One of my best mates is their director who negotiated the deal, just been out on a bike ride with him - he's delighted with the feedback on here!!
I never tasted Brew XI, is it worse then Greene King IPA? If it is then i'm glad I started drinking in the early 90s.
Whatever it is, it won't be well-kept so they may as well ruin Greene King IPA as anything decent. It'd be nice to have a local brewer on board but realistically, GK are the only independent brewery big enough to pay the sort of money wer're after. The only alternative would possibly be Marston's, and they're not going to alienate their yammish heartland by linking up wih da Villu.
Brew XI certainly wasn't the best, but I drank M & B Springfield back in the day and remember it as a good beer. There wasn't a lot of choice in the 80s, mind.
anything under 4.8% is alcohol free imho