Maclays Brewery
Encyclopedia
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
based in Alloa
Alloa
Alloa is a town and former burgh in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on on the north bank of the Firth of Forth close to the foot of the Ochil Hills, east of Stirling and north of Falkirk....
, Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
until 2001.
In 1830, James Maclay (1801-1875) founded the brewery as James Maclay, Ale, Porter, Table and India Beer Brewer of Alloa. James Maclay established himself as a brewer of great repute over the next 39 years and in 1870, James built the Thistle Brewery, which until 1999, was the home of the ales, which bore his name.
James Maclay died in 1875, leaving his two sons James and John to run the company. The Fraser family, licensed grocers and spirit merchants from Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
took over Maclay in December 1896 and in December of that year, the firm became a private limited company named Maclay & Company, Limited.
Maclays ales won medals at Vienna in 1894, Newcastle in 1898 and Paris in 1900.
Despite the renown of their Oat Malt Stout, the change in fashion away from dark beers led to difficulties for the company in the 1990s and brewing at the Thistle Brewery ceased in 1999. In 2001 the company ceased using the buildings as their office base. The Thistle brewery has since been demolished and replaced by retail units and flats. Only part of the brewery survives and is now a pub called The Old Brewery, owned by Belhaven.
On March 10, 1994, the company changed its name to Maclay Inns Limited to better reflect its current business model. The company acquired the Clockwork Beer Company in Glasgow, which now operates as the de facto Maclays brewery, brewing its own range of beers and Maclays recipes.
Beers
Maclays beers are now brewed under licence by Belhaven BreweryBelhaven Brewery
Belhaven brewery is a brewery near Dunbar in Scotland owned by Greene King.-History:Belhaven claims to have begun brewing in 1719. In that year the burgh of Dunbar levied a local tax on brewers to fund civic improvements...
and by Sleeman Breweries
Sleeman Breweries
Sleeman Brewery Ltd. is a brewery located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. John H. Sleeman originally began brewing beer in 1834. By 1933 the Sleeman brewery had ceased operations when their liquor licence was revoked for bootlegging, specifically, smuggling beer into Detroit, Michigan. The brewery was...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.