English beer brands

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about English beer brands

Answer 1

Adnams Brewery

Adnams is a regional brewery founded in 1872 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, by George and Ernest Adnams. It produces cask ale and pasteurised bottled beers. Annual production is around 85,000 barrels.

In 2010, the company established the Copper House distillery for the production of gin, vodka and whisky.

The earliest recorded brewing on the Adnams site was in 1396 by Johanna de Corby.

The Sole Bay Brewery in Southwold was purchased in 1872 by George and Ernest Adnams. The company was incorporated in 1890, and has remained independent since then, producing a range of beers for distribution mainly in East Anglia. The Adnams family was joined in 1902 by Pierse Loftus and his brother Jack, and Adnams still has members of each family on the board, with Jonathan Adnams as chairman and Simon Loftus as a non-executive director.

Until 1953 and from 1970 to 2006, casks of Adnams ale were delivered to the six pubs of Southwold by horse and dray; the tradition ended when a new distribution depot was built three miles from the brewery.

The company founded a charity, The Adnams Charity, in 1990 to celebrate its centenary as a public company. A percentage of the company's annual profits is used to support worthwhile causes within a 25-mile radius of Southwold.

In 1993, Adnams Extra won the Champion Beer of Britain, an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale at the annual Great British Beer Festival. Adnams remains committed to brewing cask ale and operating non-themed pubs. Cask ale is available in all its 70 pubs, and it supplies more than 1000 other outlets direct. New fermenting vessels were installed in March 2001 to cope with demand, and the brewhouse was completely re-equipped in July 2006, making it one of the most energy efficient in Europe.

At the beginning of 2004, Adnams purchased land in neighbouring village of Reydon to expand its business with a new distribution centre, designed by architect Jeremy Blake, which was nominated for the 2007 RICS East of England Award for Sustainability. Adnams was awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the sustainable development category in 2005.

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Answer 2

Ansells Brewery

Ansells Brewery Ltd

Ansells Brewery (Ansells) was a regional brewery founded in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1858. It merged with Taylor Walker and Ind Coope in 1961 to form Allied Breweries. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, after which production transferred to Allied's Burton upon Trent brewery; some former staff setting up the Aston Manor Brewery.

The brewery was founded by Joseph Ansell, a hop merchant and maltster, in 1858 at Aston Cross on the site of several artesian wells (the later HP Sauce factory was adjacent). William Ansell joined his father in partnership in 1867. From 1877 the company was known as Joseph Ansell and Sons, and became a limited liability company, Joseph Ansell & Sons Ltd, in 1889. In June 1901 it became a registered company called Ansells Brewery Ltd. The company was valued at over £750,000 and included 388 licensed houses.

Ansells grew by acquiring several other smaller local brewers including Rushtons with 100 licensed houses in 1923, Lucas of Leamington with 124 licensed houses (1928) and Holt's Brewery with 250 licensed houses (1934). Holt's logo, a Red Squirrel seen in side profile, was subsequently adopted by Ansells to identify its own beers.

In 1961, Ansells merged with Taylor Walker & Co and Ind, Coope & Co to form Allied Breweries. At the time, Ansells had an estate of 1,088 primarily managed houses in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the brewery was prone to strike action by its workers. By the late 1970s the Aston Brewery was struggling to remain profitable. In 1981, as a cost-saving measure, management attempted to introduce a four-day working week. This resulted in strike action. Allied Breweries subsequently closed the brewery, and 700 jobs were lost, with 300 workers redeployed elsewhere in the company. The site is now a car showroom. Production was subsequently moved to Allied's Burton upon Trent brewery, and some former staff set up the Aston Manor Brewery.

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Answer 3

Bass Brewery

Bass Brewery

The Bass Brewery /ˈbæs/ was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an annual output of one million barrels. Its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire, and the company's distinctive red triangle became the UK's first registered trademark.

Bass took control of a number of other large breweries in the early 20th century, and in the 1960s merged with Charrington United Breweries to become the largest UK brewing company, Bass Charrington. The brewing operations of the company were bought by Interbrew (now Anheuser-Busch InBev) in 2000, while the retail side (hotel and pub holdings) were renamed Six Continents plc. The UK government's Competition Commission was concerned about the monopoly implications arising from the deal, and instructed Interbrew to dispose of the brewery and certain brands (Carling and Worthington) to Coors (now Molson Coors Brewing Company), but allowed Interbrew to retain the rights to the Bass Pale Ale brand. In 2010, it was widely reported that AB-InBev are attempting to sell the rights to the Bass brand in the UK for around £10 million to £15 million.

Draught Bass (4.4% ABV) has been brewed under contract in Burton by Marston's for AB-InBev since 2005. Bottled and keg products are brewed at AB-InBev's own brewery in Samlesbury for export, except in the United States and Belgium, where Bass is brewed locally. Bass Ale is a top ten premium canned ale in the UK, with 16,080 hectolitres sold in 2010.

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Answer 4

Betty Stogs

Betty Stogs was a Cornishwoman in a folktale. She lived on moorland near Towednack, Cornwall, England. She had a six-month-old baby but was lazy and dissipated. The neglected baby was cared for by the fairies, who returned it clean and laid upon a bed of moss.

A beer is now named Betty Stogs after this character. With an ABV of 4.0% it is brewed by Skinner's Brewery in Truro and won the CAMRA prize for Champion Best Bitter in 2008.

Betty Stogs beer is also the subject of several songs. Lyrics of one can be found on the Skinners Brewery site, whilst the Exmouth Shantymen have their own version, performance of which is on YouTube. and chorus:

"Farewell to your wines and whiskies
Your brandies and your grogs
I’d sail the world and back again
For a pint of Betty Stogs"

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Answer 5

Black Sheep Brewery

Black Sheep Brewery

The Black Sheep Brewery is a brewery in Masham in the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England.

The Black Sheep Brewery was established by Paul Theakston in 1991. Following a successful launch as a Business Expansion Scheme, it became a public limited company (plc) in 1992. Paul Theakston had been managing director of Theakston Brewery, also in Masham, since 1968. He began at the age of 23, taking over from his father, Frank Theakston.

Matthew Brown bought Theakston Brewery following disagreements between members of the family and other shareholders. In 1987 Scottish and Newcastle succeeded Matthew Brown as owner. Paul Theakston left in 1988, and after a hiatus of more than a year purchased the North Yorkshire Malt Roasting Company, originally part of the former Lightfoot's brewery site, from an animal feed company, in order to start a new brewery in Masham.

Theakston wanted to use the Lightfoot name to bring back an old brewing tradition, but Scottish and Newcastle had already trademarked the name. The association of Masham with sheep led Theakston to come up with the name "Sheep Brewery" which rapidly became "Black Sheep" at his wife's suggestion. The first and original Black Sheep Best Bitter was sold at the Bruce Arms by its Landlord, David Young.

The brewery produces a range of well-hopped bitters, to distinguish itself from Theakston's range of fruity and yeasty beers. The brewery quickly became successful, and now produces over 75,000 barrels a year. The brewery has capitalised on its popularity by converting unused parts of the original maltings into a visitors centre from which tours of the brewery are conducted. In 1996, it served as host to an episode of the Two Fat Ladies cooking programme which was broadcast the following year.

For the first 15 years it paid its shareholders, including many real ale enthusiasts, steadily rising dividends. However its has since been forced to retrench, and has paid no dividend for several years. It is one of the largest shareholdings of the CAMRA Members' Investment Club.

The brewery re-launched their Emmerdale Ale as a lower-alcohol beer (formerly 5%) on 27 January 2006 at The Crown in Manfield for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The launch party saw Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard from the Emmerdale TV series) pull the first pint of the new brew. Emmerdale Ale is no longer brewed. The night also marked the rebranding of Black Sheep's Special Ale (in cask form) as Black Sheep Ale, the name that it has been sold as in bottles since 1992, bringing both into line.

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Answer 6

Boddingtons Bitter

Boddingtons Bitter (Boddies) is a straw-golden English bitter. Boddingtons Bitter was originally produced by Boddington & Co at their Strangeways Brewery in Manchester. It is now owned by AB-InBev and produced at their brewery in Samlesbury, Lancashire.

It is notable as one of the first beers to be packaged in cans containing a widget, giving it a creamy draught-style head. In the 1990s, the beer was heavily marketed as The Cream of Manchester in an advertising campaign credited with raising the city's profile. Adverts from 1996 to 1999 featured Melanie Sykes, who is set to return to the adverts in 2017 to mark 21 years since her first advert.

Whitbread acquired Boddingtons in 1989, and gave the bitter nationwide distribution and an increased marketing budget. Boddingtons Bitter achieved its peak market share in 1997 and at the time was exported to over forty countries. Interbrew (now AB-InBev) acquired the Whitbread Beer Company in 2000. Strangeways Brewery was closed in 2004 and production of pasteurised (keg and can) Boddingtons was moved to Samlesbury. Production of the cask conditioned beer moved to Hydes Brewery in Moss Side, Manchester until it was discontinued in 2012.

Boddingtons Bitter in its current form was introduced in 1971, and it was brewed at Boddingtons' Strangeways Brewery. The product's increasing popularity drove the growth of the company throughout the 1970s.The Observer commented in 1974 that the product's low price and distinctive flavour afforded it an unusually loyal following. In 1981 the same newspaper commented,

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Answer 7

By The Horns Brewing Co.

By The Horns Brewing Co

By The Horns Brewing Co at 25 Summerstown, Summerstown, London SW17 0BQ, is a British microbrewery, founded by Alex Bull and Chris Mills. There is a brewery tap bar (open Thursday-Saturday) and bottle shop (open Monday-Saturday) at the same address.

In 2014, it was reported that the eponymous star of the 1977-80 TV sitcom Citizen Smith, actor Robert Lindsay, was requesting that the brewery cease to use an image of him on their Wolfie Smith beer, as he did not wish to be associated with an alcoholic beverage. By the Horns have agreed to redesign the label to remove or obscure his image.

Seasonal beers include:

Coordinates: 51°25′58″N 0°11′06″W / 51.432716°N 0.184900°W / 51.432716; -0.184900

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Answer 8

Camerons Brewery

Camerons Brewery

Camerons Brewery Ltd is an English brewing company founded in 1865 by John William Cameron in Hartlepool, County Durham. It is the largest independent brewer in the North East, with a brewery capacity of 1.5 million hectolitres (900,000 hl production in 2012) and a tied estate of 75 houses. It is one of the town's oldest industrial concerns, and has historically been one of the largest employers.

After one hundred years of growth through brewery acquisitions, the company had an estate of 750 licensed premises throughout the North East and North Yorkshire by the 1960s. The company subsequently struggled as the economy of its trading heartland suffered, and as it underwent a succession of owners with little experience of running pubs and breweries. Camerons lost its independence to Ellerman Lines in 1974, followed by the Barclay Brothers in 1983 and Brent Walker in 1989. Brent Walker spun off the majority of the tied estate as a separate company called Pubmaster, which was acquired by Punch Taverns in 2003.

Camerons was purchased in 1992 by Wolverhampton & Dudley, which invested heavily in the brewery before selling the company to Castle Eden in 2002, who closed their own site and moved all production to Camerons. The company now has a relatively small tied estate but the ninth largest brewery in the country. As a result, around 80 per cent of its business involves contract brewing for other companies, such as Heineken, who own 24 per cent of the company, and Carlsberg.

Camerons is known across the United Kingdom for Strongarm, a distinctive ruby red bitter launched in 1955. Total production of Strongarm surpassed one billion pints in 2000. Across the North East it is also known for Castle Eden Ale and Trophy Special, both originally brewed at Castle Eden.

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Answer 9

Castle Eden Brewery

Castle Eden Brewery (J Nimmo & Son Ltd) was a brewery that operated in the village of Castle Eden in County Durham. It was best known for Castle Eden Ale, which continues to be produced at Camerons Brewery in nearby Hartlepool.

The business dates back to 1826, when John Nimmo (c.1801 - 1867) began to brew at the Castle Eden Inn in Castle Eden, which had its own brewhouse. After the death of John Nimmo, the brewery was managed by his son, William John Nimmo (1828 - 1901).

Between 1871 and 1888, the value of the fixtures at the brewery rose from £138 to £1765. Nimmo was innovative, building the second pneumatic maltings in England in 1878-9, and his was among the first breweries to adopt powered drays in 1892. In 1892, J. Nimmo & Son Ltd was registered as a limited liability company with 41 public houses.

Alterations completed in 1910 made Castle Eden one of the most up-to-date breweries in the country and output doubled between 1906 and 1914. In 1912 the company acquired the brewing business of Thomas Chilton in Seaham, including 12 public houses. Between 1912 and 1920, production reached a record output of more than 42,000 barrels.

By 1942, nearly a third of the output was in bottles and an automatic bottling plant came into operation in 1950. In 1951, Nimmo's red star logo was first installed as a neon sign at one of their houses. The company went public in 1952. In 1957 the company claimed to have opened the most modern malting plant in the North of England. In 1958, the company expanded into Tyneside with the acquisition of Davison & Wood, including 20 public houses.

In September 1963, the national brewer Whitbread acquired the company for £2.1 million, along with 125 public houses. Nimmo had not had sufficient capitalisation to expand and modernise its tied estate as an independent concern. At the time, Nimmo had been chaired by E. D. Trechman, the only female brewery chief in Britain. In 1966, Whitbread rationalised the product portfolio, discontinuing all cask production in order to concentrate on keg beers such as Trophy Special. The company was renamed as Whitbread East Pennines. In 1977 a £650,000 investment was announced, to enable all of the Whitbread group's beers to be racked and processed at the brewery.

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Answer 10

Copper Dragon Brewery

Copper Dragon Brewery

Copper Dragon Brewery is a brewery in Skipton, North Yorkshire established in 2002. The brewery is currently owned by GreyHawk Brewery Ltd, also based in Skipton, and currently produce two cask ales, "Golden Pippin" and "Best Bitter", available on draught and in bottle, as well as a bottled-only beer, "Scott's 1816".

GreyHawk brew their own ales: "Blonde Obsession" (4.0% abv) described as "acomplex full beer with satisfying malt flavours balanced by a considerable bitterness and an intense aroma from the Bravo hops" and "Honey Comber" ((4.5% abv) which is "brewed with Denholme Gate Yorkshire honey, English Pilgrim hops and amongst others Vienna malt".

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