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Springhead Brewery Tour Another beautiful summers evening and an eagerly awaited trip to Springhead Brewery, Sutton-on Trent, Newark. The brewery started life as the smallest micro brewery in England (2.5 barrels per week) in a tiny outbuilding adjoining the original brewers house beside a bend in the River Trent known as Springhead. After three years the brewery moved to the slightly larger premises we were visiting, tucked away on an industrial estate as micro breweries tend to be. A warm welcome awaited us and we were told that the ‘crew’ really look forward to these visits. The first thing to be done was to get us all a drink. Obviously!! On offer were ‘Springhead Bitter’ at 4% an easy drinker- apparently a Nottinghamshire pub sold its first 9 gallon cask in just 50 minutes! Also available was a wheat beer, ‘Hersbrucker Weizenbier’ at 3.6% and ‘Gardners Delight’ at 4.6% which was truly a delight. The Springhead range of beers have names associated with the English Civil War, (an interest of the original brewer) ‘Roaring Meg’ being a mortar found in the grounds of Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire. ‘Goodrich Castle’ ale also being the brewery’s only true ale brewed without hops but using Rosemary. Other beers include ‘Cromwell’s Hat’ 6% with Juniper and Cinnamon, ‘The Leveller’ 4.8%, ‘Puritan’s Porter’ 4%, and ‘Roundhead’s Gold’ 4.2% made with wildflower honey. An historic battle nearby gave ‘Surrender 1646’ at 3.6% its name. Regular deliveries are made to the Chesterfield and Sheffield area. One feather in the cap of Springhead Brewery is its connection with the Chatsworth estate, for whom their ‘Gardeners Tap’ is made. A photograph of the Chatsworth gardeners is proudly displayed on the wall of the brewery, and as legend has it, there was a small brewery on the estate which the gardeners had tapped in to in order to run a supply to the greenhouse, only discovered when the pipes were being replaced. After several samples of the beers we were coaxed away from the bar for our tour of the brewery by Dave, ably assisted by young Joshua who will one day make a great Brewer/Tour guide/Air Steward. The brewery does three brews per week and has a good bottled beer side, notable for its striking circular designs on the labels. Passing into another room and disturbing Robert the Spider we entered the bottling plant. To our amazement the bottling plant is simply the same kind of hand operated machine a home brewer would use as Springhead have had little success in contracting out this operation. From this Springhead produce around 25,000 bottles per year! Labour is brought in for this, but can the poor lad lift a pint of beer when he’s done? A very enlightening tour. Tours can be booked for groups of 20 to 40 people in the Springhead visitor centre including tasting a variety of ales (no restrictions on quantity) and a buffet if required. Located at Unit 3, Sutton Workshops, Old Great North Road, Sutton-on-Trent, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 6QS "Lady Eleanor" S H Wards Sheaf Brewery Unfortunately after reporting on the loss of Stones Cannon Brewery in the April issue, Sheffield's last major brewery, Ward's, has also closed. We therefore mark this sad occasion with a customary potted history. The original business was established by John Kirby at the Sheaf Island Brewery on Effingham Road. George Wright joined the concern, originally to recover a debt for malt his company had supplied. He eventually became a partner, trading as Kirby Wright & Co. Wright himself fell into serious financial difficulties through other failed business interests. The brewery was salvaged by Henry Septimus Ward who joined Wright, injecting new finances on condition that the company name was changed to S H Ward and Co. Back on its feet the brewery expanded acquiring in 1870 the Albion Brewery and Bradley's Soho Brewery, both on Ecclesall Road. After modernising the plant at the Soho brewery operations were moved to the new site, renaming it the Sheaf Brewery. The other two breweries were then sold off. The partnership between Ward and Wright flourished and by 1896 the concern was incorporated as S H Ward & Co Ltd. Both partners were succeeded by their sons and later successive generations of the Wright family continued to run the brewery until Chairman Wilfred Wright sold out to Vaux of Sunderland in 1972, with some 100 pubs. In 1978 Vaux added Darley's Thorne Brewery to their list of acquisitions and when brewing ceased in September 1986 their beers were then brewed at the Sheaf Brewery. Road widening in the 1980’s brought about the demolition of the old offices and the construction of a new office block, which incorporated the original arched gateway into the scheme. Many other improvements have since been carried out to the brewing plant. Unlike most other Sheffield breweries, Wards originally took very little interest in outlets in the Chesterfield area. The only town centre pub being the Barley Mow on Saltergate (ex. Bradley's). Other local pubs were the Devonshire Arms; Steelmelters and Cricketers in Newbold, and the Junction Inn at Whittington Moor. However, in the early 1990’s new legislation forced major brewers to sell off a large amount of pubs. This brought new acquisitions to the Wards estate from Tetleys and John Smiths, which included the Victoria, Brampton, currently a Good Beer Guide entry. At the same time many pubs where bought in the Barnsley area, where the distinctive Wards taste was not popular. The brew was therefore toned down to improve sales and the classic malty brew of old was now lost. A change in leadership at Vaux brought about a radical change of policy, to concentrate solely on their Swallow Hotel chain, off-loading their pubs and breweries. Two rescue bids were made, both turned down by the new Swallow board. The first by ex MD Frank Nicholson was a £70m bid for the breweries and pubs. A second bid of £8m for Wards brewery by commercial director Barry Arnold and head brewer Paul Simpson was also rejected. The last brew took place early in June, with final closure of the brewery on July 2nd. Local pubs at least for the time being are to be supplied with un-exciting Tetley and Stones bitter. The long tradition of brewing in Sheffield is now left to its micro-breweries. Unaccredited A
visit to Belvoir Brewery The latest branch outing was to Belvoir Brewery (pronounced “Beevor”), in the Vale of Belvoir in Leicestershire, near the Nottinghamshire border. The brewery is at Old Dalby, which in the dark of a February evening seemed to consist of small winding lanes with the occasional cluster of farm buildings the only sign of civilisation. Following the instructions given to us led us to turn into an apparently deserted yard - we felt all was lost. However we had arrived! Light in the darkness - beer for the thirsty traveller! Brewer Colin Brown welcomed us warmly (that is, he gave us a drink as soon as we got inside) and showed us round his domain. The first thing that strikes you is the amount of older equipment present in what is only a small plant (brew length about 9 barrels). The explanation for this is that Colin managed to acquire a lot of the stuff from Shipstone’s when it closed, having worked in the past both at Theakston’s and Shipstone’s. Belvoir was set up in 1995 and is doing well, testimony to the hard work and professionalism of its brewer. It was very interesting to hear how the plant had been constructed from parts of varying origins - there’s even a fermenter from the now- defunct Wem brewery! When we had Star Bitter at the recent Chesterfield beer festival, it was described in the programme as “designed to replicate the bitter flavour of the old Shipstone’s Bitter”. Well some of the drinkers I served thought it did, some thought it didn’t. Personally I don’t remember Shipstone’s too well, but Star Bitter (ABV 3.9%) certainly has lots of character. In the words of the leaflet produced by the brewery, “the beer combines a crisp dry flavour with a generous bitterness to leave a refreshing finish on the palate”. I’ll agree with every word of that! As well as the Star, Belvoir Bitter (ABV 4.3%, more malty and smooth) and Peacock’s Glory (ABV 4.7%, pale and dangerously drinkable) were available for us to try in generous amounts (we did, naturally). The hospitality also
included a buffet of cheese & biscuits and some Melton Mowbray pork pies. At the end of a most enjoyable evening, grateful thanks were given to Colin and we all departed, suitably merry. I for one was glad to have the opportunity to become better acquainted with the Belvoir beers and shall definitely look out for them again. "The Handley Hack" This webpage was last updated on Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
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