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mdownthepub has just pointed out to me that the Museum brewery has had its name changed by owners Coors. It is now called Worthington White Shield Brewery or something.
I checked it out and noticed they make an absurd claim that the brewery (which was formed in 1994) is "Britain’s oldest Micro Brewery".
Clearly they are not aware of The Blue Anchor - 600 years of brewing compared to 13 years! No frigging contest.
Check out my blog where I discuss this and other interesting beer related matters.
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Hey Mr Funny Links!!
My interpretation of this page:
http://www.worthingtonswhiteshield.com/brewery.html
is that it’s the oldest kit in the UK.
I’m sure they wouldn’t make such a preposterous claim if there were no truth.
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I like your Blog. I particularly like the Cherokee D’Ass XXX Big Booty bit - now that’s beer journalism.
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I’ve made the changes, it looks a bit untidy now unfortunately but perhaps that can get sorted when the Brewery is commonly known as White Shield.
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Originally posted by maeib
Hey Mr Funny Links!!
My interpretation of this page:
http://www.worthingtonswhiteshield.com/brewery.html
is that it’s the oldest kit in the UK.
I’m sure they wouldn’t make such a preposterous claim if there were no truth.
But there a number of small brewers who are working on old kit. I know Hepworth uses kit from the old King & Barnes brewery. How about Bathams?
And, of course, Traquair - founded as a micro brewery in 1965 using equipment dating from the 1700s in a building that goes back to the 12th century.
The Coors claim is absurd and insulting whichever way it is interpreted. It is particularly annoying that they take over a brewery which was making fascinating historical cask ales, alongside adventurous modern beers, and turned it into a factory for producing mediocre White Shield to be exported to the USA. And then they make false claims for it to give it some kind of pedigree which will help them shift more product in the States.
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Personally, I’m not even sure it should be regarded as a separate brewery these days. Its individual character has now pretty much gone and there are other examples of smaller batch breweries within a larger one that we do not count as separate.
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Originally posted by chris_o
Personally, I’m not even sure it should be regarded as a separate brewery these days. Its individual character has now pretty much gone and there are other examples of smaller batch breweries within a larger one that we do not count as separate.
Can’t say I agree with that at all, Chris.
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Originally posted by SilkTork
Originally posted by maeib
and turned it into a factory for producing mediocre White Shield to be exported to the USA.
They do? I haven’t seen any of the Coors-made White Shield in the US. The last White Shield I found here was the old King and Barnes version (which unfortunately was loose pint bottles in a cardboard tray, shrink-wrapped in clear plastic [rather in a dark cardboard case] and stored near a window. I bought it anyway  .)
I see it’s listed here on RB as being available in Texas and Indiana- seems odd for only those not particularly beer-centric states to get it (and, IIRC, the old importer in the K&B days was in Texas, so maybe it’s old stock or old reports?).
Humorously, Coors gets lots of flak in the US from some for STOPPING the importation of Caffrey’s - apparently because they didn’t want to cannibalize the sales of their US brewed "Irish" beer, Killians- tho’ it still is shipped to Canada.
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Originally posted by SilkTork
The Coors claim is absurd and insulting whichever way it is interpreted. It is particularly annoying that they take over a brewery which was making fascinating historical cask ales, alongside adventurous modern beers, and turned it into a factory for producing mediocre White Shield to be exported to the USA. And then they make false claims for it to give it some kind of pedigree which will help them shift more product in the States.
The Calcutta IPA (brewed for Pete Brown’s journey), the P2 Imperial Stout, the No. 1 Barley Wine and indeed the Worthington White Shield - all cask - I had at the White Horse the weekend before were certainly "fascinating historical cask ales", and didn’t come from anything resembling a factory (even if there is one next door). Can’t see what you’re on about here. The reality doesn’t match up to your rant!
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Originally posted by Stonch
The Calcutta IPA (brewed for Pete Brown’s journey), the P2 Imperial Stout, the No. 1 Barley Wine and indeed the Worthington White Shield - all cask - I had at the White Horse the weekend before were certainly "fascinating historical cask ales", and didn’t come from anything resembling a factory (even if there is one next door). Can’t see what you’re on about here. The reality doesn’t match up to your rant!
"Bass Museum" brewery as it used to be known churned out hundreds of different cask ales - myself I’ve scooped 147 "different" ones! Various landlords brewed their own beers there, they did many one-off’s, and basically it was an example of how Bass still cared about proper beer. Now, however, it mainly churns out White Shield (and I’m not convinced it’s all from there - the last one I had tasted distinctly industrial) and the odd brew of the more interesting stuff for beer lovers. It’s sad, but in it’s current state it’s no more than another production unit of the owners.
As for it being the oldest, that sounds like being economical with the truth to me too. Traquair surely must be the oldest micro, or Blue Anchor? And is Museum small enough to be considered a micro anyhow? Can’t remember the brewlength but it’s not that small...
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Originally posted by Gazza
Traquair surely must be the oldest micro, or Blue Anchor?
Traquair Brewery was founded (as a commercial micro brewery) as late as 1965. On the premises of the domestic brewery for the estate and its workers (that stopped brewing some time in the 1800s), that’s true - but this was just a country house brewery like so many others, never a commercial brewery.
Blue Anchor must indeed be the oldest, it has been continously brewing (save an odd year or two for refurbishment) since 1400-something.
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