Legendary British pub favourite hit by shortages just days after being sold to foreign brewery

BOOZERS up and down the country are being left without their favourite pint after Old Speckled Hen ran into supply chaos. The much-loved real ale has hit a rocky patch just weeks after Spanish brewing giant Estrella Damm bought the brand from Greene King. Bosses say the beer is still being brewed as normal but the switchover has caused a headache getting bottles and kegs onto the bar. Estrella Damm blamed a scorching summer and England‘s World Cup heroics for piling extra pressure on a supply chain already creaking under the changeover. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! A spokesperson said: “This is no shortage in production but a temporary disruption due to the transition in ownership, in relation to logistics.” They added: “Damm UK recognises that from a licensee’s point of view this can feel the same as a shortage when stock isn’t arriving.” Old Speckled Hen has been a fixture of British pub life since 1979, when it was first brewed by Morland Brewery in Abingdon. The tipple was named after a paint-splattered MG factory runabout that workers nicknamed the “Owld Speckl’d Un” to mark the car firm’s 50th anniversary in the town. Greene King bought the brand in 1999 and helped turn it into one of the nation’s top-selling premium ales, boosted further by a famous TV tie-in with channel Dave. The beer’s sale to Estrella Damm was finalised on July 1, adding it to a growing list of iconic British brews now under foreign ownership. Most read in Money Estrella Damm insisted the hiccup was only temporary and it was working with Greene King to sort out the mess as quickly as possible. Landlords hit by delays have been told to contact their account manager, with bosses promising the taps will be flowing freely again soon. Comment now