Wiltshire brewery wages war on Doom Bar

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 26 August, 2016

A Wiltshire brewer has taken aim at the success and dominance of Doom Bar "taking over pumps" in pubs across the county.

Box Steam Brewery, based near Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, is challenging the hold of the Molson Coors-owned beer company in the area's pubs by erecting a provocative advert in a field on the borders of Wiltshire, Bath and Bristol.

The ad, which depicts a knight sitting astride the white horse of Westbury, is at the intersection of the A46 and A420, and reads, "Born and brewed in Wiltshire. Not Cornwall."

The ad references the last year's revelation that bottled Doom Bar was brewed in the Midlands rather than Cornwall.

Box Steam MD, Andy Roberts, said: "It's frustrating enough that Doom Bar is a 'Cornish' beer. But some of it's not even brewed in Cornwall. It's brewed under licence in Burton-on-Trent, and Sharp's is owned by Molson Coors, an international corporation."

"We thought it was time to make our voice heard and fight our corner on behalf of smaller brewers. This is our patch and we're proud to lead the charge for Wiltshire beer," he added.

James Nicholls, senior brand manager at Sharp's which produces Doom Bar, responded to the comments with fighting spirit - although he said he would rather sit down for a beer rather than a joust with the team at Box Steam.

"Much like Box Steam Brewery, we started Sharp's as a small microbrewery here in Rock, Cornwall, back in 1994 and we never dreamt our beer would prove so popular that consumers and customers would choose it to become the No.1 cask and bottled ale in the country," he said.

"We're super proud of what we have achieved, our Cornish roots, our Cornish home, our Cornish team and the support of Molson Coors which enables us to keep up with the extraordinary demand for our beer.

"PS. We'd rather sit down for a beer than have a joust, that's just our Cornish way."

Box Steam supplies cask and bottled beers of its real ale, Tunnel Vision, to pubs, bars, restaurants and shops across Wiltshire.

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