I still haven't come to terms with "Wells & Young's". For me, the Bedford brewery is "Charlie Wells" and I am still saddened by the closure of Young's of Wandsworth. I spent many happy hours in the sample room there, while horses went clopping by to deliver beer to local pubs.
There's little room for sentiment in modern brewing. Young's closed in 2006 and production was transferred to Bedford. The brewery is now jointly owned by Wells and Young's, while the two companies run separate pub estates.
It's not too surprising to find, given its location, that the Wells family and management are firmly in control of beer production. But the Young's beers were carefully matched at Bedford: Ken Don, the legendary Young's head brewer, spent several months at Wells before retiring. Ken is a Scot and another of his countrymen, Bob Nesbit, moved from Wandsworth to mastermind the beers.
It was a tricky transition. Young's brewery dates from the 1830s and breathed tradition. Brewing took place in open fermenters, following mashing and boiling in conventional mash tuns and coppers.
The Wells' brewery, on the other hand, was built in the 1970s and was designed to be multi-functional. Mash mixers, lauter tuns, brew kettles and conical fermenters can produce prodigious amounts of lager as well as ale. Red Stripe and Kirin Ichiban lagers are vital parts of the beer portfolio. But Wells remains firmly committed to cask ale and is reaping rich rewards as a result.
When the new Wells brewery was built to replace a 19th-century plant, production was expected to run at around 100,000 barrels a year. But the new brewery was cleverly designed to allow for expansion. Wells & Young's now produces close to 600,000 barrels a year and cask beer accounts for 200,000 barrels.
The cask side of the business stands as testimony to the strength and resilience of the sector. Since the merger of Wells and Young's, the company has added two further famous beers to the portfolio. Courage Best Bitter and Directors were considered surplus to requirements by Scottish & Newcastle and they are now brewed at Bedford.
The two beers mark the glaring gap between the priorities of the global brewers and the new nationals. The Courage brands were too small for S&N to be bothered with, yet Courage Best is now the biggest cask beer brewed by Wells & Young's. It's the second biggest-selling standard cask bitter in the country. It will enjoy a £2.9m promotion this year and an old but still remembered slogan will be used: "Take Courage my friend".
In total, £4.5m will be spent this year on the W&Y cask beers. Young's Bitter is the second biggest cask brand at Bedford and sales are growing strongly in London and the south-east. Its promotion this year will make much of the fact that it's brewed from the finest Maris Otter malting barley, which can be traced back to the farms in Norfolk where it's grown, along with traditional Fuggles and Goldings hops and Bedford's natural mineral water.
There's a special area set aside in the vast brewhouse where casks of each beer are available for tasting by members of the brewing staff: they have to write their comments on each brew in a special book. I was delighted to be reacquainted with the Young's beers. When they first moved to Bedford, I thought they were a tad too dark, but now they are the familiar straw colour and positively zing with bitter hop character and the unmistakable tang of citrus fruit.
Bombardier remains Wells' flagship beer. It's one of the country's top 10 premium ales and for 15 years it has enjoyed a special promotion around St George's Day as the "Beer of England". Iconic figures ranging from Queen Victoria to Les Dawson — spot the difference — will be used to promote the beer this year. Bombardier is the official beer of English Heritage and the association will give a two-for-one entry scheme to English Heritage sites.
As well as new pump clips for the cask range, W&Y will use the written word to attract new drinkers to the style. The company's research shows that two-thirds of drinkers have never tried cask beer. W&Y is addressing the problem with a special pamphlet extolling the pleasures of cask that will be distributed to the free-trade with the message "I ? Cask Beer" — the booklet is part of a multi-brewer initiative for raising cask's profile, which includes Adnams and Greene King.
The pamphlet explains how cask beer is brewed and the fine, natural ingredients that are used. It outlines how to appreciate the aromas and flavours of the style and even — bravely — speaks of the healthy attributes of moderate drinking.
Next to that vast brewhouse in Bedford, a new cold store is being built to accommodate the growing number of casks that roll off the production line. Traditional English ale is the cornerstone of Wells & Young's, once proud separate companies, but now united with great passion for the product and faith in the future.