Beer Guide to the 1970s (part twelve)

Today's trio are a right mixture. One that just eluded me, one I disliked and one I loved. See if you can guess which was which. (It won't be hard.)

So many breweries that have disappeared since I started drinking. Some of the most frustrating were those that closed just before that. So I just missed out.

Gray
Chelmsford,
Essex.
Founded:    1828
Closed:            1974
Tied houses:    52

A brewery that disappeared just too early for me to have had chance to try their beers. The company still exists and owns a tired estate, whose beers are now supplied by Greene King. Their pubs are mostly concentrated around Chelmsford.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1033.6	well-balanced
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1040.4
Mild	Mild	draught	1028.6	dark
Stock Ale	Strong Ale	draught		fairly strong, darkish, roughly a cross between the Bitter and the Mild
Light Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Home Brew	Strong Ale	bottled		bottled Stock Ale

Greenall Whitley (Warrington)
Warrington,
Cheshire.
Founded:    1762
Closed:            1993
Tied houses:    1,500

One of the largest independent brewers, Greenall Whitley wasn’t that far behind Scottish & Newcastle in terms of tied houses. Lancashire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Herefordshire and North Wales were lucky enough to be home to their tied pubs. I never cared for their beers, even though they were often available in cask form. It was also annoying the good brewers the bastards took over and closed. The Warrington brewery closed when Greenalls decided to get out of brewing and become a pub chain. Not a brewery I miss.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1038	well-balanced
Mild	Mild	draught	1033.7	full-bodied Dark Mild
Festival Keg	Pale Ale	keg	1036.8
Grunhalle Lager	Lager	keg	1037.3	high-gravity Lager
Champion Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1034.8
Festival Export Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1041.6	A strong Light Ale, not the same as the keg.
Five Star Strong Ale	Barley Wine	bottled		nip
Old Chester Ale	Old Ale	bottled		A dark and sweet strong Old Ale.
Bullseye	Brown Ale	bottled	1033.6	A medium sweet Brown Ale
Family Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		sweet Brown Ale
Red Rose Stout	Stout	bottled	1040	sweet
Grunhall Lager	Lager	bottled	1037.3

Greenall Whitley (Wem)
Wem,
Shropshire.
Founded:    1878
Closed:            1988
Tied houses:    220

In contrast to their owner, the Wem brewery produced excellent beers. Some of the best I drank back then. Though that was only at beer festivals. They were bought by Greenall Whitley in 1951 and survived for surprisingly long. A brewery I do miss.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1038	well-balanced
Pale Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1032	a light Bitter
Mild	Mild	draught	1033	full-bodied Dark Mild