The story
A Ram pub on Young's brewery site was recorded from a survey around 1550 which details the owner as Elizabeth Ridon, who leased out the premises. The first indication of brewing at the Ram are from 1576 when a Humphrey Langridge, "beer-brewer at Wandsworth" (then a village in Surrey), had his house broken into, and the thief was tried at the local assize court; this Humphrey Langridge is also recorded as being landlord of "the Rame" in 1581, and so it is surmised by Young's historian that Langridge would have been brewing at the Ram in 1576. The site of this inn is today once again the Ram Inn having been previously called The Brewery Tap then The Ram Brewery Shop & Visitors Centre. Records from 1675 show that the brewery was run by the Draper family, and in the 18th century, the Trittons purchased the brewery. It was purchased by Charles Allen Young and Anthony Fothergill Bainbridge in 1831. Since then it has been associated with the Young family.
The brewery supplied Young's public houses, in London and the area to the south-west, which still number over 200. It also sold to many other pubs and supermarkets. Beer was also exported to many European countries, Canada, the United States and Japan. The company produced three regular and a series of seasonal and occasional cask ales, keg lagers, and several filtered and pasteurised bottled beers. Young's also contract-brewed several beers for InBev, such as Courage Best and Mackeson Stout.
On 23 May 2006, the company announced that the Ram Brewery was to close and brewing was to be moved to the Eagle Brewery in Bedford, then owned by Charles Wells. Wells & Young's Brewing, with Charles Wells having a 60% stake, and Young & Co 40%, went into operation on 2 October 2006. Wells & Young's was then responsible for brewing, distributing and marketing Charles Wells's and Young & Co's brands at the jointly owned Eagle Brewery in Bedford. The company was operated at arm's length from both Young's and Charles Wells. However a combination of directors from both companies sat on the Wells & Young's Board.
Chairman John Young died on 17 September 2006, days before the closure of the brewery, whilst the final brew was being run at the Ram Brewery Wandsworth. Beer from the last brew was served at his funeral on 29 September 2006.
In June 2007, the company moved its head office from the Ram Brewery to the Copper House in Garratt Lane, Wandsworth.
On 9 August 2011, the company announced the sale of its stake in Wells & Young's Brewing Company Ltd to Charles Wells.
From Wikipedia’s article on Young's, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4