Brewing for Victory

A lively account of beer, brewing and the pub industry in wartime Britain, and their importance to the national spirit.

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'In the black out visit a bright inn.' So read stickers on the windows of Watney's pubs all over London. In Brewing for Victory, Brian Glover shows in lively detail how beer and pub culture aided Britain's community spirit during the Second World War. From 'Guinness for Strength!' adverts to women shifting casks and packing coppers with hops, the effect the war had on brewing in England, and the effect brewing had on the war effort, is explored from every angle.
Beginning at home in Britain and London, Glover tracks the course of tuns all the way out to the front line in the army, air force and navy. 'Brewing under the jackboot' is also considered, with a chapter on breweries in British territory that had been captured by the Nazis, such as Guernsey. With over 70 illustrations showing war era adverts and bombed out boroughs with their pubs still standing, Brewing for Victory is a remarkable demonstration of the Blitz Spirit in action as the public, pubs and brewers worked together to maintain national social structures in the face of adversity.