Thorne head brewer makes comeback over the border
By: JimOldfield
June 17th, 2012
When Doncaster’s Thorne Brewery shocked the real ale world by suddenly shut its doors last February, none were more stunned than Mike and Jules Richards.
Thorne’s head brewer and his wife – who worked in sales at the brewery – found their household out of work at a stroke, as the brewery’s owner put the plant up for sale, just nine months after rescuing the brewery from administration.
But the driving force team behind the hugely popular Thorne ales, is now bouncing back – by giving a nearby North Lincolnshire town its first micro-brewery!
Mike and Jules are launching their own 2.5BBL Axholme Brewing Company, just down the road in neighbouring Scunthorpe.
The brew plant was due to be delivered by this week, and Mike told Hand-Pumped: “We’ve been working hard at setting up the brewery since February, and we’ll be working round the clock to get it up and running.”
Production will kick off with a 3.8 per cent Axholme Best Bitter and a 4.1 per cent Axholme IPA. Mike, who has also worked at Sheffield’s award-winning Abbeydale Brewery, added: “We plan to retain the same ideology of the Thorne Brewery.
“We will make fairly traditional beer, and we’ll use British hops.
“But otherwise, I intend to put our own mark on the beers so they will be distinctive and not simply copies of the Thorne ales.
“Quite a few outlets are keen to take beer from us and we will also be producing beer in bottles.
“We are committed to craft brewing, creating small batches so we can put as much care as possible into every cask, and create a wide range of interesting beers.
“Our goal is to introduce a core range of top quality beers in classic styles, along with a wide range of guest ales exploring both modern and historic beer styles.”
Mike and Jules are also marketing a range of online Axholme merchandise including T-shirts, beer steins and mugs. Check out the couple’s website for more details.
Hand-Pumped link:
www.axholmebrewing.co.uk
