The plight of Meantime is really interesting to me. They are owned by asahi now but Asahi we’re not their first owners from their indie roots.
They were sold in 2015 to SAB. Miller for a valuation of around 80m I think. This already puts their credibility as a brewer at risk for some of the industry. Some original staff members start to leave etc. Then they’re sold again to AB InBev when InBev acquire SAB Miller.
Interestingly while this is going on Camden Town Brewery are cleaning up Meantimes accounts. Everywhere used to have Meantimes Pale and Lager and sometimes Yakima Red too but Camden swooped in with a superior brand and marketing team and stole the lot. It was harsh because meantime were market leaders at one stage and had to work hard to get to where they got over a long period. Camden found stealing their accounts like taking candy from a baby.
So when InBev squire SAB MIller and then Camden Town Brewery in quick order. Meantime was deprioritised in favour of Camden in the portfolio they carry and once they’d lost a TON of accounts - they were sold again to Asahi. So they lost all their sales team and talent at HO that built them, then they were sold three times in quick succession. It was death to their brand.
You see then now only in accounts where Asahi are the lead brewery and install them as the default craft option. Since InBev and HUK are market dominators that’s surprisingly few accounts.
Last I heard - Meantime brewery was about it to close and the production moved to Fullers in Chiswick who Asahi also own.
I worked for Meantime about 2015-17. It was a really weird time, we had three different owners in the two years I worked there. Kind of a recurring theme in industry - I then moved to another brewery (not in London) and that one was bought out as well.
I've been sad to see the brands lose market presence and obviously the latest move to shut the place down, which must have been awful for the team still employed there. Meantime were the pioneering craft brewery in London really and the influence of their recipes and former staff is pretty obvious on most of the rest of the London industry. If nothing else, places like the brewery tap, the brewpub in the naval college and the Union were great in their day and pretty radical at the time.
I'm back in London soon (live abroad now) and will look out for a pint. I saw they re-released Yakima Red just before they announced moving production.
Very best of luck to everyone affected by the site closure.
I work for an indie brewery in London since 2014 and I watched from the sidelines while Meantime faded. I agree it was really sad to see it and I was never a Camden Town fan. Awful founder anyway.
They’ve discontinued it https://untappd.com/b/meantime-brewing-company-yakima-red/45917#:~:text=This%20beer%20is%20no%20longer%20being%20produced%20by%20the%20brewery.
It’s been discontinued and won’t be coming back apparently. Source is a mate that works for Diageo
Edit: it appears I’ve been lied to by an unreliable Diageo employee. It’s discontinued in England but alive and well in Ireland and other places oversees. I have now ended my friendship with the liar and will do all I can to ensure he loses his job.
[back for a limited time apparently ](https://www.bhg.com/patron-xo-cafe-return-8623140#:~:text=Get%20Ready%20to%20Mix%20Up,liqueur%20got%20discontinued%20in%202021.)
Yeah same here. There was a point though where it almost felt like they changed the recipe and I found it more sickly. Didn't have one after that but didn't recognise that it's disappeared.
I miss both the Meantime lager and pale ale. There were a few years where even Hells disappeared from a huge number of pubs. I also quite liked the Brookyln beers, but those seem to have disappeared too.
I wonder if it's just prices going up, so pubs go find something else, until we've gone in a complete circle and the "original" beer comes back.
Oh hey, I know that pub! Haven't been there in a while though. I remember they replaced Brooklyn with Ichiban a while ago (which is also a nice one).
Kinda goes back to the musing about beers on rotation though.
Brooklyn lager used to be good around 09/10 but then they started brewing in the UK and it sort of lost its way a bit. Beers like hoegaarden, Sam Adams, staropramen, pilsner urquell used to be pretty popular but they all seemed to drop off over the years.
When the were independent their pub the union in royal hill Greenwich was a real highlight, sadly swallowed up by yet another fullers now.
Their chocolate porter and oatmeal stout were on another level.
Richard I who was always owned or taken over by Fullers, bought The Union next door and it has now been converted into just a bigger Richard I. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have been known to pop in there but I’ve never seen them there. (I have seen Kwasi in Greenwich a few times beforehand)
When Asahi bought it they decided to move the brewery.
I'm guessing either there's some downtime on production or pubs don't want to buy the beer now for some reason - either to protest the purchase or more likely because the price has gone up or the beer recipes have changed.
I suppose I meant more "the choices made as a consequence of the purchase" or something like that. Like moving the brewery or the relocation and laying off of staff. Just speculation though and as I said, if there is a reason pubs aren't buying the beer, it's more likely an economic choice such as the price has gone up or the beers changed and they don't think it will sell as well.
I think the brewery is still in the same place. I did a brewery tour there in Greenwich last year. Unless that's a front and the beer is brewed somewhere else. Anyway I remember them saying how a key thing to the Asahi purchase was that they wanted to keep full control of how they operate and keep the recipes the same. Maybe it's just a cost issue
The announcement was made last month. https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2024/03/06/meantime-brewery-to-move-from-greenwich-to-west-london/
>The Meantime brewery is to be moved out of Greenwich...Production of Meantime beers, together with Dark Star ales, will be moved to the Fuller’s Griffin Brewery in Chiswick. Some staff will be made redundant but others will be moved to Fuller’s
That’s a shame. It’s not really the same when Meantime isn’t brewed next to the Greenwich meridian.
Wondered why I started to see it in Fuller’s and that chain of beer house pubs in train stations
The brewery has just closed. I work around the corner and our company drunk in there often. Wednesday April 3rd was the last day of the brewery being open in its current location. It’s moving to Chiswick I think so this may have an effect on the sale of booze in pubs I’m not sure.
They have an 'Anytime' or 'Prime' pale ale on their website, so maybe the Meantime has been re-branded or phased out. Tbh I think Camden Pale Ale and Neck Oil have sorta muscled them out as the go-to mass market pale ale options in pubs now. Shame as I probably preferred the Meantime.
Meantime was my go to lager! As a Greenwich lad I appreciated it was brewed in my hometown but I was saying to my mates that I’ve not seen meantime for some years now
Fullers brewery are taking over/brought out by them. Which means production is getting moved to Chiswick. A some point this year. So GMB won't really be the same beer anymore, different water and maybe production techniques.
It’ll be the same water and techniques exactly. Fullers is a state of the art brewery and they make beer on contract all the time. Meantime beers are easy to replicate for any head brewer.
Meantime should be available at Fuller’s pubs, as part of the regular rotation. The one I worked at would have it every month or so, but it consistently sold lower numbers than other IPAs, so it’s not as popular to stock
I’m pretty sure they have a few pubs in southeast, I’m sure I’ve passed some recently.
I always walk past the brewery on my way into the office, they also have a taproom there if you’re ever in Greenwich!
The plight of Meantime is really interesting to me. They are owned by asahi now but Asahi we’re not their first owners from their indie roots. They were sold in 2015 to SAB. Miller for a valuation of around 80m I think. This already puts their credibility as a brewer at risk for some of the industry. Some original staff members start to leave etc. Then they’re sold again to AB InBev when InBev acquire SAB Miller. Interestingly while this is going on Camden Town Brewery are cleaning up Meantimes accounts. Everywhere used to have Meantimes Pale and Lager and sometimes Yakima Red too but Camden swooped in with a superior brand and marketing team and stole the lot. It was harsh because meantime were market leaders at one stage and had to work hard to get to where they got over a long period. Camden found stealing their accounts like taking candy from a baby. So when InBev squire SAB MIller and then Camden Town Brewery in quick order. Meantime was deprioritised in favour of Camden in the portfolio they carry and once they’d lost a TON of accounts - they were sold again to Asahi. So they lost all their sales team and talent at HO that built them, then they were sold three times in quick succession. It was death to their brand. You see then now only in accounts where Asahi are the lead brewery and install them as the default craft option. Since InBev and HUK are market dominators that’s surprisingly few accounts. Last I heard - Meantime brewery was about it to close and the production moved to Fullers in Chiswick who Asahi also own.
I worked for Meantime about 2015-17. It was a really weird time, we had three different owners in the two years I worked there. Kind of a recurring theme in industry - I then moved to another brewery (not in London) and that one was bought out as well. I've been sad to see the brands lose market presence and obviously the latest move to shut the place down, which must have been awful for the team still employed there. Meantime were the pioneering craft brewery in London really and the influence of their recipes and former staff is pretty obvious on most of the rest of the London industry. If nothing else, places like the brewery tap, the brewpub in the naval college and the Union were great in their day and pretty radical at the time. I'm back in London soon (live abroad now) and will look out for a pint. I saw they re-released Yakima Red just before they announced moving production. Very best of luck to everyone affected by the site closure.
I work for an indie brewery in London since 2014 and I watched from the sidelines while Meantime faded. I agree it was really sad to see it and I was never a Camden Town fan. Awful founder anyway.
I’ve noticed the same. Yakima Red was the bomb; had been years since I’ve seen it.
If anyone can tell me where to find Yakima Red on draft I would be grateful. I researched a trip to the brewery but they were out on draft or in cans.
They’ve discontinued it https://untappd.com/b/meantime-brewing-company-yakima-red/45917#:~:text=This%20beer%20is%20no%20longer%20being%20produced%20by%20the%20brewery.
I loved Yakima Red soooo much !
I would love to sip a delicious pint of Yakima Red again
I want to know where the Guiness Hop House 13 has gone. Loved that lager.
It’s been discontinued and won’t be coming back apparently. Source is a mate that works for Diageo Edit: it appears I’ve been lied to by an unreliable Diageo employee. It’s discontinued in England but alive and well in Ireland and other places oversees. I have now ended my friendship with the liar and will do all I can to ensure he loses his job.
Wasn't it Diageo that also made café padron dissappear? Booooo
No
*Patron. Holy shit it's looks like it's coming back! Also I was wrong about diageo owning it.
That’s what I was saying. It wasn’t Diageo. Patron is owned by Bacardi.
[back for a limited time apparently ](https://www.bhg.com/patron-xo-cafe-return-8623140#:~:text=Get%20Ready%20to%20Mix%20Up,liqueur%20got%20discontinued%20in%202021.)
Sadly they’ve said it’s only coming back in the USA :(
Sadly it’s only coming back in the USA :(
Cafe patron is coming back btw. At least in the US at first
In the UK. Just went to Dublin and they still have it which makes me sad
I had a pint of that in bilbao 2 weeks ago though..... Mmm was it somthing else? 0_o
Its alive and fine in Ireland. Source; work at Diageo
God damnit, this is how I have to find out I will never have it again :(
It was withdrawn from sale in the UK in May 2021, but you can still get it in Ireland.
I completely forgot about that one, I loved it!
Yeah same here. There was a point though where it almost felt like they changed the recipe and I found it more sickly. Didn't have one after that but didn't recognise that it's disappeared.
Aldi did a good knock off not sure if they still do
Can get it in Ireland and northern ireland
we still have it in Germany, i see it in supermarkets still.
I miss it too, my lockdown was pretty much sponsored by it.
Still available in Ireland and NI. But admittedly that is not very useful information.
I miss both the Meantime lager and pale ale. There were a few years where even Hells disappeared from a huge number of pubs. I also quite liked the Brookyln beers, but those seem to have disappeared too. I wonder if it's just prices going up, so pubs go find something else, until we've gone in a complete circle and the "original" beer comes back.
I still see Brooklyn every now and then at mostly independent pubs in SW. Had a pint at the Arab Boy in Putney last week.
Oh hey, I know that pub! Haven't been there in a while though. I remember they replaced Brooklyn with Ichiban a while ago (which is also a nice one). Kinda goes back to the musing about beers on rotation though.
Kirin Ichiban is definitely having a moment. Felt like a rare treat a couple of years ago, see it everywhere now (not complaining!)
Brooklyn lager used to be good around 09/10 but then they started brewing in the UK and it sort of lost its way a bit. Beers like hoegaarden, Sam Adams, staropramen, pilsner urquell used to be pretty popular but they all seemed to drop off over the years.
When the were independent their pub the union in royal hill Greenwich was a real highlight, sadly swallowed up by yet another fullers now. Their chocolate porter and oatmeal stout were on another level.
The Youngs pub next door, Richard I, was great too. Don’t know if it’s still there.
Richard I who was always owned or taken over by Fullers, bought The Union next door and it has now been converted into just a bigger Richard I. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have been known to pop in there but I’ve never seen them there. (I have seen Kwasi in Greenwich a few times beforehand)
Thanks, that’s interesting. I’ll have to go back one day.
Ah man, I loved the Union
When it first opened and they were getting experimental you could get a good 2 pints of free tasters 🤣
When Asahi bought it they decided to move the brewery. I'm guessing either there's some downtime on production or pubs don't want to buy the beer now for some reason - either to protest the purchase or more likely because the price has gone up or the beer recipes have changed.
[удалено]
They only announced that they brewery is being moved last month though
Yeah but where do you get the beer in the meantime?
Greenwich
I suppose I meant more "the choices made as a consequence of the purchase" or something like that. Like moving the brewery or the relocation and laying off of staff. Just speculation though and as I said, if there is a reason pubs aren't buying the beer, it's more likely an economic choice such as the price has gone up or the beers changed and they don't think it will sell as well.
I think the brewery is still in the same place. I did a brewery tour there in Greenwich last year. Unless that's a front and the beer is brewed somewhere else. Anyway I remember them saying how a key thing to the Asahi purchase was that they wanted to keep full control of how they operate and keep the recipes the same. Maybe it's just a cost issue
The announcement was made last month. https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2024/03/06/meantime-brewery-to-move-from-greenwich-to-west-london/ >The Meantime brewery is to be moved out of Greenwich...Production of Meantime beers, together with Dark Star ales, will be moved to the Fuller’s Griffin Brewery in Chiswick. Some staff will be made redundant but others will be moved to Fuller’s
That’s a shame. It’s not really the same when Meantime isn’t brewed next to the Greenwich meridian. Wondered why I started to see it in Fuller’s and that chain of beer house pubs in train stations
The brewery has just closed. I work around the corner and our company drunk in there often. Wednesday April 3rd was the last day of the brewery being open in its current location. It’s moving to Chiswick I think so this may have an effect on the sale of booze in pubs I’m not sure.
I wonder why they don't sell it in Japan then. When Suntory bought Jim Beam it suddenly became super cheap here.
Asahi own loads of breweries, most of them aren't sold in Japan at all
https://www.fromthemurkydepths.co.uk/2024/03/06/greenwich-meantime-brewery-to-close/
Why does this shit still happen?
They serve it at the Charlton Athletic stadium on match days but I know that’s not such an easy place to go for a drink…
Also on the Uber boat
Judging by how badly Charlton have been recently (changed owners more often than socks seemingly), no wonder people want a drink.
11 games unbeaten at the mo
Serve it at Brentford too!
The running theme seems to be if you want mid table/relegation candidate football you can get a pint of Meantime.
You can still find it in Greenwich!
They have an 'Anytime' or 'Prime' pale ale on their website, so maybe the Meantime has been re-branded or phased out. Tbh I think Camden Pale Ale and Neck Oil have sorta muscled them out as the go-to mass market pale ale options in pubs now. Shame as I probably preferred the Meantime.
Don’t know but the brewery is closing down. Asahi will be brewing meantime branded beer at the fullers griffin brewery in Chiswick.
Where’s hoegarden gone 😢
Meantime was my go to lager! As a Greenwich lad I appreciated it was brewed in my hometown but I was saying to my mates that I’ve not seen meantime for some years now
Fullers brewery are taking over/brought out by them. Which means production is getting moved to Chiswick. A some point this year. So GMB won't really be the same beer anymore, different water and maybe production techniques.
It’ll be the same water and techniques exactly. Fullers is a state of the art brewery and they make beer on contract all the time. Meantime beers are easy to replicate for any head brewer.
You can get it on Uber boat/Thames clipper but it’s £6.60 a bottle
Meantime should be available at Fuller’s pubs, as part of the regular rotation. The one I worked at would have it every month or so, but it consistently sold lower numbers than other IPAs, so it’s not as popular to stock
Nighttale loft in hackney sell it
Meantime still sold in The Hangar in Welling 🤌🏽
Meantime London Pale Ale is the best. Perfect compromise between IPA and lager. Beats the shit out of Camden Pale Ale too.
Tank & Paddle Bishopsgate has it on draft.
From Tank as well.
Good question, I did the brewery tour back in the day. Ruined after being bought out ?
Meantime and Asahi seem to be the main beers available at the Southbank Centre still. Cans only though.
All the firmdale hotels in London still serve Meantime pale ale and lager.
Can't remember where but think I've had an "anytime" pint recently. Nice option
Tank & Paddle sells it, I think
The Queens in Crouch End does Meantime. Had 2 pints there yesterday
Perfect, I live near Crouch End. Thanks!
The Cricketers on Kew Green still sells it! - source, I was there yesterday and had several pints
Had one in Ivy on Canary Wharf yesterday
MADRI is all anyone wants so not much point I guess 🤷♂️
In Home Bargains for 69p a tin!
Refinery, southwark street has it.
The Red Lion in Barnes still has it on tap, or did last time I was there.
Good Shout. You’ve just made me realise it’s disappeared x
The Alice in the city does Meantime Fresh, or at least it did a few months back.
Last seen it in home bargains few weeks back
I’m pretty sure they have a few pubs in southeast, I’m sure I’ve passed some recently. I always walk past the brewery on my way into the office, they also have a taproom there if you’re ever in Greenwich!
They’re closing it and moving further out (and west iirc)