Is Marston’s Pedigree on the way out?

You would hope not but the recent signs are not good as it disappears from some pubs and is harder to get hold of…

Are we seeing the slow death of Marston’s Pedigree at the hands of Carlsberg-Britvic? I posted this on a Facebook forum a couple of weeks ago. It might seem over-dramatic but the once classic beer is disappearing from some Marston’s pubs in favour of one of the Wainwright derivatives, with that often being the only traditional cask offering.

The first thing to make clear, although I suspect most reading will know, is that “Marston’s” is now only a pub-owning company, not a brewer. Marston’s, deep in debt, first “merged” with Carlsberg and then sold out the brewing operation completely to them in July, 2024. So, Marston’s are now merely a customer of Carslberg-Britvic.

Once, the idea of walking into a Marston’s pub and not seeing Pedigree on the bar would have been unthinkable. It was revered and deservedly so. It was the first beer which showed me what traditional beer was about, first nipping out under-age from sixth form to the Bull’s Head in Breaston, then continuing to drink it in there when I had left school.

A few years later, with support for Burton Albion discovered, I began almost 40 years of drinking Pedigree in the Derby Inn, not far from the ground in Burton. I was spoilt. There are plenty of people who will tell you that no-one in Burton kept Pedigree better than the late Tony Foster at the Derby Inn and one of the reasons was that Tony would battle the brewery reps who wanted it on the bar quicker. He believed in having it mature in the cellar awhile before serving it at its best. The Derby Inn was not big enough and profitable enough for Marston’s liking, so they sold it to Admiral Taverns, who were eventually happy to sell it off as “unviable”, as pub companies do when they cannot see past a one-dimensional business model.

Coming up to date, I was asked recently by a long-time acquaintance if I knew what was happening to Pedigree. His local, in Derby, a Pedigree stronghold for years and home to many Campaign for Real Ale branch meetings, had been struggling to get the beer delivered. I’ve since heard several similar stories.

And then, a couple of weeks ago, the family took an agreeable stroll around Branston Water Park, where you can nip down the canal towpath and take refreshment at the Bridge Inn, Branston, a Marston’s pub. The food, service and one of the most comfortable beer garden marquees I have been in were exemplary.

But on the bar, there was only one cask ale, Wainwright Amber, a beer not far removed from what used to be called Marston’s Burton Bitter, by my reckoning. The barmaid told me Pedigree had been taken off because “it wasn’t as popular as it used to be.” I know many people will say one of the reasons for that is that the recipe has changed over the years but I’m not getting into that particular debate here.

When my aforementioned acquaintance, Julian Tubbs, asked about availability of Pedigree on the Save Burton’s Brewing Heritage Facebook page last month, a woman called Julia Eaton, who appears to be a Carlsberg-Britvic employee, replied: “Pedi is being brewed on a very small scale and will keep being brewed for the foreseeable future at this scale.” Scary words for the future of the beer, I would say.

How far we have come, relatively quickly. It was only 2019 when, with other beer writers, I toured the then Marston’s Brewery and met then head brewer Patrick McGinty. Trainee brewers were learning their trade on a nano-brewery adjacent to the visitors’ bar. The brewery ran a home brew club but appear to have used Covid as an excuse to end it, as they did brewery tours. There was no input from the brewery to the Marston’s Home Brew Club Facebook page beyond 2022. Contact with customers is not something Carlsberg-Britvic go in for but that had already become the case before Marston’s sold out to them.

Perhaps we should have seen Pedigree’s possible fate coming when Carlsberg immediately ditched 11 cask beers upon completing the takeover. Now we are seeing “falling customer demand” for cask beer apparently being deliberately generated by the brewer – but that is not a new tactic. It is a sad state of affairs and another hammer blow to Burton’s proud brewing heritage.

Just for the record, I offered Carlsberg-Britvic the chance to respond, a fortnight ago, to a few questions about the future of Pedigree. If by some chance they do respond, of course I’ll add their response here.