McEwan's grists and colours in 1947/48

Disaster in the archive the other day. I accidentally switched on timestamping on my camera so all my photographs have a timestamp. How embarrassing. Never mind.

Here are details of McEwan's beers in the late 1940s. You know what's interesting about these grists? No speciality malts. It all seems to just be pale malt, adjuncts, and sugar or roast barley for colour. McEwan's had weird names for their beers too — P.A. and P.70/– look vaguely recognisable as typical beer names, but what are 4/C or E5/B?

I dunno what 5/a was. Possibly some sort of Mild? Look at them making a darker version for Glasgow. 

Brewery	Beer	Type	OG	Cleansing gravity	Colour in Lovibond	Year
Wm. McEwan	BL	?	1027		37	1947
Wm. McEwan	PA	Pale Ale	1028	1011	25	1947
Wm. McEwan	5/a	?	1032	1012	25	1947
Wm. McEwan	B 5/a	?	1032	1012	37	1947
Wm. McEwan	G 5/a	?	1032	1012	46	1947
Wm. McEwan	P.70/–	Pale Ale	1037	1013	25	1947
Wm. McEwan	4/C	?	1040	1010	46	1947
Wm. McEwan	B4/C	?	1040		11.5	1947
Wm. McEwan	P.80/–	Pale Ale	1043	1013	20.5	1947
Wm. McEwan	5/B	?	1047	1010		1947
Wm. McEwan	E5/B	?	1050	1008	20	1947
Wm. McEwan	2/B	Strong Ale	1076		75	1947
Wm. McEwan	E2/B	Scotch Ale	1088		56	1947
Wm. McEwan	4/B	Regal	1105	1025	56	1947

A word of caution; this is not a primary source, but notes made by someone who's been through the primary sources. Very handy, they've done a better job than I would have done. Someone who knows what they're dealing with too; a layman would have explained what the hell "CM" or "Husks" are.

There are three very strong beers: 2/B, 4/B and E2/B. I know what E2/B was — Scotch Ale. A memoir of retired employees states: "Prior to Gordons Scotch Ales being made for Belgium after the relationship with Clark Doull McEwans had exported E/2B of 1088 gravity as Scotch Ale." The same memoir also tells us what 4/B was: Regal, McEwan's second attempt at a lager. Legend has it that the name was "Lager" backwards. It was brewed to 1105 and watered down to about 1050. High gravity brewing back then, who'd have thought that? That only leaves 2/B which must have been the regular Strong Ale.