As Sharp’s brewery prepares to close, Dave Richardson looks at beers that may appear to be local but are not
CAMRA has warned against continuing to describe Doom Bar as a Cornish beer beyond 2026, following a decision by multi-national brewing group Molson Coors to close Sharp’s brewery in Rock, Cornwall by the end of this year.
Doom Bar may have lost its title as the biggest selling real ale to Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, but it is still widely available locally including in Wetherspoon pubs. Some previously brewed local beers carry on long after the breweries closed, which leads some drinkers to believe they are still locally produced.
The marketing power of Molson Coors – owner of brands including Carling, Madri, Staropramen and Aspall cider – ensured that Doom Bar became the best-selling real ale in the UK for many years, only losing that title last year. With Doom Bar sales in deep decline, Molson Coors has now decided to cut its losses and close Sharp’s by the end of 2026, when all production will probably move to Burton-on-Trent. Closure will cause around 50 redundancies at the site and 150 elsewhere.
Since acquiring Sharp’s in 2011, Molson Coors has invested more than £20 million to expand capacity in Cornwall, although not all Doom Bar is now produced there.
Doom Bar at the Chequers, Oxfordalongside two beers from St Austell Brewery, also from Cornwall
Molson Coors says it is considering other options such as producing Doom Bar and other Sharp’s brands in partnership with a third party. Other cask ales include Atlantic and premium ruby beer Sea Fury.
But the closure is widely seen as further proof that big international brewers are moving away from real ale, following the closure of several previously independent brewers by Marston’s, whose brewing operations are now 100% owned by Carlsberg, and Heineken.
CAMRA chief executive Tom Stainer said: “This is just another example of a global brewing giant destroying the nation’s cask brewing heritage. Sharp’s has been brewing cask for more than 30 years and this will just be dismantled overnight. Trying to produce iconic Cornish beers outside of the Duchy would be a disgrace.
“We are losing far too many cask brands and the breweries who craft them at the hands of global brewers more interested in profit than our brewing heritage, and making sure drinkers can enjoy authentic products. Not only does it impact our local pubs and consumer choice, but it damages Cornish and UK brewing heritage, culture and of course jobs.
Doom Bar’s latest pump clip emphasises “Brewed in Cornwall”
“This once again puts a spotlight on the stranglehold global brewing giants have over our pubs. The government must use its Access to Market Review to ensure that local, independent brewers and cider makers can get their produce on offer at the bar, so the wide range of beer styles that the UK’s pubs are known for can be protected and expanded.”
Former editor of the Good Beer Guide, Roger Protz, wrote: “The global brewers have set out their priorities – to promote their lager brands at the expense of cask beer.
“Molson Coors bought the business in 2011, turning Doom Bar into a national brand. It tinkered with the recipe, much to the distress of its followers. I was told by a former brewer at Rock that the number of hops was reduced and instead of conditioning for a week, the beer was sent out to pubs as soon as it left the fermenters. Drinkers were being served immature ‘green beer’, as the taste proved.
“It will now need a new home, presumably the main breweries in Burton that MC took on when Bass left brewing in 2000. The bottled version of Doom Bar has been brewed in Burton for several years, making a mockery of its claim to be a ‘Cornish beer’.
“The history, heritage and popularity of cask is lost on Carlsberg, Heineken and Molson Coors. Their aim is a simple one: to make the same liquid in every market where they operate and to give it a long shelf life, aided by filtration, pasteurisation and a heavy dose of carbon dioxide.”
CAMRA has already called out Carlsberg, and Marston’s before it, for describing Wainwright as a “Lake District original” when it is no longer brewed in Cumbria. Likewise, Young’s beers are still described as London Original and London Special on pump clips when they haven’t been brewed in the capital for 20 years.
Many people living around Abingdon probably think that Morland beers are still local, although Greene King acquired and then closed the brewery in 2000 and moved all production to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Some of the buildings were converted into housing while former offices became the Brewery Tap pub in 1993, and many former Morland pubs can still be identified by the “Artist” tiled logo on their walls.
Under new ownership and still brewed in Cornwall is Skinner’s Betty Stogs
Old Speckled Hen, first brewed in 1979 to commemorate 50 years of car production in Abingdon by MG, has become a national brand on draught and in bottles. In 2027 it will be on the move again as Greene King has sold it to Damm UK which will brew it in Bedford, including Old Golden Hen and other similar brands. Morland Old Speckled Hen was named after an old, experimental car that was used around the factory, but the owners of MG, like Greene King 20 years later, had little room for sentiment. The factory in Abingdon was closed in 1980. Morland Original is also available mainly as a real ale.
Brakspear is another very old brewery whose name lives on, not only in beer but as a pub group although the brewery closed in 2002. Production was moved to Wychwood brewery in Witney, including the original “double drop” equipment, so at least it remained in Oxfordshire. But Wychwood closed in 2023, and production of Oxford Gold and Brakspear Gravity (formerly Brakspear Bitter) was moved to Wolverhampton and then Burton, where Wychwood’s Hobgoblin is also now brewed in various styles as well as the original Ruby.
Does the Brakspear pump clip claim “double dropping beer since 1779” still hold true?
If you care where your beer is brewed and want to support genuine local businesses, there are plenty of genuine local brands even though they may be hard to find in pubs. Beware the claims of the big brewers.
The former brewery of Brakspear still stands in the centre of Henley. Image: Bill Nicholls/Wikimedia Commons
When is a local beer not a local beer?
As Sharp’s brewery prepares to close, Dave Richardson looks at beers that may appear to be local but are not
CAMRA has warned against continuing to describe Doom Bar as a Cornish beer beyond 2026, following a decision by multi-national brewing group Molson Coors to close Sharp’s brewery in Rock, Cornwall by the end of this year.
Doom Bar may have lost its title as the biggest selling real ale to Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, but it is still widely available locally including in Wetherspoon pubs. Some previously brewed local beers carry on long after the breweries closed, which leads some drinkers to believe they are still locally produced.
The marketing power of Molson Coors – owner of brands including Carling, Madri, Staropramen and Aspall cider – ensured that Doom Bar became the best-selling real ale in the UK for many years, only losing that title last year. With Doom Bar sales in deep decline, Molson Coors has now decided to cut its losses and close Sharp’s by the end of 2026, when all production will probably move to Burton-on-Trent. Closure will cause around 50 redundancies at the site and 150 elsewhere.
Since acquiring Sharp’s in 2011, Molson Coors has invested more than £20 million to expand capacity in Cornwall, although not all Doom Bar is now produced there.
Molson Coors says it is considering other options such as producing Doom Bar and other Sharp’s brands in partnership with a third party. Other cask ales include Atlantic and premium ruby beer Sea Fury.
But the closure is widely seen as further proof that big international brewers are moving away from real ale, following the closure of several previously independent brewers by Marston’s, whose brewing operations are now 100% owned by Carlsberg, and Heineken.
CAMRA chief executive Tom Stainer said: “This is just another example of a global brewing giant destroying the nation’s cask brewing heritage. Sharp’s has been brewing cask for more than 30 years and this will just be dismantled overnight. Trying to produce iconic Cornish beers outside of the Duchy would be a disgrace.
“We are losing far too many cask brands and the breweries who craft them at the hands of global brewers more interested in profit than our brewing heritage, and making sure drinkers can enjoy authentic products. Not only does it impact our local pubs and consumer choice, but it damages Cornish and UK brewing heritage, culture and of course jobs.
“This once again puts a spotlight on the stranglehold global brewing giants have over our pubs. The government must use its Access to Market Review to ensure that local, independent brewers and cider makers can get their produce on offer at the bar, so the wide range of beer styles that the UK’s pubs are known for can be protected and expanded.”
Former editor of the Good Beer Guide, Roger Protz, wrote: “The global brewers have set out their priorities – to promote their lager brands at the expense of cask beer.
“Molson Coors bought the business in 2011, turning Doom Bar into a national brand. It tinkered with the recipe, much to the distress of its followers. I was told by a former brewer at Rock that the number of hops was reduced and instead of conditioning for a week, the beer was sent out to pubs as soon as it left the fermenters. Drinkers were being served immature ‘green beer’, as the taste proved.
“It will now need a new home, presumably the main breweries in Burton that MC took on when Bass left brewing in 2000. The bottled version of Doom Bar has been brewed in Burton for several years, making a mockery of its claim to be a ‘Cornish beer’.
“The history, heritage and popularity of cask is lost on Carlsberg, Heineken and Molson Coors. Their aim is a simple one: to make the same liquid in every market where they operate and to give it a long shelf life, aided by filtration, pasteurisation and a heavy dose of carbon dioxide.”
CAMRA has already called out Carlsberg, and Marston’s before it, for describing Wainwright as a “Lake District original” when it is no longer brewed in Cumbria. Likewise, Young’s beers are still described as London Original and London Special on pump clips when they haven’t been brewed in the capital for 20 years.
Many people living around Abingdon probably think that Morland beers are still local, although Greene King acquired and then closed the brewery in 2000 and moved all production to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Some of the buildings were converted into housing while former offices became the Brewery Tap pub in 1993, and many former Morland pubs can still be identified by the “Artist” tiled logo on their walls.
Old Speckled Hen, first brewed in 1979 to commemorate 50 years of car production in Abingdon by MG, has become a national brand on draught and in bottles. In 2027 it will be on the move again as Greene King has sold it to Damm UK which will brew it in Bedford, including Old Golden Hen and other similar brands. Morland Old Speckled Hen was named after an old, experimental car that was used around the factory, but the owners of MG, like Greene King 20 years later, had little room for sentiment. The factory in Abingdon was closed in 1980. Morland Original is also available mainly as a real ale.
Brakspear is another very old brewery whose name lives on, not only in beer but as a pub group although the brewery closed in 2002. Production was moved to Wychwood brewery in Witney, including the original “double drop” equipment, so at least it remained in Oxfordshire. But Wychwood closed in 2023, and production of Oxford Gold and Brakspear Gravity (formerly Brakspear Bitter) was moved to Wolverhampton and then Burton, where Wychwood’s Hobgoblin is also now brewed in various styles as well as the original Ruby.
Does the Brakspear pump clip claim “double dropping beer since 1779” still hold true?
If you care where your beer is brewed and want to support genuine local businesses, there are plenty of genuine local brands even though they may be hard to find in pubs. Beware the claims of the big brewers.
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