Beer Guide to the 1970s (part four)

I hope you're enjoying this series of posts. Because there are an awful lot of them to come.

One thing that's struck me as I've been going through the breweries is how many regional breweries closed in the 1980s. And how many of the really small breweries are still open. I suppose brewers owning fewer than 20 pubs weren't the most attractive takeover targets. Not being public companies probably helped some.

We're still on the letter "B".

Belhaven
Dunbar,
Lothian.
Founded:    1719
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    25

One of a handful of surviving independent Scottish breweries in the 1979s, Belhaven is the only one to still survive. They brewed the classic three Scottish Pale Ale type of 60/-, 70/- and 80/-. And pretty good examples of the styles they were, too. Theirs was one of the few 60/- still available in cask form.

beer	style	format	OG	description
60/- Light	Pale Ale	draught	1031	dark and fruity
70/- Heavy	Pale Ale	draught	1036	well balanced
80/- Export	Pale Ale	draught	1042	distinctive
Strong Alle	Strong Alle	draught	1070	Scotch Alle
Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Export Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Strong Ale	Strong Ale	bottled	1070
No. 1 Stout	Stout	bottled		medium sweet
Dunbar Sweet Stout	Stout	bottled
Trinidad Stout	Stout	bottled		dryish; exported to Anguilla, Jamaica, St. Kitts, Tahiti and Trinidad

Brakspear
Henley-on-Thames,
Oxfordshire.
Founded:    1779
Closed:            2002
Tied houses:    130

A much-loved brewery, which was located in a quaint riverside town. Their tied estate was mostly in the town of Henley itself and the surrounding villages. Their beers had a well-deserved reputation for quality. They were amongst my favourite southern beers.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Pale Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1035	well hopped
Special Bitter Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1043	slightly sweet
XXX Mild	Mild	draught	1031	thin and hoppy Dark Mild
XXXX	Old Ale	draught	1043
Beehive Keg	Pale Ale	keg		filtered but unpasteurised
Light Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Henley Strong Ale	Strong Ale	bottled
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Henley Lager	Lager	bottled

Matthew Brown
Blackburn,
Lancashire.
Founded:    1830
Closed:            1991
Tied houses:    600

A major regional brewery in the Northwest, Matthew Brown’s tied estate was spread across all of Lancashire and most of Cumbria. Outside of this area, their beers only really turned up at beer festivals. They were genuinely regional, despite their size. I found their beer pretty decent and really well conditioned in the cask. It was bought by Scottish & Newcastle in 1987 and closed a few years later.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1036	well balanced and malty
Mild	Mild	draught	1031	dark and nutty
Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	keg	1039
Lion Lager	Lager	keg	1037.2
Light Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Crystal	Pale Ale	bottled		A stronger Light Ale
Export IPA	IPA	bottled		A strong Light Ale
Kings Ale	Barley Wine	bottled
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		The Dark Mild bottled
Lion Stout	Stout	bottled		medium sweet
Lion Lager	Lager	bottled