So, farewell Young's

As I write this nearly a hundred employees at Young's Brewery have received their letters of redundancy. Soon, the brewery will come to a shuddering halt, the lights will be turned off, the gates closed for the very last time and the keys tossed into the mitts of grinning developers.

And that will be that. Young's of Wandsworth, born in 1831, will be no more. Arguably the nation's greatest brewing site, dating back to 1581, will be turned into faceless flats and offices, and Young's overpowering and malty aroma, which has pervaded Wandsworth and beyond for nearly two centuries, will be replaced by the sterile scent of new money.

The beers will move to their new home in Bedford, where new owner Charles Wells will faithfully replicate the Young's distinctively tangy footprint. Never mind that the conical fermenters are completely different to their open-squared predecessors, or that head brewer Ken Don is about to retire after 25 years, the Young's beers won't change says Charles Wells. Cynics aren't so sure.

But arguing the toss about potential flavour departures is a fruitless exercise. Because even if Charles Wells ticks every technical box it can and the beers produced are an exact replica of those brewed in Wandsworth that doesn't make them Young's.

Young's beers are from London. They're not from Bedford. There's more to Young's than simply Fuggles and Golding hops and Maris Otter barley; there's the people, the passion and the provenance.

Young's can take the beer out of London, but sadly, in doing so, it has also taken the London out of the beer. Sure, the Wandsworth site was too precious and traffic-polluted to remain a feasible brewing site, but could a new purpose-built site in the capital not have been chosen? Simply not viable, says Young's.

What? Nowhere? In the whole of London? Are you sure? Or is the issue less about land and logistics and more about good old-fashioned lolly?

There's simply no defence if it was a money decision. I'm no brewer and I'm certainly no estate agent, but how much does it cost to build a new brewery on an industrial estate in London? One million? Two? Hell, let's say - and this is pushing the boat out - it cost £10m.

That still leaves a lot of change out of £70m (the amount received from Minerva for the Wandsworth site) and Young's could always sell a pub or two if need be. Besides, how much is too much when you're paying for integrity?

Might as well put the abacus away, though, as by relocating to the sticks Young's has shunned any romantic notion of provenance and, having remained so vehemently loyal to them during the 1960s and 1970s, flipped London's cask ale drinkers the bird.

Normally, in these circumstances, you can rely on CAMRA to strut its "outraged from St Albans" stuff. After all, CAMRA is always quick to open a can of cask-swilling consumer whupp-ass on the likes of Greene King and Fuller's if they even so much as look at another brewery.

But CAMRA's reaction to the Young's closure has been as benign as it's been unforgivable. Aside from a few small murmurs of discontent, the customary cries of indignation and uproar have been conspicuous by their complete and utter absence, and the subdued reaction from the so-called defender of cask ale has raised many eyebrows within the trade. What has Young's done to deserve such preferential treatment?

With all due respect to the likes of Hardys & Hansons and Gales, this is no regional also-ran, this is Young's! Young's, I said! One of Britain's oldest and most eminent breweries!

I suggest CAMRA puts the war against cask-breathers on hold for just one second (don't worry, I think the world will keep turning), climb down from the fence where it's been sitting for four months, pick out the splinters from its backside and do what its 80,000 members pay it to do.

Never mind the iconic Ram, if I as Young's or CAMRA right now I'd be feeling pretty sheepish.

How The Publican reported it…

May 2006:​ Young and Co is to give up making beer in south London and merge its brewing operations with Bedford-based Charles Wells. In a statement Young's said it would be "combining its brewing, beer brands and wholesale operations with the brewing assets, including the freehold site of the Eagle Brewery, beer brands and wholesale operations of Charles Wells".

May 2006:​ Nigel McNally, managing director of newly-formed Wells & Young's, said: "Young's bitter is the fastest-growing standard bitter, while Bombardier is the fastest-growing premium ale. Charles Wells licensees will be able to stock Young's Special, which is great as we previously were unable to offer a high-gravity beer to our licensees."

June 2006:​ Hamish Champ, city & business editor, The Publican, said: "With extra products to brew and planned extensions to the Eagle Brewery expected, the future has a promising air. The scope of the deal and the wider range of products gave the Wells' off-trade operations a boost, and it is hoping to see benefits through its pubco clientele."

July 2006:​ Mike Benner, chief executive of CAMRA, told The Publican: "Let's be clear, Young's has decided that it is going to close its brewery and that's very disappointing for us. The positive side of that story is that Young's will remain vertically integrated selling Young's beers into Young's pubs, albeit beers that are brewed in Bedford."

August 2006:​ London brewer Young's has confirmed the sale of the historic Ram Brewery site in Wandsworth to property company Minerva, in a £69m cash sale. The deal covers both the riverside brewery and the nearby Buckhold Road offices.