Sharp's Brewery

[High Dyke]

Disappointing news from Cornwall.
BBC News - Sharp's Brewery to close with loss of 50 jobs

Sharp's Brewery in Rock to close and 50 jobs lost

Molson Coors is proposing the closure of Sharp's Brewery in Rock by the end of the year.

www.bbc.co.uk

The US brewing firm Molson Coors said it was proposing to shut Sharp's Brewery in Rock by the end of the year because the site was "no longer financially sustainable".

In a statement, Molson Coors said it had invested more than £20m in Sharp's Brewery since it acquired it in 2011 to expand capacity, upgrade equipment and strengthen the Sharp's portfolio.

It also has to be noted that bottled Doombar is already produced at Burton-on-Trent. There's currently no word on what happens about production of that.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Doombar, though other beers in the Sharp's range are quite nice. If there's an alternative cask ale available in the pub i prefer to drink that. However, the wider point is the tale of another multinational company taking over an established British brewer and then, despite investment, allows it to stagnate to the point where its viability is reduced.

The brewing industry in Great Britain has seen so much decimation at the hands of multinational companies, who seemingly have little disregard for local values and the local workforce. The real question is what can be done to stop these firms trampling through the industry, all for the sake of greedy profit?

 

[DelW]

Disappointing news from Cornwall.
BBC News - Sharp's Brewery to close with loss of 50 jobs

Sharp's Brewery in Rock to close and 50 jobs lost

Molson Coors is proposing the closure of Sharp's Brewery in Rock by the end of the year.

www.bbc.co.uk

It also has to be noted that bottled Doombar is already produced at Burton-on-Trent. There's currently no word on what happens about production of that.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Doombar, though other beers in the Sharp's range are quite nice. If there's an alternative cask ale available in the pub i prefer to drink that. However, the wider point is the tale of another multinational company taking over an established British brewer and then, despite investment, allows it to stagnate to the point where its viability is reduced.

The brewing industry in Great Britain has seen so much decimation at the hands of multinational companies, who seemingly have little disregard for local values and the local workforce. The real question is what can be done to stop these firms trampling through the industry, all for the sake of greedy profit?

You're a little behind with this ... hopefully it links to post 4936 regarding Sharp's, nor the first post in the thread:

Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

This demonstrates how large the profit margins must be on trainers! Retailer gross margin on clothing and footwear is normally between 40% and 60%, dependent on the brand and the relative strength of the retailer

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[dgl]

Luckily our biggest brewer round here, Hall and Woodhouse is still owned/run by a Hall and a Woodhouse, and seem to be doing OK. They invested £15 million in their pubs last year, for example, so must be doing alright.

Hall & Woodhouse invests £15million in pubs - Hall and Woodhouse

Hall & Woodhouse (H&W) has opened the doors of its brand-new restaurant and bar in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, following a £6million investment from the brewer and pub company.

www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk

We have invested more than £15million into pubs across our estate in 2025. We undertook major investments this year to future-proof and evolve our pub estate, including the purchase of a new pub in Poole.
We have invested heavily in maintaining our estate, increasingly catering to changes in consumer trends towards casual dining and coffee. We also introduced our first experiential games-led pub this year. The £3.8million acquisition and major transformation of The Quay in Poole has enhanced the guest offer and created a new appeal for groups and younger diners.
Our multi-million investment has also helped to create and protect local jobs in hospitality, provide new opportunities for entrepreneurs to run pubs with strong underlying trade, and preserve historic buildings.
Mark James, Property Director, said: “The pub has always played an important role at the heart of its community. Our purpose to make people’s day means that we take great care in everything we do, including how we maintain and develop our estate.
“Our pubs are increasingly being used as all-day venues for a variety of occasions. We welcome groups of friends for coffee and breakfast, families for dinner, birthdays and celebrations, and everything in between. We’re incredibly proud of the role we play in our communities and are committed to ensuring our pubs remain welcoming, well looked-after spaces for everyone who walks through the door.
“Despite the doom and gloom in the wider environment at the moment, we have invested significant sums in our pub estate. In these difficult times, it is more important than ever that we continue to invest to ensure our pubs remain relevant and fit for the future. We take a long-term view on choosing how to invest and are ambitious to maintain the character of our pubs while ensuring sure they continue to meet the needs of the communities they serve, both now and for generations to come.”
Alongside our managed estate, we continue to invest heavily in our Business Partnership pubs (tenanted), providing opportunities for and backing independent operators. £450,000 supported a major renovation at The Ox in Ashley Cross which saw the installation of a brand-new kitchen, new fixtures and fittings throughout the pub, and full modernisation of the inn’s 14 guest bedrooms. The Ox building has been owned by us for more than 100 years, and this year we partnered with Provision Hospitality Management to formally bring the site into the H&W Business Partnership estate.
Joe Martin, General Manager at The Ox, said: “We’re really proud of what we have created at The Ox as Provision Hospitality with Hall & Woodhouse’s generous support. The feedback we’ve received from locals has been incredible and we’re pleased to be an inviting place for friends and family to come together to unwind, celebrate, and create memories.”
Beyond Dorset, several of our pubs in neighbouring counties have undergone extensive refurbishment this year. We opened a £5million new-build pub in Crowthorne, Berkshire, offering various dining and social spaces. In Devon, The Barn in Woolacombe underwent a major £2million refurbishment and The Dolphin in Beer received a £1.5million transformation. In H&W’s Business Partner estate, the St. Mary’s Gate in Arundel now has five new letting rooms and has received a full external and internal refurbishment.

 

[Bald Rick]

Luckily our biggest brewer round here, Hall and Woodhouse is still owned/run by a Hall and a Woodhouse, and seem to be doing OK. They invested £15 million in their pubs last year, for example, so must be doing alright.

Decent company, decent beer. There is also a railway connection, in that they own the Ship and Shovel underneath Charing Cross, which is the ‘official’ start and finish of the Circle Line pub crawl. (Start in the Ship side, finish in the Shovel side, some time later.)

 

[DarloRich]

Decent company, decent beer.

was. Hasn't been for a while. imo.

 

[The Pelican]

Hall and Woodhouse's The Black Rabbit, with views of the River Arun and Arundel Castle, as well as the Arun Valley line across the river, and nice South Downs walks nearby, is one of my favourite pubs in the country!
I also like their "The Anchor" at Pyrford, and have walked there from my house in south west London several times!

 

[52290]

I think the future of the Sharps brand will be dependent on Mr Martin keeping Doombar in every one of his pubs. You don't often see it on the bar in non-Wetherspoon pubs, at least here in Lancashire.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Disappointing news from Cornwall.
BBC News - Sharp's Brewery to close with loss of 50 jobs

Sharp's Brewery in Rock to close and 50 jobs lost

Molson Coors is proposing the closure of Sharp's Brewery in Rock by the end of the year.

www.bbc.co.uk

It also has to be noted that bottled Doombar is already produced at Burton-on-Trent. There's currently no word on what happens about production of that.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Doombar, though other beers in the Sharp's range are quite nice. If there's an alternative cask ale available in the pub i prefer to drink that. However, the wider point is the tale of another multinational company taking over an established British brewer and then, despite investment, allows it to stagnate to the point where its viability is reduced.

The brewing industry in Great Britain has seen so much decimation at the hands of multinational companies, who seemingly have little disregard for local values and the local workforce. The real question is what can be done to stop these firms trampling through the industry, all for the sake of greedy profit?

No great loss. Doom Bar (or Doom Bore as it's known in real ale ticket circles) is about as bland as beer can get. There's plenty of new small breweries coming up with far more interesting and flavoursome beers, so why would anyone want to drink the mass-produced generic stuff?

 

[styles]

No great loss. Doom Bar (or Doom Bore as it's known in real ale ticket circles) is about as bland as beer can get. There's plenty of new small breweries coming up with far more interesting and flavoursome beers, so why would anyone want to drink the mass-produced generic stuff?

I think with any market you're going to get people who want a staple product. For Sharp's that's Doom Bar. For BrewDog that's Punk IPA. For Fuller's that's London Pride. Etc.

 

[Trackman]

I think with any market you're going to get people who want a staple product. For Sharp's that's Doom Bar. For BrewDog that's Punk IPA. For Fuller's that's London Pride. Etc.

Thats a list of beers I dont want to see when entering a pub.

 

[styles]

Thats a list of beers I dont want to see when entering a pub.

Also a list of beers I wouldn't go for, but don't underestimate the tens of millions of people who do!

 

[High Dyke]

No great loss. Doom Bar (or Doom Bore as it's known in real ale ticket circles) is about as bland as beer can get. There's plenty of new small breweries coming up with far more interesting and flavoursome beers, so why would anyone want to drink the mass-produced generic stuff?

I think with any market you're going to get people who want a staple product. For Sharp's that's Doom Bar. For BrewDog that's Punk IPA. For Fuller's that's London Pride. Etc.

Agreed. As I initially posted, if there’s an alternative I'll drink that. My main point was that, regardless of personal preference, the loss of 'popular' cask ales, butchered by the hands of corporate greed / lack of empathy for local beer / brewing etc is of a greater concern.

 

[Trackman]

Off on a tangent, does anyone remember Cross Bay Brewery in Morecambe?
They did some really excellent ales. Went bust about 2 years ago, now defunct.

 

[The exile]

Agreed. As I initially posted, if there’s an alternative I'll drink that. My main point was that, regardless of personal preference, the loss of 'popular' cask ales, butchered by the hands of corporate greed / lack of empathy for local beer / brewing etc is of a greater concern.

Time perhaps for some kind of Appelation Controlee? Beer X can only be brewed in area Y using water from source Z?

 

[High Dyke]

Time perhaps for some kind of Appelation Controlee? Beer X can only be brewed in area Y using water from source Z?

I did see that a Cornish MP is calling for that sort of protection, in the light of this. Probably an idea going forward.

 

[styles]

Agreed. As I initially posted, if there’s an alternative I'll drink that. My main point was that, regardless of personal preference, the loss of 'popular' cask ales, butchered by the hands of corporate greed / lack of empathy for local beer / brewing etc is of a greater concern.

That's fair.

I think it's a very hard market now and the brewers are taking advantage of this.

 

[DarloRich]

Time perhaps for some kind of Appelation Controlee?

If you make Newcastle Brown Ale in Tadcaster i think that ship has sailed!

 

[The exile]

If you make Newcastle Brown Ale in Tadcaster i think that ship has sailed!

For existing brands the restrictions would have to be looser. Restrict to the status quo (if you want to be tough - restrict to a single location/ source) and the “proper location”. In this case, “Newcastle Brown” may only be brewed in Tadcaster using water from [specified source] or In Newcastle using water from [specified source]. There would have to be provision for replacement of water source in case of exhaustion or contamination, of course.

 

[SargeNpton]

Time perhaps for some kind of Appelation Controlee? Beer X can only be brewed in area Y using water from source Z?

Already exists to some extent. Cornish Pasties can only be so named if made in Cornwall. Stilton Cheese can only be made in the Vale of Belvoir. Can't remember what the exact term is for this protection of local/regional food and drink.

At one stage Newcastle Brown had the same protection, to prevent any other brewery using the name. The owners then had to petition for the protection to be removed when they moved production away from Newcastle/Gateshead.

 

[DarloRich]

At one stage Newcastle Brown had the same protection, to prevent any other brewery using the name. The owners then had to petition for the protection to be removed when they moved production away from Newcastle/Gateshead.

IRC: Production went from the Tyne Brewery ( who were my neighbours) to the Fed in Dunston, Gateshead near the metro centre and to Tadcaster

 

[The exile]

At one stage Newcastle Brown had the same protection, to prevent any other brewery using the name. The owners then had to petition for the protection to be removed when they moved production away from Newcastle/Gateshead.

The idea would be for it to be as much a restriction as a protection - flexible only when physically necessary (pollution of water source, for example) not economic expediency to line the pockets of fat cats / hedge funds / private equity.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Mar 2026 ==

IRC: Production went from the Tyne Brewery ( who were my neighbours) to the Fed in Dunston, Gateshead near the metro centre and to Tadcaster

Where do they now source the water from?

 

[Stathern Jc]

It is disappointing to see a brewery with a local identity closing, even though this isn't quite the traditional "local" brewery.
I remember going to the (sadly long gone) Ruddles brewery at Langham and getting a barrel of County to set up in the garage for my 21st birthday party.
And I managed a mugfull for breakfast the next day.

 

[Bald Rick]

Stilton Cheese can only be made in the Vale of Belvoir

Not so. Although most of it is.

The formal product specification states:

4.5 METHOD OF PRODUCTION:
White Stilton, Blue Stilton and Mature Blue and/or Vintage Blue Stilton cheeses are made throughout the year in cheese making dairies within the County Boundaries of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Fresh liquid cows milk is collected from within the three counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (and in times of shortage milk may also be sourced from the surrounding counties of Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) and delivered regularly.

Protduct specification document here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fd3677c8fa8f54d564af06b/pfn-stilton-cheese.pdf

(from a former resident of the Beaver)

 

[DarloRich]

The idea would be for it to be as much a restriction as a protection - flexible only when physically necessary (pollution of water source, for example) not economic expediency to line the pockets of fat cats / hedge funds / private equity.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Mar 2026 ==


Where do they now source the water from?

Don't you just treat the water until you get the required chemical composition?

 

[johnnychips]

Don't you just treat the water until you get the required chemical composition?

I’m sure I have heard the verb ‘to Burtonise’, meaning to make water to the same chemical composition as that at Burton, so the beer produced tastes like it’s been brewed there.

 

[35B]

The idea would be for it to be as much a restriction as a protection - flexible only when physically necessary (pollution of water source, for example) not economic expediency to line the pockets of fat cats / hedge funds / private equity.

If it’s about where the product is from, then the exhaustion of a key ingredient should mean the designation lapses and the product can no longer be sold in that way.

If it’s a quality mark for consistency, then it needs to be about the precise nature of the product.

 

[Pegpilot]

Been going on for years, though, hasn't it ? In my 20s I lived in Wandsworth and the Youngs Ram Brewery was very much a part of the local fabric - even recall the dray horses pulling the beer carts down Garrett Lane until it was deemed unsafe. Then the brewery closed, production moved to a Charles Wells shed in Bedford, and Wells has since been flogged to Marstons, so now what ?