Bristol Brewery Georges & Co. Ltd Round Black Backed Steel

Bristol Brewery Georges & Co. Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the 1930s.

100 Years of the George Family

The original substantial porter brewhouse, named the Bristol Porter Brewery, was built by Isaac Hobhouse, a renowned slave trader, in about 1730, although evidence suggests that brewing had started on the same site in 1702.
When he died his brewery was left to his two nephews, John and Henry.
By 1787 the brewery was owned by James Grimes who then leased it to Philip George.
Philip George, and six other partners, agreed to acquire the Bristol Porter Brewery, a malthouse, and a warehouse, from James Grimes. in 1788.
From these small beginnings, the Company developed into the largest brewery in the West Country, stretching almost a quarter of a mile.
Initially the Old Porter Brewery brewed only porter, however after suffering early years of losses, the need to widen its range of ales resulted in a further brewhouse being added to brew lighter pale ales in 1795.
In 1797 the firm made its first profits.
Before 1816 all the other partners were either dead or retired, leaving only Philip George and Jacob Wlicox Ricketts, in control.
In 1816 the name of the Company was known as Georges, Ricketts & Co. whose main strategy was to acquire public houses.
In 1827, Richard Vaughan, a banker, joined as a partner, and the name of the business was changed to George & Co.
In 1888, one hundred years after the first involvement of a George family member, the Company, with its 82 public houses, was registered as Bristol Brewery Georges & Company Ltd.

70 Years of Brewery Acquisitions

During the next 70 years, from 1889 to 1960, the Company acquired ten breweries.
The first was James Pierce Ltd of Bristol in 1889.
Four breweries were then purchased before and during World War I.
Miller & Co. Ltd (Bristol), with 48 public houses was acquired in 1911, W.Hall & Sons, with 39 public houses, also of Bristol, was purchased in 1912, then John Arnold & Co., with 40 tied houses, was acquired in 1917, and lastly, Welton Breweries Ltd in Somerset, with 100 public houses, was taken over in 1918.
Between the World Wars, a further four breweries were bought by Georges.
These included, the Bath Brewery Ltd, with 23 houses, in 1923, Richard Slade & Sons Chippenham Brewery in 1926, large local competitor the Ashton Gate Brewery Co. Ltd, with 200 public houses in 1931, and Crocker Brothers Ltd of Bristol in 1944.
By far the biggest deal however, was the purchase of its main rival Bristol United Breweries Ltd, with 600 public houses, in 1956.

The Mergers Era Through to Closure

The Old Porter Brewery, with 1,459 public houses, was acquired by Courage, Barclay, Simonds & Co. Ltd in 1961, opening up the entire South West region to supply its beers.
The importance of George's brewery location resulted in it becoming the headquarters of Courage (Western) Ltd in 1964.
The brewery was extensively modernised both in the 1960s, and in the 1980s, and became dedicated to the production of cask ales, including the Georges brand name.
In 1972 Courage Ltd was acquired by the Imperial Tobacco Group Ltd, which was taken over by the Hanson Trust in 1986.
Immediately the Hanson Trust sold off the Courage brewing arm to Elders IXL, later renamed the Foster's Brewing Group, in 1990.
In 1995 Scottish & Newcastle Breweries Ltd purchased Courage from Fosters creating Scottish Courage Ltd.
Four years later, in 1999, Scottish Courage Ltd closed the Old Porter Brewery, transferring brewing to John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Co. Ltd, the last remaining brewery in the old Courage empire.
Some buildings on the Bristol site remain but most have been redeveloped for housing and commercial use.