In 1840 Carling began a small brewing operation in London, selling beer to soldiers at the local camp. In 1878 his sons, John and William, built a six-storey brewery in London, which was destroyed by fire a year after opening. Thomas Carling, shortly after helping to fight the fire, died of pneumonia. It makes no sense for us to fund anyone down because we know the market for Carling will be strong at Christmas. We are struggling to keep up with demand." Sainsbury's move to slash the price of Carling has brought howls of outrage from the wholesale sector. Carling Premier is a cream-flow lager with an alcohol content of 4.7%, introduced to celebrate the brand’s sponsorship of the FA Premier League in 1992. In cans it is sold with a nitrogen widget, similar to those used in some canned ales. Unlike most lagers, Premier needs time to settle.

The first Carling brewery had two kettles, a horse to turn the grinding mill and six men to work on the mash tubs, and Carling sold his beer on the streets of London, Ontario from a wheelbarrow. It is unforgiveable that we should be seeing retail prices cheaper than we can buy it in trunkers from our suppliers." He suggested the overriding concern at Bass was the impending change of ownership and the need for good sales figures. "Beer has become a loss leader and we have to convince our customers that we are selling it to them at no profit.William and John took over the company, naming it the W & J Carling Brewing Co. John Carling died in 1911 and the company changed hands numerous times since. It was acquired by Canadian Breweries Limited, which was eventually renamed Carling O'Keefe, which merged with Molson, which then merged with Coors to form Molson Coors Brewing Company. If on inspection there is any damage or shortage it is imperative that this is noted on the delivery note at the time of delivery as claims will not be considered if this is not completed. Bass marketing director John Holberry defending his position said: "We have a price platform and we continue to offer it, but we have to let the retailers do what they want and we cannot take any action on a retailer's rsp. In the 1950s, Carling was first sold in the UK; it became the UK's most popular beer brand (by volume sold) in the early 1980s.

He said all the price action is being concentrated on three brands ­ Foster's, Stella Artois and Carling ­ as they account for 50% of the market at this time of year.