Eldridge Pope

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Eldridge Pope was a traditional brewery situated in Dorchester, Dorset in England. The brewery opened in 1881. Royal Oak and Hardy's were amongst the beers brewed there. Following a series of calamatous business decisions, the brewery closed in July 2003. The company's best-known brands are now brewed under licence by Dorset and Devon-based micro-breweries.

'Royal Oak' and 'Hardy's Ale' were two of the real ales brewed by Denis Edwin Holliday, Head Brewer of Eldridge Pope throughout the 1960s and 70s. He also has an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for brewing the strongest commercially brewed beer, 1978.

Eldridge Pope, now known as EP Ltd, has since 2003 been a pub, bar and hotel business, running bars such as the "Que Pasa" chain of tapas bars, "Room At the Inn" hotels and "H.J. Wellfeds" pubs. In January/Feburary of 2007 EP Ltd was sold to Marstons Plc as an entire entity and the original 4 "Que Pasa" properties sold off.