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‘Stingo’, Dorset’s finest!




Stingo was a popular Dorset drink in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a barley wine yet it was not a wine. The drink was a strong ale. It was called a wine because Stingo was known for its high alcoholic content similar to wine and for its rich and complex flavours. It was most definitely a drink for sipping rather than quaffing.

Barley wine was produced elsewhere in England and was also known as Ind Coope Triple A and as Tennant’s  Gold Label but in Dorset it was definitely known as Stingo.

Produced by Hall and Woodhouse in Blandford, it was brewed at a time when the company was managed by brothers John and Edward Woodhouse. The latter was a fine cricketer who captained Somerset County Cricket Club.

Such was the fine pedigree of Stingo that it was truly a time in Dorset when you could truly claim:

‘I’m only here for the beer!’







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  1. Anonymous25 August 2024 at 14:44

    Watneys also produced a similar barley wine called Stingo ack in the 50’s and 60’s

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous26 August 2024 at 12:42

    I have a couple of unopened bottles of Watneys Stingo in the many bottle display cabinets in our skittles alley at the White Hart Yetminster Sherborne along side a bottle of Spingo from the Blue Anchor Helston. Bass also made a cracking barley wine.

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