Southern Brown Ale after WW II

Despite covering a large area of Southeast England, there’s a reasonable amount of consistency in this set of Brown Ales.

The gravities are mostly on the low side, with only two examples over 1035º, and averaging a tad below 1032º. Surprisingly, there are a couple below the magic 1027º. It made little sense to brew a beer weaker than that, because you had to pay tax as if were 1027º. That was the minimum rate of tax.

With middling attenuation – there are a couple of beers with over 80%, but also four below 70%. Which means that the average ABV only just pokes its head above 3%.

There are some pretty watery beers, especially from Simonds. Most examples are well below 3% ABV. It’s odd because Simonds Berry Brown Ale was a reasonably big brand.

As in London, the colours are mostly pretty dark. Though the Portsmouth United and Wethered beers fall into the semi-dark region. In general, these Southern Brown Ales look quite similar to those from London. Which isn’t so surprising as there breweries were mostly not that far from the capital.

Southern Brown Ale after WW II
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (d)	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1951	Benskin	Nut Brown Ale	16	1032.9	1008.1	3.22	75.38%	83
1952	Brickwoods	Brown Brew	18	1032.2	1008.9	3.02	72.36%	80
1952	Cobb & Co	Brown Ale	18	1034.3	1007.5	3.48	78.13%	80
1950	Ind Coope	Nut Brown Ale	18	1032.3	1008.6	3.07	73.37%	75
1951	Ind Coope	Nut Brown Ale	19	1031.9	1008.3	3.06	73.98%	110
1952	Ind Coope	Nut Brown Ale	19	1030.9	1011.7	2.48	62.14%	83
1952	McMullen	Nut Brown Ale	18	1035.5	1012.6	2.96	64.51%	110
1948	Portsmouth United	Brown Ale	17	1038.2	1005.4	4.27	85.86%	55
1948	Simonds	Brown Ale	18	1025.7	1006.4	2.50	75.10%	105
1949	Simonds	Brown Ale	15	1026.1	1008	2.34	69.35%	140
1952	Simonds	Brown Ale	18	1029.9	1009.7	2.61	67.56%	110
1952	Simonds	Berry Brown Ale	19	1032	1005.5	3.44	82.81%	60
1948	Tamplin	No. 1 Brown Ale	19	1033.6	1008.5	3.25	74.70%	87
1952	Tamplin	No.1 Ale	20	1034.1	1009.7	3.16	71.55%	80
1947	Wethered	Golden Brown Ale	12	1025.6	1004	2.81	84.37%	48
	Average		17.6	1031.7	1008.2	3.04	74.08%	87.1
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Beer value

I love old price lists. I always have done. Even when I know nothing much about the beers listed. But that's all changed.

I came across a Dominic of Horsham advert from 1948 which lists various, mostly quite well know, beers.1948 is a good year for me because Whitbread were very active at that time collecting samples of other brewers' beers for analysis. Meaning I have analyses of many of the beers in the price list.

It's always fun to play around with tables of data. Especially when I can combine information from different sources. As I know the OG and the price, I can easily work out the price relative to strength, by calculating the cost per gravity point.

I was slightly surpised by how consistent the pricing is: around 0.28d per gravity point. Then again, so much of the price of beer was the tax, that it flattens out any variation. Truly unexpected is discovering that Bass and Worthington Pale Ales were the best value. They're exactly the type of beer that you might expect to charge a premium price. Guinness - another beer with a premium image - comes out around average.

No prizes for guessing the worst value beers. Obviously that honour goes to the Lagers. They've always been crap value in the UK.

That the Burton Pale Ales are listed as Burton Ales is rather annoying. They aren't and never were.

PALE ALES	half Pts.	Pts	Qts.	OG	price per gravity point
SIMONDS' Light Ale	7.5d	1/2d	2/3d
"     S.B. Best Pale Ale	8d	1/3d	2/5d	1029.1	0.2749
Rigden's "KENT'S BEST" Pale Ale	8.5d	1/4d	2/7d
BROWN ALE
SIMONDS' Brown Ale	7.5d	1/2d	2/3d	1025.6	0.293
SIMONDS' "Berry Brown" Ale	8.5d	1/4d		1029.5	0.2881
Rigden's "KENT'S BEST" Brown Ale	8.5d	1/4d	2/7d
STOUT
SIMONDS' Luncheon Stout	8d	1/3d	2/5d
SIMONDS' SPECIAL Stout	1/-			1043.9	0.2733
Rigden's DOUBLE STOUT	8.5d	1/4d	2/7d
HAMMERTON'S OATMEAL	11d	1/8d	3/2d	1036.8	0.2989
GUINNESS	1/1d	2/-	3/10d	1045.2	0.2876
BURTON ALE
SIMONDS' I.P.A.	1/-			1039.7	0.3023
Bass	1/2d	2/3d		1053.8	0.2602
Worthington	1/2d	2/3d		1054.1	0.2588
BEN TRUMAN	1/2d			1048.2	0.2905
LAGER
RED TOWER	1/1d			1035.8	0.3631
Barclay's	1/1d			1036.1	0.3601
CARLSBERG (Imported)	1/5d			1035.6	0.4213
PILSNER URQUELL (Imported)	1/7d			1049	0.3469
Sources:
West Sussex County Times - Friday 26 November 1948, page 11.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Branded Brown Ale in 1953

Enjoying this series? I think I am. Not totally sure. Let me get back to you in a day or two.

Brown Ale. One the favourite styles of the 1950’s. Which is why I’m surprised there are relatively few examples, a mere 17. 16, really, because Southwarke Ale (as it’s really spelled) is an Old Ale. Not difficult to work out. That’s how it’s described on the label. Their Brown Ale was called Doctor Brown. Which for some reason doesn’t make the list.

Flowers had a whole bunch of Brown Ales – Poacher, Brownex, to name two – though some were from the J.W. Green portfolio. At this point the two were still separate companies. Whitbread also had another Brown Ale, Double Brown. That was their original Brown Ale, stronger and more bitter than was usual by the 1950’s. It was already taking a back seat to Forest Brown, a more typical type, and would be phased out within a couple of years. Forest Brown continued through the Whitbread period as the group’s flagship Brown Ale.

Simmonds Berry Brown Ale was a big brand in its day, brewed not just in Simonds’ own Reading brewery, but at other plants they owned, too. It was a big enough brand to survive the Courage takeover, though with the name changed to Courage Berry Brown Ale. I wonder how long it lasted? That got me wondering: what was Courage’s own version called? About as dull as you could get: Courage Brown Ale.

What’s left of this lot? Double Maxim. Though even that has long left its home brewery. Will Brown Ale die out? Probably not as long as Newcastle Brown still retains popularity. But I can’t see it becoming part of a brewery’s standard range again.

Branded Brown Ale in 1953
Brewery	Beer	Type
Whitbread	Forest Brown	Brown
Barclay Perkins	Southwark Ale	Brown Ale
Flowers	Anchor	Brown Ale
Fremlins	Double Elephant	Brown Ale
H. & G. Simonds	Berry	Brown Ale
John Smith's	Tawney	Brown Ale
Meux's Brewery	Winter Ale	Brown Ale
Mitchells & Butlers	Sam Brown	Brown Ale
Star Brewery	Old Star	Brown Ale
T. Losco Bradley	Red Lion	Brown Ale
Thompsons Brewery	Bell	Brown Ale
Tomson & Wotton	Double Thatch	Brown Ale
Westoe Breweries	Lifeboat	Brown Ale
Wm. Younger	Castle	Brown Ale
Vaux	Double Maxim	Brown Ale, bottled
Higson's Brewery	Double Top	Brown Ale, bottled
Yates's Castle Brewery	Cobnut	Brown Ale, bottled
Source:
Brewery Manual 1953-1954, pages 382 - 394.

Stout next, I think.

Who was branding their beers in 1954? (part two)

Time to continue my beating of this particular percussive instrument: beer branding in the 1950’s.

I’m seeing some patterns in this data. OK, it may be a little skewed by not being an inclusive list. It seems to have a bias towards the bigger, better-known breweries. But those that ended up as the kernel of the Big Six seem to have been keener on branding than their less expansionist colleagues.

Barclay Perkins were in the game early. Most of these brads were already around before WW II:

Barclay Perkins branded beers in 1954
Brewery	Beer	Type
Barclay Perkins	Festival Ale	Very Strong
Barclay Perkins	Russian Stout	Very strong
Barclay Perkins	Southwark Ale	Brown Ale
Barclay Perkins	Victory	Formerly Milk Stout
Barclay Perkins	Winter Brew	Strong Ale
Barclay Perkins	Golden Hop	Strong Light
Source:
Brewery Manual 1953-1954, pages 382 - 394.

Amazingly one – Russian Stout – has survived, albeit with a 20-year gap at the end of the 20th and start of the 21st centuries.

Here are some more from one of the other key elements of the Courage group:

Simonds branded beers in 1954
Brewery	Beer	Type
H. & G. Simonds	Archangel	Stout
H. & G. Simonds	Berry	Brown Ale
H. & G. Simonds	Bulldog	Pale Ale
H. & G. Simonds	Golden Dry	Pale Ale
H. & G. Simonds	Heavy	Mild
H. & G. Simonds	London Heavy	Mild
H. & G. Simonds	Old Berkshire	Strong Ale
H. & G. Simonds	Reading Pale Ale	Bitter
H. & G. Simonds	SOS	Winter Brew
H. & G. Simonds	Tavern	Pale Ale
H. & G. Simonds	Velvet	Stout
Source:
Brewery Manual 1953-1954, pages 382 - 394.

A couple of those might still be knocking about. I think Bulldog is still brewed for export. And Tavern is probably living a zombie existence, brewed god knows where for a few ageing fans. Simonds were also early branders. Their Hop Leaf Pale Ale I believe was introduced in the 19th century. Now that is definitely still around, brewed by Farsons in Malta.

Judging by the length of the list, the whole of Simonds bottled range must have been branded. In its day, Berry Brown Ale was well known and was brewed in several of Simonds breweries.

Lots more of this, obviously. Saves me having to write too many words.

Simonds bottled Stouts 1947 – 1960

I can’t believe that I’m finishing of a series for once. The series in question being the beers of H & G Simonds 1945 to 1960.

I’ve no real way of knowing which brewery these beers were made in. Assuming Reading would be very dangerous. From labels I’ve seen, I know that some brands, such as Berry Brown Ale, were brewed elsewhere. During this period they had at least four breweries in operation, though exactly which breweries varied, as some were closed and others purchased.

Simonds seem to have brewed three Stouts, in ascending order of strength Luncheon Stout, Special / Velvet Stout and Archangel Stout. It’s a reminder that Stout was still an important niche for British brewers and Guinness hadn’t hoovered up all the trade.

Luncheon Stout appeared in the second half of the 19th century. It was the Stout equivalent of a Light Dinner Ale, that is a relatively low-gravity beer sold without ageing. They were also specifically brewed as bottled beers. As the name implies, it was a light beer intended as an accompaniment to a meal.

The first mention I can find of Luncheon Stout is from 1889 price list, which has examples from Allsopp and Foster, a London brewer. Both are priced at 2.5d per Imperial pint, which implies an OG of 1045-1050º. Er, can I try that again? I’ve just found an analysis of Allsopp’s Luncheon Stout from 1896. It had a gravity of 1063º and an ABV of 6.7%*. Examples from between the wars had OGs of around 1040º.

The level of attenuation varies a lot between the three samples, as does the ABV, despite the OG being fairly constant. None is particularly alcoholic, two barely intoxicating at all.

Next up the tree Special/Velvet Stout (I assume it’s the same beer with a name change in the early 1950’s. It manages to have even worse attenuation than Luncheon Stout, on a couple of occasions dropping below 50%. Meaning it struggles to get much over 3% ABV despite an OG in the high 1040’s. Pretty poor value for money and doubtless pretty sweet.

Finally Archangel Stout, which has the gravity of an Imperial Stout. If not the ABV. It’s another very poorly attenuated beer. I think I’m beginning to see a theme here. With a finishing gravity over 1040º it must have been thick and sweet. Perfect for the arctic.

And here it is, the final table in this set:

Simonds bottled Stouts 1947 - 1960
Year	Beer	Price per pint d	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour	price per % ABV
1953	Archangel Stout	49.5	1084.6	1041.2	5.57	51.30%	1 + 10	8.88
1951	Luncheon Stout	18	1034.1	1013.1	2.71	61.58%	1 + 14	6.64
1957	Luncheon Stout	22	1033.6	1014.9	2.41	55.65%	275	9.13
1960	Luncheon Stout	20	1034.4	1010.4	3.11	69.77%		6.44
1947	Special Stout	24	1043.9	1022.6	2.73	48.52%	1 + 14	8.78
1949	Special Stout MS brand	24	1045.4	1018.9	3.42	58.37%	1 + 13	7.03
1953	Velvet Stout	26	1046.2	1022.5	3.05	51.30%	1 + 13	8.54
1954	Velvet Stout	29	1047.5	1023.8	3.04	49.89%	350	9.53
1957	Velvet Stout	29	1047.9	1022.2	3.31	53.65%	250	8.77
1959	Velvet Stout	32	1047.9	1022	3.33	54.07%	275	9.60
1960	Velvet Stout	32	1042.3	1020.3	2.83	52.01%	300	11.31
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

* Wahl & Henius, pages 823-830.

Simonds Pale Ales 1948 – 1960

Another set of Simonds beers, this time of the paler Ale variety.

I hope this is helping to give you some idea of the beers brewed just after the war. Though they don’t look that odd to anyone who, like me, drank in the 1970’s. The traditional British styles didn’t change a great deal between 1960 and 1980.

Where to start? The draught ones, I suppose. I’ve included IPA as well because, well, they’re a kind of Pale Ale, too. Despite what modern geeks might like to think, historically the difference between the two styles was arbitrary. But that’s not what people want to hear. They want nice neat little boxes for each style. Except beer styles don’t – and never have – worked like that.

Certainly Simonds IPA and Best Bitter don’t have the relationship strength-wise most would expect today. The IPA is the weaker of the two. With a gravity in the mid-1030’s, it looks like a Classic Session IPA. If it weren’t for the fact that it predates the term by around 50 years.

Once again keg proves it perennial poor value. Simonds Keg Bitter is 3d a pint more expensive, but has a gravity 5 points lower than Best Bitter. It’s one of the reasons I never even vaguely contemplated becoming a keg or Lager drinker: I couldn’t afford it.

One last point. Most of the draught beers are quite pale. I’d expect a Bitter to be somewhere in the range 22 to 28. Anything under 20 is on the pale side.

Here’s table number one.

Simonds draught Pale Ale 1949 - 1960
Year	Beer	Style	Price per pint d	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1949	E. IPA	IPA	18	1039.7	1007	4.26	82.37%	23 B
1960	IPA	IPA	14	1035.4	1010.2	3.15	71.19%	18
1950	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	14	1031.5				26
1959	Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	22	1037.4	1007.3	3.76	80.48%	19
1960	Best Bitter	Pale Ale	19	1042.3	1007.5	4.35	82.27%	17
Sources:
Truman Gravity Book document B/THB/C/252 held at the London Metropolitan Archives
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

The bottled set is somewhat larger. But appears to contain just four beers: Bulldog, SB and Tavern. Interestingly, the description of SB seems to have changed from Pale Ale to Light Ale in the late 1950’s. Though for a while they also had a beer called “Light Pale Ale”. I assume they changed to Light Ale to fit in with the fashion of the day. With the lowest gravity bottled Pale Ales being generally referred to as Light Ale.

Bulldog was mostly an export beer, I believe. Though as there’s a price in pence for the 1953 example, that must have been purchased in Britain. It’s very strong for a 1950’s Pale Ale. In fact it would have been at the top end of the gravity range in the 19th century. I don’t think I ever had it myself. I know Courage continued to brew it until at least the 1980’s, but don’t believe it’s still made. I know some beer writers rated it very highly.

Tavern is a funny one. I remember it as Courage’s flagship Keg Bitter. Pretty sure I never drank it. If I did have to drink in a Courage pub, I’d have gone for AK or Mild. It seems like another brand Courage picked up from Simonds. Older labels bill it as “India Pale Ale”, but later ones call it “Export Ale” whatever that means.

It’s interesting that the attenuation of the draught beers is, with a couple of exceptions, generally considerably higher than for the bottled beers.

Time for table two:

Simonds bottled Pale Ale 1948 - 1960
Year	Beer	Style	Price per pint d	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1956	Bitter Ale	Pale Ale	24	1030.1	1010	2.60	66.78%	25
1953	Bulldog Pale Ale	Pale Ale	43.5	1066.4	1019.6	6.08	70.48%	25
1955	Bulldog Pale Ale	Pale Ale		1067	1018	6.38	73.13%	20
1949	Bulldog Pale Ale (imported into Belgium by John Martin, bought in Brussels)	Pale Ale		1069.8	1011.9	7.59	82.95%	25
1959	Light Ale	Pale Ale	22	1034.4	1012.1	2.88	64.83%	19
1948	Pale Ale	Pale Ale		1028.8	1007.8	2.72	72.92%	22.5
1960	SB. Light Ale	Light Ale	20	1034.2	1009.5	3.20	72.22%
1947	SB Ale	Pale Ale	13	1029.1	1008.2	2.71	71.82%	23.5
1959	SB Light Ale	Pale Ale	20	1034.2	1010.3	3.09	69.88%	19
1946	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	13	1029.4	1005.1	3.16	82.65%	25 B
1950	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	18	1032.5	1008.5	3.11	73.85%	26
1955	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	18	1033	1009	3.11	72.73%	21
1956	SB Pale Ale	Pale Ale	20	1033.4	1010.3	2.99	69.16%	21
1959	Tavern Export Ale	Pale Ale	34	1045.8	1013	4.25	71.62%	18
1953	Tavern Pale Ale	Pale Ale	30	1044.9	1012.3	4.23	72.61%	21
Sources:
Which Beer Report, 1960, pages 171 - 173.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Simonds Stouts to finish.

Simonds Dark Ales 1948 – 1960

I seem to have accidentally started writing a history of the Big Six. How on earth did that happen?

Tracing exactly how they formed is fascinating. Like watching the solar system assemble itself. You can see that takeover targets weren’t random, but were chosen carefully. You didn’t want to get too much overlap in pub estates. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t choices.

J W Green and Simonds covered much of the same territory. It’s quite possible that Whitbread could have bought Simonds and Courage J W Green. Would that have made any difference in the long term? Probably not. But it would have made the 1970’s and 1980’s somewhat different. 

I’d love to know if they would have made the same brewery decisions. Meaning, would Courage have built a new brewery in Luton? Would Whitbread have replaced Simonds brewery with one outside Reading? Maybe Courage would have closed J W Green’s Luton brewery and kept open Flowers Stratford one.

Apologies for rather wandering off topic there. I’m supposed to be telling you about the Dark Ales of H & G Simonds. It shouldn’t take too long. It better hadn’t. I’ve things to do, beer to drink, mindless TV to watch.

We’re starting with Brown Ale. The table also has a Strong Ale randomly included. For no reason other than I didn’t know where else to put it. There’s something quite unusual about the first couple of Brown Ales in the table. See if you can spot it.

Simonds Brown Ale and bottled Strong Ale 1948 - 1960
Year	Beer	Style	Price per pint d	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1948	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	15	1026.3	1006.7	2.54	74.52%	40 + 8.5
1949	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	15	1026.1	1008	2.34	69.35%	23 + 40
1950	Berry Brown Ale	Brown Ale	15	1029.5	1007.3	2.88	75.25%	10 + 40
1951	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	18	1029.2	1009.6	2.53	67.12%	19 + 40
1952	Berry Brown Ale	Brown Ale	19	1032	1005.5	3.44	82.81%	5 + 40
1952	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	18	1029.9	1009.7	2.61	67.56%	17 + 40
1956	Berry Brown Ale	Brown Ale	16	1031.9	1011.9	2.58	62.70%	85
1960	Berry Brown Ale	Brown Ale	20	1035.1	1015.7	2.50	55.27%
1953	Old Berkshire Strong Ale	Strong Ale	43.5	1076.7	1033.2	5.61	56.71%	16 + 40
Sources:
Which Beer Report, 1960, pages 171 - 173.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

What’s odd? They have an OG below 1027º. That’s a very cost-ineffective way to brew. Because a beer under 1027º paid tax as if it were 1027º. Simonds paid more tax than they needed to on those beers. I suspect that they’d aimed for 1027º, but undershot.

I’m pretty sure that they’re all the same Brown Ale, despite the two names. Which makes it odd how variable they are in terms of attenuation and colour. You can see that the gravity rose between 1948 and 1960, but ironically the ABV didn’t. Very strange.

All I’ll say about the Strong Ale is that because of the crap attenuation, it wasn’t really all that strong.

Now it’s the turn of Mild Ale.

Simonds draught Mild Ale 1950 - 1951
Year	Beer	Style	Price per pint d	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1950	Ale	Mild	12	1030.4				56
1951	Mild Ale	Mild	14	1032	1005.5	3.44	82.81%	80
1951	Mild Dark Sweet	Mild	14	1031.5	1005.7	3.35	81.90%	80
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Only three examples this time. The one from 1950 isn’t properly dark. But dark enough to be easily distinguished from Bitter. The other two have quite a high ABV for their gravity, due to the high degree of attenuation. I can’t really see how the last one could be that sweet.

Pale Ales next.