Beer ban leaves bitter taste

10:12am Thursday 14th December 2006

A brewery has sparked anger by confirming its decision to ban a traditional Sussex ale from one of its pubs.

Greene King, the Bury St Edmunds based brewing giant, has infuriated drinkers of Harveys, a hugely popular Lewes ale, after banning it from the Lewes Arms in Mount Place, in a bid to bolster sales of its own brands.

The move has resulted in a light-hearted threat by Harveys to buy up pubs in Bury St Edmunds and immediately rid them of all Greene King brands in direct retaliation.

Many regulars of the Lewes Arms pub say they will no longer be able to drink there.

Harveys spokesman, Bill Inman, said: "It has left a lot of people very disappointed and upset. There is talk of picket lines and further protests but the reality is there is very little we can do. Greene King owns the pub and can run it how they like despite what the people here really want."

One Harveys drinker told The Argus yesterday: "I will never touch a pint of Greene King and to be honest they can go screw themselves."

The ban will start immediately and brings to an end a long-running threat by Greene King to remove Harveys from the pumps at the Lewes Arms, despite a huge campaign to keep it.

More than 1,200 people have signed petitions and voiced protest at the move, and Lewes MP Norman Baker has also attempted to broker a deal.

Yesterday Mr Baker said Greene King's reputation would nosedive in Lewes and beyond and said the move to ban Harveys in favour of Greene King's own brands could backfire.

He criticised the brewery for being "inflexible", adding: "There were options which, in my view, would have allowed the local bitter to stay in the Lewes Arms while providing compensatory benefits for Greene Kings but sadly it seems that such an agreement was not possible."

Greene King said a number of options were tried in an effort to preserve the status quo at the Lewes Arms, bu none proved acceptable."

Mr Baker summed up the thoughts of hundreds of Harveys drinkers yesterday when he said: "This leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth, but sadly not that of Harveys."