Every now and then, they’re certain
beers out there that have become revered by the general public and critics
alike, these beers tend to stand out from their competitors, often are revered
for their excellence and tend to gain a sizeable number of awards. Yet too
often we take them for granted and when the breweries that produce these iconic
beers cease production whether its through enforced closure by their business
owners or bankruptcy due to ongoing money problems, their loss is deeply felt
as it also means the cessation of brewing production. As recently as February this
year, this very instance occurred when Elland Brewery closed down after it
announced that they were going into liquidation. They were famous for their 1872
Porter (6.5%) which won a slew of awards over the years, including CAMRA’s
Champion Beer of Britian in 2013 and 2023 respectively, yet even a flagship
beer is never too far away from being banished to the history books. Yet what
if it was possible to revive some of these classic beers for continued
consumption, in recent times we have seen this with the likes of Thornbridge
taking on the production of Pale Rider (5.2%) following the closure of
Kelham Island Brewery in May 2022. Yet not only has the loss of contemporary beers spurred other brewers to resurrect them, in some instances they have looked to the pages of history
and sourced original recipes for beers from long-defunct breweries. In some
cases, like in the instance for Hook Norton, Fullers or St Austell they went
back to their old brewing logs to revive long forgotten classics, whilst
occasionally entire breweries like Phipps and Allsopps have been brought back
to life in a bid to revive and resume production of these once iconic beers,
here is a potted guide that includes several well-known examples.
Audit Ale (6.2%) –
Westerham
At one time Westerham based
brewery Black Eagle was one of major breweries in Kent with a substantial
number of pubs in Kent and London; however, in 1959 it was taken over by Ind
Coope and six years later they closed the brewery. Fast forward to 2004, Robert
Wicks launched Westerham Brewery in a bid to restore brewing to the town. Wicks
sought to revive some of the beers from the former Black Eagle brewery, where he borrowed recipes
from a 1938 brewery log, utilized the same hard water supply from Greensland
Ridge and incorporated the original yeast cultures which were preserved by the then
head brewer in 1959 and donated to the NCYC (National Collection of Yeast Cultures) in
Norwich at the time when Ind Coope took over the brewery. One of the former brewery’s
flagship releases was Audit Ale (6.2%) inspired by the tradition when
colleges brewed strong ales every October following the hop harvest, then matured
for many months before being served at the annual Audit Feast towards the end
of the academic year. Brewed to the same strength (as produced in 1938), made
with pale and crystal malts along with a huge charge of Kent Goldings hops as
Wicks proclaimed. Adrian Tierney Jones once noted “it’s a noble and assured
beer, with plenty of poise on the palate, there’s a restrained vinous-like
sweetness, the suggestion of raisins and currants steeped in booze, some slight
chocolate, plus a whisper of banana.”[1]
This beer was revived for 2nd SIBA South East of England beer festival and took
gold medal in the strong ales category, it has subsequently won a range of
regional and national awards. The beer is currently a regular part of their
range, sold in can, bottle and cask.
Crafty Stoat (5.3%) –
Wibblers
Ushers Brewery was established in Trowbridge in 1824 by Thomas Usher and his wife Hannah. For the next 45 years, they strove tirelousy to establish the brewery in the face of stiff competition. Later they were joined by their three sons in 1844, and by the end of the 19th century the brewery had expanded operations, merging with Fanshaw & Palmer of Donnington, Berkshire to become Ushers Wiltshire Brewery Ltd. Over time they acquired more breweries across the region, increasing the number of public houses. In 1960, they were taken over by Watney Mann, by 2000 the company owned 60 managed houses and 740 tenancies, yet the brewery was running at 70% capacity of its 600,000 barrel per year volume, then owner Robert Beare took the decision to close the brewery and production of the beers were sold onto Wychwood. Since 1991, Wibblers Brewery has been operating in Southminster, Essex, where they have won a number of awards for their extensive range of beers, lagers and ciders. When it came to produce a stout, they looked to the history books and in conjunction with the Durden Park Beer Festival, they tracked down an 1885 recipe for a stout from Ushers. The beer was created with assistance from members of the Craft Brewing Association and the UK-Homebrew Digest at the 2008 Flocculation event. It is brewed with Fuggles hops and six different types of malts, that help give its unique flavour. Jeff Evans commented it as “a dark ruby beer with hints of caramel and chocolate from the dark grains in the aroma; the taste is full bodied, slightly smoky and bittersweet, with creamy mocha coffee flavours and a little dark berry fruitiness.”[2] This beer has gone onto become a regular part of their main range, and has won a number of regional awards including SIBA East and CAMRA East where it was notably awarded Champion Beer of East Anglia in 2015, the following year they won the coveted gold award for Champion Winter Beer of Britain (Stouts) at the Great British Winter Beer Festival.
Double Stout (4.8%) – Hook
Norton
Uniquely this is only example in
this selection that doesn’t come from a defunct or revived brewery. Hook Norton
Brewery has been treading the boards since 1849 when John Harris established a
malthouse in the Oxfordshire village of Hook Norton. Commercial brewing
commenced in 1856, and by the 1880’s they commenced construction of their
iconic tower brewery which continues to run to this day. Double Stout (4.8%)
was first brewed in 1898, its name “reflects the old practice of marking a
certain number of crosses on a cask to indicate strength”[5]
Des de Moor notes. The beer was a fine example of an English stout with a smooth
and full-bodied mouthfeel and a prominent hoppy aftertaste, yet its commercial
life was short and by 1917 it was discontinued. Its decades long slumber was
ended when it was triumphantly relaunched in 1996 to great acclaim. Made in the
traditional way, it uses black, brown and Maris Otter pale malt along with
Challenger, Fuggles and Goldings hops. Jet black with ruby overtones, Roger Protz
described it as “the palate is bittersweet with chocolate, coffee, dry smoky
malt, a hint of caramel and an underpinning of bitter hop resins.”[6]
This beer has subsequently become a regular part of their bottled range, and available
on cask on a seasonal basis. It has also won gongs at the World Beer Awards,
Brewing International Awards and the International Beer Challenge.
India Pale Ale (5%) – Allsopps
During the 19th century, Allsopps was one of the major breweries in Burton, established by Benjamin Wilson in 1742, his son Benjamin Jr later took over and helped turn it into a profitable company. Benjamin Jr employed his nephew Samuel Allsopp, and since he had no issue, Wilson sold to him in 1807, the company became known as Samuel Allsopps & Sons in 1822. During this time, India Pale Ales were increasingly being exported to the profitable Indian market, with Frederick Hodgson dominating the competition. In a bid to counter Hodgson’s unscrupulous business practises, Henry Jeffrey notes “Campbell Majoribanks, a director at the Company, approached Burton brewer Samuel Allsopp to make a rival beer. Allsopp brewed a sample in a teapot which met with approval and the beer was shipped to India from 1823.”[7] Their IPA became one of the brewery’s landmark products, not only did it help cash in on the growing Indian trade, it also did well domestically by displacing the likes of Porter as punters went for brighter, fresher beers. However, the brewery’s fortunes began to slide when Percy Allsopp built a larger brewery site in 1897 that featured facilities for brewing lager, unfortunately there wasn’t much demand and Percy resigned within months of its launch. His brother George took over and despite his best efforts to keep the business afloat, the family soon lost control of the brewery and it went into receivership in 1911. It limped on until 1934 when it merged with Ind Coope, before gradually vanishing altogether by the early 1960’s when it joined Ansells and Tetley to become Allied Breweries. Jamie Allsopp had a lifelong endeavour to restore his family business, and in 2020 he re-established the company. Not only was he able to acquire the famous red hand trademark from Brewdog and other brands from Carlsberg, he also managed to acquire an original brewing ledger from 1934 courtesy of brewer Steve Holt (of Kirkstall Brewery) who had won at auction, along with the original yeast strains preserved at the NCYC. One of their first ‘re-releases’ was India Pale Ale (5%) which debuted in 2021, made with Maris Otter and Chevalier malts, along with Bramling Cross, Fuggles, and Challenger hops, Beer Today noted at the time “this recreation is darker and clearer than most modern IPAs. Malt and hops combine on the nose to create notes of fresh hay, citrus, and dark fruit, with a hint of caramel. On the palate it’s rich and rewarding, with grass and spicy notes playing off a light toffee-like base, before a dry, lingering finish.”[8] This beer is now part of their regular range, and was soon joined by other former products including the likes of Pale Ale (4%), Pilsner (4.6%) and Arctic Ale (11%) respectively, Jamie intends on reviving other classic beers from the brewery in the near future, so watch this space.
Norfolk Nip (7%) – Woodfordes
Steward & Patteson Ltd was established in Pockthorpe by John Patterson in 1793, by the end of the 19th century they had become one of the major brewers in Norfolk, owning a vast number of pubs across Norfolk and Suffolk, by the time it was taken over by Watney’s in 1963 they owned 632 pubs at the time and two breweries in Norwich and Ely respectively, however due to growing financial issues brewing had ceased by 1970 and the breweries were decommissioned. Woodfordes Brewery was established in Woodbastick, Norfolk in 1981 by Ray Ashworth and Dr David Crease, whom named the brewery after James Woodforde, a 18th century parson noted for his love of good quality beer. In 1992, to mark the tenth anniversary of publication of the local Norfolk CAMRA magazine Norfolk Nips. the brewery revived one of Steward & Patteson's iconic beers, Norfolk Nip (7%). First introduced in 1929, it was a barley wine which true to its name was sold in Nip bottles that measured around 180ml or a third of a pint. The revived version was sold in 375ml bottles, and dade with a combination of crystal, Maris Otter pale and chocolate malt together with Goldings hops. Jeff Evans describes it as “a deep ruby colour beer with dark chocolate and red berries in the aroma. The softly warming bittersweet winey taste, features treacle toffee, dark chocolate and dried stone fruits, before a firmly dry, nutty, bitter chocolate finish.”[2] Reflecting on the beer, the brewery's managing director Rupert Farquharson commented “the revitalised label has enabled us to move the look and feel forward whilst staying true to the traditional elements of this historic recipe.”[9] This is beer is generally sold in bottle on limited release, it was even sold through Marks & Spencer for a while.
Phipps IPA (4.3%) – Phipps
The brewery was founded in 1801 by Pickering Phipps and production moved to Towcester in 1817, and over the next 165 years it became one of Northamptonshire’s major breweries and the 9th largest in the country, owning pubs in areas like Leicester, Oxford, Peterborough and Warwick. Following a takeover by Watney’s in 1960, its name was dropped four years later and they ceased brewing altogether in 1972. In 2004, brothers Quentin and Alaric Neville started making plans to resurrect Phipps IPA (4.3%) and obtained the rights from then owners S&N. Together with brewers Dusty Miller (former head brewer at Phipps) and Tony Davis, along with Pat Heron who brought along the old brewing logs, they sought to recreate the beer using 1930’s recipes that had been preserved by former employees. One of their flagship beers, it was first introduced in 1868 following the opening of their new brewery site, originally brewed at 4.8%, it was dropped to 4.3% following the outbreak of WW1 when the government ramped up taxes on alcohol. Described as a sessionable sweet beer it became widely popular with local workers from the tanneries and “Phipps IPA became the county’s favourite beer and was sold as the company’s best bitter right through to the late ‘60s”[3] the Nene Enquirer note. The beer took four years of development and research at Grainstore Brewery before it was re-released for the first time in 40 years in 2008, this modern recreation is faithful to tradition, utilizing pale malt along with a blend of Goldings and Fuggles hops that helps give its distinct and full-bodied flavour. The brewery described it as “the balance of bitterness and sweetness, allied to a smooth hoppy after-taste, creates a most drinkable pint and our flagship brew.”[4] This beer continues to be sold as part of their core range, and its success encouraged the brewery to resurrect a number of other former beers including the likes of Ratcliffe’s Celebrated Stout (4.3%), Gold Star (5.2%), Diamond Ale (3.7%), Bison Brown (4.6%) and Stingo No.10 (8.3%). Finally in 2014, they transferred operations from Grainstore, when they acquired their former Albion Brewery in Northampton.
Prize Old Ale (9%) – Dark Star
The story of this beer’s long road to revival was traumatic and thrilling. It was originally brewed at Gales Brewery in Horndean, Hampshire which was established in 1847 by Richard Gale when he purchased the Ship and Bell along with its brewery. The site later burnt down, and with the insurance money in 1869 he established a larger brewery in the town. In 1922 William Barton Mears Jr became head brewer following the suicide of his predecessor William Sydney Steel; with the wartime restrictions of strong ale lifted the previous June, Mears took advantage of this and in 1923 released a strong dark old-aged ale with an original gravity of 1095ยบ[10], it was known as Prize Old Ale by 1928. It was inspired by dark old aged beers made before WW1, Martyn Cornell notes “the beer is produced using the solera system, where a batch of each new brew has a quantity of the previous brew added to it. In return a vat of the old brew is topped up with new beer every year, ensuring the continuity of microorganisms going back year upon year to, in this case, the early 1920s.”[11] To add towards developing its unique flavours, the beer was matured in a wooden hogshead that had its own unique floral and forna (including lactic bacteria), where it as matured between six months – one year before being dispensed into bottles. In late 2005, Gales was brought out by Fullers, who closed the brewery in March 2006. Some of their beers including Butser (3.4%) and Festival Mild (4.8%) were kept on for a few more years before being discontinued. In the case of Prize Old Ale (9%) due to its unique status as a rare example of a stock ale, there was a concerted effort to keep it going. John Keeling (former director at Fullers) ensured the contents of the last batch made at Gale’s were transferred to Fullers in 2006. Since they weren’t able to acquire the original wooden vats, Keeling organised production of 80 barrels worth of Prize Old Ale, which Derek Lowe (former head brewer at Gale’s) inoculated 20 barrels with samples made from the last batch at Gale’s, these were then incorporated into the vat. Fullers only made two batches (in 2007 and 2008) before it was discontinued. Despite this setback, Keeling maintained 42 barrels of POA and hid them in the Chiswick tank room. In 2014, Henry Kirk (head brewer at Dark Star) discovered these barrels and recalled that the beer was reminiscent of Rodenbach Grand Cru (6%)[12], and was determined to resurrect it. So, in 2018, he brought some samples made from the last vat of POA (made at Fullers) in order to maintain the unique family of microorganisms, for use in a later batch. A tanker of POA was delivered to the brewery the following year and Kirk set to work, he based the re-release on a recipe from Gales own records dating from 1989. He incorporated some of the last batch made at Fullers into the brew, in order to extract the unique flavour, which was blended into the new batch, the beer was matured in a wooden vat that cost £15,000 to produce. After three years of development, the beer was re-released in October 2022 where it sold out in 48 hours.[13] The modern version is made with black and crystal malts, along with Fuggles and Goldings hops, remarked as a complex beer Roger Protz described it as “the beer has a musty aroma with an intense fruitiness of dates, raisins and sultanas. It’s acidic in the mouth with rich fruit, and spicy and peppery hops. The finish is long and fruity with some sweetness developing to challenge the sharp acidic notes.”[14] Shortly after its release, the brewery’s owners Asahi closed down Dark Star and transferred their brands to Meantime Brewing, despite this impediment POA was released again last Autumn to great acclaim, and will continue to be sold on a seasonal basis.
Winter Royal (5.4%) – Rebellion
At one time of the major
breweries in Buckinghamshire, Wethered & Sons was established in Marlow by
George Wethered in 1758. The management of the brewery was a strictly family
affair passed through the generations, and in 1788 his grandson Thomas
purchased a freehold for a larger brewery site. For the next two centuries, the
brewery remained in continuous operation producing beers like Wethered’s S.P.A,
Wethered’s Bitter and Winter Royale which became popular locally; in 1949 the
company was purchased by Strong & Co and subsequently in 1968 it was taken
over by Whitbread. The brewery site was closed in 1988 for commercial
redevelopment, through their subsidiary, Whitbread Developments Ltd. A few
years later in 1993, Rebellion Brewery was set up in Marlow in a bid to re-establish
the town’s long brewing heritage, creating beers using traditional methods
whilst utilizing the latest technology. In 2016, Rebellion revived one of Wethered's flagiship beers, Winter Royale
(5.4%), by utilizing the original recipe which used Fuggles and Goldings hops
along with locally grown barley from Bencombe Farm in Marlow-Bottom to add to
its authentic taste, which the brewery stated “the result is a deep, ruby
winter warmer at 5.4%, with a rich maltiness, soft bitterness and a fantastic
late and dry hop aroma.”[15]
Mark Gloyens (brewery director at Rebellion) described the genesis for the idea
“the idea was spurred on by the fact that we had bought some barley from the
farmer here, it just seemed to tie in together quite nicely – having the
original recipe brewed locally and using local ingredients.”[16]
Although Rebellion managed to acquire the original recipe, for several years
they weren’t able to release it under its own name as it’s copyright was owned
by AB InBev, Rebellion later submitted their own application for a trademark
which went uncontested, and they successfully brought back the rights to sell
the beer under its original name. Commenting
to the press at the time of its release, Stu Sutherland stated “Rebellion are
very proud to be part of the Marlow community and we’re happy to bring some of
the town’s brewing history back to life.”[17]
Initially sold as a one-off release for the Christmas period, its success encouraged
the brewery to re-release it on an annual basis, and it continues to be sold in
both cask and bottle during the Winter months.
[1] ‘World
Bottled Beers: 50 Classic Brews To Sip and Savour’ by Adrian Tierney Jones,
Jacqui Small LLP, 2014
[2] ‘CAMRA’s
Good Bottled Beer Guide, 8th Edition’ by Jeff Evans, CAMRA Books, 2014
[7] ‘Allsopp’s:
the rebirth of the original Burton IPA’ by Henry Jeffreys, The Critic, 28th
August 2021
[10] Note: In modern terms this measures at 9% alcohol.
[11] ‘Seasons
Will Pass You By — The Return of Gale's Prize Old Ale’ by Martyn Cornell,
Pellicle, 28th September 2022.
[12] Note: Rather
ironically Rodenbach Grand Cru was inspired by English Stock Ales, after
founder Eugene Rodenbach toured a number of British breweries in the 1870’s,
learning more about how Stock Ales and Porter were brewed.
[13] Note: Roger Protz noted that it was the fastest-selling beer every brewed at Dark
Star.
[16] ‘Rebellion
Brewery recreates classic Winter Royal beer for Christmas’ by James Harrison, Maidenhead
Advertiser, 24th December 2016
[17] ‘Rebellion Brewery uses historic recipe to revive favourite 'Winter Royal' beer, made by Wethered Brewery’ by Stephanie Wareham, Bucks Free Press, 21st December 2016
