I've heard a very strong rumour that Hydes are to vacate their brewery site in Moss Side, Manchester and downsize to new premises. They have reached agreement to relinquish their free trade accounts to Thwaites and will concentrate on their tied estate.
Hydes had invested in greater capacity some years back when they won the contract to brew Boddington's Bitter after the closure of Strangeways Brewery. I could probably satisfy the current demand for Boddington's with a home brew kit so the extra capacity must have become a drain on finances. Hydes may be well-respected but have struggled in the cut-throat guest beer market and their brewery is not valuable as a redevelopment site. A good business move or last throw of the dice?
Good question; I've no idea what the answer is. Time will tell ~ it always does, as the Doctor once said.
ReplyDeleteCurmudgeon wrote something about this too, and I wrote this comment on his blog:
ReplyDelete"I remember a trip to Hydes brewery, probably in the late 1980s. One of our group asked Mr Hyde, who was showing us around, when the beer was at its best to drink. "As soon as it's in the cask," he replied, refusing to accept there was any need for further maturation in the cask.
"He was also asked about his preferred method of dispense. He immediately said, "Metered pumps into oversized glasses", adding that it prevented all kinds of arguments at the bar. As far as he was concerned, handpumps had no merits other than the aesthetic."