Editing Alloa (section)

===Brewing===

Alloa was long associated with the [[brewing]] industry, with at least nine major breweries producing [[ale]]s at its height. However [[deindustrialization|industrial decline]] during the mid to late 20th century has led to the economy relying more on retail and leisure.  The first brewing firms in the town were Younger in 1762 and Meiklejohn in 1784.<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Archibald |first=Jannette| title =The Origins of Brewing in Alloa|journal =Nae Sma' Beer (Exhibition Catalogue)|year = 2003}}</ref>
Alloa ale was sent to London and George Younger had an extensive export trade to the [[West Indies]], [[Egypt]] and the [[Far East]]. Alloa was also home to Alloa Brewery Co, developing Graham's Golden Lager in 1927 which was renamed [[Skol]] in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hornsey|first=Ian|title=A history of beer and brewing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqnvNsgas20C&q=Skol%20Graham's&pg=PA615|year=2003|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|isbn=0-85404-630-5|page=615}}</ref> Closures and mergers during the mid-20th century reduced the number of breweries to two and by 1999 after the closure of MacLay's Thistle Brewery, only one remained, the Forth Brewery<ref>{{cite web|access-date=17 May 2008|publisher=[[University of Glasgow]]|title=Scottish Brewing Archives: FAQ Alloa Breweries|url=http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/alloa.html|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014211947/http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/alloa.html|archive-date=14 October 2006}}</ref> which became Williams Bros. in 2003.<ref>{{cite web| publisher=Directory of UK Real Ales|title=Forth Brewery Company|url = http://www.quaffale.org.uk/php/brewery/278}}</ref>