IN THE 1920s, the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung came to the city and dreamed of a magnolia tree sprouting up from an island in a city square.
"Liverpool is the pool of life, it makes to live," he subsequently wrote.
The significance to the academics was that the dream was a high water mark in his development of consciousness.
To ordinary Liverpudlians, especially during the city's dismal economic twilight of the late 20th century, The Pool of Life analogy took on talismanic status, in that the city could still be recognised as somewhere special while all around poured vitriol on its ambitions.
The Dusanj brothers weren't among them. Born in Kent of Punjabi Sikh parents, Ajmail and Sudarghara had made their fortune by progressing from the family fish and chip business to taking over and making a success of soft drinks wholesaler Gardner Shaw.
When the Danish Brewing Group put Liverpool's prestigious but loss-making Cains brewery on the market they made their move. They had faith as Sudarghara, more commonly known as Sid, explains.
"From our wholesale experience, we were aware of how people had such strong loyalties towards their local brewers. So when we learned that the Danes were putting Liverpool's biggest brewery up for sale we thought 'wow, what a city'.
"I mean for a start you can't get a more passionate city in the whole of England. Liverpool's on a par with the Italians in terms of passion.
"They either love something or hate it. But that's what you want. That sort of passion comes through straight away and there's a lot of cities in England that just don't have it."