Meantime Brewing Company 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 be ...

based in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, London, England, and owned by Japan's

Asahi Breweries is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business (4 ...

. The company was founded by Alastair Hook in 1999, and was purchased by

SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's ...

in May 2015. As part of the agreements made with regulators before

Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...

was allowed to acquire SABMiller in 2016, Meantime was sold to

of Japan in October 2016.

History

It was founded in 1999 by Alastair Hook, who trained at Heriot-Watt University and the brewing school of the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

Weihenstephan Weihenstephan is a part of Freising north of Munich, Germany. It is located on the Weihenstephan Hill, named after the Weihenstephan Abbey, in the west of the city. Weihenstephan is known for: * the Benedictine Weihenstephan Abbey, founded 725, ...

. He started the brewery in a small lock-up on an industrial estate opposite Charlton Athletic’s ground, before moving to the Greenwich Brewery, 0° 2' 12" east of the

Greenwich Meridian The historic prime meridian or Greenwich meridian is a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. The modern IERS Reference Meridian widely used today ...

, and then to a site on nearby Blackwall Lane in 2010. The new brewery, including Rolec brewhouse, cost £7M; by 2013 they were producing 50,000 hectolitres but a growth rate of 60% per year meant that they expected to reach their capacity of 120,000 hectolitres by 2016. In May 2015, it was announced that Meantime was being bought by

SAB Miller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the worl ...

, the world’s second-largest brewer, for an undisclosed amount. In July 2015 Alastair Hook was named Brewer of the Year by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group at its annual awards dinner. In the same year The Beer Academy awarded Rod Jones, Meantime's beer sommelier and brewer, the Beer Sommelier of the Year title. This was also the year that production of

Thomas Hardy's Ale Thomas Hardy's Ale is a Barley wine named after famous English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy. The brand has gone under numerous owners over the years, but now is currently brewed under contract at Meantime Brewery. History In 1968, Eldridge Pop ...

began at Meantime. In August 2015, Meantime stated that production of their London

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 "storage" ...

had, on occasion, been outsourced to

Grolsch Grolsch Brewery (Koninklijke Grolsch N.V. - "Royal Grolsch"), known simply as Grolsch (), is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt in Groenlo. In 1895 the de Groen family bought the brewery. They had started their own brewery in E ...

(another SAB Miller brand) in the Netherlands to meet demand, but that the Dutch beer made up no more than 10% of any bottle. Meantime confirmed that the use of Dutch beer would no longer be necessary after additional investments at the brewery, with the aim of keeping production entirely in London. Meantime was sold to

Asahi Group Holdings is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business (4 ...

of Japan in April 2016. The sale was completed on 13 October 2016. In January 2019 Asahi also bought the brewing division of

Fuller's Brewery Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick in the west of London was a family-run business from its foundation in 1845 until 2019. In that year, the brewing division of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC was sold to the Japanese international beverage giant Asahi. J ...

and its subsidiary Dark Star. Meantime started production of Dark Star's portfolio of beers after Asahi closed the Sussex brewery in December 2022.

Beers

Meantime brews a range of twelve regularly available beers which focuses on traditional British and European styles such as Lager,

Pale Ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

and India Pale Ale. In addition, it also produces an annual range of limited edition seasonal ales, which vary each year.

Outlets

Meantime owns and operates the Greenwich Union public house on Royal Hill,

and, in 2010, opened the Old Brewery bar and restaurant with brewery in the original 1836 Brewhouse of the

Old Royal Naval College The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...

, Greenwich, making it only the second brewery in the world to be located within a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Meantime also operates a visitor's centre attached to its brewing site on Blackwall Lane. In August 2014, Meantime opened the Beer Box on the Greenwich Peninsula close to the North Greenwich underground station, and in December of the same year, the business opened its Tasting Rooms and Brewery Shop within the grounds of its Greenwich brewery,

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.meantimebrewing.com/
Youtube video of Meantime Brewery on BBC Inside Out
Breweries in London British companies established in 2000 Food and drink companies established in 2000 Asahi Breweries