Workers at the Boddingtons brewery in Manchester today started a four-day strike in an effort to keep the Strangeways plant from closing.
Owner InBev, the world’s largest volume brewing company, wants to move production of non-cask ale to its plant in Magor, South Wales, and make cask ale at Hyde’s brewery, in Moss Side, Manchester. InBev blames poor sales for the decision and says there will be no more talks about saving the brewery.
Boddingtons, marketed as the “Cream of Manchester,” has been brewed in the city since 1778.
England Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Transport and General Workers union (T&G) organized a leaflet campaign to lobby supermarkets to get them to stop stocking Boddingtons. The T&G and CAMRA say that production of the beer should remain in the city as an important part of “brand heritage.”
The workers hope to get “brand protection” for the beer, making a move from Manchester difficult. If an application to the European Union is successful, it will use the slogan “Cream of Manchester” to link the brand with the city.