Saddened to learn today that 170 year old Fullers have sold their entire brewing business to Japanese drinks conglomerate Asahi. Fullers (especially London Pride) used to be one of my favourite breweries when I lived in London as a student, many a memorable weekend was spent discovering the characterful boozers of the West and East ends and many of them were Fullers pubs. It's a shame that this historic company has had to sell out like this, the current management team are claiming that customers won't see much difference but this seems unlikely to me. Larger corporations in this particular sector tend to have a much higher emphasis on cost-cutting and efficiency rather than consumer choice and quality. Apparently Fullers will be retaining their pub and hotel businesses, I expect this means they will remain tied to Asahi products which, if correct, will be a shame and a missed opportunity. There are a ton of good UK brewers and beers out there at the moment that just need a channel to market to thrive.
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