Wellpark Brewery
Encyclopedia
Wellpark Brewery is a brewery
situated in Duke Street
in the East End of Glasgow
, Scotland
. It was founded in 1740 on the bank of the Molendinar Burn
by Hugh and Robert Tennent. It is currently owned by C&C Group plc, which purchased the Tennent Caledonian Breweries subsidiary
in late August 2009 from Belgian
brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev
(formerly known as InBev
).
The company is most noted for the production of Tennent's Lager, Scotland's market leading brand of pale lager
since it was first produced at the Wellpark Brewery in 1885.
, by Hugh and Robert Tennent, although brewing had been taking place at the same site on the banks of the Molendinar Burn
since 1556, making it the oldest continuous commercial concern in Glasgow. Hugh Tennent's sons, John and Robert, continued the family business, trading as J&R Tennent from 1769. The business expanded in the 1790s when the Tennent family purchased the neighbouring brewery of William McLehose, and renamed the 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) site Wellpark Brewery.
The firm originally brewed stout
and strong export ales. By the mid-19th century J&R Tennent was the world's largest bottled beer
exporter. Robert Tennent died in 1826 and John Tennent in 1827. Hugh Tennent (the eldest son of Robert) then assumed control of the business. Hugh Tennent retired in 1855 with his fifth son, Charles Tennent, taking over, but he died in 1864, some months before his father. The brewery was subsequently operated by trustees on behalf of Charles Tennent’s sons, Archibald and Hugh.
In 1884 Hugh Tennent
took control of the company and first brewed Tennent's lager in 1885. He later built a new lager brewery on the Wellpark site, which was begun in 1889 and completed in 1891. J&R Tennent produced the first draught lager
in 1924, the first canned lager
in 1935 and the first keg
lager in 1963.
J&R Tennent was acquired by Charrington United Breweries
in 1963, and in 1966 formally merged with United Caledonian Breweries, Charrington's other Scottish subsidiary, to form Tennent Caledonian Breweries. The new company’s brewing was concentrated at the Wellpark Brewery and the Heriot Brewery in Edinburgh. Wellpark was redeveloped between 1965 and 1968 but Heriot was demolished in the 1990s. In 1967, Charringtons merged with Bass to form the Bass Charrington Group. It was later bought by the Belgian brewer Interbrew
(now InBev
) in June 2000, which became part of Anheuser-Busch InBev
in 2008.
C&C Group of Ireland announced a deal to buy the brewery and the Tennent's brand from AB-InBev on 27 August 2009. It also agreed to acquire the Scottish and Irish distribution rights to Beck's and Stella Artois
as part of the £180 million offer.
, with approximately 60% of the Scottish lager market. The lager was first brewed in 1885 by Hugh Tennent
, and in 1893 it won the highest award at the Chicago World's Fair
. It is described as a distinctive, well-balanced lager whose sweet, malty flavours combine with a tangy hoppiness to create its crisp, refreshing character. Tennent's Lager is certified by the Vegetarian Society as being suitable for vegetarians.
The lager was once famous for the design of its cans, which featured photos of various female models printed onto the side - known affectionately as "The Lager Lovelies". This feature was used by Tennent's up until the final campaign in 1989. Today, authentic original Lager Lovely cans are highly sought after among collectors. The can design is now a plain silver colour, with the company's trademark large red "T" featuring prominently.
In the rest of the UK, the brand is better known for its super strength lager, Tennent's Super.
: T in the Park
. Tennent's previously sponsored T On The Fringe
(part of the Edinburgh Festival
), Triptych and Tennents ViTal
in Northern Ireland. Tennent's sponsorship of T in the Park is continuing in the wake of its acquisition by C&C Group.
In football
the brand has been used to sponsor Scottish Futsal and historically the Scottish Cup
for 18 years, Tennents' Sixes
and the Tennent's UK Snooker Championship
even so the latter was held at the time in Preston in England
. Tennent's also previously sponsored the Scotland national football team
, replacing supermarket chain Morrisons
. This deal was signed on 3 October 2006 and came into effect in time for the European Championship
qualifying victory against France
on 7 October 2006. This sponsorship came to an end on 24 May 2010.
Tennents sponsor Scottish football's "Old Firm
" duo, Rangers F.C.
and Celtic F.C.
for the start of the 2010/2011 season when their contracts with Carling
expired the previous season. Also in July, they signed to sponsor English Npower League One Club Preston North End.
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
situated in Duke Street
Duke Street, Glasgow
Duke Street is a street running to the East End of Glasgow from the High Street in the City Centre, through the residential district of Dennistoun, running past The Forge Shopping Centre, before terminating at a junction with the Great Eastern Road , Westmuir Street and Springfield Road, to form a...
in the East End of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was founded in 1740 on the bank of the Molendinar Burn
Molendinar Burn
The Molendinar Burn is a stream in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the site of the settlement that grew to become the kernel of Glasgow, and where St Mungo founded his church in the 6th century. It was later used to power the growing town's mills....
by Hugh and Robert Tennent. It is currently owned by C&C Group plc, which purchased the Tennent Caledonian Breweries subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
in late August 2009 from Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. is a Belgian-Brazilian publicly-traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA....
(formerly known as InBev
InBev
InBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and AmBev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries...
).
The company is most noted for the production of Tennent's Lager, Scotland's market leading brand of pale lager
Pale lager
Pale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
since it was first produced at the Wellpark Brewery in 1885.
History
Wellpark Brewery was originally known as the Drygate Brewery. It was founded as H&R Tennent in 1740 at Drygate Bridge, near Glasgow CathedralGlasgow Cathedral
The church commonly known as Glasgow Cathedral is the Church of Scotland High Kirk of Glasgow otherwise known as St. Mungo's Cathedral.The other cathedrals in Glasgow are:* The Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew...
, by Hugh and Robert Tennent, although brewing had been taking place at the same site on the banks of the Molendinar Burn
Molendinar Burn
The Molendinar Burn is a stream in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the site of the settlement that grew to become the kernel of Glasgow, and where St Mungo founded his church in the 6th century. It was later used to power the growing town's mills....
since 1556, making it the oldest continuous commercial concern in Glasgow. Hugh Tennent's sons, John and Robert, continued the family business, trading as J&R Tennent from 1769. The business expanded in the 1790s when the Tennent family purchased the neighbouring brewery of William McLehose, and renamed the 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) site Wellpark Brewery.
The firm originally brewed stout
Stout
Stout is a dark beer made using roasted malt or barley, hops, water and yeast. Stouts were traditionally the generic term for the strongest or stoutest porters, typically 7% or 8%, produced by a brewery....
and strong export ales. By the mid-19th century J&R Tennent was the world's largest bottled beer
Beer bottle
A beer bottle is a bottle made to contain beer, usually made of glass.Bottled beer has been in use since as early as the 16th century. Beer bottles come in various sizes, shapes and colours....
exporter. Robert Tennent died in 1826 and John Tennent in 1827. Hugh Tennent (the eldest son of Robert) then assumed control of the business. Hugh Tennent retired in 1855 with his fifth son, Charles Tennent, taking over, but he died in 1864, some months before his father. The brewery was subsequently operated by trustees on behalf of Charles Tennent’s sons, Archibald and Hugh.
In 1884 Hugh Tennent
Hugh Tennent
Hugh Tennent was a Scottish brewer, the great-great-grandson of the founder of the Tennent's brewery. He began production of Tennent's lager in 1885, having acquired his brother's share of the business a year earlier....
took control of the company and first brewed Tennent's lager in 1885. He later built a new lager brewery on the Wellpark site, which was begun in 1889 and completed in 1891. J&R Tennent produced the first draught lager
Draught beer
Draught beer is beer served from a cask or a pressurised keg.-History of draught:Until Joseph Bramah patented the beer engine in 1785, beer was served directly from the barrel and carried to the customer. The Old English word for carry was dragen which developed into a series of related words,...
in 1924, the first canned lager
Beverage can
A beverage can is a tin can designed to hold a specific portion of a beverage. Beverage cans are made of tin-plated steel or aluminium.- History :...
in 1935 and the first keg
Keg
A keg is a small barrel.Traditionally, a wooden keg is made by a cooper used to transport items such as nails, gunpowder., and a variety of liquids....
lager in 1963.
J&R Tennent was acquired by Charrington United Breweries
Charringtons
Charrington United Breweries Ltd was an English brewery company founded in 1738 which merged with Bass in 1967.-History:Robert Westfield, a member of the Brewers' Company from 1738, owned a brewery in Bethnal Green, London, prior to 1757, when he took Joseph Moss into partnership and moved to new...
in 1963, and in 1966 formally merged with United Caledonian Breweries, Charrington's other Scottish subsidiary, to form Tennent Caledonian Breweries. The new company’s brewing was concentrated at the Wellpark Brewery and the Heriot Brewery in Edinburgh. Wellpark was redeveloped between 1965 and 1968 but Heriot was demolished in the 1990s. In 1967, Charringtons merged with Bass to form the Bass Charrington Group. It was later bought by the Belgian brewer Interbrew
Interbrew
Interbrew was a large Belgium-based brewing company which owned many internationally known beers, as well as some smaller local beers. In 2004 Interbrew merged with Brazilian brewer AmBev to form InBev, which is the now largest brewer in the world by volume, with a 13% global market share now...
(now InBev
InBev
InBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and AmBev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries...
) in June 2000, which became part of Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. is a Belgian-Brazilian publicly-traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA....
in 2008.
C&C Group of Ireland announced a deal to buy the brewery and the Tennent's brand from AB-InBev on 27 August 2009. It also agreed to acquire the Scottish and Irish distribution rights to Beck's and Stella Artois
Stella Artois
Stella Artois is a 5% ABV lager brewed in Leuven, Belgium since 1926. In the UK, Canada and New Zealand a 4% ABV version is also available.-Production:...
as part of the £180 million offer.
Beers
Tennent's Lager is Scotland's best-selling pale lagerPale lager
Pale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
, with approximately 60% of the Scottish lager market. The lager was first brewed in 1885 by Hugh Tennent
Hugh Tennent
Hugh Tennent was a Scottish brewer, the great-great-grandson of the founder of the Tennent's brewery. He began production of Tennent's lager in 1885, having acquired his brother's share of the business a year earlier....
, and in 1893 it won the highest award at the Chicago World's Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
. It is described as a distinctive, well-balanced lager whose sweet, malty flavours combine with a tangy hoppiness to create its crisp, refreshing character. Tennent's Lager is certified by the Vegetarian Society as being suitable for vegetarians.
The lager was once famous for the design of its cans, which featured photos of various female models printed onto the side - known affectionately as "The Lager Lovelies". This feature was used by Tennent's up until the final campaign in 1989. Today, authentic original Lager Lovely cans are highly sought after among collectors. The can design is now a plain silver colour, with the company's trademark large red "T" featuring prominently.
In the rest of the UK, the brand is better known for its super strength lager, Tennent's Super.
Brand portfolio
- Tennent's Lager (4% ABV)
- Tennent's Special (3.5% ABV)
- Tennent's Ember (4.2% ABV)
- Tennent's Light Ale (3.1% ABV)
- Tennent's Super (9.0% ABV)
- Sweetheart Stout
Sponsorship
The Tennent's brand is used for sponsoring music and sport including the Scotland's largest outdoor music festivalMusic festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
: T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
. Tennent's previously sponsored T On The Fringe
T on the Fringe
The Edge Festival is an annual music festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland, which takes place during August of each year. Formerly known as T on the Fringe, The Edge is part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts fringe festival...
(part of the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
), Triptych and Tennents ViTal
Tennents ViTal
Tennent's ViTal is an annual music festival in Northern Ireland. It was first held near Botanic Gardens in 2002 then later moved to Ormeau Park in 2007, both of these venues were in Belfast...
in Northern Ireland. Tennent's sponsorship of T in the Park is continuing in the wake of its acquisition by C&C Group.
In football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
the brand has been used to sponsor Scottish Futsal and historically the Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
for 18 years, Tennents' Sixes
Tennents' Sixes
The Tennents' Sixes was an annual indoor football tournament contested each January by senior football clubs from Scotland between 1984 and 1993. The tournament was sponsored by Tennent Caledonian Breweries and organised by the Scottish Football Association...
and the Tennent's UK Snooker Championship
UK Championship (snooker)
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is the second biggest ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the Triple Crown events.-History:...
even so the latter was held at the time in Preston in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Tennent's also previously sponsored the Scotland national football team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, replacing supermarket chain Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
. This deal was signed on 3 October 2006 and came into effect in time for the European Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
qualifying victory against France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
on 7 October 2006. This sponsorship came to an end on 24 May 2010.
Tennents sponsor Scottish football's "Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
" duo, Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and Celtic F.C.
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
for the start of the 2010/2011 season when their contracts with Carling
Carling
Carling brands are currently owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company. In South Africa it is distributed by SABMiller.Carling Black Label is the name of a brand of Canadian lager in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa...
expired the previous season. Also in July, they signed to sponsor English Npower League One Club Preston North End.
External links
- Tennent's home page
- "Tennent's" - collection of Tennent's advertisements on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....