Devon and Cornwall breweries unite to rebrand Best beers

06-Jan-2015 - Last updated on 06-Jan-2015 at 16:46 GMT

St Austell's James Staughton with Dartmoor Brewery's Philip Davies

St Austell Brewery in Cornwall is handing over the Dartmoor Best brand to another South West brewer.

Dartmoor Brewery is to take on the brand while St Austell will rename the ale Cornish Best.

James Staughton, managing director of St Austell Brewery, said: “Dartmoor Best was a popular beer within our range for a long time. Having been contracted to brew the beer for many years, St Austell Brewery decided to buy the brand name and trade mark in 2002, and I think if we hadn’t done so, it was at risk of dying out.

“We feel it is now time to pass on the brand to Dartmoor Brewery, so they can continue producing a beer under this well-known name.”

Distribution deal

The move follows a recent distribution deal that means St Austell has become the sole wholesale distributor for Dartmoor Brewery, significantly extending the distribution of Dartmoor’s Legend, Jail Ale and Dartmoor IPA beers to freetrade outlets across the region.

Philip Davies, chairman of Dartmoor Brewery, added: “The addition of the Dartmoor Best brand within our beer portfolio is a natural fit. We have developed a new recipe for the beer, which has been well received in trials and like all our beers, it uses Dartmoor ingredients.”

The new Dartmoor Best will be introduced in the first quarter of this year.