McMullen's, known locally as Mac's, is a regional brewery founded in 1827 in Hertford, England. The brewery expanded during the second half of the 19th century by purchasing other breweries and their associated pubs.
In 1902, Mac's was the second largest brewery in Hertfordshire. The brewery has occupied several different sites in Hertford and moved to its current location in 1891. There have been several breweries on this site and the current one opened in 2006. As of 2021, members of the 6th generation of the McMullen family are still involved with the business.
History
McMullen's was founded in 1827 in Back Street (now Railway Street) Hertford by Peter McMullen (1798-1881), the son of an Irish nurseryman. The passing of the Beerhouse Act in 1830 enabled Peter McMullen to open his own beerhouse named after William IV in Mill Bridge, Hertford. The passing of the Beerhouse Act acted as a stimulus to common brewing and led to an increase in the number of breweries in Hertford, peaking at eight in Hertford in 1838. In 1966 McMullen's were the sole survivor.
In 1860 Peter McMullen passed the business onto his sons Alexander Henry and Osmond Henry McMullen who began trading as P. McMullen & Sons. The company expanded during this period and acquired a number of local breweries. As the business grew it moved to Old Cross, Hertford in 1891 and a new brewery was built. The new brewery was designed by William Bradford and is now a Grade II listed building. In 1897 the brewery became a limited company, McMullen & Sons Ltd, when it owned 90 pubs. Osmond Henry became Chairman of the new company whilst Alexander Henry retired from the brewery and founded a seed merchant in Hertford.
By 1902 McMullen's were the second largest brewery in Hertfordshire, behind Benskins Brewery of Watford and owned 131 pubs Osmond Henry died in May 1914 and his son Lieutenant colonel Osmond Robert became chairman. Osmond Henrys's grandson Peter, a former Special Operations Executive colonel, ran the brewery from 1946 to 1980. In 1966 the brewery owned 200 pubs. A modern brewhouse was built in 1984 when John McMullen was company director.
From the 1960s until the early 1990s, Mac's also brewed a range of kids' soft drinks that were sold at their pubs and also in the local ice cream stands and newsagent shops. These included lemonade, Shandimac, ginger beer, lime soda, orange soda, and Maxi-Cola which came in reuseable glass bottles that could be returned for a discount on the next drink.South Herts Camra 1985
In 2002 there was a split between various members of the McMullen family some of whom wanted to turn their holdings into cash whilst others were happy to remain shareholders. Financial consultants were appointed and the company was put up for sale. The company was independently valued at £176m in 2002. A new independent chairman, Charles Brims, secured a compromise whereby several non-brewing property investments were sold in order to release cash to appease the majority shareholders and a plan was developed to build a new, smaller brewhouse. The company decided to shed contract brewing and take advantage of tax breaks by becoming a smaller brewer. As the new Whole Hop Brewery (opened 2006) was more compact than the 1984-built plant, the spare land was sold to Sainsbury's in 2007. This is the fifth McMullen brewery to operate on this site
McMullen's brews cask ale and pasteurised bottled beers. The company owns over 130 freehold pubs, mainly in the Home Counties, with a number in London, including The Spice of Life in Cambridge Circus, The White Swan in Pimlico and The Nag's Head in Covent Garden. McMullen's is acquisitive and has recently purchased pubs and bars in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Sevenoaks, Fleet, Marlow, Milton Keynes and Bishop's Stortford.
Due to the forced pub closures during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–21, Mac's began selling takeaway casks of beer directly from their brewery yard. The company has no debt.
Beers McMullen's produces three regular cask ales and several occasional ales. The regular range consists of:
Cask Ales
Cask ales are real ales that have been cask conditioned and will continue to ferment in the cask in a process known as secondary fermentation.
McMullen AK McMullen AK is a mild beer with an ABV of 3.7%, brewed in Hertford since 1833. AK was once a popular designation for beers which were light in gravity and colour and lightly hopped. Brewed with a mix of malts with Kentish Whitbread Goldings the only hops used.AK XXXX
McMullen IPA McMullen IPA is a traditional English IPA with an ABV of 4.8%. The hops used are undisclosed, but are added as whole leaf hops, as opposed to the compressed hops pellets more commonly used in non-traditional brewing.Mac's IPA
Country Best Bitter Country Best Bitter, first brewed in 1964, is a traditional bitter with an ABV of 4.3%, brewed with Fuggle, Progress and Bramling Cross hops and a mixture of pale malts.Country
McMullen Cask McMullen house cask ale, in production since 2007, is a 3.8% ABV 'honey-gold' ale with undisclosed ingredientsCask
Mac's No.1 Pale Ale Number One Pale Ale is a 3.8% amber cask ale popular among agricultural workers since the beginning of the 20th century. It was previously advertised under the slogan "second to no-one", or "second to none", and was known as No.1 Bitter before 1950.McMullen labels Discontinued during the early 1990s, but brought back into production in 2021.Mac's No.1
Bootwarmer Bootwarmer is an old ale first brewed in 1995 and sold in McMullen pubs during the Christmas holidays from 2002 onwards. It was discontinued in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but brought back in December 2021.Bootwarmer beerMcMullens Bootwarmer
Bottled Beers
McMullen Hertford Castle Hertford Castle is a 5% ABV strong ale brewed with Suffolk barley and undeclared whole leaf hops. First brewed in 1960, the beer is named after Hertford Castle, where Queen Elizabeth I of England spent much of her childhood.CastleRegional breweries of Britain 2004
McMullen Stronghart A speciality brew with an ABV of 7%, Stronghart is made to an 1850s recipe with East Anglian barley and undeclared whole leaf hops and won gold in the 1997 CAMRA Champion Beer of Briton barley wine and strong old ale class.StronghartSouth Herts Camra Feb 1999 Originally known as Mac's Olde Time Strong Ale, it was rebranded as Stronghart in 1993.Bootwarmer
Rivertown The Rivertown range was introduced in 2017 to produce vegan-friendly pale ale, IPA and Pilsner.Rivertown untapped The Session IPA, at 4.1%, uses Citra, Waimea and crystal hops for a citrus finish.Rivertown IPA
Guest beers Isle Tropical Blonde BeerMcmullen Isle Rivertown Rival Velvet Stout (2026)Rival
Out of production Rivertown Reed (2025)Introducing rivertown reed Old Bank of England Bitter (2025)Untapped Bank of England bitter Rivertown Tide (2025) Rivertown Daze (2025)Rivertown Daze Horse and Guardsman Bitter (2024) Rivertown Gade (2024)Gade Rivertown Quin (2024)Introducing Rivertown Quin Nags Head Bitter (2023)Nags head Fit For A King Mild Ale (2023)Fit for a king Rivertown Elysium Lager (2023)Elysium Rivertown Ernest Amber Ale (2023)Ernest beer McMulled Beer (2022–23), a 4.4.% recreation of a 1976 recipe infusing Stronghart with apples, sugar and spices.McMulled Beer Camra 1950 Porter (2022–23)Seasonal kegUntapped 1950 porter Amber Bay IPA (2022–23)Amber Bay Rivertown Helles Lager (2022–23)Beer Advocate Rivertown Solstice (2022–23)Rivertown Solstice Jubilant 70 Golden Ale (2022)Macs denies Greene King rumoursJubilant 70 ale Normality (2021–22)Cask breweries Rivertown Freedom (2021–22) Mac's Oat Brown Stout (2020–21), a 4.4% ABV recreation of a beer produced at the Hertford brewery during the 1930s.Oat Malt Stout Chinook (2020–21) OK Bloomer (2021) Hopguzzler (2018–19)Hopguzzler Victory Stout (2018)New Victory Stout Carriage Court Ale (2018) Golden Years (2017)South Herts Camra: Golden beer for golden years Special Day (2015)Brewed with the Willow Foundation Hop On A Mo(2015)Brewed in honor of Movember Brave Herts (2015)Brewed in aid of Keech hospice care Flying Frog (2014–16) Love Herts (2014)Mcmullen beers Bard of Ale (2013) Screaming Reels (2011–13) Stag Bitter (2008)Stag bitter Harvest Moon (2006-2008) Victory 1805 (2005) Special Reserve Anniversary Porter (2000) Oatmeal Ale (1997-2001) Gladstone (1995-2001)Herts Camra Oct 2001 J.M Premium Bitter (1990s)45 spaces Hartsman Lager (1980s) Crafter Low Alcohol Bitter (1970s) Mac's Stout (1960s-1970s) Mitre (1960s-1990s) Mac's Brown (1960s) Old Cross (1950s-1960s) Coronation (1953) Family Ale (1950s) Lady Mac (1950s) Shandimac (1950s-1980s) No. 3 Special Pale Ale (1950s-1970s) Nut Brown Ale (1940s-1950s)McMullen beer labels Milk Stout (1930s) Oat Brown Stout (1930s-1950s) Dinner Ale (1920s) Dark Beer (1920s-40s), renamed Olde Time Ale during the 1950s and Stronghart in 1993 White Label (1880s-1920s)
Notable Pubs
Anchor, Cheshunt Anchor, Hullbridge The Angel, Waltham Abbey Angels, Hitchin The Builders Arms, Potters Bar The Black Bull, BuntingfordOur locals Baroosh, Hertford, Chelmsford and Bishops Stortford. The Hare, Harlow Bootmaker, Chelmsford The Bull, BroxbourneThe Bull Broxbourne Bulls Head, Turnford Britannia, Marlow The Cambridge Tap, Cambridge Chadwell Springs Golf Centre, Ware Coach and Horses, Bishops Stortford Dog and Whistle, Hertford, formerly known as The Ram Duke of Clarence, Marlow The Duchess of Cambridge, Windsor The Duke of York, Fitzrovia Lord Haig, Hertford Duchess and Dressmaker, Brentwood Golden Griffin, Hertford The Greyhound, Bengeo Hatfield Tap, Hertfordshire The Harrier (The Hilltop), Hatfield, Hertfordshire The Hopfields Hatfield, Hertfordshire The Hollybush, Loughton, Essex The Horse and Guardsman, Westminster The Heron on the Lake, Fleet, Hampshire The Jolly Postie, formerly Royston Post Office. The King's Mead, WareKings Mead now open The Kingfisher on the Quay, Mytchett The Lock Tavern, Camden Town, London The Millstream, Hertford Nag's Head, Covent Garden. The Old Bank of England, Fleet Street, London The Peahen, St Albans The Plough, Crews HillThe Plough at Crews Hill reopens 2016 Polecat, Prestwood Practitioner, Hertfordshire Princess Charlotte, Colchester The Red Lion Hatfield, Hertfordshire Rose, Wokingham Salisbury Arms Hotel, Hertford The Sun, Hoddesdon Saracens Head, Ware Warbler on the Wharf, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire The White Hart, Hertford, Hertfordshire The Woolpack, Hertford The White Swan, Westminster, London The Yew Tree, Walkern
References
External links
1992 Independent review by Michael Jackson