Historic beer Worthington’s White Shield has had production paused by brand owner Molson Coors, causing huge outcry by consumers, beer writers and historians, says Melissa Cole.

After a spokesperson initially commented that the halt in brewing was ‘following a change to our normal production route’, many observers felt this spelt the death knell for the brand, which has been produced since 1892.

However, a further statement seems to hint that the global brewer is in fact looking to find a partner brewery, as it did with Stones Bitter and True North, to produce the beer going forward.

“We did not take the decision to pause production lightly and continue to explore every viable option to resume, whether that’s alternative production routes or working in partnership. While we do not have all the answers at the moment, we do see this as a pause in production rather than anything more permanent and are very hopeful of finding a way forward,” said a spokesperson.

It does, however, raise a number of questions as to how the best-selling bottled real ale in 2013 has suffered such an enormous decline that the business is now in the position of ‘pausing’ production, and enquiries from Brewer’s Journal regarding the investment in above and below the line marketing and advertising, distribution and export strategies and overall brand spend were met with a wall of silence.