Perry beers just before WW II

More information on Irish brewery Perry, courtesy of Liam and the local studies department of Laois county library.

Had I just been shown this range of beers, I would have guessed that Perry was based in England. Though there are a couple of odd features.

Let’s start with the two Mild Ales. They look very similar to a London 5d per pint and 6d per pint Milds. Though the gravity of the stronger one is a little bit higher than Mild usually got in England.

The hopping rate in terms of lbs per barrel is very similar to what you’d see in London. Though the rate per quarter (336 lbs) of malt is a bit lower. The explanation for the discrepancy being that Perry wasn’t brewing as efficiently and produced fewer barrels per quarter of malt.

The two Pale Ales could pass for London 7d and 8d Pale Ales. The gravities are almost identical to those of Barclay Perkins two draught Bitters, as you’ll see in the second table. Once again, the hopping rate per quarter of malt is a little lower at Perry, but the rate per barrel is rather higher.

XX Stout is again a dead ringer for Barclay Perkins Best Stout (BS) in terms of strength. Though in this case the both hopping rate per quarter and per barrel are higher than at Barclay Perkins.

Overall, Perry’s beers are very well hopped. The rates are higher than you’d find in most of provincial England and match those of London, which was well-known for its heavy hopping.

Perry beers just before WW II
Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
1937	X	Mild	1035	1011	3.18	68.57%	5.34	1.02
1938	XX	Mild	1045	1013	4.23	71.11%	4.85	1.26
1938	PA	Pale Ale	1046	1013	4.37	71.74%	5.77	1.54
1938	IPA	IPA	1052	1016	4.76	69.23%	6.48	1.97
1938	XX Stout	Stout	1052	1015.5	4.83	70.19%	6.60	2.07
Source:
Perry brewing records held at the local studies department of Laois county library.

Barclay Perkins draught Beers in 1936 and 1939
Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
1939	X	Mild	1034.8	1010.0	3.28	71.26%	7.00	0.95
1939	XX	Mild	1042.7	1015.0	3.66	64.87%	7.00	1.14
1939	XLK (trade)	Pale Ale	1045.7	1017.0	3.80	62.80%	7.50	1.37
1939	PA	Pale Ale	1052.5	1014.5	5.03	72.38%	7.50	1.54
1936	BS	Stout	1051.1	1017.0	4.51	66.72%	6.37	1.48
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/621 and ACC/2305/01/623.