Brakspear
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| Brakspear Brewery | |
|---|---|
 Logo of Brakspear Brewery |
|
| Location | Witney, Oxfordshire United Kingdom |
| Owner | Refresh UK |
| Year opened | 2002 |
| Active Beers | |
| Brakspear Bitter | bitter |
| Brakspear Special | best bitter |
| Organic beer | best bitter |
| Strong Ale | strong ale |
| Triple | strong ale |
| Spring seasonal Beers | |
| Henry on Thames | golden ale |
| Ploughmans | bitter |
| Summer seasonal Beers | |
| Downpour | best bitter with malted wheat |
| Autumn seasonal Beers | |
| Fire Dog | Red ale |
| Hop Demon | bitter |
| Winter seasonal Beers | |
| Brass Monkeys | Golden ale |
| O Be Joyful | Winter ale |
Brakspear is the name of a brand of English beers and pubs, based in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire. While the beer brewing and pub management sides of the business were originally unified, the brewing has since been sold to another company.
[edit] History
The Brakspear brewery dates back to 1711, when WH Brakspear bought a brewery on Bell Street, Henley. The Brakspear family was distantly related to Nicholas Breakspear, who became Pope Adrian IV in 1154 - the only Englishman to become Pope. In 1812 the brewery moved to the attractive Thames-side location on New Street.
The non-brewing Brakspear pub company now concentrates on maintaining and expanding its growing pub estate (102 pubs).
When the original brewing company WH Brakspear & Sons sold the Henley brewery in 2002, Refresh UK, also the owner of Wychwood, bought the rights to the Brakspear beer brands. On 17 October 2002 the original brewery ceased production and closed. The site was then sold and converted (not into luxury housing as previously stated) but, with horrible irony, was turned into part of the "Hotel du Vin" chain of boutique hotels.
After months of looking for a suitable site near Henley (during which time much of the beer was brewed at Burtonwood, Cheshire of all places) beer production was moved, along with some of the original Henley vessels, to Refresh's Wychwood Brewery, Witney, North Oxfordshire. (Home to Prince Charles Organic Duchy Beers, Hobgoblin & a beer perhaps best described as "the mutt's nuts" or "Lassies Wedding Tackle" - though this may be incorrect on grounds of gender). It is suggested that before moving his firm to Henley (1711?) company founder, Robert Brakspear had originally brewed his beer in Witney - the town to which his beers returned 300 years later.
Brakspear's beer is brewed using the traditional double drop fermentation method. This involves allowing fermentation to start in vessels on an upper floor, then the following morning 'dropping' the fermenting beer into a second vessel below. This leaves dead yeast & unwanted solids ('trub') behind & encourages a healthier fermentation. Refresh UK claims all Brakspear beers possess a butterscotch flavour due to a natural compound - diacetyl produced through this method.
Brakspear's last head-brewer, Peter Scholey has set up his own company The Beer Counter as a "cuckoo brewery" overseeing the production of his own brands & others including the famous "Coniston Bluebird", by hiring out capacity at quality breweries such as The Beer Station/Hepworth's in Horsham, Sussex. Other former Brakspear brewing staff are involved in a number of craft breweries up & down the country (Justin "Buster" Grant, became head brewer of the Breconshire Brewery).
Brakspear's pub chain was bought in November 2006 by pub chain JT Davies for £106 million.[1] JT Davies' pubs will be rebranded as Brakspear, it is announced.
