As I type these words, I am enjoying a glass of Brakspear Bitter, a delightful, 3.4% alcohol best bitter from W. H. Brakspear & Sons, Henley on Thames, England. It is a dry, appetizing ale, with tremendous body and character for a beer of such modest strength. It is also an ale that might not be with us for much longer.
As fans of British ale are no doubt already aware, the Brakspear brewery is going to close. After more than 200 years of brewing in Henley, the decision has been made to wind things up before Christmas of this year, despite several years of rising sales and a flagship brand that is thought by many to be one of the classics of British brewing. The human toll, as reported by the Campaign for Real Ale's newspaper, 'What's Brewing,' will be 35 jobs lost.
But all may not be lost where Brakspear Bitter is concerned. The rights to the Henley brands have been purchased by Refresh UK, the parent company of the Wychwood Brewery of Witney, brewers of Hobgoblin, Fiddler's Elbow and other meritorious ales. The plan is for Refresh to build a new brewery in an unspecified location, equip it with some of the brewing and fermenting vessels salvaged from the old Brakspear facility and restart production of at least some of the beers, Brakspear Bitter included. In the meantime, production will be contracted to the Burtonwood Brewery of Warrington, Cheshire.
Now, given that I'm a great admirer of Brakspear Bitter, you would think that I'd be cheered by the news that the brand will not be lost. Instead, however, I find myself wondering why Refresh is even going to bother.
Every brewer knows how difficult it is to produce the same beer in two different locations. Beer is a living thing, as much a product of its environment as of its ingredients, and even when equipment is duplicated or moved to a new home and water treated to emulate the source used for the original brew, variations in flavour and aroma do occur. Simply, as Roger Protz so eloquently observes in his September 'What's Brewing' column, it's unlikely the replicated beers will taste like the Henley originals.
And maybe they shouldn't. As much as it is a shame when the production of great beers is ended, we should be cheered by the fact that new classics are being invented quite regularly in breweries all over the globe. There may never be another Brakspear Bitter, but perhaps in the weeks and months to come, some brewery on the other side of the island will develop a bitter that, while different in character, is every bit as good. And that being the case, why couldn't or shouldn't that brewery be Refresh-owned?
Obviously, there is capital to be found in a name, which is why Refresh has bought the Brakspear brands in the first place. But rather than feasting on the bones of the dead, and potentially disappointing thousands of Brakspear fans in the process, I wonder if Refresh's time, money and energies wouldn't be better spent in developing their own classics.
Yes, I'll be sorry to see Brakspear Bitter go, but I'll be even sorrier to see a pale imitation take its place
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