Admirals Ale, the Worlds Best Bottled Beer!

Launch of Admirals Ale

Crowned the Worlds Best Bottled Beer in 2008, St Austell Brewery's Admirals Ale was voted Supreme Champion at the prestigious International Beer Challenge. However today its no longer brewed so what is the story behind this amazing champion beer?

This story begins in 2005 when St Austell Brewery were encouraged to take part in the celebrations for the Bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, not least because one of their pubs, the Blue Anchor was the second staging post for the famed Trafalgar Way. This was the route route taken by Lt John Lapenotiere who was the messenger for Vice Admiral Collingwood in 1805, carrying news of the famous victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and Admiral Nelsons sad death, 

Sailing in his tiny, fast schooner, HMS Pickle, Lapenotiere returned to British shores across often treacherous, stormy waters. He docked at Falmouth and embarked on a virtually non-stop 271 mile, 37 to 38 hour journey by carriage and horses to the Admiralty in London - the route became known as the Trafalgar Way.

Fast forward now to 2005 and St Austell Brewery decided to not only celebrate the anniversary at the Blue Anchor, but also to brew a special commemorative beer to support the occasion. I recall attending a meeting at Cornwall County Hall in Truro with all interested parties for the celebrations and informing everyone that we would be brewing a new beer and it was to be called Admirals Ale - a name I came up with but that was where my creativeness came to an end and its here where St Austell's then Head Brewer, the late Roger Ryman swung into action.

Roger Ryman

Roger created a fantastic 5% abv dark bronze bottled beer, using Cornish Gold Malt, Styrian Golding and Cascade hops. The beer had a spicy aroma which combined with sweet raisin/dark fruits and toasted biscuit flavours - I came to describe it as the Christmas Pudding of beers and it was certainly a very complex. A similar beer today would be something like Adnams Broadside.

Next came the branding, St Austell employed the services of Drinks Specialist Design Agency W.A Pinfold to undertake the initial work. They proposed a cartoon like illustration in the style of famed artist Gerald Scarfe and the unique Admiral Ale brand was born. It was very different for its time in 2005 and the beer was also very special. Add to this that the public showed great interest in the bicentenary and Admirals Ale became an instant hit!

Admirals Ale was so popular that St Austell Brewery decided to retain the beer as part of its permanent portfolio. It was then that the awards began to flow and in 2008 we were invited to attend the Presentation lunch for the finals of the International Beer Challenge. I attended this along with a colleague representing St Austell. We knew something was up when we were seated opposite the judges on the main table and were thrilled to receive the award for the overall champion and the accolade of the Worlds Best Bottled Beer.

Rogers fame as a brewer was already on the up but this award really put him in the limelight as the local press in the South West and Brewing fraternity began to take notice. Many more awards followed for Admirals Ale including CAMRA's prestigious Champion Bottled Beer of Britain in 2010 and to this day it may still be St Austell Brewery's most decorated beer. However, it is no longer brewed so what happened?

Admirals Ale pump clip

Whilst undertaking a brand review the marketeers at St Austell including myself wanted to make Admirals Ale available on draught as a permanent part the portfolio. It had been tried as a seasonal cask beer which was well received by publicans - I remember taking a stand at Plymouth Beer Festival with St Austell beers and Admirals Ale on draught was the first beer to sell out. So, the signs were good but..... we already had HSD (Hicks) as our 5% strong ale on draught and commercially there was not room for both. We proposed delisting HSD and replacing it with Admirals Ale, the rationale being the latter was a more modern beer, unique design and was an award winner. However, we underestimated the love and loyalty to HSD and there was uproar amongst drinkers when our proposal became public. Wisely we decided to retain HSD but it meant the future for Admirals Ale was limited to bottles or perhaps keg.

Admirals Ale continued in bottled format to circa 2017, by which time both interest and sales had begun to wane. Hops and pale beers were very much in fashion driven by craft beers to which Admirals Ale style did not fit. Roger recognised this and proposed Admirals Ale was replaced with a slightly weaker beer of the same style on keg called Ruby Jack - named after Cornish World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Bob Fitzsimmons. Sadly this was not a success and Ruby Jack suffered the equivalent of a first round knockout as it bombed with both licensees and drinkers alike. I was personally never in favour of delisting Admirals Ale but Roger was correct in that something had to be done to ether rebrand, relaunch etc.

Ruby Jack

So that is how one of St Austell Brewery's most award winning beer came to exist and sadly die in the space of little over a 12 years. Looking now at the branding and the comparing this to the current craft beer designs I think it might actually do quite well as it was certainly quirky. The beer style too might be more appealing to drinkers as craft beers are moving on from just pale and hops and venturing into more elaborate and challenging areas. Personally I would love to see a return for Admirals Ale but I think most unlikely apart from perhaps a special for beer festivals.

So to conclude, I am very proud to be associated with Admirals Ale and to have originated the name. A wonderful beer with a strong brand story, I think its memory is best left as an accolade to Rogers wonderful brewing skills.

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Tamar Creek, the story of a Cornish Belgian!

Pair a Head Brewer with a passion for Belgian beers with tasty Cornish cherries, add a pinch of marketing and what do you get -  Tamar Creek, a wonderful Belgian style Kriek brewed in Cornwall in a traditional method using Cornish ingredients, sourced from the Tamar Valley.

When St Austell Brewery Head Brewer Roger first began to experiment with Belgian style beers he brewed some amazing beers, these included Cardinal Syn, a Dubbel and Bad Habit, a Tripel but none was quite so unique as Tamar Creek, a sour beer flavoured with cherries. Sadly, Roger passed away early in 2020 and is much missed, however with the launch of the latest batch of Tamar Creek it seems appropriate to remember one of his more eclectic brewing creations.

I worked in marketing at St Austell Brewery for many years and was amazed by Rogers brewing skills and his prowess to brew great Belgian beers. In 2013 I had just passed my Beer Sommelier qualifications so was very interested in the different beer styles. I can't recall who first prompted the idea, I suspect Roger, but he and I hatched a plan to brew a Belgian Kriek. I then began doing some research.....

St Austell Brewery Head Brewer, Roger Ryman

Kriek, is a traditional Belgian beer style, sour to taste but flavoured with cherries, the effect is a tart ruby red beer offset with a subtle sweetness from the cherries. However, we wanted to make a very Cornish version of this beer. My research quickly pin pointed that the Tamar Valley area in South East Cornwall had been famous for its market gardens, specialising in daffodils and strawberries, with plentiful apple and cherry orchards. This reached its height in the 1950s' but decline set in with the 1960's railway Beaching cuts and sadly by the mid 1970's the industry was in deep decline. 

I set abut trying to locate some of the old cherry orchards which proved a lot harder than I imagined. Approaching some of the local fruit suppliers it seems the traditional cherry orchards had all but disappeared. However I got lucky and was told to contact Jessica and Will from Bohetherick Farm, St Dominick, near Saltash. As luck would have it, I asked in the early summer, the traditional time for harvesting cherries is in July so the timing was right. Furthermore, 2013 was a good year for cherries, I was to find out in later years that often harvests were poor.

Jessica and Will had a cherry orchard with over 50 Burcombe Cherry Trees, some of which were over 125 years old. Come July, I recall on a rather dubious rainy day being despatched to the Bohetherick for a photo shoot and to pick some cherries. Luckily Jessica and Will had already harvested the required amount we needed so my photo shoot was just for show!

With Jessica of Bohetherick Farm picking cherries in July 2013

I returned to St Austell Brewery with the cherries and these were put aside in the cool room ready for use. Roger brewed the beer on St Austell's micro brewery, a small 2 barrel plant where he developed new beers - well known favourites such as Tribute and Proper Job initially began their life in this small brewing plant.

Roger and colleagues mashed the cherries by foot, crushing them to create a red morass of delicious cherry coloured juices and fruit fibre. The beer, based on St Austell's famous Smugglers Ale had already begun its brewing cycle in large oak wooden barrels and the cherries and a wild yeast were added. These were hidden away at the rear of the Brewery warehouse to slumber on through the autumn period, slowly conditioning allowing the wild yeasts to do their worst.

A wild yeast strain can be a dangerous thing to have in a brewery. The risk is contamination with the brewers existing yeast strain which could cause huge quality issues with core brands. Roger was very aware of this and likened it to planting a hay meadow in your pristine bowling green! Therefore the wooden barrels were kept as far away from normal production as possible.

Shortly before Christmas 2013 the beer was first tried at the St Austell Celtic Beer Festival. Proving to be a hit, 1000 bottles were produced in the spring of 2014. Roger was not only a great brewer, but also a gifted marketing man and he was keen for the beer to be called Tamar Creek, linking it to the area of origin and packaged in 750ml bottles, wrapped in wax paper as the bottle label, much like its Belgium contemporaries.

The original 750ml bottles

The original Tamar Creek was a very traditional Kriek, at 7.3% abv it was plenty funky enough, a vinous tartness with a faint background sweetness from the cherries, its was a beer for the aficionados. For me as a Beer Sommelier it quickly became one of my favourite beers to use at beer tastings and I'd often match it with a creamy Cornish Brie.

As I alluded to earlier, successful cherry harvests are few and far between. There was to be no  repeat brew of Tamar Creek until 2019. Unfortunately no Cornish cherries could be sourced for the new brew and slightly weaker at 5.1% abv, but none-the-less the resulting beer is still a fine drop and great example of a Kriek. You can buy this from the St Austell Brewery shop, either in person or online. Its a lovely beer to enjoy with food or as an aperitif. Roger sadly passed away in March 2020, but he would I'm sure be very pleased with the latest batch of Tamar Creek and thrilled his passion for Belgian style beers lives on. Cheers Roger or as they say in Belgium, Sante!

Brewers & Brands from yesteryear - Kaltenberg Braumeister Lager

Kaltenberg Braumeister was a lager from the late 1980's that Regional Brewers hoped would help them compete on the top table with the big lager players of the time, namely the likes of Heineken, Carling, Skol etc. However for Braumeister, although a quality lager and launched with all the precision and detail you would expect from a German brand, it was to prove a short lived disappointment and end in failure.

Competing with the big national brands in the standard lager category has always been tough for regional businesses, they simply don't have the marketing muscle, but that's where the idea behind Kaltenberg Braumeister was a little different. The thought was that a number of Regional Brewers would brew Braumeister under license and pay into a national marketing pot, thus getting more bang for their marketing buck enabling them to challenge some of their much larger peer group brands. Amazingly this did start to work for a while and there was even a TV advert featuring Freddie Star dressed as a German U Boat Commander.

Other Regional Brewers who joined the Kaltenberg train included Higsons of Liverpool, who soon became part of Boddingtons with a combined estate of over some 800 pubs.

My connection with Kaltenberg Braumeister was as a young man who had just joined Thames Valley Regional Brewer, Morland Brewery. In 1988 Morland had a solid pub estate of over 200 pubs but their main beer was the cask ale Morland Bitter, it had a strong heartland following but that's where it ended. Old Speckled Hen was merely a commemorative beer served in nips and the brewers foray into keg beers had been a disaster - their beer was called Artist Keg and all the name associations that it conjured up! 

So, looking back the decision to invest in a new lager brewing facility and take on the brewing of an unknown German lager was a huge step for a hardly cutting edge Regional brewer. At the time I did not appreciate what a commercial risk this must have been, for a brewer to make that same decision now would be ambitious to say the least.

In June 1988 Morlands lager brewery was officially opened and Kaltenberg Braumeister was welcomed aboard. It came with an illustrious pedigree, Kaltenbergs beers being Royal Bavarian which has a special meaning in the history of lager. Prince Luitpold, Kaltenberg's Managing Director is a member of the Royal Family, which apart from ruling Bavaria for over eight centuries was responsible for one of the most important beer regulations - the Rheinheitsgebot - the 1516 purity law which stated only the purest natural ingredients of barley, malt, hops and water where permitted in the brewing of all Bavarian beers. Kaltenberg Braumeister was brewed to the Rheinheitsgebot and much of its marketing focused on this.

Prince Luitpold of Kaltenberg at the time of the launch

I recall Morland launching Kaltenberg with a couple of large outdoor garden parties with Prince Luitpold in attendance, complete with traditional Bavarian fayre of drink, food and the musical kind. Sales of Kaltenberg initially boomed, the launch had gone well and many pubs were keen to take the new brand. With its iconic stein style bar font and good marketing to back it up what could possibly go wrong, but wrong it certainly went! The lager itself was distinctive with plenty of flavour and at 3.8% abv it compared well with some of its weaker abv competitors. However, the flavour was to the be the first of Kaltenbergs undoings......

A photo taken from the launch

At a time when most standard lagers were easy to drink tasteless affairs, the more authentic tasting Kaltenberg was something very different and some of the key target market found this too challenging. It was also said that Kaltenberg would give you a headache. Remember at the time people were used to drinking in quantity and not quality so this was unwelcome side affect. The Rheinheitsgebot was a mark of quality and should have been a positive but to the UK market at the time it meant very little. However Morland saved up the the biggest torpedo that sank the good ship Kaltenberg Braumeister for a couple of years later.

Kaltenberg used a traditional Bavarian lager yeast and this was shipped every eight weeks from Munich. However, sadly after 18 months Kaltenberg suffered serious quality issues to the point where pubs took the lager off the bar - it was cloudy and tasted bad. The culprit turned out to be a cross yeast contamination caused by Morlands own ale yeast. Kaltenberg sales never recovered with Morland customers as licensees were reluctant to try it again and with its reputation sunk, by the mid 1990's it was gone. A disaster you might say, BUT NO, on the horizon was a knight in shining armour, or in Morlands case, speckled armour! 

1990 saw the new Beer Orders come into force and Morland were lucky enough to have a very creative Marketing Manager at the helm (not me, I hasten to add, I was his number two). I recall he took the allocated marketing money for Kaltenberg and realising that it would be money wasted, he spent it all on the launch of Old Speckled Hen without telling the Chief Executive!  However his gamble worked and very soon Morland had one of the biggest ale brands of the 1990's on their hands.

So back to Kaltenberg Braumeister. In my view, it was a lager aimed at the wrong market for its time. It also met with some bad luck that would ultimately be its undoing. It had a lot going for it in terms of provenance and quality and were it to be launched today, it might be a different story. The Kaltenberg beers would resurface again, the Diat Pils version is well known and the brewery continues to thrive in its Bavarian homeland.

 

   

Brewers and Brands from yesteryear - Mackeson Milk Stout

Actor Bernard Miles in his Mackeson advert

Looks good, tastes good and by golly it does you good! Originally spoken by actor Bernard Miles, this was the ambitious but memorable advertising slogan associated with Mackeson Milk Stout. Miles himself was a well known fine character actor, appearing in such classic wartime films as In Which We Serve and One of Our Aircraft is Missing. However, with his distinctive rural drawl, it is the Mackeson association that some best remember him for and indeed, the adverts he appeared in helped to make the beer one of the strongest beer brands of the 1950's/60's. 

So what is the story of Mackeson Milk Stout and is the advertising slogan just made up marketing guff, or is there any substance to the claims?

Mackeson was originally brewed by the Hythe Brewery in Kent which was established in 1669. The Mackeson family invested in a partnership of the brewery and their involvement increased over the years until in 1894 Henry Mackeson, who originally trained as a chemist became head of the business. His brother George joined the partnership and together they were responsible for introducing new equipment and an updated range of beers to meet a changing market place.

In 1900 Mackeson and Co were incorporated changing the name of the business and they acquired various patents for use of sugars or lactose in the production of beer. In 1909 Mackeson Milk Stout, a bottled beer was introduced to commemorate the 240th anniversary of the brewery in Hythe, it was the very first Milk Stout in the world to be brewed.

The beer became very popular and the ever resourceful brothers Henry and George quickly capitalised on this, licensing production of the new beer to be brewed by other brewers across the country. In 1920 the Mackeson brand attracted the attention of a larger brewer in Simonds of Reading and the brothers took the opportunity to retire selling their shareholding in the business. Simonds would eventually sell out themsleves, with Mackeson and Co being acquired by Whitbread in 1929. 

In Whitbread Mackeson had a good custodian and the brand grew hugely under their control. During the late 1950's its is claimed that Mackeson accounted for half of Whitbreads beer production nationally and was brewed in four different breweries. In the early 1960's Whitbread were brewing 425,000 brewers barrels per anum and it held a 25% share of the stout market. A draught version was also experimented with at this time but Mackeson would remain solely a bottled beer until cans were also introduced in 1971.

Sadly, in 1968 brewing at Hythe ended and through the late 1970's the brand began to decline as dark beers fell out of fashion with the introduction of the more popular lighter easier drinking lagers. Mackeson and Milk Stout in general was perceived as being an older persons drink and they were depicted as such in popular TV programmes of the late 1960's and early 1970s - those of a certain age will remember Coronation Streets Ena Sharples and Mini Caldwell were often shown enjoying a bottle or two of Milk Stout in the Snug Bar of the Rovers Return!

Mini Caldwell and Ena Sharples in Coronation Street

By 2012 Mackeson had fallen way down the list of important brands for Whitbread (now Inbev) and it was now being brewed at Hydes of Manchester. The abv of Mackeson was recorded as 4.3% in the late 1980's but reduced to 3% and then further reduced to 2.8% in 2012 to qualify for duty relief. The exact production site of Mackeson today is unclear since the Hydes Brewery closed. However, a version of Mackeson is still brewed by the Carib Brewery in Trinidad as a Triple stout at 4.9% abv. It is very popular with young men and Carib uses the advertising slogan King of the Night.

Carib Brewery Mackeson

So back to dear old Bernard Miles and the health claims of the original Mackeson advertising slogan. Certainly when Henry and George Mackeson first conceived the beer, stout was recommended as an energy source when convalescing and the brothers hoped that the adding a significant amount of lactose would enhance this (they added 9 lbs per 36 gallon barrel). Indeed, the bottle label at the time claimed that each pint of Mackeson had the energising effects of 10 ounces of pure dairy milk and the label also featured an illustration of a milk churn. Lactose is a component of milk and a sugar that cannot be turned into alcohol by the brewing process - this gives the beer a sweet creaminess in terms of flavour.  

It was claimed that Mackeson could help cure a number of ailments including indigestion and headaches and was recommended for nursing mothers and invalids. Of course in the early 20th century poor diets certainly contributed to various illnesses so a bottle of Mackeson would in some cases aid your health, assuming you were able to convert the lactose into energy (some people are lactose intolerant so unable to convert). However, the beer did not contain actual milk and the bottle label with its milk churn was at one time deemed misleading so this was removed (although it has since reappeared).

My view is that Bernard Miles and his advertising slogan certainly stretched the truth and there is no way the beer can aid specific ailments. However much like other beer, it can be good for you in limited amounts especially as it has been boiled so would be devoid of any impurities, unlike some of the water that was drunk in the early 20th century. Furthermore lactose can help give you energy so there is an element of truth in the health claims.

As for the beer itself and what it tastes like, I have been unable to get any to actually taste myself. However I will rely on esteemed beer writer Roger Protz for his thoughts published in one of his blogs. Roger comments, its certainly not sweet as has a good level of bitterness, but there is a creamy chocolate flavour with a hint of old fashion confectionery known as milk drops. Sounds like a nice well balanced beer and its easy to see why this became so popular.

Mackeson is a rare find these days although some supermarkets do continue to sell it, but milk stout as a beer style is becoming more popular and has found a niche in the craft beer sector and many such brewers have one in their range. Mackeson was the original milk stout and I'm sure at its low abv would not stand up that well against its craft beer peers, however I think you have to recognise that this was a beer of its time and applaud that it became a fantastic brand enjoyed by many people.  Who knows, we might see it as old fashioned now, lots of things come full circle.....!

Sources

Letslookagain.com

Protz on beer

Brewery History Society

 

 

 

Brewers and Brands from yesteryear - Morrells of Oxford

If you have ever seen the TV programme Inspector Morse then you'll be familiar with his enjoyment of real ale. At the time these were made from the late 1980's, many of the pubs chosen for filming locations would have been Morrells pubs serving their fabulous beers. Morrells were established in 1743 and by the time of their demise in the late 1990's were operating in excess of 130 pubs in and around Oxford, however visit the city today and there is little sign they existed. The story of what became of this established family brewer reveals a boardroom showdown and sackings at the highest level!

Morrells Brewery, also known as the Lion Brewery were founded by Richard Tawney in 1743. In 1797 a partnership was formed with local lawyers, Mark and James Morrell who soon became the outright owners. The brewery was developed over the years  although at one time it was powered by a traditional waterwheel supplemented by steam engines - one of the latter is still preserved at the Abbey Pumping Station in Leicester. In the late 20th century the brewery was more heavily invested with a duel purpose brewery installed with a capacity of 50,000 barrels of ale and 25,000 barrels of lager, the latter primarily to brew Harp lager. A separate warehouse facility was also purchased in 1990 to allow the brewery more space to prosper.

The Morrells became a well to do family in Oxford and lived in Headington Hill Hall, a prestigious property they had built on the edge of Oxford (later to be leased by Oxford City Council to Robert Maxwell who described it as the best council house in the country!). Successive generations of the Morrells family prospered around Oxford including George Herbert Morrell who became High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Lady Ottoline Morrell, a well known English aristocrat and society hostess and her husband Philip Morrell, a Liberal MP in the early 20th century.

Morrells Brewery entrance

Back to the family time line and original partner Mark Morrell died in 1843 and left his estate to his brother James. At the age of 78 James transferred the entire business to his son, also called James. Sadly James junior died at the age of 53 and as his only heir was daughter Emily, then aged 10, the running of the brewery was put into the hands of Trustees. Emily married a distant cousin, George Herbert Morrell of whom the Trustees did not approve, so as a result the brewery was run by the Trustees from 1864 until Emily's death in 1938.

In 1938, Emily's son, yet another James, supervised the winding up of the Trusts and reformation of the business as a limited company where he became MD and Chairman. Over the next 50 years Morrells changed hugely to survive the rapid changes going on the brewing industry. James eventually passed away in 1965 and by the time of its closure in 1998 the company was being run by 8th generation family member Charles Eld, grandson of James.

So this brings us to the brewery's demise. Certainly it was true of the late 1980's and 1990's that although the brewery had seen investment, their pubs were the opposite and considered under-invested. Many were small local pubs and whereas other brewers had tried to move with the market and invest in new pub retail sites offering family food etc, Morrells had not done likewise. As a result their pubs were seen as run down and not always in the best areas. From my personal opinion living in Oxfordshire at that time, I'd certainly say they where seen as the poor relation against the likes of Morland and Brakespear.

Another factor were the beer brands. They had some good beers in Oxford Bitter, Varsity and Graduate, but had failed to invest in the marketing of them. As a result they were not best placed for the opportunity created by the 1988 Beer Orders Monopolies and Mergers report which freed up the market place for guest beers. Other brewers were faster on their feet and Morrells missed their chance here. 

It can also be argued they backed the wrong horse with Harp Lager. Other standard lagers such as Heineken, Carling and ultimately Fosters became stronger brands and Morrells tied pubs were limited by having to offer Harp as their mainline standard lager. Harp was a brand that spearheaded the UK's lager drinking revolution of the 1960's along with Skol but by the 1990's it was in decline and even a relaunch with a stronger abv failed to ignite sales.

So onto the story of family dispute. Morrells found themselves in a situation where they had a relatively modern brewing facility, but not brewing near to capacity. They did not have strong ale brands, these selling mainly to their pubs with limited freetrade demand. Furthermore they had virtually no take home presence for the beers as they had closed their bottling line. Harp, the contracted lager was also in decline affecting both their freetrade and pub business. The pub estate was run down and although they had some potentially good sites, these had not seen any investment and there were missed opportunities to buy new ones.

So it should not really come as a surprise when in 1998 after a terse Boardroom battle MD Charles Eld was escorted from the building after being sacked from his job.  It followed what appears to have been a major disagreement with other family members about the future direction of the company. Eld had fought to keep the company independent and maintain brewing in Oxford, but the company was in urgent need of investment and that ultimately led to its sale and Eld's sacking.

Charles Eld seen behind the bar in Far from the Madding Crowd

There were 19 bidders for the Morrells business when it came up for sale. I recall Morland Brewery who I worked for at the time was one of them and they got down to a final shortlist of three. None of the bidders proposed maintaining the brewery in Oxford as this was a prime redevelopment opportunity. Morrells was eventually purchased by Michael Cannon for £48m, the brewery was officially closed in May 2000 and its beers were contracted out to Eldridge Pope. Cannon would eventually sell the majority of the Morrells pub estate onto Greene King in 2002.

A postscript for Charles Eld is that in 2002 he opened his own pub in Oxford called Far from the Madding Crowd. Elds passion for real ale shone through and the pub was awarded the Oxford CAMRA Real Ale Pub of year for three years.

So in the space of five years the Morrells brewery and pubs were gone, the end of a dynasty that began in 1743. How sad that it happened but the late 20th century saw huge changes in the beer and pub industry with a number of long standing family brewers being sold, taken-over and closed. I will always remember Morrells  fondly for although I did not much like their beers, many of my early drinking memories are in and around some of their pubs.

Morrells Brewery Ashtray

Brewers & Brands from yesteryear - Plymouth Breweries Ltd

Plymouth Breweries ashtray

As a collector of Breweriana I recently acquired an old ashtray with some strange branding in the shape of a barrel end. It was marked PB and after some research I realised this stood for Plymouth Breweries. This set me on the road to find out a little more about the brewery and what became of it.

Plymouth Breweries were originally established in 1889 and like some other breweries it was an amalgamation of many smaller breweries. In this case it was five breweries all Plymouth based except for the Saltash Brewery which lies across the Tamar. The Saltash Brewery closed, buts its buildings survived in one form or another until 1959 when they were demolished along with 50 houses and 10 shops to make way for the Tamar Road Bridge.

Brewing now centred around the Regent Brewery in Stonehouse, Plymouth - the other breweries were closed over the years. The company logo was either the entwined PB letters or an anchor. More breweries were acquired in later years including Torquay Brewing Co in 1897, plus the Ellacombe Brewery and St Mary Church Brewery again in Torquay in 1925. Plymouth Breweries would have operated hundreds pubs and 235 were listed when the brewery was finally closed. The fate of the brewery was sealed when it was taken over by Courage for the princely sum of £6.5 million in 1970. Courage continued to operate the brewery and valued its family ethos where it traded as Courage PB, but sadly this changed in the early 1980's and the last brew was in March 1984, the brewery then being closed.

Regent Brewery, Plymouth

Plymouth Breweries were known for their IPA No 1 and Devon Pale Ale, although in the later years they also brewed Plymouth Heavy, a rich dark mild that transferred in with the Courage takeover as it had previously been brewed by the Tamar Brewery, which Simonds (Courage) had taken over and ultimately closed in the preceding years. Heavy was a famous beer in the area and performed well in CAMRA beer festivals.

Other beers included the a Light Ale, Strong English Ale, a sweet Imperial Stout and there was even a Devonshire Cider. There was also a special commemorative ale called Mayflower Ale which was brewed in 1970 to mark the take over by Courage and to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the sailing of the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620

The brewery operated to very traditional methods up to the time of its closure. It used open fermenting squares, dry hopped some of its beers and used wooden barrels long after its competitors had switched to metal. Its Shire horse drawn drays were also common place in the city as these were used to deliver to local pubs. An advertising slogan of the time stated, matured and mellowed in the wood - no artificial gas added. They would have used POS to support this claim and this is where the ashtray connection comes in as its clearly in the design of a barrel end using the slogan, matured in wood with the PB logo.

Today, there is little sign that Plymouth Breweries existed on the original site in Stonehouse. The Regent Brewery is long gone although the original frontage buildings are still present in Durnford St, but have been completely refurbished and there is no reference to their past life as part of the brewery.

One thing that does remain is a war memorial plaque to commemorate the fourteen men who worked for the brewery and fell in the Great War. This was originally located on the wall of the Brewery Tap (now a Marstons pub) that was part of the Regent Brewery. In 2002 the tablet was rescued and restored and is now set on the only remaining wall of the Anchor Brewery Building across the road, which was one of the original five breweries that amalgamated to form Plymouth Breweries.

I've enjoyed finding out a little about Plymouth Breweries and what became of them. At a time when the pace of new craft beers is ever changing its also good to look back and appreciate the past.

Plymouth Breweries War Memorial

Sources:
War Memorials Trust
The Lost Breweries and Beers of Britain - Brian Glover
Plymouth CAMRA
Brewery History Society
Geograph

Beer brands from yesteryear - Double Diamond

Ashtray showing the Double Diamond logo

The 1970's and 80's are not always remembered for producing great beers. They tended to be bland, lower in abv and not very challenging to the taste, but love the or loathe them, some beers became big, big brands with notable marketing campaigns. One such beer was Double Diamond.

Double Diamond and its beer style is not one I was personally fond of. A weak fizzy beer that was not always consistent and something that your Dad drank in the 70's. However whatever the beer lacked in terms of flavour, the marketing more than made up for it and I can only admire the brand it became.

Double Diamond (the DD abbreviation I'll use from now on) was first brewed by Ind Coope & Allsopps as a bottled IPA in 1936. The two brewers had merged a few years earlier as the latter suffered financial concerns. It is believed the initial brew was a combination of two IPA brews, one from each brewer. The DD name was first trade marked in 1876 by Ind Coope and came from a symbol of two interlocking diamonds that was used on its IPA barrels. Interestingly they also brewed single and triple Diamond beers.

By the 1950's bottled beer sales were  booming in the UK and DD, then a 4.7% abv IPA was claimed to be the UK's best selling bottled beer. Into the 1960's and Ind Coope merged with Ansells and Tetley to form Allied Breweries which coincided with the emergence of keg bitter, a new beer format that would challenge the traditional bottled and cask beer variants.

In 1962 Double Diamond was launched on keg, although by the 1970's the beer had changed considerably to become a more commercial abv at 3.4%. The bottled IPA version had also reduced to 4.2%. The distinctly low abv's would not be that attractive now but they were common place in the 70's. The DD keg version became a huge success and by 1974 it was selling 50 million pints per annum, backed by some admirable marketing campaigns and budgets that arguably outperformed the taste of the beer.

The most famous catch line is probably Double Diamond works wonders so drink some today. This originated in the 1950's but was replaced in the 60's by Double Diamond, the beer that men drink and Join the Double Diamond Club. Very few women were drinking beer at this time so it was an appropriate angle though not acceptable by today's marketing standards. By the 1970's the works wonders strap line had returned along with I'm only here for the beer, its Double Diamond. The two following links are examples of the these.

The design of the logo was also really strong. Very simple, it was suited to signage and POS items alike. No explanation was needed, just the name of the brand, Double Diamond, which says it all.

By the end of the 1970's the popularity of keg beer was waning and Double Diamonds fortunes went hand in hand with that. CAMRA was formed in 1971 and consumers were now demanding more credible, distinctive and quality beers. Cask beers were coming back into fashion and Allied responded to this by launching Ind Coope Draught Burton Ale. DD sales declined further in the 1980s and Carlsberg, who now owned Allied discontinued bottled sales in 2003. However, a version of the keg remains on sale at 2.8% abv and is known as Double Diamond Pale.

So to conclude, how to remember Double Diamond? A weak fizzy beer of questionable quality and easily outshone by cask beer. Or as a fantastic beer brand of its time with great marketing that made considerable money for its owners and share holders and gave employment to many. As someone with a marketing background I'm certainly in the latter category.

Source
Thank you to the Beertonian and Retrowow websites in particular.

Seasonal Beers

I recently unearthed some old seasonal beer pump clips and it reminded me as to why these beers from yesteryear came into being and are so important for pubs. The clips I found date back to my time working for Morland Brewery, the original brewers of Old Speckled Hen. The beers included a fabulous beer called Hope and Glory that was brewed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE Day, so twenty-five years ago.

What really got me thinking was the role seasonal beers play for pubs and brewers and why they are brewed in the first place. For the brewer seasonal beers are a place to test possible future permanent brands, but their short lifespan means limited marketing spend and relatively small profitability. In my view they are not the ideal medium to challenge boundaries of abv, taste, ingredients etc. That should be the domain of the small batch brew. However for the pub, they perform a very different role and perhaps a more important one.

In a pub, a seasonal beer should have a reason to interest customers, get them talking and enhance the enjoyment of their visit. This is particularly relevant for brewers with tied estates where the choice of beers can be restricted. They are also a great way to create interest in the cask ale category. Someone may be inclined to try a seasonal beer because of its name or theme which could lead to them drinking more cask beer in the future. Again, a reason not to make seasonal beers overly challenging in terms of flavour thus putting off potential new drinkers.

In my view seasonal beers should adhere to these rules:

1. The style and taste should fit the season they are brewed for i.e. golden beers for the summer etc.
2. They should have a back story for their existence, perhaps themed to an event, an anniversary etc. They should create a PR opportunity.
3. Have an appropriate name that reflects the above and is either quirky, relevant or fun.
4. Be of a quaffing or drinkable abv and taste, certainly not overly bitter or sweet.
5. Have a limited life span and brew lengths - plan to run out. The product life cycle of a seasonal beer is short and can quickly overstay its welcome.

The pump clips I found for the Morland seasonal beers do adhere to these rules.

Hope and Glory was brewed for the anniversary of VE Day and its style reflected quaffing beers of that time. Ultimately, it led to the introduction of a range of seasonal beers for Morland who at the time were focusing on building Old Speckled Hen as a brand with only limited support for other portfolio beers. The new range was instantly appreciated and supported by Morland's large pub estate, many of whom enjoyed having something fresh on their bar that was of interest to their customers.

Of the new range, the most PR friendly was Bills Spring Brew, the most odd name for a beer but combined with an innovative press campaign it really caught on with the locals and became a regular beer with the onset of spring for a number of years. It was named after one of the brew house workers called Bill, who had completed his entire career at the brewery and was one of their longest serving employees. Bill enjoyed the local publicity that he got from the beer and played his part, always happy to pose for a photo etc.

Summer Ale was themed around the traditional Oxfordshire pub game of Aunt Sally which is played during the summer months. It was an easy drinking golden beer, ideal for long summer evenings and at the time the game of Aunt Sally was very popular in many of the smaller village pubs. It created a lot of local PR as Morland were sponsors of the local Aunt Sally leagues and they used this relationship to help promote the beer. The name was not that exciting but was relevant especially when combined with a back story that was appropriate to many pub goers.

Finally Beechnut Ale. The name seems to ooze autumnal overtones which the pump clip design reflects. It was dark amber in colour and a delicious fruity, nutty and robust ale that offered some warming comfort as the nights drew in.

Hopefully once things return to some normality seasonal beers will become available once more. Cask ale will need all the help it can get in re-establishing itself in customers repertoire of drink choices. Quirky but drinkable beers with a reason for being could just be one possible way of igniting some interest - lets hope so.