The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is reporting that Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Co is to axe eight well-known cask beers by the end of the year.
Banks’s Brewery, in Wolverhampton. Last month, CMBC announced a proposal to close the site in autumn 2025
Despite an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, finding that the merger of Marston’s and Carlsberg would not have negative effects, it is now confirmed that the consolidation of the businesses will be followed by the consolidation of their brands, says CAMRA.
Eight cask beers and a further three keg brands will no longer be available to pubs. These are:
- Banks’s Mild
- Banks’s Sunbeam
- Bombardier
- Eagle IPA
- Jenning Cumberland Ale
- Mansfield Dark Smooth
- Mansfield Original Bitter
- Marston’s Old Empire
- Marston’s 61 Deep
- Ringwood Boondoggle
- Ringwood Old Thumper
“This is another example of a globally-owned business wiping out UK brewing heritage,” said Gillian Hough, CAMRA’s real ale, cider, and perry campaigns director, and vice-chair.
“I hope that this change will mean space on the bar for licensees to stock guest beers from local independent breweries, but realistically, I suspect this isn’t what CMBC plans.
“This loss of consumer choice is the inevitable outcome of a brewing conglomerate run by accountants and the bottom line. This is a sad and disappointing decision that puts both the history and the future of British brewing in jeopardy.”
