The word is out that the historic Beamish and Crawford factory, which has been producing Beamish Irish Stout for over two centuries, will be shut down. Surely it was this drastic economic downturn that finally took down the brewery that had survived fire, governmental changes and war? Nope, just a standard buy-out procedure from the new owners, Dutch giant Heineken International.

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Beamish and Crawford’s rich history began in 1792 when William Beamish and William Crawford purchased an old brewery in the medieval city of Cork, Ireland. Within a decade of its birth, the brewery had risen in the ranks to become the largest beer producer in the country. A century later, the company was taken public and expanded by acquiring several other local breweries.  It was sold in 1962, again in 1987 and once again in 1995. All of these owners managed to keep the historic factory site in operation, preserving its tradition as well as its status as a staple of the local economy.

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The recent ruling of Ireland’s Competition Authority that Heineken’s acquisition of the Beamish brand would not be a conflict of interest based on the fact that they also own Beamish’s biggest rival and fellow Cork-based brew, Murphy’s Irish Stout, came as a baffling decision to locals and Irishmen alike. Many correctly predicted that this ruling would bring about the end of the town’s beloved brewery.

Sure enough, just weeks after the finalization of the merger, Heineken announced, “the most difficult decision we have ever had to make." Citing that maintaining both breweries was simply not a sustainable solution. So Beamish, along with 40 of its finest employees will move across town to the house of their rival turned stepbrother, Murphy’s. The other 120 Beamish employees will be out of work come March 2009, putting a large dent in the local economy as well as the local morale.

While this news was met with distain from Irishmen and beer lovers around the world, it is hardly and isolated incident. The trend of large corporations taking over smaller craft breweries who are unable to compete is becoming more and more prevalent today.  Take the example of Gales Brewery, a family-owned and run operation in Hampshire, England. In November of 2005, it was purchased by London brewer Fuller, Smith and Turner, who claimed that the quality of Gales’ brews would be maintained, and the benefit came from the fact that they complimented Fuller’s current beer lineup. Although the profits increased dramatically to support Fuller’s argument, the 150-year-old Gales Brewery was closed in March of 2006.

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How does this translate for the beer lover? To look at the positive side, it means that the market for flavorful and interesting beers is on the rise, while the demand for bland domestic lagers is clearly not. Beer drinkers, especially in America, are developing a taste for finer craft brews and expanding their horizons when it comes to beer selection. This demand has spurred the movement of larger brewing companies to bring the flavor back to their beer.

Unfortunately, the fastest and easiest way to achieve this goal is to take over an already existing operation that manufactures a quality product, increase its capacity and distribute on a large scale. Although this sounds like these big brewers are simply “spreading the good word”, there are a number of negative repercussions as a result.

Most obviously, the rich traditions in many of these small communities have been destroyed.  You can’t put a price on local pride. Additionally, as with any merger or acquisition, jobs will be lost, as certain positions become redundant. This can be devastating to the economy of a small town when a large percentage of the workforce is employed at a single brewery.

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The most important factor in this issue for many beer connoisseurs worldwide is whether or not the beer tastes the same under the new management. Is it in good hands? In many cases, experts, locals and fanatics of the beers say it is not. More times than not, brewing is moved to a different facility after the merger in order to increase the scale of production. Whether it is the process, the equipment or the water supply, those who know the beer best are not happy with the result.

It is not all bad news though, there are a few organizations out there, like Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) who are fighting for drinker’s rights and helping to support local breweries, pubs and the communities that support them. Hopefully efforts such as these will help to reduce the frequency of this takeover trend and maintain the quality and tradition of our local breweries. Beer lovers unite!

Sources:

http://www.bized.co.uk/current/mind/2006_7/041206.htm

http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19558/Heineken/Ireland/heineken-irish-ok-beamish-buy-ceo-worried-rising-input-costs.html

http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/irlbrew.htm

http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/business/2008/12/04/D94S2PMG0_eu_ireland_brewery_closes/index.html?source=refresh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamish_Stout#Beamish_stout

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