Drinkers vow to boycott Brown Ale when Tyneside loses its bottle

Some drinkers have already vowed to boycott the world-famous brand after Scottish & Newcastle announced yesterday it is shifting production to Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.

The Federation Brewery in Dunston, Gateshead, where Newcastle Brown Ale is currently brewed, will close with the loss of 63 jobs by the middle of next year. The decision is blamed on falling sales.

“Clearly, this is a sad day, but the proposal to close Dunston is not a decision we have taken lightly,” said Paul Hoffman, the brewery’s operations director.

“Nor is it a reflection on the employees at the site, who have done an excellent job over the last few years in a very challenging market.”

The famous bottled beer, with its iconic blue star label, first went on sale in 1927 and was brewed next to St James’ Park football ground in Newcastle until 2005.

Newcastle Brown Ale was granted Protected Geographical Indication status by the European Union – meaning it could only be produced in the city.

However, that status was dropped in late 2007, following the shift of production to Gateshead.

Now, production will move nearly 90 miles down the A1 to the brewery where John Smiths is produced and where “Broon” is already bottled.

The day after the beer was launched, it was said the local police appealed to the brewery to make it weaker because the cells were full of drunks.

The ale was also dubbed “dog” by drinkers, as they would make the excuse of going to “walk the dog” when nipping to the pub.

Geordies remember with affection the yeasty smell from the city centre brewery, which was demolished last year to make way for a science park.

The brand continues to be popular abroad, particularly in the US, where Clint Eastwood is said to be a fan.

Jeff Tate, regional organiser for the Unite union, said: “It’s not Newcastle Brown Ale if it is not made here. We are very disappointed.”

Business leaders at the North-East Chamber of Commerce expressed sadness at the announcement by Scottish & Newcastle, part of the Heinekin group.

Chief executive James Ramsbotham said: “Newcastle Brown Ale is a global icon for the town and the North- East.

“Its fame stretches far and wide and it is part of the fabric of our region.”

Martin Callanan, Tory MEP for the North-East, said the move was a blow to the region.

He said: “Newcastle Brown Ale put the local area and the region firmly on the international map.”

The life and times of Broon

■ Colonel Jim Porter started developing Newcastle Brown Ale in 1924 and Newcastle Breweries’ new brand went into full production three years later.

■ In 1928, Newcastle Brown Ale won gold at the International Brewers’ Exhibition in London, the gold medal joining the Newcastle Breweries’ blue star logo on the bottle’s distinctive label.

■ The original beer was considerably stronger than the modern version – leading police in Newcastle to ask the brewery to weaken it.

■ The bottle’s screw top was replaced with a tin crown cap with the opening of a new bottling factory at Tyne Brewery in 1951.

■ Newcastle Breweries merged with Scottish Brewers in 1960 to form Scottish & Newcastle.

■ For the first 60 years, sales of Newcastle Brown were largely confined to the North- East but a marketing campaign in the late Eighties saw sales soar. By 2005, about 100 million bottles a year were being sold in 40 countries, with “Broon”

being drunk everywhere from the House of Commons to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

■ In 2005, production of Newcastle Brown moved to the Federation Brewery in Gateshead and, two years later, it was announced that while it would still be brewed on Tyneside, the beer was to be bottled at Tadcaster.

■ In 2000, the word Ale was dropped from the title as it was thought Newcastle Brown would have more appeal to a younger drinkers, only for it to be reinstated four years later when it was discovered it hadn’t made the slightest difference.

■ The brand was granted protected European status in 2000 – alongside the likes of champagne, Roquefort cheese and Parma ham – to protect it from imitations brewed elsewhere. The brewery asked for the protection in 2005 as it was moving its operations to Gateshead.

■ Now, up to 160 million bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale are produced a year, of which 55 million are consumed in the UK.

Geordies ready to resist move

THE decision to brew the North-East’s most famous beer outside the region was met with bewilderment on Tyneside yesterday.

People on Newcastle’s Quayside, which lies beneath the Tyne Bridge, featured on the bottle’s label, said the move would be met with resistance among Geordies.

Retired fitter and turner Peter Walker, 69, from Gosforth, Newcastle, said: “It’s the loss of an institution. It’s bad crack.

“Brown ale is a unique beer with a taste of its own. It’s part of our heritage and our culture up here.

“I used to drink it myself with the lads on a Friday night before we went to the dance. It’s strong stuff.”

Bosses at Scottish and Newcastle said the decision to brew the world-famous ale in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, was made because of the current economic climate, but Claire Lambert, 23, from Jesmond, thought it would prove bad for business in the long run.

She said: “It’s not very good for the brand. Anybody who drinks it would want it to come from the North-East.”

The region is attracting an increasing number of tourists who associate the brew with the North-East character.

Sylvia Powell, an Australian living in Northampton, said: “It is a real shame.

If it is called Newcastle Brown Ale it should be made in Newcastle.

Someone should tell them to think again.”

But not everyone felt as passionate about brewing the beer in its homeland.

London-born teacher Adam Van Gogh, 32, who has lived in the region for 11 years, said: “It’s better now it is not brewed in the city centre because it used to stink.

“It doesn’t bother me where it is made as it is not my cup of tea. It tastes like fizzy gravy.”

'Show some respect'

ALE experts have slammed the decision to transfer the production of the Newcastle Brown to North Yorkshire.

Although the brew is not classed as a real ale, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), is defending it.

Iain Loe, a national spokesman for Camra, said: “The fact that Scottish and Newcastle is willing to move such an iconic ale from pillar to post shows the lack of respect it has for the brand.

“To move Newcastle Brown Ale from Tyneside, where it has been produced since the Twenties, and move it to North Yorkshire, is also stretching the geography of the country somewhat.”

Ian Williams, director of policy for North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said moving production of Newcastle Brown Ale was preferable to seeing the brand disappear.

He said: “There is a human aspect to what has happened here, with 63 people possibly losing their jobs.

“But if this move protects the future of this brand, it could be seen as a positive.”