It's a bit sad, when I'm assembling this list, seeing how many breweries have disappeared. Many of which brewed either decent or good beer. And it's not as if they were all poorly run companies. In most cases, bad management wasn't the reason for closure. Neither was poor-quality beer. For the most part, it was external factors - principally a takeover - which did brewers in.
Everard
Leicester,
Leicestershire.
Founded: 1849
Closed: still open
Tied houses: 134
Originally from Leicester, where the brewery had its headquarters, the beer was all brewed in Burton-on-Trent. Though the tied pubs were all within 30 miles of Leicester. Brewing in Burton ended in 1983 and production was moved to a new brewery in Enderby. Tiger was a pretty decent Best Bitter that cropped up reasonably often in the free trade.
beer | style | format | OG | description |
Beacon Bitter | Pale Ale | draught | 1037 | well-balanced |
Tiger Draught | Pale Ale | draught | 1041 | stronger |
Old Original | Pale Ale | draught | 1050 | malty and finely hopped |
Burton Mild | Mild | draught | 1033 | Dark Mild |
Tiger Special Keg | Pale Ale | keg | ||
Amber Lite | Pale Ale | bottled | Light Ale | |
Red Crown Bitter | Pale Ale | bottled | Burton Bitter | |
Tiger Special Ale | Pale Ale | bottled | stronger | |
Gold Medal Barley Wine | Barley Wine | bottled | ||
Nut Brown Ale | Brown Ale | bottled | Brown Ale in large bottle | |
Bradgate Brown | Brown Ale | bottled | Brown Ale in small bottle | |
Meadowsweet Stout | Stout | bottled | sweet |
Felinfoel
Llanelli,
South Wales.
Founded: 1840
Closed: still open
Tied houses: 75
A local brewery whose tied estate was mostly around Llanelli and the Welsh coast. They were notable for being one of the first breweries to can beer in the 1930s. I served their beer at one of the early Great British Beer Festivals in Alexandra Palace. And very good stuff it was, too. I particularly liked their Mild.
beer | style | format | OG | description |
Bitter | Pale Ale | draught | 1035 | light and hoppy |
Double Dragon | Pale Ale | draught | 1040 | distinctive light Bitter |
Mild | Mild | draught | 1032 | darkish Mild |
Bitter Ale | Pale Ale | bottled | ||
Pale Ale | Pale Ale | bottled | stronger | |
Nut Brown Ale | Brown Ale | bottled | not too sweet | |
John Brown | Brown Ale | bottled | stronger and sweeter |
Fuller
Chiswick,
London.
Founded: 1845
Closed: still open
Tied houses: 110
One of the two London independent brewers who had survived into the 1970s. At the time, Fullers pubs were mostly concentrated in West London, north of the river. Though they did have a few pubs in central London. For example, The George & Vulture, a pub I frequented quite a bit in 1979, when I worked nearby. Hock was a cracking Dark Mild, but was difficult to find. And, when you could, was often in poor condition due to slow sales.
beer | style | format | OG | description |
Bitter | Pale Ale | draught | 1035.5 | |
London Pride | Pale Ale | draught | 1041.8 | pleasant and fruity |
Extra Special Bitter | Pale Ale | draught | 1055.8 | well hopped and distinctive |
Hock Mild | Mild | draught | 1031.5 | splendid and malty |
Light Ale | Pale Ale | bottled | 1032.2 | parti-gyled with the Bitters |
London Pride | Pale Ale | bottled | 1045.6 | |
Strong Ale | Strong Ale | bottled | 1072 | parti-gyled with Hock |
Golden Pride | Barley Wine | bottled | 1090 | parti-gyled with the Bitters |
Brown Ale | Brown Ale | bottled | bottled Hock |
By the 2000s in the US, Fullers was seen as an absolute top quality British pale ale, and I know they were well respected in the UK. But as an American I don't have a good sense of how well they were ranked over there among all of the options.
ReplyDeleteWere they a particularly loved one, or was it more of a case of one of a number of respectable options?
Feel free to disagree but Fullers is a south east beer and not a national brand. I've only ever drunk Pride in London and surroundings
ReplyDeleteSince Fullers sold out to the Ashati Japanese brewery in 2019 their ale, Pride in particular, has become more widely available in the midlands and, of course, nationwide in supermarkets.
DeleteFair point - I haven't lived in the UK since 2011
DeleteThere's really only a handful of cask ale brands that could be argued for as national brands. Sharp's Doom Bar and Timothy Taylor Landlord are the truly national brands, but you could maybe make the argument for Draught Bass, and perhaps Greene King IPA (purely as they have a large number of tied houses across the UK) and Abbot Ale (largely due to its strong presence in the nationwide Wetherspoon's pub chain).
ReplyDeleteTimothy Taylors a national brand... I can remember (I lived in Bradford) when you had to go to Keighley for it. Not quite true - you could get it in Bingley. Even most Taylors pubs (they had 28) didn't sell Landlord. Some only sold Golden Mild.
ReplyDelete