McMullen's Brewery

McMullen's is a regional brewery founded in 1827 in Hertford, England.

McMullen's
IndustryBrewing
Founded1827
Headquarters
Hertford
,
England
ProductsBeer
Websitehttp://www.mcmullens.co.uk/

History
The former McMullen's Brewery of 1891 on Hartham Lane, Hertford

McMullen's was founded in 1827 in Railway Street, Hertford by the son of a Scottish nurseryman. As the business grew, it moved first to Mill Bridge in 1832 and then to Old Cross in 1891. McMullens became a private limited company in 1897. A modern brewhouse was built in 1984. In 2002, the business was valued at £176m.

In the mid-2000s, the company had a narrow escape from closure as the controlling family split between those shareholders who wanted to receive a bigger dividend and those who wanted to keep dividends low in order to reinvest profits into the company. David McMullen stepped down as chairman following an unsuccessful attempted management buyout. A new independent chairman, Charles Brims, secured a compromise whereby several non-brewing property investments were sold in order to release cash to appease the majority shareholders and a plan was developed to build a new, smaller brewhouse. The company decided to shed contract brewing and take advantage of tax breaks by becoming a smaller brewer. As the new Whole Hop Brewery (opened 2006) was more compact than the 1984-built plant, the spare land was sold to Sainsbury's.

McMullen's brews cask ale and pasteurised bottled beers. The company owns over 130 freehold pubs, mainly in the Home Counties, with a number in London, including The Spice of Life in Cambridge Circus, The White Swan in Pimlico and The Nag's Head in Covent Garden. McMullen's is acquisitive and has recently purchased pubs and bars in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Sevenoaks, Fleet, Marlow, Milton Keynes and Bishop's Stortford. The company has no debt.

Beers

McMullen's produces three regular cask ales and several occasional ales. Its AK was first brewed in the 19th century. AK was once a popular designation for beers which were light in gravity and colour and lightly hopped.[1] The regular range consists of:

Cask Ales

Cask ales are real ales that have been cask conditioned and will continue to ferment in the cask in a process known as secondary fermentation.

McMullen AK

McMullen AK is a mild beer with an ABV of 3.7%, brewed in Hertford since 1833. Brewed with a mix of malts with Kentish Witbread Goldings the only hops used.[2]

McMullen IPA

McMullen IPA is a traditional English IPA with an ABV of 4.8%. The Hops used are undisclosed, but are added as whole leaf hops, as opposed to the compressed hops pellets more commonly used in non-traditional brewing.[3]

Country Best Bitter

Country Best Bitter, first brewed in 1964, is a traditional bitter with an ABV of 4.3%, brewed with Fuggle, Progress and Bramling Cross hops and a mixture of pale malts.[4]

McMullen Cask

McMullen house cask ale, in production since 2007, is a 3.8%ABV 'honey-gold' ale with undisclosed ingredients[5]

Mac's No.1 Pale Ale

A 3.8% amber cask ale popular at the turn of the century. Discontinued during the early 1990s, but brought back into production in 2021.[6]

Bottled Beers

McMullen Hertford Castle

Herford Castle is a 5%ABV strong ale brewed with Suffolk barley and undeclared whole leaf hops. First brewed in 1960, the beer is named after Hertford Castle, where Queen Elisabeth spent much of her childhood.[7]

McMullen Stronghart

A specialty brew with an ABV of 7%, Stronghart is made to an 1850s recipe with East Anglian barley and undeclared whole leaf hops and won gold in the 1997 CAMRA Champion Beer of Briton barley wine and strong old ale class.[8][9] Originally known as Mac's Olde Time Strong Ale, it was rebranded as Stronghart in 1993.[10][11]

Guest beers
  • Mac's Oat Brown Stout (2020-21), a 4.4% ABV recreation of a beer produced at the Hertford brewery during the 1930s.[12]
  • Chinook (2020-21)
  • OK Bloomer (2021)

Out of production
  • Bootwarmer (2018-19)[13]
  • Victory Stout (2018)[14]
  • Carriage Court Ale (2018)
  • Special Day (2015)[15]
  • Hop On A Mo(2015)[16]
  • Brave Herts (2015)[17]
  • Flying Frog (2014-16)
  • Love Herts (2014)[18]
  • Bard of Ale (2013)
  • Screaming Reels (2011–13)
  • Stag Bitter (2008)[19]
  • Harvest Moon (2006-2008)
  • Victory 1805 (2005)
  • Special Reserve Anniversary Porter (2000)
  • Oatmeal Ale (1997-2001)
  • Gladstone (1995-2001)[20]
  • Hartsman Lager (1980s)
  • Crafter Low Alcohol Bitter (1970s)
  • Mitre (1960s-1990s)
  • Mac's Brown (1960s)
  • Old Cross (1950s-1960s)
  • Coronation (1953)
  • Family Ale (1950s)
  • Lady Mac (1950s)
  • Shandimac (1950s-1980s)
  • No. 3 Special Pale Ale (1950s-1970s)
  • Nut Brown Ale (1940s-1950s)[21]
  • Milk Stout (1930s)
  • Oat Brown Stout (1930s-1950s)
  • Dinner Ale (1920s)
  • Dark Beer (1920s-40s), renamed Olde Time Ale during the 1950s and Stronghart in 1993
  • White Label (1880s-1920s)

Pubs
The Jolly Farmers, Enfield with a brewery lorry
The Peahen, St Albans

References
  1. AK Beers
  2. AK XXXX
  3. Mac's IPA
  4. Country
  5. Cask
  6. Mac's No.1
  7. Castle
  8. Stronghart
  9. https://camra.org.uk/beer-and-cider/awards/champion-beer-of-britain/
  10. Bootwarmer
  11. Stronghart
  12. Oat Malt Stout
  13. Bootwarmer beer
  14. New Victory Stout
  15. Brewed with the Willow Foundation
  16. Brewed in honor of Movember
  17. Brewed in aid of Keech hospice care
  18. Mcmullen beers
  19. Stag bitter
  20. Herts Camra
  21. McMullen beer labels
  22. Our locals
  23. Kings Mead now open
  24. The Bull Broxbourne
  25. "Heron awarded pub of the year". Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2017-07-18.

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