Beer Guide to the 1970s (part twenty-eight)

Another trio of brewers. With only one still properly open. Which I guess is about par for the course.

Include is one of my favourite breweries when I was a youth: Shipstone. Who suffered a terrile fate. Being bought by Greenall Whitley, There's also Selby, a weird off and on brewery. Which came back from the dead, then went a bit zombie.


Selby
Selby (Middlebrough),
North Yorkshire.

Founded:    1870
Closed:            still brewing occasionally
Tied houses:    1

Selby was a slightly odd brewery, in that they stopped brewing in 1954 and operated as a bottler of Guinness and beer distributor. However, unlike most brewers who made such a move, they restarted brewing in 1972. I can’t remember trying their draught beer, though I did drink their bottle-conditioned beer in the Brahms & Liszt in Leeds.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Special Pale Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1036	strong with an agreeable flavour
Strong Ale	Strong Ale	draught	1048	dark and rich
Brahms & Liszt Special Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1048	bottle-conditioned

Shepherd Neame
Faversham,
Kent.

Founded:    1698
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    235

In the 1970s, Shepherd Neame was the last independent brewery in Kent. With all but a handful of their pubs selling cask beer, they were well liked by CAMRA. Their tied estate stretched across all of Kent and there were a few pubs in London. I thought their beers were pretty good. Though it was difficult to find the Mild.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1036	well hopped
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1039
Light Mild	Mild	draught		similar to the Bitter, only in clubs and on the Isle of Sheppey
Mild	Mild	draught	1031	dark and sweet
Old English Stock Ale	Old Ale	draught	1038	well  hopped butt thin
Draught Abbey	Pale Ale	keg
Hurlimann Swiss Lager	Lager	keg	1045	imported
Light Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
Abbey Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		medium-strength
Bishop's Finger	Strong Ale	bottled		pale
Christmas Ale	Old Ale	bottled		very strong
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled

Shipstone
New Basford,
Nottinghamshire.

Founded:    1852
Closed:            1990
Tied houses:    280

Shipstone was one of three independent breweries in Nottingham. Their tied estate spread across the East Midlands in the counties Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and also Yorkshire. My personal favourite of the Nottingham breweries. Especially the Mild. Bought by Greenall Whitley in 1978 and fucked. 

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	Bitter	well hopped
Mild	Mild	draught	Mild	Dark Mild, well hopped
Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	keg
India Pale Ale	IPA	bottled
Gold Star Ale	Pale Ale	bottled		light gravity
Strong Ale	Old Ale	bottled		dark
Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Ship Stout	Stout	bottled	1044	medium sweet