Asahi announce the closure of Meantime site
At the time that they acquired Fuller’s brewing operations, Asahi, the Japanese multi-national brewers, already owned the Greenwich based Meantime Brewing Company. Meantime had been founded in 1999 and moved to their current site in 2010. Asahi acquired the Dark Star brewery as part of the Fuller’s package and they quickly closed Dark Star’s site at Partridge Green in West Sussex. The Meantime site was then reconfigured to brew cask beer and the brewing of the Dark Star brands was transferred to Greenwich, alongside the retained Meantime brands.
Now, Asahi have announced that the Meantime site is to close. On 6 March, a spokesperson for Asahi told the trade press, “Asahi UK today proposes to bring production of all its local beer brands together under one brewing operation at the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick. Under the proposal, all Meantime and Dark Star products will be brewed, packaged, and distributed from the historic site in West London, alongside the existing production of the complete Fuller’s beer portfolio.” Asahi, it is reported, see benefits in having all of their ‘local beer brands’ brewed on one site and the Chiswick site is operating below capacity. That seems odd, given the amount of London Pride there is about. Some staff will be redeployed to Chiswick but redundancies were not ruled out.
Meantime will however retain a presence in Greenwich. Asahi say that in order to ‘retain a footprint in its original home of Greenwich’, they are planning a new stand-alone ‘consumer retail experience’ which involves ‘a continuation of brewing’. I assume that they mean a brew pub of sorts. They might care to take a look at the former Brew By Numbers site in nearby Morden Wharf Road (see below).
More bad news
Out of London, several well known independents have called it a day. These include Tatton Brewery in Knutsford, Cheshire (opened 2010) Butts Brewery in Great Shefford, Berkshire (opened 1994 and organic since 2002) and Elland Brewery in Yorkshire (founded 2002). You will notice that, significantly, none of these were recent start-ups. At least Elland went out on a high, with their 1872 Porter winning a joint silver in CAMRA’s Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition. Hopefully, the administrators will be able to sell the brand and recipe of this special beer to someone decent. In Harrogate, Yorkshire, Roosters have acquired neighbours Daleside in order to secure the future for both of them.
Even Adnams, founded in 1890, feel the need to take advice on their financial position. They have engaged consultants Alvarez & Marsal to propose a range of options which could include an injection of private capital or the sale of assets, which could include pubs. That said, trading over Christmas and the New Year was reported to have been ‘very positive’.
The overall situation led CAMRA’s national chairman, Nik Antona, to comment, “To hear that Elland Brewery is facing liquidation just six months after their 1872 Porter was crowned CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain 2023 is a major cause for concern. This, coupled with the reports that Adnams has been working with a management consultancy to explore options to shore up its finances, is a one-two punch at the heart of the UK brewing industry. The news raises the issue of fair competition, access to market and consumer choice. CAMRA does not want any brewery or cider producer to close their doors for good, be it a contemporary small independent brewer or larger family-owned establishments with decades of history. The worrying news that two prestigious, award-winning breweries are both facing pressure to remain trading and survive is indicative of the wider problems the brewing and pub trade are experiencing.”
All this said, other breweries are announcing good results. For example, Wells & Co, now working out of their new Brewpoint development, saw sales for the year ended 1 October increase by £7 million to £62.3 million. They have also opened a new pub in Bordeaux which they have named the HMS Victory. That’s confidence for you!
Brockley Brewery
Happily, the possible closure of Brockley Brewery, founded in 2013, has been averted. The founders were contemplating retirement and the future looked uncertain until four of the existing managers decided to band together to take over. These are Maricy, the brewery operations manager, Gianluca, the head brewer, Carl, the taproom and events lead and Nathan, the logistics manager. They plan to revitalise this essentially local institution and hope that they will have the community’s support in doing so. To this end they have launched a ‘Support Your Local Brewery’ campaign. The Brockley district has a vibrant culture and the brewery contributes to this by engaging with local artists and businesses and hosting an array of events from maker and craft markets to music nights and culinary delights.
Carl explained, “There’s no doubt that these are tough times, with record numbers of independent pubs and breweries crumbling under joint pressures. The ‘Support Your Local Brewery’ campaign will be an opportunity for our valued community to invest now in securing the future of Brockley Brewery, providing a much-needed cash injection at this critical time. If just 20% of the Brockley population bought one pint per week, we’ll be here next year and beyond doing what we do best: making sure our punters are having a great time and providing a local, community focussed, hub for independent enterprises.” To find out more about the campaign and the offers and incentives on offer, go to Brockley’s website or follow them on Instagram.
Exale Brewing
Further to Christine Cryne’s article in the previous edition, there have since been some changes at Exale. Mark Hislop has stood down as managing director but remains a shareholder in the business. Partner Andy Solley has succeeded him as managing director. In future they will brew just for their taproom and pub, plus a new site which they hope to open before the end of the year. The taproom will also be refurbished during the summer. It is hoped that these changes will ensure the long-term sustainability of the business and guarantee the employment of the staff in both the brewery and bars. The brewing of experimental, small-batch beers will continue. They promise their customers that ‘the vibes you know and love will remain’.
Breal Group rebranding
The Breal Group, owners of Black Sheep, Purity, Brick and Brew By Numbers, have rebranded their brewing operation as the Keystone Brewing Group. The production of Brick and Brew By Numbers beers has been moved to Black Sheep’s site at Masham and the company are investing £1 million in new brewing equipment and new cask racking and canning lines. The new equipment is required for the former London beers, especially for specialities like sours, while Black Sheep beers will continue to be brewed using the traditional Yorkshire square fermenters. It is understood that Purity will continue at their current site. Black Sheep’s chief executive, Charlene Lyons, has departed on an amicable basis.
Authentically Brewed
Harvey’s of Lewes have introduced a seal that will appear on all of their packaged and draught beers declaring that their products are ‘Authentically Brewed’. The company prides itself on an unwavering commitment to authenticity and quality. Customers can be assured that any beer bearing the seal will have been brewed using the following: a heritage, gravity-fed, ‘tower’ brewery, fresh spring water from their artesian well, copper fabricated brewing kettles, local, whole leaf hops, a traditional hop back, open fermenting vessels with gravity skimming and a unique yeast, re-pitched for over sixty years.
Harvey’s head brewer and joint managing director, Miles Jenner, commented, “At Harvey’s, fresh spring water, whole leaf hops and a unique yeast strain are pre-requisites. Time-honoured methods of production are also important. The tower brewery, copper brewing kettles, open fermenting tuns and yeast cropping techniques create beers that are true to their origins. It’s all about preserving best brewing practice. Our ‘Authentically Brewed’ seal celebrates both continuity and the resultant beer.”
Wimbledon’s prodigal cask
The loss of casks, especially stainless steel ones, is a recurring problem for breweries because of their cost. Consequently brewers are always happy to see them come back to the brewery but after nine years? A cask with a gyle label dated 27 October 2015 recently arrived at Wimbledon Brewery. The brewer who filled it, Derek Prentice, was delighted to see it, although it will need a deep clean before it sets off on its travels again.
