Finishing off the North of Britain, we're crossing the border into Scotland.
Only six beers, which fall into two readily-discernible groups: 80/- and 70/-. Which isn't surprising, as those were the two most popular types of Pale Ale in Scotland. There's no 60/-. Which makes sense as it was fairly obscure by the late 1870s. And often also considered to be a type of Mild Ale.
The gravities average out a little lower than those from the North of England, at a little under 1037º. Likewise, attenuation and ABV are also below the levels of the northern sets. Though by no huge amount.
Moving onto prices, they're higher than for the North of England, averaging almost 2p per pint dearer than in the Northwest. Unsurprisingly, the value for money is worse, too. It averages 1.2º per penny, compared to 1.24º for the Northeast and 1.28º for the Northwest.
The scores are mostly pretty good. Better than I would have expected. It averages out slightly better than the Northeast, but worse than the Northwest. And - what a shock - Youngers Tartan, a beer heavily pushed by Scottish & Newcastle, turns out to have been total shite. Though the taster was, at least, reasonably polite in his criticism.
| Scottish Bitters in 1978 | ||||||||||
| Brewer | Beer | Price | º gravity per p | % ABV per p | OG | FG | ABV | App. Atten-uation | score | Flavour |
| Belhaven | 80/- Export | 33 | 1.25 | 0.11 | 1041.1 | 1012.2 | 3.74 | 70.32% | 10 | Distinct creamy taste. |
| Scottish & Newcastle | McEwan's Special (80/-) | 1039.6 | 1010 | 3.84 | 74.75% | 11 | Great beer. Full-bodied rich flavour. | |||
| Scottish & Newcastle | McEwans Scotch (70/-) | 28 | 1.26 | 0.14 | 1035.3 | 1005.3 | 3.90 | 84.99% | 9 | Popular brew. Excellent value. |
| Lorimer | Lorimers Scotch Ale | 28 | 1.25 | 0.13 | 1034.9 | 1007.1 | 3.61 | 79.66% | 9 | Fruity flavour. |
| Drybrough | Heavy | 32 | 1.08 | 0.12 | 1034.6 | 1005.7 | 3.76 | 83.53% | 9 | Tangy, refreshing drink. A little on the gassy side. |
| Scottish & Newcastle | Youngers Tartan | 30 | 1.15 | 0.12 | 1034.5 | 1006.35 | 3.66 | 81.59% | 6 | Not my cup of tea! |
| Average | 30.2 | 1.20 | 0.12 | 1036.7 | 1007.8 | 3.75 | 79.14% | 9.0 | ||
| Source: | ||||||||||
| Sunday Mirror - Sunday 17 September 1978, pages 22 - 23. | ||||||||||
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5 comments:
Good to see Tartan special has always been dire.
"Not my cup of tea."
This could be read as a comparison of Tartan to a bad cup of tea. Considered that way, fairly harsh!
I remember when Vaux / Lorimer were still going strong on Tyneside.
In Newcastle you drank McEwan's Scotch but when you walked over the Tyne Bridge to Gateshead you were instantly in Vaux territory and the drink was Lorimers Scotch.
Sadly their only offering that was the equivalent of Newcastle Exhibition or Federation Special was Vaux Samson which was hard to find.
I'm not sure if it was brewed locally or tankered down from Scotland. A small brewpub has acquired the name in Sunderland but their offerings mostly seem to be C-hop infused usual modern stuff.
Lorimer’s Scotch was definitely still being brewed in Edinburgh before the management buy-out that created the Caledonian Brewery Co. There was an article in a Tyneside CAMRA magazine when Vaux announced they wanted to close the Caledonian, demanding “Keep Scotch Scottish” or something similar.
No doubt minds will be blown by 70/- stronger than 80/-
"The shilling system was all about tax on alcohol"...
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