News MP Calls For Boycott Of Carlsberg
After confirmation that the Tetley Brewery will close down in 2011, local Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland calls for the people of Leeds to boycott Carlsberg
News: MP Calls For Boycott Of Carlsberg
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At midday on Friday 5th March, Greg Mulholland MP poured a can of Carlsberg lager down a drain outside the Tetley’s brewery. Prior to this, he had approached the gates of the Carlsberg-owned Tetley’s Brewery in Leeds with a strongly worded letter addressed from himself and John Rowe, the Chair of Leeds Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
The letter written on behalf of the Leeds CAMRA group and the people of Leeds says that they “wish to communicate our anger and disgust over the confirmation that Carlsberg UK will close Tetley’s Leeds brewery”.
The boycott, and the pouring away of a can of Carlsberg, is meant as a symbol of Mulholland’s and CAMRA’s anger at the sale.
Tetley’s, which has a history in Leeds dating back to 1822, will see its production split between two breweries. The cask ale will be taken away from Yorkshire and brewed by Marston’s, a major national brewer based in Wolverhampton with a number of other sites across the county.
However, the Tetley’s Smooth Flow keg beer will continue to be brewed in Yorkshire, but its production will move out to Molson Coors’ Tadcaster brewery.
So, while Tetley’s will still own the historic beers, they will be brewed under license by two different breweries outside Leeds, leaving the Leeds site presumably set for demolition.
As yet, Carlsberg have made no announcement about the future of the 170 staff at the brewery, although Leeds Guide understands that the telesales staff will still have jobs in Leeds, but will move to a different site in the city.
What will happen to the site is unknown, although Mulholland speculates that he thinks the site will be sold for “development”, “making millions” for Carlsberg.
“I think everyone in Leeds is very angry that Carlsberg have taken the decision to close Tetley’s and to end 188 years of brewing in the city,” says Mulholland.
“The idea of brewing Tetley’s in the Midlands is simply unthinkable. The idea that Leeds pubs in our area will be stocked with beer brewed in Wolverhampton is just appalling when you consider how strong a Leeds brand Tetley’s is and with such strong Leeds associations. It’s a tragedy.”
Mulholland would have liked Carlsberg to consider using some of the money they’d make from selling the site “to set up a smaller brewery to brew Tetley’s somewhere in the Leeds area.”
“If they’d really looked into Tetley’s and its heritage as a beer and as a brand then they would have done so,” says Mulholland. They surely realise that having Tetley’s cask ales brewed in Wolverhampton will lose that link and will effectively be the end of all that heritage and the association of Leeds.”
Posted on Friday 5th March 2010
TG
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Comment by Aidan Foster-carter
Posted on Wed 17th Mar 10 9:48 pm
Aw c’mon. Haiti is a tragedy. This is a sadness
Comment by Steve Wray
Posted on Wed 17th Mar 10 11:35 pm
I was born and live in Leeds, but I never liked Tetley’s anyway, so I won’t miss it. Shepherd Neame ales, from Kent, are way better, and are available at Lidl’s. By the way, Carlsberg is probably NOT the world’s best lager.
Comment by Mal Meneaud
Posted on Fri 19th Mar 10 1:27 pm
Tetley’s Bitter has been going downhill ever since Carlsberg took them over, and the present pint of Cask is nothing like the beautiful creamy nectar I was wowed with when I first came to University in Leeds 40 years ago. Whilst it is a great shame to see the demise of this historic institution, the growth of so many small breweries in the area, producing some superb ales, is very heartening. Who knows, moving the production to a well recognised real ale brewer like Marstons might even revive it!?
