4d Ale between the wars

The restrictions of the latter years of WW I had created a new style of beer: 4d Ale or Ale. This was a cheap, weak version of Mild whose gravity and retail price was dictated by government decree. Surprisingly, it not only survived into the immediate post war period but hung around right into the early years of WW II. It was finally killed off when the gravity of standard Mild, or X Ale, dropped to a similar level.

Selling for just 4d a pint (X Ale was 5d, Bitter 7d or 8d and Stout 8d) it had an OG of 1027 to 1030º and an ABV of 2.5 to 3%. So just about alcoholic. It had the same grist as X Ale, with which it was usually party-gyled.

The survival of 4d Ale all through the interwar period meant that British brewers had a great deal of experience in brewing very low-gravity beers. This must have been very useful when, in WW II, the gravity of standard Mild was driven down to the level of 4d Ale. In many ways, 4d Ale is the direct ancestor of most modern Milds.

Given the small quantities Whitbread brewed of their Ales (MA in the 1920's, LA in the 1930's), it's a surprise that they them going right up until WW II. In 1933 they brewed just 3,225 barrels of LA, less than 1% of their total output. In the same year 150,000 barrels of their standard X Mild were brewed. LA was surely only economically viable because it was party-gyled with X.

Ale in the 1920's
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price	OG
1926	Barclay Perkins	Ale	4d	1029.1
1926	Buddon Bigg	Ale	4d	1030
1926	Cannon	Ale	5d	1031.6
1930	Fremlins	Ale	4d	1035.7
1927	Fullers	Ale	4d	1036.5
1930	Hammerton	Ale	5d	1033.7
1926	Isherwood	Ale	4d	1026.7
1927	Isleworth	Ale	4d	1033.1
1926	Leney & Co.	Ale	4d	1027.2
1926	Mason	Ale	4d	1030.6
1927	Meux	Ale	4d	1028.7
1930	Shepherd Neame	Ale	4d	1028.5
1930	Style & Winch	Ale	4d	1028.2
1926	Truman	Ale	4d	1030.7
1930	Wells Watford	Ale	5d	1033.7
1926	Wenlock	Ale	5d	1027.7
1927	Young & Co	Ale	4d	1029.6
Source:
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252.

This is an excerpt from a book I published a while ago, "Peace!". You can get your copy here.

 

Ale & Stout vs Lager sales 1960 - 2016

One of my recent free Fridays was spent scanning the BBPA Statistical Handbook. Loads of lovely juicy numbers in there.

All ripe for harvesting. But being off galivanting south of the equator, I'd not had time to sharpen my scythe and take to the fields. Though obviously you don't harvest fruit with a scythe. OK, forget about that analogy. I've got numbers, you're going to see them.

If you can remember back a few weeks, I scored a free copy of the 2017 BBPA Statistical Handbook through the British Guild of Beer Writers. If anyone does, I deserve the freebie. Sad to say, it's one of my favourite books. I can still remember the day Henry gave me a copy of the 1928 Brewers' Almanack (the previous incarnation of the book). It changed my view of British beer forever.

And gave me a stack of numbers to play with. Not that I needed any encouragement to get all hot and sticky with numbers.

Today's digital fun was in the form of beer style share. The 2017 Handbook has the figures for the market share of Lager and Ale & Stout for every year from 2000, plus 1970, 1980 and 1990. Interesting. But I like to take a longer view. And because I have a collection of the Handbooks and Almanacks, I can go back further and fill in the gaps.

This time in graph rather than rough number form.

Don't you just love data?

Canadian Ale in 1909

Numbers – I can never get enough of them. If only I had more time to harvest them. But for some reason a day only has 24 hours rather than the 60 I’d need to get through everything.

This particular set come from a handy little pamphlet published by the Canadian Department of Inland Revenue’s Laboratory. Who says the taxman is no use for anything?

I‘ve billed this as Canadian Ales, but there are a couple of exceptions. Namely the Pilsener that for some inexplicable reason is included with the Ales. And McEwan and Bass, which are British imports. It’s handy having the latter two, as it gives some sort of context for the Canadian beers.

You’ll note that the Canadian examples are generally weaker than the British ones. Though the imports were both top-class beers. Overall, the average of 1050º for Canadian Pale Ales looks low compared to British beers of the period, which you would expect to be around 1055º.

What does surprise me is the high degree of attenuation amongst the Canadian samples. Though this could be because these are finished, bottled beers. Whereas I usually taken the FG of British beers form brewing records, which gives the racking gravity rather than the true final gravity. As many British Pale Ales were still genuine Stock Ales with a long secondary fermentation, the final gravity would have been a good few points lower.

I was also interested to see just how alcoholic the Ginger Beer and Root Beer is. As strong as a lot of 1920’s British Mild Ale.

No long dissertation this time. I’ll just leave you with the table.

Canadian Ale in 1909
Brewer	Town	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Dolan Bros.	St. Johns, NB	Stone Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer		1028.7	1.34
S.H. McKee & Sons	St. Johns, NB	Stone Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer		1010.7	2.93
Simeon Jones	St. Johns, NB	Red Ball India Pale Ale	IPA	1050.6	1007	6.02	86.17%
McEwan	Edinburgh	India Pale Ale	IPA	1060.1	1004.7	7.61	92.18%
Bass	Burton	Pale Ale	IPA	1065.7	1008.7	7.74	86.76%
average IPA				1058.8	1006.8	7.12	88.37%
T.B. Renaud & Co.	Quebec	Ale	Pale Ale	1010.6	1000.3	1.65	97.17%
John Labatt	London, Ont.	Ale	Pale Ale	1037	1014.1	3.42	61.89%
G.E. Amiot	Quebec	Ale	Pale Ale	1047.1	1009.4	5.24	80.04%
G.E. Amiot	Quebec	Ale	Pale Ale	1047.3	1009.8	5.24	79.28%
John Labatt	London, Ont.	Ale	Pale Ale	1049.4	1010.3	5.31	79.15%
Protean & Carignan	Quebec	Ale	Pale Ale	1050.3	1012.2	5.32	75.75%
Boswell	Quebec	Ale	Pale Ale	1052.2	1004.8	6.48	90.80%
Oland & Son	Halifax, NS	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	1053.4	1008.8	6.24	83.52%
Keith	Halifax, NS	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	1055.5	1006.5	6.71	88.29%
James Ready	St. Johns, NB	Ready's Pale Ale	Pale Ale	1059.8	1005.1	7.40	91.47%
James Ready	Fairville, NS	Ale	Pale Ale	1061.5	1007.1	7.48	88.46%
Halifax Breweries	Halifax, NS	Howard's Ale	Pale Ale	1061.7	1006.7	7.57	89.14%
Halifax Brewing Co.	Halifax, NS	Ale	Pale Ale	1065.6	1014.1	7.01	78.51%
average Pale Ale				1050.1	1008.4	5.77	83.34%
Crystal Spring Mineral Waters Co.	Halifax, NS	Ramey's Pilsener Beer	Pilsner	1024.9	1001.4	3.48	94.38%
W.B. Daley	St. Johns, NB	Root Beer	Root Beer		997.7	2.72
Source:
"Ale and lager beer" by McGill, A. (Anthony), 1910, pages 4 - 19.

American brewing in the 1930’s – Lager and Ale

As promised, something about the beers being produced in the USA in the 1930’s.

First a couple of analyses of typical beers:

“The gravities of high-class beers are between 12 and 14° Balling or between 1048 and 1056°. Typical beer analyses are given in Table III.

Table: III
Analyses of Typical American Beers
	Lager No. 1.	Lager No. 2.	Ale
Original gravity	1053	1051.4	1055.7
Present gravity	1013.5	1015.7	1011.8
Colour, 1 inch cell	11	11.5	14
Alcohol per cent. by weight	4.2	3.7	4.6

Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 42, Issue 5, September-October 1936, page 418.

Now that’s useful. It’s answered a question which had been puzzling me: what colour was American Ale? The answer is pretty pale. A good bit paler than English Ales of the same period:

Barclay Perkins Ale colours in 1936
Beer	Style	colour 1 inch cell
XX 6d	Mild	38-40
X 5d Dark	Mild	85-90
XLK	Ordinary Bitter	20-22
PA	Best Bitter	21-23
KK	Burton	85-90
DB	Brown Ale	105-115
IPA	IPA	19-21
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/01/621.

With a gravity of 1053º, PA is the closest equivalent to the American Ale. You can see that it’s around 50% darker. So it looks like American Ale had already become significantly paler in the USA. Presumably as a reaction to Lager’s success.

Interestingly, the Lagers are darker than most Continental versions. As this shows:

Some Continental Lagers
Year	Brewer	Beer	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	colour	Acidity
1939	Carlsberg	Pilsenser	1044.5	1009.9	4.50	77.75%	9	0.04
1939	Tuborg	Pilsenser	1044.6	1011.5	4.30	74.22%	8	0.04
1950	Pilsner Urquell	Pilsenser	1049	1013.5	4.61	72.45%	10.5	0.08
Source:
Whitbread Gravity books held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers LMA/4453/D/02/001 and LMA/4453/D/02/002.

I’ve thrown in Pilsner Urquell there as a marker, it being darker than most Pilseners. The American beers are a very similar shade.

Something else I noticed when I fiddled with those analyses a bit: the degree of attenuation of the Ale is higher than the two Lagers.

Beer	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Lager No. 1	1053.0	1013.5	5.23	74.53%
Lager No. 2	1051.4	1015.7	4.72	69.46%
Ale	1055.7	1011.8	5.81	78.82%

Now some description of American beer’s flavour:

“The visitor who, more often than not, confines himself to bottled and canned beers and ales will probably come away with the impression that American beers are as a rule pleasant, refreshing and highly carbonated beverages with a pale colour, but that they do not usually drink their gravity in comparison with English beers of similar strength. Generally the hop flavour is light and attractive, but sometimes the flavour of the Pacific Coast hops is detectable and occasionally there is a flavour that suggests imperfect removal of the fine sediment during cooling. In most cities there is a choice between beers of the breweries of St. Louis and Milwaukee with nationwide distribution and those of local breweries, in some cases almost equally large and famous. Many of the beers and breweries have German names and a large number of the workmen are of German origin, so that it is not astonishing to find that a large proportion of the beer is of lager type, though brewed from very different materials from those used for European lagers and by methods appropriate for those materials.”
Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 42, Issue 5, September-October 1936, page 418.

Fascinating, too, that American beers were already lighter in flavour and less hoppy. You can see how unimpressed British brewers were by the flavour of West Coast hops. Having their flavour in the finished beer was clearly seen as a fault.

If you remember that table of nationally-distributed pre-prohibition bottled beers you’ll recall that all of them came from the Midwest. Which is where St. Louis and Milwaukee are located. Many of the breweries did indeed have German names. But note how the author stresses that the materials and brewing methods were very different from those on the Continent.

More about Beer and Ale:

“The term "beer" is restricted to the lager type. It is usually filtered and carbonated and sold very cold.

There is a very considerable and apparently increasing demand for top fermentation beers, which are always referred to as ales. The demand seems to be for a very pale ale with a distinctive hop flavour, and it is not difficult to realise that it is no simple matter to obtain the flavour typical of English ales from the very lightly cured Manchuria malts containing about 2 per cent, of nitrogen, mashed with a high proportion of maize grits or rice or brewed with some sugar which may be a glucose syrup or invert, particularly when the hops are mostly of the American types. It is difficult to estimate the consumption of ale, but a personal estimate is that approximately 10 per cent, of the entire consumption consists of ale. The popularity of the lager beer is due to the fact that the American public prefers cold drinks, and it is obvious that ale loses a great deal in character by severe chilling.”
Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 42, Issue 5, September-October 1936, page 418.

I’m sure the irritating modern habit of calling all top-fermenting beers “Ales” has its roots in old American usage. I think it’s wildly optimistic – or just plain wrong – to say that demand for Ales was rising. I’m pretty sure it was in decline.

I think he’s politely saying that American versions weren’t a patch on English Ales. And were further ruined by being sold too cold.

Barley and malt next time.

Brewing in 1960’s Canada – fermentation

I’ve been asking myself one question as I plod through “Brewing in Canada”. Will I make it all the way through or get distracted by some new shiny thing? My enthusiasm and attention are still intact, so perhaps I will.

We’ve got as far as fermentation in the brewing process:

“Fermentation: The wort is now moved to the fermenting vessels, and yeast, the jealously guarded central mystery of the ancient brewer's art, is added on the way. It is the yeast, these living, single-cell plants, which takes the sugar in the wort and breaks it down to carbon dioxide and alcohol.

There are many kinds of yeast, but that used in making beer is the Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. The brewer uses two types of this yeast, and depending on which is chosen, he produces ale or lager. One yeast type which rises to the top of the liquid at the completion of fermentation is used in brewing ale and stout. The other, which drops to the bottom of the brewing vessel, is used in brewing lager.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 32.

I don’t there were any surprises for us there. Pretty basic stuff, really. Were they really always top-fermenting beers labelled as Ale? It wouldn’t surprise me if they were bottom-fermented at breweries whose main focus was Lager.

This tells us a couple of things:

“In all modern breweries, elaborate precautions are taken to ensure that the yeast remains pure and unchanged. Through the use of pure yeast culture plants a particular beer flavor can be maintained year after year.

During the fermentation, which usually lasts seven days, the yeast may multiply tenfold, and in the open tank fermenters used for brewing ale a creamy, frothy head may be seen on top of the brew. When the fermentation is over the yeast is removed — by skimming off when it is a top fermentation (ale) or by pumping off the beer when it is a bottom fermentation (lager). Now, for the first time, the liquid is called beer.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, pages 32 - 33.

Namely that brewers used pure yeast cultures. Something that even today isn’t always the case in Britain. Adnams, as I found out last week when I was at the brewery, pitch two strains, both of which are needed to get the right flavour profile and the right degree of attenuation.

Seven days doesn’t sound right for either top- or bottom-fermentation. It’s too long for an Ale and too short for a Lager. If they were fermenting it at the right temperature. A week implies it was being fermented quite warm.

Finally something about the Canadian tax system:

“It is at the end of fermentation that the Canadian government makes its "excise dip" to determine the number of gallons on which taxes must be paid. The beer still has some weeks to go before it reaches the market, but the taxes must be paid immediately.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 33.

This looks like the US system – a flat rate based solely on quantity, not on strength.

The system is still in use, but with a sliding scale for the first 75,000 hl.:

Excise Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-14)

Duties
•    170. (1) There shall be imposed, levied and collected on every hectolitre of beer or malt liquor the duties of excise set out in Part II of the schedule, which duties shall be paid to the collector as provided in this Act.
•    Marginal note:Wastage allowance
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where beer or malt liquor is produced by a person licensed under section 168 to carry on the trade or business of a brewer, an allowance prescribed by the regulations shall be made for loss in production based on the duty assessed on the beer or malt liquor produced, but the allowance shall not exceed five per cent thereof.
Marginal note:Reduced rates — production
•    170.1 (1) With respect to the first 75,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada per year by a licensed brewer and any person related or associated with the brewer, there shall be imposed, levied and collected on each of those hectolitres the duties of excise set out in Part II.1 of the schedule, which duties shall be paid to the collector as provided in this Act, and section 170 does not apply to those hectolitres.
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-14/page-50.html#h-34

These are the duty rates which currently apply:

II.1 CANADIAN BEER
•    1. On the first 2,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,

o    (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $3.122 per hectolitre;
o    (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $1.561 per hectolitre; and
o    (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $0.2591 per hectolitre.

•    2. On the next 3,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,

o    (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $6.244 per hectolitre;
o    (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $3.122 per hectolitre; and
o    (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $0.5182 per hectolitre.

•    3. On the next 10,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,

o    (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $12.488 per hectolitre;
o    (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $6.244 per hectolitre; and
o    (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $1.0364 per hectolitre.

•    4. On the next 35,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,

o    (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $21.854 per hectolitre;
o    (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $10.927 per hectolitre; and
o    (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $1.8137 per hectolitre.

•    5. On the next 25,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,

o    (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $26.537 per hectolitre;
o    (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $13.269 per hectolitre; and
o    (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $2.2024 per hectolitre.

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-14/page-72.html#h-58

This is a big change from the system in place at the start of the 20th century, when tax was levied on malt, not beer.

Next time we’ll be in the cellar.

Brewing in 1960’s Canada – beer styles

Yes, now I’ve decided to finally go through “Brewing in Canada”, I’m going to get my money’s worth out of it.

Today we’re looking at Canadian beer styles. Isn’t that fun?

As in the US, beers were divided into two basic classes:

“The word "beer" is used generally to cover both ale and lager. However, a confusing note is introduced by the fact that the word "beer" is also sometimes used specifically as a synonym
for lager.

Ale and lager are brewed basically from the same materials: malt made from selected Canadian barley, water, hops and a small proportion of "adjuncts" such as flakes of rice and corn. But there are differences in the brewing of ale and lager which account for the distinctly different taste of the two types of beer.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 26.

Small is s pretty vague description. How many adjuncts did Canadian brewers use? In the US, 30% maize or rice was standard. Does that count as “small”?

“Take ale first —
More hops are used, and in some instances a very small percentage of "adjuncts". The fermentation is done with "top-fermenting" yeast, as described on page 32.

Fermentation is conducted at a temperature of 60° to 70°F. Canadian ales contain about 4% alcohol by weight, or 8.8% British proof spirits. This is about the same strength as the popular British ales.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 26.

60° to 70°F is the same as British fermentation temperatures. Nothing odd about that. But British beers weren’t usually 4% ABW (5% ABV) in the 1960’s. In reality, standard draught beers were rarely over 4% ABV.

Did they really only occasionally use small amounts of adjuncts? I’d have thought that they would have struggled to brew all-malt beers because of the nitrogen content of North American barley.

“Lager —
The name comes from the German verb "lagern", to stock, to store. It is usually lighter in taste than ale, although of the same alcoholic strength. Less hops are used than in ale. As with ale, adjuncts are sometimes added, usually a larger proportion than in the case of ale.

Lager is fermented at temperatures between 50° to 60°F. Fermentations are slightly longer than ale fermentations, and less vigorous. Lager fermentations in continental Europe are conducted in the range of 41º to 54°F and are longer and less vigorous than Canadian lager fermentations.”

Because a "bottom fermenting" yeast is used, the yeast settles to the bottom of the fermenter when the fermentation is completed. The lager itself must be drawn off, leaving the yeast in the tank — unlike an ale fermentation, where the yeast is skimmed off the top.

Normally more hops are used in European than in Canadian lagers.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, pages 26 - 27.

So Lager was less hoppy and contained more adjuncts than Ale. Still a bit vague about the adjunct quantity. The fermentation temperature looks very high for a Lager and isn’t that much lower than for Ale.

Despite saying there are two types of beer, a third is then listed:

“Porter and Stout —
Generally, no distinction is made between these two. They are traditionally fermented as ales are, using ale yeast. In addition to the ale ingredients, varying proportions of roasted malt or barley are included, or barley and various sugars. Sometimes malted or flaked oats are used.

Porter may sometimes be slightly lighter in color and alcohol content than stout, and less bitter.

In Canada, alcoholic content of stouts and porters is the same as ales and lagers; but outside Canada, particularly in the United Kingdom, alcoholic content of stouts and porters varies widely.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 27.

Interesting that this is the only type where sugar is mentioned as an ingredient. Did they really make Oatmeal Stout in Canada? Or are they talking about Stout worldwide? It’s not really clear.

Oh, and I love this: yet another explanation of the name Bock:

“Bock Beer —
Traditionally brewed during winter for the spring market, the origins of the name "bock" are shrouded in the mists of history. For some reason it is associated with the symbol of a goat. The usual belief is that the name comes from the famous medieval brewing town of "Einbeck" in Germany. But curiously enough, a Mesopotamian seal of 2200 B.C. shows a queen and her nobles sipping beer through golden straws, and between them, a prancing goat. And the Hindustani word for goat is "bok". In any event, it is a heavy, dark lager beer, full, rather sweet and hoppy in character. Its dark color is normally obtained through the use of high-colored malts.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 27.

So it’s from Mesopotamia, really. But what on earth has Hindustani to do with any of this?

To finish here are a few analyses of Canadian beers from around this period:

Canadian beers 1957 - 1962
Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	Acidity	OG	FG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1957	Carlings	Black Label	Lager	0.05	1031	1006	4.5	3.25	80.65%
1957	Carlings	Black Label	Lager	0.05	1036.3	1007.7	7.5	3.71	78.79%
1957	Carlings	Black Label	Lager	0.04	1037.5	1007.8	10	3.86	79.20%
1960	Molson	Export Ale	Ale	0.02	1047.8	1009.7	8	4.76	79.71%
1962	Molson	Export Ale	Pale Ale	0.05	1047.3	1009.2	10	4.76	80.55%
Source:
Whitbread Gravity Book document LMA/4453/D/02/002 held at the London Metropolitan Archives

The Black Label looks as if it’s been specifically brewed for the British market at that strength.

Not sure what’s coming next. Probably more numbers.

Brewing in 1960’s Canada – sales by type

This is a bit of a departure for me. I’ve not really written about Canadian brewing history before.

I’ve be prompted by an old post I stumbled across announcing the arrival of a new book, filled with lovely numbers. That book was “Brewing in Canada” and for almost six years it’s been sitting on top of a bookshelf unread.

Which is a real shame as it does have some particularly good numbers. We’re going to start with the ones related to sales by type – in this case Ale, Lager or Stout.

But first something general about Canadian beer brands:

“Many an old-timer laments the disappearance of this ale or that lager, and becomes nostalgic about the glories of some fondly-remembered brew, when he is really mourning the passing of his youth. But in answer to the plaint that "beer's all the same these days, from one end of the country to another," it is remarkable how well served Canada is in its variety of beers. In all there are 119 brands of ale, lager, stout, porter and bock brewed across the nation, ranging from light taste to heavier, from the most delicate hint of the hops to fairly bitter, varying in body and flavor.

Although there are about a dozen so-called "national" brews there are another 107 brewed to the individual taste of particular regions, familiar brands which have won local loyalty over many years — or generations.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 38.

Well-served for variety with just 119 brands of beer? That sound like a tiny number to me. In the 1980’s, for example, there were over 750 brands in Belgium, a far, far smaller country in terms of both size and population.

It seems that drinkers’ favourites, on the other hand, were very diverse across the different provinces.

“Clearly marked preferences are discernible in different areas. Maritimers are ale drinkers, although some more so than others. The highest popularity enjoyed by lager among the Maritime Provinces is in Nova Scotia, which splits 82.3% ale, 17.2% lager, leaving a tiny .5% for stout.

Newfoundland, as usual, has its own pattern of doing things, and differs from the three Maritime Provinces in being predominantly a lager fancier.

Quebec drinks 95.5% ale, and here too you find the largest proportion of porter and stout — 1.2% — consumed by sturdy adherents of the dark brews.

Ontario is 64.4% ale vs. 34.9% lager, standing as the ale bastion against the West. From Ontario to the Pacific is lager-drinking country, the highest proportion of ale consumption being in Manitoba, with 4.1%.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, pages 38 - 39.

The biggest surprise for me is that in French-speaking Quebec overwhelmingly Ale was drunk. That Ale was more popular in the East and Lager in the West makes sense. There was the same pattern in the USA, though Lager became supreme everywhere after WW II as the East Coast Ale tradition faded.

But overall it’s crazy how different the proportions were in different provinces. I can’t ever remember seeing a country so split by region. Is that telling us something about Canada?

“For the country as a whole, however, there has been little change in the ratio of ale vs. lager, as the table on this page indicates. (Figures on this subject have only been collected since 1957) If anything, there has been a slight trend toward lager.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 39.

Here’s the accompanying table:

Consumption of Ale, Lager, Porter and Stout as a Percentage of Total Consumption
	Ale	Lager	Porter & Stout
	%	%	%
1957	59.4	39.7	0.9
1958	58.6	40.5	0.9
1959	59.0	40.1	0.9
1960	58.8	40.4	0.8
1961	58.3	40.9	0.8
1962	58.8	40.4	0.8
1963	58.4	40.8	0.8

I reckon Canada must have been the last country outside Europe where a majority of beer was top-fermented. I’m amazed at how high the percentage of Ale still was even into the 1960’s.

A comparison with the USA shows how well Ale had done in Canada:

“The United States pattern is very similar to that of our own Western provinces. The 1958 U.S. Census of Manufacturers (the latest available) showed that 97.1% of the beer brewed in the United States was lager. Only 2.8% was ale and .1% other types of malt beverages.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 39.

Of course, the figures would look different today, as the vast majority of beer from America’s new breweries is top-fermenting. Even so, I would be surprised if Ale made up much more than 10% of sales.

The UK was still very much a top-fermenting country back then:

“In the United Kingdom the pattern is more like Eastern Canada except that more stout and less lager is consumed. In 1962 It is estimated that 89% of the beer consumed was ale, 8.5% stout and only 2.5% lager.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 39.

That actually constitutes quite a surge is Lager sales. In 1960 it had only a meagre 1% share.

Next time we’ll be looking at sales by package.

The decline in Stout brewing at Truman 1924 - 1940

There are still many documents I've photographed but never processed. Like a certain handy Truman document about costs.

Why so handy? Because it covers the 1920's and 1930's operations at Brick Lane. I've none of the Truman London brewing records for this period and it provides a glimpse of their beers, ingredients and brewing practices. It's indirect evidence, but better than nothing.

But that's not what I'm serving you up today. It's one of the other statistics the book contains: output of Brick Lane broken down by Ale and Stout. It's a poignant demonstration of the decline in the importance of Porter and Stout after WW I. Remember that this is a brewery that up until the 1830's only brewed Porter and Stout.

The percentage of output that was Porter or Stout, a tiny increase in 1928 excepted, fell every year between 1924 and 1940. It dropped from 30% to less than 10% between 1924 and 1940. In volume terms, Stout output more than halved. By 1940, it was a marginal product.

If you factor in Truman's other brewery in Burton, where no Stout was brewed, it would look even more marginal. There are some figures about that in the document, but I can't be arse to transcribe those just now. It's Sunday afternoon, I've just had my dinner and the dishwasher needs unloading

Here's the table.

Truman Brick Lane brewery output 1924 - 1940
	Ale		Stout		Total
	barrels	%	barrels	%	barrels
1924	188,026	70.91%	77,134.5	29.09%	265,160.5
1925	217,775	71.56%	86,531	28.44%	304,306
1926	224,057	72.39%	85,475	27.61%	309,532
1927	231,040	73.91%	81,574	26.09%	312,613.5
1928	232,685	73.26%	84,910	26.74%	317,595
1929	227,432	74.45%	78,060.5	25.55%	305,492
1930	258,659	77.14%	76,666	22.86%	335,325
1931	256,063.5	79.43%	66,306	20.57%	322,369
1932	274,183	83.11%	55,732.5	16.89%	329,915.5
1933	240,208	84.58%	43,804	15.42%	284,011.5
1934	280,984	85.87%	46,241	14.13%	327,225
1935	300,169	86.77%	45,775	13.23%	345,943.5
1936	319,721.5	88.05%	43,383.5	11.95%	363,105
1937	324,352	88.69%	41,358	11.31%	365,710
1938	342,062	89.80%	38,868	10.20%	380,930
1939	344,291	90.69%	35,342	9.31%	379,633
1940	344,475.5	91.17%	33,373.5	8.83%	377,849
Source:
Document B/THB/C/256c held at the London Metropolitan Archives

More to come from this neglected document.