beers until WW II.