However, in the 21st Century something – perhaps the spirit of Robert Cain himself – showed that it wasn’t prepared to allow the name to disappear. In 1990 the brewery had been re-opened by The Danish Brewery Group: back in production, it was re-named Robert Cain & Co Ltd. The brewery produced a lusty and deservedly popular Liverpudlian pint, but tight margins brought it to the brink of closure again in 2002.

That’s when the Dusanj brothers stepped in. Entrepreneurs, who started off in their father’s fish and chip business, the brothers were deeply affected by the story of Robert Cain & Company, and felt that its demise would be a tragedy. Convinced not only that Liverpool could support its ‘own’ brewery but also that there was a wider market for the excellent beers it produced, they decided to mount a rescue operation. This is already proving to be spectacularly successful. Under the stewardship of the Dusanj brothers, Cains is now one of the fastest growing breweries in the country, with a £30 million annual turnover, 150 employees, and more than 120 million pints of beer brewed annually.

The first Asian family ever to run a British brewery, the brothers are building on the fine traditions of excellent quality ales and the entrepreneurial spirit of Robert Cain, whilst using the freedom that being outside the traditional brewing establishment gives them to gently shake up the industry.

In 2003 Cains became the first UK brewer to print responsible drinking advice on beer labels, in response to the Government’s National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy report. Health advice features on this website, and they’ve also partnered with Liverpool city council on their Christmas anti-drink driving campaigns.

Among the innovations introduced by the brothers are a Fine Raisin Beer, and a new, high quality lager. The Fine Raisin Beer is helping to spread the Cains name further afield: the bottled beer became a massive national seller, on being named Winner of Tesco’s Autumn Beer Challenge in 2003, and more recently has won “Beer of the Festival” at the highly successful 2004 Liverpool CAMRA Festival. Ale enthusiasts can sample Cains Fine Raisin Beer from the cask at 450 pubs owned by Punch Pub Company.

Read more about the Dusanj brothers’ story in this article by Roger Protz Editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

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Images by kind permission of Liverpool Daily Post and Echo