Beer Guide to the 1970s (part thirteen)

Here we go again. Another three breweries from the 1970s. Two closed, one open in this trio.

Kicking off with everyone's favourite, Greene King. Who already weren't that popular. Probably because they owned most of thee pubs in some parts of Suffolk. And just because they were big. Though, considering how many pubs they owned, their beers weren't that widely available.

Compared to Guernsey, Greene King's beers were ubiquitous. I think you could only get their beers in the Channel Islands. I can't remember even seeing their beers at festivals.

Greene King (Biggleswade)
Biggleswade,
Bedfordshire.
Founded:    1764
Closed:            1997
Tied houses:    287

The Wells & Winch brewery, which was acquired by Greene King in 1961. Who ran it as a subsidiary for several decades. I think that I tried the two Milds at festivals and found them OK. I’m guessing that the XX was KK with caramel added at racking time.

beer	style	format	OG	description
IPA	IPA	draught	1036	good hop rate
Abbot Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1048	strong robust Bitter
KK Light Mild	Mild	draught	1030.8	a Light Mild
XX Mild	Mild	draught	1030.8	a Dark Mild, fruity

Greene King (Bury St. Edmunds)
Bury St. Edmunds,
Suffolk,
Founded:    1799
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    900

One of the largest regional brewers, Greene King weren’t exactly CAMRA’s favourite. The large tied estate was mostly in East Anglia, though it stretched as far south as the outskirts of North London. Not areas where I drank and I only tried the beers at festivals. They’ve left no impression so can’t have been either great or terrible.

beer	style	format	OG	description
IPA	IPA	draught	1036	good hop rate
IA Light Bitter	Pale Ale	draught		a lighter Bitter
Mild	Mild	draught	1030.8	a Dark Mild
Abbot Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1048	strong robust Bitter
King Keg	Pale Ale	keg	1038.4
Polar	Pale Ale	keg		A light coloured, chilled beer for the summer
Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1031.7
Crown Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		A medium gravity, mellow Pale Ale
Abbot Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1048.4	A strong Pale Ale
St. Edmund's Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		strongest of the Pale Ales
Harvest Ale	Brown Ale	bottled	1032.7	A sweet, dark beer
Burton Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		A dark Ale, but less sweet
Suffolk Ale	Old Ale	bottled		A strong, dark and well flavoured beer
Farm Stout	Stout	bottled	1035	Sweet Stout
Audit Ale	Barley Wine	bottled

Guernsey
St. Peter Port,
Guernsey.
Founded:    1856
Closed:            2002
Tied houses:    45

One of the small breweries on the Channel Islands. The tied houses were all on Guernsey, though there was some free trade on Alderney, Sark and Herm. I don’t think their beers ever made it to the mainland. Ended up in the hands of Jersey’s Ann Street Brewery and closed.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Draught Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1045	full flavoured and hoppy
Mild	Mild	draught	1036.6	a medium Dark Mild which is dry hopped
Pony Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	keg		A well hopped, high gravity keg beer
Pony IPA	IPA	bottled		similar to Keg Bitter
Pony Ale	Brown Ale	bottled	1036.6	the Mild Ale in bottle
Pont Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		Not too sweet, full-bodied and fairly heavily primed
Milk Stout	Stout	bottled		medium sweet