North West family-owned brewery and pub retailer Hydes is celebrating 160 years of success with a programme of commemorative activities for 2023.
Apprentice brewer Tom Allkins serves Adam Hyde with a pint to celebrate Hydes’ 160th Anniversary
Hydes originated when brothers Alfred and Ralf Hyde acquired a small brewing concern in Manchester from their grandfather Thomas Shaw in 1863.
As Hydes’ business developed, it was managed by a variety of family members from different generations. Increasing success led to it outgrowing its premises several times.
In 1899, with William and Annie Hyde in control, the business moved to its long-term home at the Queens Brewery site in Brooks Bar, Manchester. It was under their leadership that the company began acquiring an estate of public houses through which to distribute more of Hydes’ products.
In 2012, after more than 100 years, the company ended its tenure at the Queens Brewery and relocated to its existing site in Salford’s Media City, the Beer Studio.
To mark the 160th milestone, Hydes will be staging a number of commemorative activities and promotions throughout 2023. Planned activities include:
- commemorative 160th anniversary branding, which will appear on bar pumpclips and across the pub estate;
- charity and fundraising initiatives;
- new products, including an anniversary cocktail and the launch of an Anniversary Ale;
- pub dining and drink promotions, with pints available for just £1.60; and
- the introduction of Ralf and Alf’s Summer Ale Trail, to coincide with the 160th anniversary month in July.
“2023 is a big year for Hydes as July marks our 160th anniversary,” said managing director Adam Mayers. “Reaching 160 years is an achievement to be immensely proud of, especially in the current economic climate, with all the challenges facing the brewing and pub retail industry. Everyone in the business can be proud of helping us to achieve this significant milestone.
“This year we really want to celebrate success and to share this with our pubs and customers. The last few years have been very difficult, and although we continue to face challenging conditions, as a business we are taking great strides forward and are in great shape to face the future. 2023 and our 160th anniversary is certainly cause for celebration.”
Hydes is fully committed to supporting all of the pubs across its estate and throughout 2022 invested more than £4.5m in improving its establishments. This investment activity is part of an ongoing programme of multiple redesigns and refurbishments, which will continue throughout 2023 and over the next few years.
Adam Hyde, company secretary and board member, who has spent more 40 years working for the family business, said: “160 years marks another significant step forward on our successful journey. The North West has always been well represented by long-established successful independent family brewers. We are proud to be in that group and continue to provide great pubs, food, and beers to our loyal customers throughout our North West heartland.
“The family is also very proud of Hydes’ distinguished heritage and reputation as a first-rate employer which respects and values its employees. A strong focus on running the business in accordance with the traditional values that have guaranteed its survival since 1863 is still very much in play, along with the ability to adapt to an ever-changing landscape.”
He added: “The brewery and pub business has been part of my life as far back as I can remember, and my passion for it is as strong now as it was when I first visited the brewery with my father, as a child. I’m also thrilled that my nephew, Tom, is continuing the family brewing tradition as an apprentice brewer, learning the trade from an expert team with over 160 years of collective experience, further strengthening the heritage for another generation.”
Hydes, with its brewery in Media City, Salford, supplies beers to wholesalers, pub companies, and other brewers throughout the UK, and has an estate of more than 40 pubs across the North West of England and North Wales.
