By Angela Green: Carlsberg put squeeze on consumer beer choices.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has reported that pubs will soon be unable to stock several beers, including Banks’s Mild, following the Carlsberg buy-out of the last of Marston’s UK brewing operations.
Fears that powerful global brewers hugely reduce consumer choice in the UK have been realised as Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing company (CMBC) axes eight classic British cask beers.
Beers that will no longer be available are:
- Banks’s Mild
- Banks’s Sunbeam
- Bombardier
- Eagle IPA
- Jenning Cumberland Ale
- Mansfield Dark Smooth
- Mansfield Original Bitter
- Marston’s Old Empire
- Marston’s 61 Deep
- Ringwood Boondoggle
- Ringwood Old Thumper
The decision to delist these brands by the end of the year further proves that the conglomerate, which now owns a sizable chunk of the UK brewing scene, will have a huge impact on both pubs and pubgoers having closed Jennings Brewery, sold the Eagle Brewery, and announced the closure of Banks’s Brewery, CMBC’s latest move will deal brewing, consumer choice, and industry jobs another blow.
Despite an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority finding that the merger of Marston’s and Carlsberg would not have negative effects, it is now confirmed that the consolidation of the businesses will be followed by the consolidation of their brands, resulting in a huge loss of choice at the bar for consumers. Eight cask beers and a further three keg brands will no longer be available to pubs, regardless of whether licensees wish to order them, including big names like Banks’s Mild and Bombardier.
Commenting, CAMRA’s Real Ale, Cider and Perry Campaigns Director and Vice Chair, Gillian Hough said: “This is another example of a globally owned business wiping out UK brewing heritage.
“I hope that this change will mean space on the bar for licensees to stock guest beers from local independent breweries, but realistically, I suspect this isn’t what CMBC plans. This loss of consumer choice is the inevitable outcome of a brewing conglomerate run by accountants and the bottom line. This is a sad and disappointing decision that puts both the history and the future of British brewing in jeopardy.”
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