Mine's a Pint - Autumn 2019

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Whilst lager, as a beer style, had had a reputation in the 1960s of classy sophistication, by less than a generation later, it had become increasingly associated with football hooliganism and the risqué advertising that Fosters and Castlemaine XXXX – latterday Australian interlopers – particularly exemplified (in contrast with the wry and offbeat publicity the former had previously been associated with). Other, moreestablished brands felt coerced into dumbingdown their publicity on television, billboards and periodicals in order to maintain their market share. Amongst the almost saturation promotional material that ensued in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, particularly memorable advertising catchphrases were devised, just as many for various keg beers had done likewise a decade or two before. Examples included, ‘I bet he drinks.....’ (Carling Black Label), ‘Probably the best lager in the world’ (Carlsberg), ‘Australians wouldn’t give a XXXX for anything else’ (Castlemaine), ‘Australian for beer’ (Fosters), ‘Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach’ (Heineken), and, ‘For great lager – follow the bear’ (Hofmeister), the lastmentioned invariably featuring a life-size ursine character called George wearing a pork pie hat and a gold bomber jacket interacting with lads and ladettes in various pub and club situations. Harp Lager, which was originally concocted in Ireland by Guinness in 1960, ‘Stays sharp to the bottom of the glass’ apparently, whereas Sköl purported to be ‘Horribly good lager’, using animations based on the ‘Hagar the Horrible’ cartoon strip from The Sun. By contrast, against the trend but true to its reputation, the 5% Alcohol by Volume (ABV) Stella Artois (originating from Belgium) tried to maintain that it was, ‘Reassuringly expensive’ despite being dubbed ‘wifebeater’ in popular parlance! Oranjeboom, was, reputedly, an even stronger lager from Holland that had been imported into the UK, like Carlsberg, from as early as the 1940s but under its original ‘Golden Tree’ branding. Renowned for its high, even excessive, strength, Oranjeboom had, actually, been available both on its home turf and exported in various 5% ABV versions, as well as in 7.5% premium, 8.5% extra, 12% super, 14% ultra, 16% mega and even 18% extreme strength varieties. As an example of how adulterated such beers become once production is franchised elsewhere, it is, today, still brewed by Shepherd Neame but as a diluted beverage with an ABV of only 3.9%! Conversely, Carlsberg’s canned super-strength, ‘Special Brew’, that had established a particular niche in the UK market ever since it was first produced in 1950, was reduced from 9% to 8% earlier this decade over concerns regarding its high strength. Tennent’s Lager was first brewed in 1885 and, eight years later, it won the highest award at the Chicago World’s Fair. J & R Tennent is also notable for having produced the first canned lager in 1935 and the first keg lager in 1963. One of the brand’s high strength variants, Tennent’s Super (9% ABV), is no longer produced in Scotland by the Wellpark brewery (nowadays made in Luton by Inbev), but the Glasgow site still produces an 1885 Lager (5% ABV) which, amongst many other brews, is flanked by both a weaker Lager (4% ABV) and a stronger Extra (9.3% ABV). Tennent’s Lager was once famous for the design of its cans which, until 1989, featured photos of various female models printed onto the side who became affectionately known as “The Mine’s A <strong>Pint</strong> 26
Lager Lovelies”. Authentic, original, cans with such advertising thereon are much sought after by collectors even today despite being viewed as sexist by some. Nonetheless, in 2017, the brewery partnered with one of Scotland’s bestloved sitcoms, Still Game, to add two more well-known faces to the list of Tennent’s “Lager Lovelies” – characters, Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade, played by Ford Keirnon and Greg Hemphill! Paul Dabrowski With acknowledgements to Boak & Bailey and various CAMRA publications. CAMAL (The Campaign for Authentic Lager) may be of interest. Please visit camal.org.uk for more details. Mine’s A <strong>Pint</strong> 27
Page 1: THE MAGAZINE FOR READING AND MID BE
Page 4 and 5: REAL-ALE AND CIDER FESTIVAL 9 -20 O
Page 6 and 7: Pub News Caversham The PRINCE OF WA
Page 8 and 9: garden. There are deals throughout
Page 10 and 11: Binghams The Tap Room at Emma’s K
Page 12 and 13: Small Beer A round up of news and i
Page 14 and 15: ESTABLISHED 2006 SERVING OVER 1,500
Page 16 and 17: Beer Festivals Local beer festivals
Page 18 and 19: Festival Reflections It felt like t
Page 20 and 21: present this year. I’m always imp
Page 22 and 23: Cider Month CAMRA’s real cider an
Page 24 and 25: The Promotion of Lager in the UK PA
Page 28 and 29: Join up, join in, join the campaign
Page 30 and 31: As our farmers know all too well: n
Page 32: AUTUMN RACING WEEKEND & ASCOT BEER

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