No welcome in the hillsides: Welsh beer fans cry into their pints amid fears their beloved Brains bitter could be brewed in ENGLAND
- Fears were raised over Brains bitter potentially having to brewed in England
- Marston’s bought 156 Brains pubs but didn’t secure the Cardiff brewery
- 80 jobs in Brains’ brewery and head office are at risk if another buyer isn’t found
Welsh beer fans were left fearing for the future of Brains bitter after it emerged the brewery could move its production to England.
The brewery has existed in Cardiff since 1882 but its future is in doubt after the company failed to secure a buyer.
It is now feared the Welsh pints will brewed on the other side of the Severn Bridge and that 80 jobs could be lost.
Nick Morgan, who hosts the Pubtrotters podcast, said: ‘I’m gobsmacked, Brains is a Welsh institution. It’s known as a brand and a beer as being Welsh and for it to move elsewhere would be weird.
Welsh beer fans were left fearing for the future of Brains bitter after it emerged the brewery (pictured) could move its production to England
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, visited the Brains brewery in 2019 before attending the Wales v Ireland Six Nations rugby match
‘It was on the jerseys of the Welsh rugby team and the huge chimney of the brewery would have been seen by thousands of visitors getting of the train in Cardiff, it’s an instantly recognisable as Welsh.
‘It would also be a huge blow for Welsh jobs and the workforce at the brewery if it were to move outside of Wales.’
Swansea-born Nick, 37, who now lives in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, said: ‘Another concern is that the taste of beer can be affected by the water used in the brewing. If it was to move from Wales would they still use Welsh water? I doubt it.’
John James, of Pontypridd, said: ‘It’s a shame that it is has to be saved by an English company. Just doesn’t feel right somehow.’
More than 150 Brains pubs are to be taken over by Wolverhampton-based beer maker Marston’s in April, but no buyer has yet been found for its brewery in Cardiff.
Nick Morgan, who hosts the Pubtrotters podcast, said: ‘It was on the jerseys of the Welsh rugby team and the huge chimney of the brewery would have been seen by thousands of visitors getting of the train in Cardiff, it’s an instantly recognisable as Welsh’
More than 150 Brains pubs are to be taken over by Wolverhampton-based beer maker Marston’s in April, but no buyer has yet been found for its brewery in Cardiff
The deal struck between SA Brain & Co and Marston’s safeguarded 1,300 jobs in Brains’ pubs but the deal offered no such security for those working in Brains’ head office or brewery.
In a statement, Brains said it was currently going through a consultation.
The company said: ‘Decisions will be made at the end of this process, which will be the end of January.
‘The Brains brand will continue to live on through both the pubs and the beer.’
WalesOnline reports that Brains chief executive Alistair Darby said: ‘The jobs that are at risk go from top to bottom and touch everyone, including me.
‘The brewery is clearly not operating at the moment and we have to sadly work out whether it makes economic sense for us to continue to run the brewery.’
He added: ‘What we cannot do, in any shape or form, is continue running operations that regrettably don’t a make a positive contribution to the business. I cannot sugar the pill.
‘If the brewery doesn’t make sense, then what we have got to do is to make damned sure that we have the beers brewed by somebody else who we really trust and can produce very high quality beer so our consumers can still get in our pubs when they are Marston’s and have fantastic high quality beers.’