What are you not drinking now?

[SteveC]

My local brewery, Yeovil Ales, has closed down.  :'(
I've been buying from them for the past two years, almost every week, starting in during lockdown.

A real shame.

[rogerzilla]

So many over the years.

Eldridge Pope, Whitbread, Hofmeister 

[Hot Flatus]

You forget....Devenish.

Pure shite, as was Eldridge Pope. It amazes me that Greene King is still in business.

[Jaded]

Wickwar Ales

An Teallach Ales

[SteveC]

I think we're discussing two different types of beast here. The likes of Devonish, Eldridge Pope and so on were caught between the really big boys (back in the day the likes of Whitbread and Courage) and the smaller artisan brewers. The medium ones were producing not particularly brilliant beer and doing it without the real benefits of scale.
What seems to be happening now is that the first generation of very small brewers is coming to an end, in many cases due to retirement. We've lost Cottage and RCH round here for that reason and Ringwood sold out to Marton's when the founder wanted to retire.

In the case of Yeovil, I don't think that is the case. I think they have hit financial issues due to the pandemic. But I suspect I will never find out.

[Hot Flatus]

There are loads of small breweries around now. There's now a tiny one a 5 minute ride away down the cycle track. I rode there straight from work last Friday and had a pint of their lightest beer. It was like a soft Spanish beer. Gorgeous. It felt great in my tummy for hours. I just wanted to keep it there and not add anything to spoil it.

Anyway, I think your summary is pretty accurate...plus a number of these medium-sized breweries packed up in the late 80s/early 90s when lager took off, and of course a bit later the land/buildings of the town-centre 19th century breweries became more valuable than the actual business

[geoff]

You forget....Devenish.

Pure shite, as was Eldridge Pope. It amazes me that Greene King is still in business.

Kindly don't mention GK... we got took over by them here in former Morland country. Mind you, it's just one lot of ruthless capitalist bastards instead of another.

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[geoff]

You forget....Devenish.

Pure shite, as was Eldridge Pope. It amazes me that Greene King is still in business.

Kindly don't mention GK... we got took over by them here in former Morland country. Mind you, it's just one lot of ruthless capitalist bastards instead of another.

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... So I'm not drinking Abbot, or OSH or Ruddles, or Morrells, all for related reasons.


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[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Gales Dark Mild a.k.a as the Black Death.  Used to bring about a very peaceable mood where I was happy to watch the world go blurringly by.

[Slave To The Viking]

Sneck Lifter.

I always thought I'd tried it and had thought it was just...OK. Then had a bottle, and it was pretty much the perfect beer. For me, anyway. I'm sure some will scoff. But I adored it.

All those years of not bothering because I'd misremembered...seems like such a waste now I can't get the damn stuff any more.

[rafletcher]

Sneck Lifter.

I always thought I'd tried it and had thought it was just...OK. Then had a bottle, and it was pretty much the perfect beer. For me, anyway. I'm sure some will scoff. But I adored it.

All those years of not bothering because I'd misremembered...seems like such a waste now I can't get the damn stuff any more.

Ooh I remeber that, about 15 years ago, it was a guest ale at a local pub. Very nice.

This time of year I'm not drinking Black Adder or Santa's Sack, from the Gribble Inn microbrewery in Oving, West Sussex. Or indded any of their other excellent ales.