The Lewes Arms

LEWES ARMS: WASHINGTON POST

2009-06-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

The Lewes Arms dispute continues to get media attention and today it made the Washington Post (reprinted in the Dallas Morning News), in an article by freelancer Matthew Hampton entitled 'Revolutionary Road: Thomas Paine's Path to American Activism Began in a Free-Spirited British Town'.

They've dubbed the dispute 'Harveysgate'.

Picture shows some of the new signage. Fullers have done a great job in repairing the fabric of the building, which had been sadly neglected under the previous regime. The workmanship is first-rate and the new black and cream paint job looks spiffing. We are just waiting for the new sign, a refurbishment of the original, to be rehung.

See: Tom Paine in Lewes

A MOMENTOUS DAY: 26 AUGUST 2008

2008-08-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday August 26th 2008 was an important and emotional day for the town of Lewes and the Lewes Arms.

In the morning, it was the huge ceremonial funeral of much-loved Bonfire Boy and Arms regular Paul Wheeler, who had been tragically killed in a road accident the week before.

That evening was the last night of Greene King;'s ownership of the Lewes Arms which was celebrated with a big send-off for Dave. the outgoing landlord. who will be missed.

The following day saw the new owners Fullers take over (it is now a tenancy, which has been bought the people who own The Basketmakers in Brighton).

Neeedess to say, much drinking was done and many rookies were let off. There was not a dry eye in the house. I hope some of these photos give you a sense of the occasion. It was a day many in Lewes will never forget.

RESTORATION DAY; APRIL 26TH 2008

2008-04-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Restoration Day is the name that's been given to the anniversary of the Harvey's returning to the Lewes Arms - which has a nice ring to it. How to celebrate this first auspicious occasion? Happily Adam Frost came up with a winner. The first announcement can be read below; highlights of the race can be seen above. The final verdict was a win for the blues - but objections have already been lodged by the reds, calling for the verdict to be annulled. More news as it happens. All in all, it was hilarious and full of the joys of spring. It helped that it was the first really warm day of the year. Perfect weather. A beautiful day.

THE OLD & BITTER UPHILL WELTERWEIGHT RELAY.

DATE: RESTORATION DAY - SATURDAY 26TH APRIL

TWO TEAMS OF 8 (OR 11 OR HOWEVER MANY FANCY IT)

BLUE TEAM = BEST BITTER DRINKERS & CARRY PINT OF SAME.

RED TEAM = OLD ALE DRINKERS & CARRY PINT OF SAME.

OBJECT: TO PASS A PINT FROM PLAYER TO PLAYER FROM HARVEYS BREWERY TO THE LEWES ARMS IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME WHILST SPILLING THE LEAST AMOUNT OF LIQUID.

METHOD:PLAYER (A) PASSES PINT TO THE PERSON IN FRONT OF HIM (PLAYER B) & THEN RUNS TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. PLAYER B THEN PASSES PINT TO THE PERSON IN FRONT OF HIM (PLAYER C) & THEN RUNS TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. ETC. ETC. AD INFINITUM.

ON REACHING THE FINISHING LINE, WHAT REMAINS OF THE PINT IS MEASURED (PROBABLY IN FLUID OUNCES) & THE TIME RECORDED (PROBABLY IN SECONDS). THE TIME IS DIVIDED BY THE WEIGHT TO GIVE THE BEER/TIME/SPILLAGE INDEX (I'M SURE WE CAN COME UP WITH A SUITABLE ACRONYM).

E.G. TEAM A = 10 MINS 36 SECS (636 SECS) DIVIDED BY 14.3 OZ = 44.47 BTSI. TEAM B = 11 MINS 18 SECS (678 SECS) DIVIDED BY 16.6 OZ = 40.84 BTSI.

LOWEST BTSI WINS!

IT'S NOT JUST SPEED THAT COUNTS - STEADY HANDS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS QUICK FEET!

CLUMSY PLAYERS ARE A LIABILITY .'. NO TEAM WITH SMILEY IN, CAN EVER WIN THIS EVENT! (BEST MAKE HIM TIMEKEEPER OR SOMETHING)

AN ENORMOUS GOLDEN CHALICE ENCRUSTED WITH PRECIOUS STONES WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE WINNING TEAM.

PROBABLY.

See Roz South's excellent portfolio of shots of this event here

RESTORATION DAY 2; THE TORCHLIT MARCH

2008-04-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Later in the evening, a torchlight march from outside the Lewes Arms, round the mound and back again, by a crowd of people who had given a donation to charity for the privilege of taking part. 'Sussex By The Sea' and other songs were sung vigorously and much fun was had by all. Having been round once, the cry went up - "shall we do it again" - and off everybody went once more. Afterwards we all repaired to the bar and the merriment went on until the wee hours. A great way to mark an important anniversary. Thanks to Vincent van Crink (bottom) for making it all happen so successfully.

A LITTLE PART OF HISTORY

2008-02-06T02:50:00.000-08:00

Its been almost a year since the end of the Lewes Arms dispute.

Prompted to provide an update by the discovery that we have become a little piece of history in the form of a Wikipedia entry: The Lewes Arms Controversy - an accurate and well-formed summary of the main highlights. Well put together but we have no idea by whom.

Is the Lewes Arms controversy the biggest pub dispute in British history? Your comments welcome.

The campaign has already been the subject of an academic study at Sussex University. More details re publication when we know them.

As for the life of a pub - well, that's a long story. Following the campaign, it was not just a question of carrying an as before. Many of the regulars had got used to drinking elsewhere and did not return - at least to begin with. The general word on the street was that the old Arms was not what it used to be, that the heart had gone, that there was never anybody you knew in there and so on. The management of the pub for a time was changeable and, for a while, things seemed to be all at sea.

Happily I can now report that the old Arms is back up to strength and gaining ground. This is largely thanks to our new live-in landlord Dave who really loves the place and is doing everything he can to help get it back in shape. Greene King appear to have given him carte blanche to make this happen. For instance, the food has improved immensely and is well-presented; the limited GK menu has been replaced by a much more broad-ranging one.
There are a good range of interesting bitters alongside the Harveys and GK brands. There is also one of the best smoking areas in a Lewes pub, sheltered and with small but effective heaters.

From our side of the bar, there are large number of clubs, societies, groups, teams and others returning to using the upstairs function room. Last week we put on a gig there successfully. The following day there was a meeting with 26 local environmental groups. A poetry slam night is starting on a regular basis. The Lewes Arms Pantomime is back and currently rehearsing their new production. The Folk Club has beeen maintained throughout. Jazz night on Fridays also. The cribbage league and darts teams appear regularly and the after-bowls drinkers have returned for their regular Saturday lunchtime session.

There is now new sets of regulars alongside the Old Guard, loads of the youth who enjoy the ambience, and a steady stream of people come to visit what has now become one of the most famous pubs in England.

The pub is still a 'No Mobile' zone although this requires ongoing vigilance.

Thanks to all for your support and friendship.

PS: We would like to put out an all points alert re two items which have gone missing (see pic). The Queen's head got broken off and has now gone somewhere. It has currently been replaced by a greeen postage stamp. The Titanic picture (bottom right) has been stolen. It was a black and white picture of the ship, set in a sheeet of brown and white flock wallpaper. There was also an old penny in the frame, Britannia side up. No-one I ever spoke to knew where it had come from. (Incidentally the large crest and other photo are from and about HMS Lewes)

THE NIGHT THE HARVEYS RETURNED

2007-04-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

PRESS REACTIONS: The Guardian

2007-04-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Punter power (and G2) saves the regulars' favourite tipple

Tim Minogue
Monday April 23, 2007
The Guardian

Drinkers in the Sussex town of Lewes have just spent a weekend of mild frustration after brewers Greene King caved in on Friday and agreed to restore the Lewesians' beloved tipple, Harveys Bitter, to the town's most popular pub, the Lewes Arms. Hundreds of regulars had boycotted the 220-year-old inn since December, when the company withdrew the award-winning local beer despite a 1,200-signature petition and appeals from the town's MP, Norman Baker, in an attempt to force locals to drink GK's own IPA. Takings plummeted by 90% and Greene King garnered barrel-loads of bad publicity after being portrayed by regulars as an insensitive corporation ignoring the wishes of its customers.

After G2 covered the dispute in March, it became a story around the world. On Friday, as protesters outside the pub were being interviewed by a reporter from the German news magazine Der Spiegel, Greene King finally gave up the fight. The company's new managing director of local pubs, Jonathan Lawson, turned up and announced that Harveys would be restored from this week: "Following secondary fermentation in the cellar, it should be ready to drink towards the end of the week." Therein lies the Harveys' fans' frustration. Because this is "real" ale, they can't get stuck into their favourite until Thursday.

But it hasn't stopped them returning to the pub. Shirt-maker Catherine d'Arcy said: "It's wonderful. I've just been back in and it's like getting your home back after wrongful eviction. It was hippies versus suits and we won."

Fran Maloney, 51, a housing officer, said: "We've shown that it's possible for a small group of committed people to change the mind of a huge company. We knew the loss of trade was hardly going to make a dent in their huge profits, but the loss of reputation would really make them think, so that's what we had to aim for, and we succeeded." As a regular myself, I'll drink to that.

PRESS REACTIONS: The Argus/Independent on Sunday

2007-04-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE WON

2007-04-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Press Release
20 April 2007

Greene King announces reinstatement of Harveys at the Lewes Arms

The reinstatement of Harveys to the Lewes Arms has been announced today. Greene King Local Pubs managing director Jonathan Lawson and regional manager Andrea Greenwood were at the pub today talking to their team and to the regulars, and letting them know of the decision. Jonathan said that the order for the beer had been placed and that following secondary fermentation in the cellar, it should be ready to drink towards the end of next week.

“We are passionate supporters of cask beer, are proud of our own brews and have recognised the intensity of feeling around Harveys at the Lewes Arms.” He said that the history of the pub, including its role as former brewery tap, combined with activities ranging from dwyle flunking to pea throwing made this hostelry very special.

“Now that Harveys is going back into the pub, my team and I are hoping that we can make a fresh start with our customers and are looking forward to helping the Lewes Arms once again play a full role in the local community.”

Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand added, “The Lewes Arms is a very special local pub with a unique place in the life of the town.

“We underestimated the depth of feeling and level of reaction about our initial decision and I believe that the conclusion the team put forward to return Harveys to the bar is the right one. I'm pleased that Jonathan and the team have taken on board our customers’ feedback and hope people will be pleased with the news.”

LEWES ARMS BENEFIT

2007-04-12T05:16:00.000-07:00

Much fun was had by all at this top-notch shindig featuring the massed bands and musicians of the locale - all with connections to the Lewes Arms. More than £1,300 was raised through donations and a raffle. The bar took its highest takings ever.
Poster design & Photograph: Andy Gammon

GREENE KING STATEMENT

2007-04-05T04:58:00.000-07:00

5 April 2007

Lewes Arms Decision In Formal Review Says Greene King

Greene King today confirmed that the decision to remove Harveys Best Bitter from the Lewes Arms is the subject of an internal review, the findings of which are to be presented to Local Pubs managing director Jonathan Lawson, when he joins the company next week.

“Speculation that the review is connected with the re-structure of our managed pub operations falls wide of the mark”, says Adam Collett, marketing director for managed pubs, “although it is true that we are reconsidering our decision.

“The reasons we withdrew the beer in the first place have not changed. We produce a great range of distinctive, top quality real ales, many of them award-winning, all of them traditionally brewed using the finest ingredients. Most people recognise that Greene King invests more in cask beer than any other brewer in the UK and welcome the positive impact we have on the beer sector as well as on local pubs. We defend the right to serve those beers in our pubs and, where we choose, not to sell rival beers.

“This is a pub we are very proud to have in our estate, but we did not fully appreciate its special position in Lewes as the former ‘Brewery Tap’, or take into account its history and traditions. We underestimated the strength of feeling which led to many locals boycotting what was once a Great British Pub. As a result, it has lost some of its character and greatness. The review should result in some positive decisions and we look forward to reconciling those involved in all sides of the debate.

“We can't put an exact date on when a decision can be expected, but it is likely to be within the next couple of weeks.”

LEWES ARMS: The First 100 days

2007-03-29T03:12:00.000-07:00

'Greedy King' joins other picketers outside the Lewes Arms. Photo: Andrew Hasson

KEEP UP WITH LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AT www.lewesarms.org.uk

The Lewes Arms is back in the national press with a vengeance, triggered off by an excellent four-page piece by Tim Minogue in The Guardian published to mark the first 100 days of the total boycott of the pub, which has reduced the Lewes Arms takings by 90%. The piece also features other pubs around the country who have suffered at Greene King's hands thus reinforcing the importance of this story as a national issue.

This story was picked up by Nick Cohen in The Observer who wrote: 'Furthermore: Please raise a glass to Lewes's drinking classes. At Westminster tomorrow, there will be a rally for the Sustainable Communities Bill, an attempt by MPs from all parties to break up the centralised English state by giving local authorities the power to deal with social and environmental grievances. It's a worthy measure, but what sets this initiative apart from many other good causes is the number of boozers who support it. Publicans, small breweries and the Campaign for Real Ale - the vanguard of England's beer-drinking classes, in short - are rallying behind the bill and being radicalised in the process.

'Writing in the Guardian last week, Tim Minogue of Private Eye explained why. He is one of a group of pickets who are turning customers away from the Lewes Arms. The Greene King conglomerate owns the 220-year-old Sussex pub and in December decided to practise restrictive trading by refusing to sell the bitter from Lewes's independent brewery. As with other exploitations of their market dominance by the pub corporations, Greene King's ban had nothing to do with drinkers' wishes, but was an act of commercial spite against a small business rival. Rather magnificently, its customers responded with a mass boycott that has turned the Lewes Arms into a ghost pub. '

'We usually discuss political cynicism in grand terms and talk about globalisation, the judges and the EU undermining democracy. More insidious is the inability of the English to make lives in their localities a bit better. If this bill succeeds, Lewes council will be able to compel Greene King to stock Harvey's Bitter. If it falls, it won't. That strikes me as reason enough for MPs to vote for it.'

Also see follow-up story in The Publican, the leading trade magazine.

Also the Business section of the Evening Standard:

Greene King makes locals more local

'Landlords are to be given greater power to run local pubs after a shake-up by Greene King.

'The brewer has been under fire in Lewes, West [ED: should be East] Sussex, for removing guest bitter Harveys from the Lewes Arms. Regulars boycotted the pub and burnt effigies of Greene King management. [ED: No effigies have been burnt]

'Today the company is splittting its managed house operations into local pubs, to be run by Jonathan Lawson and "destination" pubs headed by Jonathan Webster.

'Lawson joined from sainbury's where he was director of the convenience store business. Webster was chief executive at Hardy & Hansons. Mark Angela who ran the business befored the split, is lraving with a year's salary of around £450,000.

'Greene King said the move is not connected to its Lewes troubles. But chief executive Rooney Anand said: "Managers will be given greater autonomy and flexibility to match individual pub offers to local needs.

'Greene King's 510 local pubs will focus on selling beer while its 280 larger "destination" pubs and hotels are to be food led.'

A similar story appeared in the Financial Times (March 27th). 'More than a local from Greene King' by Tom Braithwaite. It begins: 'Greene King, the pubs group, is splitting its managed pubs into "local" and "destination" divisions in order to facilitate acquisitions.'

The Guardian’s Mark Milner reported (March 27^th): Greene King splits managed pub division. ‘Greene King said yesterday that it is to split its managed pub operation into two, a move which will see the departure of Mark Angela, the current head of the business.The company denied the decision represented a change in policy at Greene King and said it was designed to provide scope to allow the managed operations to continue to grow. It said there was no connection between yesterday's decision and the high-profile dispute between Greene King and regulars at the Lewes Arms, at Lewes in East Sussex, over the company's decision to withdraw a local brew, Harveys bitter, prompting an ongoing boycott by the pub's customers.

THE STRUGGLE GOES ON

2007-02-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

For various personal reasons this blog is no longer being regularly updated at present but the Lewes Arms protest is flourishing. To keep up to date with the latest developments, switch to www.lewesarms.org.uk

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON !

2007-01-10T16:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Year is normally the busiest time of year in the pub trade; not so for the Lewes Arms. Thanks to a largely spontaneous boycott spread by word of mouth, most sessions have seen the pub almost empty. It closed on Christmas Day for the first time in years, and opened very late on Boxing Day. New Year’s Eve looked a very sad replicant of happier times.

The boycott has been supplemented by vigils at times that were previously busy; as a result many visitors to the town have taken their custom elsewhere, particularly as many were coming to the pub specifically to drink Harveys.

The Friends of the Lewes Arms issued a press release (see below) at the end of the holiday season.

The latest development (January 8^th) is that the Lewes Arms Dramatic Society has decided to take its panto on tour this year - see their press release below.

The LADS will be performing Babes in the Hood at the Constitutional Club March 5^th to 10^th inclusive.

This was a difficult decision for the LADS, whose 30^th anniversary this is, and it would be good if everyone could work together to make this their most successful year yet for fund-raising. They have a special charity this year, as you will see from their release. They may also need practical help with moving, erecting or storing sets.

Boycott Greene King and Lewes Arms badges have nearly sold out their first pressing, with more than 800 being sported round the town. Car window stickers with the same message will be available shortly.

FRIENDS OF THE LEWES ARMS press release

2007-01-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

A drop of disloyalty from disgruntled drinkers

Regulars at a pub in Lewes, East Sussex have been staying away in droves following the withdrawal of the local beer by the giant brewers, Greene King. Since the last pint of Lewes-brewed Harveys, the most popular beer sold in the pub, was pulled in the Lewes Arms on 10th December, there has been a boycott of the pub by its regulars who have held a vigil outside the pub at peak times during the two busiest drinking weeks of the year.

Andy Gammon, of the Friends of the Lewes Arms, is delighted with the success of the boycott. “The pub has been almost empty in the holiday period,” he said. “When we’ve explained what we’re doing and why, people have been almost 100% supportive of our protest and gone to drink elsewhere in the town. The pub even stayed shut on Christmas Day, when it’s usually full to bursting. We’ll keep this up until Harveys is back on sale in our local. We know they’re a huge company and it will be hard to hurt them financially, but we’re even more determined now that we know how much the people of Lewes are behind us. We reckon their seasonal trade must have dropped by at least 90%.”

So that Greene King doesn’t mistake the lack of sales in January and February for the usual seasonal quiet patch, campaigners have produced a “disloyalty card”, which is stamped or signed by the publican every time a drink is bought elsewhere. The completed cards will be sent to Greene King, so that they can be under no illusions about the business they are losing.

The Friends aren’t just miffed at not being able to get their usual pint in their local. They claim that trucking beer 180 miles when there is a perfectly good brewery half a mile away is not helping reduce food miles, and that Greene King’s refusal to offer a local alternative to its own beers in its pubs is part of a trend of creeping homogenisation in the licensed trade, in marked contrast to their claim to cater for every taste in their pubs. Former regular Fran Maloney said “Greene King are turning into the Tesco of the pub trade and it was the idiosyncratic nature of the Lewes Arms that made it so great. Taking out the best selling beer, despite a 1,200 signature petition, shows that they’re only listening to their accountants, not their customers. Hopefully, they’ll listen to the footsteps marching off to other pubs in town and come to their senses. They certainly won’t be listening to the tills, they’re almost silent.”

Harveys Sussex Best was voted best bitter in Britain by CAMRA in both 2005 and 2006.

LADS ON TOUR

2007-01-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

The Lewes Arms Dramatic Society staged their first pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1978. This production was inspired by a throwaway remark from the landlady at the time who noticed that her regular customers were appearing every Sunday evening dressed as Long John Silver Impersonators. Having suggested that they diverted their creativity into a fundraising activity, the pantomime tradition at the Lewes Arms was born with the first production raising money for the Lewes Lifeboat Appeal. Since then, the LADS have staged an annual pantomime, aimed at an adult audience and many local and national charities have benefited from the event over the years.

The Lewes Arms Dramatic Society (LADS) will be performing their 30^th Annual Charity Pantomime at the Lewes Constitutional Club, High Street, Lewes from 5 to 10^th March 2007. Their decision to take the production on tour this year stems from the current difficulties being experienced at the Lewes Arms following the pub's owners, Greene King, removing Harvey's beers.

Roz South, speaking on behalf of the LADS explained "We stage our annual pantomime in order to support charitable causes and over the last 29 years we have raised more than Â£60,000. This fundraising is at the very core of our activities and the LADS have come to the reluctant decision that it would be very difficult to stage a successful pantomime at the Lewes Arms this year. There is an especially poignant focus to our fundraising in 2007 since we will be supporting the Trust set up in memory of Sasha Spinelli, a former LADS trooper who was tragically killed in 2006.

"We remain very grateful for the support we've had from the Lewes Arms and its owners, tenants and managers over the last 29 years at the Lewes Arms and hope that we can return in less troubled times. However, following a generous offer of facilities, this year we will be presenting our touring production of 'Babes In The Hoodâ' at the Lewes Constitutional Club"

LEWES ARMS: AN UNUSUAL INCIDENT

2006-12-19T05:27:00.000-08:00

At approximately 12.47 Monday lunchtime, the Sussex Police received a call from the Lewes Arms public house complaining that a mob were besieging the building, shouting at customers and "leering through windows."

A WPC was swiftly dispatched to deal with the situation.

Arriving on foot minutes later, she encountered a crowd consisting of a middle aged woman in a tweed jacket, an alleged radio 4 newsreader (bearded), a younger woman with a baked potato and a black labrador dog with more than a suspicion of Collie about him.

Swiftly and calmly appraising the situation the WPC recognised that the only law being broken was the law of nature which dictates that on a cold winter's day people should be inside the Lewes Arms not loitering on the doorstep drinking tea, from mugs.

The mob informed her that their behaviour was forced by the lack of Harveys inside. Sceptical as to the veracity of this outlandish claim, the WPC entered the pub to determine any further intelligence and emerged some minutes later, visibly shaken to discover that there was indeed no Harveys. She spent some further time with the mob who had by now started eating toffees.

Assured that the immediate threat to public order had been averted the WPC returned to the adjacent Police Station from where she vowed to keep an eye on the mob by "glancing up from time to time".

The mob then headed in an easterly direction and were last seen in the Gardeners doing what can only be described as "enjoying themselves".

The dog remains under suspicion.

LEWES ARMS: VIGIL REPORTS/WEEK ONE

2006-12-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

Wednesday lunchtime: I did the Wednesday lunch shift outside The Arms with Simon and we had some encouraging and friendly conversations with both customers and passers by. A group of guitarists had booked the pub for a workshop some time ago and they were both apologetic and supportive, pledging not to buy any GK products whilst on the permises. They took flyers and I watched through the window as they engaged in an involved discussion with staff. The organiser said future events will be held elsewhere until we win. An elderly lady who had a lunctime rendezvous looked shocked and outraged when we explained the reasons for the boycott and she says she will be contacting her former fiancee who used to work in the brewing industry. A number of passers by called out "keep it up" and "dont be druv" and even "no pasaran".

Saturday lunchtime: Well, we've all said that the weekend would be the acid test of the boycott, and this lunchtime the place was absolutely heaving - with one old bloke who was in the front bar when we arrived, a staff member's boyfriend who turned up out of loyalty for her (and stayed all of half an hour) and a couple of folk clubbers who had a prior booking but agreed not to drink GK. We invited eight out-of-towners to go elsewhere (mostly the Ellie) but they didn’t need much persuading and all of them already knew about the boycott; mostly they'd simply come along to see for themselves whether the tales were true.
One couple had come down from London specifically to drink Harveys in the Lewes Arms (no word of exaggeration) in the belief that it hadn't quite finished yet. And the crowning moment was when two men walked into the two-bar-staff/two-customers pub to be cheered and applauded by the staff, who thought they were seeing their first 'real' clients of the lunchtime and rare breakers of the boycott. The men asked for two pints of Harveys, got their answer and immediately left!

Sunday lunchtime: On arrival, there were 6 people in the pub, 2 of whom left soon after we got there. Nine were persuaded to go elsewhere and were very supportive of the cause. Three people went in, all locals. There was a group of 3 in the corner of the games room, one of whom came to the front door to see what we were doing. Every time they caught our eye, they lifted their glasses and beckoned us in. On leaving, the lady who'd come to the door asked for a flyer and the other two tried to tell us we really ought to go in, it was lovely. I wonder if they were friends of the management or GK spies?

Sunday evening: Boy it was cold outside the Arms tonight! There were about six people in the pub when I arrived at 6pm. Managed to turn away four people in the course of an hour and a half so at least it wasn't a waste of time. One bloke went in saying he felt very guilty, he had a dog so didn't know where else he could go.

PRESS REACTIONS: BBC WEBSITE

2006-12-13T07:08:00.000-08:00

Campaign lost to save local ale

Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 13:39 GMT

A campaign to prevent a locally-brewed ale being withdrawn from an East Sussex pub has ended in failure.

Greene King, the Suffolk-based pub group which owns The Lewes Arms, said in October that it planned to replace Harveys Best Bitter with its own beer.

Lewes MP Norman Baker won two reprieves for the beer in the past month, but it has now been confirmed the bitter will be taken out of the pub.

Drinkers set up a campaign blog on the internet to save their favourite beer.

Compromise

Greene King had said it wanted to "serve our own award-winning quality ales in our own pubs", but the Friends of The Lewes Arms pressure group wrote to the firm and Harveys Brewery pleading for a compromise.

Mr Baker said: "There were options which, in my view, would have allowed the local bitter to stay in The Lewes Arms while providing compensatory benefits for Greene King, but sadly it seems that such an agreement was not possible."

Writers on the protesters' blog threatened a boycott of The Lewes Arms if the bitter was withdrawn.

Harveys previously said it had been "touched by the loyalty" of drinkers at the 220-year-old pub

BOYCOTT IN ACTION

2006-12-13T06:05:00.000-08:00

7th December 2006:

The first boycotters: Andy Gammon and Manek Dubash

Regulars from the Lewes Arms started a boycott of their local pub this week. The protest follows pub owner Greene King's removal of Harvey's, the local beer, from the bar.

On Tuesday lunchtime, two regulars leafletted those entering the pub and asked them to boycott the pub until the New Year. The protesters said that they had peacefully turned away almost everyone who headed for the pub, and that all passers-by had expressed support for their campaign. As a result, there remained only a handful of people inside.

Regulars say that the disappearance of the brew, which was voted Champion Best Bitter 2006 by real ale campaigners CAMRA, by pub owner Greene King is destroying the character of their favourite drinking hole. They also say that the Lewes Arms is a well-known pub that forms an important part of the character of the town, and that it should be selling the local product.

Greene King, which a couple of weeks ago was in discussions with local MP Norman Baker over the possibility of Harvey's remaining in the pub's cellars, has stuck to its policy of selling only its own beers, even though Harvey's reportedly outsold Greene beers in the Lewes Arms by four to one.

The Friends of Lewes Arms, as regulars call themselves, consists of a hard core of about 30 people who want to see the return of Harvey's, which is brewed a few hundred yards down the road from the Lewes Arms. Local campaigner John May said: "We are some of the people who care about our local and hope to hold Greene King to the high values that they claim to espouse. They can demonstrate this by leaving the Lewes Arms and its Harvey’s alone."

Greene King is currently running a advertising campaign urging people to support local pubs.

GUEST BEERS

2006-12-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

One of the ideas put forward as a way out of the impasse is for Harveys to continue to be on sale in the Lewes Arms as a “Guest Ale”, possibly on a reciprocal basis with a Greene King beer offered in one or more Harveys pubs. A few facts may lubricate the debate:

Brewery-owned pubs generally fall into two categories: they are either directly managed by the brewery, or leased to tenants.

In tenanted pubs, the tenants enter into a contract to buy specified beer from one source and in return pay rent lower than the market rate. In managed pubs, the manager is a direct employee of the owners and, in effect, sells whatever the owners wish to put on sale.

Even after recent sales of pubs, Greene King has more than 2,500 across the country, with both tenanted and managed pubs in the estate. The tenanted pubs have varying restrictions on what beer they can sell – for example, the Lamb in Lewes can have a guest ale (as long as it’s not Harveys!).

What is on sale in the managed pubs, like the Lewes Arms, is a matter for Greene King management in Bury St Edmunds.

Harveys has 47 pubs, all tenanted, and none of them have a “Guest Ale” provision in their leases. Just as with any contract, Harveys can’t change this even in one pub without the consent of the other party – the tenant.

It may well be that a “Guest Ale” provision in all pubs (see below for an explanation of the origin of this term) would be a good thing, and indeed CAMRA has a campaign to this effect.

But the playing field between Greene King and Harveys in this instance is hardly level: Greene King management can just tick a box and Harveys will be on sale in the LA for the indefinite future, as it has been since they bought it in 1998.

Even assuming anyone would want to buy Greene King beers in a Harveys pub, Harveys simply can’t impose that on a tenant. Who carries the cost if a barrel of IPA takes up bar space, then goes undrunk and passes its drink-by date?

Anyway, there is no proven demand from drinkers for Greene King beers to be introduced into new pubs in Lewes.

In the case of the Lewes Arms, and other Greene King pubs in the town, the demand for Harveys to be on sale is amply demonstrated, not least by a 1,200-signature petition.

It may yet be that some reciprocal guest ale solution can sort out this mess. This blog is not privy to whatever has been going on. But whatever the outcome, let’s not blame Harveys for the actions of Greene King.

As Peter Messer has succinctly put it, it’s not a matter of Harveys being a guest ale in the Lewes Arms – Greene King is a guest brewer in Lewes, and should behave with better manners.

“Guest Beer”

This term stems from the measures taken by the Thatcher government in the 1980s to break the vertical ties between brewers and their tenanted pubs.

The Guest Beer provision introduced with the Beer Orders never applied to managed houses like the Lewes Arms. In any event, it was abolished with the Beer Orders in 2002.

As it happens, the pub ownership threshold for brewers subject to the Orders when they were introduced was 2,000: Greene King now owns more than 2,500 and Wolverhampton and Dudley, the other major “regional” brewer, also owns more than 2,000.

Some landlords still refer to “Guest Beers”, which adds to the confusion. Many national pubcos have restrictive leases that oblige tenants to buy all but one of their beers from the pubco: hence the term “Guest Beer” for those they are free to buy in. In Lewes, this is Harveys in all cases unless otherwise forbidden.

The detail of the Beer Orders, for those who are interested:

A 1989 competition report aimed to loosen the tie between pub retailing and brewing to facilitate easier entry by, and increasing competition between, brewers, wholesalers and pub retailers.

Most of the recommendations were implemented, mainly by imposing the following changes on “national brewers”, that is, brewers with an estate of more than 2,000 on-licensed premises:

their retailers would be free of tie for non-beer drinks and low-alcohol beers
those retailers would have the right to buy one cask-conditioned beer and (as amended from 1998) one bottle-conditioned beer of their choice on the open market rather than through the brewer (the Guest Beer provision)
and they were allowed only to tie a certain number of pubs. This forced the national brewers to sell or free from tie about 11,000 of the then estimated 60,000 UK pubs

The competition authorities reviewed the Beer Orders in 2000 and concluded that since 1989 there been significant structural change, leading to an improvement in competition. In particular, over a third of the UK’s pubs had been transferred to retail pub chains that had acquired buyer power in relation to the national brewers.

On 19^th February 2002, the U.K. government announced its intention to revoke the Beer Orders in their entirety.

The Campaign for Real Ale, CAMRA, is campaigning for a Guest Beer Right to be reinstated for both tenanted and managed (like the Lewes Arms) pubs.

CAMRA says: A guest beer right would allow these pubs the choice of stocking one cask conditioned beer of their choice. This would have two huge advantages:

Increasing consumer choice. Allowing pubs to stock one beer of their choice will help them attract new customers by allowing them to stock an appealing guest beer.
Supporting small brewers. The biggest hurdle facing Britain’s small brewers is access to market. A guest beer right would transform the fortunes of small brewers by enabling all of Britain’s 60,000 pubs to sell one beer from a small brewer.

Research commissioned by CAMRA shows clear consumer demand for locally brewed beer. 55% of people indicated that they would like to see at least one locally brewed beer in every pub. In addition 31% of all adults who visit pubs would buy a locally brewed beer in a pub over non- locally brewed beer.

BOYCOTT: THE TIME HAS COME

2006-12-13T05:48:00.000-08:00

the beer has gone and the time has come

LATEST NEWS: GREENE KING/HARVEYS NEGOTIATIONS

2006-12-04T02:14:00.000-08:00

Discussions have been going on for the last two weeks between Harveys and Greene King regarding the future of the Lewes Arms with MP Norman Baker's involvement.

We have not been privy to the precise details of those discussions but were encouraged that some real dialogue was taking place at the right level. For much of this period we were receiving hopeful signals.

However, at the end of this process, the latest news we have from Norman, as of last Friday afternoon, is that, as things stand:

The Harveys will come out of the Lewes Arms after next Friday December 8th

We understand that Harveys and Greene King will be issuing a joint statement in due course.

At a recent public meeting of the Friends of the Lewes Arms, the majority of those present voted for a boycott of the pub and Greene King should the Harveys be removed. The objective of the boycott is to show Greene King, through their till receipts, how strong the feeling is about the issue and how much we disapprove of their actions. The boycott is especially important during the upcoming busy period over Xmas and the New Year.

We continue to hope that sense will prevail and that this boycott may still yet prove unnecessary.

LATEST NEWS

2006-11-18T02:43:00.000-08:00

Norman Baker is currently in negotiating over the future of Harveys in the Lewes Arms, with Greene King and other parties. We have been informed that Harveys will stay on tap for at least a week while talks continue. We await developments with interest. Press interest in the story remains high

LEWES ARMS: LETTER TO ROONEY ANAND

2006-11-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

This great letter to Greene King's Chief Executive Rooney Anand was written by Roger Corbett who lives in South London. Good on you Roger!!

Dear Mr Anand:

With just a few days to go before the unthinkable, this is a personal plea as you have the power to overturn some rough justice just as the Home Secretaries of old could reprieve the death sentence. Apologies for making this sound theatrical but there is much emotion going round.

I visited the Lewes Arms last Saturday evening and in 150 minutes one pint of GK IPA was sold and all the other real ale was Harvey's Best. All the talk was of the withdrawal of Harvey's "in 9 days time".

All my business training tells me that it is so much cheaper to retain existing business than attract new. To risk losing this amount of trade and goodwill (for a corporate "feelgood" of pushing your own products at any cost) will, I sincerely trust, lead you to do some serious soul and heart-searching.

If you had withdrawn the Harvey's when you originally took over the Beard's chain I think people might have smarted but accepted it but to do so after long ownership does smack of something unpalatable.

Goodwill is priceless and you risk it over nothing really except, I suspect, a corporate fetish - you are currently selling huge volumes and banking the profits and both consumer and retailer are at peace. Let it be.

There is still time so please use it to reprieve into perpetuity (or as far into perpetuity as anyone can!) Harvey's Best Bitter sales at the Lewes Arms.

I can't promise but if you do as I have suggested and then visit the pub you'll experience the sort of welcome that a little bit of corporate pride can graciously earn. I should certainly to privileged to be present when you visit.

Yours sincerely

Rober Corbett

URGENT NEWS

2006-11-11T04:17:00.000-08:00

We have just learnt that the Lewes Arms landlady has been informed by her GK operations manager that Harveys is to be removed from the pub on Monday 20th November.
More news as it happens.

LEWES ARMS ON YOUTUBE

2006-11-11T04:06:00.000-08:00

When Guardian photographer Roger Bamber came down to do a photoshoot for the paper (see previous posting) local lensman Mick Hawksworth was on hand to video the scene. See the results on Youtube

Campaign for Real Freedom

2006-11-11T03:53:00.000-08:00

Local beer writer Ronald Atkins wrote a series of articles entitled ‘Campaign for Real Freedom’ for the journal ‘The Independent Imbiber.’ The following is an edited version of the piece that appeared in the October/November 2002 issue.It provides a valuable historical background to the current dispute.

Earlier articles under this heading, published in 1998, were inspired by the epidemic of pubs being swallowed by large chains and having their choice of beers cut back as a result. The second article described how the epidemic had affected me personally, with the sale of the local Beard's chain to major Suffolk brewers/pub owners Greene King.

In my part of Sussex, the aftermath of the Beard's sale was business as usual. Greene King were quoted in the local press as opting for minimal change beyond making more of their own beers available. I was told by a Greene King spokesperson that the view was, if it ain't broke, why fix it?

However, the article foresaw long-term dangers. The logic of Greene King spending over £14m. (a figure of £17m. has since been suggested) on around forty pubs that were not at the time selling substantial quantities of their beers pointed to freedom of choice being eventually curtailed. We are now seeing a policy on precisely these lines being put into practice.

From the start, the range of non-Greene King beers was restricted to those authorised by Suffolk: Beards tenants who had been allowed to pick and choose from wholesaler's lists were particularly affected. Now, the matter has boiled up over the removal of Harvey's beers.

To give a brief historical perspective, Harvey and Beard were the two surviving breweries of Lewes, each with a small tied estate. When times became hard for regional breweries in the Sixties, it was agreed Beard would stop brewing and allow Harvey's beers into their pubs, an exclusive agreement that, over the years, became relaxed as some Beard's pubs drew from an increasingly wide portfolio. However, Harvey's Best was invariably part of the mix and this continued into the first three years of the new ownership.

During that period, Greene King claim there has been a large swing from Harvey's to their own beers. I don't doubt this. With freedom to do as much in-house promotion as they wish, it is no surprise that sales of Greene King's beers have soared. Harvey's beers, though, are popular throughout the area. While some ex-Beard's pubs have removed them since the takeover, one would imagine the demand in the rest of the estate remains at a level sufficient to justify their continued availability.

Greene King's new policy came to the general public's attention towards the end of August, thanks to one of the regulars at the Kings Head in Chailey, who got press coverage when more than 130 people signed his petition protesting at the imminent removal of Harvey's from the pub. Confirming that Harvey's would disappear from all the others, the managing director of Greene King's Pub Partners did what would appear to be an historical rewrite.

"We bought the pubs....and went round and told each and every tenant that we would be withdrawing Harvey's within six months", he claimed in the Sussex Express issue of 30 August. "Now we are and it's only people from one pub who are upset about it."

[But in] the next issue of the Sussex Express, the front-page headline celebrated the survival of Harvey's in those four Lewes pubs where it was on sale.

A different spokesperson from Greene King now claimed 'We have no plans to withdraw Harvey's from any of our Lewes pubs for the foreseeable future simply because we sell Harvey's so well in the town."

One suspects the decision taken over Lewes stems from the competitive element. Apart from it being Harvey's home town, there are enough good pubs selling their beers to tempt away any ex-Beard's regular who wishes to stick with them: this cannot be done so easily in smaller villages with just one pub.

Breweries, including Greene King, that allow even a limited and authorised range of guests do not force them on their publicans; they are meeting a demand - small, perhaps, but sufficiently important - for something different. Many licensees would love to be given the chance of stepping slightly outside the tie; they invariably have customers that, for whatever reason, refuse to drink the house beers, and a guest ale might be the way to keep them coming back.

An insight into problems faced, not just by landlords but also by quite substantial breweries, can be gleaned from reading between the lines of the Greene King-Harvey affair. "We are withdrawing Harvey's because it is a rival", was the original excuse. Fair enough, except that many Greene King pubs in this area continue to sell non-Greene King beers.

Coincidentally, there has been a spate of rumours, some quoting large sums of money, about Greene King allowing landlords to retain Harvey's provided they accept a rent increase. This gives extra meaning to the remark quoted earlier that "discussions are continuing".

Add it all up, and you get a tale of a pub company concerned about maximising their profit margin on sales of a particular product.

The Death of the English Pub

2006-11-11T03:18:00.000-08:00

'When you have lost your inns, drown your empty selves.
For you will have lost the last of England.'
- Hilaire Belloc

Paul Kingsnorth is one of the best of the journalists we have in Britain. He has written two extremely important articles on the English pub which set our struggle at the Lewes Arms in a broader context. We urge you to read them.

Calling Time
The traditional English pub is being eaten alive by corporate consolidation
Guardian Weekend, 23 July 2005

In 1900, there were more than 6000 breweries in the UK. Today there are just over 500. Thirty three have closed since 1990, taking over 130 regional and national beer brands with them. The last decade has seen the end of, among others, Morrells of Oxford (founded 1782), Brakspear of Henley (1799), Castle Eden of Hartlepool (1826), Morland of Abingdon (1711), Ruddles of Rutland (1857), Courage of Bristol (1702) and Mitchells of Lancaster (1871) - names that were sources of national heritage, regional pride and local employment sold off, shut down or taken over. In 2005 we will say farewell to Strangeways of Manchester (brewers of Boddingtons) and Newcastle's Tyne Brewery (home to Newcastle Brown). They are unlikely to be the last.

Then there are the pubs which the breweries serve. Twenty of them close every month - converted into housing, theme bars or luxury flats. Half of those that remain are in the hands of ambitious and rapidly-expanding pub corporations which have set about remaking them with the help of loans from Japanese banks and marketing techniques developed in pizza and sandwich chains.

Rural pubs are disappearing with unprecedented speed, leaving many villages 'dry' - bereft not just of a place to drink but of the community focus that went with it. In towns and cities, giant high street drinking sheds - known in the trade as 'high volume vertical drinking establishments' - open in their place, selling alcopops to teenagers and fuelling the 'binge drinking' phenomenon. The last ten years have witnessed an explosion of identikit chains - O'Neill's, All Bar One, the Slug and Lettuce, Wetherspoons - in what critics call a whirlwind 'McDonaldisation' of the traditional pub.

Read the full article here

Do You Remember an Inn?
A smoking ban could be another nail in the coffin of the English pub
New Statesman, 7th November 2005

Farewell, then, to the smoky old pub. As a ban on smoking in most pubs looksset to become law, it seems that the hazy, convivial, unpredictable atmosphere of the traditional local is on the way out. The edgy, boozy, glamorously grimy institutions that inspired Samuel Johnson, G K Chesterton, George Orwell and Patrick Hamilton are to be legislated into history, in the name of public health. In their place, we can no doubt look forward to an uninspiring, government- approved selection of depressingly hip wine bars, all steel and smokeless dining spaces, in which "consumers" (not "customers", and certainly never "locals") partake of their sensible daily allocation of alcohol units from glasses marked with health warnings, and none of the bar staff risks the certain death that would come about by straying within ten metres of a smoker.

Read the full article here

ARGUS RETRACTION AND COMMENT

2006-11-11T03:05:00.000-08:00

Following our complaint to The Argus regarding their erroneous story (see previous posting), they published the following on their website. Unfortunately, the majority of their readers will not see this.

Greene King denies beer ban U-turn
10 November 2006

A brewery planning to ban local brew Harveys from a Sussex pub has not changed the decision. Greene King will stop serving the beer at the Lewes Arms after Christmas, much to the dismay of the pub regulars. But the pub company's managing director Mark Angela indicated on Radio 4's Today Programme this week that Harveys could possibly return to the pub occasionally as a guest beer.

The regulars, who have been campaigning to keep Harveys, which is brewed in Lewes, at the pub have collected more than 1,200 signatures on a petition which they plan to present to Greene King.

Mayor of Lewes Merlin Milner pointed out that 80 per cent of cask beer sold at the Lewes Arms is Harveys Best, and regulars fear the pub will lose a lot of its trade if the beer is withdrawn.

The Lewes Arms has been selling locally produced beer for more than 200 years. The campaign to save Harveys has also been backed by local MP Norman Baker and the Campaign For Real Ale.

Some people carried protest banners at the Lewes Bonfire on Saturday.

We have received the following comments from Paul Sweetman, one of our supporters:

Dear John,

I was appalled at how the Argus misreported the Today Programme interviews. They completely misunderstood what what was being said. Merlin was great, but it's a shame that the spokesman for Greene King had the last word. I am a regular, but infrequent, visitor to the Lewes Arms. I consider it to be one of the best pubs in Sussex. I realised things were going wrong last winter when I met a friend for a taste of Harvey's Old. We had to go to the Gardeners Arms.

I used to be a regular at the Farm Tavern in Hove - this was also a Beards pub. The locals complained to Greene King when they decided to remove Harveys (a few years ago). We were told in a letter from a G.K. director that 'you never know Harveys may one day turn up as a guest beer'. It never did, but this served to quell the rebellion. The same line was taken in the Radio 4 interview. I remember phrases such as ' I don't think this has been ruled out', when asked if Harveys could be a guest beer.

I believe that it is their policy to sell 'guest beers' from breweries that they already own - although I can't be certain of this. Are there any Greene King houses selling guest beers from breweries that they don't own?- I think that this is a crucial question.

They have slowly taken Harveys away from the old Beards pubs - the Black Horse in Rottingdean, another great pub, lost Harveys a year or so ago. It is now a sad place to visit, as the Harveys drinkers have gone elsewhere. Instead of taking the local brew away from all the pubs in one go, they have cleverly fought one battle at a time. I believe that they probably know exactly what they are doing.

PRESS REACTIONS: Viva Lewes

2006-11-09T02:20:00.000-08:00

John May is spearheading the Friends of the Lewes Arms campaign to try to keep Lewes’ favourite beer in Lewes’ most iconic pub. I arrive at the pub in question, The Lewes Arms, buy a pint of the bitter in question, Harveys, and look round for him. At first I don’t see him, then I do. John, a regular, seems to blend into the background. When I greet him, he’s excited. “We’re in Private Eye today,” he says. Since we have first mentioned this issue in these pages, the campaign has gone, quite literally, global. When it was informally reported several weeks ago that Greene King was to stop serving Harveys in the Lewes Arms, one of three pubs the Suffolk company owns in Lewes, and one of over 2,600 it owns nationwide, John put the news on his personal blog, and we reported it in our webmag.

The story has since, in journalistic parlance, got legs. It caught the attention of the Sussex Express and the Argus, then the Financial Times and the Mail on Sunday financial section. Then onto the main section of the Guardian and Radio 4’s Today programme. “Reuters have sent out the story on the wire as well,” says John, one of a number of national-level journalists who is involved in the campaign. “So far we have spotted the story in the Jamaica Gleaner, The Toronto Star, and a couple of African papers.” I drink my Harvey’s Best, CAMRA’s current Champion Best Bitter of Britain, as we conduct the interview. John has an orange juice and lemonade, a reflection of the fact the doors of the pub have just opened. Is this not, ventures the devil’s advocate in me, just a local storm in a provincial beer glass? “Not at all,” says John.
“It is a larger story in microcosm, and it involves some important issues that are of national importance. There is a lot of concern about the loss of local pubs due to the aggressive activities of what we call the PubCos.

Local beers and local breweries are under increasingly under pressure from companies like Greene King. Since we have started the campaign we have discovered a number of similar movements all over the country which are trying to stop local pubs from closing and local beers from being taken out of the ones that remain.” So why, I wonder, a journalist in a town full of them, has this particular case caught the attention of the press? “In press terms it’s a classic David and Goliath story,” continues John, “and Lewes is always in their sights around Bonfire Night. From Greene King’s point of view it was the wrong pub in the wrong town at the wrong time.”

Recently the Evening Argus, having misheard the comments of Greene King’s Mark Angela on the Today Programme, announced that the company had decided a policy u-turn and were to keep Harveys on. “I have had to correct them on that,” says John. “Although we have made some progress in that Greene King have agreed to considering occasionally keeping Harveys as a guest ale. Also Norman Baker MP has requested a meeting with the Greene King Chief Executive Rooney Anand at his earliest convenience on the matter, and is delivering our petition with over 1,200 signatures. But there is still a lot of work to be done.” Publicity, however, can work both ways. “The eyes of the brewery industry are all on this situation,” says John. “If Greene King back down, it may well set a precedent.” As I finish my pint and we wind up the conversation, the pub phone rings. “It’s the Publican,” says the barman, to the landlady. The Publican is the trade magazine of the brewing industry. “I can’t comment,” she says. “You’ll have to go through the Greene King press office.” This one, you feel, will run and run. And so it should.
Alex Leith

See the whole issue of Viva Lewes

PRESS REACTIONS: Private Eye

2006-11-09T01:50:00.000-08:00

Pubs and Pubmen
Private Eye/10-23 November 2006

Stock-exchange listed brewer Greene King certainly knows how to talk the talk when it comes to keeping alive the traditional British pub .

It sponsors the annual Perfect Pub award, currently bring promoted in the Daily Telegraph, and earlier this year it hosted the launch of The Publican trade paper’s Proud of Pubs campaign at the House of Commons, which was attended by scores of thirsty MPs.

Greene King’s chief executive Rooney Anand told the honourable members it was a “great start” in the battle to keep pubs alive and at the centre of local communities. “It’s about time society started standing up for our pubs and recognising them as one of our nation’s greatest Assets”, he said. Greene King marketing director Friona Hope said: “The pub and the pint are great institutions that play a positive role in millions of peoples’ lives.”

All of which has a somewhat hollow ring to thousands of customers of locals up and down Britain who have experienced the way Greene King stands up for local pubs and communities at first hand.

In recent years Greede King, which owns 2,600 pubs and made an operating profit of £191m last year, has bought -- and closed – three local traditional breweries, Morlands, Ridleys and Hardy and Hansons. In September it paid £217m for Hardy and Hanson’s Victorian Kimberley brewery in Nottingham, plus 250 pubs. In October it announced it was closing the brewery and transferring production to Bury St Edmunds by the end of the year with the loss of 80 jobs. GK also announce last month that it was putting 150 pubs across Britain up for sale. Most are likely to be redeveloped as flats or turned into restaurants because GK can make quicker short-term profits that way.

In Lewes, East Sussex, more than 1,000 people, including local MP Norman Baker, have signed a petition against GK’s decision to stop selling Harveys, the award-winning ale that has been brewed by an independent family company in the town for more than 200 years, at the Lewes Arms, the town’s foremost “community” pub.

The 207-year-old pub, a warren of small rooms and wonky stairs, is home to dozens of clubs and societies and all manner of eccentric charitable events, such as the World Pea-Throwing Championships. Its regulars are devoted to their local brew, which outsells all other bees, including Greene King’s, by at least four to one. They fear that the ban on Harveys is but the first step in a process which could see their beloved local, like scores of others owned by Greede King, turned into flats or even a gastropub – and sod the locals.

PRESS REACTIONS: The Morning Advertiser

2006-11-08T05:54:00.000-08:00

The following story has recently appeared in The Morning Advertiser (posted to its website on 6th November). Launched in 1794 and published in association with its founders, The Licensed Trade Charity, this weekly has long been considered the pub trade's favourite newspaper.

Drinkers from a Sussex pub turned up the heat on Greene King this weekend in a row over their favourite ale. As previously reported, drinkers at the Lewes Arms in Lewes are up in arms over Greene King's plans to remove Harvey's bitter from a pub they have recently bought.

Greene King wants to introduce a new ale brewed at its Suffolk home but the locals in Sussex have launched a campaign to save Harvey's. Over 1,000 signatures have been collected and even the local MP has stepped in to the row.

This week the campaign hotted up as bonfire night revellers in Lewes carried banners and wore anti-Greene King slogans on their clothes. Greene King was the talk of the town. I didn't see any effigies of Greene King directors but there were some pretty heated slogans

Bonfire night reveller

One reveller at the bonfire night celebrations said: "Greene King was the talk of the town. I didn't see any effigies of Greene King directors but there were some pretty heated slogans."

However, Greene King managing director Mark Angela defended the plans to the East Anglian Daily Times. He said: "I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to sell our products in our pubs. Harveys is widely available in other pubs in Lewes, it's a nice pint. We also have a healthy guest beer selection and we have lots of reciprocal arrangements with other brewers.

"One of the positive things to have come out of this is that we have all got the chance to talk about cask ales. Our whole business is founded on making sure we have a dialogue with the

community. We knew this would be sensitive so we wanted to give people notice of what we are intending to do. If it doesn't work, we will review it."

Campaign organiser John May, of Friends of the Lewes Arms, said: "I am hoping sense will prevail. Both Harveys and the pub have been around since the 1720s. I know Greene King has a long heritage too but imagine how drinkers in Bury would feel if Harveys had taken over the Greene King pubs and removed their favourite beers from all but one pub, and then they threatened to remove it from that one too."

PRESS REACTIONS: THE ARGUS

2006-11-08T03:48:00.000-08:00

This story appeared in The Argus on Monday 6th November. It is substantially incorrect. Here is the article with corrections in brackets.

Protest brings U-turn in a bitter row at pub

By Andy Tate

A brewery which triggered outrage by announcing plans to banish Harveys Best Bitter from a Sussex pub has backed down in the face of public pressure.

Suffolk brewery Greene King had vowed to stop selling its rival's popular ale at the Lewes Arms after Christmas.

But on Friday, following the presentation of nearly 1,000 protest signatures, a threat by regulars to boycott the pub in Mount Place, Lewes, and coverage in The Argus, the brewery did a U-turn.

[We have not delivered the petition as yet, which now has 1200+ signatures and rising. We have not made any threats to boycott the pub. The brewery has not done a U-turn.]

Mark Angela, managing director of the Greene King Pub Company, indicated on national radio that Harveys would, after all, continue to be available at the pub.

[This is incorrect. As reported below, he did raise the possibility of Harveys being a 'guest beer' - certainly a concession from their previous position. They have subsequently confirmed that possibility in The Guardian interview - see previous post - but also said this would only be a temporary or occasional situation]

Asked by an interviewer on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme whether Harveys could be made a guest beer at the Lewes Arms, Mr Angela said: "I don't think anybody has ruled that out."

He added: "There's been a lot of noise about the fact we are withdrawing Harveys but we do have quite a range of guest beers in pubs and we would be more than willing to consider Harveys.

"We would like to be selling more of our own beer in our pubs and offering choice at the same time."

The climb-down came as Lewes bonfire societies burnt an effigy of a "Green King"
on Saturday as part of the town's annual parade.

[No effigy of Greene King was burnt during the bonfire celebrations]

Mr Angela applauded the "passion" with which Lewes drinkers had put their case and insisted Greene King listened to its customers.

If it did not, he said, "we wouldn't be in this business and we have a pretty decent track record of success."

Lewes mayor Merlin Milner had earlier told the BBC Greene King's behaviour had been "a good example of corporate homogenisation".

He pointed out that 80 per cent of cask beer sold at the Lewes Arms was Harveys Best.

He said: "The pub has been selling locally produced beer for more than 200 years. It's the best selling beer in the pub.

"Greene King are not really listening to customers. They are telling us what we want rather than us telling them what we want."

The campaign to keep Harveys at the Lewes Arms, bought by Greene King in 1998, has been backed by Lewes MP Norman Baker and the Campaign For Real Ale.

PRESS REACTIONS: The Guardian

2006-11-05T04:41:00.000-08:00

Photo: Roger Bamber

Bonfire night protest turns heat on brewery
· 60,000 expected to join traditional procession
· Campaigners fight back over ban on local beer

Nick Davies
Saturday November 4, 2006
The Guardian

More than 400 years after Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the monarch and his parliament, bonfire enthusiasts in a Sussex town yesterday embarked on a new plot to unseat a deeply unpopular king.

The pub and brewing chain, Greene King, has enraged the people of Lewes by trying to ban the sale of the locally brewed Harveys ale in the town's landmark pub, the Lewes Arms.

Yesterday, they gathered outside the 207-year-old pub in bonfire night costumes to mock a theatrical Greedy King, who swaggered down the street with a vast gut and an unpleasant leak from a Greene King beer pump strapped to his lower belly.

Lewes has a bonfire-night history of parading effigies of its enemies through the streets before blowing them to bits with fireworks. Recently, they constructed a gigantic Gordon Brown caning a naked Peter Mandelson across the buttocks and an Osama bin Laden straining on a toilet.

Greene King, whose chief executive, or his effigy at least, was blown apart three years ago when the company first threatened to stop selling the local Harveys, can expect a further fiery assault tonight. Up to 60,000 people are expected to take to the town's streets to watch torchlight processions of men, women and children dressed as smugglers, native Americans, Venetian boatmen - and beer drinkers.

Greene King has already incurred the wrath of Camra, the campaign for real ale, by buying up and closing three traditional breweries - Morlands, Ridleys and Hardys and Hansons - in a campaign which has left it controlling more than 2,600 pubs around the country. The company last year reported operating profits of £191m, a 21% increase on the previous year.

The company bought the Lewes Arms in a package in 1998 and, until now, has sold its own beers alongside Harveys. Campaigners say the pub sells some 75,000 pints of Harveys a year, accounting for 80% of the beer sold across the bar.

They add that Greene King's desire to increase the sale of its own products by banning a more popular rival is part of a national trend by big pub companies to transform community pubs into restaurants or even sell them off for housing to maximise profits. Camra says pubs are closing at the rate of 26 a month, a rate which is likely to increase when the ban on smoking in pubs comes into force next year. Greene King yesterday said it would be happy to sell Harveys as an occasional guest beer but a spokesman insisted the company was not willing to change its decision to ban it from permanent sale.

At the Lewes Arms yesterday, the locals pledged to carry on plotting. They describe their pub as a "communal living room" which also hosts the world pea-throwing championship.

More than 1,000 people have signed a protest petition, including the mayor, Merlin Milner, and the local Liberal Democrat MP, Norman Baker.

PRESS REACTIONS: East Anglian Daily Times

2006-11-05T04:39:00.000-08:00

Brewer feels the heat in pub row

East Anglian Daily Times/04 November 2006

LAURENCE CAWLEY

BOSSES at Suffolk-based Greene King could have their effigies torched as part of Bonfire Night celebrations on the south coast. In recent years, the famous bonfires of Lewes, in Sussex, have seen effigies of George W Bush and Osama Bin Laden engulfed in flames.

But regulars at the popular Lewes Arms, which is home to the World Pea Throwing Championship, are now rattling their matches for the top brass at Greene King amid a heated row over the ales on offer.

And even if effigies are not set alight, pub regulars claim a number of anti-Greene King costumes will be worn on Bonfire Night.

In October, fans of the 220-year-old drinking hole were told a leading bitter brewed by Greene King rival Harveys would be withdrawn at the end of the year.

Despite the threat of a boycott, Greene King stood firm, stating it took customer choice seriously but, alongside guest beers, it wanted its own tipples stocked.

In response a campaign - called “Hands off our Harveys” was mounted to pressure the Suffolk brewer into changing its mind. The petition has been signed by 1,000 people so far.

Greene King managing director Mark Angela yesterday defended the firm's move. He said: “I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to sell our products in our pubs. Harveys is widely available in other pubs in Lewes, it's a nice pint. We also have a healthy guest beer selection and we have lots of reciprocal arrangements with other brewers.

“One of the positive things to have come out of this is that we have all got the chance to talk about cask ales. Our whole business is founded on making sure we have a dialogue with the community. We knew this would be sensitive so we wanted to give people notice of what we are intending to do. If it doesn't work, we will review it.”

Petition organiser John May, of Friends of the Lewes Arms, said there was considerable strength of feeling because 80% of the pub's regulars drink Harveys and warned the pub's future was in jeopardy if it was taken off the pump.

Mr May said: “I am hoping sense will prevail. Both Harveys and the pub have been around since the 1720s. I know Greene King has a long heritage too but imagine how drinkers in Bury would feel if Harveys had taken over the Greene King pubs and removed their favourite beers from all but one pub, and then they threatened to remove it from that one too.

“This pub is a community pub and that is one of the major reasons we are fighting so hard - it's about the survival of a community.”

Mr May has called on Greene King and Harveys to stock each others' beers in their pubs, claiming such a move would prevent loyal Lewes Arms customers from abandoning the historic watering hole.

This idea is something Mr Angela said he was happy to discuss with Harveys on a reciprocal arrangement.

GREENE KING ON BBC RADIO 4's TODAY

2006-11-03T02:39:00.000-08:00

The issue of Greene King removing Harveys from the Lewes Arms was raised on the BBC Radio 4's TODAY programme this morning. After chatting with our Mayor Merlin Milner, the interviewer talked to Mark Angela, Managing Director of Greene King - his first public appearance on this issue - who had the following to say:

TODAY: Are you still going to persist with this course of action ?

Mark Angela: First of all, just to make the point, you're talking to a cask ale drinker and I'm passionate about it as obviously the people in Lewes are. I applaud the passion because that's what it's all about. But at the end of the day Greene King actually invest more in cask ale than any other brewer. We've actually got 20 of our own cask ale products in our range and we would like to be selling frankly more of our own beer in our own pubs and offering a choice at the same time.

TODAY: What about this accusation of corporate homogenisation. Can't you make an exception, isn't this a special case ?

MA: Well in fact we do have quite a wide range of guest beers in quite a number of our pubs across the country and in terms of ... listening to our customers we wouldn't be in this business and have a pretty decent track record of success unless we did that.

TODAY: So why not make Harveys a guest beer in the Lewes Arms then?

MA:Well its interesting because I don't think anybody's ruled that out. There's been a lot of noise about the fact that we are withdrawing Harveys but as I said we do have quite a range of guest beers in pubs and its interesting that (pause) we'd be more than willing to consider it.

TODAY: So you'd reconsider it. If, for instance,Harveys would consider your beer as a guest beer in their pubs you could reconsider this decision.

MA:As I said we'd like to sell more of our beer in our pubs as Harveys do themselves. In fact Harveys actually don't sell any of our beers in their pubs. So the door's always open. We're taking the decision because we believe its right for the business but, as I said, we have a range of guest ales as part of the programme, so we wouldn't ever rule it out in the future.

TODAY: Maybe there's a solution there, who knows

MA: There may just be.

You can listen to the whole programme again here
The interview aired at approx 8:40

SUSSEX WON'T BE DRUV

2006-11-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

Some folks as comes to Sussex
They rackons as they knows
A darn sight better what to do
The silly folks like me and you
Could possibly suppose
But them as comes to Sussex
They mustn't push and shove
For Sussex will be Sussex
And Sussex won't be druv

W. Victor Cook

PRESS REACTIONS: BBC WEBSITE

2006-11-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

Greene King boss faces a roasting

The boss of the Greene King brewery could have his effigy burnt with that of Guy Fawkes this Sunday as a row with drinkers at a Sussex pub escalates.

Lewes Arms regular are campaigning against the Suffolk-based brewery, which wants to withdraw locally-brewed Harveys Best Bitter from the pub.

They have been backed by the mayor of the town and local MP Norman Baker.

Lewes' famous bonfire societies are now set to lend their support and give Greene King a roasting on 4 November.

Chamber pots and broom sticks

Such a gesture would be in keeping with the traditions of the quirky 220-year-old pub, which has built up a reputation for hosting activities including the Annual World Pea-Throwing Championship and Dwyle Flunking, a traditional game involving two teams, a broom stick, a chamber pot and a beer-soaked rag.

Their ire was first raised at the beginning of October when the pub informed them that Harveys would be withdrawn by the end of the year.

"It was only a month ago, but the campaign got going very quickly," said Jack Wilkinson, a regular at the Lewes Arms.

A pressure group, the Friends of the Lewes Arms, has written to Greene King and Harveys trying to arrange some form of compromise agreement that might see its favourite real ale kept on tap.

Previously, Greene King has held firm, saying it wants "to serve our own award-winning quality ales in our own pubs".

However, the drinks distributor supplying the Lewes Arms said it hadn't received any instructions to stop delivering Harveys Best Bitter and Greene King has now said it is preparing a new statement on the issue.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/6106864.stm
Published: 2006/11/01 16:37:49 GMT

LEWES ARMS STORY GOES GLOBAL !!!

2006-11-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

Drinkers take on brewery in beer battle
November 1st 2006
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - Devoted drinkers at a quirky pub have locked horns with a national brewery in a classic consumer battle over their favourite tipple.

Regulars at the Lewes Arms are fans of locally brewed Harveys Best Bitter beer, but pub owner and brewer Greene King, which bought the Lewes Arms in 1998, wants to call time on the regulars' beloved pint.

Passions are running high in the 220-year-old pub in the town of Lewes, once home to radical propagandist Thomas Paine who wrote "The Rights of Man."

A "Save our Harveys" petition has garnered almost 1,000 signatures in the offbeat pub, whose annual attractions range from hosting the world pea-throwing championships to spaniel racing.

The mayor of the town and the local member of parliament have stepped into the fray to back the pub regulars who also won the support of CAMRA -- The Campaign for Real Ale.

"Although Greene King is a good brewer, we think they should allow local choice," CAMRA spokesman Iain Loe told Reuters.

"Harveys has a strong local following and is a prominent feature of the town. It seems to be ridiculous that they (Lewes Arms regulars) are in sight of the brewery but will be unable to drink its beers".

"It is ridiculous the amount of miles across country its beer has to travel to the consumer. Beer miles are as important as food miles," he added.

WIDER ISSUES
The pub campaigners argue there are wider issues at stake, such as the degree of redress consumers should have against corporate decisions.

"It is important to make a stand on this issue," said pub campaigner John May. "We have a petition signed by almost 1,000 people. Harveys is drunk by 80 percent of the people who go into the pub. Everyone will leave if it is taken out.

"This has united the whole town. We are encouraged by the huge level of public support," May said.
But Greene King, the 207-year-old producer of Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen beers that is based in Suffolk is adamant.

"We do listen to our customers and are continually adapting our businesses according to their tastes and requirements," the company said.

"Of course it is true that you can't please all of the people all of the time, but by making decisions that are right for the business and for the majority of customers in the long term, we usually get the balance right," it added.

But local MP Norman Baker told a local radio station: "It is a totemic thing ... are we going to have the beer we want in a central pub in Lewes, or is the local brewery going to be pushed out by someone who's coming in from a very long way away?"

GROUP PHOTO

2006-10-31T03:30:00.000-08:00

The Mail on Sunday commissioned Rusell (pictured left) to take some shots for their news story (see below), which, as it turned out, were not used. [We are currently trying to get hold of those images and may be able to make some available as prints] Fortunately Alex Leith from Viva Lewes was also on hand and took these behind-the-scenes pics of a number of the regulars who were able to come down on a weekday lunchtime.

LEWES ARMS: SATURDAY NIGHT

2006-10-30T03:57:00.000-08:00

NATIONAL PRESS 2; Mail on Sunday

2006-10-29T03:56:00.000-08:00

Brewery Loses Medieval Joust
by Simon Fluendy
Financial Mail/Mail on Sunday/29th Oct 2006

It started over the pints served in a popular local pub. Now the row between the ale drinkers of Lewes and brewery giant Greene King is being hailed as a classic case of a local community taking on a national chain - and winning.

The salvation of the proud burghers of the county town of East Sussex turned out to be medieval laws and the little-known Court of Chivalry founded in the 14th century.

Greene King likes to see itself as a defender of local ales and it boasts of a 200-year heritage.

Drinkers in Lewes, backed by their Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, clashed with the £1 billion FTSE 250 company after one of the town's pubs, the Lewes Arms, owned by Greene King, kicked out the locally brewed Harveys beer and introduced its own 'local' brew called Lewes Arms.

Mayor Merlin Milner said: 'Lewes has kept its character while many other towns have lost their own. Anything that erodes that feeling of difference is bound to be resisted.'

A boycott and a petition failed to shift the brewing group, but then the town clerk Steve Brigden found that the company's use of the Lewes town's coat of arms on the beer's labelling was a potential offence in the eyes of the ancient Court of Chivalry.

This court, convened under the Duke of Norfolk, last ruled in 1954 when Manchester Corporation used it to stop a local variety theatre using the city's arms. Brigden challenged Greene King, claiming it had no right to user the coat of arms and threatening to drag it before the court.

Greene King backed down and dropped the Lewes Arms beer - allegedly for 'commercial reasons.' The rival beer, however, remains banned from the pub.

Lewes is famous for Bonfire Night celebrations in which unpopular characters are burned in effigy. Local sources suggest that Greene King chief executive Rooney Annand may feature next weekend.

*** The most significant error in this story is that Harveys has not yet been banned. The main aim our campaign is to try and persuade Greene King to change their minds on the matter.
We are still collecting signatures for our petition and have not yet instituted a boycott. It is unlikely that Mr Annand will be burnt in effigy.

LEWES ARMS STORY GOES NATIONAL !!!

2006-10-28T02:36:00.000-07:00

Photo: John May. See more pictures of Lewes at Lewes Light

"The Lewes Arms
is the sort of place where radical thought
continues to this day."
- Bill Inman, marketing director of Harveys

Bonfire plot brews after locals lose favourite ale

By Jenny Wiggins

Fionancial Times/October 28 2006

The effigies burned on bonfire night in the Sussex town of Lewes - once home to radical thinker Thomas Paine - have never conformed to tradition. Figures of US President George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden have been set alight alongside traditional bonfire villains such as Guy Fawkes and the Pope of 1605 in the town's feisty annual celebration of the gunpowder plot.

But it appears that corporations rather than politicians are facing ordeal by fire this year as angry residents protest at the removal of their favourite ale, Harveys Best Bitter, from the local pub.

The pub retailer and brewer Greene King, owner of the Lewes Arms, is the alleged villain of this very British piece. Greene King has sold Harveys, a local brew made by a family-run company, in the Lewes Arms together with its own ales since buying the pub in 1998. But it plans to withdraw the ale by the end of the year and replace it with one of its own cask beers and "guest ales" produced by other brewers. Harveys is not on its guest ale list.

Locals who have been drinking Harveys for decades are furious, and are considering burning an effigy intended to represent Greene King on bonfire night. They associate Harveys with the strong community spirit that characterises the pub - exemplified by the esoteric range of activities it hosts such as the Annual World Pea-Throwing Championship. John May, a local and member of the Friends of the Lewes Arms group, says: "If there's no Harveys, the vast majority of people will leave the pub."

The residents' campaign has attracted the support of the Campaign for Real Ale, which promotes beer brewed using traditional ingredients and left to mature in the cask - as well as the backing of Norman Baker, Lewes's Liberal Democrat MP.

Greene King says that it is keen to support its own cask beers, of which it produces more than 20 a year."The fact that we no longer sell Harveys Old has had no detrimental effect on the Lewes Arms in general or the sales of cask beer in particular," the company says. "The customers who opposed the move in the first instance seem now to be more than happy with our great choice of beers."

Harveys Brewery is somewhat more sanguine than the town's residents about the disappearance of Harveys bitter. Bill Inman, its marketing manager, says that Greene King, as the owner of the Lewes Arms, has "every right" to sell its own beer. But he is unsure whether the pub will be able to survive without it.

Harveys sells 35,000 to 40,000 pints of its ale at the Lewes Arms every year - 10 times the amount it typically sells at other pubs. [see footnote]

Mr Inman attributes the residents' campaign to keep the ale to the town's history of non-conformism. He adds: "The Lewes Arms is the sort of place where radical thought continues to this day."

FOOTNOTE: Tom, who did a fine job of looking after the cellar of the Lewes Arms, informs us that they were ordering 10 or more barrels a week, each of which hold 144pts, which makes an annual total of just under 75,000 pints.

PRESS REACTIONS: The Argus/Sussex Express

2006-10-28T02:35:00.000-07:00

Battle over brew turns into revolt
by Andy Chiles
The Argus/27.10.06

A pub's regulars have been told they will have to go elsewhere if they want locally-brewed ale.

Suffolk-based brewery Greene King has told drinkers at the Lewes Arms, in Mount Place, Lewes, it will not be going back on its plans to stop selling Harvyes Best Bitter, despite threats of a boycott.

Greene King operations director Kris Gumbrell said: 'We are committed to this decision and we're going forward with it."

Regulars were up in arms when they found out Harveys would cease to be sold after Christmas. It's the pub's best-selling ale but Greene King, which runs the pub, wants to get rid of it because it is made by Lewes-based rival brewer Harveys.

Fifty drinkers gathered at the Lewes Arms earlier this month to consider how to fight the decision. They warned Greene King they would be willing to take their custom to another pub, where Harveys continues to be sold. Lewes MP Norman Baker and the town's council have both backed the campaign.

Mr Gumbrell said he was confident the pub would continue to be well used. He said: "It would be sad if we lost any of our customers. If they are not happy with the range we have available within the Lewes Arms they will go somewhere else. Only some of the customers want Harveys, not everybody."

He said it was unfortunate there would be more "beer miles" involved in transporting kegs to the pub from its Kent depot. Lewes Arms customers said they were disappointed. John May, a regular who has led the campaign, said he was still hopeful Greene King would change its mind. He has received a letter from the firm's managing director telling him it would continue to investigate the situation.

But another regular Andy Scott said: "I don't know what we'll do if they take Harveys away. I really like the atmosphere here but I would give serious thought to going elsewhere. We feel very strongly about it. Harveys is our local brewery and we want to support it. There is a strong possibility all the regulars could move to another pub together.

The Campaign for Real Ale has been fighting to support Britain's small breweries and said it was disappointed the actions of Greene King seemed to be counter-productive to its efforts.'

Peter Coppard, president of the Brighton and South Downs branch said: "There are a lot of people becoming increasingly unhappy with Greene King. We have always supported them but it is this kind of action which has created bad feeling against them."

Controversial beer is pulled
by John Eccles
Sussex Express/27.10.06

Brewer Greene King has decided to withdraw its new beer from the pumps at the Lewes Arms after less than a month in operation. The ale, called Lewes Arms, was introduced to take over from local brew Harveys.

Kris Gumbrell, Greene King operations director, said: "We will be removing the Lewes Arms Bitter following some feedback from customers and the local community."

Some 600 coustomers have signed a petition, calling for the pub to keep its Harveys. And the plot has again thickened.

Last week Mr Gumbrell said: "We stand by our original decision to remove Harveys ale from the Lewes Arms. This is a commercial decision which we have not taken lightly but understandfably, as a leading brewer, we want to showcase our own beers."

But this was followed by a personal letter from GK chief executive Rooney Anand stating that managing director Mark Angela would look further into the matter.

Lewes Arms customer John May said: "I shouldn't imagine they sold very much of their new beer. It's pleasing that Mr Angela is willing to investigate the situation."

Mr May has also written to the Suffolk brewer's asking for a 'gentlemen's compromise'. he said: 'Greene King should recognise the importance of the Lewes Arms to the town as genuine community pub.

'It should recognise that Harvey's Bitter is the preferred brew of the vast majority of the patrons and that removing it would severely damage the numerous community activities that the pub shelters, as the existing clientele would be dispersed as a result."

"Therefore it should be willing, in this specific instance, to continue to serve Harvey's Bitter as a genuine gesture to the community.'

Added Mr May: 'It might then be that Harveys would feel able to stock some Greene King products as a reciprocal gesture. Some form of amicable agreement between the gentlemen of the trade would reflect well on both companies and would save an outsnaing community pub.'

Bill Inman, Harveys marketing director said: 'Its a novel suggestion. We will certainly look at it but I can't comment on the outcome.'

GREENE KING NEWS ROUNDUP

2006-10-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham, believed to be the oldest pub in Great Britain, is one of 286 mainly rural pubs owned by Hardys & Hansons. The pub is literally carved into the sandstone under Nottingham castle.
[Wikipedia claims that nineteen other pubs have also laid claim to being Britain's oldest]

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is urging beer lovers to support the campaign to keep the 174 year-old Hardy & Hanson's brewery in Kimberley, Nottinghamshire open. Despite a petition signed by thousands of H&H drinkers, Greene King have announced that brewing will cease by Christmas and be moved to Bury St Edmunds. Hardys brewery was formed in 1832 and Hansons was formed in 1847, both brewers merged in 1930 to become Hardys & Hansons brewery. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is urging beer lovers to support the campaign to keep the brewery open. Local CAMRA branch chairman Vince Rutland told the Nottingham Evening Post: "The closure is such a shame. Although Greene King say they will continue to produce this bitter elsewhere, beer is rarely the same once it moves home because the water and other factors are different." The local Civic Society is also supporting the campaign. When the sale was originally mooted earlier this year, Camra’s chief executive, Mike Benner told The Guardian: “Hardys & Hansons will be chewed up and spat out like so many before it.” In recent years, Greene King has slurped up a string of rivals including the 286-year-old brewer Belhaven, Laurel Pub Company and the Essex family brewer Ridley.

New GK signs at 735 pubs (Morning Advertiser): Greene King, the brewer and pub group, is undertaking a corporate branding exercise across its 735-strong managed house division. The company has upgraded exterior signage and fitted plaques inside its pub businesses to ensure they all carry the Greene King name. (The move coincides with a £1.2m prime-time television sponsorship deal. The company has put its name to ITV's primetime entertainment show 'Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'. Mark Angela, managing director of Greene King's managed arm, said that through investment projects, many of its pubs already carried the appropriate parent company logo, and that the exercise had meant replacing the swing signs and adding internal signs at "a few hundred" pubs. Now all managed houses operated by the group will carry the Greene King identity, including brands such as Hungry Horse, the value food offer. Angela added: "With the sponsorship deal it was important to ensure that consumers can make the connection between Greene King and the pubs we operate. Now all sites carry the Greene King name.

Greene King IPA has become the official beer of English rugby in the brewer's second major sponsorship deal of the autumn. Greene King snapped up the rugby sponsorship after Carlsberg UK decided not to extend a deal for Tetley's which had been in place since 1997. As part of the new four-year rugby deal, Greene King's pub estate will become the official supporters' pubs of English rugby, and promotions will run throughout the season and for all England games.

Read the story of a pub that Greene King tried to shut down: The Admiral in Clifton, Bedfordshire. The locals staged a vigorous campaign and managed to get a stay of execution. Full story on their website. [***Late breaking news by e-mail: 'In fact, (even later news than on our site) we have been totally successful - we even made a Sky news morning slot, to celebrate the signing of a 5-year tenancy agreement.]

TO KEEP UP WITH ALL DEVELOPMENTS INVOLVING GREENE KING, LOGON TO THIS SITE:
Greene King News: Articles from around the world focusing on Greene King

[Worth visiting the "Save the Riser" blog to read about a campaign by customers of 'The Rising Sun' and local residents in Epsom. who are extremely concerned at the impact of imminent major changes to the nature of their Pub. They wish to persuade Young and Co, the new owners, that it is in their best interest to preserve the unique nature of our local.]

HARVEYS IN STRANGER'S BAR

2006-10-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

Lewes MP Norman Baker pulling a pint
to celebrate the success of his campaign
to get Harvey's Best Bitter installed as a 'guest beer'
in the Stranger's Bar at the House of Commons.

Press Release from Norman Basker's office (26.10.06) : Lewes MP, Norman Baker, has this week served up his first pint of Harvey’s Best Bitter after a successful campaign to feature the local beer as a guest ale in the House of Commons bars.

This move coincides with Norman’s backing of the campaign to keep Harveys in the Lewes Arms in the wake of ongoing attempts of Greene King brewery to replace it with a re-branded version of its own ale. The local MP has now written to Greene King to request a meeting with senior representatives to call for an immediate review of the decision.

Norman, who is a member of the All Party Beer Group, has also added his backing to a number of parliamentary motions supporting English breweries including those calling for the extension of small breweries relief and asking the House of Commons authorities to stock more real ales in the parliamentary bars instead of imported lager.

GREENE KING LETTER

2006-10-24T03:55:00.000-07:00

Shortly after returning from the Rocket FM studio, we received the following letter from Greene King:

19th October 2006

Dear Mr May:

Thank you for your letter dated 18th October regarding the Lewes Arms. I note your comments and confirm that Mark Angela, Managing Director of Greene King's Pub Company, is currently investigating the matter and will respond to you in more detail in due course.

Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention

Yours sincerely

Rooney Annand
Chief Executive

GREENE KING ON ROCKET FM

2006-10-24T03:38:00.000-07:00

Greene King refuses to think again
Monday 23^rd October

Following an early morning discussion programme hosted by Dino Bishop on Rocket FM (the independent community radio station for Lewes, which broadcasts every year on 87.8Fm from 20th October to November 5th), the station issued the following press release:

Greene King this week refused to think again on ceasing to serve Harveys in the Lewes Arms. Interviewed this morning Greene King operations director Kris Gumbrell was asked if he was prepared to change his mind and let drinkers in the Lewes Arms keep their favourite tipple.

He told Rocket’s breakfast presenter Dino Bishop, “No. We are committed to this decision and we’re going forward with it. I think Harveys is a nice beer. But we are very proud of our own beers”.

Referring to the growing media interest in the campaign, led by Lewes Arms regulars, to keep Harveys, Dino Bishop asked if the issue was turning into a public relations disaster for the company. Mr Gumbrell responded, “No, I don’t think so. It demonstrates that people are still passionate about cask ale. The cask ale market is a tough business.”

He told listeners, “We’ve always prided ourselves on being able to give the customers what they want.” Pressed on how Greene King could square responding to their customers’ needs with their decision to withdraw the pub’s best selling drink, which outsells other beers stocked by four to one, Mr Gumbrell insisted, “Only some of the customers want Harveys. Not everybody in the pub drinks Harveys.”

Was Greene King fearful of losing custom from the Lewes Arms when Harveys goes? Said Mr Gumbrell, “It would be sad if we lost any of our customers … if they are not happy with the range we have got available within the Lewes Arms they will go somewhere else.”

Asked about research by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, that indicated 55% of respondents wanted to see at least one locally brewed beer in every pub, he responded ““People want a choice. That’s what the customers want but it’s not always easy to have a locally produced resident beer in place.”

Dino Bishop put across campaigners’ fears about how plans for investment would affect the Mount Place pub. “It’s about the pub and the beer doesn’t make the pub”, Mr Gumbrell recognised. He rejected rumours that out-of-keeping modernisation was planned. “We have no intention on changing the rule on mobile phones … we’re not going to make it a food driven business.”

Quizzed on the environmental impact of transporting Greene King beer from its brewery in Suffolk compared to the local brew, Mr Gumbrell revealed to listeners, “We don’t actually distribute to Lewes from Harveys, we actually distribute from our Kent depot. We try and do that as sensitively as we can.”

Following up on last week’s Sussex Express story about Greene King’s use of the town’s coat of arms on pump badges in the pub, the Rocket breakfast show presenter suggested that Greene King were being disingenuous in using the Lewes coat of arms on a beer brewed in Suffolk. “The coat of arms was purely there to represent the livery and we’ve certainly never had any problems or any representations from the council regarding the use of the pub sign”, responded Mr Gumbrell.

Asked if he had permission to use the coat of arms, the Greene King spokesman argued, “We’ve never sought to seek permission because actually when we researched this we couldn’t find that it was sole owned by them but we believe that we’ve used it fairly, because the beer is there to represent the pub not the area and the pub is liveried with the coat of arms of Lewes.”

Calling in to the programme, the Mayor of Lewes, Cllr Merlin Milner, said, “They should have done a bit of homework really.” He revealed to listeners that the Town Council had “received a letter from Greene King saying they had removed it for commercial reasons, which is a good cop-out. They didn’t want to get into legal wranglings.” He added: “We’ve written back again to still ask for an apology.”

Interviewed live in the Rocket studio, campaigner John May was asked for his reaction to the Greene King spokesman’s argument. He described his comments as “very predictable.”

“I’m glad that Mr Gumbrell wants to have a debate because this debate is going to go on and on. It’s going to become a much bigger issue nationally.”

The community radio station also interviewed Lewes MP Norman Baker on the issue. Said Mr Baker: “It’s a totemic thing … are we going to have the beer we want in a central pub in Lewes, or is the local brewery going to be pushed out by someone who’s coming in from a very long way away?”

Asked how Greene King responded to his discussions with them on the subject, he told listeners, “They were very touchy about it. They were clearly irritated by the whole thing and I would imagine that the reaction in Lewes was one that they hadn’t anticipated. I hope even at this stage that they’ll think again.”

Broadcaster Dino Bishop suggested it was time to bring in legislation along the lines of the ‘Guest Beer Right’ put forward by CAMRA – and that the MP could raise that in the House of Commons. “I’m certainly happy to raise that point”, said Mr Baker.

Speaking on behalf of those campaigning to keep Harveys, John May promised, “further action if Greene King proves to be completely intransigent on the issue.”

AUX ARMS CITOYENS

2006-10-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

An supportive article from the eloquent pen of Tom Flynn, a non-Lewes resident who feels strongly enough about the issue to have posted the following on his excellent blog Artknows

Gloomy news reaches me that one of my favourite pubs — The Lewes Arms in Lewes, East Sussex (left) — is about to stop selling Harvey’s Sussex Bitter. This is one of the most depressing things I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve been drinking this award-winning stuff since I was seventeen and The Lewes Arms is one of the best places to imbibe it.

The crass decision to evict the local nectar was taken at corporate level by the Suffolk-based Greene King plc brewery chain, which owns the Lewes Arms licence. Once again it seems the egregious spreadsheet monkeys have got the upper hand.

You can get Harvey’s in many pubs in Lewes, but none can compare with The Lewes Arms.

In the same way that people refer to how certain bands provided ‘the soundtrack’ to their youth, Harvey’s bitter lubricated most of my beer-drinking adolescent years in Sussex. I’ve supped it everywhere from Hove to Hastings, and on rare heart-stopping moments have even discovered it as a guest ale at the Anglesey Arms in South Kensington, although with its signature zest not entirely unimpaired by the trauma of travel.

Sadly, over the past twenty-five years, many of the authentic Sussex hostelries that stocked this excellent hoppy brew have been transformed by the dead hand of corporate strategy into execrable family eateries or soulless lager laagers. This may well be the fate awaiting the Lewes Arms, but I hope not.

I wonder whether the Lewes locals have thought of pooling their resources and offering to buy the licence from Greene King in a sort of vernacular management buy-out? After all, The Generalist reliably informs that Harvey’s bitter outsells the Greene King ales by at least 3:1 at the Lewes Arms. This would make withdrawal of the brew akin to commercial suicide. Maybe the locals should let Greene King go ahead, take their custom elsewhere, and then when the Suffolk suits realise the error of their ways, offer to buy the licence back at a discount. If I’m missing some fundamental commercial logic here, please let me know.

But while I can understand the locals complaining, there are also thousands of people like me who don’t live in Lewes but for whom the Lewes Arms remains the pub of choice when in the area. If the Lewes Arms stops serving Harvey’s, I will have lost one of the main reasons for visiting the town. Lewes won’t care, but I will.

NORMAN BAKER MP SPEAKS

2006-10-23T01:43:00.000-07:00

LOCAL MP JOINS CAMPAIGN TO KEEP HARVEYS IN LEWES ARMS

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 9th Oct 2006

Local Lib Dem MP Norman Baker has added his name to a petition campaigning to keep the local beer, Harveys, in the Lewes Arms following plans by the brewery to remove it from sale and raised the matter with Greene King at a meeting in London today [Monday].

Suffolk based brewery, Greene King, took over the Lewes Arms from Beards some years ago and now intend to replace the popular, award winning local beer, Harvey's, with their own ale, which has been re-branded with the name 'Lewes Arms'.

At a meeting in London today attended by both Norman Baker and senior management at Greene King, the local MP raised the matter, made it plain that the move to remove Harvey's was unpopular amongst locals and asked the brewery to reconsider their decision.

The Lewes Arms has been selling beer to residents of Lewes since the early eighteenth century. Harveys has this year alone won the Silver Award at CAMRA's 2006 Champion Beer of Britain competition and the Gold Award in the category for Best Bitter.

Commenting on Greene King's decision, Norman said: "I am surprised and disappointed that a brewery which claims to support local pubs and local communities is trying to remove the popular local beer from sale just to try and make a fast buck from selling more of their own. This is exactly the kind of poorly thought out business decision which is giving Greene King a bad reputation in the area.

“The Lewes Arms is a lovely traditional pub which serves up excellent local beer that is brewed only a few hundred yards away down the road. Harveys is far and away the most popular drink in the town so to not sell it is indefensible. I don't' see why Greene King can't just continue serving up Harvey's alongside their own ales."

PRESS REACTIONS: SUSSEX EXPRESS 2

2006-10-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

HERE'S THE BITTER TRUTH
20 October 2006

Harveys Brewery has explained why it did not purchase the Beards local chain of pubs six years when it had the chance to do so. It could have crippled the company financially. Greene King made the highest bid and has antagonised Lewes people ever since by withdrawing Harveys beer from sale in virtually all its outlets. The Lewes Arms is the latest former Beards pub to face the axing of its local brew.

This week Barcombe resident Stuart Perry said: 'Would someone please explain to the real ale drinkers of the area why, when the opportunity arose, Harveys failed to purchase the Beards tied house estate, allowing a monster, namely Greene King, into Lewes. While Lewes is still blessed with numerous inns, there are now fewer worth drinking in because of the bland Greene King brews on offer and their uninspiring portfolio of guest ales.'

Greene King bought up 44 pubs in Sussex at a cost believed to be between £35 million and £40 million. Harveys owns 46 pubs but only three in Lewes. Harveys marketing manager Bill Inman said: 'Of course, we wanted the Beards pubs. There were half-a-dozen companies, including ourselves, in the bidding. 'We had a professional valuation. We had arranged for the money to buy the pubs at a valuation we were happy with and could afford. 'The bids were closed. Greene King outbid everyone by making a bid that was 25 per cent over the market valuation.'They paid top dollar. 'We couldn't afford to match that. It could have crippled us. It could have destroyed us.'

*Lewes Arms drinkers have collected a petition containing more than 500 signatures, including that of MP Norman Baker, in a last-ditch attempt to fight the loss of their beloved Harveys.

TWO OF OUR REGULARS

2006-10-19T02:39:00.000-07:00

GREENE KING: NEWS & RECENT HISTORY

2006-10-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Greene King is reportedly looking to sell a package of about 150 tenanted pubs, most of them in the South of England. According to The Times, Greene King has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to advise it on the sale process. The pubs, most of which are freeholds, are said to be a mix of smaller, drinks-led operations and sites with property redevelopment potential. The Times says several pub companies are looking to “offload” wet-led pubs ahead of the smoking ban. It reports that Wolverhampton & Dudley,Enterprise Inns , Punch Taverns and Mitchells & Butlers have also put packages up for sale in recent months.

Greene King to sell 150 English pubs: Pubs affected likely to be hit by smoking ban
18 October, 2006. By Hamish Champ

Greene King is selling around 150 pubs in England that are likely to face problems under the up-coming smoking ban, due next summer. The group’s chief executive Rooney Anand confirmed a report in today's Times that Greene King has earmarked the wet-led pubs for sale.
Most of the sites are freeholds, small, and said to have property development potential.

Anand said the report “was true”, and added that the pubs affected were of a high quality but no longer met the group’s estate criteria. “For anyone playing a scale game these pubs would fit,” he said. Greene King had often sold “high quality, lucrative” venues, he added, when they didn’t meet the model Greene King had in place.

Greene King told analysts during a recent tour of some of its Scottish estate that around 12 per cent of its pubs north of the border and some six per cent of those in England would be adversely affected by the smoking bans.

The brewer owns around 2,600 pubs in the UK, following its acquisition of Nottingham-based brewer Hardys & Hansons.

Greene King Recent History

By the early 1960s Greene King owned over 900 pubs.

Its more recent pub acquisitions have included:

The Magic Pub Company (273 pubs, in 1996)

Beards of Sussex (43 pubs, in 1998)

The Marston’s southern estate (165 pubs, in 1999)

Morland (422 pubs, Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles, in 1999)

Old English Inns (136 pubs, in September 2001)

Dalgety Taverns (8 pubs in Scotland, in April 2002)

Morrells of Oxford (107 pubs, in June 2002)

Laurel Pub Company (432 pubs) in August 2004

T D Ridley & Sons Limited (73 pubs) in July 2005

Belhaven Group (271 pubs) in September 2005

Hardy and Hansons (268 pubs) in June 2006

It now owns about 2,680 pubs.

Over the same period its record with breweries acquired is:

Morlands - acquired 1999: closed

Ridleys - acquired 2005: closed

Belhaven Brewery - acquired 2005 - brewery still open (in Dunbar)

Hardy and Hansons - acquired 2006: closed by Christmas

Greene King to close Hardys & Hansons Kimberley brewery; 80 jobs at risk

LONDON (AFX) October 3 - Greene King PLC, the East Anglian-based brewer and pubs group, will close the Hardy & Hansons brewery at Kimberley, Nottingham, putting around 80 jobs at risk. The group, which acquired Hardys & Hansons for £270m earlier this year, said that following a review of the business it made 'no economic sense' to continue brewing at the site. Production is scheduled to stop by the end of this year.

'The review has given us a very detailed understanding of the company and has underlined the quality of the business we've acquired. But we've concluded with regret that it doesn't make economic sense to continue brewing at Kimberley and sadly this means that the brewery will close at the end of the year,' said Greene King s chief executive Rooney Anand.

Production will be switched to Greene King's Bury St Edmunds site. The head office functions will also be moved there by the end of December.

'Greene King invests more in cask beer than any other brewer but, to remain viable, returns have to be delivered on this investment. The best way to ensure that Hardys & Hansons' brands continue to flourish in a challenging ale market is to transfer brewing to Bury St Edmunds,' Rooney said.

Greene King will, however, retain the Kimberley's cellar service and distribution business.
'Whilst it will be sad to close the brewery, we are pleased that the value of our activities in distribution, cellar services and sales, as well as throughout our extensive pub operations, has been recognised,' said Jonathan Webster, managing director of Hardys & Hansons.

Support Hardy and Hansons brewery on the CAMRA site here

AN OPEN LETTER TO GREENE KING & HARVEYS

2006-10-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

The following letter has been sent to the Chief Executive of Green King and the Joint Managing Directors of Harveys on behalf of the Friends of the Lewes Arms

18 October 2006

Dear Mr Anand and Mr Jenner:

I am writing to you as a representative of our newly-formed campaigning group Friends of the Lewes Arms. I am sure you are aware of the considerable concern and antipathy to the news that Greene King is planning to remove Harvey’s Bitter from the Lewes Arms. The issue has already received considerable local media coverage and we are now geared up to make it into a national story.

We are writing you this letter, which we also intend to make public, with a proposition which, we believe, could resolve this thorny issue in an elegant manner that would reflect well on both parties. It is simplicity itself:

Greene King recognises the importance of the Lewes Arms to the town as a genuine community pub. It also recognises that Harvey’s Bitter is the preferred brew of the vast majority of the patrons and that removing this beer would severely damage the numerous community activities that the pub shelters as the existing clientele would be dispersed as a result. Therefore it is willing, in this specific instance, to continue to serve Harvey’s Bitter as a genuine gesture to the community.

It might then be that Harveys would feel able to stock some Greene King products as a reciprocal gesture. This, of course, would be a matter for Harveys, and we are acutely aware that with just 47 pubs they are not on a level playing field with Greene King.

However, some form of amicable agreement between the gentlemen of the trade would reflect well on both companies and would save an outstanding community pub. Its intensely loyal band of regulars would not disperse and thereby kill off the Lewes Arms’ traditions.

We are as keen as you are to see the end of what has already been dubbed by the press a “beer war”. We hope our proposition meets with your favour

Yours sincerely
John May
For Friends of the Lewes Arms

UP IN ARMS: SUCCESS

2006-10-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

Greene King have withdrawn the Lewes Arms Ale. Here follows the most recent exchange of letters.

17^th October 2006
Dear Mr Brigden
LEWES ARMS, MOUNT PLACE, LEWIS (sic) – LEWES ARMS BITTER

I refer to your letter of 12 October addressed to Rooney Anand, our Chief Executive. It is my understanding that the beer, and therefore the pump clip, will be withdrawn for commercial reasons.

I would be grateful if you could confirm that the Council has no issue with the use of the Arms in relation to the pub itself.

Yours sincerely
Lindsay Keswick/Company Secteray

The response from Lewes Town Council

18^th October 2006

Dear Mr Keswick

LEWES ARMS, Mount Place, Lewes, East Sussex – “Lewes Arms Bitter”

Thank you for your letter of 17^th October regarding this issue.

I am pleased to learn that you intend to withdraw the pump-clip that bears our arms, although concerned at your statement that this is “for commercial reasons”. I hope that my original letter made it clear that no-one other than the Council may use these arms, and therefore the question is one of legal entitlement, not commercial expediency. Unlike a more modern trademark, we are not empowered to grant or licence the use of the arms and we alone may use them. I must, therefore, ask for your written undertaking that the Council’s armorial bearings will not be used by your company in connection with your trading activities.

As to the use in connection with the pub itself; this is not considered to be technically “use” in quite the same way. It is an accepted part of England’s heritage that pubs often took the name of their local manor or, in our case, the County Town in this way. The arms are seen as being merely “displayed”, as an adjunct to the name and related décor of the establishment and this is acknowledged as an historic and flattering arrangement to which the Lords of the Borough 300 years ago probably tacitly agreed! The Council does not propose any change to this custom, provided that the display is limited to decorative purposes and not extended to support commercial activity such as promotion of products or branding.

I trust that you find this position to be fair and reasonable.

Yours sincerely
Steve Brigden/Town Clerk

Thanks to Richard, a Friend of the Lewes Arms, for pointing us to another large business v local area row that we should consider - the recent case of Nike v Hackney Council

in the The Guardian Society section.

PRESS REACTIONS: SUSSEX EXPRESS

2006-10-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

COUNCIL TAKES BREWERY TO TASK
16 October 2006

ANGRY Lewes Town Council is to invoke a medieval enactment against national brewer Greene King to preserve its sole right to bear and display the town's coat-of-arms.

The brewer has invoked the council's wrath by using the famous armorial arms to sell a new beer with which it intends to replace local brew Harveys at a town centre pub.
Customers at the Lewes Arms are also furious. More than 500 of them have signed a petition calling for their beloved ale to be retained.

Town clerk Steve Brigden this week said: 'We, the council, were granted the sole right by the Monarch Charles 1 in 1634 to bear the coat-of-arms. First of all, we deplore the brewery's action in attempting to withdraw our local beer from the pub in question. We are also using our legal powers to resist the use of the coat-of-arms on the company's new Lewes Arms beer. As far as we are concerned, it is cynical marketing to the detriment of our fine local bitter. If Greene King decline to listen to us, we shall investigate further use of our legal powers to ensure that Lewes' ancient brewing heritage will not be disadvantaged.'

The Mayor, Cllr Merlin Milner, added: 'As a Harveys drinker, I think the brewers should listen to their customers rather than head office. The use of the coat-of-arms as a logo is a disingenuous attempt to lure Harveys customers to their own beer, masquerading as a local brew. 'They must think we are stupid.'

Local customer Andy Gammon said it was he who approached Lewes Town Council when he saw the coat-of-arms on the hand pump. 'I thought there was an issue here that needed to be discussed,' he said. 'Personally, I don't drink the new beer and I have no intention of doing so.'

Greene King was invited to comment but had not done so as the Sussex Express went to press.

UP IN ARMS 1

2006-10-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

[OUR ORIGINAL NEWS STORY]
The Town Clerk of Lewes Town Council will be writing a letter this week to Greene King deploring their actions in using the town's 'armourial bearings' to badge their new commercial beer 'Lewes Arms.' They will be threatening legal action.

The Borough Council of Lewes was awarded its armorial bearings by Royal Prerogative in 1634 and the rights to 'bear those arms' has been inherited by Lewes Town Council. Under this Prerogative, the Council cannot grant anyone the right to use it - let alone a commercial company, who are using it as a brand identity.

The members of the Town Council 'are of one mind on this issue,' the Town Clerk Steve Brigden told The Generalist. 'We want to carry this issue as far as we can.'

UP IN ARMS 2

2006-10-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

The following letter was sent by the Town Clerk of Lewes Town Council to Greene King on October 12th, 2006

Mr Rooney Anand/Chief Executive
Greene King, Abbot House, BURY ST EDMUNDS, Suffolk, IP33 1QT

Dear Mr Anand:

LEWES ARMS, Mount Place, Lewes, East Sussex – “Lewes Arms Bitter”

It has come to the Council’s attention that your company has recently introduced a new beer at the Lewes Arms, branded “Lewes Arms Bitter” and dispensed via a pump prominently displaying the town’s Armorial Bearings. You may be unaware that use of these arms is exclusive to Lewes Town Council, as granted by the Crown in 1634 and based upon a seal which was, even then, described as being“..of great antiquity”. Whilst I am sure your company is conversant with the law relating to trade-marks and similar intellectual property, you may not appreciate that the town’s armorial bearings are treated as such and may not be used in this manner. I must insist that you cease use of the arms in commercial branding of your product, and that all such display material is removed immediately.

We appreciate that some may consider this action to be parochial (in the literal sense) but; as the ancient County Town of Sussex, Lewes holds its heritage very dear and the Council maintains its traditional and ceremonial role alongside its more modern responsibilities. To this end it continues customs such as the wearing of robes and regalia at its meetings; its display of arms and the town’s Mace on civic occasions etc. and it will strongly defend its rights in law. The precedent is Manchester Corporation v Manchester Palace of Varieties (1954) where the theatre was successfully sued for illegal display of the Corporation’s arms.

The Council considered this matter when discussing the recent local outcry over your company’s proposed removal from the Lewes Arms of the locally-brewed, and award-winning, Harvey’s bitter. Harvey’s brewery is a landmark in both Lewes’ architectural heritage and its culture, and is considered to be an historic and integral part of the fabric of the community. It is a major building in the townscape, and a significant local employer. Its management are renowned for their altruism and generosity in supporting the community at many levels, and their products are extremely popular and commercially successful.

Lewes itself is well-known nationally for its celebration of individuality and takes great pride in such things as the recognition by the Times newspaper, in 2004, of the wealth of independent small businesses in the town. Councillors expressed consternation at the “deplorable” proposal to remove a popular and presumably profitable local brew which has long-featured as a guest beer, made more piquant by the statement on your company’s website by your own Managing Director, Mr David Elliott, that: “..we have strong relationships with drinks suppliers across the UK...making the offer at your bar the right one.”

Your Marketing Director, Fiona Hope, is quoted as saying at a recent campaign launch that: “The pub and the pint are great institutions that play a positive role in millions of people’s lives...” and “..[the campaign] gives pub-goers a communal voice in support of great pubs and great beer”. Ms Hope goes on to refer to the millions of people “who care about their local” and as the elected representative of a sizeable number of those people, this Council considers it has a responsibility to press you to change your policy in this matter.

I trust you find this to be fair and reasonable, and if you wish to discuss any aspect, please let me know.

Yours sincerely

Steve Brigden/Town Clerk

PRESS REACTIONS: THE ARGUS

2006-10-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

Regulars up in arms over Harveys ban

By Ruth Lumley

Martin Crees, left, John May, right and other regulars who are compaigning for the pub to carry on selling Harveys

8:15am Wednesday 11th October 2006

Pub regulars have reacted angrily to plans to call time on their favourite tipple.

The Lewes Arms, in Mount Place, Lewes, which is owned by Greene King, will stop serving locally brewed Harveys beer at Christmas.

It is the only Greene King pub in the town which still sells the Lewes-based ale and regulars fear for the pub's trade if it is removed from the pumps.

The name Harveys has long been associated with the supply of beers, wines and spirits in Sussex. The Bridge Wharf Brewery was established on its present site by the River Ouse, overlooking Cliffe bridge in Lewes, by John Harvey in 1784.

Bill Inman, marketing manager at Harveys, said: "There are other pubs in the town which serve our beer and I think people will go elsewhere. The Lewes Arms could find their business is not viable.

"Harveys is still very much a family business and we have a seventh generation descendant of John Harvey who is managing the business.

"We have always had a policy that we trade within Sussex because that is where we started.

We have never thought of going to trade in East Anglia, where Greene King come from, and it is always irksome when someone from another county comes and trades in your heartland."

Campaign The Lewes Arms has sold Harveys Best, an award-winning beer, for more than 50 years and customers have launched a campaign to try and get Greene King to change its mind.

Lewes Town Council has also written to Greene King asking it not to use the town's armorial crest to promote its own brand of Lewes Arms beer and has said that if the brewery does use the crest the council will consider taking legal action.

A petition against the removal of the beer has been signed by more than 500 people and Lewes MP Norman Baker has asked Greene King to reconsider its decision.

Regular John May said: "There is a tremendous depth of feeling about this in Lewes.

"It is the last pub left in the area owned by Greene King which sells Harveys."

Jack Wilkinson, secretary for the Brighton and South Downs branch for the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), has said a public meeting will be held in the pub tomorrow night at 8pm to discuss how Greene King can be persuaded not to remove Harveys beer from the pub.

He said: "We know that if it is taken out a lot of people will stop drinking at the pub and we do not want that to happen.

"I do not see how they can even contemplate taking the beer out because they will do a lot of damage to their business.

"They have not spoken to local people to find out what they want and do not realise that people will move elsewhere when they take it away."

Great range Kris Gumbrell, operations director for the Greene King Pub Company, said: "We're committed to all our pubs having a great range of cask ales and of course you'd expect us to want to serve our own awardwinning quality ales in our own pubs.

"We are very proud of our premium beers and we are confident that our fine selection of ales and our plans for further investment in the pub will enable our customers to continue to enjoy the warm welcome offered by the Lewes Arms."

PRESS REACTIONS: SUSSEX EXPRESS

2006-10-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

PRESS REACTIONS: VIVA LEWES

2006-10-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Lewes Arms: 4th October 2006 10:40am

see more photos of Lewes at Lewes Light

Press reactions to the original postings:

VIVA LEWES: Issue 40

Beer Wars: In August, Harveys Best won the real ale organisation CAMRA’s Best Bitter Award, and came second in the Best Beer award. This, in the eyes of the people who know these things, makes it the best bitter of its type and the second best beer of any type in the country. It is the sort of beer that landlords should by dying to sell. Yet Greene King, who own the licence for the Lewes Arms, are reportedly planning to stop serving it in that pub, having already banned it from the Black Horse and the Royal Oak. And banned is the appropriate word: pubs are allowed guest ales, as long as they are NOT Harveys.

There is a petition going round, trying to persuade Greene King to change their mind. Locals are already planning where they are going to drink instead of the Arms. I was in there on Friday night, and it was one of the main topics of conversation among the clientele, who go there largely to chat. The pub, of course, has long had a no-music, no-mobile phones and no-fruit machine policy to aid the art of conversation. The Harveys Best, of course, plays its part in the tongue-loosening: estimates vary but it is reported to outsell the GK beers in the pub
by at least 3-1.

Greene King, of course, are no strangers to bullying marketing tactics. Originally a small local brewery in Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk (established in 1799), in recent years the company has started growing into a corporate monster, gobbling up its competitors, first in East Anglia, and increasingly all over the country. The company now owns 2000 pubs, and the Hungry Horse Hotel chain. They have recently bought up breweries such as Belhaven, Morland, Ridley’s and Ruddles. The premises of one of these formerly proud institutions remains open (Belhaven); the others have all been sold and their best beers incorporated (often much to their detriment) into the Greene King empire.

“Ruddles County used to be a world class beer,” says Peter Coppard, of CAMRA, “since Greene King destroyed it I wouldn’t cross the road to buy a pint.” “Greene King are rapidly becoming a national concern,” he continues, “which should be of national concern.” Harveys may be losing sales through Greene King’s aggressive marketing tactics, but Coppard stresses that the company is unlikely to be an immediate takeover target. “But a lot of other breweries are a bit shaky,” he says, suggesting a further increase in the Greene Kingdom in the near future. “This is of great concern to CAMRA. All these mergers constitute a reduction in choice for the consumer and a reduction of jobs in the beer industry.”

So is this something we should be getting het up about at a time when our country is involved in two wars and the global economy is starving half the third world to death? Well, yes, actually. Harveys in the Lewes Arms (and the pub has always kept an excellent pint) is one of Lewes’ institutions. And if Greene King stop serving it there, the nature of the pub is likely to change for good. And thus the nature of the town. “You can’t really blame the company for not wanting to serve one of its rival’s beers, to the detriment of its own,” says Coppard. “But the sad thing is that we’ve seen other pubs in Lewes suffer from Harveys being taken away, and it’s a shame for the Lewes Arms, which is likely to see the same thing happen. Harveys drinkers are likely to vote with their feet, and move to other pubs, where they do serve the local bitter. I suggest that Harveys and Greene King do a pub swap, so that the locals can stay in the place which is so suited to their needs.” Sounds like a good idea to us. But which pub?

STATE OF THE NATION: THINK ABOUT YOUR LOCAL

2006-10-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

Beer pumps /Lewes Arms.
For more Lewes pictures see Lewes Light

Life in this overworked and stressed-out

Britain

of ours is made bearable by one’s local. At least that’s my and many other people’s experience.

The public house is, as its name suggests, our modern-day 'longhouse' – a place where one can escape daily cares and speak freely to friends and colleagues, whilst pouring whatever your poison is down one’s throat until things don’t seem too bad at all. A place where one can get some sense of community, of being part of something bigger than oneself.

Naturally, this last bastion of free speech and free thinking is under threat. The ‘free houses’ have in the last two decades or so, been gobbled up by industrial chains whose only interest is the bottom line. In a criminal wave of refurbishment, establishments that have survived centuries largely unchanged have been vandalised and turned into modern-day gin palaces, ersatz heritage destinations - history with the soul sucked out of its bones.

Now it’s the turn of our local, the Lewes Arms, from which beer has been sold since 1720-odd. Taken over sometime back by Greene King – the Suffolk-based brewers – there has been a steady pressure to change many of the elements that make the pub what it is. Now they want to take away the Harveys. This is getting serious.

The Lewes Arms is, by any measure, a successful pub. A motley collection of small rooms, with no music or mobile phones, its full of people, dogs, children and conversation. Chess games in one corner, toads in the games room, crosswords at the bar. There are an endless series of meetings and events in the upstairs function room, including the annual pantomime (held in February !!), jazz and folk clubs, reader’s groups, exhibitions, public meetings, cribbage sessions and more. The pub has a calendar of strange and wonderful competitions including dwyle flunking (don’t ask), spaniel racing, pea-throwing and sundry other delights.

The most popular drink is Harvey’s Bitter, brewed in the town, a beer whose quality was recognised this year when it won the Silver Award at CAMRA’s 2006 Champion Beer of Britain competition. It also won the Gold Award in the Best Bitter category.

Word around the bar is that some 80% or more of the drink sold in the bar is Harveys but Greene-King want to get rid of it. Commercial logic would suggest that if Harvey’s only sold a few pints a week that would be fair enough. But the majority of drinkers in the bar come there for the Harveys and, as a result, make it a successful pub financially.

So what can Greene King’s motive be for banning the home brew? Surely, even if it is another brewer’s product, if its making money for you, what’s the problem. GK are introducing their own ale, called the ‘Lewes Arms’ but they must be delusional if they expect seasoned Harvey’s drinkers to swap over to a lesser brew.

Friends from Cambridge are advising that the Greene King strategy is to get rid of the locals then move in, tart the place up and get a completely new clientele who have no allegiance to the auld brew. They have seen it happen with their ancient locals. Before you know it, they say, there’ll be men wearing crombies at the door and they’ll be serving blue cocktails.

PROUD OF PUBS

So it may come as a surprise or not, that the trade magazine The Publican is running a national campaign called Proud of Pubs, whose main sponsor is Greene King. More than 1 in 10 MPs from across the parties in the House of Commons, have signed up to a motion backing the trade and the campaign.

In fact Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King, told his audience of licensees and MPs at the campaign’s launch in Parliament, that the motion was “a great start” in the battle to put pubs on the front foot and highlight their positive contribution to the nation. “It’s about time society started standing up for pubs, and recognising them as one of our nation’s greatest assets.”

This point was underlined by Fiona Hope, marketing director of Greene King, who said: “The pub and the pint are great institutions that play a positive role in millions of people’s lives.’ The campaign’s website urges readers to pledge allegiance to their local by filling in and submitting a small form. By pledging allegiance in this way, says Fiona Hope, it ‘gives pub-goers a communal voice in support of great pubs and great beer.’

The Lewes Arms already has a communal voice and its saying: ‘So why is Greene King proposing to remove Harveys from the Lewes Arms’. It is an important community pub, full of life and laughter, which serves a great beer that everybody likes – Harveys.

It is clear that, if they continue to insist with this misguided strategy, then a substantial number of our little community will be scattered to the winds and the welcoming arms of other establishments around the town. Does this matter? It matters if you believe all the values that Greene King say they aspire to.

Fiona again: “We want to show the wider world that it’s not just the pub industry that values pubs and beers. It’s the millions of people who visit pubs for great company, quality food and excellent beer. People who care about their local.”

We are some of the people who care about our local and hope to hold Greene King to the high values that they claim to espouse. They can demonstrate this by leaving the Lewes Arms and its Harvey’s alone.

LOCAL WORKS

To take the argument one step further. There is another national campaign called Local Works, backed by more than 80 national organisations – including the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) – which is a lobbying for the introduction of a Sustainable Communities Bill.

‘If the bill becomes law, writes Daniel Pearce in The Publican, it will set up a process where local communities will have more decision-making power over local issues and the government will be required to help reverse ‘Ghost Town Britain.’

Roy Bailey, who is leading the campaign, says such a bill will put pressure on pub companies to do more to ensure local beers find their way into local pubs.

SIBA director Nick Stafford told The Publican : “There’s already a consensus that the pub is the hub of the community. What better support can the pub get from its local brewer? It’s got to be a priority for every brewer to help its local pub by providing it with quality beer, at a reasonable price.” Harveys is already doing this and should be allowed to continue.

We are familiar with the concept of ‘food miles’ so now we should be talking about ‘beer miles.’ Local beer in local pubs means less lorries and tankers on the road and less damaging greenhouse gases.

Incidentally, has Greene King got an environmental policy. Perhaps it could use its considerable energy and expertise to commit to making the lighting in all its pubs energy efficient and ensure that beer is delivered the shortest distance from source to mouth. The corporate colour is Green but one suspects the company is a long way from fulfilling its social obligation in this regard.

It summary, it seems that Greene King, like many other large corporates, has a public face which claims to be supporting the very values that they are actually intent on destroying.

Recent reviews of the Lewes Arms from www.beerintheevening.com

Beware!! It is strongly rumoured down here in Lewes that Greene King are trying to remove Harvey's from the six remaining former Beard's pubs which they own. This, the Wellington in Seaford and the Red Lion in Bromley are three of them - I don't know which the other three are. There has been a petition going in the Lewes Arms. If one of these pubs is your local and you want Harvey's to remain, you may wish to do the same.

The "own brew beer" is almost certainly a beer from the Greene King portfolio rebadged for this pub, but I do not know which one. It is rumoured that the Harvey's in this pub (and other former Beard's pubs) is under threat again. Greene King should realise that if they can't get Harvey's here, many people will go elsewhere to get it. Not only is it damn good beer, local people are fiercely loyal to their home-town brewery.

This is the sort of pub you dream about having as your local. After many years of dreaming, it now is. Despite being a Greene King tied house, it still serves Harvey's Best although this winter there is, alas, no Old. Nice atmosphere (even in the front bar - we don't bite, you know!). Come on a Sunday afternoon and you may well get press-ganged into one of the crazy competitions they occasionally hold, such as pea-throwing or paper aeroplanes. A real community pub.

This is a fabulous pub. It is everything a pub should be - very friendly punters, good beer, a relaxing place to be. It has three separate rooms, including an intimate front bar. A great place to play chess as well! Although it is a Greene King pub, Harvey's is still served from its days as a Beards house because the regulars prefer it! I thoroughly recommend this pub for the great beer and people.

Comments on the original story SO FAR: Please leave yours by clicking 'comment' at foot of this story.

RLT said... Hi John, Always a pleasure to see you hit the nail on the head! I'm setting out for Lewes shortly from Toronto here in Canada. At the top of my to-do list will be a visit to my old watering hole in Lewes - the Lewes Arms - to see my old chums and quaff a few pints of Harvey's best. We've already seen Harvey's disappear from the Black Horse, a fine Lewes pub, much to our chagrin. The question of taking out the Harvey's at the Arms has been rumbling on for years. It has been hanging over us like the sword of Damocles! It is almost as if we need to be punished for having the temerity to be different. In a town known for bonfires and floods, we need to be taught a lesson by a heartless bigco who take us all for granted. I recall Greene King being lampooned in the parade on the 5th of November in recent years, but to a bunch of Suffolk accountants it is water off a duck's back. What do they know of Lewes and its quirky concerns? They care even less. A spot of bother - get the PR department to fix it! Well don't fix what ain't broke, as they say in these parts. We like it the way it is! Rupert Lloyd Thomas, Toronto.
ML said... One way for people to make known their views on actions taken by listed companies is to become a shareholder and turn up at the company's Annual General Meeting to ask questions. People can make their own minds up and should bear in mind that some companies make it very difficult for small shareholders to have a say. (I have no idea if this is so with Greene King). Anyway, Greene King shares are today (October 2nd) about 9 quid each. The cheapest way to buy a share appears to be by calling 0845 601 0995 and quoting reference Low Co0169, a service promoted on the GK website. I checked this morning and they would accept purchases of just one share with a debit card. The minimum commission is 15 quid, so for 24 quid you can become a GK shareholder and turn up at their next AGM and ask the board questions about their conduct of the company's affairs. For the last 3 years GK have held their AGM on the first Friday in September at Culford School near Bury St. Edmunds. This is 133 miles from Lewes by road and the AA says it takes 2 1/2 hours. By train, don't even think about it. The next Greene King AGM is on Friday 31st August 2007. More of all this later perhaps. In the meantime, a curiosity: Graham Greene was a scion of the brewing family. His first novel, 'The Man Within', was set largely in Lewes and is an everyday story of 18th century smuggling folk. The hero even stays in an inn near the High Street. If not the Rainbow, The Lewes Arms?

Florrie Bamber said... Well said John! I believe that Greene King are deeply envious of the success of Harvey's and are trying to use their coporate power to squeeze our local brewery out of business. The Lewes Arms is an absolutely wonderful local - the absence of poker machines, juke boxes and mobile phones encourages conversation (how else did all these unique events evolve at the Lewes Arms?). Combined with Lewes folk being very interesting, it makes a wonderful community resource. Long may it continue.