Newcastle Brown Ale
| Newcastle Brown Ale Newcastle Brown Ale | |
| Manufacturer | Newcastle Breweries |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1927 |
| Alcohol by volume | 4.7% |
| Style | English brown ale |
| Website | newcastlebrown |
Newcastle Brown Ale is a brand of dark brown ale. It has been brewed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, since April 1927 by Newcastle Breweries (now a part of Scottish and Newcastle).
In August 2005, Scottish and Newcastle closed the Tyne Brewery. The last Brown Ale was brewed at Tyne in April;[1] production was moved across the river to the Federation Brewery in Dunston, Gateshead, where it is brewed by Newcastle Federation Breweries Ltd.
Newcastle Brown Ale had been granted Protected Geographical Indication status by the EU. Since Scottish and Newcastle moved production outside of the city, the future of its PGI status is uncertain. As of December 2006, an application to cancel its PGI status is being considered. [2]
In Newcastle, the beer is often called 'Dog' (or simply 'Broon'). The 'Dog' name comes from the euphemism "I'm going to walk the dog" or "I'm going to see a man about a dog" - meaning "I'm going to the pub" - and was further popularised by a 1980s advertising campaign. In southern parts of the country it is often referred to as "Newkie Brown".
Newcastle Brown Ale is traditionally sold in pint (more recently 550ml) bottles, and consumed from a 12oz 'Wellington' glass. This allows the drinker to regularly top-up the beer and thereby maintain a frothy 'head'.
Labelling
The blue star logo was introduced to the Newcastle Brown Ale bottle in 1928, the year after the beer was launched. The five points of the star represent the five founding breweries of Newcastle, the site of Britain's first commercial breweries. One of these, John Barras, is now commemorated in the pub chain of the same name.
In 2000, the beer was renamed "Newcastle Brown" with the "Ale" being removed from the front label. This change, only in the UK, was due to market research claiming that the term "ale" was outdated and costing the company sales in the youth drinking markets. The older name was reinstated with no fanfare in 2004, when it was realised that the change had made no difference to sales. [3]
In 2006, a special "Shearer" edition with a black and white label was made in honour of the retiring Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer.
Distribution and export
The beer was largely unavailable in South East England and the Midlands until a successful promotional campaign in the late 1980s, but is now one of the country's leading bottled ales. The beer has been available in keg in these areas since late 2003 (although it was available in keg in the Newcastle area before that) and can also be purchased in cans.
Widely distributed around the world, at times, over half of the brewery's output is directed overseas to the U.S.[4] In the United States the beer is available in bottles and in keg.
The beer is also available in British-themed pubs as a draught beer in Australia and New Zealand, where it is brewed by Foster's Group as part of the reciprocal deal, pursuant to which Foster's Lager is brewed by Scottish & Newcastle in the UK. The UK brewed bottled version is widely available in Australian liquor outlets as part of their international range.
References
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Kerr, Rachel (2005-05-27). "Last orders for landmark brewery". BBC News. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
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"National application No: 02621 - Newcastle Brown Ale". EU Protected Food Names Schemes. DEFRA. 2006-12-21. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
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Gibson, Neil (2004-12-13). "Ale's well again for Newcastle Brown". The Journal. icNewcastle.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Scottish And Newcastle: Newcastle Brown Ale". Retrieved 2007-01-11.