Harvey & Son (Lewes) Ltd

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East Sussex Portal

Harvey & Son (Lewes) Ltd, usually known as Harveys, is a brewery situated in Lewes, in the county of East Sussex, England.

It has around 40 tied houses, almost all in East Sussex and neighbouring counties. It distributes its main product Harveys Best, a bitter, to many more pubs in that area.

It was under the management of John Harvey (1784-1862) that the Bridge Wharf Brewery was established on its present site by the River Ouse, overlooking Cliffe Bridge, Lewes.

Harveys Brewery as seen from the Cliffe Bridge in Lewes, East Sussex, July 2006

In 1880 part of the original Georgian Brewery was rebuilt and this portion, the Tower and Brew House, dominates the scene from Cliffe Bridge. This is a beautiful example of a country brewery in Victorian era Gothic Design. Behind it stands the other half of the brewery, the Georgian fermenting room, cellars and Vat House. The fermenting room and cellars structurally have remained unchanged although they now house modern plant and equipment. The same applies to the Brew House, but the Vat House has now been converted into a modern bottling hall.

In 1984 a second brewing line was completed, doubling the production capacity from 25,000 to 50,000 barrels a year. The building for this new plant has been added in front of the Tower in a similar Gothic style, right down to the arched ironwork window.

Today, Harveys remains an independent, family company with a seventh generation of John Harvey's descendants involved in its affairs.

[edit] Range of Beers

Harveys produces both cask-conditioned and bottled ales. In both cases, there is a range which is always available ("all-year"), and then a selection of "seasonal" ales.

Cask-conditioned
- "All-year" Brews (Original Gravity / Alcohol by Volume)
  - Sussex Best Bitter (OG 1036°-1040° / ABV 4.0%)
  - Sussex Pale Ale (OG 1030° - 1034° / ABV 3.5%)
  - Armada Ale (OG 1044° - 1048° / ABV 4.5%)
  - Mild Ale (OG 1028° - 1032° / ABV3.0%)
- Seasonal Brews (Alcohol by Volume / Availability)
  - Porter (ABV 4.8% / March)
  - Knots of May Mild (TBC / May)
  - Tom Paine (5.5% / July)
  - Old Ale (4.3% / October 1st - May 1st)
  - Bonfire Boy (6% November)
  - Christmas Ale (8.1% / December - early January)
Bottled
- "All-year" Brews (Original Gravity / Alcohol by Volume)
  - Blue Label
  - India Pale Ale