Scottish Beer - what does the 80/- mean?
Charles Brasted
I've just been travelling around the UK(which has, BTW the best range of beers
you could ever hope for...although I never found a substitute for Coopers
Ale.).
In Scotland there are some beers with 70/- or 80/- after the name.
What do these numbers mean?
I have asked a few people in Scotland, but none of them seemed to know.
probably something simple, but....
email or post here if you know, either is fine..
Thanks in advance.
Charles.
--
| Charles Brasted. cbra...@physics.adelaide.edu.au |
John Hein
60 shilling ale = light
70 shilling ale = heavy
80 shilling ale = export
90 shilling ale = strong or wee heavy
I think it was originally the duty on the barrel
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David Mcbryan
it dates back to the tax charged on barrels of
beer. The stronger the beer, the higher the
tax : thus you have
60/- not many of these about ; very weak
70/-
80/-
90/- rare to find on tap although bottles
abound.
and I think there may even be a couple of
skullsplitting 100/-s about.
Most of the big scottich breweries (McEwan,
Caledonian, Belhaven, Alloa etc. etc.)
produced more than one 'standard' cask ales
and the numbers are used to distinguish them.
These are for the mass-produced brews, the less
common ones from the same breweries going by
name (eg Belhaven's Sandy Hunters ; named
after their now-retiring chief brewer of many
years standing - a fine pint)
So, basically, the higher the number, the
stronger (and also darker) the beer.
Hope this helps,
Dave.
Crazy Bear
cbra...@physics.adelaide.edu.au (Charles Brasted) wrote:
> In Scotland there are some beers with 70/- or 80/- after the name.
> What do these numbers mean?
The numbers are prices, 70 shillings and 80 shillings. The price was the
price of a bushel of grain that was used to make the beer, originally. The
idea being that the more expensive the grain, the better the quality, and
thus the better the quality of the beer. So 80/- ale is better than 70/-. I
have seen (and drunk) 90/- ale before but I have never seen the price being
less than 70 or more than 90. Now I don't think that there is a lot of
difference, though they will still probably charge you more for a pint of
90/- than a pint of 70/-. Don't let anybody tell you that it was the price
for a barrel or anything else.
> I have asked a few people in Scotland, but none of them seemed to know.
Yeah, people use to know this but with modern brewing the price became
unimportant. I imagine that the breweries have forgotten that the old price
is still on the label, as most people don't know what it means. Bit of
history too I suppose as the price will have been on the label since they
started brewing, in 18 something or other for Tennants. I found out from
working in a bar, where some of the older customers remembered.
I am going home in a few months, can't wait to get a good pint of heavy.
--
Adios y gracias,
Crazy Bear
a...@europe.dg.com
: probably something simple, but....
: Thanks in advance.
: Charles.
: --
: | Charles Brasted. cbra...@physics.adelaide.edu.au |
My understanding is that the 70/- or 80/- refers to the amount of tax
originally payable on the barrel. Hence the 80 shilling has a greater
alcohol content than the 70 shilling.
Al.
Poultney
writes:
I think it's something to do with 70 shillings and 80 shillings (the old
pre-decimal currency) and relates to customs & excise duty. Given that the
amount of duty relates to the strength the 80 shillings stuff is the
stronger of the 2.