Bass Charrington Ltd Small Round Tin

Bass Charrington Ltd tin tray dating from the 1970s.

The Founding Years

Established in 1777 in Burton-on-Trent by William Bass, within 100 years the Company had become the largest brewer in the world and its 'Red Triangle' Bass Pale Ale was famous on every continent.
The Company was registered as Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd in 1888.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Throughout the first half of the 20th Century the Company pursued a strategy of mergers & acquisitions and opted to focus on the free trade rather than to develop its own tied estate.
The largest merger was with Worthington & Co. Ltd in 1927, both were huge brand names and both continued to trade separately.
The need to develop a pub estate resulted in a merger with Mitchells & Butlers Ltd in 1961 when Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Ltd was formed.
Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Ltd merged again in 1967, becoming Bass Charrington Ltd, after amalgamating with London based Charrington United Breweries Ltd.
During the 1960s many additional breweries were purchased and closed, and in 1971 the original Bass brewery itself was demolished leaving two others operating in Burton-on-Trent.

The Modern Era

In 1983 the Company became Bass plc.
In 1997 most of its public houses were sold and Punch Taverns was formed.
In 2000, the Belgian Company Interbrew, later named AB InBev, purchased the Bass brewing operation whilst the remaining retail estate consisting of pubs & hotels became Six Continents plc.
As a result of a Competition Commission review, Interbrew was forced to dispose of the brewery and certain key brands to Coors, later becoming Molson-Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd, however it did manage to retain the rights to the Bass Pale Ale brand.
AB InBev chose not to brew Bass Pale Ale, better known as Draught Bass, preferring to grant Coors Brewers Ltd the licence to brew it.
In 2005, when this licence came to an end, it was taken up by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC, later named Marstons PLC, and now Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company.
Draught Bass is still being brewed at the Albion Brewery of Marstons, Thompson & Evershed Ltd.
AB InBev continues to brew Bass bottled beers and keg brands for export at its Samlesbury brewery near Preston.
Bass is brewed separately in the USA and Belgium.