Brewery News

Feature

Goachers: Kent's great survivors

Phil and Debbie Goacher launched their brewery in 1983 and restored beer-making to Maidstone, which had lost two large breweries, Fremlins and Style & Winch. Goachers concentrates on strictly traditional styles and still makes a mild. Phil and Debbie have retired and the brewery is run by their son Howard. He uses Kentish hops and would like farmers to grow barley in Kent.

Added: Tuesday, December 7th 2021

Feature

Pilgrim's way is to brew fine beer

Pilgrim Brewery in Reigate is Surrey's oldest brewery and it supplies not only pubs in the county but the Oval cricket ground. It was founded by Dave Roberts, who helped SIBA gain Progressive Beer Duty for smaller brewers. It's now run by a trio who have expanded the beer range and upgraded the brewing kit but remain faithful to Roberts' beers that celebrate the pilgrims who made the long trek from Salisbury to Canterbury

Added: Sunday, November 21st 2021

News

Scots breweries aim for the big time

Innis & Gunn has won planning approval to build a new brewery alongside Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh where there's a renowned school of brewing and distilling. Students will be able to use the brewery's facilities. BrewDog plans to build a vast new brewery and bar at Waterloo Station in London on the site of the former Eurostar terminal

Added: Monday, November 1st 2021

Feature

Cask beer is bouncing back

Fears that cask beer would not recover from the lockdowns have been knocked aside by reports from both regional and smaller breweries that sales are booming. Two family brewers, Charles Wells in Bedford, and Everards in Leicester have downsizes to new plants, Brewpoint and the Beer Hall, where cask ales are central to their plans. Pictured: the Brew Hall.

Added: Monday, August 23rd 2021

Comment

BrewDog saga leaves a sour taste

BrewDog was meant to offer something different in the world of beer. It attracted young drinkers with Punk beer and encouraged them to invest in the brewery with an Equity for Punks scheme. But now employees have accused founders James Watt and Martin Dickie (pictured) of creating a toxic atmosphere at the company with a "growth at all costs" attitude. And a large parcel of shares have been sold to investment companies based in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands

Added: Wednesday, July 7th 2021

News

Boom in new breweries beats lockdown

New breweries, numbering 210, opened in 2020 despite the corona virus and the shut down of pubs for many months, according to figures from the leading accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. There are now 3,018 breweries in the UK and the company thinks many owners looked for new routes to market when pub sales were not available. It thinks drinkers are becoming more adventurous and are seeking out new styles of beer.

Added: Monday, March 15th 2021

News

Lockdown: pouring beer down the drain

Two craft brewers in Hertfordshire -- in common with small brewers everywhere -- are having a tough time. Farr Brew is planning to pour casks of ale down the drain and its cellars are full of unsold stock while 3 Brewers has its brewer furloughed and can't supply the 200 pubs that take its beer. Pictured: Farr Brew pumps on the bar of the Elephant & Castle in Amwell

Added: Friday, January 29th 2021

News

New team buys St Peter's Brewery

One of Britain's oldest craft breweries, St Peter's in Suffolk, has been bought by a group of beer lovers following the decision by founder John Murphy to retire. The brewery, based in an old moated hall in the countryside, is famous for its quirky oval bottles and for a range of ales and no-alcohol beers.

Added: Wednesday, January 27th 2021

News

BrewDog in bid to save the planet

Scottish brewer BrewDog plans to plant one million trees by 2020 in the Highlands in a bid to capture carbon. Founders James Watt and Martin Dickie say that while they have reduced carbon emissions at the brewery they knew, when they heard a lecture on climate change by Sir David Attenborough, they had to do more to help save the planet. The BrewDog Forest will host retreats and workshops for drinkers who want to do more to help the planet survive

Added: Sunday, August 23rd 2020

News

Brewers at war over tax reform

Plans by the Treasury to reform the tax incentives in Small Brewers Relief have caused a major row in the brewing industry. By changing the threshold at which higher duty is levied, a number of small brewers say they could be forced out of business. A coalition of bigger brewers say the current threshold is a barrier to growth and needs to be removed. Both SIBA, the voice of small brewers, and CAMRA are opposing the changes

Added: Thursday, July 23rd 2020