McEwan's

McEwan's (MacEwan's in some markets^[1]) is a brand of ales, with the draught beers brewed at the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland and the canned and bottled beers brewed at the Eagle Brewery, Bedford, England. It is now owned by Wells & Youngs following the sale of the brands by Heineken in 2011. Its logo depicts a character from a Frans Hals painting known popularly as The Laughing Cavalier. It is the most popular ale brand in Scotland, where the brand enjoys a 22 per cent market share.^[2] However like most keg ale brands in the UK, sales are declining, by 63 per cent since 2001.^[3]

History

The Bottling Plant of the Fountain Brewery, demolished in 2011.

William McEwan opened the Fountain Brewery in 1856, in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh. It had built up a successful colonial export trade by the 1860s.^[4] By the time it became in public company in 1889, the brewery was valued at £1 million. At the beginning of the 1900s, the brewery had a large share of the market throughout Scotland and a 90 per cent share of the North East of England market, and was exporting to Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.^[5] At its peak, the brewery was producing 2 million barrels of beer a year, much of it for export.^[6] In 1931 McEwan's merged with William Younger's Brewery (founded in Edinburgh in 1778), becoming Scottish Brewers.^[7] The company merged again in 1960, joining with Newcastle Breweries to form Scottish & Newcastle. McEwan's Export became one of the three core brands of the new company, alongside Newcastle Brown Ale and Younger's Tartan/Special.^[8]

In February 2004 Scottish & Newcastle announced the closure of McEwan's Brewery, at the same time as buying a third of Caledonian Brewery in Slateford, Edinburgh. The Fountain Brewery finally closed in June 2005, with production of the McEwan's keg beers being transferred to the Caledonian Brewery and cans of McEwan's Export being produced at John Smith's Brewery.^[9] In October 2011 the McEwan's beer brands were sold by Heineken to Wells & Youngs for around £20 million, and canned and bottled production of McEwan's was moved to Bedford.^[10][11] The new owners have vowed to reintroduce McEwan's as a cask ale brand and launch an expanded bottled range to target the premium end of the beer market.^[12] Along with the Younger's brands, McEwan's generates £80 million of sales annually in the UK.^[13]

Beers

McEwan's Scotch Ale

• McEwan's 60/- (3.2% ABV) is a dark pale ale also known as 'Light'. It is described as having a light roast flavour and a touch of sweetness.^[14] It was available in cans and bottles until 2004, but is now only available in pasteurised kegs.^[15]
• McEwan's Best Scotch (3.6% ABV) is a bitter. It is the second biggest-selling ale brand in the North East of England, with over 6.5 million pints sold each year, although it has been in a state of managed decline since at least 1998 according to its owners.^[16][17] It was available in cans until 2004, but is now only available in pasteurised kegs.^[15] During the 1980s and early 1990s it was marketed in Tyneside as "The one you've got to come back for" when together with Newcastle Exhibition it commanded 30 per cent of the North East of England draught ale market.^[18] From the mid to late 1990s the slogan ran: "A native of the North East". McEwan's 70/- and 80/- have both been sold in the past in England as Best Scotch, although the beer is currently different to those two beers.^[19]
• McEwan's 70/- (3.7% ABV) is a session bitter. It is described as 'a rich, smooth and creamy ale with a subtle hop aroma'.^[14] Outside of Scotland it is sold as Younger's Scotch Bitter and Younger's Tartan Special.^[20]
• McEwan's 80/- (4.2% ABV) is also known as 'Heavy'. The most popular of McEwan's ales.^[21] The cask conditioned version was controversially withdrawn from the market in 2007. A replica, Diggers 80/-, was launched in response by small Edinburgh brewery Stewart Brewing. It has returned in cask for June 2011.^[22] Formerly brewed at 4.5% ABV. A version continued to be brewed at 4.5% ABV for the Teesside market for some time after the ABV was lowered elsewhere. It is sometimes sold in the UK outside of Scotland as Younger's IPA.
• McEwan's Export (4.5% ABV) is described as being 'full-bodied with a sweet roast flavour'.^[14] It originated in the 1860s and is the third highest selling McEwan's brand.^[23][24][21] It is the most popular premium draught ale in Scotland, is among the top five ales in the United Kingdom take-home market, and it is the second most popular premium canned ale.^[16][25][26] In export markets it is sold as McEwan's India Pale Ale and its ABV can vary slightly from 4.3 to 4.7 per cent.
• McEwan's 90/- (5.5% ABV) also known as 'Wee Heavy', it is believed to have been last brewed around 2006.^[27]
• McEwan's Champion Ale (7.3% ABV) is an example of a type of Burton ale, known as an Edinburgh ale. It is described as having 'an intense flavour combining caramel, roast, sweet and fruity notes'.^[28] Widely available across the United Kingdom in 500ml bottles, it is the best-selling Scottish premium bottled ale, and a top twenty bottled ale across the UK, selling around 9,300 hectolitres in 2010.^[29][26] It is brewed to a higher ABV (8%) for export markets under the name McEwan's Scotch Ale.^[30] Export of the beer to the USA has already been discontinued, and recently it has also stopped being exported to Canada.
• McEwan's Lager Cold (3.6% ABV) The highest-selling of all McEwan's brands.^[31] It was introduced in the 1970s as lager became more popular. Originally called simply "McEwan's Lager", the canned variant was discontinued in 2003. The draught version remained available, but largely disappeared from the public domain due to the rise in popularity of S&N's other lagers. However, when SABMiller delisted Miller Beer, a popular licensed brand in the Scottish market, S&N found themselves with a gap in their lager portfolio, so in November 2008 it was re-launched under the name McEwan's Lager Cold.^[32] Four notable TV commercials for McEwan's Lager - with soundtracks by popular Scottish rock bands including Win and Hipsway - were released in the mid-1980s.

"/- " is an old writing convention for shillings. The shilling beers are named after the original cost of a hogshead.

Sponsorship

During the 1980s and 1990s, McEwan's sponsored six football clubs and one rugby league club:

• Carlisle United – 1982 to 1988 (as 'McEwan's Younger')^[33]
• Darlington – 1984 to 1987^[34]
• Rangers – 1987 to 1999^[35]
• Notts County – 1991 to 1994 (Away games only)^[36]
• Newcastle United – 1991 to 1995 (Away games only)^[37]
• Blackburn Rovers – 1991 to 1996^[38]
• St Helens RLFC – 1995 to 1999

References

1. ^ "Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter - Ask Michael". Beerhunter.com. http://www.beerhunter.com/askmichael1.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
2. ^ "Jygsaw Brands | Raising the bar". Jygsaw.com. http://www.jygsaw.com/brands-mcewans.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
3. ^ Euromonitor 2011, 47.9mn litres in 2001 to 17.6mn litres in 2010.
4. ^ "Scottish Brewing Archive - Collections - Records of William McEwan & Co Ltd, brewers, Edinburgh, Scotland". Archives.gla.ac.uk. http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/sbacolls/snm.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
5. ^ Sandy Murray (2004-02-17). "UK | Scotland | Years of brewing history ending". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3495417.stm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
6. ^ "Fountainbridge, Edinburgh". EdinburghGuide.com. http://www.edinburghguide.com/fountainbridgeedinburgh. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
7. ^ Wells gets Younger – which isn’t as old as claimed | Zythophile
8. ^ http://www.heineken.co.uk/ataglance/ataglance_aboutus.pdf
9. ^ "Last orders for famed Edinburgh brewery". The Scotsman. 2005-06-03. http://heritage.scotsman.com/ingenuity.cfm?id=609522005. Retrieved 2007-03-11. 
10. ^ http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Cheers-McEwan39s-and-Younger39s-set.6847869.jp
11. ^ Scottish beer deal puts Wells and Young’s into the top three - Local Business - Bedford Today
12. ^ Export hopes brew for premium beer brands - Herald Scotland | Business | Corporate & SME
13. ^ BBC News - Brewer buys McEwan's and Younger's Scottish ales
14. ^ ^{a b c} "McEwan’s Scottish Ale : Beers". Mcewans.co.uk. http://www.mcewans.co.uk/beers.php. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
15. ^ ^{a b} http://www.cannyscot.com/CurrentOld2004.htm
16. ^ ^{a b} "Beers & Lagers". Onestopshop.molsoncoorsdirect.com. http://onestopshop.molsoncoorsdirect.com/product_listing.aspx?typeClass=3. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
17. ^ 'Ex' and McEwan's Scotch may lose out -; Buy-out means shake up for drinkers, The Journal, Nov 16, 1998
18. ^ http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1989/fulltext/244c4.pdf
19. ^ Good Beer Guide 1977
20. ^ McEwans 70 Shilling (Pasteurised)
21. ^ ^{a b} Euromonitor 2011
22. ^ http://www.waverleytbs.co.uk/Branches/WaverleyTBS/WaverleyTBS/Files/Documents/TotalCask/Total%20Cask%20June%202011%20Brochure.pdf
23. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
24. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: William McEwan
25. ^ http://hub.wrnewmedia.co.uk/pdflibrary/OLN/OLN%20Beer%20Report%202010.pdf
26. ^ ^{a b} http://www.marstons.co.uk/docs/PBA_REPORT_2011_FINAL.pdf
27. ^ "McEwans 90 Shilling (Pasteurised)". Ratebeer.com. http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/mcewans-90-shilling-pasteurised/6406/. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
28. ^ "Heineken UK - The UK’s Largest Beer and Cider Business". Heineken.co.uk. http://www.heineken.co.uk/specbrand_mcewan.php. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
29. ^ 30 September 2010 (2010-09-30). "McEwan’s back on TV". TalkingRetail.com. http://www.talkingretail.com/products/product-news/mcewans-back-on-tv. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
30. ^ "Come-back for the Burtons | Zythophile". Zythophile.wordpress.com. https://zythophile.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/come-back-for-the-burtons/. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
31. ^ Euromonitor 2011 (61,000 hl)
32. ^ "On Trade Scotland Nov08". Publishing.yudu.com. http://publishing.yudu.com/Library/Avbfz/OnTradeScotlandNov08/resources/32.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
33. ^ "Carlisle United - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Carlisle_United/Carlisle_United.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
34. ^ "Darlington - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Darlington/Darlington.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
35. ^ "Rangers - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. 1939-01-02. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Rangers/Rangers.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
36. ^ "Notts County - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. 2010-02-10. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Notts_County/Notts_County.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
37. ^ "Newcastle United Change Kits - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. 1951-01-27. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Newcastle_United/Newcastle_United-change-kits.html. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
38. ^ "Blackburn Rovers - Historical Football Kits". Historicalkits.co.uk. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Blackburn_Rovers/Blackburn_Rovers.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 

External links

• Official McEwan's website
• Caledonian Brewery
• Dr.William McEwan
• BBC - Years of brewing history ending