I have a deep passion for football—known as soccer here in the United States. Most of that passion is devoted to Glasgow Celtic, the Scottish club I’ve supported avidly since I was seven years old. Thanks to the internet and cable television, I can keep up not only with my team but with the sport more broadly. Beyond watching matches, I occasionally enjoy football documentaries. Two of my favorites are Sunderland ’Til I Die and Welcome to Wrexham. Both series chronicle the challenges faced by the men’s teams of Sunderland and Wrexham as they strive to win enough points to climb the tiers of English football. Interestingly, although Wrexham is based in Wales, its team competes in the English Football League—a legacy of the early 20th century when no Welsh league existed. As a result, Wrexham, along with Cardiff City, Newport County, and Swansea City, was invited to play in English League.

Of the two documentaries, Welcome to Wrexham has received the most publicity. This is in large thanks to the fact that, back in 2021 actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney became the co-owners of the club. Both have a starring role in Welcome to Wrexham. The takeover has been hugely successful and over a four-year period (2021-2025) the club gained three successive promotions and moved from the fifth to the second tier of the English football pyramid.

But it’s not just the local football team that Reynolds and McElhenney invested in. They also, along with the Allyn family of Skaneateles, NY, became majority co-owners of a local brewery, Wrexham Lager Beer Co., in 2024. It is a brewery with an interesting history. It was founded In 1882 by two German Immigrants, Ivan Levinstein and Otto Isler. During the 1900s, Wrexham Lager was exported worldwide, finding markets in places as far away as Australia, India, and the Americas. Such was the popularity of Wrexham Lager during the early 20th century that it was available to passengers on the ill-fated Titanic.

In 2000, due to declining demand, the brewery closed its doors. The then owners of the brewery, Carlsberg-Tetley, continued to produce the Lager at a brewery in Blackburn in England. They did so until 2002 when production ceased completely. In 2011, a local family, the Roberts, decided to revive the brand and brew Wrexham Lager in a newly constructed microbrewery. Along with Reynolds, McElhenny, and the Allyn family, the Roberts remain co-owners of the brewery.

Long before Reynolds’s and McElhenney invested in either the football club or the brewery there was a strong connection between the club’s fans and Wrexham Lager. It was, indeed, a staple brew for many Wrexham fans, so much so that the Lager got its own chant. To the tune of the Welsh hymn Bread of Heaven, the chant goes:

Wrexham Lager, Wrexham Lager

Feed me ’til I want no more (want no more),

Feed me ’til I want no more..

As both a football fan and a beer enthusiast, I was familiar with Wrexham Lager and its connection to the local football club—though I had never actually tasted it. That changed a few weeks ago. While browsing the beer section of the dinner menu at a local restaurant, I noticed Wrexham Lager listed among the offerings. At $9 a can, it was pricier than the other craft beers on the menu—likely due in part to the fact that it had traveled all the way from Wrexham to Toledo. Or so I thought.

As I examined the can (as I do with most canned beers that I have for the first time) I noticed that the beer inside was not brewed in Wrexham, but in Normal, IL at Destihl Brewery. Curious about Destihl I visited their website. Established in 2007, in addition to their own line of beers Destihl brew a number of what they call ‘partner beers’. Included in these is Wrexham Lager.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by this discovery. One of the things I value most about craft beer is its local character—the way it reflects and connects to a specific place. This sense of place has been widely studied by several geographers, including Scott Taylor Jr. and Robin DiPietro of the University of Houston and the University of South Carolina-Columbia, respectively. In their work, they explore the concept of place-based brands—brands that are defined by their geographic origin and cannot be authentically reproduced elsewhere because of the unique qualities tied to that location.

With respect to Wrexham Lager, the question is simple – can Wrexham Lager be brewed anywhere except Wrexham. Martyn Jones who represented the people of Wrexham as a member of the British Parliament between 1987 and 2010 doesn’t think so. He put it very simply “It isn’t Wrexham Lager if it isn’t brewed in Wrexham.” Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Jones worked in the Wrexham Lager Brewery. In 2020 (when the Lager was being brewed in Blackburn) Jones spearheaded a campaign to bring production of the famous Lager back to Wrexham.

The statement by Martyn Jones gets right to the heart of the question of authenticity. Is the Wrexham Lager that is brewed in Illinois authentic? One might argue that as long as the Lager is brewed using the same ingredients and the same recipe then what’s the big deal? Others, such as Martyn Jones, would suggest otherwise and would argue that where Wrexham Lager is brewed is a big deal.

This is not the first time the issue has been raised with respect to the brewing industry. Back in 2016, a judge found in favor of the plaintiff in a class action lawsuit filed against Anheuser-Busch (A-B). The lawsuit revolved around Beck’s beer. While ostensibly a German beer, Beck’s was owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. In addition to being brewed in Bremen Germany, since 2012 Beck’s had been brewed in St. Louis, MO. The lawsuit alleged that Anheuser-Busch “misrepresented to consumers that Beck’s Beer is brewed in and imported from Germany”. Plaintiffs alleged “that these beers are in fact domestically brewed but priced as a premium imported beer”.

In a case study of a Scottish craft brewery, David Brown of Heriot-Watt University (UK) examines the challenges the owner faces as he considers expanding beer distribution into England and Wales. Many of the brewery’s products feature names inspired by local landmarks and Scottish idioms, with labels referencing regional issues—such as a nearby nudist colony. As they enter more geographically distant markets, a key question arises: should these local references remain unchanged, or be adapted to make the brand more accessible and transparent to non-local consumers? Selling a beer with a strong sense of place beyond its home region can presents some unique branding challenges.

The story of Wrexham Lager—and its connection to football, community, and identity—highlights a broader debate about authenticity in an increasingly globalized world. While recipes and branding can travel, the sense of place that defines a product is harder to replicate. For some, brewing Wrexham Lager in Illinois may seem inconsequential, but for others, like Martyn Jones, it strikes at the heart of what makes the beer unique. This tension between tradition and practicality is not new; it echoes similar controversies across the brewing industry, where geographic origin remains a powerful marker of authenticity. Ultimately, whether in football or beer, place matters—not just as a backdrop, but as an integral part of the story we tell and the experiences we value.

Further Reading:

Brown, David M. 2023. Managing neolocalism outside the locale in real ale and craft beer entrepreneurship: The case of Ben Lui Brewery. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Taylor, Scott, Jr and Robin DiPietro. 2020. Assessing consumer perceptions of neolocalism: Making a case for microbreweries as place-based brands. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Volume 61, Numbr 2, Pages 183–198.