Drybrough's beers in 1948

No brewery was immune to changes in its beers during WW II. Government control of raw materials and the quantity of beer which could be brewed impacted all brewers heavily.

Though Drybrough appear to have suffered less than some, especially when it came to cuts in gravity. Why was that? Because their gravities were quite low to start with. The vast bulk of the beer Drybrough brewed at the start of the war was 60/- PA, and that was 4º below the average OG for the UK of 1041º. Only two of its beers, 80/- PA and Burns Ale were above average OG and both were brewed in minute quantities.

But that doesn’t mean that there weren’t considerable strength reductions across Drybrough’s whole range. 60/- in 1948 was weaker than 54/- had been before the war. That is, just about barely intoxicating.

It’s interesting to see that Drybrough still lacked a beer in the Ordinary Bitter class. 54/- and 60/- are more like English Milds in strength. And 80/- was like a Best Bitter. An Ordinary Bitter was missing until around 1960, when Keg Heavy was introduced at 1037º.

The hopping rate has fallen since 1936 from around 5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt to 4 lbs. Or about 20%, which exactly the reduction demanded by the government in June 1941.

I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the FGs quoted in the table. The last gravity listed in Drybrough’s brewing records is the cleansing gravity, not the racking gravity. The real FGs, I know from analyses of their beers as sold, were a good bit lower. As this table shows:

Drybrough beers 1946 - 1949
Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1946	60/- Ale	Pale Ale	1029.5	1007.5	2.85	74.58%
1946	60/- Ale	Pale Ale	1030	1008.5	2.78	71.67%
1947	80/- Ale	Pale Ale	1034	1008	3.37	76.47%
1948	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	1060	1019.5	5.25	67.50%
1949	PA 60/-	Pale Ale	1030	1004.5	3.32	85.00%
Source:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11

1948 wasn't the nadir for Drybrough's beers in terms of strength. That was the year earlier, when 54/-, 60/- and XXP were 1026º, 1029º, 1036º, respectively.

Drybrough's beers in 1948
Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	Pitch temp
P 54/-	Pale Ale	1027	1011	2.12	59.26%	3.96	0.45	60º
P 60/-	Pale Ale	1030	1011	2.51	63.33%	4.33	0.56	59.5º
XXP	Pale Ale	1041	1014	3.57	65.85%	3.96	0.68	60º
Burns	Strong Ale	1070	1031	5.16	55.71%	4.33	1.30	59º
Source:
Drybrough brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number D/6/1/1/6.