| Extra info | Mitchells & Butlers Ltd, Cape Hill Brewery, Cape Hill, Smethwick, West Midlands.
The result of the merger between Butler's Crown Brewery Ltd of Broad Street, Birmingham and Henry Mitchell & Co. Ltd of Cape Hill, Smethwick in 1898 to form Mitchells & Butlers Ltd. M&B merged with Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd in 1961 to form Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Ltd.
Interbrew bought the Bass breweries in 2001. The Cape Hill Brewery was then sold to Coors, who closed it in 2002.
Mitchells & Butlers Brewery was formed when Henry Mitchell's old Crown Brewery[1] (founded in Smethwick in 1866) merged with William Butler's Brewery (also founded in Smethwick in 1866) in 1898.[2] Henry Mitchell had moved to the Cape Hill site in 1879[1] and this became the company's main brewing site. It had its own railway network,[3] connected to the national railway system from 1907–1962, via the Harborne line.[3]
An original Mitchells & Butlers Brewery pub, The Queens Arms, in central Birmingham
Various acquisitions included Holder's Brewers, who owned Birmingham's Midland Brewery, in 1919.[4] The company merged with Bass in 1961.[2] With the brand under ownership of Coors Brewers, the brewery closed in 2002 with production switched to Burton upon Trent.[5] The brewery was undergoing demolition in 2005.[3] The site is now a housing estate, although the Mitchell & Butler war memorial, built in 1920, has been retained and restored.[6]
Their most famous beer was Brew XI (using Roman numerals, and so pronounced Brew Eleven), advertised with the slogan "for the men of the Midlands".[7] It is now brewed under licence for Coors by Brains of Cardiff.[7]
A descendant company, which manages pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom, is still known as Mitchells & Butlers, and is based in Birmingham.[8]
See also
List of breweries in Birmingham
References
Davies, K. (2002). Mitchells & Butlers: A History of Cape Hill Brewery 1878-2002. Smethwick: Smethwick Heritage Centre Trust. ISBN 978-0-9546296-1-8. |
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