Rankin on case as ale lovers detect threat to Rebus' pint

Published on Saturday 12 April 2008 11:02

AUTHOR Ian Rankin has called on the new owners of the Caledonian Brewery to respect the heritage of Inspector Rebus's favourite beer.

Scottish & Newcastle is expected to complete the purchase of the brewer of Deuchars IPA by the end of the month – meaning it will then fall into Dutch hands when Heineken takes over S&N's UK operations.

The news that a major multinational would take control of Edinburgh's last remaining working brewery has led to fears among real ale drinkers, business leaders and brewery workers about the heritage of the Caledonian, which uses the slogan "brewed by men, not machines".

Now Rankin, who is also a fan of the famous Edinburgh beer, has warned Heineken not to change anything about it.

He said: "What IPA drinkers will be worried about is that it keeps on coming and they keep brewing the beer. It's a very successful product and hopefully they will keep it going.

"They would be foolish to change a system that works. They're award-winning beers and they are much loved in Scotland.

"If you go to the Caledonian Brewery, the first thing you see as you go in is a list of all the breweries that used to be in Edinburgh. There were over 40 of them at one time. Now we're down to one.

"The Caledonian Brewery is the last one standing, so it is crucial for the industrial heritage as well as the pint in my pub that we keep that open and make sure brewing still exists in Edinburgh."

The association with Rebus led to a special commemorative version of Deuchars, called Rebus20, being created last year to mark the 20th anniversary of the first novel in the Rebus series.

Rankin, who lives in Merchiston, believes it is critical that Edinburgh's brewing heritage is maintained by Heineken.

He said:

"Even the Scottish Parliament is now built on the site of a brewery, so it has played an important part in Scotland. Let's make sure they don't muck it up."

The Caledonian Brewery, on Slateford Road, has been based in Edinburgh since 1869. As well as Deuchars, it brews a range of beers including Caledonian 80/- and Golden Promise.

Nobody at the Caledonian Brewery was available to comment today, although managing director Stephen Crawley was yesterday reported to have said that the deal would be "just a shareholder change" that would pose no risk to the business.

He also said that while no redundancies were planned at present, "everything was up for debate" in the future.

One beer industry insider, who did not want to be named, said that being owned by Heineken could prove beneficial for the brewery.

He said:

"There could be opportunities for export. Heineken are buying an asset, and they might think there is a market for ale internationally.

"I've certainly never seen any Caledonian products overseas."

www.caledonian-brewery.co.uk