Siren Craft Brew x Fuller's Pubs
Fuller's Pubs, London
Robyn Gilmour
Saturday 14 December 2024
This article is from
Love Your Pub
issue 112
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Founded in 1845 when Messrs Fuller, Smith and Turner came together to run the Griffin Brewery and its pubs, Fuller’s pub group has since evolved into a dynamic estate of around 350 managed and tenanted pubs spanning the length and breadth of England. Today, venues range from historic taverns and thatched cottages, to sea and riverside retreats, all of which work closely with Fuller’s central team to continue the company’s legacy of high-quality, well-maintained pubs, a cracking pint of real ale, and a passion for the people who serve it.
Fuller’s has been synonymous with cask ale longer than most of the UK’s best-known pub groups, and today remains staunchly committed to the category. With 179 years of history behind it, the expectation of a great pint of cask when you walk into any one of Fuller’s managed and tenanted pubs, has been passed down through generations of drinkers, such that a high standard of service has gradually been baked into the brand. Fuller’s drinks marketing manager, Ed Fryer is the first to say that the pubs have their customers to thank for this consistency and quality.
While many associate Fuller’s with history and heritage, the brand — as it existed before Fuller’s brewery was acquired by Asahi in 2019, leaving the pub group an independent entity — has a strong track record of innovation when it comes to brewing. This facet of its identity is something Fuller’s has recently highlighted with a series of collaboration brews, several of which have seen the pub group join forces with our good friends at Siren.
“We have worked with Siren for a number of years,” says Ed. “They initially supported our more ‘craft’ focused pubs, but now also keg beer to about a quarter of the estate and more recently have brewed a couple of bespoke beers for us. We have worked closely with Siren to produce these beers, ensuring they appeal to Fuller’s customers by celebrating innovation without ever polarising or alienating more traditional drinkers. That’s why were confident Mythic Harmony will be an instant hit.”
Mythic Harmony was brewed in support of Fuller’s cask ale campaign ‘Only In The Pub’, which launched this autumn jointly to reinforce cask’s position at the heart of Fuller’s pubs, and introduce younger generations to the cask category. “Beer drinkers of all ages could enjoy a free pint when they introduced a friend to cask ale, and we also ran a digital stamp-card, through the Magic Stamp App, for customers wanting to try the full range of beers on offer during the first six weeks of what will be an ongoing campaign,” says Ed. “Beers on offer have so far included some favourites from the Griffin Brewery such as Fuller’s Red Fox and draught Fuller’s Vintage Ale, as well as Dark Star’s Starlink IPA.”
Siren’s head of marketing, Andy Nowlan, says: “Fullers has been an inspiration to us, both as a brewery and a pub company, so we consider the opportunity to work with them a big privilege due to their reputation and heritage. Our relationship goes all the way back to 2016 when we began trading at The Castle in North Acton. In 2017 Fuller's helped us launch Yu Lu at the opening of the Great Northern Railway Tavern, in north London, and in 2019 we brewed Suspended In Chiswick for them.
“Since then, they have become a very important customer for us, with beers like Lumina and Soundwave being available in a large number of sites. Although we make a lot of weird and wonderful beers, we really align with Fuller's on the flavourful, drinkable session beers, a category in which Mythic Harmony definitely sits. We've also both been strong proponents of cask, which is not super common among the newer craft breweries.”
Sam Bourke, Fuller’s marketing director, adds: “cask ale is a real sweet spot for Fuller’s pubs – it taps into our heritage, is a product we excel at keeping and serving, and we already outperform our peers when it comes to cask ale sales. We have lined up an outstanding programme of beers and events to support this and, supported by our Master Cellarman programme to promote excellence in beer quality, there’s never been a better time to rekindle your love of cask ale. Pubs are at the heart of their communities and cask ale is at the heart of a great pub. It cannot be replicated at home and takes love, care and skill. It really is only in the pub – and we hope to see lots of loyal and new customers enjoying cask ale.”
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