Boddingtons Bitter
{{Short description|British beer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox beverage
| name = Boddingtons Bitter
| image = Boddingtons Pub Ale.JPG
| type = Beer
| abv = 3.5 %
| manufacturer = AB InBev
| distributor =
| origin = Manchester, England
| introduced = 1971Mike Dunn, Local Brew: Traditional Breweries and Their Ales (Robert Hale, London, 1986)
| discontinued =
| colour = straw/golden
| flavour =
| variants = Boddingtons Pub Ale
| related =
| website =
}}
Boddingtons Bitter is a straw-golden bitter beer originally produced by Boddington & Co at their Strangeways Brewery in Manchester. It is now owned by AB-InBev and produced at their brewery in Samlesbury, Lancashire.
It is notable as one of the first beers to be packaged in cans containing a widget, giving it a creamy draught-style head. In the 1990s, the beer was heavily marketed as The Cream of Manchester in an advertising campaign credited with raising the city's profile.{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a7f4de4a-287d-11d9-9308-00000e2511c8.html |title=Manchester united in battle over Boddingtons |newspaper= Financial Times |first=William |last=Hall |date=28 October 2004 |accessdate=22 October 2011| location= London}} Adverts from 1996 to 1999 featured Melanie Sykes, who returned to the adverts in 2017 to mark 21 years since her first advert.{{cite web|url=http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/melanie-sykes-returns-new-boddingtons-campaign/1427491|title=Melanie Sykes returns for new Boddingtons campaign}}
Whitbread acquired Boddingtons in 1989, and gave the bitter nationwide distribution and an increased marketing budget. Boddingtons Bitter achieved its peak market share in 1997 and at the time was exported to over forty countries. Interbrew (now AB-InBev) acquired the Whitbread Beer Company in 2000. Strangeways Brewery was closed in 2004 and production of pasteurised (keg and can) Boddingtons was moved to Samlesbury. Production of the cask conditioned beer moved to Hydes Brewery in Moss Side, Manchester until it was discontinued in 2012.
History
=Introduction of Boddingtons Bitter=
Boddingtons Bitter in its current form was introduced in 1971, brewed at Boddingtons' Strangeways Brewery. The product's increasing popularity drove the growth of the company throughout the 1970s.{{cite news| title= Brewer confident of record| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 17 November 1973| page= 15}} The Observer commented in 1974 that the product's low price and distinctive flavour afforded it an unusually loyal following.{{cite news| title= The small beer versus the brewers| last= Jones| first= David| work= The Observer| location= London| date= 9 June 1974| page= 15}} Michael Jackson described the beer as "one of Britain's outstanding bitters" in 1978.{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Michael |title=The Pocket Guide To Beer |date=1978}} In 1981 The Observer commented,
what has stood Boddingtons in good stead is the highly distinctive flavour of its brews, especially its bitters. In fact, in the North-West, Boddies is increasingly becoming a sort of cult brew.{{cite news| title= The toast is Boddingtons'| work= The Observer| location= London| date= 13 September 1981| page= 17}}
Concerns regarding quality control meant that the brewery had been reluctant to extend distribution outside its heartland. Boddingtons Bitter was distributed in the Home Counties for the first time in 1983.[http://www.huntscamra2.org.uk/download/ot136.pdf Huntingdonshire CAMRA, "A Look Back In Time" Opening Times Issue 136 Autumn 2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302044856/http://www.huntscamra2.org.uk/download/ot136.pdf |date=2 March 2014 }} However with the expansion of production there were complaints that the beer had lost some of its former character.{{cite book |title=Beautiful Boddies? |date=June 1984 |publisher=South Manchester CAMRA |pages=1 |edition=Opening Times |url=https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V2ezEzZIfIk/XtkqH8mNVvI/AAAAAAAABHI/-lHPPwMjzE4qbv51XRi3D4n8W3BfCS33ACK4BGAsYHg/s1435/OT%2B1984%2B-%2BP1.jpg |accessdate=6 June 2020}} Regardless of these allegations, Boddingtons Bitter accounted for 90 per cent of production at Strangeways Brewery by 1986.{{cite web|url=http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/03/quiz-solution.html|title=Shut up about Barclay Perkins: Quiz solution|date=8 March 2012}}
Boddingtons Bitter was introduced in keg form in 1987.{{cite news |last1=Hope |first1=Brian |title=Barrel of confusion for bitter boozers |work=Manchester Evening News |date=26 November 1987}} It was initially only supplied to the free trade, particularly social clubs, and the Boddingtons tied estate continued to supply the cask conditioned product.{{cite news |last1=Hope |first1=Brian |title=Barrel of confusion for bitter boozers |work=Manchester Evening News |date=26 November 1987}}
=Growth of the brand under Whitbread=
The company was acquired by Whitbread in 1989.{{cite web|url=http://www.barrymcqueen.co.uk/Boddingtons.htm|title=Untitled Document|access-date=28 May 2014|archive-date=23 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623191225/http://barrymcqueen.co.uk/Boddingtons.htm|url-status=dead}} Whitbread was motivated to fill a gap in its portfolio by owning a credible cask ale brand with a national reputation.{{cite web|url=http://www.huntscamra.org.uk/download/ot069.pdf |title=Hunts CAMRA Newsletter, Issue No. 69 |accessdate=6 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402114239/http://www.huntscamra.org.uk/download/ot069.pdf |archivedate=2 April 2012 }} Whitbread's superior capitalisation and distribution network allowed it to take the Boddingtons brand nationwide.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/image_galleries/boddingtons_strangeways_gallery.shtml |title=Boddies: 200 years of beers |publisher=BBC |date=October 2004 |accessdate=22 October 2011}} Boddingtons had been in decline before the Whitbread takeover, and although it retained an almost "cult" following within its Manchester heartland, only 5 per cent of sales were outside the North West.{{cite news|url=http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/412588/MT-INTERVIEW-Miles-Templeman/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH |title=The MT Interview: Miles Templeman |work= Management Today |date=1 October 2003 |accessdate=22 October 2011| first= Chris| last= Blackhurst}}{{cite news|last=Oxford|first=Esther|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/creamheaded-smoothie-conquers-south-1509859.html |title=Cream-headed smoothie conquers south |date=10 October 1993 |accessdate=6 June 2012|location=London|work=The Independent}}
Whitbread transformed the brand from regional to national, expanding production from 200,000 to 850,000 barrels a year between 1989 and 1995.{{cite news |title=Dream of a Job for the Cream of Whitbread |newspaper=London Evening Standard |date=6 November 1995| last= Levi| first= Jim}}{{cite journal|title= Do Creative Commercials Sell?: Leo Burnett's Donald Gunn got so sick of the 'do award-winning ads shift product' debate that he decided to do some number crunching to settle the matter and nail the misconceptions once and for all| journal= Campaign| date= 22 September 1995| publisher= Haymarket Business Publications}} By 1993 the cask version was outsold only by Tetley and John Smith's, and the majority of sales were outside of the North West. By 1994 it was the fourth-highest selling bitter brand in the country.{{cite news| title= The Hunt for a Classic| work= Financial Times| date= 27 October 1994| page= 15}} The canned variant was distributed nationwide from 1990 and was the highest-selling canned bitter in the UK from 1992 until 2000.{{cite news| work= The Grocer| date= 25 November 1989| page= 32| title= Boddies joins Whitbread in the New Year| publisher= William Reed}}{{cite news| work= The Herald| date= 19 May 1992| title= Whitbread's profits plunge 24% to £222m| page= 17}} The beer was officially exported overseas from 1993, initially to Canada.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140529181834/http://www.angelfire.com/pr/perfinsoc/abstracts/2345.pdf HISTORY OF FIRMS USING PERFINS] The rise in sales of the beer coincided with the elevation of Manchester from "city of dark, beaten mills to the cultural magnet of Madchester". Manchester and the North of England were now fashionable in the public consciousness and rejuvenated from an image of industrial decay. Whitbread chief executive Peter Jarvis commented in 1995 that: {{quote|It was very fortuitous that the brewery was in Manchester. To outsiders, Manchester is a very attractive place – known the world over for soccer, art, music and broadcasting. It would be difficult to have a Cream of Wolverhampton even though Banks's beer is very good. People do not aspire to visit Wolverhampton. On the whole they try to by-pass it.}}
Success was attributed to an excellent marketing campaign, and being the first canned ale to be sold with a widget after Guinness. In 1997 Boddingtons sales peaked, and 1998 saw a drop in sales of 10 per cent.{{cite news| first= Ian| last= Darby| url= http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/60209/ |title= New Whitbread role for Gilliland | work= Brand Republic |date= 19 November 1998 |accessdate= 6 June 2012}} Boddingtons had been turned into: "a fashion product ... and as with all fashion products, the drinkers moved on".{{cite news| title= The cream of Durham| last= Protz| first= Roger| work= The Guardian| date= 21 November 1998| page= C85}} Despite this setback, in 1998–1999 Boddingtons' share of the UK ale market grew to 4.9 per cent, and sales grew by 7.3 per cent in 1999–2000.{{cite book|title=Annual Report|year=1999|publisher=Whitbread|url=http://miranda.hemscott.com/ir/wtb/pdf/Whitbread_Annual_Report_9899.pdf|access-date=28 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033232/http://miranda.hemscott.com/ir/wtb/pdf/Whitbread_Annual_Report_9899.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Salter|first=Alan|title=Whitbread set for new round of NW spending|newspaper=Manchester Evening News|date=5 May 2000}}
=Decline of the brand under InBev=
In 2000, the Whitbread Beer Company was acquired by the Belgian brewer Interbrew, which owned Stella Artois. At that time one in eight barrels of Boddingtons was exported to some 40 countries worldwide, including China, the United States, Taiwan and the West Indies.{{cite news |title=Howard Takes The Cream of Manchester To Sales Record in His Singapore Bar |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date= 29 August 2000| last= Broster| first= Paul}}
John Hegarty, who had worked on the 1990s Boddingtons advertising campaigns, argued that Interbrew, "just didn't care [about the brand], they underinvested and let it rot".{{cite web |last1=Dye |first1=Dave |title=BODDINGTONS. The Cream of Advertising. |url=https://davedye.com/2022/05/10/boddingtons-the-cream-of-advertising/ |website=Stuff from the loft |date=10 May 2022 |access-date=27 July 2022}}
The Strangeways Brewery kegging facility closed in 2003 with the loss of 50 jobs.{{cite news|url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/interbrews-man-u-turn/81536.article |title=Interbrew's Man U-turn |work=The Grocer |date=9 November 2002 |accessdate=6 June 2012| publisher= William Reed}} Amidst falling sales, Interbrew relaunched the cask product in the North West of England, with an increased strength.{{cite news|first=Melanie |last=Godsell |date=28 March 2007 |url=http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/646250/ |title=Boddingtons plans revamp |work=Marketing Magazine| publisher= Haymarket Business Publications| accessdate=7 May 2011 |page=10}} The relaunch was unsuccessful and the changes were reversed.
In 2004, the owners (now known as InBev) announced plans to close the Strangeways Brewery and move most production from Manchester to Magor in South Wales and Samlesbury, Lancashire, with the loss of 60 jobs.{{cite web|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3469/is_38_55/ai_n11842120 |title=InBev to close Boddington's |publisher=Modern Brewery Age |date=20 September 2004 |accessdate=22 October 2011}} Boddingtons cask ale production, which accounted for less than 10 per cent of output, was moved to Hydes Brewery in Moss Side.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2004/sep/10/9|title=Boddies buries Mancunian past|work=The Guardian|date=10 September 2004|last=Wainwright|first=Martin|location=London}} Production ended in 2005 and the brewery was demolished in 2007.{{cite news|title=The bitter end for Boddies |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=16 March 2007 |accessdate=22 October 2011 |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1002/1002100_the_bitter_end_for_boddies.html |last=Rooth |first=Ben |publisher=M.E.N. Media |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323033458/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1002/1002100_the_bitter_end_for_boddies.html |archivedate=23 March 2012 }}
In 2010, it was speculated that InBev (known as Anheuser-Busch InBev from 2008 onwards) would attempt to sell the Boddingtons brand to another brewer after its failed attempt to sell the UK rights to Bass ale.{{cite news| url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article7136607.ece | location=London | newspaper=The Times | first=Dominic | last=Walsh | title=Buyer sought for beer that Britain forgot | date=26 May 2010}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The Times was damning of what it perceived as InBev's mismanagement of the brand, which had "declined under AB InBev's hands. The brand was once a leading part of the old Whitbread Beer Company, but its fortunes had dwindled since the closure in 2005 of the Strangeways Brewery."
In 2010, Boddingtons was the sixth-highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom, although sales had dropped by almost three-quarters since the takeover by Anheuser–Busch InBev in 2000.Alcoholic Drinks: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics, 2011 In 2011, AB InBev's UK president Stuart MacFarlane claimed "We still believe in the brand", whilst admitting to not advertising the brand for five years, instead reaping the rewards of memories of earlier advertising.{{cite news| work= The Grocer| date= 16 July 2011| page= 34| publisher= William Reed| title= top 51–60}} Contract brewing of Boddingtons Cask continued until 2012 when production of the beer ended.{{cite web |url=http://www.northwestcaterer.co.uk/2012/01/19/hydes-hails-a-very-satisfactory-year/ |title=Hydes hails a 'very satisfactory' year |work=North West Caterer |date=19 January 2012 |accessdate=6 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707214920/http://www.northwestcaterer.co.uk/2012/01/19/hydes-hails-a-very-satisfactory-year/ |archive-date=7 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}
Production was around 250,000 hectolitres (6,604,301 US Gallons) in 2012, with around 80 per cent of production destined for the UK market, and around 20 per cent destined for export markets such as Taiwan, Singapore and United Arab Emirates.Alcoholic Drinks: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics
In 2017, Anheuser–Busch InBev announced that it was launching a digital, social, PR and video campaign for Boddingtons featuring Melanie Sykes who had appeared in adverts for the brand in 1997.{{cite web|url=http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Drinks/Beer/Boddingtons-reunites-with-Melanie-Sykes-at-the-Publican-Awards|title=Boddingtons reunites with Melanie Sykes at the Publican Awards|date=16 March 2017 }}
Variants
Boddingtons has a distinctive straw-golden coloured body with a creamy white head, which is achieved by the addition of nitrogen.
- Boddingtons Draught Bitter (3.5% ABV)
:The nitrogenated and pasteurised variant of the beer available in kegs and cans. It is brewed in Samlesbury.{{cite news| date= 27 May 2012| title= Beer brewers change in trying times| first= Andrew| last= Bounds| work= Financial Times (FT.Com)| url= http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8fabcf28-a693-11e1-968b-00144feabdc0.html}} The canned variant, launched in 1991, contains a widget to give the beer a creamy white head.{{cite news|title=Boddingtons suffers technical hitch |work=Marketing |date=18 April 1991 |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-10818519/boddingtons-suffers-technical-hitch.html |accessdate=6 June 2012 |publisher=Haymarket Business Publications |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511064541/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-10818519/boddingtons-suffers-technical-hitch.html |archivedate=11 May 2013 }} The beer's ABV was reduced from 3.8% to 3.5% in late 2008. On draught in the United Kingdom it is typically served at 5 to 7 degrees Celsius, although an Extra Cold variant served at 3 to 5 degrees Celsius has been available since 2006.{{cite news|url=http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/8916?Ntt=boddingtons&Ntk=All&PagingData=Po_0~Ps_10~Psd_Asc |title=Boddingtons in £14m spend |work= Morning Advertiser |date= 5 December 2002 |accessdate=22 October 2011}}{{cite news |url=http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Brands-News/InBev-takes-first-dip-in-extra-cold-waters |title=InBev takes first dip in extra-cold waters |work=Morning Advertiser |date=8 December 2005 |accessdate=6 June 2012 |archive-date=5 September 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905102626/http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Brands-News/InBev-takes-first-dip-in-extra-cold-waters |url-status=dead }} Its taste, or perceived lack of it, has been criticised by some, with Andrew Jefford describing it as a "blandly foamy nitrokeg travesty of the original [cask conditioned version]".{{cite news| title= Thriving in a beer market| work= Financial Times| date= 1 August 2003| last=Jefford| first=Andrew}}
- Boddingtons Pub Ale (4.6% ABV){{cite web| url= http://www.anheuser-busch.com/s/uploads/Boddingtons-Fact-Sheet.pdf| title= Boddingtons Pub Ale| accessdate= 7 June 2012}}
:A higher ABV version of Boddingtons Draught Bitter, brewed since 1993 for export markets. It was available in the United Kingdom from 1995–6 as Boddingtons Export.{{cite news |first=David |last=Benady |url=http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/home/boddingtons-export-to-be-axed-after-poor-sales/2050760.article |title=Boddington's Export to be axed after poor sales|work= Marketing Week |date=24 May 1996 |accessdate=7 May 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5245/is_n7197_v217/ai_n28655271/ |title= Whitbread's widget targets bottled ales |work= The Grocer |date= 8 April 1995 |accessdate=7 May 2011| publisher= William Reed}} Also sold in the UK under the label "Manchester Gold".[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/50/79/f3/5079f3a80bbf78c3906855890c22d49c.jpg Manchester Gold]