Did you know the first lager brewed in Britain came from Wrexham?
In 1882, two German immigrants, Ivan Levinstein and Otto Isler, arrived in the town with an ambitious idea. They believed Wrexham’s soft underground water was ideal for brewing lager beer, a drink still unfamiliar to many people in Britain at the time.
Water mattered enormously to brewers, affecting flavour, consistency and quality. Wrexham sat above excellent underground water supplies, and the town’s naturally soft water proved particularly well suited to lager brewing. It was one of the key reasons the founders chose Wrexham, giving North Wales an unexpected advantage in a drink more often associated with continental Europe.
Their brewery was built on Central Road, but brewing lager in Victorian Wales was not straightforward. Unlike traditional ales, lager required consistently cold temperatures. Before modern refrigeration, this presented a major challenge. Help came from German engineer Robert Graesser, whose refrigeration systems allowed lager to be brewed successfully on a commercial scale.
Wrexham Lager soon developed a reputation well beyond North Wales. Sold under the well-known “Ace of Clubs” brand, it was exported across the British Empire to places including India, Australia and South Africa.
One remarkable advertisement from 1887 appeared in The Civil & Military Gazette in Lahore, British India, promoting Wrexham Lager Beer as “absolutely pure and wholesome.” It is a striking reminder of how a brewery from a North Wales market town had become part of an international trade network.
There are even stories linking Wrexham Lager to British troops serving overseas during the late nineteenth century, including during the period of the Siege of Khartoum.
The brewery’s reach extended to the great ocean liners too. Wrexham Lager travelled aboard ships of the White Star Line and is believed to have been the only lager served on the Titanic.
At one time, Wrexham itself was a thriving brewing town, with around nineteen breweries operating locally. Yet Wrexham Lager became the best known name among them, its distinctive Ace of Clubs symbol becoming familiar far beyond the town.
The twentieth century brought changes in ownership, but Wrexham Lager remained a recognised local brand for generations. Newspaper advertisements from the 1940s still proudly described it as the “first and original British lager”.
Then came decline. Brewing finally ceased in 2000 and much of the historic brewery site was demolished. For many, it appeared the story of Wrexham Lager had come to an end.
But the story was not over.
Former Wrexham MP Martyn Jones, who had once worked at the brewery as a microbiologist, reportedly helped rescue the brand name after acquiring the rights for just £1.
In 2011, local businessmen Mark and Vaughan Roberts revived Wrexham Lager using older recipes and traditional methods.
Today, the brand has found renewed worldwide attention, helped by the global spotlight on Wrexham A.F.C. and investment from Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Fans of Wrexham A.F.C. still sing “Wrexham Lager” to the tune of “Bread of Heaven.”
From Victorian industry and international exports to football terraces and modern revival, Wrexham Lager remains one of Wrexham’s most remarkable stories.
