Fuller's Brewery

Fuller, Smith and Turner plc
Industry Brewing
Founded 1845
Founder John Bird Fuller, Henry Smith and John Turner
Headquarters Chiswick, London, United Kingdom
Key people

Simon Emeny, Chief Executive
Michael Turner, Non-Exec. Chair
James Douglas, Finance
Richard Fuller, Corp. Affairs
Ian Bray, MD - Beer

Jonathon Swaine, MD - Inns
Products Beer
Production output
 215,000 UK barrels (in FY2013)
Revenue £288m (FY2014)
Divisions Fuller's Beer Company, Fuller's Inns
Website http://www.fullers.co.uk/

Fuller's Brewery (Fuller, Smith & Turner plc) is an independent family regional brewery founded in 1845 in Chiswick, West London.

John Fuller's Griffin Brewery dates from 1816; in 1845, his son, John Bird Fuller was joined by Henry Smith and John Turner to give the company its full name. The company's beers include London Pride.

Fuller's owns and operates over 380 pubs, inns and hotels across the south of England.

History

Beer has been brewed on Fuller's historic Griffin Brewery site in Chiswick since the seventeenth century.[lower-alpha 1] From the original brewery in the gardens of Bedford House on Chiswick Mall, the business expanded and thrived until the early part of the nineteenth century. Money problems forced the owners, Douglas and Henry Thompson and Philip Wood, to seek a partner.[1] John Fuller, of Neston Park, Wiltshire was approached to see if he would inject the required amount of money. In 1829 he joined the enterprise, but the partnership proved a difficult one and in 1841 Douglas Thompson fled to France and the partnership was dissolved. It soon became apparent that it was impossible for one man with no brewing experience to run a brewery of that size alone so in 1845 John Fuller's son, John Bird Fuller, was joined by Henry Smith from the Romford Brewery of Ind & Smith and his brother-in-law, Head Brewer John Turner, thereby forming Fuller Smith & Turner.[1]

Griffin Brewery

The wisteria plant at the Griffin brewery 2008

The first recorded use of the name 'Griffin Brewery' in Chiswick dates from 1816, when one of the owners of the company at the time, Douglas Thompson, acquired the name from a failed brewery (Meux & Reid) in the City of London.[2] As well as its range of beers, The Griffin Brewery, located on the A4 in Chiswick, is famous for having the oldest wisteria plant in the UK, planted in the early 19th century.[3] The public can take a guided tour of the site.[4]

Beers

An assortment of Fuller's bottles
A selection of Fuller's brands from the museum display

Fuller’s is well known as the brewer of London Pride and other award-winning ales such as Chiswick Bitter, ESB and 1845.[5] Its beers are exported to about 70 countries around the world. Its biggest market is currently Sweden.[6] Its London Porter has won awards including World's Best Standard Porter and Europe's Best Standard Porter at the World Beer Awards,[7] and Champion Keg of Great Britain.[8] Fuller's 1845 has won awards including CAMRA's Champion Bottle Conditioned Beer in 1998.[9] In February 1995 while visiting the Griffin Brewery, HRH Prince Charles added a handful of hops to a copper of 1845.[10] Fuller's Vintage Ale is released around Christmas and has been made since 1997. In 2002, the year of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Fuller's added Goldings hops and Golden Promise malt to its Vintage Ale.[11] Past Masters XX Strong Ale is a bottle-conditioned 7.5% strong ale based on a September 1891 entry in the brewing logs. It is made using Plumage Archer barley.[12] Fuller's Past Masters Double Stout is a 7.4% bottle conditioned dark and creamy stout based on an August 1893 entry in the brewing logs. It was released in 2011 and is also made using Plumage Archer barley.[13] Fuller's 1966 Strong Ale was released in 2013 using a recipe from June 1966. It is a ruby coloured ale brewed with pale ale malt, Goldings and Fuggles hops and cane sugars.[14] Fuller's Brewer's Reserve is a collection of four bottled beers: No. 1 - a 7.7% strong ale launched in 2008 which spent 500 days in 30-year-old single malt whisky casks;[15] No. 2 - an 8.2% ale oak aged in Courvoisier Cognac casks;[16] No. 3 - a 9.0% beer matured for more than two years in Auchentoshan distillery whisky casks;[17] No. 4 - an 8.5% beer matured in Comte de Lauvia Armagnac casks for a year.[18] Gales HSB (Horndean Special Bitter) is a cask conditioned 4.8% bitter. It was first brewed in 1959; Gales was originally brewed in Horndean, Hampshire.[19]

Pubs

Mawson Arms, Chiswick Lane

Fuller's owns and operates over 380 pubs, inns and hotels across the south of England,[20] with over 180 managed pubs and hotels, and over 200 tenanted pubs. In 2005, Fuller’s added 111 pubs to its estate with the purchase of George Gale & Co. of Horndean, Hampshire. The "brewery tap" (the nearest pub to the brewery) is the Mawson Arms, a Grade II* listed building.[21]

Financial information

Fuller, Smith & Turner plc financial results.[6]
Year to June Revenue (£ million) Profit before tax (£m) EBITDA (£m) Earnings per share (p)
2014 288.0 33.5 54.5 52.14
2013 271.5 33.7 51.2 50.43
2012 253.0 28.1 47.8 41.24
2011 241.9 30.4 46.6 43.41
2010 227.7 27.1 43.6 34.73

Notes

  1. ↑ Fuller's History and Heritage page states "In the late 1600s".

References

  1. 1 2 "History and Heritage". Fuller's. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  2. ↑ London Pride - 150 Years of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC (1995)
  3. ↑ "Battle to save historic wisteria (From Your Local Guardian)". Yourlocalguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  4. ↑ "Find Out Where the Magic Happens at Griffin Brewery London - Fuller's". Fullers.co.uk. 2015-07-17. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  5. ↑ "Browse over 50 Quality Beers and Ales from Fuller's Brewery - Fuller's". Fullers.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  6. 1 2 "Quality, Service and Pride Every hour, every day : Fuller's Annual Report 2014". Fullers.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  7. ↑ "Fuller's London Porter". Worldbeerawards.com. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  8. ↑ "Winners from the National Cask, Keg & Bottle Competition 2014". Siba.co.uk. 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  9. ↑ "Champion Bottled Beer of Britain". CAMRA. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  10. ↑ "Classic Beer of the Month February 2013: Fuller's 1845 - Inside Beer: Beer News, Beer Reviews and Beer Tasting Events". Inside Beer. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  11. ↑ "Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2002". Ratebeer.com. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  12. ↑ "Fuller’s Past Masters XX Strong Ale, 7.5% - Inside Beer: Beer News, Beer Reviews and Beer Tasting Events". Inside Beer. 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  13. ↑ "Fullers, Past Masters Double Stout (England)". Beer-pages.com. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  14. ↑ "Past Masters 1966 Strong Ale by Fuller’s". FoodBev. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  15. ↑ "Brewer's Reserve No.1 ; A Strong Ale with a lot of Spirit - Fuller's". Fullers.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  16. ↑ "Fuller's Brewer's Reserve No 2". Beer-pages.com. 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  17. ↑ "Fuller's Brewer's Reserve No.3, 9.0%, Dark Ale". Perfectpint.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  18. ↑ "Fuller’s Brewer’s Reserve No.4 revealed". .beerguild.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  19. ↑ "HSB; a Popular Quality English Bitter First Launched in 1959 - Fuller's". Fullers.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  20. ↑ "Fuller's Nationwide Pubs - Fuller's". Fullers.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  21. ↑ "Ye Fox and Hounds and Mawson Arms and Nos. 112-118". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Retrieved 17 December 2013.

Coordinates: 51°29′14″N 0°15′02″W / 51.48722°N 0.25056°W / 51.48722; -0.25056

External links

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