Thomas Usher beers in 1914

As promised, here's a over-detailed look at Thomas Usher's beers on the eve of WW I. And see how much, if at all, they have changed since 1894.

The most obvious change is the number of beers. Seventeen compared with just 12 back in 1894. A lot of this is accounted for by the range of Shilling Mild Ales. Which are five in total, ranging in gravity from 1029º to 1065º. Though the 60/-, 80/- and 100/- probably did exist in 1894, just without the MA suffix. 

The two weakest – 40/- MA and 50/- MA – do seem to be new beers. With gravities, 1032º and 1035º, which were pathetically weak for pre-WW I beers.

I’ve still no idea what the “Br” suffix means. There’s been a new, extremely weak beer added to the set: 40/- Br.  Its gravity of just 1029º is at a level only really seen in Table Beer.

There’s also a new 40/- PA with the extremely low gravity of 1029º. Which is truly ridiculous for a pre-WW I Pale Ale.

All the beers have lost 1º or 2º in gravity in the intervening two decades. Which is pretty standard across all breweries. And a reaction to the increase in taxation after 1900.

There are still two Stouts, though one is now a good bit weaker at 1046º. Which is pretty low for a Stout. Weaker even than most Porter.

They’re up to five Pale Ales and an IPA. Which is an indication of how the market was going in Scotland. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that there was a difference in 3º between each of them: 1042º, 1045º, 1048º, 1051º and 1054º. Other than the feeble 40/- PA. I can’t imagine that there was any pub that sold the whole set. More likely just a couple of them.

XP is a weird one. I’ve only one example of it, from 1913. XP was used by other brewers, such as William Younger. But there it was an IPA of about 1055º. Whereas here it’s clearly some sort of Strong Ale. Though it was parti-gyled with a couple of Pale Ales. 

Thomas Usher beers in 1914
Date	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
24th Dec	40/- Br	Ale	1029	1010	2.51	65.52%	6.00	0.72
24th Dec	50/- Br	Ale	1032	1010	2.91	68.75%	6.00	0.80
17th Dec	60/- Br	Ale	1033	1010	3.04	69.70%	6.00	0.82
26th Aug	44/- MA	Mild	1032	1012.5	2.58	60.94%	5.00	0.69
26th Aug	50/- MA	Mild	1035	1013	2.91	62.86%	5.00	0.75
24th Dec	60/- MA	Mild	1039	1016	3.04	58.97%	5.00	0.84
24th Dec	80/- MA	Mild	1047	1018	3.84	61.70%	5.00	1.01
26th Aug	100/- MA	Mild	1065	1027	5.03	58.46%	5.00	1.40
24th Aug	X	Pale Ale	1045	1013	4.23	71.11%	7.25	1.35
20th Aug	X 60/-	Pale Ale	1051	1013.5	4.96	73.53%	7.25	1.52
26th Aug	IP	IPA	1042	1013	3.84	69.05%	6.00	1.04
24th Aug	40/- PA	Pale Ale	1029	1009	2.65	68.97%	7.25	0.87
24th Aug	PA	Pale Ale	1048	1014	4.50	70.83%	7.25	1.44
21st Dec	PA 60/-	Pale Ale	1054	1016	5.03	70.37%	6.00	1.28
25th Aug	48/-	Stout	1046	1021	3.31	54.35%	5.00	1.04
25th Aug	54/-	Stout	1056	1025	4.10	55.36%	5.00	1.27
25th Sep	XP	Strong Ale	1085	1027	7.67	68.24%	7.00	2.46
Source:
Thomas Usher brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number TU/6/1/5.