Thursday’s ad is for Great Britain brewers’ “Beer is Best” campaign, from 1935. Part of the British brewers series of ad promoting beer generally, this one focuses on an after work drink as a positive, where a man can “put away the cares of the day; restores his toil-spent energy; revives his flagging spirit.” But what stood out for me was at the bottom of the ad there’s a simple list of beer’s four ingredients, which they list as “Malt · Hops · Sugar · Yeast.” What was that third one again?
Global beer company SAB Miller has announced the acquisition of London’s Meantime Brewing in effort to enter the UK craft market.
Meantime is a pioneer in British modern craft beer, giving SABMiller an entry point into the fastest-growing segment of the UK beer market and complementing its imported super-premium lagers such as Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell.
SABMiller plans to grow sales of Meantime’s beers nationally and explore export opportunities in its European markets under the continued leadership of Nick Miller, Meantime CEO.
Meantime was established by Brew Master, Alastair Hook, in 1999 with a brewery in Greenwich, London. The business has since created a successful range of British and international beer styles.
Sue Clark, Managing Director, SABMiller Europe, said: “Meantime has been at the forefront of the modern craft beer movement in the UK and brews an outstanding range of beers across a variety of styles. At SABMiller we love local variety, and carefully nurture our 200 local and heritage beers. Meantime, born in a city with a rich beer heritage, will be a special new addition to the SABMiller family.
“Nick Miller, Alastair Hook and their team have built a strong sense of pride and identity within Meantime, which has an excellent reputation for brewing consistently high quality beers and for industry-leading innovation. This expertise will boost our strategy to develop beers that appeal to more people, including women, and which can be attractive alternatives to wine and spirits.”
Nick Miller, CEO, Meantime, said: “I can say from personal experience, that SABMiller is a great company to be joining forces with. They see the opportunity, and believe in the longevity, of modern craft beer in the UK.
“SABMiller shares our passion for putting great beer first, and making, selling and marketing it responsibly to beer aficionados worldwide. The team at SABMiller have stressed how important our culture is to our success to date, and have a strong track record in retaining the special identities and heritage of the local businesses they’ve bought in the past.
“We are all excited about the opportunity to continue growing Meantime. We are also thrilled and flattered that SABMiller has given us a remit to innovate. This is a massive compliment and acknowledges our position as pioneers in modern craft beer.”
Volumes of beer sales at Meantime grew by 58% in 2014, outpacing the UK beer market’s 1% growth during the same period and making it one of the top-performing modern craft breweries in the UK.
Among Meantime’s award-winning lagers and ales are its leading brand London Pale Ale, London Lager, Yakima Red, Pilsner, India Pale Ale and London Porter. London Pale Ale and London Lager together account for around 70% of total volumes. Following the transaction, Meantime will open a pilot brewery which will become a centre for SABMiller’s European innovation and new product development.
The acquisition includes Meantime’s retail sites, including the Tasting Rooms and the brewery shop in Greenwich, the Greenwich Union pub, pop-up Beerbox pub, and the Brewery Fresh tank beer concept, which is now in 26 pubs across London, complementing SABMiller’s Pilsner Urquell unpasteurised tank beer in a further four London pubs.
The deal is expected to close in June of this year, and the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The BBC and the Guardian also have stories on the deal.
Meantime brewmaster Alastair Hook, with Greg Koch from Stone Brewing, at a British Guild of Beer Writers event during the Great British Beer Festival in 2009.
Wednesday’s ad is for Bass Ale, from 1967. Showing some antique chess pieces with a cool photograph, trying to assert that they’ll appeal to people who “appreciate the best,” suggesting those are also Bass drinkers. Hmm.
Monday’s ad is for Long Life, from 1963. The canned beer Long Life Beer was made by Ind Coope beginning in the 1950s, making it one of the early beers in cans in the UK. They launched a series of ads claiming that the recipe was formulated specifically for the can, and as a result “it never varies!” But it certainly looks good for out-of-focus fishing.
Friday’s ad is for Whitbread, from 1952. The illustration features an illustration of a man pouring a pale ale, and he’s wearing a very odd expression on his face, his smile seemed forced (or just plain creepy). But what strikes me as strange is a statement in the copy that “they do all their own bottling.” Was that something uncommon enough in the 1950s that they’d use it as a selling point?
Thursday’s ad is for the English brewer’s “Beer is Best” campaign, from 1938. The campaign began in 1933, and ran for 30 years. This one simply shows a man’s arm (wearing a suit) holding a mug of beer. The ad copy wants people to keep drinking English beer, offering several reasons why you should. “Drink beer because you like it” and “Drink beer because it’s good for you.” But whatever you do, “Stick to beer.”
Thursday’s ad is for beer generally, from the 1950s. It was created for the Brewers Society, presumably a brewing industry trade organization in Great Britain. It appears that the Brewers Society became the British Beer & Pub Association in the 1990s. A quick search reveals that they did a series of ads in the 1950s using a tagline referring to beer as “The Best Long Drink in the World.” This one features a boat, but instead of the coxswain shouting “stroke,” they’re all shouting “good wholesome beer” instead.
Despite this ad being the size I found it, the resolution is terrible, but the smaller one below is slightly sharper, despite being much smaller.
Wednesday’s ad is for Carlsberg, from 1968. Although Carlsberg was founded in 1847, apparently they first started exporting in 1868, so 100 years later, in 1968, they created a special beer for the UK market. It was “specially brewed for the British taste,” whatever that might have been. NOt sure how rare that would have been, but I guess give them points for trying something newish.
Monday’s ad is for the Brewers’ Society, from 1956. Similar to the ads in America by the United States Brewers Foundation that ran around the same time, the British ads used taglines like “Good Wholesome BEER” and “The best long drink in the world!” After working in the fields all day, making giant hay bales, who wouldn’t be dreaming of a pint of beery goodness? But I love the way they put it. “Beer refreshes you all right — but it does much more than that. It’s an invigorating drink. Beer bucks you up as well as cools you down.”
I love the Great British Beer Festival, and it’s a crying shame I don’t get over the pond often enough to attend it. Happily, Mark Dredge, who in addition to Pencil & Spoon, has been doing some work for Pilsner Urquell, had a camera crew follow him around the hall at the Great British Beer Festival. He’s created a short video giving a flavor of what it’s like to be there. So if, like me, you missed it this year, here’s at least a glimpse at what being there be like. Enjoy.
