FEATURE: The classic heritage brands making a comeback

Even when they’re no longer on the pumps, heritage brands such as Bass have never disappeared from pubs. Their ghosts survive in the mirrors and memorabilia, in the windows and the signage, a way to telling us that “this is a proper pub”.

And now there is a growing likelihood that customers might actually be able to drink them. A renewed interest in the best-selling ales of past decades was highlighted last month (May) when Barcelona-based brewer Damm acquired the Old Speckled Hen brand from Greene King.

Best known for its trendy premium lager Estrella, over time, Damm will transfer production of the Hen stable to the Eagle Brewery in Bedford, which it bought from Carlsberg, to deepen its roots in British beer culture.

It’s not the only brewer that’s seeing the future, not the past, in old brands. Last year, Manchester’s JW Lees relaunched local favourite Boddingtons on cask, with great success, and Allsopp family descendants, in partnership with Kirkstall Brewery in Leeds, have revived Allsopp’s – along with one of the biggest names of the 1970s, Double Diamond.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s Theakston Brewery reports that its XB ale, once the favourite tipple of JD Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin, is back in growth, and demand for darker beers such as Old Peculier, is on the rise.

And brand owner Budweiser UK has finally got the message from consumers and publicans, and is once again investing in draught Bass, trebling distribution in recent months from just 350 to more than 1,000 pubs.

It’s not all going one way, though. Molson Coors has announced that by the end of this year it will be closing Sharp’s Brewery in Cornwall, the home of Doom Bar, until very recently Britain’s best-selling cask ale. It has been usurped at the top by Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, another growing brand with a history and a reputation for quality.

And Carlsberg is sitting on a couple of sleeping giants in Courage Best and Directors. The latter is, of course, Alan Partridge’s go-to pint, and it’s rather sad that it’s become a joke. But perhaps it’s time to take our heritage seriously. Evidence suggests that it’s not only men of Partridge’s age, tragically hankering after their lost youth, who are drinking these beers. There’s an interest among the younger generation, too.

When Lees recreated cask Boddingtons for brand owner Budweiser UK it had both cohorts in mind, as managing director William Lees-Jones explains in what makes for a revealing case study.

“We segmented our target audience between older drinkers who remember Boddingtons and younger drinkers who were more partial to, say, a pint of Guinness. It had to appeal to both groups, or the ‘two tribes’, as we call them.”

It also had to be more ‘premium’ in look and strength than the most recent iteration, with the ABV upped from 3.8% to 4%.

‘Must-stock’ cask beer

Apart from its flagship venue Founders Hall, you won’t find Boddies in Lees’ own sites, “on the basis that people come to JW Lees pubs to drink JW Lees beers and we did not want to dilute our own brands”.

“Initial distribution was all direct in Greater Manchester where we have achieved 150 outlets pouring the beer,” says Lees-Jones. “This was followed in January 2026 with distribution into national accounts, pub companies and wholesalers. Boddingtons is now available in pretty much all UK sales channels nationally.

“We have evidence that it is a ‘must-stock’ cask beer and drives footfall,” he goes on. “Although there are some pubs that have put it on the rotational guest beer handpull.

“Needless to say, there have been some issues with southern pubs not pouring it through a swan neck and sparkler, and we are doing our best to convert them to serving a creamy pint of Boddingtons, since that’s its USP.”

Sales continue to grow, Lees reports, estimating it’s currently in about 400 pubs nationally and already accounts for 15% of the brewery’s total production.

Richard Bradbury, managing director at T&R Theakston, believes the interest in heritage suggests pubgoers are turning to names that have a longevity they can rely on.

“With brewery closures, takeovers and recipe changes, some drinkers are losing trust in beer brands and in who is maintaining their quality,” he says. “They’re seeking reassurance from brewers with strong heritage and quality credentials who they trust to offer consistency, never more important as the price of a pint continues to rise.

“Alongside this, drinkers have an increasing interest in darker beers, perhaps fuelled by the growth in stout, that has encouraged them to seek beers with balance and subtlety of flavour, often best found in Britain’s favourite historic brands.”

It seems the phenomenal performance of draught Guinness over the past couple of years, which have seen growth north of 20%, and encouraged independent and family brewers to produce their own nitro stouts, is a powerful factor here, especially when trying to explain why young people might have suddenly acquired a taste for heritage cask ales.

Laura Empson, a London-based freelance beer consultant, certainly believes it has “made a difference”, its “softer mouthfeel” forming a bridge to traditional ales for younger drinkers.

She has recently worked with Stoke Newington’s Mildmay Club to reintroduce cask beer after a lapse of 25 years. Four handpumps are now pouring “local stuff, such as Five Points and East London Brewery, and always a best bitter”.

Greater confidence

A beer festival there featured the legendary DBA, or Draught Burton Ale, once brewed by Ind Coope and now by Burton Bridge Brewery, which also happens to be one of Empson’s clients.

“Pubs are proactively asking me ‘which heritage beers’ they should stock. I think older drinkers who remember DBA, for instance, get comfort from it, but it’s for everyone, really.

“There may be a cost element for younger people, but this is also a generation that’s sick of AI-generated nonsense. For them, these beers are reassuring and real, they have been around 50 years or more. There’s a familiarity and an authenticity to them.”

She also believes higher standards of cellar management have given drinkers greater confidence when it comes to the quality of cask ales.

And brewers may be producing more complex versions of heritage brands which, though not how some might exactly remember them, appeal to the modern palate.

Al Wall is the brewer at the merged Burton Bridge and Heritage Brewing operation in Burton-upon-Trent, a town that’s at the heart of Britain’s brewing history. He has recreated many beers once brewed there and elsewhere, including DBA and a version of Charrington IPA from around 1970. Recipes from World War II are in the pipeline.

There’s always something old and interesting on the pumps in the Burton Bridge Inn at the front of the brewery, but a new listing with wholesaler James Clay, and Empson’s work getting them into suitable pubs in the capital, is tapping into a wider market.

“There’s certainly something happening. People are getting excited about heritage beers now,” says brewery manager Emma Cole.

“People care more about our history, they are more focused on local, and the generation who were introduced to drinking through craft beers are interested in learning about their heritage. They like the stories we can tell about these ales and talking to bar staff who are trained to do that.”

Burton Bridge is obviously at the experimental end of the heritage market but its experience in fuelling the enthusiasm of younger drinkers as well as the nostalgic veterans suggests a potential for beers such as Bass and Boddingtons to widen their reach even further.

It has to be done properly, though. As Theakston’s Bradbury implies, there is a suspicion among those who care about their beer that this isn’t really a job for global brewers, that they don’t understand cask ale and have their focus elsewhere… on mass market lagers. Can they be trusted with maintaining the quality that’s key to this promising category?

It’s significant Budweiser UK has contracted out the brewing of cask Bass and Boddies to, respectively, Carlsberg’s Marstons Brewery in Burton, and JW Lees – breweries with a track record in cask beer.

Damm, for the time being, is leaving the brewing of the Old Speckled Hen range to Greene King which, in turn, is happy to describe the deal as a “partnership”, clinging to a brand it has developed over the past 25 years.

Meanwhile, if your pub still proudly displays the sign of Bass or Boddingtons or Allsopp’s, you might get a sales call suggesting a bit of reverse engineering so you can offer customers the brand you’re advertising.

Laura Empson, for one, has already sold Burton Bridge brewed Charrington’s IPA into two London pubs with the Charrington’s name on their walls, and she’s determined to find more.