Manns Heritage
Manns Brown Ale has been brewed in Britain since 1902, originally by Thomas Wells Thorpe who was the head brewer of Manns in London. He had already set up a crude bottling plant in a disused workhouse in Whitechapel. He envisaged the opportunity to move away from IPA and brown stout and create a new beer, claimed to be “the sweetest beer in London”. This brew was not an immediate success, but Manns Brown Ale responded to the public’s emerging taste for bottled beers and became so successful that competitors sprang up all over Britain.
The popularity of Manns Brown Ale developed between the wars when the government’s restriction on the sale of burnt malt during the First World War eradicated the production of porter. Brown ale was cheaper to produce with its reduced gravity and suited workers' wages better. It was a taste that continued to prosper during the Depression.
During the 60’s and 70’s, Manns could be seen in the hands of the rich and the famous including The Beatles and George Best. It was Mr Creosote’s drink of choice in Monty Python's Meaning of Life. In the 90’s, Manns Brown Ale teamed up with cartoon character Andy Capp, created by Reg Smythe, in an advertising campaign.
Manns Brown Ale is now the no 1 sweet brown ale in Britain claiming over 85% of the market. It is brewed at Burtonwood by Thomas Hardy.
