Wrexham Lager
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Wrexham Lager is a
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
,
north-east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, that has produced
alcoholic drink An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
for more than 120 years. A new brewery opened in 2011 in the heart of Wrexham, after the original closed in 2000. The original brewery was demolished between 2002 and 2003. Only the historic building in which brewing started still remains. Wrexham lager made a comeback on 29 October 2011 at the Buck House Hotel in
Bangor-on-Dee Bangor-on-Dee ( cy, Bangor-is-y-coed or Bangor Is-coed) is a village and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, on the banks of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Until 1974 it was in the exclave of Flintshire (historic), F ...
, Wrexham. The Roberts family who restarted WXM Lager are using the same ingredients as those from which it was originally brewed.


History


Foundation

The Wrexham Lager Beer Company Limited was founded in 1881 by
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
immigrants, Ivan Levinstein (Minshull-street, Manchester, chairman) and Otto Isler (Marsden-street, Manchester), trying to recreate their local
lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...
. Wrexham itself had good water quality, and at one time had as many as nineteen different breweries operating, Wrexham Lager being the first Lager Brewery. The specific site was chosen as it was on a hill and the brewers could dig cellars into it for insulation from external heat, and the nearby River Gwenfro could be tapped for the required water. Brewing of the first lager began in 1882. However, the brewers could not easily keep the temperature down, affecting the quality of the lager and the company resolved as a result of their failure to ''carry on its business profitably and advantageously'' to go into voluntary liquidation on 31 July 1886, by which time Otho Horkheimer was chairman and the company offices were Stafford-chambers, 14 Brown-street, Manchester. (''The London Gazette'', 6 August 1886). In May 1884 they had announced 'Issue of £25,000 in 2,500 shares of £10 each, bearing interest at the minimum accumulative rate of £6 per cent per annum ... Prospectuses and full particulars can be obtained at the OFFICES, 49, SPRING GARDENS, MANCHESTER. As BREWING and ICE MAKING have been commenced the company are prepared to quote for both Beer and Ice'. In addition to Levinstein (chairman) and Isler the directors in 1884 were Otto Horkeimer, Esq., (Lower Mosley-street, Manchester), Noah Kolp, Esq., (George-street, Manchester), and E. J. Scott (Richmond Terrace, Blackburn). (''The Manchester Guardian'', 24 May 1884, front page, ''The Wrexham Advertiser'', 16 May 1884, front page).


1888 Description in the brewery

"A tour of the building is a very interesting as well as an instructive undertaking. The visitor who is taken to follow the natural course of the grain through its various processes, first visits four large malting rooms, each of which possess a flooring capacity for 600 to 800 measures of grain. The floor is of concrete, and everything necessary to the operation is supplied in what might be almost called lavish abundance. The grain which has been converted into malt is stored in malt silos, huge chambers specially prepared for its reception and where it waits until it is wanted. At proper time the malt is conveyed by mechanical means to the various floors where it is needed, no hand being necessary to touch a grain. After undergoing a number of processes, the brew-house is arrived at, and the mashing of the malt and the boiling of the wort is carried on under the eye of the experienced brewer, or as the Germans call him, the braumeister, Mr Philip Lorentz. During the time of the writer's visit the contents of the mash tun were being drawn off, and after careful examination, and much testing, discharged into the copper, where, by means of dry steam, the necessary heat is obtained for the further processes. The visitor is struck by the scrupulous cleanliness observed, as well as the copper fittings which are all carefully tinned to preserve the liquor from contamination. The writer paid a visit to the cooler, which is of large capacity, and possesses a fan in its centre which is revolved in order to procure a constant current of cold air."


Early years

In 1886, Robert Graesser, another German immigrant who had established the chemical works at Cefn Mawr bought a majority shareholding in the brewery, introducing mechanical refrigeration demonstrated at his chemical plant to keep the cellars at -1 °C. Local sales did not improve as the people of Wrexham were used to drinking ale as their staple drink; In 1892, the brewery was bankrupt. However Graesser reformed the brewery as, and found a non-local market in export sales, primarily through railways such as the Great Western Railway (who were also the primary method of shipping the beer out of Wrexham), shipping lines such as
Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...
, and the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
; there was documentary evidence of the lager appearing in many places, such as
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
as early as 1898.


Maturation

Although successful abroad, local sales remained low in the local area until the brewery bought the Cross Foxes
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
in Abbott Street in Wrexham in 1922. Such
tied house In the United Kingdom, a tied house is a public house required to buy at least some of its beer from a particular brewery or pub company. That is in contrast to a free house, which is able to choose the beers it stocks freely. A report for th ...
s boosted trade for most breweries, but sales expansion relied on local hostelries becoming available for takeover. When a rival local brewery shut down, Wrexham Lager was able to buy the freeholds of their tied houses, expanding to a total of 23 pubs.


Mergers and decline

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the export market was lost and was difficult to reclaim after the hostilities ceased. Wrexham Lager's debt increased and the company was bought out by
Ind Coope Allied Breweries was the result of a 1961 merger between Ind Coope (of Burton), Ansells (of Birmingham), and Tetley Walker (of Leeds). In 1978, Allied Breweries merged with the food and catering group J. Lyons and Co to form Allied Lyons. The bre ...
of
Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The ...
. Lager grew in popularity after the War and domestic sales began to rise. In the early 1960s, Ind Coope invested £2.5million in a modernisation programme. Wrexham Lager and Ind Coope later joined with
Ansells Ansells Brewery was a regional brewery founded in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1858. It merged with Taylor Walker and Ind Coope in 1961 to form Allied Breweries. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, after which production transferred ...
and
Tetley Walker Allied Breweries was the result of a 1961 merger between Ind Coope (of Burton), Ansells (of Birmingham), and Tetley Walker (of Leeds). In 1978, Allied Breweries merged with the food and catering group J. Lyons and Co to form Allied Lyons. The bre ...
to become
Allied Breweries Allied Breweries was the result of a 1961 merger between Ind Coope (of Burton), Ansells (of Birmingham), and Tetley Walker (of Leeds). In 1978, Allied Breweries merged with the food and catering group J. Lyons and Co to form Allied Lyons. The br ...
, which became the largest brewing group in Britain of the time. Now a popular local drink, the lager and brewery had a cultural impact on the then town, and the brewery once sponsored
Wrexham A.F.C. Wrexham Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Wrecsam) is a Welsh professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...
although when they played away from home they usually had the Carlsberg emblem on the shirts as not many people outside of North Wales had actually heard of Wrexham Lager. To this day Wrexham fans still shout a
Football chant A football chant or terrace chant is form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their ...
to the tune of Bread of Heaven, replacing the lyric of "Bread of Heaven", with "Wrexham Lager". In 1992, Allied merged with the
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
Carlsberg group and the resulting company became Carlsberg-Tetley, who ran the brewery until it closed. In 2000, brewing of Wrexham Lager was moved to Leeds where it was brewed for two years, finally ending in 2002. Attempts were made during these two years to buy the brewery as a going concern before it was demolished but failed. Brewing equipment was auctioned and the building demolished, the stages being recorded by the BBC. A small retail park, "Central Retail Park", has now been built on the site of the former unlisted building.


Revival

In 2002,
Martyn Jones Martyn David Jones (born 1 March 1947) is a former British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clwyd South from 1987 until his retirement at the 2010 general election. Early life Born in Wrexham, he attended Gr ...
, a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for the nearby Clwyd South constituency who had once been employed by the brewery, bought the original name and building for £1 in 2001. Local activists hope that brewing may continue from this building, at least on a small scale. The building itself is
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
. In 2010, local businessman Mark Roberts and his brother Vaughan Roberts expressed an interest in reviving the brand, and met with Ian Dale, who was the brewing manager at the former plant upon closure. They negotiated for the brand from Martyn Jones, although certain rights regarding the old logos remain with Carlsberg-Tetley, precluding their usage. After sourcing the original ingredients used in an older version of the lager and obtaining new brewing equipment from German firm
Kaspar Schulz Kaspar is a given name and surname which may refer to: Given name: * Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1459 – c. 1527) * Kaspar Albrecht (1889–1970), Austrian architect and sculptor * Kaspar Amort (1612–1675), German painter * Caspa ...
, Wrexham Lager was made available on 29 October 2011 at the Buck House Hotel in
Bangor-on-Dee Bangor-on-Dee ( cy, Bangor-is-y-coed or Bangor Is-coed) is a village and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, on the banks of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Until 1974 it was in the exclave of Flintshire (historic), F ...
. Since that time it has been expanded to a range of pubs throughout the country including several pubs within Wrexham itself. Within two years of the reintroduction, it was reported the new beer had sold 1.3 million pints in 2012, a level assisted by the anniversary of the sinking of the RMS ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
'', which due to the original firm's contract with the
White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...
, resulted in Wrexham Lager being widely believed to have been sold on the ship. As a result of the demand, within the UK and in worldwide markets, the owners have announced an expansion that will increase production tenfold, with the aim of selling 13 million pints within five years. It has also been reported that the firm is in negotiations to have the lager served upon Clive Palmer's replica
Titanic II ''Titanic II'' is a planned passenger ocean liner intended to be a functional modern-day replica of the ''Olympic''-class . The new ship is planned to have a gross tonnage (GT) of 56,000, while the original ship measured about 46,000 gross ...
.


External links


Wrexham Lager official siteCarlsberg-Tetley Official SiteBBC North East Wales


References

{{Reflist Breweries in Wales Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom Wrexham Food and drink companies established in 1881 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2000 1881 establishments in Wales Re-established companies Food and drink companies established in 2011 2011 establishments in Wales