Fullers Buys Darkstar

Discussion in 'United Kingdom & Ireland' started by Hanglow, Feb 20, 2018.

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  1. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    I wonder if more of the regionals will do this? Buying breweries for the brand rather than the pubs, I think Darkstar only owned a few so it's not like the standard purchase for regionals, increasing their pub estate.

    Hophead is an established modern classic, hopefully they won't mess with it and their other beers and also hope that they keep the brewery/staff on long term, not like what they did to Gales
     
    #1 Hanglow, Feb 20, 2018
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  2. jazzyjeff13

    jazzyjeff13 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,865) Nov 6, 2010 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Thanks for the info - I hope Fullers know not to try and fix it if it ain't broke....
     
    #2 jazzyjeff13, Feb 20, 2018
  3. Dave_S

    Dave_S Crusader (429) May 18, 2017 England

    I'd guess that they do? They've specifically spun off the (small) pub estate and left it out of the deal, so they're clearly buying them for the brewery not the pubs. And Fullers of late seem to have been placing a fair bit of stock in their reputation as a brewery that Cares About Beer - keeping on with stuff like the Past Masters series, Vintage Ale, Golden Pride, London Porter the Fullers and Friends stuff last year - so I'd imagine that they'll apply that philosophy to Darkstar rather than just cranking out volume of a slightly dumbed-down Hophead...
     
    #3 Dave_S, Feb 21, 2018
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  4. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    They are going to make london pride bottle conditioned as well which is nice. Their bottle conditioned beers are much better than the flash pasteurised ones imo
     
    #4 Hanglow, Feb 22, 2018
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  5. keilerdunkel

    keilerdunkel Savant (1,014) Apr 8, 2004 Illinois
    Trader

    Do you know whether the export market (read as my local store in Chicago) will see the bottle conditioned beers?:slight_smile:
     
    #5 keilerdunkel, Feb 22, 2018
  6. jazzyjeff13

    jazzyjeff13 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,865) Nov 6, 2010 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Nice - I will have to try one once they bring it out....
     
    #6 jazzyjeff13, Feb 22, 2018
  7. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    No idea. Current bottle conditioned ones are Bengal lancer, 1845 and their vintage ale and imperial stouts. Maybe the past masters series ?

    Might be a while as they need to use up the current stock of labels which they have, according to john Keeling. He also mentioned on Twitter that they are getting a 10bbl pilot kit which could prove interesting
     
    #7 Hanglow, Feb 23, 2018
  8. captaincoffee

    captaincoffee Pooh-Bah (2,218) Jul 10, 2011 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Dark Star is one of those breweries that I always seem to order when I see on tap...especially so if it is one I haven't tried before. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by one of their beers, and Green Hop is one of my absolute favorites when it comes out in the fall.
    I honestly can't remember the last time I ordered anything at a pub from Fullers, but then again I never see anything but Pride, Montana Red, Oliver's Island, etc available (even at Fullers pubs). If I started seeing 1845 or even the Porter on cask, maybe I'd order it.
    Let's hope the relationship remains hands off.
     
    #8 captaincoffee, Feb 23, 2018
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  9. keilerdunkel

    keilerdunkel Savant (1,014) Apr 8, 2004 Illinois
    Trader

    I haven't seen 1845 for a long time. I always enjoyed that one. I'll keep my eyes open here. Thanks!
     
    #9 keilerdunkel, Mar 2, 2018
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