| Hall & Woodhouse Badger Brewery |
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|---|---|
| Location | Blandford St Mary, Dorset United Kingdom |
| Owner(s) | Woodhouse family |
| Year opened | 1777 |
Hall and Woodhouse is a British regional brewery founded in 1777 by Charles Hall in Blandford Forum, Dorset, UK.[1] The company operates over 250 public houses in the south of England, and brews under the name Badger Brewery.
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The brewery traces its roots to 1777, when Charles Hall founded the Ansty Brewery (Ansty being a village near Blandford). The Hall & Woodhouse partnership itself dates from 1847, when Charles' son and successor went into business with George Woodhouse.
In 1875, the "Badger" logo of the firm was introduced, and in 1900, when a new brewery was built to replace the original, it was named after the logo. The firm remains a family firm.
In 1991 the brewpub Gribble Inn was acquired. Though sold in 2005 back to the landlord, Hall & Woodhouse retained the rights to the brand name Fursty Ferret, the brewpub's most famous beer.
In 2000 the King & Barnes brewery business in Horsham was acquired. The brewery itself was sold off for housing, though Hall & Woodhouse retained the King & Barnes chain of pubs and the rights to the brand names of the King and Barnes beers.[2]
Tanglefoot is a premium bitter, 4.9% as a cask ale, and 5% as a filtered beer in bottles and cans. According to a story presently written on the bottle, it was given its name when the Head Brewer drank "several tankards" and "fell on" a name for the beer.[3] The cask version is widely available in the south of England, and a pasteurised version is available in bottles or cans in supermarkets nationally.
Fursty Ferret is a 4.4% abv bitter. Originally brewed at the Gribble Inn, which was bought by Hall & Woodhouse in 1991. The pub was sold back to the landlord in 2005, with Hall & Woodhouse retaining the rights to the brand name Fursty Ferret.
The company also markets soft drinks known as Rio (formerly Rio Riva) which are canned drinks made from fruit juices and sparkling spring water. Hall and Woodhouse also used to manufacture Panda Pops, but sold the brand to Nichols plc in 2005.[4]