Friday 14 January 2022

Other Imperial Stouts after WW II

Just a quick post. Been busy today with what, I hope, will be my last exam ever. It was all a bit weird.

The name Imperial Stout was used by quite a few breweries after WW II. Mostly for pretty feeble beer. If you thought Barclay Perkins effort was a bit feeble, take a look at this lot. The weakest, from Russell, is only about the strength of Mild Ale. 

Sorry, I missed the weakest McEwan sample, which doesn't even reach 3% ABV.

Only the beers from Bass/Worthington (almost certainly the same beer) and Carlsberg come anywhere near to living up to the name.

Post WW II Imperial Stout
Year Brewer Beer OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation colour
1948 McEwan Imperial Stout 1047 1018.5 3.68 60.64%  
1949 McEwan Imperial Stout 1039.5 1017 2.90 56.96%  
1949 McEwan Imperial Stout 1046.4 1014.4 4.14 68.97% 275
1950 Carlsberg Imperial Stout 1077.1 1025.9 6.64 66.41% 315
1950 McEwan Imperial Stout 1043 1014.4 3.70 66.51%  
1950 Unknown Imperial Stout 1066.8 1017 6.49 74.55% 350
1951 Bents Imperial Stone Stout 1039.7 1006.8 4.28 82.87%  
1952 Bents Imperial Stone Stout 1041.3 1007.1 4.45 82.81% 100
1953 Bass Imperial Stout 1078.2 1025.1 6.90 67.90% 375
1954 Bents Imperial Stone Stout 1039.8 1006.5 4.34 83.67% 200
1954 Plymouth Brown Imperial Stout 1048.6 1018.5 3.89 61.93% 375
1954 Russells Imperial Stout 1041.6 1016.8 3.20 59.62% 175
1955 Bass Imperial Stout 1078.8 1018.4 7.90 76.65% 375
1955 Worthington Imperial Stout 1078.2 1017.3 7.97 77.88% 325
1956 Bass Imperial Stout 1077.5 1027.9 6.43 64.00% 350
1959 Plymouth Imperial Brown Stout 1045.1 1016.4 3.71 63.64% 350
1959 Russell Imperial Stout 1039.4 1014.2 3.26 63.96% 200
1966 Bass Imperial Stout 1077.2 1027.7 6.41 64.12% 312
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.
Thomas Usher Gravity Book held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number  TU/6/11.

 

 

 

 

4 comments:

Phil said...

In what conceivable sense were these "imperial"? (Nobody mention the Russian court!) I'm struggling to understand what they were thinking.

A Brew Rat said...

What was your "last exam ever"? Did you take the BJCP exam? ;^)

Ron Pattinson said...

A Brew Rat,

no, I didn't take the BJCP exam. No point, really, as I get to judge competitions without it. I'd probably start arguing about the answers, anyway.

It was a much more boring exam than that.

Ron Pattinson said...

Phil,

in the case of the Bass Stout, it's just lost as much gravity as you would expect over the two World Wars. For the others, the term is obviously just a name. Much as IPA was in the 20th century.