Imported Beer in Mandate Palestine, Part III

Beer, the British Army, the Mandate 

This continues my series on beer during the British Mandate of Palestine. It began with this post, on a war correspondent’s tour of the Palestine Brewery in 1944.

Even before the Mandate for Palestine commenced, beer was a feature of British Army expeditionary life in Palestine, during World War I. James E. Kitchen’s (2014) The British Imperial Army in the Middle East cites provision of beer to soldiers during that war as a morale booster.

He added that various wines were also available, notably the red wine of Mulebbis and whisky. The Jewish settlement at Mulebbis in 1917 was known to Jews, among other names, as Petah Tikvah, and probably produced this wine.

The men also relaxed, wrote Kitchen, with gifts of chocolate and other special foods. Steady use of tobacco, mainly cigarettes, also featured. In regard to the ubiquitous alcohol, Kitchen quoted a Northhamptonshire sergeant (1917) on the soldiers’ tendency to drink to excess. It was probably typical of the colonial troop pattern, especially after a battle or other periods of high stress.

I am not sure how much hard data is available on over-consumption of beer by the soldiery in this period. My examination of the 1903 British Committee of Inquiry that studied Army canteens suggests a range of possibilities, based on testimonies heard.

One officer testified that for many young soldiers plentiful food was more important than beer. But there was evidence that for older soldiers the reverse often was true.

Certainly beer often figured at holiday celebrations. Israeli journalist Rachel Neiman included evocative photos and menus of British Forces’ Christmas celebrations in her article “Biscuits, Bully Beef and Beer – Christmas Dinner During the British Mandate”.

This covers the period between 1917 and 1942. Her article appeared in the December 2018 issue of the online publication Israel 21c. Bottles of beer are clearly visible in some images.

Some menus state at the bottom simply “Beer”. A menu from R.A.F. Station Abu Sueir reads plaintively, “Beer?”.

The scholar Omar D. Foda’s full-length Egypt’s Beer: Stella, Identity, and the Modern State (2019) quoted a 1934 Egyptian study relevant to this question. It assigned an annual consumption of 17,000 hl, or 220 litres per head, to the 7,500 British soldiers then serving in Egypt.

That probably gives some indication of what army capacity could attain in contemporary Palestine, provided supply permitted it.

A December 17, 1937 story in The American Jewish World stated that in 1936 the British Forces’ complement in Palestine had risen to 25,000. (The increase was to address spreading rioting and other disturbances in the territory). A result for beer: increased production at recently-established Palestine Brewery Ltd., which had a “roaring trade”.

The story noted a drop-off in sales in 1937, resulting in introduction by Palestine Brewery Ltd. of a new “black beer” to improve its prospects. This drop-off probably is attributable to the soldiers drinking more duty-free British beer in their clubs and also to more British beer being imported for the geenral market, since soldiers also frequented civilian clubs and restaurants.

A website devoted to the British Forces in Palestine estimated a strength of 10,000 in 1939, hence the British soldiery complement fell from its height in 1936-1938. From the start of the European war in September 1939 it climbed significantly as the war progressed. The means to address the increased beer demand were, domestic supply and imported beer where still available.

According to my research, British Forces drank British-brewed beer in their N.A.A.F.I. clubs and cafes, and public resorts when available. N.A.A.F.I. was the centralized Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes, the new canteen and supply system introduced shortly after World War I.

Palestine-produced beer supplied the other part of the demand, an ever-increasing part as imports finally dried up due to the war except for military needs.

Barclay, Perkins Squares the Circle

Barclay, Perkins & Co. Ltd. of London was among the British brewers in the Palestine market. Of this legendary London brewery much has been written. A brief overview from Craft Beer & Brewing, in turn extracted from Oxford Companion to Beer, will assist some readers.

Barclay Perkins’ visibility in Palestine is shown from a sizeable box advertisement in the December 25, 1939 Palestine Post. It stated Nathan Zwy Ltd. in Haifa was Barclay, Perkins’ sole representative.

Zwy’s name appeared in numerous similar ads of the period. Into 1947 at least, he appears to have been prominent in alcohol distribution in Palestine and elsewhere in the Levant.

Next to the ad mentioned is one from brewer McEwan-Younger Ltd. of Edinburgh. I will return to that brewery in a subsequent part of this series. The Barclay’s ad wished members of H.M. Forces, the Palestine Police and “all Christian friends” a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Pictured was a “cone-top” can reading “sparkling beer”.

On June 21, 1939 the Palestine Post reported:

J.L. Loughnan, former military governor at Jaffa, arrived by Imperial Airways flying boat on behalf of Messrs. Barclay, Perkins and Co. Ltd.

It therefore appears the brewery hired a former, senior Army officer familiar with the territory to assist its marketing. I will return to Loughnan as well later in the series.

On February 17, 1939 the same newspaper carried this item:

A new British ale in tins, lager style, has been put on the market by Mr. Nathan Zwy, sole representative for Palestine and Trans-Jordan of Messrs. Barclay, Perkins & Co. Ltd…”.

The phraseology sounds at sea but it is not, as will become clear. Barclay Perkins’ beer was also available in a Jerusalem restaurant operated by F. Nothbaum. He may have been a German Templar judging by the tone of various press ads he placed the 1930s.

Here is one example, from April 7, 1939 in same newspaper, advertising an Easter Dinner. Draught beer from Barclay’s, type not stated, is touted together with Lowenbrau beer (presumably from Munich), and Rhine and Mosel wines.

The year seems late for German beer still to be available but evidently some still was, i.e., not long before September 1, 1939.

Sparkling beer or ale, meant to be served cold, had been a growing presence in British and international brewing since about 1900. It was particularly appealing in hot climates. On June 18, 1940 a canned Sunbright Sparkling Beer was advertised in the Palestine Post by another agent in Haifa, J. Ezra. The source stated for his beer was Machen & Hudson in Liverpool.

Labels of Machen & Hudson, who were export beer dealers, may be viewed in David Hughes’ A Bottle of Guinness Please. Note the Beaver Lager, among the brands supplied to J. Ezra in Haifa.

The ultimate source of this beer was likely Hope Brewery in Sheffield. See an example of its Sunbright pale ale in this interesting label collection in the Netherlands.

The increasing popularity of light ale and lager in the Near East at this period is seen as well by an almost wordless 1939 print ad for the Palestine Brewery’s Eagle Light Lager (Palestine Post).

Ron Pattinson has discussed Barclay’s Sparkling Beer as it was in 1939. By referring to brewing records he showed the beer was, in fact, a lager, an idiosyncratic one given its amber tint and sizeable component of crystal malt.

The oddness of the recipe is emphasized by readers’ comments appended to his post.

Given the context I have discussed, the unusual make-up becomes clear: Barclay’s designed a beer for the Middle East that resembled ale to a degree – the traditional type Britons were familiar with at home. But it drank cold and fizzy, like a lager.

Crystal malt was known in British top-fermentation brewing by then, hence the “ale” part, and colouration. The Saaz hopping and all-malt construction bowed to Continental tradition, as did of course the bottom-fermentation. These traits would impart a lager character, suitable for the local climate when drunk cold.

The lager taste probably resonated as well with some residents in Palestine of European origin, mainly Jews, hailing from countries with an established lager tradition.

Below, from the Miniature Bottle Library, is a later design for Barclay’s Sparkling Beer. Rather a smart look, still.

 

 

For a Barclay’s Sparkling Beer cone-top actually from 1939, found in India, see this item at WorthPoint. Every part of the label can be seen, as well.

Series continues with Part IV.

Note re image: Image above was sourced from the site identified and linked in the text. All intellectual property therein belongs solely to the lawful owner, as applicable. Used for educational and historical purposes. All feedback welcomed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 thoughts on “Imported Beer in Mandate Palestine, Part III”

  1. Hi Gary ,
    Thanks for the reply, and I do appreciate your point Re B-P and their beers as per the article; though I’d have gone for a relatively high mash heat and Sugars to get the taste factors right.
    However ; on the more specific point of Bitters and Pale Ales using Crystal Malt ; It is Quite wrong to emphatically state that UK brewers were using Crystal Malt across the board in the Light Ordinary and Best Bitters , Pale Ales etc ,
    Viz : ALLSOPP of Burton ,
    WALKERS of Warrington , Boddingtons of Manchester (post 1918 , Pre WW2) and even after the war ; Case’s of Barrow in Furness (1947-68), Boddingtons of Manchester, Duttons of Blackburn
    Did not use Crystal in their Bitters .
    Cheers
    Edd

    Reply
    • Hi Edd:

      Points all taken about generalized lack of crystal malt in bitter before the war, as mentioned in my first reply when I stated “fair enough”. My post was edited shortly after completion, before receipt of your comments, to state that use of crystal was “known” in top-fermentation brewing in the U.K. Which it clearly was, in some pale ale as Ron Pattinson has written, and certainly in mild ale.

      I don’t claim further, but this is enough, IMO, to suppose that Barclay Perkins intended a link to an ale palate by its use.

      As to sugar, I don’t think they would have use that then in a lager going to a European-style market, but it’s just a supposition, I could be wrong.

      Gary

      Reply
  2. Hi Gary ,
    Nice series of articles , though I must point out that the use of Crystal Malts in Bitters and Pale Ales is , a regional as opposed to a national ingredients grist % make up standards in UK brewing .
    Cheers,
    Edd

    Reply
    • Hi Edd,

      Fair enough, as long as there was some use after WW I, which seems clear, that’s enough imo to form a connection to bitter. The colour if you saw the YouTube video in the Comment is the same as for many bitters. And Ron wrote crystal becomes even more common after WW II. To make a Vienna in this fashion would make no sense, imo.

      It is possible too a connection was meant to mild, that was also an ale.

      Reply
      • Here is more of my reasoning.

        At day’s end, the news story I quoted, whose source had to be Barclay Perkins, states the beer was meant as an ale in the style of a lager. So one way or another, they were doing a lager to work as an ale, not a Vienna beer, not even a dark (Munich) lager.

        The beer is not dark enough for Munich, and probably too bitter as well for that style. The colour seems not quite right for Vienna, and also 30 IBUs of Saaz seems rather bitter for that as well.

        You might say, why all the crystal malt then, just use caramel on the pilsner malt base, or brown sugar or some other adjunct of the time to achieve a darker hue. Because mainly I think in this early time Barclay Perkins’ lagers were all-malt, as Ron has documented. Also, if you are going to send a lager style beer to Palestine where the European-derived population, Jews but also the Templars and others, were familiar with lager, making one with adjunct would not be the way to go, as those communities were familiar with Central European, all-malt lagers.

        The crystal malt helped the pils malt base get to the malty character of a pale ale, or mild ale if need be. And crystal was certainly used in mild recipes before WW II.

        This is a beer designed by committee, so to speak, but it clearly had a rationale because of where it was sent. And it did succeed as it continued in the market for many years albeit the recipe changed later (notably adjunct) per again the sedulous researches of Ron Pattinson.

        Reply
  3. Drilling down on crystal malt, Pattinson in his book Bitter! states that after WW I brewers started to add crystal malt to bitter, or caramel, although it became more common after WW II. 1939 is the cusp of WW II of course. Perhaps the 1939 recipe used more crystal than English bitter or pale ale typically did in the mid-1900s, but the base too of the sparkling beer was pilsener malt, which explains I think the higher percentage.

    In the next comment, I’ll add a youtube link where some American home brewers recreated the 1939 recipe. The beer looks exactly like an English bitter/pale ale…

    See p. 281.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

error: Content is protected !!