Brains Brewery
Samuel Arthur Brain | |
Headquarters | , Wales |
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Area served | South and mid Wales, and the West Country in England |
Products | Beer |
Owner | Chris Brain |
Website | www |
Brains (S. A. Brain & Company Ltd.) is a regional
The company produces a range of beers under the Brains, Buckley's and Hancock's names. As part of their marketing strategy, Brains use shirt sponsorship for the Wales national rugby union team and the Crusaders Rugby League team.[3]
History
The original brewery, believed to be the oldest in Cardiff, was established by the Thomas brothers in the 18th-century. In 1882 it was acquired by Samuel Arthur Brain, a brewer from Bristol, England, and his uncle Joseph Benjamin Brain, Chairman of the West of England Bank.[4] Part of the building dated from 1713 and it had been a brewery since at least 1822.[5][6]
In 1882 the brewery produced 100 barrels of beer a week and operated 11 pubs. By 1900 this had grown to 1,000 barrels of beer a week, supplying 80 of their public houses. The company became a limited company, S A Brain & Co Ltd, in April 1897 and purchased the business for £350,000.[7] Interior of the Golden Cross, Cardiff (8).jpg Brains expanded the Old Brewery was expanded in 1914 by having a new brewery built in St Mary Street.
In 1997 Brains took over Crown Buckley in Llanelli. It closed Crown Buckley's brewery and transferred production to Cardiff. In 1999 Brains bought the former Hancock's Brewery just south of Cardiff Central railway station. In 2000 it moved production there, and in 2003 the Old Brewery was redeveloped as a bar and restaurant complex.
Ownerships remains in the Brains family; until 2009 the chairman was Chris Brain,[8] and since that date the company has been led by John Rhys, the great-great-grandson of the company's founder Samuel Arthur Brain.[9]
In March 2019 the new Dragon Brewery, at the Pacific Business Park in
In December 2020, Brains handed over the running of its 156 pubs via a 25-year lease-back deal to Marston's[10] Ninety-nine Brains pubs were later put up for sale.[11]
Coffee
In September 2011 the company diversified into coffee shops, buying the Cardiff-based coffee house chain, Coffee#1.[12] In mid-2018, SA Brain announced that they wished to sell a majority stake in Coffee#1, after a strategic review. In January 2019, Caffè Nero bought a 70% stake in the business, which at that time had 92 outlets.[13]
Beer brands
Brains brand
Brains SA, the company's flagship brand, is a light-coloured malty best bitter which is colloquially known as "Skull Attack". Its formulation has undergone several revisions since the beer was launched in the early 20th century; the most recent revision was launched in early 2006 and increases the quantity of hops in the brew.
Brains Dark is a dark mild ale with an emphasis on roasted malts. There is also a 'smooth' variant.
Brains Bitter is the brewery's standard bitter and the most commonly available in Cardiff. Many Brains' pubs serve only bitter from a cask. When served
Brains IPA, an unusually malty example of the
SA Gold, the newest addition to the line, is – according to a release note sent out to Brains pubs in early 2006 – Brains' attempts to branch out into both the English and youth markets, areas in which Brains is visibly struggling. Its official launch was June 2006, but many houses retired it in favour of the bi-monthly guest ale rotation. The beer is hopped with Cascade, Target and Styrian Golding hops.
45 was a
The Rev. James is a 4.5% ABV dark best bitter carried over from the Buckley's range after the two breweries merged.
Brains Black is a 4.1% ABV stout launched on St David's Day 2010.[15]
Buckley's brand
Brains bought the Llanelli-based Crown Buckley in 1998. It continues to brew three Buckley's beers, all at its Cardiff brewery: Buckley's Bitter, Buckley's IPA and Reverend James best bitter.
Hancock's brand
Hancocks HB is a 3.6%
Seasonal beers
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land Of My Fathers) was launched in 2006 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh national anthem. It is a golden ale brewed with Welsh honey.
Marketing
Brains sponsored a number of railway bridges over roads in Cardiff to have its advertising slogans painted on them. They include "It's Brains you want!" in Clare Road and Leckwith Road and "People who know beer... have Brains" in Penarth Road.
Brains was the shirt sponsor for the
The Old Brewery Quarter
In 2003, Brains vacant Old Brewery was redeveloped into the 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2) "Old Brewery Quarter" .It is a mixed development of 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2) of leisure space around an open-air piazza in the heart of Cardiff's growing city centre, together with 42 long-leasehold loft style apartments and penthouses.
The development has attracted a range of bar and restaurant operators including Chiquito, La Tasca, Lava Lounge, Nando's, Pancake House, Starbucks, Thai Edge and SA Brains own flagship venue, the Yard Bar and Kitchen.
Chronology of Brains Breweries
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References
- ^ "The Beginning". SA Brain. Archived from the original on 2014-12-04.
- ^ Julie Andrews
- ^ "Welsh Rugby". SA Brain. Archived from the original on 2014-12-04.
- ^ "Brains Brewery, St Mary Street, 49, and Caroline Street, Cardiff (33325)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "SA Brain & Co Ltd". The Directory of UK Real Ale Brewers. Quaffale. 24 April 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-859836064.[page needed]
- ISBN 0-7190-3032-3
- ^ Blake, Aled (August 11, 2009). "Christopher Brain recalls a life in beer". WalesOnline.
- ^ a b Hughes, Marcus (March 16, 2019). "Brains has a new brewery and Prince William just opened it". WalesOnline.
- ^ "Marstons takes over all 156 Brains pubs in Wales". 23 December 2020.
- ^ "Brains Brewery: Cardiff firm puts 99 pubs up for sale". BBC News. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ Chris Kelsey (4 October 2011). "SA Brains buys Coffee#1 chain". Wales Online. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ Morris, Josh (30 January 2019). "SA Brain sells majority stake in Coffee #1". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ^ Gaskell, Simon (18 February 2011). "Brains to discontinue premium lager '45'". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ Wilcox, Andrew. "Brains Black Welsh Stout – Guinness beware in the Welsh valleys". Blog.
- ^ Evans, Jeff. "Putting the ales into Wales – Regional Focus". Tastingbeers.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ "William Hancock's & Co Ltd". The Directory of UK Real Ale Brewers. Quaffale. 24 April 2011.
- ^ "Rugby stars swap Brains for brawn". BBC News. 21 February 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ Henry, Graham (26 June 2010). "Business – Business News – Brains rugby sponsor deal ends". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 15 August 2012.