There's still quite a way to go with this series, as we're still only on
the second Big Six brewer. Not done Whitbread yet, either. And they
owned more breweries than anyone.
Today we've the two smaller M
& B breweries. The good ones. Both in the Black Country. One
producing just Mild, the other just Bitter. Highgate was a real
survivor, clinging on for almost 75 years after being bought by M & B
just before WW II.
Then there's Stones. Who really only made the
one beer, Stones Bitter. A very pale beer, which was pretty decent. At
least in the early days.
M & B (Highgate)
Walsall,
West Midlands.
Founded: 1898
Closed: 2010
Tied houses: 30
A
real oddity: a Mild-only brewery. Whose beer was only available in the
Walsall area. It was remarkably long-lived, given its small size and
early acquisition date, having been bought by M & B in 1939.
| beer | style | format | OG | description |
| Highgate Mild | Mild | draught | 1034 | dark and malty |
M & B (Springfield)
Wolverhampton,
West Midlands.
Founded: 1839
Closed: 1991
Tied houses: 830
Bought by M & B in 1960. I quite liked Springfield Bitter, which was way better than Brew X.
| beer | style | format | OG | description |
| Springfield Bitter | Pale Ale | draught | 1035.9 | sweetish |
Stone
Sheffield,
South Yorkshire.
Founded: 1895
Closed: 1998
Tied houses: 257
Bought by Bass Charrington in 1968.
| beer | style | format | OG | description |
| Best Bitter | Pale Ale | draught | 1038.2 | well hopped and very pale |
Time for another plug of my latest book, "Keg!". From which the above was taken.
Posts
8 comments:
'Pint of bitter, please!'...'Whitbread?'...'No, just the pint, thanks'. Might be a northern thing...
Stones, being very pale and "lager" coloured was promoted quite heavily during the uptake of lager drinking in the 1970s and I guess pitched as a more manly alternative to Carling etc. Drank a fair amount when visiting rellies in Barnsley and Doncaster with frequent trips down to Sheffield. I think by that time it was all keg?? Quite pleasant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha9KP0YG4cY
Stones Bitter in cans once had a snooker-themed promo in the late 80's. You opened a can, and there was the possibility of a coloured spot corresponding to a ball colour and a prize under the ring pull. A friend of mine got the blue or something, may have been £100, and sent it off to Stones. A congratulations letter arrived with a cheque enclosed. The next week he got another congratulations letter and another cheque. He cashed both and never heard anything more. Agree that Stones branding put it in a good place to compete with the rise of lager - you'd ask for a pint of Stones on a night out and the lager boys wouldn't pick up on it, as they would if you ordered a pint of hand-pulled Old Codger.
Was Highgate mild any good?
Oscar
Yes.
> Whose beer was only available in the Walsall area
Highgate Mild was available in M&B pubs in Wombourne (a village 4 miles the other side of Wolverhampton) when I lived there in the late 70's and early 80's.
Probably the best Bass Charrington mild by the sounds of it.
Oscar
Here's a great link to the Sheffield History discussion forum, with a pic of Stones and Carling Black Label side by side.
https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/topic/159-stones-bitter/
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