CMBC admitted it will delist eight cask ales and three kegged beers at the end of the calendar year due to a fall in demand.
But the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) said pubs will soon be unable to stock iconic beers following the buy-out of the last of Marston’s UK brewing operations realising a “hugely reduce consumer choice in the UK”.
CAMRA said the decision to delist the brands by the end of the year will “decimate consumer choice” and further proves the conglomerate, which now owns a sizable chunk of the UK brewing scene, will have a huge impact on both pubs and pubgoers.
It added having closed Jennings Brewery, sold the Eagle Brewery and announced the closure of Banks’s Brewery, CMBC’s latest move “will deal brewing, consumer choice and industry jobs another blow”.
Huge loss of choice
Despite an investigation by the Competition & Markets Authority finding the merger of Marston’s and Carlsberg would not have negative effects, CAMRA said, “it is now confirmed that the consolidation of the businesses will be followed by the consolidation of their brands, resulting in a huge loss of choice at the bar for consumers”.
Eight cask beers and a further three keg brands will no longer be available to pubs, regardless of whether licensees wish to order them, including big names like Banks’s Mild and Bombardier.
CAMRA real ale, cider & perry campaigns director and vice-chair Gillian Hough said: “This is another example of a globally owned business wiping out UK brewing heritage.
“I hope this change will mean space on the bar for licensees to stock guest beers from local independent breweries but, realistically, I suspect this isn’t what CMBC plans.
“This loss of consumer choice is the inevitable outcome of a brewing conglomerate run by accountants and the bottom line. This is a sad and disappointing decision that puts both the history and the future of British brewing in jeopardy.”
Sustainable future
In response, a CMBC spokesperson said: “As the UK’s largest cask ale brewer, CMBC is passionate about cask ale and delivering a sustainable, successful future for this important part of British beer culture.
“Like any brewer, we are always reviewing our lines to best appeal to our consumers and help grow cask ale while delivering the highest quality brews.
“Understandably, where demand has sadly declined, we do have to make the difficult choice to delist beers.
“We continue to invest in and launch new cask ales as well as support popular traditional cask ales ranging from Banks’s Amber Bitter to Marston’s Pedigree.”
The cask brands being delisted at the end of the year are:
- Banks’s Mild cask
- Banks’s Sunbeam cask
- Eagle IPA cask
- Jennings Cumberland Ale cask
- Marston’s Old Empire cask
- Marston’s 61 Deep cask
- Ringwood Boondoggle cask
- Ringwood Old Thumper cask
The three kegged beers being dropped are:
- Bombardier
- Mansfield Dark Smooth
- Mansfield Original Bitter