Newcastle Brown Ale

Newcastle Brown Ale (colloquially "Newkie Brown" (UK), "Newcastle" (US) or "Dog" (North East)) is an English beer owned by Heineken and produced at their John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. It is the world's best known brown ale and is an icon of the North East of England as a result of its historical links to the region.

It was launched in 1927 by Colonel Jim Porter after three years of development. The merger of Newcastle Breweries with Scottish Brewers afforded the beer national distribution, and United Kingdom sales peaked by the early 1970s. The brand underwent a resurgence in the late 1980s - early 1990s with a cult revival in student unions. By the late 1990s the beer was the most widely distributed alcoholic product in the UK. By the 2000s, the majority of sales were in the United States, where the beer has proven extremely popular, although it still sells 100 million bottles annually in the UK. In 2005, brewing was moved from Newcastle upon Tyne to Dunston on the other side of the River Tyne, and in 2010 moved entirely to Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.

The beer is perceived in the UK as a working man's beer, with a long association with heavy industry, the traditional economic staple of the North East of England. Ironically, in export markets it is seen as a trendy, premium import and is predominantly drunk by the young. It was one of the first beers to be distributed in a clear glass bottle, and it is most readily associated with this form of dispense in the UK, being very rarely seen on draught.

The brand was the kit sponsor of Newcastle United football club between 1995 and 2000, during which time the team seriously challenged for the Premier League title and appeared at Wembley four times.