citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message j.w. lees type private industry brewing founded 1828 founder john lees headquarters manchester uk key people richard lees jones christopher lees jones william lees jones simon lees jones christina lees jones michael lees jones head brewer products beer owner the lees jones family website http www.jwlees.co.uk j.w. lees is a brewery in middleton greater manchester that has produced real ale since 1828 . the brewery owns and operates 140 pubs mainly in north west england and north wales . it also owns wine distributor willoughby s. contents 1 history 2 beers 3 public houses 4 willoughby s wine merchants 5 references 6 external links history edit john william lees the brewery was formed in 1828 when retired cotton manufacturer john lees purchased land in middleton lancashire and built greengate brewery from which the company still operates . 1 the company was renamed j.w. lees & co. brewers when his grandson john william lees took over the company in 1876 . the company is still family owned and operated . when william simon christina and michael lees jones joined richard and christopher at j.w. lees in the 1990s they were the sixth generation from the founder . in 2004 greengate brewery featured in the television show most haunted and in 2003 hrh charles prince of wales visited to celebrate the brewery s 175th anniversary . 1 beers edit manchester star ale draught name abv notes j.w. lees cask bitter 4 % an amber ale first brewed in 1828 . j.w. lees extra smooth bitter 3.9 % an auburn coloured beer . j.w. lees dark smooth bitter 3.5 % a dark mahogany coloured beer . golden original lager 4 % first brewed in 1995 . golden original lager was brewed to a new recipe with a new yeast in 2000 . greengate smooth 3.2 % pale ale with an amber colour and topped with a smooth creamy head . brewer s dark 3.5 % dark mild first brewed in 2005 . bottled name abv notes moonraker strong ale 6.5 % a reddish brown beer . manchester star ale 7.3 % a dark strong ale . john willies bitter 4.5 % amber coloured . coronation street premium ale 4.2 % the governor 4.1 % amber auburn beer co created by marco pierre white . harvest ale 11.5 % a barley wine released in vintages . in addition j.w. lees brews ansells mild and best bitter for carlsberg . citation needed public houses edit a j.w. lees pub in middleton this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message j.w. lees has 173 public houses primarily in residential areas in the north west of england and north wales . most public houses are run by tenant landlords but some of the larger houses in particular those that provide pub food are managed by the brewery . in 2009 j.w. lees bought ten new pubs from punch taverns . willoughby s wine merchants edit willoughby s is the name of j.w. lees wines and spirits operation . running as a separate business the company itself has its own illustrious heritage stemming back to 1850 . references edit a b scheerhout john 5 jun 2013 . breweries and beer are the toast of the town the way we were at jw lees brewery . manchester evening news . retrieved 14 january 2014 . external links edit jw lees homepage retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title j.w. lees brewery & oldid 742545551 categories companies based in rochdale boroughbeer in englandcompanies established in 1828middleton greater manchesterfood and drink companies established in 1828hidden categories articles needing additional references from june 2011all articles needing additional referencesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from january 2014 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 4 october 2016 at 09 53 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view