Greenwich Meantime brewery to close

The Meantime brewery in Greenwich is to close with brewing moved to west London it was revealed today.

The company’s owner Asahi announced the news which was reported in The Grocer.

This marks the latest retrenchment from the area since being taken over by multinationals. The company’s former pubs such including The Union and a site within the Old Naval College were previously closed.

The group was first purchased by SABMillar in 2015 before being taken over by Asahi in 2016. Brewing will now move to west London.

Of course Greenwich is important for their branding so despite closing pubs – and now the brewery in the town – they will retain a bar.

Last autumn the company submitted plans to change the exterior of the site – as covered here.

But any link now between the brewery and its name and home appears tenuous at best.

The news will naturally see speculation on what will happen to most of the site. A part of the site will see a “standalone consumer retail experience” (pass the bucket) but most will likely lay empty.

So then, housing? It’s industrial land but who knows what the future holds.

Still, it’s quite the downfall for a local staple that went big and saw beers stocked in supermarkets nationwide. Greenwich was always an absolute core part of the company’s identity and brand. Now Meantime has no brewery and next to no pubs in Greenwich itself.