Broon
When I was a teenager, we were as likely to drink Newcastle Brown as we were McEwan's Best Scotch. Both of them were most definitely old man's beers, and no self-respecting youngster wants to be tarred with the young fogey brush. So, despite the fact Newkie Broon is the most iconic beer ever brewed in my home region, it's not one I feel any affinity with.
A few years ago production of Newcastle Brown moved across the Tyne to Dunston in Gateshead. That was a break with the past, but at least the beer was still being made in the same region. Now the Gateshead brewery looks likely to close, with Tadcaster in Yorkshire picking up the slack. The BBC (who still owe me money for using my flat for filming) has the story.
So, apart from the picture of the Tyne Bridge on the front label and the embarrassing Geordie dialect on the back, where's the connection with Newcastle now? The fact that Heineken - who bought Scottish & Newcastle Breweries not long ago - would do this brings into the question the importance of beer provenance.
Does it really matter to most consumers? It would seem not. After all, Fosters gets away with claiming to be Australian, when in fact the stuff that mugs drink in British pubs is brewed here by (guess who) S&N. Even the world's original golden lager - Pilsner Urquell - is now produced under license in Poland and Russia.
The next question has to be this: should provenance really matter? After all, brewers have a habit of importing malt and hops from all over the world. If the principal ingredients - other than water - don't need to be local, then does the location of the actual brewery really matter?
In case you're interested, my drinking career began with ciders like Woodpecker, before I moved on to bottled lagers like Labatt's Ice and American Bud. I didn't drink real ale because I was normal, and - let's be honest here - normal teenagers don't go near the stuff.
18 comments:
It does matter because when Breweries move the beer changes, look at Brakspear, it tasted different. Youngs actually tastes better since its been in Bedford. Don't know if it matters for gassy lagers though.
its the Theakstons question, how can it be Theakstons if it isn't brewed in Masham, it can't be, it can be a pale imitation when its bussed in from Carlisle but its not what made the brand its name.
When its a "area associated" beer Like Newcastle Brown Ale then once it leaves the area it no longer is "Newcastle" its just a Brown ale. Equally beers which associate with Yorkshire need to be brewed in Yorkshire (yes chippy northern society is in session). Even London brews need authentic London brewing to be such...In France the localised identity would be protected by law, in this country we just sit and wait the inevitable "Super Brewery" (proberbly being built as we speak in Milton Keynes) that does all the big 5's beers and lagers (proberbly sharing vats one day).
Clearly taking my position to its logical extreme its time you started speaking cockney new money posh if your going to be a North London landlord...
Wasn't "Newcastle Brown" a Protected Geographical Indication, which they lost when they moved brewing to Gateshead? It's hardly the most "authentic" product in the first place, so I doubt whether they'll lose too many sales.
I had the misfortune of ordering an American-brewed Newcastle Brown recently.
I'm sure a pensioner's arse-crack probably tastes better.
It was S&N who lobbied the EU to get Newcastle Brown Ale awarded PGI status in the first place. Seeing them apply to get it removed again just a few years later was pathetic proof of their venality.
Still, moving Newcastle Brown less than two miles down the road is not quite the same as moving it to Yorkshire. I'm no friend of S&N but it's not their fault that Newcastle and Gateshead insist on pretending they're separate cities.
It's a curious fact that Tadcaster still has three large breweries, John Smith's, Sam Smith's and the one everyone forgets, the old Tadcaster Tower brewery, now owned by Coors. Thus this town of just 7,000 people has three times as many old-established breweries as London ...
I also wouldn't rush too soon to blame Heineken. S&N didn't need any help from Heineken when it closed the McEwan's brewery in Edinburgh that its business had been built on in the first place. This is just one last gasp from S&N before it turns into Heineken UK, doing what S&N does best: pissing all over its own heritage.
The brewery was featured on James and oz drink to Britain, one of the most soleless place I have ever seen
I think regional provenance is becoming increasingly important to consumers as they begin to rally against globalisation. Home produced produce, 'local shop' retail stores where the staff know your name and locally brewed ales all making a comeback. Of course this could just be another marketing trend that could be snuffed out in the blink of an eye, but as a marketer I think there is some substance to it.
Personally I'm not too fussed. I'd rather just have a high quality product. I'm a fan of quite a few of the American IPAs. Not too bothered whether they are brewed in Chicago or Chiswick though.
Why is NB called 'Dog'?
Why is NB called 'Dog'?
From the term "I am take the dog for a walk" and then going for a give pint
when i started drinking (Essex, mid-90s), NB was an acceptable choice for teenagers (at least among grungey gig going types), i guess distance, a nice bottle, and lack of old men drinking it gave it some sort of cool.
i remember bottles of K cider being popular too...
I think michael j's right that the Newcastle Brown/old man connection is strictly a North East thing Jeff. When I started drinking in Manchester in the late 80's, and then as a student in Stoke in the early 90's, plently of young people - including me - drank it in bottles. Old men, and some young ones like me, drank bitter and mild.
Barm: I'm no friend of S&N but it's not their fault that Newcastle and Gateshead insist on pretending they're separate cities.
Gateshead is a town in County Durham, Newcastle was historically Northumberland. I've never considered them to be one city, and the only time it's ever been suggested that they are is in recent tourism efforts (which are in themselves a bit desperate - Newcastle has a lot going for it, but weekend break material it ain't).
@coxy "It does matter because when Breweries move the beer changes, look at Brakspear, it tasted different."
When brewed at Burtonwood, Brakspear's beers were in my opinion awful - nothing like Henley-brewed.
After a bit of tweaking at Wychwood, I think they got it pretty spot on & ironically Witney was I think one of the places Robert Brakspear had previously brewed at before settling on Henley.
I second the point about S&N petitioning the EC to remove their expensive & hard-fought PGI status - so laughable.
As to the general point about the provenance of a beer - yes with brewing science & water chemistry, etc, etc, you can probably make any beer anywhere, but we are sentimental creatures & we like to hear stories & know where things come from & who makes them - although keeping track of the truth about this in today's beer world is damn tricky. (so says a former "cuckoo-brewer" who named his co. after a very specific geographical location, then brewed the beers elsewhere for a while!)
@ Michael-J and Matt - agreed, down in London I wasn't the only teenager drinking Newky brown. (I was a grungey gig going type though - was it just that it tended to be available in scuzzy venues?)
I had no problem drinking real ale as a youngster (Theakstons in my case) - it was more rebellious drinking something different from my mates (generally Kestrel lager with lime so not that hard).
I drank a lot of Broon as a teenager. You asked for it as a 15 year old in a pub and everyone assumed you were at least 35!
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