Monday, 3 November 2025

Singapore beers 1948 - 1950

A Malayan Breweries Tiger Brand Lager Beer label featuring a drawing of a tiger under a palm tree.
I'm a bit late with this one. I wanted to write it just after I got back from Singapore. But, you know what it's like (or maybe not) when you get to my age. Things slip your mind.

In the period these analyses cover, Singapore had two rival brewing companies. The Archipelago Brewery Company (ABC) and Malayan Breweries Limited (MBL), which was a joint venture between Heineken and Fraser & Neave, a local soft drinks company. Both were established in the 1930s. MBL is now wholly owned by Heineken.

The Heineken connection is why I have these analyses and come from a sort of Heineken gravity book. Which lists, in addition to beers from their own breweries, products of rivals. Hence beers from both ABC and MBL.

Typically, for breweries in this part of Asia, there were two products: Pils and Stout. Which is what you still tend to find today. The successor to MBL, Asia Pacific Breweries still brew Anchor Stout, though, at just 6% ABV, it's a good bit weaker than the immediate post-WW II version. 

The Pilseners are about what you would expect, at around 1048º, 5% ABV and 75% apparent attenuation. The Stouts, on the other hand, are extremely dry. With over 95% apparent attenuation. That's drier than modern Guinness, but from a much higher starting gravity. They must have been pretty interesting beers. 

Singapore beers 1948 - 1950
Year Brewer Beer Style OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation package Colour
1948 ABC Pilsener Pils 1049.64 1012.22 4.68 75.39% bottled 0.48
1948 ABC Pilsener Pils 1033.68 1009.59 3.10 71.52% bottled 0.2
1949 ABC Pilsener Pils 1049.64 1009.01 5.29 81.86% bottled 0.35
1950 ABC Anchor Pils 1049.90 1010.73 5.07 78.50% bottled 0.33
1950 ABC Stout Stout 1067.94 1002.15 8.67 96.84% bottled 4 * 13
1949 MBL Pils Pils 1047.75 1011.04 4.74 76.88% bottled 0.30
1950 MBL Tiger Pils 1049.69 1010.37 5.10 79.12% bottled 0.48
1950 MBL Stout Stout 1068.20 1000.77 8.89 98.88% bottled 4 * 14.5
Source:
Rapporten van laboratoriumonderzoeken naar producten van Heinekenbrouwerijen in binnen- en buitenland en naar producten van andere brouwerijen held at the Amsterdamse Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1794.

 

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