A Black Country brewery is set to close in the year of its 150th anniversary, placing around 100 jobs at risk.
Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company has announced it will close its Banks's site in Brewery Road next autumn.
Known as Park Brewery, the first casks of ale were brewed there in 1875 and the Banks's brands now comprise Amber Bitter, Mild Ale and Golden Beer.
The move is part of the group's plans to restructure its brewery network and follows a £206 million deal in July in which Marston's sold its 40 per cent stake in the Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company joint venture to the Danish giant.
The deal enabled Wolverhampton-based Marston's to move away from brewing and focus on the pub operation side of the business which includes Lost & Found in Birmingham city centre and the º£½ÇÊÓƵ-wide Pitcher & Piano chain.
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A statement from Carlsberg Marston's said the proposed restructuring came in response to the decision by Mahou San Miguel not to renew its long-term exclusive licence partnership from 2025.
Added to this was "the decline of cask ale volumes over several years".
"Carlsberg Marston's will be supporting colleagues across its wider network impacted by these proposals, including the 97 employed at Banks's Brewery, and will be working with trade union and colleague representatives throughout the consultation process," the statement added.
"As part of the network restructuring, Carlsberg Marston's will increase investment in its breweries in Northampton and Burton, with a long-term ambition to establish Marston's Brewery in Burton as a national centre for craft beer and traditional ale brewing in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ."
The company said it planned to invest more than £6 million in new projects at the plant in Burton, including the refurbishment of its cask ale line to brew traditional British ales and develop capabilities to create contemporary craft ales.
Further planned investment includes a new logistics depot in the Black Country to support the manufacturer's secondary network.
Chief executive Paul Davies added: "This has been an extremely difficult decision, however it has been necessary to restructure our business to maintain our competitiveness in a challenging º£½ÇÊÓƵ beer market.
"The hard reality is that, because of the current climate for ale and Mahou San Miguel's decision not to renew its exclusive production and distribution agreement, we will have significant excess capacity across our brewery network which we have to address.
"The team at Banks's has been unwavering in its dedication and commitment to the brewery. We will ensure that we support all our people closely throughout this extremely challenging period."
Consumer body the Campaign for Real Ale described the move as "devastating but predictable".
Chairman Ash Corbett-Collins said: "Following the buyout of Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company by Carlsberg, essentially turning Marston's brewing business into a globally owned brand, we expected news like this sooner rather than later.
"After presiding over the closure of Jennings, the sale of the Eagle brewery and removing cask beers from bars in Scotland in the last few years, Carlsberg Marston's are now closing another iconic brewery - putting jobs and the cask beers brewed there in jeopardy.
"However, we do welcome the news that Carlsberg is open to offers for purchase of the site for continued brewing operations.
"This demonstrates the huge pressures that even global brewers are facing from the high taxation of beer, energy and raw material costs."
