Carlsberg Britvic’s proposal to close Marston’s Brewery by summer 2027 would affect around 310 people. Beyond the jobs, it raises a bigger question for Burton: if the brewing moves away, what happens to the skills, the beers and the town’s place in British brewing? We look at what’s at stake.
What’s new: Carlsberg Britvic has proposed closing Marston’s Brewery on Shobnall Road, Burton upon Trent, along with its primary logistics operation, in summer 2027. The plan is subject to consultation.
By the numbers: Around 310 jobs affected. Marston’s has brewed in Burton since 1834. UK cask ale volumes have more than halved in under a decade, according to the company.
Why it matters: This is not a museum piece closing its doors. It is a working brewery, with skilled staff and a live industrial process, in a town whose name is still a byword for brewing worldwide.
Brewers across the world have spent well over a century trying to make their water behave like Burton’s. They even named the process after the town: Burtonisation, adding minerals to replicate the gypsum-rich water that flows beneath East Staffordshire and gave Burton pale ales their crisp, distinctive edge.
That is the context for Thursday’s announcement. Carlsberg Britvic is proposing to close Marston’s Brewery and the primary logistics operation on the same site, with closure pencilled in for summer 2027. Around 310 people are affected.
It is worth being precise about where things stand. Nothing has closed. The brewery is operating, consultation with staff and trade unions is under way, and the company says both operations will keep running through the transition. But if the plan goes ahead, it ends almost two centuries of Marston’s brewing in the town that made it.
A working brewery, not a heritage site
John Marston began brewing in Burton in 1834 at the Horninglow Brewery, moving to Shobnall Road in 1898. Over the following century and more, Marston’s became one of the names most closely tied to Burton beer, brewing ales including Pedigree and Bass.
Shobnall Road is also widely known as the last brewery still fermenting beer in Burton Union sets, the linked rows of oak casks developed in the town in the nineteenth century. That is not a display. It is a production method, run by people who know how to run it.
Which is the point. Burton’s brewing identity is not something kept behind glass. Molson Coors still brews at scale in the town, and Marmite is still made there from brewers’ yeast. Brewing here is an economy, a skill base and a supply chain, and Marston’s is a significant part of it.
Why the company says it has to happen
Carlsberg Britvic’s case rests on a stark market trend: according to the company, UK cask ale volumes have more than halved in less than a decade, and it expects the decline to continue.
Chief executive Paul Davies said: “I am very aware that this news will have come as a shock for colleagues, as I recognise the impact of this proposal is significant.
“While we remain proud of the role we have played in supporting and investing in the ale category overall, the stark reality is that UK cask ale volumes have more than halved in less than a decade, and this trend looks set to continue across the UK.”
He added that the proposal was “by no means a reflection on any of our people”, describing the Burton teams as “true experts in ale”, and said every effort would be made to support staff. Further information would be shared “with the industry, but always with our colleagues first”.
The shift in drinking habits is national. The consequences, if this goes ahead, are local.
310 jobs, and the knowledge that goes with them
The most immediate concern is the people. Roles across both the brewery and the logistics operation are affected, and while the long transition gives workers time, it also means many months of uncertainty for them and their families.
Staffordshire County Council leader Martin Murray said: “I would emphasise that this proposal is subject to consultation, but it is terrible news for the workforce and the residents of Burton.
“The town’s history and heritage is interlinked with the brewing industry and its heritage brands such as Marston’s, and I would urge the company to explore every option to maintain its presence there.”
He said the council would work with government departments, East Staffordshire Borough Council, the constituency MP and the business community “to do all we can to support the business and its hard-working staff”.
There is a second loss that is harder to count. Brewing expertise is built over years on a particular site, with particular kit. Close the site, and that knowledge does not automatically move with the recipe.
Where would the beers go?
Carlsberg Britvic says it intends to keep its priority brands, including Hobgoblin, McEwan’s and Brooklyn. For other traditional and regional ales, it is considering “alternative futures” and looking for potential new custodians.
What it has not said is where any retained beers would be brewed after a Burton closure.
That is the question that matters most to the town. A pint of Pedigree with a familiar pump clip is one thing. A pint of Pedigree brewed in Burton, by Burton brewers, using the method it was built on, is another.
A rescue is not off the table
The Campaign for Real Ale wants alternatives to closure properly explored, including independent brewers taking on the brands, or the brewery itself.
CAMRA chairman Ash Corbett Collins, who grew up in Burton, did not hold back: “This announcement is an absolute disgrace, and the latest in a string of actions that show how little they care about our brewing heritage or the nation’s drinkers.”
But he also found common ground with the company: “The time is right to think about alternative, independent brewers who are willing to become custodians of Carlsberg’s cask brands and will finally do the beers the justice they deserve.
“Like the rescue of Jennings in Cumbria by passionate and experienced brewers, I hope the Burton brewery can be saved.”
The Jennings precedent shows it can be done. Whether it can be done here, at this scale, is an open question.
The bigger picture
The announcement follows the end of production at Banks’s Brewery in Wolverhampton after around 150 years, with that brewing transferred to Burton. Carlsberg took full control of Marston’s brewing operations in 2024, buying the remaining 40 per cent stake in Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company.
One clarification for readers: Marston’s PLC, the separate company that runs more than 1,300 pubs across Britain, is not affected. The Marston’s name will stay above pub doors. What is at stake is the brewing.
What happens next
The brewery remains open. Consultation with staff and union representatives continues, decisions on individual brands are still to come, and the company says it will share more as they are made. Summer 2027 is the proposed end point, not a certainty.
That leaves a window. Local leaders want every option explored to keep brewing at Shobnall Road. CAMRA wants independent brewers at the table.
Burton has spent two centuries proving that what happens in its breweries matters well beyond its borders. The next twelve months will show whether that still counts for something when the decisions are made.
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