A ONE POUND coin and the help of a former MP once helped saved one of Wrexham's now most recognisable businesses.

The Wrexham Lager Beer Company Limited was first founded in 1882 by two German immigrants, Ivan Levinstein and Otto Isler, where they made bitters, ales and lagers.

In 2000, the business stopped producing Wrexham Lager products, the site was demolished and changed into a shopping outlet.

However, there was a revival of the Wrexham Lager product in 2011 with brothers Mark Roberts and Vaughan Roberts building a much smaller but successful brewery which has led to great success and even the opening of a brewery shop.

That was helped on by the incredible story of a one-pound coin and the support of a former MP, who now works for the business.

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Martyn Jones was the MP for Clwyd South when Wrexham Lager was faced with closure.

A local retiring civil servant and ex-employee (microbiologist) of Wrexham Lager, he appreciated what the brewery stood for and strived to keep its memory alive at his own expense. 

He negotiated with Carlsberg for the ownership of Wrexham Lager Brewing Company and its subsidiary brands.

He managed to procure the rights to all but the Ace of Clubs brand (sold off to Scottish & Newcastle, now part of Heineken) for the modest sum of £1 and with that he set his sights on building a brewery.

Wrexham Lager eventually did close but later bounced back to become the success story that it is today.

Martyn himself is now the laboratory quality controller for the Wrexham Lager brewery.

The Leader:

PIC: Martyn Jones (right) and Wrexham Lager director Mark Roberts.

Explaining more about the history, a statement from Wrexham Lager read: "A pound (£𝟏!) saved the entire future of Wrexham Lager.

"When the previous multi- national company that formerly owned Wrexham Lager proposed to close the original 1882 brewery, Martyn Jones, former MP for Clywd South, led a campaign to keep Wrexham Lager alive. Sadly, the closure went ahead, resulting in a pause for Wrexham’s iconic brewing identity.

"But, Martyn in the house of commons, raised a prime ministers question about the closure and to keep the rights open for another local company to one day use.

"This was agreed and the purchase of the brand was kept alive for a nominal one pound in the hope that it could one day be re-opened. A couple of false starts later, a chance meeting between Martyn and (now director) Mark Roberts at a CAMRA brewing event in the Gresford Legion Club led to the start of the successful return of Wrexham Lager!

"Martyn agreed to give the rights of Wrexham Lager to the Roberts family on the basis they brew Lager to its true tradition.

"Now, Martyn proudly works as the Laboratory Quality Controller for the brewery (hence the white coat!) So, without Martyn, Wrexham Lager wouldn’t be in existence to this day!"