Fullers takes over Dark Star: does capitalism work?

Fullers takes over Dark Star: does capitalism work?

Fullers announced on 20^th February that they were taking over Dark Star brewery. The stated motivation was to provide capital to help Dark Star expand into new markets (and so on). Most commentators thought the idea was for Fuller’s to get hold of Dark Star’s very popular, and rightly so, Hophead beer.

https://boakandbailey.com/2018/02/thought-day-fullers-dark-star/

As usual the statement noted that nothing much would change in the near future and that Dark Star would remain open. As Boak and Bailey suggest above I’d guess that is right. Local provenance of Hophead is important. At the same time the word ‘synergies’ was mentioned which to anyone familiar with management speak (its part of my job) will know means rationalisation and cost cutting. So one does wonder if Dark Star will end up just producing lots of Hophead. There are worse things but it would rather undermine its independent identity.

Both breweries of course have a place in CAMRA history. Dark Star the beer (now Dark Star Original) was Champion Beer of Britain in 1987 before production moved from Old St to the basement of the Evening Star in Brighton in 1994 and Dark Star brewery was founded.

Meanwhile Fullers certainly did not stand against the keg tide in London in the 1970s (they moved mainly to top pressure). However they did brew ESB at 5.5% which could be found here and there on handpump and in that area it was a stand-out real ale in the Capital (and still a pretty decent beer now). Fullers later redeemed themselves, the handpumps returned and the brewery that is mostly much loved today arose. Gales was a blot on that trajectory which some will not want to forget though.

CAMRA had nothing to say (as far as I can see) on the matter, while they almost certainly would have done back in the day. Fuller’s takeover of Dark Star appears relatively benign, but here’s the thing: market capitalism is red in tooth and claw.

Watch this campaigning space.

Update

Pete Brown, the well known beard wearer, has provided an interesting update on the question here:

Some Important Musings on the Nature of Craft Beer

I didnt touch on the Dark Star cask/keg issue above because it didnt occur to me that it was an issue. I continue to think (and hopefully the CAMRA AGM in April will concur) that what is sought is good beer that is good to drink in whatever format. Its difficult to understand an argument that Dark Star isnt craft except in the sense of class snobbery. That is ‘cask beer is cheap stuff for the masses, while I drink expensive beer of distinction on keg’. We live in a class society so such attitudes will be around, but as they are they also deserve to be rebuffed and as ever Pete Brown makes an excellent job of it.