Greene King Brewery
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Greene King is a British brewery established in 1799 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK. It has grown to become the largest British owned brewery in the UK by a series of takeovers which have been the cause of some controversy. The brewery is owned by Greene King plc (LSE: GNK) a catering company based and operating in England. It is listed on the London stock exchange, and is a component of the FTSE 250 share index.
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[edit] Location and history
Greene King's Westgate brewery is situated in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK and was established in 1799. There is a visitor centre next door to the brewery, and tours can be arranged. The company also owns pubs and hotels including the Hungry Horse pub chain. Greene King dominates the pub scene in many parts of East Anglia, with a large number of both urban and rural establishments. It also has a stand named after it at Ipswich Town's football ground, Portman Road. The company has won awards for its pubs in recent years and Greene King IPA, the brewery's bestselling ale, won the Gold award at the 2004 Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Great British Beer Festival in the Bitter category and runner up in the Champion Beer Of Britain category.
[edit] Takeovers and controversy
Greene King's business expansion has been the cause of controversy. The British consumer group CAMRA, claim that Greene King is becoming a monopoly by buying out other breweries and thus limiting the choice for the consumer [1]. These claims are based on the fact that Greene King proposes the buyout of these breweries whilst promising to continue the sale of the current brews. However, CAMRA claims, these beers are either discontinued or do not meet the standards of the beer's former brewers. They claim that this is largely due to Greene King not liaising sufficiently with the previous company before discontinuing the product for a short period and transferring production to the Suffolk brewery and attempting to replicate it without full knowledge of the beer's former recipe[2].
Greene King's acquisitions include Belhaven, Morland, Ruddles and Ridley's. Of these, only the Belhaven Brewery remains open, with the surviving brews of the other three now being produced at Bury St Edmunds.
Greene King also recently bought out Hardys and Hansons plc. a local brewery based in Kimberley, Nottinghamshire. In October 2006 Greene King announced it would close the brewery before the end of the year.
[edit] The Lewes Arms
As a result of its perceived aggressive takeover policy it has come to be known by protestors as Greedy King [3] (or Greed/Greede King). Towards the end of 2006, the brewery particularly infuriated the regulars of the Lewes Arms, in Lewes, East Sussex. The pub was taken over by Greene King in 1998. In 2006 Greene King announced that the pub would no longer sell the locally produced Harveys Best Bitter (the seasonal Harveys ales had already been withdrawn in 2004). Harveys Best Bitter won the Gold Medal for Best Bitter at the annual CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain awards two years in succession in 2005 and 2006 and is extremely popular in Sussex[4]. In the Lewes Arms itself Harveys Bitter regularly outsold Greene King's real ales by a factor of 4 to 1. The Harveys brewery is located in centre the town of Lewes less than half a mile from the pub and is a major local employer and it is believed that Harveys beers have been on sale in the pub for approximately 220 years; so the decision to remove Harveys caused an uproar gaining national coverage in The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, The Financial Times, BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Private Eye, The Observer and the Evening Standard. Despite a petition signed by 1200 people, the intervention of the Mayor of Lewes and the local MP Norman Baker [5], Greene King proceeded with their unpopular move and withdrew the beer in December of 2006. Following the withdrawal the regulars of the pub decided to continue their protest by staging a boycott [6] and a regular vigil outside the pub at peak times to explain the situation to casual visitors. The pub has been virtually empty ever since with an estimated loss of trade of 90%[7]. As of April 2007 the boycott continues [8] with no end to the dispute in sight.[9]
[edit] Notable beers
Greene King's beers are sold under several brands:
[edit] Greene King brands
- Greene King IPA - The UK's biggest selling cask conditioned session bitter at a strength of 3.6%.
- Abbot Ale - A premium cask bitter at 4.9%, also available filtered and pasteurised in bottles at 5.0%.
- The Beer To Dine For - A pasteurised bottled 5.0% beer in the currently popular golden lager style.
- Strong Suffolk Ale (sold as Olde Suffolk in the US) - Largely only available pasteurised and bottled, at 6.0%. This is a blend of two ales: Old 5X , a 12% ale left to mature in oak vats for a minimum of two years, and BPA, a weak young beer which is added just before bottling.
- Ale Fresco - a 4.3% cask summer bitter.
- Fireside - a 4.5% cask winter bitter.
- XX Mild - a 3.0% cask mild. A beer with declining sales. Production had been contracted out to the smaller Ridley brewery, but since Greene King have taken over Ridley and closed down the brewery the future of this beer is uncertain.
- Light Ale - a pasteurised and bottled 3.0% pale mild normally used in a mix with a stronger cask ale, such as Abbot Ale.
- St. Edmunds Ale - a pasteurised bottled 5.5% premium bitter.
- 1799 - a strong cask ale of 6.2% which is also available bottled.
[edit] Ruddles brands
- Ruddles County - A 4.3% bitter available on cask nationally and pasteurised in bottles in most British supermarkets.
- Ruddles Best Bitter - A traditional 3.7% session bitter with National distribution.
- Ruddles Orchard - This 4.2% cask bitter consists of Ruddles County with the addition of apple concentrate. Also available pasteurised in bottles.
[edit] Morland brand
- Old Speckled Hen is a popular bitter, available both as a cask ale and pasteurised in bottles. First brewed in 1979 by Morland Brewery in Abingdon, Oxfordshire to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brewery's MG car - the mud splattered Ol' Speckled 'Un. Brewed since 1999 by Greene King. Greene King have retained the unique strain of yeast first used in 1896.
In August 2006, Greene King announced that the abv of draught Old Speckled Hen (cask and keg) would be reduced from 5.2% to 4.5%, though the bottled version would remain at 5.2%
- Hen's Tooth - A 6.5% bottle conditioned beer.
[edit] Ridley's brands
- Old Bob - Still popular in Essex despite the beer's new journey from Bury St Edmunds; it is 5.1% and available both on cask and bottled.
- Ridley's IPA - A beer on the verge of extinction, this 3.5% session bitter is now only seen in former Ridley's "tied houses" (i.e. those that were owned by the Ridley's brewery before the Greene King takeover). It is not known how much longer this beer will be available.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Greene King | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk England |
| Owner | Independent/ Conglomerate |
| Year opened | 1799 |
