McEwan's
McEwan's (MacEwan's in some markets[1]) is a brand of ales, with the draught beers brewed at the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland and the canned and bottled beers brewed at the Eagle Brewery, Bedford, England. It is owned by Wells & Youngs following the sale of the brands by Heineken in November 2011. Its logo depicts a character from a Frans Hals painting known popularly as The Laughing Cavalier. It is the most popular ale brand in Scotland, where the brand enjoys a 22 per cent market share.[2] However like most largely pasteurised ale brands in the UK it has been in a state of managed decline.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
William McEwan opened the Fountain Brewery in 1856, in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh. It had built up a successful colonial export trade by the 1860s.[4] By the time it became in public company in 1889, the brewery was valued at £1 million. At the beginning of the 1900s, the brewery had a large share of the market throughout Scotland and a 90 per cent share of the North East of England market, and was exporting to Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.[5] At its peak, the brewery was producing 2 million barrels of beer a year, much of it for export.[6] In 1931 McEwan's merged with William Younger's Brewery (founded in Edinburgh in 1778), becoming Scottish Brewers.[7] The company merged again in 1960, joining with Newcastle Breweries to form Scottish & Newcastle. McEwan's Export became one of the three core brands of the new company, alongside Newcastle Brown Ale and Younger's Tartan/Special.[8]
In February 2004 Scottish & Newcastle announced the closure of McEwan's Brewery, at the same time as buying a third of Caledonian Brewery in Slateford, Edinburgh. The Fountain Brewery finally closed in June 2005, with production of the McEwan's keg beers being transferred to the Caledonian Brewery and cans of McEwan's Export being produced at John Smith's Brewery.[9] In October 2011 the McEwan's beer brands were sold by Heineken to Wells & Youngs for around £20 million, and canned and bottled production of McEwan's was moved to Bedford.[10][11] The new owners have vowed to reintroduce McEwan's as a cask ale brand and launch an expanded bottled range to target the premium end of the beer market.[12] Along with the Younger's brands, McEwan's generates £80 million of sales annually in the UK.[13]
[edit] Beers
- McEwan's 60/- (3.2 per cent ABV) is a pale ale also known as 'Light'. It is described as having a light roast flavour and a touch of sweetness.[14]
- McEwan's Best Scotch (3.6 per cent ABV) is a best scotch. Its sales are concentrated in the North East of England. During the 1980s and early 1990s it was marketed as "The one you've got to come back for".[15]
- McEwan's 70/- (3.7 per cent ABV) is a session bitter. It is described as 'a rich, smooth and creamy ale with a subtle hop aroma'.[14] Outside of Scotland it is sold as Younger's Scotch Bitter and Younger's Tartan Special.[16]
- McEwan's 80/- (4.2 per cent ABV) is also known as 'Heavy'. The second highest selling McEwan's brand.[17] The cask conditioned version was withdrawn from the market in 2007 but made a brief return in June 2011.[18] Formerly brewed at 4.5 per cent ABV. A version continued to be brewed at 4.5% ABV for the Teesside market for some time after the ABV was lowered elsewhere. It is sometimes sold in the UK outside of Scotland as Younger's IPA.
- McEwan's Export (4.5 per cent ABV) is described as being 'full-bodied with a sweet roast flavour'.[14] It originated in the 1860s and is the highest selling McEwan's brand.[19][20][17] It is the most popular premium draught ale in Scotland, is among the top five ales in the United Kingdom take-home market, and it is the second most popular premium canned ale.[21][22][23] In export markets it is sold as McEwan's India Pale Ale and its ABV can vary slightly from 4.3 to 4.7 per cent.
- McEwan's Champion Ale (7.3 per cent ABV) is a Burton or Edinburgh ale. It is described as having 'an intense flavour combining caramel, roast, sweet and fruity notes'.[24] Available across the United Kingdom in 500ml bottles, it is one of the top twenty highest selling bottled ales, selling around 9,300 hectolitres in 2010.[25][23] It is brewed to a higher ABV (8%) for export markets under the name McEwan's Scotch Ale.[26]
- McEwan's Lager (3.6 per cent ABV) The third most popular McEwan's brand.[27] It was introduced in the 1970s as lager became more popular. It largely disappeared from the public domain due to the rise in popularity of S&N's other lagers. However, when SABMiller delisted Miller Beer, a popular licensed brand in the Scottish market, S&N found themselves with a gap in their lager portfolio, so in November 2008 it was re-launched.[28]
"/- " is an old writing convention for shillings. The shilling beers are named after the original cost of a hogshead.
[edit] Sponsorship
During the 1980s and 1990s, McEwan's sponsored six football clubs and one rugby league club:
- Carlisle United – 1982 to 1988 (as 'McEwan's Younger')[29]
- Darlington – 1984 to 1987[30]
- Rangers – 1987 to 1999[31]
- Notts County – 1991 to 1994 (Away games only)[32]
- Newcastle United – 1991 to 1995 (Away games only)[33]
- Blackburn Rovers – 1991 to 1996[34]
- St Helens RLFC – 1995 to 1999
[edit] References
- ^ "Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter - Ask Michael". Beerhunter.com. http://www.beerhunter.com/askmichael1.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Jygsaw Brands | Raising the bar". Jygsaw.com. http://www.jygsaw.com/brands-mcewans.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ Euromonitor 2011, 47.9mn litres in 2001 to 17.6mn litres in 2010.
- ^ "Scottish Brewing Archive - Collections - Records of William McEwan & Co Ltd, brewers, Edinburgh, Scotland". Archives.gla.ac.uk. http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/sbacolls/snm.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ Sandy Murray (2004-02-17). "UK | Scotland | Years of brewing history ending". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3495417.stm. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Fountainbridge, Edinburgh". EdinburghGuide.com. http://www.edinburghguide.com/fountainbridgeedinburgh. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ Wells gets Younger – which isn’t as old as claimed | Zythophile
- ^ http://www.heineken.co.uk/ataglance/ataglance_aboutus.pdf
- ^ "Last orders for famed Edinburgh brewery". The Scotsman. 2005-06-03. http://heritage.scotsman.com/ingenuity.cfm?id=609522005. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ . Edinburgh. http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Cheers-McEwan39s-and-Younger39s-set.6847869.jp.[dead link]
- ^ Scottish beer deal puts Wells and Young’s into the top three - Local Business - Bedford Today
- ^ Export hopes brew for premium beer brands - Herald Scotland | Business | Corporate & SME
- ^ "Brewer buys McEwan's and Younger's Scottish ales". BBC News. 2011-10-04. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-15167251.
- ^ a b c "McEwan’s Scottish Ale : Beers". Mcewans.co.uk. http://www.mcewans.co.uk/beers.php. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1989/fulltext/244c4.pdf
- ^ McEwans 70 Shilling (Pasteurised)
- ^ a b Euromonitor 2012
- ^ http://www.waverleytbs.co.uk/Branches/WaverleyTBS/WaverleyTBS/Files/Documents/TotalCask/Total%20Cask%20June%202011%20Brochure.pdf
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: William McEwan
- ^ "Beers & Lagers". Onestopshop.molsoncoorsdirect.com. http://onestopshop.molsoncoorsdirect.com/product_listing.aspx?typeClass=3. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ http://hub.wrnewmedia.co.uk/pdflibrary/OLN/OLN%20Beer%20Report%202010.pdf
- ^ a b http://www.marstons.co.uk/docs/PBA_REPORT_2011_FINAL.pdf
- ^ "Heineken UK - The UK’s Largest Beer and Cider Business". Heineken.co.uk. http://www.heineken.co.uk/specbrand_mcewan.php. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ 30 September 2010 (2010-09-30). "McEwan’s back on TV". TalkingRetail.com. http://www.talkingretail.com/products/product-news/mcewans-back-on-tv. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Come-back for the Burtons | Zythophile". Zythophile.wordpress.com. https://zythophile.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/come-back-for-the-burtons/. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ Euromonitor 2012 (43,000 hl)
- ^ "On Trade Scotland Nov08". Publishing.yudu.com. http://publishing.yudu.com/Library/Avbfz/OnTradeScotlandNov08/resources/32.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Carlisle United - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Carlisle_United/Carlisle_United.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Darlington - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Darlington/Darlington.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Rangers - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. 1939-01-02. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Rangers/Rangers.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Notts County - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. 2010-02-10. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Notts_County/Notts_County.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Newcastle United Change Kits - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. 1951-01-27. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Newcastle_United/Newcastle_United-change-kits.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Blackburn_Rovers/Blackburn_Rovers.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
