Brewers not for sale 1919 - 1936

Another look at brewers not for sale. It should be lots of fun.

The big surprise here is the massive revival in these licences. At the end of WW I, the number had fallen below 2,000. But by the end of the 1920s, there were more than in 1900, peaking at over 13,000.

It's also fascinating to see a big increase in the licences in Scotland. From nothing, to over 1,000. In 1900, just 127 licences were issued in Scotland. Proportionally way less than in England. Remember that Scotland had about 10% of the population of England. But, by 1936, around 25% of the licences were in Scotland. And continuing to increase, unlike in England.

I suspect that home-brewing might have collapsed at the end of WW I when ingredients became difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. After a couple of years of peace, not-for-sale licences were way above the 1914 level of 4,522. And continued to steadily increase until 1928. After which there was a steady decline. Though still well above the immediate pre-WW I level.

Now not everyone holding a licence was necessarily brewing. On the other hand, there were almost certainly some brewing without bothering with a licence. There probably were 10,000 or so not-for-sale brewers between the wars. 

I'd love to know something about these brewers. What did they brew? What equipment did they have? How much did they brew? I've never seen any information about this group. If you have any, please let me know. It's a beer culture that seems to have been totally forgotten about.

Brewers not for sale 1919 - 1936
Year	Eng.	Scot.	G.B.
1919	1,876	3	1,879
1920	2,998	1	2,999
1921	6,174		6,174
1922	7,069		7,069
1923	8,028	40	8,068
1924	9,423	409	9,832
1925	8,991	476	9,467
1926	10,869	618	11,487
1927	11,427	751	12,178
1928	12,257	842	13,099
1929	11,878	1,044	12,922
1930	11,437	1,076	12,513
1931	11,462	1,088	12,550
1932	10,033	1,106	11,139
1933	10,141	1,135	11,276
1934	9,549	1,197	10,746
1935	8,906	1,264	10,170
1936	8,502	1,265	9,767
Source:
"Drink in Great Britain 1900 - 1979", by Gwylmor Prys Williams and George Thompson Brake, 1980, page 367.