Nethergate Brewery
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters |
Sudbury, Essex England |
| Products | Beer |
| Owner | Independent |
Nethergate Brewery was established in 1986 in Clare, Suffolk, England by former Head Brewer Ian Hornsey and his business partner Dick Burge. In 2005 the brewery site was moved across the county border to Pentlow in Essex. In 2010 the brewery was sold to anonymous buyers.
Brewing History
The brewery originally concentrated on cask ale and the for a while only brewed the Best Bitter, based on traditional recipes for the Yorkshire bitter style. Over the next four years this beer was joined by two other brews; firstly the Old Growler Porter, and then the IPA (in this case, IPA is also claimed to stand for "Ian's Personal Ale", in honour of the Head Brewer). Nethergate's interest in traditional ingredients also saw the creation of two of their most distinctive beers - Umbel Ale, and the stronger Umbel Magna - through the use of a traditional ingredient which had been ignored by brewers for many years: coriander. Nethergate has since ventured in the bottled beer market, with Old Growler and Umbel ale being especially prevalent in the more specialist off licences and Tesco stores in the south east.
In October 2010, Burge retired and the brewery was sold to a consortium including ex-Adnams employees Rob Flanagan, Mark Holmes and Mike Atkinson. Nethergate continued its positive growth, winning the Good Pub Guide 'Brewery of the Year' title in 2011 and in 2012 underwent a rebranding exercise which emphasised the brewery's new location across the county border and promoted the 'Growler Brewery' name on pump clips and bottle labels. As part of this exercise two of the brewery's regular beers, Suffolk County Best Bitter and Augustinian Ale, were discontinued from the core range.[1]
On 18 March 2014 the brewery went into administration and its future looked bleak, however a consortium led by founder Dick Burge purchased the ailing brewery in April 2014 and brewing has continued since, with a return to the 'Nethergate Brewery' name and a primary focus on selling beer to local free houses. [2]
Notable Beers
Nethergate's core range currently consists of three beers:
- Growler Bitter - 3.9% English Bitter
- Old Growler - 5.0% English porter
- IPA - 3.5% English IPA
The brewery also produce a number of seasonal beers including:
- Umbel Ale - 3.8% Coriander beer
- Umbel Magna - 5.0% Porter brewed with coriander
- Lemon Head - 4.0% Golden Ale brewed with lemon and ginger
- Augustinian - 4.5% Best Bitter
- Essex Border - 4.8% Blonde Ale
- Priory Mild - 3.5% Mild Ale
Awards
Nethergate have had notable success in the 'Speciality' category of CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain awards, with Umbel Magna winning the category three times (2007, 2009, 2013) and Umbel Ale winning in 2000