Editing John Smith's Brewery (section)

==History==

===Early years===
[[File:John-smith.png|thumb|upright|John Smith]]
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 Smith (brewer)|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 ale]]s were displacing [[porter (beer)|porter]] as the beer of choice, and Tadcaster's [[hard water]] proved to be well-suited for brewing the new style.<ref name="GourvishWilson2003">{{cite book|first1=Terry |last1=Gourvish|first2=Richard G. |last2=Wilson|title=The Dynamics of the Modern Brewing Industry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQcVEwe0qVIC&pg=PA99|access-date=24 July 2013|date=September 2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-44069-8|page=99}}</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>{{cite ODNB|last=Wilson|first= R.G. |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/94650 |title=Smith, John|year= 2007 |doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/94650 | access-date= 19 August 2011}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

The operations became sizeable during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.<ref name="Sigsworth1967">{{cite book|last=Sigsworth|first=Eric M.|title=The Brewing Trade During the Industrial Revolution: The Case of Yorkshire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFY7vkSJM-kC&pg=PA14|access-date=20 April 2013|year=1967|publisher=Borthwick Publications|isbn=978-0-900701-31-3|page=14}}</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 Old Brewery|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>{{cite book|title=One Hundred Years: : A History of John Smith's, 1847–1947|date=1948|publisher=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Ltd.|location=Tadcaster|page=14}}</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>{{cite journal|title=Obituary Notice|journal=Journal of the Institute of Brewing|date=September–October 1911|volume=17|issue=5|pages=543–544|doi=10.1002/j.2050-0416.1911.tb04711.x|doi-access=free}}</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 [[barrel]]s by 1889.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barnard|first=Alfred|title=The Noted Breweries of Great Britain & Ireland|year=1889|url=http://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/204-207_The-Noted-Breweries-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland/204_The-Noted-Breweries-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland-1.pdf|access-date=18 April 2013}}</ref> In 1889, the company's first scientifically-trained head brewer was appointed, Percy Clinch, son of Charles Clinch of the [[Clinch & Co Brewery|Eagle Brewery]] in [[Witney]].<ref name=hundred8>{{cite book|title=One Hundred Years: : A History of John Smith's, 1847–1947|date=1948|publisher=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Ltd.|location=Tadcaster|page=31}}</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>{{cite book|first=John |last=Pudney|title=A draught of contentment: the story of the Courage Group|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=satIAAAAYAAJ|access-date=4 September 2012|year=1971|publisher=New English Library|chapter=14|isbn=9780450009945 }}</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>{{cite news|title=Yorkshire Brewery Amalgamation|newspaper=Leeds Mercury|date=13 January 1899}}</ref><ref name=ellis2>{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Aytoun|title=Yorkshire Magnet|year=1953|location=Tadcaster|page=36}}</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>{{cite book|title=One Hundred Years: : A History of John Smith's, 1847–1947|date=1948|publisher=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Ltd.|location=Tadcaster|page=44}}</ref> The company began to bottle its own beer in Tadcaster from 1907.<ref name=ellis4>{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Aytoun|title=Yorkshire Magnet|year=1953|location=Tadcaster|page=42}}</ref> In 1912, the company owned over 250 horses, 41 of which saw service during the First World War.<ref name=hundred7>{{cite book|title=One Hundred Years: : A History of John Smith's, 1847–1947|date=1948|publisher=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Ltd.|location=Tadcaster|page=46}}</ref> Artificially [[carbonation|carbonated]] beer was first bottled in 1923.<ref name=hundred4>{{cite book|title=One Hundred Years: : A History of John Smith's, 1847–1947|date=1948|publisher=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Ltd.|location=Tadcaster|page=38}}</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>{{cite book|title=One Hundred Years: : A History of John Smith's, 1847–1947|date=1948|publisher=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Ltd.|location=Tadcaster|page=35}}</ref> During this period, substitutes for malted barley had to be used for brewing, including [[flaked barley]], oats and [[Mash ingredients#Rye|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>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery|newspaper=The Economist|date=26 December 1964}}</ref> In 1950 there was a [[Royal Question|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>{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Aytoun|title=Yorkshire Magnet|year=1953|location=Tadcaster|page=58}}</ref> In 1953 the firm became a [[public company]], with [[fixed asset]]s of around £5 million, 1,000 licensed premises and around 1,100 employees.<ref name=times2>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company, Limited|work=The Times|date=12 May 1953}}</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>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Limited|work=The Times|date=23 December 1958}}</ref> In 1959 the company began to bottle imported [[Alken-Maes|Alken]] [[lager]] at Tadcaster, in response to growing customer demand.<ref name=econ8>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Limited|newspaper=The Economist|date=19 December 1959}}</ref> In 1961 the company also began to bottle [[Carlsberg Group|Carlsberg]] lager.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19611219&id=at09AAAAIBAJ&sjid=LUgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5357,7460025|title=The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search|work=google.com|access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref> By 1960 the company had an estate of 909 public houses.<ref name=mutch>{{cite journal|last1=Mutch|first1=Alistair|title=Allied Breweries and the Development of the Area Manager in British Brewing, 1950–1984|journal=Enterprise & Society|date=June 2006|volume=7|issue=2|page=361|doi=10.1093/es/khj035|url=http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/9055/1/EP9055_a510_Mutch.pdf}}</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>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company|work=The Times|date=18 December 1962}}</ref> Whilst some product rationalisation took place, popular lines such as Warwicks' Milk Maid Stout were retained.<ref name=times19>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company|work=The Times|date=17 December 1963}}</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>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery|newspaper=The Economist|date=25 December 1965}}</ref><ref name=times18>{{cite news|title=John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company|work=The Times|date=20 December 1966}}</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>{{cite news|title=The protectors and the protected|newspaper=The Economist|date=2 December 1967}}</ref>

===1970–present: Courage takeover and the growth of John Smith's Bitter===
[[File:John Smith's Brewery, Tadcaster.jpg|thumb|left|William Smith's 1884 brewery, Tadcaster]]
In October 1970, Courage purchased John Smith's in a [[friendly takeover]] which valued the company at £40&nbsp;million (equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK|40|1970}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).{{inflation-fn|UK}}<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 [[asset]]s worth £137 million.<ref name=guardian>{{cite news|last=McLachlan|first=Sandy|title=Courage bids £34m for John Smith's|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 July 1970}}</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>{{cite journal|last1=Dixon|first1=C.|title=The Changing Structure of the British Brewing Industry|journal=Geography|date=April 1978|volume=63|issue=2|pages=108–113|doi=10.1080/20436564.1978.12219474 |jstor=40568891}}</ref> Courage closed down the Barnsley brewery in 1976 with the loss of 200 jobs.<ref name=ft>{{cite news|title=The Taste of Economics in Your Beer|newspaper=Financial Times|date=17 August 1974}}</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>{{cite news|last1=Kershaw|first1=Ronald|title=The bitter truth at Barnsley Brewery|work=The Times|date=22 February 1973}}</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>{{cite news|title=Advertising in the 80s: Financial Times Survey: Yorkshire Double Act Pays Off|newspaper=Financial Times|date=29 October 1982}}</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>{{cite web |url=http://www.hertsale.org.uk/newsletter/HN11.PDF |title=The Campaign for Real Ale : Hertforshire Letter |date=December 1978 |website=Hertsale.org.uk |access-date=25 September 2016 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</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>{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Richard|title=The politics of alcohol|journal=British Medical Journal|date=8 May 1982|volume=284|issue=6326|pages=1392–5|pmc=1498300|pmid=6803990|doi=10.1136/bmj.284.6326.1392}}</ref> In December 1983, John Smith's Cask (3.8% [[ABV]]) was re-introduced, seven years after it had been phased out.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huntscamra2.org.uk/news/ot137-years-ago.asp |title=Huntingdonshire CAMRA, Opening Times 137 |work=huntscamra2.org.uk |access-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106182458/http://www.huntscamra2.org.uk/news/ot137-years-ago.asp |archive-date= 6 January 2014 }}</ref> By June 1985, John Smith's produced {{convert|1.7|e6hl|e6impbbl|abbr=off}} of beer annually.<ref name=coal>{{cite news|title=NCB|work=The Times|date=24 June 1985}}</ref> In November that year, a new brewhouse was opened, at the cost of £5 million.<ref name=harris>{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Derek|title=Australia brews change for beerage|work=The Times|date=19 September 1986}}</ref> Production of [[Foster's Lager|Foster's lager]] began in 1987.<ref name=gibbs>{{cite news|last1=Gibbs|first1=Geoffrey|title=Courage deal gives extra strength to Mansfield|work=The Guardian|date=1 December 1987}}</ref>

In 1993, John Smith's Extra Smooth was launched in cans.<ref>[http://www.johnsmiths.co.uk/brands/extra-smooth.html 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>{{cite web|url=https://www.marketingweek.com/1995/02/03/courage-unveils-extra-smooth-keg-bitter/|title=Courage unveils Extra Smooth keg bitter|first=Marketing|last=Week|work=marketingweek.com|date=3 February 1995 |access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref> It is a [[nitrogen]]ated 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>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsguidelimited.com/PDFs/js_grand_national_guide.pdf |title=The John Smith's Grand National Information Guide 2005 |access-date=13 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507233728/http://www.sportsguidelimited.com/PDFs/js_grand_national_guide.pdf |archive-date=7 May 2006 }}</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>{{cite news|title=Right track for Winner's Tipple|url=http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Drinks-Brands-News/Right-track-for-Winner-s-Tipple|access-date=3 September 2012|newspaper=Morning Advertiser|date=21 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Gemma |last=Charles |url=http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/840270/ |title=John Smith's launches 'Finest Hour' ale to mark RAF anniversary |publisher=Marketing magazine |date=19 August 2008 |access-date=3 September 2012}}</ref> In 2010 Heineken discontinued production of cask conditioned John Smith's Magnet, although it remains available in kegs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beer-pages.com/2010/01/magnet-loses-its-pulling-power.html |title=Beer Blog with Roger Protz: Magnet loses its pulling power |publisher=Beer-pages.com |date=21 January 2010 |access-date=3 September 2012}}</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">{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1038421/john-smiths-brewer-denies-tax-saving-claims|title=Brewer Denies Weakening Bitter To Save Tax|work=sky.com|access-date=19 September 2016}}</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"/>