Watneys Red

I have come across a fair bit of outdated beer literature on the share drive at work. Most of it is about keg bitter which probably won't interest the hardcore beer geeks, but may be of interest to the purists. I find the story of Watney's Red the most interesting, from all accounts it sounds like it was actually a decent beer.

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Watney's red Barrel traces it's origins back to 1931 and was developed as an export beer with the aim to be transported long distances by sea(sound familiar??). The beer was filtered, pasteurised and canned under carbon dioxide to prevent spoilage. The can (or keg) was then pressurised after opening and the contents were forced under pressure to the point of sale. This eliminated the risk of spoilage and poor cellarmanship and expensive serving components such as a beer engine could be replaced with cheaper/more serviceable chrome plated brass components. The additional benefit of this method of serving was to offer a traditional product which could attract continental lager drinkers back to ale and the beer was served cold with elevated carbonation and a frothy head.

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Red Barrel was tentatively trialled at the East Sheen Lawn Tennis Club where Watneys' Master Brewer, Bert Hussey, was a member. He was convinced that once sampled it would be instantly popular. By the early sixties, Watneys were able to claim that it was the country's most popular keg bitter. It was also the first.

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Given that Red Label was a premium product in the 1960's it is intriguing that it is held with such disdain today. Due to it's extended shelf life, the beer was a hit and was served in non-traditional outlets such as BEA flights and the QE2. Watneys also had a fair share of the Free Trade market, selling over one million barrels of beer, mainly Red Barrel and Watneys Pale Ale. So their products must have had some sort of following outside Watney Mann pubs where it might have been the only choice. Against this, however, "Which" reported on 1972 on keg bitters and their view was that there was little to choose between one keg and another. All were bland tasting and fizzy. There was also little reason for preferring keg over traditional beers such as Watneys own Special Bitter, which was somewhat cheaper. Keg, though, had the image and at the time, people preferred its consistent quality. More traditional brews were considered downmarket. I suppose Britain's drinker's have not changed that much and still prefer keg beer for it's consistent quality..

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In the 1970's the marketing strategy made a shift. I find this change in direction fascinating, but then again I work in the business. Firstly, Watneys decided to change the name of Red Barrel to just Watneys Red. Advertising was based on the Russian Revolution. The billboard was displayed in London over the summer of 1971. Khrushchev, Mao and Castro all enjoying a pint of Watneys Red! (I find it Ironic that the key CAMRA players were all active socialists at around the same time, yet despised Keg beer!) I guess it's like an anti patriot play on Communism and the 'Red' theme. Cutting edge stuff in the day.

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Watney's Red finally disappeared as draught stout made a resurgence. Watneys tried to compete head to head with Guinness for a time with a trial of Colonel Murphy's Stout. It did not prove successful. They had to accept that Guinness had cornered the market and sell draught Guinness in their houses. An agreement with Carlsberg Lager in 1969 was, however, more successful. Watneys were surprising latecomers to the lager market. Carling Black Label had been on sale in the UK at Bass Charrington houses for several years and Whitbread linked up with Heineken as long ago as 1961. However, Watneys jumped at the right time and joined the lager market before it really took off in the 70s.

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Another feature of drinking in the late sixties and early seventies were strong ales available in small bottles. The most well known is Whitbread's Gold Label - "Strong as a double scotch, less than half the price". Watneys produced two beers in this category "Export Gold" and "Stingo" barley wine. I guess you could say that Watney's really were 'extreme' before their time.

Interesting stuff from a marketing point of view, but my guess is that after Watney's had their initial success every brewer and his dog would have been making clones. The result would have been 6 taps of pretty much the same beer - not all that different than what we get in Australian pubs in these modern times!