Scottish beers ca 1955

I bet you thought I'd forgotten about Andrew Campbell's "The Book of Beer". Well you'd be right. I had forgotten to finish a series of posts based upon it. Then I remembered again. Hence this post.

Today it's the turn of Scotland. Actually, more like just Edinburgh.

"The visitor to Scotland will need to know that mild and bitter are not locally used terms. Heavy beer is the equivalent to best bitter; there is very little mild sold outside England. Heavy is also IPA, and below this strength are No.3 Scotch Ale, XX and X. No.3 is a sweet, full-flavoured beer, stronger than most English best milds, and is available on draught and in bottle in London and elsewhere in England.

The ale which is in the tradition of the old-time strong Edinburgh ales is the No.1, sold on draught and in bottles. It is a handsome beer, of mellow sweet flavour, of the same strength as Barclay's Winter Brew, and coming into the group of strong ales that retail between three shillings and twopence and three shillings and sixpence a pint. To-day, when bottled, it tends to be rather strongly carbonated.

Double Century, a full, spicy nut brown ale, was bottled first in 1949. For strength it comes rather above the run of national beers but below the strong ales.

Younger's brown ales and sweet stouts are stronger than the run of popular brown ales and stouts in England. They have a popular light pale ale which is called Holyrood Pale Ale in England and Wee Willie in Scotland. There is also Monk Export, fully fermented before bottling, and pasteurized, paler, more bitter, and of a similar strength to No. 3 Scotch Ale.

Of the other Edinburgh breweries' products, few reach Southern England. Wm McEwan's have many tied houses in Newcastle and the North. Robert Younger of St. Anns Brewery, Edinburgh have recently announced that they are bottling for the first time a range of beers that include Export, Strong Ale and Pale Ales; a Heavy Oat Creme Stout, a lighter Sweet Stout, and and Old Edinburgh Ale. Thomas Ushers, not to be confused with the Wiltshire brewery of the same name, bottle a Pale Ale, a Golden Rule Ale, Strong, Pale and Export Ales and a Sweet Stout."
"The Book Of Beer" by Andrew Campbell, 1956, pages 207-208.

Younger's No.3. I can rememebr brewing a clone of that back in the early 1970's. When it wasn't being brewed commercially. (A bit like now.)

Here are details of Yonger's beers of the period:

Wm. Younger beers in the 1950's
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	attenuation
1950	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	11d	half	bottled	0.05	1011.4	1032.6	40 + 27	2.74	65.03%
1950	Double Century Ale	Strong Ale	1/6d	half	bottled	0.07	1020.1	1058.4	40 + 9	4.96	65.58%
1950	Scotch Ale	Scotch Ale		half	bottled	0.12	1017.5	1087.6	5 + 40	9.21	80.02%
1951	Sweet Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.06	1019.5	1035.7	1 + 10	2.08	45.38%
1951	X	Mild	13d	pint	draught			1029.98	72
1952	"Monk" Export	Pale Ale	1/1d	half	bottled	0.07	1011.6	1046.9	24	4.59	75.27%
1952	X	Mild	14d	pint	draught			1033.48	92
1952	Scotch Ale	Scotch Ale			bottled	0.11	1021.7	1083.5	8 + 40	8.07	74.01%
1953	Century Ale	Strong Ale	1/6d	half	bottled	0.05	1021.4	1056.4	71 B	4.52	62.06%
1953	Monk Export	Pale Ale	1/3d	half	bottled	0.05	1009	1044.9	29 B	4.67	79.96%
1953	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	1/2.5d	nip	bottled	0.05	1024.2	1071.2	9 + 40	6.09	66.01%
1953	X	Mild	14d	pint	draught			1033.31	82
1954	Nourishing Stout	Stout	1/2d	half	bottled	0.05	1021.6	1046.3	1 + 16	3.18	53.35%
1954	Monk Export Ale	Pale Ale			bottled	0.05	1008.9	1046.7	26	4.92	80.94%
1954	Capital Stout (Lactose present)	Stout	1/4d	half	bottled	0.04	1019.7	1046.5	250	3.45	57.63%
1954	Double Century Ale	Brown Ale	18d	half	bottled	0.05	1023.3	1056.6	80	4.29	58.83%
1955	90/- Sparkling Ale	Pale Ale	1/-	half	bottled	0.04	1006.8	1032	32	3.27	78.75%
1955	90/- Holyrood Ale	Pale Ale	1/-	half	bottled	0.04	1006.7	1031.6	35	3.23	78.80%
1955	India Pale Ale	IPA	9.5d	half	bottled	0.04	1006.9	1030.2	22	3.02	77.15%
1955	X	Mild	14d	pint	draught			1030.24	96
1955	Sweet Stout	Stout	15d	half	bottled	0.05	1017.5	1034.9	200	2.24	49.86%
1955	No. 1 Strong Ale	Scotch Ale	15d	nip	bottled	0.04	1024.3	1071.4	80	6.11	65.97%
1955	Monk Export Ale	Pale Ale	15d	half	bottled	0.05	1010.6	1044.8	21	4.44	76.34%
1956	"Wee Willie" Brown Ale	Brown Ale	1/-	half	bottled	0.04	1009.6	1033.5	70	3.10	71.34%
1956	Wee Willie PA	Pale Ale	11d	half	bottled	0.05	1006.4	1031.1	25	3.21	79.42%
1956	Edinburgh Brown Ale	Brown Ale	1/1d	half	bottled	0.06	1013.2	1046.8	75	4.36	71.79%
1957	Double Century Ale	Strong Ale	2/2d	16 oz	bottled	0.06	1018.6	1051.5	80	4.25	63.88%
1957	Monk Export Ale	Pale Ale	2/2d	16 oz	bottled	0.05	1010.3	1045.6	20	4.59	77.41%
1957	Edinburgh Brown Ale	Brown Ale	1/2d	half	bottled	0.05	1013.1	1046.6	55	4.34	71.89%
1959	Capital Stout	Stout	15d	half	bottled		1021.6	1043.7	376	2.84	50.57%
1959	Sweet Stout	Stout	14d	half	bottled		1013.1	1033.3	300	2.61	60.66%
1959	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	12d	half	bottled	0.02	1008	1029.9	24	2.74	73.24%
1959	Holyrood Ale	Pale Ale	10d	half	bottled	0.04	1006.5	1028.7	30	2.78	77.35%
1959	XXP Bitter	Pale Ale	22d	pint	draught	0.04	1005.7	1030.4	21	3.21	81.25%
1959	Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	19d	pint	draught	0.04	1007.8	1043.7	55	4.68	82.15%
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity Book
Truman Gravity Book

Can't see much evidence there of Younger's Sweet Stouts and Brown Ales being stronger than English equivalents. Other than the Edinburgh Brown Ale, which was in the high 1040's. Note the puny gravity of their 90/- Ale. Not quite what some style Nazis would have you believe a 90/- was like.

Official - it's hot

It's officially hot. As you can see from this photograph:

Guinness Special Export. The only beer I ever put in the fridge.

"Tell them the shandy is mine, dad."

"OK."

The shandy is Lexie's

Harp Lager question

Harp Lager. How interested is anyone in Harp Lager?

Should you be weirdly fascinated by this legendary beer, I have the exact details of how to brew it. And I mean thwicking exact.

Look at these.

Too much detail, or not enough?

Because there's loads more.


Confession time. I only got this stuff by accident. I was after a Barclay Perkins Sanctum Sanctorum. But put in the wrong form. 

Trebgast

"Did they just say that the train was going to divide, Mike?"

"Did they? I stopped listening after the first bit."

"I'm sure they did."

Most of the families stuffing our carriage stand up immediately after the announcement. I stand up too.

"Are you sure, Ron?"

What has happened to Mike's German? "Yes. Very sure."

The guard standing on the platform confirms that the train is indeed splitting. We need the back half, which forms a regional express to Bayreuth. Stopping in Trebgast.

The families all pile off with us in Trebgast.

"I hope they aren't going to our pub, Mike." We're stopping in a butchers, hotel, pub. At Mike's insistence. If it were up to him, we'd be spending the whole holiday in butchers.

The families all troop directly into the beer garden of our hotel/butchers/pub. After we check in I suggest to Mike "How about checking out the other pub in the village? They sell the local beer, too."


Dorfschänke, Trebgast, 12:20

Five minutes later and we're sitting outside Dorfschänke. The shades are treeing, the sings are birding, the shine is sunny. And I've a beer in frontt of me. Yippee! Soon I'll have a Schweinebraten, too.

Here's my beer:

Scherdel Lagerbier - my goodnes, beerily full. Bit fizzy, but I won't hold that against it. I don't plan holding anything against it, other than my mouth.

The sun's gone in. My day is now perfect. Perhaps a light drizzle mike might it surpass even perfection.

"Meaty goodness." Mike likes his lunch.

Inside it's mobbed with locals. Yet the staff keep checking if we need anything else. Like beer. I always need more beer. "How about some more beer, Mike?"

"OK."


Metzgerei Friderich, Trebgast, 14:30

We've just walked up the hill to the church. "There's always a pub within 100 metres of a catholic church." I'd assured Mike. I still hold to that theory. Unfortunately, this church turned out to be protestant. I protestant, baroque church in Bavaria. Who would have expected that? At least we had an uphill walk. And I spotted a Brauerei Haberstumpf van. This one:

We're in the beer garden at Metzgerei Friedrich. The families have thankfully buggered off and it's practically deserted. very pleasant. We're drinking Haberstumpf Helles.

Haberstumpf Helles - godly beer of fullness.

"The thought of having dinner at a butcher's - that's too much for me." 

"Guess we'll be having our tea here, then, Mike."

Life is Helles. But sometimes my mood turns black. Schwarzbier time.

Mönchshof Schwarzbier - blackly full of just good enoughness.

Four doppelte Obstler later and Mike's crazy plan to walk to the next village to catch a bus tomorrow isn't pissing me off quite as much. Not at all, really. And I've pulled. The 2-year old in the high chair on the next table and me have struck up a rapport. Pulling funny faces gets you a long way with pre-schoolers. If only older women were so easy to charm.

The bells are chiming, just as my charming stalls. Time to pay.


Dorfschänke
Kulmbacherstr 12
95367 Trebgast.
Tel: 09227 373


Gasthof / Metzgerei Friedrich
Kulmbacher Straße 2
95367 Trebgast
Tel: 09227 / 9 41 50
Fax: 09227 / 94 15 50
eMail: kontakt@landgasthof-friedrich.de
http://www.landgasthof-friedrich.de


Brauerei Haberstumpf
Bergstraße 31
95367 Trebgast
Tel.09227/351
Fax 09227/2273
info@brauerei-haberstumpf.de

Harvey's Best Bitter

Harvey's Best Bitter.

Had a pint last night that was so good. Late on, after many good beers. Exactly what a pint of Bitter should be. Spot, spot on. Characterful, satisfying and demanding you drink more.

Time was, there were dozens of Bitters like that. Barnsley Bitter. Wethereds. Draught Bass. Boddingtons. Shipstones. Home. Camerons. Several bits of Whitbread. A few bits of Courage.

Don't get me started on Milds. The carnage amongst the good ones is even worse. Shiptones, Ansells, Davenports, M & B, Yorkshire Clubs, Darleys, Wem, Plymouth Heavy, Matthew Brown (yes, that could be really good), Hull.

Tetleys. Sorry, they aren't quite dead yet. My favourite of all. Black Dog, Cross Green, Thursday night, eight pints, best, best best, beer ever.

(Well, apart from Russian Stout.)

Tetley's Mild. Cross Black, Green Dog, best pints, ever, ever Mild. As I spoke after the eight pints.

Tetley's Mild. Best ever beer beer ever (apart from Courage Russian Stout).


Talking of Boddingtons, I've tricked the family into visiting Liverpool. And a day in Manchester. I hope Dolores doesn't notice the theme. After last year's trip to Glasgow.

Random 19th century Austro-Hungarian statistics

As part of my occasional series on Anton Dreher and beer in Austria-Hungary, here are some random statistics. Not sure what they tell us.

Beer.—According to the official statements, there existed in the whole Monarchy during the brewing period, 1877-78 (i.e., from the 1st of September, 1877, to the 30th August, 1878), 2,352 breweries in active work, or less by 35 than in the preceding period.

	hectolitres
The quantity brewed in the open country amounted to	10,450,141
That in the towns to	873,303
On the aggregate therefore to	11,323,424
Or as against 1876-77 with	11,538,453
a decrease of	219,009

The decrease in Bohemia amounted to 129,280 hectolitres; in Upper Austria to 74,684; in Galicia to 57,504; whereas Hungary showed an increase of 62,183 hectolitres, and Lower Austria of 21,690.

The import of beer amounted to 2,774 hectolitres only; whereas the export attained the quantity of 214,317 hectolitres, for which the restitutions of the tax amounted to 415,000 fl.

The principal breweries of the Monarchy participated in the abovenamed result with the following quantities, viz :—

Brewery	hectolitres
Schwechat	409,040
St. Marx	362,520
Liesing	286,260
Hiitteldorf	203,685
Ottakring	169,200
Nussdorf	152,340
Simmering	115,668
Brunn	110,375
Jedlersee	99,360
(All these breweries are near Vienna.)
Pilsen (Bohemia)	220,200
Steinfeld (Styria)	123,000
Gratz (Styria)	99,120
Puntigarn (Styria	90.84
Dreher (Budapest)	116,662
Joint Stock Company (Budapest)	103,055

"Reports from Her Majesty's consuls on the manufactures, commerce, etc. of their Consular Districts Part VI Volume 28", 1880, pages 1650-1651.

Now I've worked out what these numbers tell us. That virtually no beer was imported into Austria-Hungary. 2,774 hectolitres? That's about as much beer as I get through in a year.

That was fun, wasn't it? I know, it wasn't. But it's hot and I can't be arsed to write.

Kulmbach to Trebgast

"These mistakes can happen." says an old boy sympathetically at breakfast.  "Yeah, to England. Don't seem to happen to Germany ever." I don't actually say that. He was trying to be nice.

Mike is still whingeing about the beer. Even though we aren't drinking any with breakfast. It wasn't that bad. Just not great. I use the contrast word, but he isn't listening.

We order a taxi to take us to Kulmbach station. The taxi we would have taken in the opposite direction  yesterday. If we'd taken the sensible option.

"That looks like a brewery, Mike."

"It's where they make the malt." Our taxi driver speaks surprisingly good English. If he'd known the word maltings, I would have been really impressed. "That''s the brewery over there." He points at one of the least inspiring collections of industrial buildings I've ever seen. Like an ICBM site. No. That's being too nice.

I'd imagined Kulmbach as a quaint town like Bamberg ot Forchheim. Could be, but it doesn't look like it from the area around the station. More like someone has dropped a neutron bomb. But it is Sunday. The castle stuck up on the hill looks nice. I take a couple of snaps.

"Oh look, there's Stadschänke, Mike. I've got it in my guide. See"  It really is in my guide. And I really do show Mike.




"It's a Mönchshof pub. Why bother?"

Missing a bit of the point there. We're on a drinking holiday.

The waitress is very friendly. And all dirndled up. Did I mention that I'd never seen a woman who looked unattractive in a dirndl? I'm sure I must have. I've mentioned to Mike at least 20 times already this trip.


Mönchshof Kloster Schwarzbier - A bit roasty. The best Kulmbacher  beer I've had so far. Praise indeed.

We're off to Trebgast soon. I hope the train isn't full of day-trippers. Or divide confusingly. And that we'll have a lunch that meets Mike's standards. I'm not that fussy myself. Not that fussy.