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Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site In order to give some idea of what was going on in UK brewing during WW II, we'll take a look at a single beer, Youngs Pale Ale. And see what happened to it between 1939 and 1945. In a way, it is totally typical of what went on in the war. Because the drop in gravity - just 5º over the whole period - is quite a bit less than usual. Though the gravity did fall lower: to 1039.7º in 1942. But, rather oddly, increased again early in 1943 to 1042.5º. And stayed at that level for the remainder of the war. To make changes easier to spot, I’ve highlighted them in red There are relatively few changes in gravity. But loads in the hopping rate. Which kicked off the war at 8 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. Dropping to 7 lbs in May 1940, then just over 5 lbs in May 1941 and 4.75 lbs in July of the same year. That’s quite a fall. Though the rate did quickly bounce back to 5 lbs per quarter. Over the next couple of years the rate varied between 4.5 lbs and 6 lbs per quarter. Which I think is a reflection of variations in the supply of hops. Youngs PA 1939 - 1945 Date Year OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation lbs hops/ qtr hops lb/brl 27th Jul 1939 1047.6 1013.3 4.54 72.09% 7.98 1.50 22nd May 1940 1047.0 1013.3 4.46 71.71% 7.00 1.29 1st May 1941 1043.0 1010.5 4.30 75.52% 5.14 0.83 3rd Jul 1941 1043.0 1008.3 4.59 80.67% 4.79 0.80 8th Jul 1941 1043.0 1010.0 4.37 76.81% 5.04 0.85 23rd Oct 1941 1042.4 1013.9 3.78 67.33% 5.09 0.85 7th May 1942 1040.0 1010.5

Visit The Retired Martin site September 2026. Barnsley. If put on the spot and asked to pick ONE (1) Barnsley pub, it would have been the Old No.7, Acorn’s flagship and the best place to drink the revived Barnsley Bitter. Not any more. Sold to Valiant in 2023, it still feels a cask pub, but today there’s a Tap Takeover… Continue reading ALL CHANGE AT BARNSLEY’S OLD*No.7 More...

The Family's House This is now open again and called The Soho Inn that opens at 10 30am each morning till 12 30 and till 2am on Saturdays and Sundays

Visit The Appellation Beer site The link. The paragraph: “Our understanding of the impact of picking windows and growing conditions on flavour has increased dramatically over the years,” Pete (Gillespie) continues. “The hops have changed the character of that beer, and I believe personally that they’ve kept it tasting contemporary. By picking later, we’re seeing more tropical fruit—richer passionfruit and ... Read more More...

Le Chic Is now called Sonny's Speakeasy which is a prohibition styled Speakeasy Bar that recreates a 1920's inspired atmosphere

Visit The Retired Martin site September 2026. Barnsley. Back home from Kent, a man’s mind turns to exploration. In search of “recommended” pubs, I head to Greater Barnsley, which has all the life and vitality Huntingdon lacks. “Kooth” ? I’d just about caught up with “rad” and “sick” and the kidz invent another new word. There’s loads of youth about… Continue reading MORE CULTURAL BARNSLEY*! More...

Visit The Retired Martin site September 2026. Barnsley. Back home from Kent, a man’s mind turns to exploration. In search of “recommended” pubs, I head to Greater Barnsley, which has all the life and vitality Huntingdon lacks. “Kooth” ? I’d just about caught up with “rad” and “sick” and the kidz invent another new word. There’s loads of youth about… Continue reading MORE CULTURAL BARNSLEY*! More...

Visit The Beer Nut site The market for independent beer may have contracted somewhat, but the breweries can still put on a show. A couple of weeks ago the Dublin Beer Festival returned to the Ring Hall in the RDS's horsey bits for a third year, with an impressive array of beers from local and foreign breweries. There was much new and rare to be discovered, so let's begin. For me, the beginning was O'Hara's and Le Chéile , a lager. I was interested to see "Brewed in Dundalk" on the tap badge. O'Hara's has taken ownership of the former Pearse Lyons brewery and is running it in parallel with Bagenalstown, as predominantly a lager brewery. This New Zealand-hopped pilsner bodes well for the plans, showcasing the Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka beautifully, from a powerful mown-grass aroma, to a flavour packed out with peppery spice and dank resins. 6% ABV gives it plenty of heft, though without any malt sweetness interfering with the hop explosion. Magnificent stuff, and well capable of giving the high-end west-coast IPAs a run for their money. In sharp contrast, O'Hara's also brought a new Hazelnut Brown Ale , 5% ABV and served nitrogenated. This was somewhat less successful, being a gloopy, sticky affair, loaded up with cloying hazelnut syrup. It has very little to offer beyond the intense sweetness, and while it does taste of nut, it's very much processed and candified. It goes without saying that the nitrogen helps none of this, though it does mean there's little by way of aroma, whi

Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site We’ll roll right along with a couple of processes. Nothing much happening with the boil. Exactly the same as in 1940. Pretty boring, that. The pitching and maximum fermentation temperatures are just about exactly the same as in 1940. Pitched at 58º F or 59º F and peaking in the high 60sº F. I suppose that they had no reason to change, so why would they? Slightly longer fermentation times or around a day are a bit unexpected. I do need to point out here that they were quite variable, from five to nine days. When it comes to the fermentation times, the examples I have taken are pretty random. Well, totally random, really. That's me done with Young's beers in 1943. Where should I go next? 1944 or straight to 1945? Or should I go backwards to 1941 0r 1942? I'll have to have a think. Youngs boiling and fermentation in 1943 Beer Style boil time (hours) Pitch temp max. ferment-ation temp length of fermen-tation (days) dropped after (hours) A Mild 1.75 1.75 59º F 64.5º F 8 X Mild 2 2 58º F 67º F 8 38 PAB Pale Ale 2 2 59º F 66.5º F 7 PA Pale Ale 2 2 58º F 70.75º F 7 37 XXX Strong Ale 2 2 58º F 67.75º F 6 Average 1.95 1.95 58.40º F 67.30º F 7.2 37.5 Source: Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/12. More...

Visit The Beer Nut site The market for independent beer may have contracted somewhat, but the breweries can still put on a show. A couple of weeks ago the Dublin Beer Festival returned to the Ring Hall in the RDS's horsey bits for a third year, with an impressive array of beers from local and foreign breweries. There was much new and rare to be discovered, so let's begin. For me, the beginning was O'Hara's and Le Chéile , a lager. I was interested to see "Brewed in Dundalk" on the tap badge. O'Hara's has taken ownership of the former Pearse Lyons brewery and is running it in parallel with Bagenalstown, as predominantly a lager brewery. This New Zealand-hopped pilsner bodes well for the plans, showcasing the Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka beautifully, from a powerful mown-grass aroma, to a flavour packed out with peppery spice and dank resins. 6% ABV gives it plenty of heft, though without any malt sweetness interfering with the hop explosion. Magnificent stuff, and well capable of giving the high-end west-coast IPAs a run for their money. In sharp contrast, O'Hara's also brought a new Hazelnut Brown Ale , 5% ABV and served nitrogenated. This was somewhat less successful, being a gloopy, sticky affair, loaded up with cloying hazelnut syrup. It has very little to offer beyond the intense sweetness, and while it does taste of nut, it's very much processed and candified. It goes without saying that the nitrogen helps none of this, though it does mean there's little by way of aroma, whi

Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site We’ll roll right along with a couple of processes. Nothing much happening with the boil. Exactly the same as in 1940. Pretty boring, that. The pitching and maximum fermentation temperatures are just about exactly the same as in 1940. Pitched at 58º F or 59º F and peaking in the high 60sº F. I suppose that they had no reason to change, so why would they? Slightly longer fermentation times or around a day are a bit unexpected. I do need to point out here that they were quite variable, from five to nine days. When it comes to the fermentation times, the examples I have taken are pretty random. Well, totally random, really. That's me done with Young's beers in 1943. Where should I go next? 1944 or straight to 1945? Or should I go backwards to 1941 0r 1942? I'll have to have a think. Youngs boiling and fermentation in 1943 Beer Style boil time (hours) Pitch temp max. ferment-ation temp length of fermen-tation (days) dropped after (hours) A Mild 1.75 1.75 59º F 64.5º F 8 X Mild 2 2 58º F 67º F 8 38 PAB Pale Ale 2 2 59º F 66.5º F 7 PA Pale Ale 2 2 58º F 70.75º F 7 37 XXX Strong Ale 2 2 58º F 67.75º F 6 Average 1.95 1.95 58.40º F 67.30º F 7.2 37.5 Source: Young's brewing record held at Battersea Library, document number YO/RE/1/12. More...

The website for The Chequers in Brize Norton is a goner. I'm sure there's a "chequered history" pun in there somewhere, but I can't be arsed ;)