I often think about Adnams beers with fondness. The Southwold-based brewer has a particular knack for making delicious cask ales with a rich barley malt and yeast-led character; forest fruits and malt loaf wrapped up with a moreish, peppery bitterness. It’s a quality that has you contemplating a return trip to the bar just moments into your pint, found in multitudes within beers like Southwold Bitter, Gunhill Ruby Mild, and the rambunctious, irreplaceable Broadside.

One particular session on Broadside has long stuck in my memory. It was a miserable, soaking-wet evening when I met a small group of friends at a quaint mews pub somewhere among the upmarket terraces on the backstreets of Kensington. When I arrived, they were sitting around a table by the entranceway, all of them sipping on pints of crimson-hued bitter topped with rocky, tan-coloured foam. It was expressed to me that the Broadside was drinking well, and so, diligently, I joined them. As three, or perhaps four hours passed, I failed to deviate and try any other beers as I might ordinarily choose to. The pull this 4.7 per cent ABV beer had over me that night, and the quantity of it which I imbibed is likely the reason why I have never been able to recall the name of the place where I enjoyed it so wholeheartedly.

Although Adnams might be better known today for beers such as its Citra-hopped pale ale, Ghost Ship, it's the hold its darker beers have over me that has, like with many others, enamoured this brewery to me. It’s also why when I read in February 2024 that the brewery was seeking investment that I felt some minor cause for concern. However, I wasn’t too worried, as Adnams chief executive Andy Wood was quoted in the Eastern Daily Press as saying the business had a “healthy balance sheet” and wasn’t seeking an outright sale.

This mood quickly shifted, as by the end of March Sky News was reporting that the 134-year-old brewery – which also operates a distillery and as a wine merchant – was now seeking a potential buyer. It was also reported that Wood is to stand down from his position this coming June, with current finance chief Jenny Hanlon stepping into the role. The brewery's long-standing chair, Dr Jonathan Adnams, told Sky that the 25 per cent decline in the size of the cask beer market since 2019 is to blame for its struggles. Adnams also operates 45 managed and tied public houses, and in the first half of its current financial year posted operating losses of £2.4m, based on a turnover of £30m.

It is a rough time for beer makers, with a reported 69 breweries closing in 2023 according to a report published in The Drinks Business – an 82 per cent year-on-year increase. Rampant inflation, rising business rates and less spending money in consumers' pockets have made for difficult trading conditions. Two prominent Yorkshire breweries, Black Sheep of Masham and North of Leeds, have both recently been saved from administration by new parent companies. London’s Meantime brewery was recently closed by owners Asahi, with production moving to sister brewery, Fuller’s.

And yet, despite the challenging conditions the beer industry finds itself facing, some brewery owners remain stoic. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) William Lees-Jones of the Manchester-based JW Lees brewery states the family business finished its current financial year with record sales of £94.3m, up 10 per cent on its 2023 figures. Like Adnams, Lees owns a large estate of leased and managed pubs – in this instance 150 – but also seems to have the required nous to navigate current trading circumstances.

“It's tough running pubs,” Lees-Jones said in his post. “Costs are through the roof, even more so with business rates and wages this week. But people love beer and pubs.”

In an effort to stave off further rot, at the beginning of the month Adnams unveiled what might be considered as a dramatic rebrand. The once bold and high contrast, colourful designs that previously adorned its labels have been replaced with softer artwork designed by Suffolk artist Vanessa Sorboen. While the paintings themselves are undeniably gorgeous, the artwork, when combined with a new typeface that uses lowercase lettering that’s much less striking than what was used previously, comes across as a little mute.

“A barrage of flavours” reads the new label for Broadside. This, while certainly true, when combined with the new design comes across as more Barbara Cartland than it does, say, Winston Graham. And with almost 2,000 breweries operating in the UK (despite shrinking numbers) it doesn’t make sense to me why Adnams would choose for a more subtle, less eye-catching design, especially as it has been so open about its current struggles.

A rebrand does however make complete sense if the business is looking to attract a potential buyer. My fear, though, is that should its wheel eventually end up in the wrong hands, Adnams may forever doom itself to stormy seas, when a brewery with a history and legacy as valuable as it possesses should be sailing proudly on the crest of a wave.