Scottish cask-conditioned beer in the 1980s

This document is a bit mysterious.


I don't know who compiled it, or why, and there is no date. But we can place it in the mid 1980s because the Alice Brewery is listed, which lasted for only five years between 1983 and 1988. Strathalbyn is also there, which closed in 1987, and Devanha, which closed in 1986; so 1983–86, which is close enough for me.

It's a list of the cask beers available in Scotland at that time, and interesting because it coincides with a time when old-established brewers were still making real ale, but the first micros were beginning to appear.

Alloa, Drybrough, McEwan's, Younger's and Maclay's are all gone. Well, Maclay's pub company still own the Clockwork brewpub in Glasgow, so I guess you can technically say they're still involved in brewing.

Lorimer & Clark are still with us under the Caledonian name. Broughton, Traquair House and Belhaven are the only other survivors.

Look at the gravities. Some brewers had 1.040 as their strongest beer.

Brewer	Beer	Original gravity
Inde Coope Alloa (sic)	Arrols (70/– Ale)	1037
Tennent's	80/–	1040
McEwan's	70/–	1036.5
McEwans's	80/–	1042.2
Younger's	XXPS (Scotch Bitter)	1036.2
Younger's	No. 3 (Ale)	1042
Younger's	IPA (India Pale Ale)	1042.2
Drybrough's	Pentland (70/–)	1036
Drybrough's	80/–	1043
Belhaven	60/– (Light)	1031
Belhaven	70/– (Heavy)	1036
Belhaven	80/– (Export Ale)	1042
Belhaven	Strong Ale	1070
Broughton	Greenmantle Ale	1038
Devanha	Triple X	1040
Leith	Leith Heavy	1039
Lorimer & Clark	70/– (Ale)	1036
Lorimer & Clark	80/– (Ale)	1043
Lorimer & Clark	Caledonian Strong Ale	1077
Maclay's	60/– (Light)	1030
Maclay's	70/– (Heavy)	1035
Maclay's	80/– (Export)	1040
Strathalbyn	Strathalbyn Ale	1039
Traquair House	Traquair House Beer	1050
Traquair House	Traquair House Ale	1075
Alice	Alice Ale	?