Brakspear
Encyclopedia
WH Brakspear & Sons Ltd is the name of a brand of English
beer
s and pubs
, based in Henley on Thames
, Oxfordshire
. While the beer brewing
and pub management sides of the business were originally unified, the brewing has since been sold to Wychwood Brewery owners Refresh UK.
The Brakspear brewery dated back to 1711, when W.H. Brakspear bought a brewery on Bell Street, Henley. The Brakspear family was distantly related to Nicholas Breakspear, who became Pope Adrian IV
in 1154 — the only Englishman to become Pope
. In 1812, the brewery moved to the Thames
-side location on New Street.
It is understood that in 2002, the original company 'WH Brakspear & Sons Ltd' while retaining ownership of the Brakspear beer brands, licenced the brewing of the beers to Refresh UK, also the owner of Wychwood
. On 17 October 2002 the original brewery ceased production and closed. The site was then sold and part of it converted to become one of the "Hotel du Vin
" chain of boutique hotels.
The now non-brewing Brakspear Pub Company concentrates on maintaining and expanding its growing pub estate (102 pubs) in November 2006 the company was bought by pub chain JT Davies for £106million. It has been announced that JT Davies' pubs will be rebranded as Brakspear's.
After months of looking for a suitable site near Henley (during which time much of the beer was brewed at Burtonwood
, Cheshire
) production was moved, along with some of the original historic Henley brewing vessels, to Refresh's Wychwood Brewery
, Witney
, West Oxfordshire, also home to Prince Charles
' Organic Duchy range and Wychwood's Hobgoblin & Fiddler's Elbow beers. Subsequently, Refresh UK was bought out by the much larger Marston's group. reportedly for c.£10-11 million.
flavour due to a natural compound — diacetyl
produced through this method & their particular long-lived, multi-strain yeast, thought to have originally come from a defunct London brewery — possibly Mann, Crossman & Paulin. Oddly, elsewhere in the world & in other beer styles, such as German lagers, this same compound is seen as a brewing fault.
, Sussex
. Other former Brakspear brewing staff are involved in a number of craft breweries, Justin Grant became head brewer of the Breconshire Brewery
; Chris Hearn & Steve Brown are now at Loddon Brewery
near Henley, Mike McGuigan is brewing at Brimstage Brewery, Wirral; Adrian Redgrove is head brewer at Castle Rock Brewery
- Nottingham
they won CAMRA's 2010 Champion Beer of Britain Award for their Harvest Pale ; Stuart Howe is head brewer at Sharp's Brewery, Cornwall
; and Jeff Drew is head brewer at Ringwood Brewery
, Hants
, Wiltshire
). Refresh UK now have one brewhouse using some of beautiful old Brakspear vessels & 2 fermentation rooms at their Witney site — one largely for their Wychwood beers & the other with the famous Brakspear 'dropping vessels'.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
s and pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, based in Henley on Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. While the beer brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
and pub management sides of the business were originally unified, the brewing has since been sold to Wychwood Brewery owners Refresh UK.
History
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
in 1154 — the only Englishman to become Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. In 1812, the brewery moved to the Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
-side location on New Street.
It is understood that in 2002, the original company 'WH Brakspear & Sons Ltd' while retaining ownership of the Brakspear beer brands, licenced the brewing of the beers to Refresh UK, also the owner of Wychwood
Wychwood Brewery
Wychwood Brewery is an English brewery founded by Paddy Glenny in 1983, and located in the town of Witney, Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Refresh UK, a subsidiary of Marstons plc...
. On 17 October 2002 the original brewery ceased production and closed. The site was then sold and part of it converted to become one of the "Hotel du Vin
Malmaison (hotel chain)
Malmaison is a hotel brand in the United Kingdom. The group operates 12 hotels and is wholly owned by MWB Group Holdings.-History:The hotel brand was formed in 1994 and is named after the Château de Malmaison on the outskirts of Paris....
" chain of boutique hotels.
The now non-brewing Brakspear Pub Company concentrates on maintaining and expanding its growing pub estate (102 pubs) in November 2006 the company was bought by pub chain JT Davies for £106million. It has been announced that JT Davies' pubs will be rebranded as Brakspear's.
After months of looking for a suitable site near Henley (during which time much of the beer was brewed at Burtonwood
Burtonwood
Burtonwood and Westbrook is a civil parish in the outermost suburbs of Warrington in Cheshire, England. Historically within Lancashire, the name Burtonwood is known worldwide as the location of the former RAF Station Burtonwood military camp. Burtonwood village itself is a few miles away from the...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
) production was moved, along with some of the original historic Henley brewing vessels, to Refresh's Wychwood Brewery
Wychwood Brewery
Wychwood Brewery is an English brewery founded by Paddy Glenny in 1983, and located in the town of Witney, Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Refresh UK, a subsidiary of Marstons plc...
, Witney
Witney
Witney is a town on the River Windrush, west of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England.The place-name 'Witney' is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as 'Wyttannige'; it appears as 'Witenie' in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means 'Witta's island'....
, West Oxfordshire, also home to Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
' Organic Duchy range and Wychwood's Hobgoblin & Fiddler's Elbow beers. Subsequently, Refresh UK was bought out by the much larger Marston's group. reportedly for c.£10-11 million.
Brewing
Brakspear's beer is brewed using the traditional double drop fermentation method. This involves allowing fermentation to start in vessels on an upper floor, then the following morning 'dropping' the fermenting beer into a second vessel below. This leaves tired or dead yeast & unwanted solids ('trub') behind and encourages a healthier fermentation. Refresh UK claims all Brakspear beers possess a butterscotchButterscotch
Butterscotch is a type of confectionery whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter, although other ingredients such as corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt are part of some recipes...
flavour due to a natural compound — diacetyl
Diacetyl
Diacetyl is a natural byproduct of fermentation. It is a vicinal diketone with the molecular formula C4H6O2...
produced through this method & their particular long-lived, multi-strain yeast, thought to have originally come from a defunct London brewery — possibly Mann, Crossman & Paulin. Oddly, elsewhere in the world & in other beer styles, such as German lagers, this same compound is seen as a brewing fault.
Brewers
Brakspear's last head-brewer, Peter Scholey has set up his own company The Beer Counter as a "cuckoo brewery" overseeing the production of his own brands & others including the famous "Coniston Bluebird", by hiring out capacity at breweries such as The Beer Station/Hepworth's in HorshamHorsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. Other former Brakspear brewing staff are involved in a number of craft breweries, Justin Grant became head brewer of the Breconshire Brewery
Breconshire Brewery
Breconshire Brewery is a brewery in Brecon in Powys, Wales. The head brewer was Justin "Buster" Grant, formerly of Brakspear Brewery.Named after the original 1841 Breconshire Brewery established by Mordecai Jones, the new brewery since its establishment in 2002, has received numerous awards at...
; Chris Hearn & Steve Brown are now at Loddon Brewery
Loddon Brewery
The Loddon Brewery is an award-winning brewery based in Dunsden Green in the Oxfordshire countryside, near both Henley on Thames and Reading. It has become one of the fastest growing breweries in England, with beer now available nationally.- History :...
near Henley, Mike McGuigan is brewing at Brimstage Brewery, Wirral; Adrian Redgrove is head brewer at Castle Rock Brewery
Castle Rock Brewery
Castle Rock Brewery was originally set up as a joint venture with Bramcote Brewery. Bramcote Brewery was wound up and a new company was set up, 50% owned by Tynemill and 50% owned by the previous owners of Bramcote Brewery, on a new site next to Tynemill’s pub, The Vat and Fiddle...
- Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
they won CAMRA's 2010 Champion Beer of Britain Award for their Harvest Pale ; Stuart Howe is head brewer at Sharp's Brewery, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
; and Jeff Drew is head brewer at Ringwood Brewery
Ringwood Brewery
Ringwood Brewery is a small brewery situated on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, England near the Dorset border. It produces mainly cask ales and some bottled beers.The emblem for the brewery is a boar....
, Hants
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
Refresh UK
Refresh UK was set up in 2000 as a contract-brewing, marketing & beer import business by some of the former managers of the closed Ushers Brewery (TrowbridgeTrowbridge
Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
). Refresh UK now have one brewhouse using some of beautiful old Brakspear vessels & 2 fermentation rooms at their Witney site — one largely for their Wychwood beers & the other with the famous Brakspear 'dropping vessels'.