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Tuesday, 22 May 2018

US Lagers 1955 - 1962

A little interlude from watery Mild recipes and travel tales. US Lagers from 50-60 years ago.

You may recognise a couple of the names. I think a couple might even still be brewed.

I was reasonably surprised to see that they mostly have pretty decent OGs. For the most part, 1048º or above. So a full 12º Plato. They're around the strength I'd excpect from continental European Pilsners of the same period. My guess would be that modern versions of Miller and Budweiser are more highly attenuated, but lower in gravity.

I'm not sure what the Lowenbrau beer is. It's not quite strong enough to be a Bock. But too strong for a pilsner. I assume - because of how it was listed in the Whitbread Gravity Book - that it was brewed somewhere in the US. Presumably under licence from the Munich brewery.

I'll be back to the same old boring shit next. Just thought I'd make use of these data shavings.


US Lagers 1955 - 1962
Year Brewer Beer OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation colour package
1955 Liebmann Rheingold Extra Dry Lager 1049.8 1011.6 4.97 76.71% 6 can
1955 National Brewery Beer 1050.9 1011 5.19 78.39% 10 bottled
1955 Pabst Blue Ribbon 1048.9 1011.7 4.84 76.07% 9 can
1956 Miller, Milwuakee High Life 1045.7 1012.3 4.33 73.09% 6 can
1960 Lowenbrau Light Special 1061.1 1014 5.89 77.09% 5 bottled
1960 Schlitz Beer 1048.6 1012.5 4.51 74.28% 5 bottled
1962 Ballantine Light Lager Beer 1047.9 1013.7 4.28 71.40% 4.5 bottled
1962 Budweiser Lager Beer 1048.7 1011.7 4.63 75.98% 4.5 bottled
1962 Miller High Life 1048.6 1011.2 4.67 76.95% 6 bottled
1962 Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer 1049.3 1011.3 4.75 77.08% 5.5 bottled
1962 Schaefer Lager Beer 1049.2 1012.7 4.56 74.19% 6 bottled
1962 Schlitz Beer 1049.2 1012.5 4.59 74.59% 6.5 bottled
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.

3 comments:

  1. Rob22 May 2018 at 08:01

    Any info on the hops for those?

    ReplyDelete
  2. A Brew Rat22 May 2018 at 08:03

    I believe in those days (pre-1975), Lowenbrau was brewed in Canada by Molson's under license, so that it could be sold in the U.S. as an "import". I remember my father making a stink when Miller's started brewing it after 1975, saying it was now just an ordinary American lager.

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  3. Mike in NSW22 May 2018 at 22:03

    I don't mind the odd Budweiser etc on a hot day here in New South Wales, quenching lawnmowing beers and a nice change from the UK bitters etc that I normally brew.
    I slammed a six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans last week - don't mind the odd Molson as well.

    However I see that most of them are bang on 5% ABV and I wonder if they are indeed better attenuated but similar OG to the old versions?

    ReplyDelete