Brewer in Charge of Export Stout

Identity Statement

Content & Structure

• Scope & Content: Brewer in Charge of Export Stout ↴

  This series of files belonged to the Brewer in Charge of Export Stout, also referred to in files from 1970s as Brewer in Charge of Overseas Stout, and preceded by the Brewer in Charge of Foreign Extra Stout. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s the Company developed its overseas trade by opening breweries overseas, in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Malaysia and negotiating with breweries overseas to produce Guinness under licence. The Brewer in Charge of Export Stout was included in all such matters, including preliminary investigations of proposed locations and licensees, logistics of building and infrastructure and staffing, as well as the intricacies of the brewing process and the raw materials required to be shipped overseas for same. Holders of the position of Brewer in Charge of Export Stout included, notably, S.R. Duff, John Michael Duckworth Hughes and Jonathan Virden.

  This series contains fifteen subseries. A detailed description of each is given below.

  GDB/BR02.1: Overseas general, including lager. Consists mainly of correspondence between the Brewer in Charge of Export Stout and overseas breweries on raw materials, but also includes material on progress project meetings, minutes of Guinness Overseas Limited marketing committee meetings, complaints from overseas and associated correspondence, discussions on the means of corresponding with overseas breweries, correspondence on internaational food regulations, correspondence and supporting documentation on Gold Harp and lager brewing overseas, the staffing of overseas breweries, and some documentation on the overseas planning group.

  GDB/BR02.2: General Guinness overseas brewing matters. Consists mainly of circulars and notices to personnel from 1968 until 1971, but also includes material on overseas travelling in the same time period, copy of a paper on the history of Foreign Extra Stout by D.O. Williams, and the personal files of both J.M.D. Hughes and Jonathan Virden which are mostly concerned with expenses.

  GDB/BR02.3: General Guinness overseas brewing matters. Contains material relating to experiments and investigations between 1962 and 1970, complaints and associated correspondence, trade and technical matters, triennial Foreign Extra Stout brewing reports, explorations into producing Foreign Extra Stout in a can, and general correspondence.

  GDB/BR02.4: General Guinness overseas brewing matters. Includes monthly and half-yearly reports, discussions on the production capacity of St James’ Gate, current specifications for raw materials and brewing processes (1959-64), general production issues at overseas breweries, documentation on the chemical analyses of bottled beers and stout for export, elixirs, trade matters and sales, and limited material on American and Canadian Extra Stouts.

  GDB/BR02.5: Overseas breweries – Nigeria. Contains material on all aspects of brewing Guinness in Nigeria, including tour reports, general correspondence on the trade of Guinness in the West Africa region, customs and excise regulations, the economics, engineering, siting and services involved in the locating of the brewery site, labour requirements, barley growing experiments in Nigeria, roasting and roasting plants, the case for brewing or bottling only in Nigeria, study of local bottling and brewing, plant requirements, shipping lines to Nigeria, minutes of the Nigeria steering committee meetings, analyses of Foreign Extra Stout brewed in Nigeria and the raw materials used, the shipping of raw materials to Ikeja, monthly and quarterly reports, miscellaneous reports and minutes of meetings, tour reports and miscellaneous correspondence.

  GDB/BR02.6: Overseas breweries – East Africa. Contains material on brewing in East Africa, including plant requirements, shipping of raw materials, brewing report sheets, analyses of beer and raw materials, tour reports and general correspondence.

  GDB/BR02.7: Overseas breweries – South Africa. Contains material on brewing under licence in South Africa, including extensive correspondence with South African Breweries on brewing particulars, shipping of raw materials including matured beer, analyses of Foreign Extra Stout brewed in South Africa, some accounting documentation, tour reports and staffing.

  GDB/BR02.8: Overseas breweries – Sierra Leone. Contains material on brewing under licence in Sierra Leone, including brewing reports from Sierra Leone Brewery, shipping of raw materials, shipping of equipment for production and tour reports.

  GDB/BR02.9: Overseas breweries – Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia. Contains material on brewing under Guinness in Cameroon and Ghana and under licence in Liberia, including shipping of raw materials, analyses of Foreign Extra Stout brewed there, minutes of the Ghana steering committee meetings, general production matters and tour reports.

  GDB/BR02.10: Overseas breweries – Carribean and Guyana. Contains material on brewing under licence in the Caribbean, including brewing report sheets and correspondence from Carib Brewery, shipping of raw materials, analyses of their Foreign Extra Stout and raw materials, accounting, staffing, a fact-finding visit made to West Indian and North American breweries, tour reports and investigations into brewing under licence in Guyana at Banks Breweries.

  GDB/BR02.11: Overseas breweries – Canada. Contains material on brewing under licence in Canada, including correspondence from Labatts on general brewing matters, shipping of raw materials, analyses of their Canadian Extra Stout and tour reports.

  GDB/BR02.12: Overseas breweries – Australia. Contains material on brewing under licence in Australia, including general correspondence with the South Australian Brewing Company, shipping of raw materials, shipping of equipment for production, analyses of Australian beers, analyses of their Foreign Extra Stout and tour reports.

  GDB/BR02.13: Overseas breweries – New Zealand, Brazil, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Contains material on brewing under licence in New Zealand, including correspondence with the Tui Brewery, plant and equipment requirements, shipping of raw materials and analyses of their Foreign Extra Stout. This subseries also includes files on in vesitgations into brewing under licence in Brazil, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

  GDB/BR02.14: Overseas breweries – Malaysia. Contains material on brewing Guinness in Malaysia, including the shipping of raw materials, brewing reports, analyses of raw materials and Foreign Extra Stout, monthly and quarterly reports, forward estimates, documentation on ‘Project Seagull’ which was a proposal to build another new brewery on site in Malaysia, tour reports and general reports and correspondence from Guinness Malaysia Berhad.

  GDB/BR02.15: Brewer in Charge of Foreign Extra Stout. Includes material on the proposed transport of Foreign Extra Stout in transportable tanks, extensive correspondence with Guinness Exports Limited in Liverpool arranging deliveries of Foreign Extra Stout for export, analyses of early American and Canadian Extra Stouts brewed at St James’ Gate, proposed tank conditioning of Foreign Extra Stout, and a report by D.L. Payne on the suitability of Egypt as a market for Guinness.

• Appraisal Destruction ↴

  Permanent Retention

• Arrangement ↴

  The file has been arranged with the original order prevailing. The presence of original numbering codes (noted on item descriptions) assisted with this. The title ‘Brewer in Charge of Export Stout’ seems to have changed to ‘Brewer in Charge of Overseas Stout’ in the early 1970s. It was decided that the final subseries, ‘Brewer in Charge of Foreign Extra Stout’ should be included in this series as the role appears to have preceded that of Brewer in Charge of Export Stout and indeed the overseas breweries element of Guinness brewing itself. The role seems to have evolved into one which encompassed not only Foreign Extra Stout and its quality, but the overseeing of those breweries outside of Ireland which also produced the stout.

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