Northeastern Bitter in 1971

Here we go again, Diving into the Bitters brewed in different regions of the UK in 1971. Hopefully, it's going to be informative. Probably not entertaining, but at least informative.

This is a set of which I have little personal experience. I definitely drank Magnet, but not until a good bit later in the 1980s, when John Smiths resurrected a cask version. Though that was stronger at 1040º. The Vaux beer was, I suspect Lorimer & Clark Best Scotch, which was brewed at Caeldonian in Edinburgh. In which case, I definitely drank it multiple times.

Unexpectedly, this set is better value than the Mild Ales. Both overall and from the North. Having two beers from Federation helps boost the average. Though, to my shock, the best value of the bunch is from one of the Big Six in the form of Newcastle Exhibition. Perhaps it was the competition with Federation that kept them on their toes. Only the Mild from Carlisle State Brewery scored better.

The average OG, at 1037.3º, is just about exactly the average for all beer brewed in the UK. Funny that.

There's a worse average rate of attenuation than for the Mild Ales. Not sure what that tells us. Though there is a considerable amount of variation across the individual beers: 71% to 85%.

Next will be another set of Bitters. I've not decided which region yet. Still thinking about that. 

Northeastern Bitter in 1971
Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (p)	º gravity per p	% ABV per p	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Federation	Ordinary	11	3.05	0.28	1033.6	1009.7	3.10	71.28%
Vaux	Scotch Bitter	12	2.86	0.30	1034.3	1006.8	3.57	80.17%
John Smith	Magnet Bitter	13.5	2.58	0.27	1034.8	1006.7	3.65	80.75%
Vaux	Gold Tankard	14	2.90	0.27	1040.6	1011.4	3.79	72.04%
Sam Smith	Taddy Bitter	12	2.91	0.32	1034.9	1005.3	3.86	84.96%
Federation	Special	12	3.40	0.33	1040.8	1010.7	3.91	73.90%
Scottish & Newcastle	Newcastle Exhibition	12.5	3.42	0.35	1042.8	1009.4	4.34	78.04%
Average		12.4	3.02	0.30	1037.4	1008.5	3.75	77.31%
Source:
Sunday Mirror - Sunday 21 March 1971, page 25.