Aston Manor Brewery
Encyclopedia
Aston Manor Brewery is a brewery
and beer bottling company in Aston
, Birmingham
, England
. The company produces beer
, cider
and perry
. It is the third largest cider company in the UK by market share
, and the fourth largest in the world. Its products include Frosty Jack's Cider, the UK's leading brand of white cider. It is managed by Peter Ellis, son of Doug Ellis
.
The company was formed in 1981 by four ex-employees of Ansells, after Ansells closed its Aston Cross brewery. A new brewery was opened in the nearby Thimble Mill Lane (at 52.4989°N 1.8728°W). In 1984, Herefordshire
hop
farmer Michael Hancocks, one of the company's suppliers, bought into the business. By 1998, Aston Manor was reporting profits of over £1million, with 70% of its sales being cider. However, because of a slump in the market and strong competition, by 2001 profits had fallen to £740,500.
. He recruited a former Aston Manor employee, chemist Richard Gay, to produce a yeast that he planned to introduce into Bulmer's production line, recruited his daughter's partner, Paul Harris, to transport the contaminant, and paid a Bulmer's employee, Russell Jordan, £16,000 to introduce the contaminant. Jordan did not introduce the contaminant, but reported the plot to Bulmers and to the police, and the plot was foiled. If the plot had succeeded, anyone drinking the contaminated cider would have suffered diarrhoea and nausea.
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
and beer bottling company in Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The company produces beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
and perry
Perry
Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou.In more recent years, commercial...
. It is the third largest cider company in the UK by market share
Market share
Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
, and the fourth largest in the world. Its products include Frosty Jack's Cider, the UK's leading brand of white cider. It is managed by Peter Ellis, son of Doug Ellis
Doug Ellis
Herbert Douglas Ellis, OBE , is an entrepreneur, best known as the former chairman of Aston Villa Football Club.-Early life:...
.
The company was formed in 1981 by four ex-employees of Ansells, after Ansells closed its Aston Cross brewery. A new brewery was opened in the nearby Thimble Mill Lane (at 52.4989°N 1.8728°W). In 1984, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
hop
Hops
Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...
farmer Michael Hancocks, one of the company's suppliers, bought into the business. By 1998, Aston Manor was reporting profits of over £1million, with 70% of its sales being cider. However, because of a slump in the market and strong competition, by 2001 profits had fallen to £740,500.
Industrial sabotage plot
In 2001, Michael Hancocks, a major shareholder (12% of the shares) whose family owns 44% of Aston Manor, organized a conspiracy to contaminate the cider products of the company's rival, H. P. BulmerH. P. Bulmer
H.P. Bulmer is a brewing company founded in 1887 in Hereford, England. The founder was Percy Bulmer, the twenty-year-old son of the local rector at Credenhill...
. He recruited a former Aston Manor employee, chemist Richard Gay, to produce a yeast that he planned to introduce into Bulmer's production line, recruited his daughter's partner, Paul Harris, to transport the contaminant, and paid a Bulmer's employee, Russell Jordan, £16,000 to introduce the contaminant. Jordan did not introduce the contaminant, but reported the plot to Bulmers and to the police, and the plot was foiled. If the plot had succeeded, anyone drinking the contaminated cider would have suffered diarrhoea and nausea.