| Introduction |
I admit it: I'm a numbers junkie. Statistics fascinate me
because of the tales they tell. I would like to share one of those stories
with you.
War has been the driving force behind most developments in British beer,
since at least the Civil War. Cromwell introduced the first beer duty. Soaring
taxes during the Napoleonic wars spurred brewers to innovate to cut costs.
Patent malt was the result. The Boer War saw Britain become a high-tax nation
for beer. Measures to conserve resources during WW I mortally wounded porter
and slashed gravities forever.
So how come so little changed during WW II? The conflict came close to destroying
Britain both militarily and economically. Why was the impact on the brewing
industry so small?
I think I know the answer, but I'll present the facts first and let you
decide for yourself.
|
World War 1
Let's first look at what happened in WW I:
| Number
of Bulk Barrels Produced and Average SG |
| Year |
UK production (barrels) |
Average SG |
Germany production (barrels) |
| 1910 |
34,299,914 |
1053.20 |
|
| 1914 |
37,558,767 |
1052.80 |
40,450,948* |
| 1915 |
34,765,780 |
1052.35 |
|
| 1916 |
32,110,608 |
1051.88 |
|
| 1917 |
30,163,998 |
1048.54 |
|
| 1918 |
19,085,043 |
1039.81 |
|
| 1919 |
23,264,533 |
1030.55 |
|
| 1920 |
35,047,947 |
1039.41 |
|
| 1921 |
34,504,570 |
1042.61 |
|
| 1925a |
26,734,825 |
1043.12 |
23,310,623* |
| 1927a |
25,100,461 |
1043.28 |
29,538,969* |
Sources:
The Brewers' Almanack and Wine and Spirit Trade Annual, 1928
except * 100 Jahre Deutsche Brauer-Bund 1871-1971, p.128
notes:
The production statistics are in barrels, SG refers to the
original specific gravity of the beer.
a Figures exclude the Irish Free State.
1 barrel = 163.656 litres.
|
The effect of the war was dramatic: production was almost halved, strengths
dropped to near-beer levels. Postwar, beer gravities settled around 20%
lower than their pre-war level. |
World
War 2
Here's what happened in the next war:
| Year |
UK |
Germany |
| |
production
(barrels 1,000) |
gravity |
production
(barrels 1,000) |
gravity |
| 1938 |
24,535 |
1041.02 |
|
|
| 1939 |
25,532 |
1040.93 |
31,326 |
1041 |
| 1940 |
25,499 |
1040.62 |
29,774 |
1037 |
| 1941 |
29,101 |
1038.51 |
28,733 |
1034 |
| 1942 |
29,170 |
1035.53 |
25,976 |
1030 |
| 1943 |
29,956 |
1034.34 |
26,496 |
|
| 1944 |
31,472 |
1034.63 |
|
|
| 1945 |
32,667 |
1034.54 |
|
|
| 1949 |
26,276 |
1033.43 |
8,648 |
1032 |
| 1951 |
25,087 |
1036.99 |
17,360 |
|
Sources:
The Brewers' Almanack 1955, p. 56
100 Jahre Deutsche Brauer-Bund 1871-1971, p.202
Notes:
UK gravities are an average of all beer brewed
German gravities are for the strongest beer allowed. |
|
This time UK strengths only dropped by about 10% and output even increased.
The UK was able to brew large quantities of reasonable-strength beer.
You'll note that the effects of the war - even in the period when things
were going well - were much more pronounced in Germany. Production of serious-strength
beer trickled to a halt about half way into the war in Germany.
The average German gravity would have been much lower than the maximum figure
given. There were classes at 1012 even in the early war years. By 1945 some
beers were as weak as 1008. If you reckon that German beer probably averaged
at least 12º (1048) before the war, it's quite a big drop. |
"Grenadier und Musketier
Marschieren auf der strasse
Denken an ein kühles Bier
In riesengrossem Glase"
German soldiers' song.
In reality, German soldiers mostly were just
thinking about huge glasses of beer. |
Worth noting
Britain's prime minister in WW I, Lloyd-George, was a teetotaller, as was
Hitler. Churchill, on the other hand, was an enthusiastic drinker.
|