Young's

Lore & Background

The Ram Brewery site has a recorded history dating to the 1550s, when a survey around 1550 detailed a Ram pub owned by Elizabeth Ridon. The first indication of brewing at the Ram comes from 1576, when Humphrey Langridge, a 'beer-brewer at Wandsworth', had his house broken into; Langridge is also recorded as landlord of 'the Rame' in 1581. The brewery was run by the Draper family in the 17th century and by the Trittons in the 18th century before being purchased by Charles Allen Young and Anthony Fothergill Bainbridge in 1831. Until 2006 the last chairman belonging to the Young family was John Young, the great-great-grandson of the founder. The brewery supplied Young's public houses in London and the area to the south-west, still numbering over 200, and also sold to other pubs and supermarkets, exporting to European countries, Canada, the United States and Japan. The company produced three regular and a series of seasonal and occasional cask ales, keg lagers, and several filtered and pasteurised bottled beers, and contract-brewed beers for InBev such as Courage Best and Mackeson Stout.

Reader's Guide

Young's significance lies in its long association with the Ram Brewery, which was claimed to be the oldest British brewery in continuous operation, with brewing activity traceable to 1576. The closure of the Ram Brewery in 2006 marked the end of an era, though the company continued as a pub chain. The brewing operation was transferred to a joint venture, Wells & Young's Brewing Company Ltd, in which Young's held 40% until selling its stake to Charles Wells in 2011. Subsequently, Young's beers have been produced under a rolling contract by Wells & Young's and later by Marston's after it took over the Eagle Brewery in Bedford, an operation now called Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company. The Ram Brewery site itself has seen continued brewing activity through a nanobrewery set up in the old laboratory to maintain the 'oldest British brewery' claim, and in 2020 Sambrook's Brewery took a 25-year lease to build a new microbrewery and taproom. Young's legacy is thus one of a historic brewing name that transitioned to a pub-focused business while its original site continues to host brewing in various forms.

Did You Know?

• The Ram Brewery site was home to the MasterChef kitchen between 2011 and 2014.
• A number of animals were resident in the brewery, including a ram, geese, and working draught horses.
• The Ram Brewery's steam engine, installed in 1835, was in regular use until the 1980s.

Corporate Formation & Ownership Changes

The Wells & Young's Brewery entity was born in 2006 when the brewing arms of Charles Wells Ltd and Young's Brewery merged into a single operation. Initially, Charles Wells held a 60% stake while Young's retained 40%. This partnership lasted until 2011, when Charles Wells purchased Young's remaining 40% share, consolidating full ownership. The combined operation brewed, distributed, and marketed both companies' brands from the Eagle Brewery in Bedford. In 2015, a rebranding exercise saw the company trade under the Charles Wells name once more, effectively reuniting the business under its founding identity. However, the arrangement proved short-lived. In 2017, Charles Wells divested the brewery and wine business to Marston's Brewery, along with the Bombardier, McEwan's, and Young's brands. Marston's retained the Eagle Brewery name, and in 2019, Young's underwent its own rebrand, renaming its Bitter and Special to London Original and London Special respectively.

Brand Portfolio & Strategic Acquisitions

Beyond its own heritage labels, Wells & Young's built a formidable portfolio through a series of high-profile acquisitions. In early 2007, the company purchased the Courage brewing and marketing rights from Scottish & Newcastle, bringing back iconic names like Courage Best and Courage Directors to production. This was followed in late 2011 by the purchase of the Scottish McEwan's and Younger's brands from Heineken UK, a deal that elevated Wells & Young's into the top three brewers in the UK. The Charles Wells side of the house carried its own rich lineup, including Bombardier—marketed as the 'Drink of England' with a strong English Heritage connection—alongside lighter offerings like Eagle and the honey-infused Waggle Dance pale ale. The latter had originally been a Vaux brewery product from Sunderland, acquired when Vaux closed in 1999. The portfolio also included the high-strength Kestrel Super at 9.0% ABV, though this brand was sold off in 2012 as the company refocused on its core lines.

Young's Core Brands & Heritage

At the heart of the Young's identity sits a small but deeply rooted range of beers. The flagship Young's Bitter, widely known in pubs as 'Ordinary,' is a 3.7% ABV bitter brewed with Red Tractor accredited Maris Otter and crystal malt, finished with Fuggle and Golding hops. Its stronger sibling, Young's Special at 4.5% ABV, offers a fuller-bodied alternative. The bottle-conditioned lineup includes Young's Special London Ale, a 6.4% strong pale ale that earned a gold medal at the 1999 CAMRA Great British Beer Festival and later a Grand Gold Medal at Monde Selection's World Quality Selections in 2010. The brand's visual identity traces back to a Dorset Horn ram that once lived in the stables at the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth, inspiring both the company's trademark and the name of its 5% ABV bottled beer, Ram Rod. In 2019, following the Marston's acquisition, Young's rebranded its two core cask ales as London Original and London Special, reinforcing their connection to the capital.

International Reach & Contract Brewing

Wells & Young's extended its influence well beyond British shores, distributing its products to markets in the United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, Europe, and Australia. A notable example of this international ambition was the revival of Courage Imperial Russian Stout, a 10% ABV bottled beer initially produced for the American market after the Courage brands were acquired. The company also served as a contract brewer for international brands, most notably Kirin Ichiban, a 5% ABV Japanese pale lager brewed under licence using the Ichiban Shibori process, described as the most expensive brewing method in the world. Additionally, Wells & Young's handled the UK import, marketing, and distribution of Estrella Damm, a 4.6% ABV beer brewed by Grupo Damm in Barcelona and regarded as one of Spain's most popular lagers. These contract and import operations allowed the Bedford-based brewery to maintain a significant presence in the global beer market while continuing to supply free-trade pubs, supermarkets, and the Charles Wells and Young's pub estates domestically.