Saturday 20 April 2013

Mitchell & Butler Light Ale and Pale Ale 1929 - 1993

Time for the next installment in my series on the beers of Birmingham. We'll be looking at the Light Ale and Pale Ales of M & B.

A word of explanation first about Cape Ale. I've called it a Light Ale, but don't read too much into that. These were entries that I transcribed from the Whitbread Gravity Book early on. By the time I'd got further through, I'd given up trying to classify beers as Light Ale unless they had Light Ale in the name.

As you can see, there are also some examples of Family Ale, classed as Pale Ale. Basically because of the colour. So a bit arbitrary, really.

All Bright Ale is an intriguing one. It seems to have lost almost not gravity across WW II, which is unusual. 1044º in 1932, it was almost unchanged on 1042º in 1951. It was one opf many bottled Pale Ale type beers M & B brewed.

In the 1950's there was Cape Ale at about 1033º, All Bright Ale at 1042º and Export Pale Ale at 1047º. It's a surprisingly large number, especially when you throw in the confusing Family Ale at 1032º.

Moving onto beers I have personal experince of, there are the two draught Bitters from the 1970's and 1980's: Brew XI 1039º and DPA, also known as Dunkirk Pale Ale or Darby Pale Ale, at 1032º. As I said in my earlyier post, I wasn't a fan of Brew XI. At the time, it was sometimes compared to a Light Mild, due to its iunderlying sweetness.

DPA was a much better beer, but, frustratingly, much harder to find. It was discontinued sometime in the 1980's, which was a real shame. How often has that happened top me? Where a brewery drops the good beer and continues to brew a crapper alternative. To give it its due, Brew XI was a decent gravity for a Big Six Ordinary Bitter. Just not much cop.

I'm sure that you're all as excited by this series as I am. You'll be delighted to hear that there's another installment still to come. Or maybe two. Not quite decided yet.



Mitchell & Butler Light Ale and Pale Ale 1929 - 1993
Year Beer Style Price size package Acidity FG OG colour ABV App. Atten-uation
1951 All Bright Ale Light Ale 1/4.5d pint bottled 0.04 1010.1 1041.9 21 B 4.1 75.89%
1951 Cape Ale Light Ale 7.5d half bottled 0.04 1008.3 1034 31 B 3.3 75.59%
1951 Cape Ale Light Ale 7.5d half bottled 0.06 1007.3 1034.8 19 3.6 79.02%
1953 Cape Ale Light Ale 8.5d half bottled 0.06 1007.3 1033.8 33 B 3.4 78.40%
1954 Cape Ale Light Ale 9d half bottled 0.05 1007.7 1033.5 28 3.3 77.01%
1956 Cape Ale Light Ale 1/3d half bottled 0.04 1008.5 1032.7 31 3.1 74.01%
1929 All Bright Ale Pale Ale 7.5d pint bottled 0.07 1009.1 1046.9 4.9 80.60%
1931 Family Ale Pale Ale 7d pint bottled 1007.2 1039.4 4.2 81.73%
1932 Family Ale Pale Ale 7d pint bottled 0.05 1006.5 1037 4.0 82.43%
1932 All Bright Ale Pale Ale 8.5d pint bottled 0.05 1007.5 1044 4.8 82.95%
1932 Export Ale Pale Ale 6d half bottled 0.06 1006.6 1049 5.5 86.53%
1935 Export Pale Ale Pale Ale 5.5d half bottled 0.05 1008.4 1053 5.8 84.15%
1935 All Bright Ale Pale Ale 7.5d pint bottled 0.05 1008.6 1046 24 4.9 81.30%
1935 Cape Ale Pale Ale 3.5d half bottled 0.04 1008.3 1040 4.1 79.25%
1949 PA Pale Ale 1/10d pint draught 0.05 1006.5 1042.6 17 Brown 4.7 84.74%
1950 Pale Ale Pale Ale 21d pint draught 1045.4 30
1951 Export Pale Ale Pale Ale 10.5d half bottled 0.05 1010.3 1047.5 19 B 4.8 78.32%
1953 Allbright Ale Pale Ale 1/7.5d pint bottled 0.05 1009.5 1040.9 21 B 4.1 76.77%
1955 Export Pale Ale Pale Ale 1/1d half bottled 0.04 1011.8 1045.7 20 4.4 74.18%
1955 Allbright Ale Pale Ale 1/8.5d pint bottled 0.05 1011.5 1041.2 25 3.8 72.09%
1955 Cape Ale Pale Ale 9.5d half bottled 0.04 1008.7 1033.1 28 3.2 73.72%
1959 Export Pale Ale Pale Ale 13d half bottled 0.03 1012.4 1046.6 19 4.3 73.39%
1961 Anker Pale Ale 23d pint draught 0.04 1010.9 1043.4 16 4.1 74.88%
1966 Family Ale Pale Ale 19.5d pint bottled 0.04 1005.8 1031.6 25 3.2 81.65%
1966 Export Pale Ale Pale Ale 17d half bottled 0.04 1009.1 1044.9 19 4.5 79.73%
1977 Brew XI Pale Ale pint draught 1038.8
1977 DPA Pale Ale pint draught 1032
1979 Brew XI Pale Ale pint draught 1038.8
1979 DPA Pale Ale pint draught 1032
1981 Brew XI Pale Ale pint draught 1038.8
1982 Brew XI Pale Ale pint draught 1040
1983 Brew XI Pale Ale pint draught 1040
1986 Brew XI Pale Ale pint draught 1040
1989 Brew XI Pale Ale pint draught 1008.45 1040 4.1 78.87%
1993 Brew XI Pale Ale draught 1008 1038 18 3.9 78.95%
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002
1993 Real Ale Drinker's Almanac
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252
Good Beer Guide 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1990.

No comments: