Another advertistement scanned from the 1968 Journal of the XI Hussars. Weird. We thought we did know a bit about beer, but we rarely drink Courage if we can help it, kegged or otherwise. Anyone for a pint of Tavern?
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Boak & Bailey's Beer BlogBeer blogging since 2007, covering real ale, craft beer, pubs and British beer history.
5 replies on “People who really know beer…”
I guess this is a product to living in rural Berkshire as a kid, but I still love seeing Courage signs, not much of one for the beer, but I love the logo.
That ad has beautiful period typography and design and, yeah, there’s something really nice about seeing a big old Courage sign on an the side of a building.
Shame all those warm feelings toward the brand are squandered with beers which are rarely found in even drinkable condition and are boring even at their best.
I am sure the brand is in far better hands now that it is part of Wells and Youngs, but you are right, it can be a bit on the dull side – which is a shame given that Youngs Bitter is a lovely pint.
Tavern, like all the big-selling 1960s keg beers, appears to have been in its pre-keg incarnation an IPA-style or “export” bottled bitter/pale ale, in this case brewed by Simonds of Reading, which was t/o by Courage and Barclay Ltd in 1960. It was also one of the first beers in cans – you can see an example here
Thanks for that info, Martyn. So, they chose a slightly more characterful beer than a straight bitter for kegging, knowing that the process would knock the edges off?