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

It's been a while since the last post in this series. Not that I'd abandonned it. Just caught up in lots of travel. I've also had to work out how consult physical books without buggering my broken wrist.

Three breweries, as usual. Only one of which is still around. The other two were quite ephemeral, being founded in the 1970s and closing in the early 1980s. I was surprised at just how brief their life was. Though this wasn't atypical of the first cohort of new breweries. Without the cushion of tied houses, survival was difficult for these new brewers. It's no coincidence that some of those which managed to hang around longer did assemble a small tied estate,

Palmer
Bridport,
Dorset.

Founded:    1794
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    65

Palmer was a small brewery in the Southwest of England.  Their tied estate was concentrated in Bridport and surrounding area, stretching over into Devon. Like many breweries in the region, they brewed no Mild. Instead, they made a “Boy’s Bitter”: a low-gravity Pale Ale, that was somewhat akin to a Pale Mild. They weren’t greatly loved by CAMRA as most of their pubs served beer on top pressure. Not outright keg, but cask served using CO2.

beer	style	format	OG	description
BB	Pale Ale	draught	1030.4	well balanced with a malty flavour
IPA	IPA	draught	1039.5	stronger version of BB
Shilthorn	Lager	keg	1041.4
Light Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled
IPA	IPA	bottled		stronger than Light Pale Ale
Tally Ho	Strong Ale	bottled
Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		medium sweet
Extra Stout	Stout	bottled		medium sweet

Penrhos
Kington,
Herefordshire.

Founded:    1977
Closed:            1983
Tied houses:    0

One of the first of the new wave of breweries, Penrhos was part-owned by Terry Jones of Monty Python. Their beer was a regular at the Great British Beer Festival and was more reliable than most that of most new breweries. Notable for helping revive Porter in England. Sadly, they weren’t around for long.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Jones's First Brew	Pale Ale	draught	1050	malty, lightly hops
Penrhos Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1040	bitter

Pollard
Stockport,
Greater Manchester.

Founded:    1975
Closed:            1982
Tied houses:    0

Another early new brewery, Pollard’s decision to brew in Greater Manchester might not have been the greatest. Given the area it was already home to many small, independent breweries and a very competitive market. Their beer was pretty good and in the Northwestern style.

beer	style	format	OG	description
John Barleycorn	Pale Ale	draught	1036	malty