Webster's Brewery

Webster's Brewery
Company typeBrewery
IndustryBrewing
Founded1838
FounderSamuel Webster
Defunct1996 (brewery) Brands ongoing
Headquarters,
England
Area served
United Kingdom
ProductsPale ale, stout, lager
Production output
1.3 million barrel brewery capacity (included lager and Wilsons production (1990));[1] 40,000 barrels (2007)[2]
Revenue£100 million (1990)
OwnerSilvan Brands Ltd
Number of employees
~600 (1982)[3]

Webster's Brewery (Samuel Webster & Sons Ltd) was a brewery founded in 1838 by Samuel Webster which operated at the Fountain Head Brewery in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Webster's Green Label, a light mild, and Yorkshire Bitter gained national distribution after the company was taken over by Watney Mann in 1972. Throughout the 1970s it was known for the advertising slogan: "Drives out the northern thirst".

The brewery was closed with the loss of 400 jobs in 1996. Following its acquisition by Courage Brewery in 1990, Courage moved operations to Berkshire brewery as they bought the brewery to obtain the Budweiser and Holsten pils packaging contracts. After the brewery's closure, Webster's beers were initially brewed at the John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster before moving to the Thomas Hardy Brewery at Burtonwood in 2004. Silvan Brands have owned the company since 2003 when they acquired it from Scottish & Newcastle.

  1. ^ "Gazette article" (PDF). www.london-gazette.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. ^ Alcoholic Drinks: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics.
  3. ^ A non-profit trade body and professional institute for agencies in the UK's media and marketing communications industry, 1982, p. 52.