Brewery in China ponders a John Bull takeaway
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.CHINA may soon be in for a cultural awakening in the form of the Romford Brewery, which satisfied the liquid needs of Essex man for more than a quarter of a century.
An unknown company in China has become interested in buying most of the defunct brewery's equipment, which is capable of churning out 216 million pints of beer a year.
Romford ceased to be the productive home of John Bull Bitter last January, when 300 jobs went as Allied-Lyons, the brewery's owner, closed it under the impact of the continuing decline in beer consumption in the UK. The brewery, in the heart of Essex, also produced three lager brands - Skol, Lowenbrau and Castlemaine XXXX.
Allied, which has since integrated its brewing operations in the UK through a joint venture with Carlsberg of Denmark, declined to name the prospective buyer.
'All we can say is that we are trying to sell the hardware of the brewery, and that a brewery in China is interested in buying a very large proportion of it,' a spokesman for the Carlsberg-Tetley joint venture company said.
The entire contents of the brewhouse are for sale. They comprise one mash tun, a lauter tun, which separates the grain from the liquid wort, two coppers, which are used to boil the wort, a wort receiver, and fermenting tanks.
'The equipment at Romford is state-of-the-art,' the Carlsberg- Tetley spokesman added.
Buying secondhand is a much cheaper option for the Chinese than making the equipment. Brewing tuns and coppers do not come in standard sizes, but are made to breweries' individual specifications.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments