Please save Kimberley, m'duck - Roger Protz

A couple of weeks ago I had time to spare in Derby while waiting for a train and went into a pub near the station for a beer.

The landlord was a man who cared about his cask ale. He pulled a pint of Hardys & Hansons Kimberley Bitter with due reverence and said, as handed it to me, "You'll enjoy that, m'duck."

Grown men really do address one another as "m'duck" in the Derby and Nottingham area.

As I tucked into my pint, his smile faded and he added, "But I don't know what Greene King will do with it."

I can now tell him: they plan to move it to Bury St Edmunds. Last week I had a phone call from Rooney Anand, the chief executive of Greene King, who briefed me on his plans for the Kimberley brewery in Nottingham.

Greene King bought H&H in the summer, much to the distress of Nottingham drinkers. Their pleas to the shareholders of the brewery fell on deaf ears. They pocketed a generous amount of cash from the Suffolk company and left the future of the magnificent redbrick Victorian brewery in Rooney's hands.

Rooney told me that Kimberley was operating under capacity and its beers could be accommodated at Bury St Edmunds. The brands would continue and would be given greater coverage thanks to Greene King's national presence in the tied and free trade, he added.

"Look what we've done for Morland's and Ruddle's brands," he said. "They continue, even though Greene King bought the brands several years ago."

Ridleys, which Rooney didn't mention, has not been so lucky. When Greene King bought Ridleys of Essex last year, it immediately axed its IPA as nothing must stand in the way of the onward march of Greene King's own IPA. A couple of other Ridley's beers have been maintained but are now reduced to seasonal or occasional status.

Old Speckled Hen, the former Morland's premium ale, has just been dramatically reduced in strength from 5.2% to 4.5% on draught. The Ruddle's beers, Bitter and County, are unrecognisable as the once-revered ales brewed in Rutland, and County has also had its level of alcohol lowered.

An hour after Rooney phoned me last week, a press release from Greene King announced the company would brew Kimberley Mild, Olde Trip and a keg beer at Bury. There was no mention of Kimberley Bitter, the everyday and popular supping bitter of Nottingham. Phone calls to Greene King brought the response that this was an error and the bitter would continue to be produced. It was a rather curious oversight from a major company with an experienced in-house public relations department.

And the message came with the curious coda: "But Olde Trip is the bigger brand." If I were a gambling man I would certainly put money on Kimberley Bitter heading for oblivion in the near future. Nottingham's drinkers can expect the arrival of Greene King IPA any time now.

Some of Rooney's assertions need to be challenged. He says the Kimberley brewery is operating under capacity and the brands can be accommodated at Bury.

But Greene King has a proven track record of dramatically improving the sales of its beers. IPA, once a beer confined to Suffolk and the surrounding eastern counties, is now a national brand and is the biggest-selling cask beer in the standard sector of the market.

The same argument goes for Old Speckled Hen. It is now also a national brand and, in packaged form, its sales are neck-and-neck with Newcastle Brown.

Greene King has proved with the acquisition of Belhaven in Scotland that it can keep a brewery in operation, integrate it into the national company, and maintain jobs. If Rooney used the undoubted skills of his marketing and PR people, there is no reason why Kimberley could not be kept open, 80 jobs saved and sales of its beers increased.

We have lost Morland, Ridley's and Ruddle's breweries. Hardys & Hansons can still be saved. Rooney Anand has shown since he took over at Greene King that he can turn brands round. Now let him prove he can also turn round a brewery.

Keep Kimberley open, Rooney. All right, m'duck?

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