Thursday 29 November 2018

Other Bass bottled beers after WW II

Someone asked yesterday about Bass beers other than their IPA. Did  I know what they were like? Well, what do you think? My master table of beer analyses has 22,817 entries in it. Of course I've got other Bass beers.

Though they were best known for their iconic Pale Ale, Bass brewed a full set of other beers.They had to, seeing as they were supplying their own tied houses. Which would have needed a full range of draught and bottled styles.

Some of their bottled beers had been around almost as long as their Pale Ale. No. 1 Barley Wine, for example, which goes back to at least the 1860s and probably a decade or two further. It was a Burton Ale in the old style, so may even pre-date the Pale Ale.

Bass No. 1 was one of that rare breed of beers which, even after two world wars, still retained its 19th-century strength. Though you paid a price for that high gravity: 5 shillings or more for a pint. Not that anyone really drank it by the pint. Like all very strong beers of the period, it usually came in nip (third of a pint) bottles.

Imperial Stout, also known as P2, was another long-lived product. Though probably not quite as old as No. 1. It wasn't as lucky on the gravity front, having fallen from 1093º in the 1930s. Though there were few Stouts with gravities pushing 1080º in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Brown Ale will be of a much more recent date. I would guess late 1920s, but I have no data to back that up. My first analysis for it is the one from 1955 in the table. Based on the OG, it's clearly meant to compete with beers like Newcastle Brown Ale, rather than the weaker Manns style.

Finally Gold Triangle. Which looks like an intended competitor of Gold Label, given its nbame and very pale colour. Though it is quite a bit weaker.

Other Bass bottled beers after WW II
Year Beer Style Price per pint OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation colour
1955 Burton Amber Ale Amber Ale 22 1036.4 1008 3.69 78.02% 20
1952 Barley Wine Barley Wine 64.5 1104.1 1035.6 8.93 65.80% 80
1953 Barley Wine Barley Wine 60 1104.6 1036.3 8.90 65.30% 80
1958 No. 1 Barley Wine Barley Wine 63 1106.8 1039.8 8.71 62.73% 100
1955 Brown Ale Brown Ale 24 1054.7 1015.6 5.07 71.48% 85
1959 Brown Ale Brown Ale 36 1052.9 1015.6 4.84 70.51% 105
1952 H & O Pale Ale Pale Ale 1036.7 1007 3.86 80.93% 20
1948 Export Stout Stout 1065 1018 6.11 72.31%
1953 Imperial Stout Stout 45 1078.2 1025.1 6.90 67.90% 375
1955 Imperial Stout Stout 1078.8 1018.4 7.90 76.65% 375
1956 Imperial Stout Stout 54 1077.5 1027.9 6.43 64.00% 350
1966 Imperial Stout Stout 63 1077.2 1027.7 6.41 64.12% 312
1963 Gold Triangle Strong Ale 72 1063.6 1013 6.61 79.56% 19
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

1 comment:

Barm said...

Dunns, the bottlers named on the Mild label, are still going as a wholesaler and soft drinks manufacturer.