in 1907, mcewan's acquired the trade and goodwill of alexander melvin & co of central edinburgh. by 1914, mcewan's bottled beers were distributed across the united kingdom. in december 1930, mcewan's merged with edinburgh rival william younger's brewery to form scottish brewers in a defensive move after the great depression diminished revenues. each entity was initially run separately, and only certain financial and technological resources were amalgamated. during this period the company became an early pioneer of container beer, largely due to its dependence on exports, particularly to the royal navy, where beer might be stored on board ships for up to a year. the naafi continued to be an important mcewan's customer throughout the century. in the early 1930s, jardine matheson approached the company regarding a potential brewing venture in china, but mcewan's did not welcome the threat to their export business.