Watneys Red

[toplad]

dont no if anyone has any ideas for this?

or info on watneys ..

[Dennis King]

I seem to remember it was a very bland beer. I think they stoped brewing it after CAMRA gave it such bad publicity.

[duncan incapable]

dont no if anyone has any ideas for this?

or info on watneys ..

I still have a Watney's Red Barrel T-shirt.
I wear it to 'bad taste' parties.

You've heard the expression 'I may not have a six pack but I have got a party seven'....they used to sell red barrel in big 7 pint cans. It was the cheapest beer you could buy in 1976. Nuff said.

[Stonechat]

dont no if anyone has any ideas for this?

or info on watneys ..

Sorry Toplad, but if anything deserves to go into Room 101, it's Watneys Red Barrel, closely followed by Double Diamond, Long Life etc

[Graham]

When I first saw this post, I really did think it was a wind-up.

I am a life CAMRA member, but I am happy to admit that sometimes, well often, that CAMRA claim victory for things that were not really their doing. True that CAMRA hammered the last few nails into Watney's coffin, but it was the Sunday Mirror that started it off.

In the 1970's the Sunday Mirror published a league table of beer strengths; classified as "Strong", "Medium", or "Weak". Every Watney's beer was at the very bottom of the weak category, absolutely nothing was below any Watney's brand. One of their heavily-marketed (and probably expensive) brands (Starlight, or Starbright, can't remember) was so weak that it could be legally sold to children (which in those days was <2%, if I remember rightly).

I happen to have a box full (probably 25) of Red-Barrel key rings, given to me by the landlord of a pub in Alton many moons ago. Seems about time I opened up a fleabay account - might be worth something to aficionados (not sure what that word means, but it sounds good anyway).

[Scooby]

Yep it was Starlight and rated along with Red-Barrel and DD as being a tad stronger than orange juice.

It was at that time that the big five brewers tried to foist a standardised keg beer on the nation, and maybe Europe as the Tories were negotiating in 1970.

I had been drinking a few years then and had acquired a taste for Morland best, our local brewery so never drank the stuff.

Ironic that GK seem to be doing the same

Edit: you can find DD, Tavern keg, Starlight and many other keg bitters of the era in DL's book.

[WallyBrew]

In the 1970's the Sunday Mirror published a league table of beer strengths; classified as "Strong", "Medium", or "Weak". Every Watney's beer was at the very bottom of the weak category, absolutely nothing was below any Watney's brand. One of their heavily-marketed (and probably expensive) brands (Starlight, or Starbright, can't remember) was so weak that it could be legally sold to children (which in those days was <2%, if I remember rightly).

Is that the one carried out by two Sunday Mirror reporters and called the Sunday Mirror beer survey about, 1975 -76? I think they also provided some tasting notes

[Graham]

Yep it was Starlight and rated along with Red-Barrel and DD as being a tad stronger than orange juice.

In fact, I've just looked up a reference; Watney's "Special" Mild was even weaker than Starlight - hard to believe that anything could be weaker, but it was - not much "special" about that.

I had been drinking a few years then and had acquired a taste for Morland best, our local brewery so never drank the stuff.

Lucky blighter. Almost all the hand-pumps in Wycombe had been ceremoniously ripped out in favour of keg by the time I'd got to appreciate cask-conditioned. I used to have to go out of town to find decent beer, either west, Rose and Crown at Saunderton usually, that used to serve Morlands as well as others (you must have passed it dozens of times) or towards Maidenhead (Brakspears usually).

Edit: you can find DD, Tavern keg, Starlight and many other keg bitters of the era in DL's book.

Yes, that is a little worrying knowing Dave Line's heritage, but it was the mass-market stuff of the day; the equivalent to lagers today, so I suppose he was fulfilling what was expected of him.

[Graham]

Is that the one carried out by two Sunday Mirror reporters and called the Sunday Mirror beer survey about, 1975 -76? I think they also provided some tasting notes

That was probably their second or third stab at it. They made such an impact with the original (it blew away lots of myths), that they didn't let go for a long time.

The first article, I think, was 1971 or thereabouts. I remember it being published, but it is so long ago that I can not remember exactly when. However, I have got a reprint of the table, but not the accompanying text, in a book published in 1974, so it has to pre-date that.

While I am here I will give a plug for the above-mentioned book, as I owe a lot to it. It is the (badly titled) "Plain Man's Guide To Beer", C.L. Duddington, Pelham Books, 1974. It is an extremely well-written (layman's language) introduction to the process of brewing. It is the book that "converted" me, so to speak, long before I knew who Dave Line was, and before I had brewed anything other than Boot's beer kits.

If anyone out there is a beginner and struggling a bit with the principles, and you see this book in a second-hand book shop or on fleabay, it is well worth snatching it, as long as it isn't silly money. However, if you have been brewing for some time, it won't tell you much that you do not already know.

I've even toyed with the idea of trying to buy the copyright and republishing it for free on the net, it was so significant to me at least.

[Scooby]

I had been drinking a few years then and had acquired a taste for Morland best, our local brewery so never drank the stuff.

Lucky blighter. Almost all the hand-pumps in Wycombe had been ceremoniously ripped out in favour of keg by the time I'd got to appreciate cask-conditioned. I used to have to go out of town to find decent beer, either west, Rose and Crown at Saunderton usually, that used to serve Morlands as well as others (you must have passed it dozens of times) or towards Maidenhead (Brakspears usually).

Edit: you can find DD, Tavern keg, Starlight and many other keg bitters of the era in DL's book.

Yes, that is a little worrying knowing Dave Line's heritage, but it was the mass-market stuff of the day; the equivalent to lagers today, so I suppose he was fulfilling what was expected of him.

Looking back I do think I was lucky in my formative beer drinking years. Living a few miles from Abingdon there was plenty of Morland houses around and being in the country seemed not to suffer the ripping out of hand pumps you mention.

When I got older and some wheels there was always Morrells to the north and Arkells to the west but having been weaned on Morland these were not to my taste, ( I quite like 3B's now), and of course for something special a trip east to Blewbury for some Brakspear. At least Arkells survive and the other two have been replaced by four or five micros, so as far as beer goes it wouldn't be to bad to be 15 again.

[Bryggmester]

Yes, Watneys Red Barrel, Youngers Tartan et al Actually I have a Watneys Red Barrel tankard which I rescued from a skip when they were having a clear out at work. Apart from the novelty value it is well designed and has become one of my favourite glasses. Wouldn't dream of filling it with Red Barrel, even if was still available. IIRC they originally called the brew Watneys Red Barrel but later changed the name to Watneys Red, perhaps when sales started to slip.

[Martin the fish]

First beer i ever drank was some red barrel. Put me off beer for years. I really couldn't understand why anyone would drink beer when it tasted like that. I stuck to cider for a long time.
In the late eighties you could still get bottles of Double Diamond in my local pub. The Jolly Farmers in Purley. But they also sold Burton. Which i absolutely loved. White shield was my No.1 though. Couldn't afford a night on it but would have a few bottles on a thursday night when i'd just got my pay packet. Many an argument took place as two of my friends who rated themselves as beer experts drank DD and ranted on about how it was an 'old' beer and therefore great. I rated it alongside carling and castlemaine xxxx. I even seem to recall a bit of fistycuff's in the car park a few times over what was the best beer. Ah, those were the days.

[macleanb]

I used to like long life!

(twas always cold enough to freeze a penguins bum mind you)

[toplad]

guess i am not brew red then!!

[Jim]

Ah, Watneys Red Barrel. Good for impressing people with how many pints you could drink without falling over.

They used to have it in a few nightclubs I frequented in the early seventies (must have been 1973 or 4) - it was utter p*ss.