John Smith's Brewery
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Good article Template:Infobox company John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s.
The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth product, although a cask conditioned variant is available nationally. A stronger variant called Magnet is also available in the North East of England. John Smith's Cask and Magnet are produced under licence by Cameron's in Hartlepool.
John Smith acquired the Backhouse & Hartley brewery in 1852. Following a series of acquisitions in the post-World War II period, the company became one of the largest regional brewers in the country, operating over 1,800 licensed premises. The company was taken over by Courage in 1970 who extended distribution of the brewery's products into the South of England. Courage was acquired by Scottish & Newcastle in 1995, and the operations were purchased by Heineken in 2008.
John Smith's Extra Smooth and Original are produced at the Tadcaster brewery, as well as a range of Heineken products including Amstel and Kronenbourg 1664. With a 38 million litre capacity, the brewery is one of the largest in the country.
John Smith's became well known for a series of highly successful "No Nonsense"-themed television advertising campaigns, featuring the dour Yorkshireman character "Arkwright" during the 1970s and 1980s (shown only in the South of England), followed by the comedians Jack Dee during the 1990s and Peter Kay since 2002. The brand also has an association with horse racing: it was the principal sponsor of the Grand National between 2005 and 2013, the Northumberland Plate from 2003 until 2016, and has sponsored the John Smith's Cup since 1960.
History
[edit]Early years
[edit]
Stephen Hartley began brewing in Tadcaster in 1758.<ref name=taddyhistory/> Jane Hartley mortgaged the brewery to David Backhouse and John Hartley in 1845.<ref name=taddyhistory/> Samuel Smith of Leeds arranged for his son John to enter the business in 1847.<ref name=taddyhistory/> Jane Hartley died in 1852, and John Smith acquired the business, enlisting his brother William to assist.<ref name=taddyhistory/> The timing was to prove fortuitous; pale ales were displacing porter as the beer of choice, and Tadcaster's hard water proved to be well-suited for brewing the new style.<ref name="GourvishWilson2003">Template:Cite book</ref> The prosperity of the 1850s and 1860s, together with the arrival of the railways, realised greater opportunities for brewers, and John Smith employed eight men in his brewing and malting enterprise by 1861.<ref name=ODNB1>Template:Cite ODNB Template:Subscription required</ref>
The operations became sizeable during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.<ref name="Sigsworth1967">Template:Cite book</ref> Smith died in 1879, leaving an estate valued at under £45,000 (around £4.1 million in 2016 adjusted for inflation), and his assets were jointly inherited by his two brothers, William and Samuel Smith, a tanner.<ref name=ODNB1/><ref>Principal Probate Registry, England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966</ref> William purchased Samuel's share of his brother's personal estate, and built a modern brewery in 1883–4 at the cost of £130,000 (£9.7 million in 2013).<ref name=ODNB1/> By this time the business employed over 100 people.<ref name=hundred>Template:Cite book</ref> William Smith died in 1886, and the firm was inherited in partnership by his two nephews, Henry Herbert Riley (1863 - 1911) and Frank Riley, henceforth known as Riley-Smith under the terms of his will.<ref name=1911journal>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The firm expanded throughout the 1880s by creating an agency network, establishing sixteen offices in nearby settlements, and offering free trade discounts on their beer of 20 per cent or higher.<ref name=ODNB1/> The brewery had an annual output of 150,000 barrels by 1889.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1889, the company's first scientifically-trained head brewer was appointed, Percy Clinch, son of Charles Clinch of the Eagle Brewery in Witney.<ref name=hundred8>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1892, the partnership became a limited company called John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Limited, with Henry Herbert Riley-Smith as chairman.<ref name=autogenerated3>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1899 the company acquired Simpson & Co of Market Weighton, with 51 public houses, and converted the brewery into a maltings.<ref name=leedsmerc>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=ellis2>Template:Cite book</ref>
By the turn of the century the brewery was considered to be one of the best-run in Britain, "a byword for first-class management".<ref name=ODNB1/> In 1907, John Marples of Sheffield, the wines and spirits distributor, was acquired.<ref name=hundred6>Template:Cite book</ref> The company began to bottle its own beer in Tadcaster from 1907.<ref name=ellis4>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1912, the company owned over 250 horses, 41 of which saw service during the First World War.<ref name=hundred7>Template:Cite book</ref> Artificially carbonated beer was first bottled in 1923.<ref name=hundred4>Template:Cite book</ref> Paired horse drays were phased out by 1929.<ref name=hundred7 /> During and for some time after the World Wars, the Government raised the duty on beer, and forced brewers to lower their beer strength.<ref name=hundred2>Template:Cite book</ref> During this period, substitutes for malted barley had to be used for brewing, including flaked barley, oats and rye.<ref name=hundred2 />
The last of the company's dray horses was retired in 1947.<ref name=hundred7 /> Horses had delivered beer to all the areas surrounding the brewery, as far afield as Pateley Bridge.<ref name=hundred7 /> From 1948 the company exported beer to Belgium where it was bottled and distributed by Tilkens brewery.<ref name=econ5>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1950 there was a general strike in Belgium, and John Smith's hired two Handley Page Halifax heavy bomber aircraft to carry 7 ton loads twice-daily of their beers into the country in order to ensure supply.<ref name=ellis5>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1953 the firm became a public company, with fixed assets of around £5 million, 1,000 licensed premises and around 1,100 employees.<ref name=times2>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1958, Whitworth, Son & Nephew of Wath-upon-Dearne was acquired with 165 licensed houses, and the brewery was immediately closed down.<ref name=times3>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1959 the company began to bottle imported Alken lager at Tadcaster, in response to growing customer demand.<ref name=econ8>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1961 the company also began to bottle Carlsberg lager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1960 the company had an estate of 909 public houses.<ref name=mutch>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1961, John Smith's acquired the Barnsley Brewery Company, adding 250 licensed properties to their growing estate.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The company acquired Warwicks & Richardsons of Newark-on-Trent, with 474 pubs, in 1962.<ref name=times15>Template:Cite news</ref> Whilst some product rationalisation took place, popular lines such as Warwicks' Milk Maid Stout were retained.<ref name=times19>Template:Cite news</ref> John Smith's closed down all the breweries it acquired, apart from Barnsley, where it invested in the brewery, and added production of John Smith beers to the site, as well as increasing the distribution of Barnsley Bitter.<ref name=econ9>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=times18>Template:Cite news</ref> As a result of acquisitions, by 1967 John Smith's was the third largest regional brewer in the country after Courage and Scottish & Newcastle, with fixed assets of £30 million.<ref>John Smith and his Tadcaster brewery, Ward & Tattersall-Walker, p22</ref><ref>"John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery." Economist [London, England] 18 January 1969: 82. The Economist Historical Archive. Web. 5 March 2014.</ref> Acquisitions diluted the Riley-Smith family stake in the company to around 10 per cent.<ref name=econ1>Template:Cite news</ref>
1970–present: Courage takeover and the growth of John Smith's Bitter
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In October 1970, Courage purchased John Smith's in a friendly takeover which valued the company at £40 million (equivalent to £Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/year).Template:Inflation-fn<ref name=autogenerated3 /> By this time John Smith's owned around 1,800 licensed premises throughout the north of England, and as far south as Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and parts of Cambridgeshire and Shropshire.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The merged company held assets worth £137 million.<ref name=guardian>Template:Cite news</ref> By combining Courage's strength in the South of England, and John Smith's in the North, a national brewing company was created.<ref>"Courage." Times [London, England] 18 May 1971: 19. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 5 March 2014.</ref> John Smith's bottled Magnet Pale Ale was selected for nationwide distribution across the group, and the takeover facilitated the wider distribution of Courage brands such as Tavern Keg.<ref name="guardian"/>
The Tadcaster brewery was substantially redeveloped and expanded throughout 1974.<ref name=modern>Template:Cite journal</ref> Courage closed down the Barnsley brewery in 1976 with the loss of 200 jobs.<ref name=ft>Template:Cite news</ref> Barnsley Bitter was replaced by John Smith's bitter.<ref name=ft/> Courage argued that modernisation of the Barnsley site would have required "massive" investment.<ref name=barnsleybitter>Template:Cite news</ref> It was reported in The Times that landlords were generally indifferent to the change, as the taste profiles of John Smith's bitter and Barnsley bitter were similar.<ref name="barnsleybitter"/>
After successful test marketing from 1974, John Smith's Bitter was distributed in the South of England from 1979 onwards, accompanied by an extensive marketing budget.<ref>The Times, Thursday 5 December 1974 p.23</ref><ref name="yep">Yorkshire Evening Post, 10 November 2004 We 'ave it!</ref> As research by Courage indicated that Southern drinkers considered Yorkshire bitter to be superior, the beer was sold there under the name John Smith's Yorkshire Bitter.<ref name=autogenerated9>Template:Cite news</ref> Sales of the beer doubled in 1981 owing to the increase in free trade outlets in the South stocking the beer.<ref name=autogenerated8>"Yorkshire Double Act Pays off", Financial Times, 29 October 1982, p.19. Financial Times. Web. 19 August 2011.</ref> By 1982 it was the highest selling Courage brand and the highest selling canned bitter in the United Kingdom.<ref name=autogenerated9 /><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
In 1982, the John Smith's brands included Yorkshire Bitter, Magnet Pale Ale, Export Pale, Sweet Stout, Double Brown and Magnet Old.<ref name=bmj>Template:Cite journal</ref> In December 1983, John Smith's Cask (3.8% ABV) was re-introduced, seven years after it had been phased out.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By June 1985, John Smith's produced Template:Convert of beer annually.<ref name=coal>Template:Cite news</ref> In November that year, a new brewhouse was opened, at the cost of £5 million.<ref name=harris>Template:Cite news</ref> Production of Foster's lager began in 1987.<ref name=gibbs>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1993, John Smith's Extra Smooth was launched in cans.<ref>Official John Smith's Website Official John Smith's Website</ref> It was introduced in kegs in February 1995, and distributed to 10,000 pubs and venues.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is a nitrogenated version of the pasteurised beer, which was renamed to John Smith's Original in order to differentiate the two products.
In 2005, Scottish & Newcastle claimed that John Smith's was available in 40,000 outlets across the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, Scottish & Newcastle moved production of John Smith's Cask from Tadcaster to Burtonwood near Warrington, and production of John Smith's Magnet to Camerons Brewery of Hartlepool. In 2008 three limited edition beers were released to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the brewery.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2010 Heineken discontinued production of cask conditioned John Smith's Magnet, although it remains available in kegs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 2011, production of John Smith's Cask had moved to Cameron's. As of 2012, John Smith's is the sixth highest selling beer brand in the United Kingdom and the highest selling bitter in the world.<ref name=autogenerated1/> From February 2013, John Smith's Extra Smooth and Original were reduced from 3.8 to 3.6% ABV.<ref name="autogenerated4">Template:Cite web</ref> According to Heineken, the decision was taken in order to bring the product in line with the strength of its major competitors such as Tetley, Boddingtons and Worthington.<ref name="autogenerated4"/>
Beers
[edit]- John Smith's Extra Smooth (3.6% ABV). The highest selling variant, available in kegs and cans. It is nitrogenated and pasteurised.
- John Smith's Original (3.6% ABV). The same as Extra Smooth, but carbonated, rather than nitrogenated.
- John Smith's Cask (3.8% ABV). Available nationwide, but most often found around the brewery's Yorkshire heartland.
- John Smith's Magnet (4% ABV). A keg product, most frequently found around the North East and Yorkshire.
- John Smiths Golden Ale (4% ABV). Available in a can only, a lightly hopped pale ale.
Brewery
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The brewery brews 3.8 million hectolitres annually (1.3 million of which is John Smith's beer), and employed around 300 people in 2008.<ref name="yorkshirepost1">Template:Cite news</ref> It has two keg lines, two bottle lines and one canning line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It currently brews and packages the ale brands John Smith's Original, John Smith's Extra Smooth and Newcastle Brown Ale, and the lager brands Foster's, Kronenbourg 1664 (Kronenbourg is a Carlsberg-owned brand brewed under license by Heineken in the UK),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Amstel and Tiger.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=tutor>Template:Cite web</ref>
Slate Yorkshire Square brewing vessels were used at the brewery from 1913 until 1975.<ref name=autogenerated6>Template:Cite web</ref> Stainless steel Yorkshire Squares were in use by at least 1953, but were removed in the 1980s, and the brewery now uses conical tanks.<ref name=autogenerated6 /><ref name=ellis3>Template:Cite book</ref> By 1953, the brewery site occupied 20 acres.<ref>"John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company, Limited." Times [London, England] 12 May 1953: 11.</ref>
Wooden casks were still in use in the 1960s.<ref name=autogenerated8 /> The cask beer line was removed in 1976, but restored in 1984.<ref>John Smith and his Tadcaster brewery, Ward & Tattersall-Walker, p30</ref> A new canning line and a new brewhouse were installed around 1982.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1984 the original brewhouse was converted into a brewery museum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 1985 a new £5 million brewhouse opened.<ref name=Derek>Template:Cite news</ref> Production of Foster's Lager began in 1987.<ref name=gibbs/> By 1989 the brewery had a production capacity of 1.2 million barrels per annum.<ref>1988/89 Cm 654 The Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Elders IXL Ltd and Scottish & Newcastle Breweries Plc. A report on the merger situations</ref> Scottish & Newcastle used the John Smith's Brewery to brew many of its ale brands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2004, a new £24 million bottling facility was opened in 2004, described as the most modern bottling facility in Europe.<ref name=autogenerated7>Scottish Courage gets new bottling factory Template:Webarchive</ref>
Advertising
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The Magnet trademark was first registered in September 1908 in Brussels, and symbolised strength.<ref name="Sunderland2010">Template:Cite book</ref>
The company's association with television advertising began in 1971 with the "Yorkshiremen love it" campaign.<ref name=adage1>Template:Cite news</ref>
An early campaign used a series of parodies of Jona Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry" generally extolling "yer mate called Smith."
This was followed by the "Big John" campaign, which ran in the North of England from 1981, and centred around a re-writing of the Big Bad John country music staple.<ref name="eha">"Selling pitches." The Economist, 20 November 1982, p.56. The Economist Historical Archive. Web. 17 May 2012.</ref> Courage was able to demonstrate to an independent panel that the £300,000 campaign had resulted in a £5 million sales increase in the North.<ref name="eha"/>
From 1979 to 1986 Gordon Rollings played the dour Yorkshireman Arkwright in a campaign that was only used in the South.<ref>Campaign, 4 December 1992 John Smith's films mock ad industry</ref> The campaign won a large number of advertising industry awards, and was featured on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.<ref name=autogenerated9 /> After Rollings died in 1986 the campaign was continued with Arkwright's successor, Barraclough, until 1991.<ref>Campaign, 8 March 1991 John Smith's calls time for regulars</ref> Despite its success, the campaign was not without detractors, with Deyan Sudjic describing it in The Times as a "spurious ... tripe-and-whippets campaign".<ref name=tripe>Template:Cite news</ref>
No Nonsense campaigns
[edit]From 1992 until 1997, comedian Jack Dee starred in the "No Nonsense" campaign, created by DDB.<ref name="AngwinCummings2011">Template:Cite book</ref> The Dee campaign was widely credited with helping John Smith's rise from sixteenth to fourth highest selling beer in the UK as sales increased by 65 per cent, and the brand overtook Tetley's as the highest selling ale brand in the world by 1995.<ref name="AngwinCummings2011" /> The Dee campaign won fifty advertising awards, and helped to turn the rising comedian into a household name.<ref name="AngwinCummings2011" />
Dee resigned in 1997, and he was replaced in 1998 with a cardboard cut-out known as the "No Nonsense Man", from the GGT advertising agency.<ref name="AngwinCummings2011" /> Despite appearing in over 20,000 pubs, clubs and shops, No Nonsense Man was found to have less of an impact than the Dee advertisements.<ref name="adage1"/><ref name="AngwinCummings2011" />
Peter Kay represented the brand from 2002 to 2005 and again in 2010–11.<ref name=autogenerated13>Images of strategy By Stephen Cummings, p69</ref> The Kay campaign was described as an "advertising phenomenon", and introduced the phrase "Ave it!" into the public consciousness.<ref>Guardian Unlimited 10 April 2010 Saturday Peter Kay to reprise straight-talking role in John Smith's TV ads</ref> Between 2002 and 2004 the Kay advertisements won over fifty advertising and marketing awards, making it the sixth most awarded advertising campaign in the world.<ref name="yep"/> Despite the success of the Kay campaign, the perceived "laddishness" of the advertisements were criticised by rival brewer Interbrew as hindering sales of beer among women.<ref name=sco>Template:Cite news</ref>
Sponsorship
[edit]
John Smith's is a major sponsor of horse racing in the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has sponsored the Northumberland Plate since 2003, and more than 90 "No Nonsense" race days are held throughout the year at 28 jump and flat racecourses across the UK.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The brand has sponsored the John Smith's Cup (originally the Magnet Cup until 1998) at York since 1960, which is the longest running sponsorship in flat racing in the world.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> John Smith's previously sponsored the Grand National between 2005 and 2013.<ref>Promotional Marketing Council: Bronze (Event Marketing), Silver (Sponsorship/Joint Effort/Tie-in/Innovative Idea or Concept), IMC European Awards 2008</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In August 2012 John Smith's announced a five-year sponsorship of the Kirklees Stadium in Huddersfield, home to football team Huddersfield Town and rugby league team Huddersfield Giants, which was renamed "John Smith's Stadium".<ref name="thedrum1">Template:Cite web</ref> In December 2016, this deal was extended for a further five years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Clear