John Adnams dies

John Adnams, the former chairman of one of the UK’s leading independent brewers, has passed away aged 92 it has been announced.

Adnams passed away peacefully on Saturday 22 July the family-run brewery said in a statement.

A grandson of the brewery’s founder, Ernest Adnams, John joined the board of the company in 1956 before becoming managing director in 1963.

He held that post until 1973 when he became chairman and in 1995 he retired to become president of Adnams plc and a non-executive director; a role from which he finally retired in 2005.

The company said: “John was held in great esteem and respected by all who came into contact with him both within Adnams and across the wider industry. John oversaw a huge growth in Adnams beer production and the modernisation of a brewery that had been unchanged since 1896.

“John was also instrumental in setting up Broadside Farm, a forward-thinking business that used waste products from the brewery to feed pigs on the Adnams Farm.

“John was highly effective and confident chairman who held true to the identity of Adnams in fast changing times.”