Ringwood: victory for Marston's, says Roger Protz

When, some 30 years ago, I set out to write an article about the new Ringwood Brewery, in Hampshire, the term "micro" was in its infancy.

There was a handful of pubs that brewed on the premises, but small, stand-alone producers were an intriguing new development.

Ringwood was intriguing for another reason. Peter Austin, a revered figure in the brewing industry, had set it up. He had been head brewer at Hull Brewery, once a substantial presence in the regional sector.

He retired to Hampshire in 1975 but got itchy brewing fingers. He had also developed a theory that the demand for cask beer created by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) would open up the market and offer new opportunities to specialist craft brewers.

I found him in Ringwood, knocking out some 10 barrels a week in a former bakery. He wasn't alone: a young man named David Welsh was scrubbing a fermenting vessel. We did no more than say "hello".

The Ringwood beers were excellent - a long way removed from the stewed-cardboard taste of home brew. Nevertheless, I felt sceptical about the possibility of tiny outfits such as Ringwood making headway in a pub trade dominated by the "Big Six" national brewers, as well as a sizeable regional sector.

Not for the first time, I was proved wrong when the first of the new-wave micros proved to be trail-blazers.

Peter Austin, dubbed "the father of micro-brewing" as a result of acting as a consultant to other new breweries, had correctly identified a niche in the market and there was a growing clamour for "micro-beers".

Ringwood was given a considerable boost when its Old Thumper strong ale was named Champion Beer of Britain at Camra's Great British Beer Festival in 1988. New premises were opened in a former brewery in Ringwood called Tunks. As Peter Austin toured the world, setting up new breweries in mainland Europe, the United States and even China, day-to-day running of the brewery was taken over by David Welsh, the quiet young man I had seen scrubbing a fermenting vessel.

David, it turned out, had worked in the City and had a good grasp of business.

He expanded Ringwood vigorously: a modern brewhouse was installed; refrigerated wagons delivered beer to a growing free-trade; a small estate of seven pubs was created, and a small, enthusiastic sales team sold Ringwood beers on draught and in bottle far and wide.

Ringwood now produces more than 30,000 barrels a year. It has long since left the ranks of the micros and is recognised as a genuine regional brewer - in fact, it brews more than twice as much beer a year as some long-established family producers.

Ringwood lost its independence last week when Marston's bought it for £19m. There seems no end to the takeovers and mergers that have created three super-regionals in the shape of Greene King, Marston's and Wells & Young's, with Fuller's in hot pursuit.

Fuller's takeover of Gale's in 2005 has proved to be a catalyst. Marston's is aware that Hampshire and surrounding counties offer considerable potential for cask-beer brewers. The region has a high number of free pubs - many off-loaded from the former Whitbread empire.

In a sense, Marston's decision to buy Ringwood can be seen as a victory for cask beer. The global brewers and the marketing analysts who predicted the collapse of the sector some years ago now have egg on their faces.

Cask beer is enjoying a considerable revival and the globals, faced by a stagnant lager market, may yet rue their decision to sideline real ale.

Marston's track record at Jennings - new investment and expansion of sales - suggests Ringwood is safe in its hands.

But that is not really the point. Another brewery has lost its independence and now Marston's rivals will be looking at the options for buying other independent breweries, with the south-east the major target.

My email inbox has been running red-hot since the Ringwood news broke: people feel a sense of loss, bordering on betrayal. One thing is certain: whatever he does next, I doubt I shall find David Welsh scrubbing out a fermenting vessel in the near future.

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