They’re all turning into micro-brewers!
By: JimOldfield
May 31st, 2012
The rise and rise of ale continues unabated across Britain – with the girls joining the blokes in the launching of new micro-breweries.
TV chef’s wife Jo Coubrough has swapped her teacher’s outfit for overalls and wellies, to make her own hospitality waves on the East Anglian coast, by setting up Jo C’s Norfolk Ale.
Already she has spread out from King’s Lynn and is now selling her beers across East Anglia, London, the Midlands and the North!
Jo decided on the new career after having a family, and began by taking a brewing course – on which she was one of only three women.
The wife of New Zealand chef Chris Coubrough and co-owner of their Flying Kiwi Inns business had a ready-made opening market for her beers in their five pubs.
But she has rapidly established further afield with her Norfolk Kiwi and Bitter Old Bustard ales.
Meanwhile in Shirley, Solihull, Steven Whitworth has gone from airing-cupboard brewing to the launching of the Whitworth Brewing Co.
With 15 years of homebrew experience behind him, 40-year-old Steven now runs a state-of-the-art micro-brewery, and his first ale – the 4 per cent Sobriety – is being snapped up by neighbouring pubs.
Croydon has its first new brewery in over half a century – after wine wholesaler Mark Russell teamed up with pal and fellow Crystal Palace fan, Simon Dale to launch Cronx Brewery (Cronx is a slang name for Croydon) in New Addington.
So far, the pair have produced over a dozen test brews and they will select one to be their inaugural ale, with an August launch date.
Up in Scotland, MòR Brewing Ltd began selling its new ales at the start of May, after the brewery was set up by former Broughty Ferry lifeboat coxswain Jim Hughan and business partner Ross Niven.
Based at Kellas, on the outskirts of Dundee, Jim and Ross aim to turn out quality cask and bottled beers for the Scottish market – and beyond.
Just down the road in Morpeth, Northumberland, Brew Star has been set up by Simon and Dawn Miles – who sold their shares in a plant hire firm to start their own micro-brewery.
Inaugural ale, Blonde Star, is a lager converter – underpinned by the pair’s key strategy of attracting younger drinkers in their 20s and 30s back to real ale.
So far they have nearly 70 outlets for their opening two ales, brewed at the town’s Whitehouse Farm Centre.
Oxfordshire parish councillor and former teacher Vince Aldridge has opened the Hen House Brewery in Whitchurch, near Henley, with his partner Sarah Burton on the site of his family farm – with the ales being sold in the brewery shop on the village High Street.
Hen House currently makes three bottled beers; a traditional bitter, a black beer and a pale ale.
Hand-Pumped links:
www.flyingkiwiinns.co.uk
www.jocsnorfolkale.co.uk
www.whitworthbrewing.co.uk
www.thecronx.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Mor-Brewing-Limited/176620852418272
www.brew-star.co.uk
www.henhousebrewery.co.uk
