Oakhill Brewery

Last updated

Oakhill Brewery was a brewery in Oakhill, Somerset, England, that was founded in 1761 by John Billingsley.

Contents

History

In its heyday the Oakhill Brewery was a major producer, known for Oakhill Invalid Stout. In 1904, due to its volume of production – between 2,000 and 2,500 barrels per week – the brewery constructed its own 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway to take barrels of Oakhill Invalid Stout to the Somerset & Dorset Railway in nearby Binegar. Until the railway's construction, the brewery had used a Wallis & Steevens traction engine to deliver their barrels to the station. Production continued at the brewery until the advent of World War I sent it into decline. [1] The brewery was destroyed by fire in 1924, and subsequently taken over by Courage Brewery. Although brewing stopped in 1938, the malt sheds remained in use.

Beacon Brewery

In 1981 brewing resumed in the former Oakhill Brewery building when Beacon Brewery took over the premises to brew Fosseway Bitter and later Fosseway Forty. [2] The brewery went out of business in 1983.

New Oakhill Brewery

In 1984, the brewery plant and premises were bought by local businessman Reg Keevil. Under the name New Oakhill Brewery, he brewed beers until 1997, when he moved the plant to the old Courage maltings in order to expand. The brewery produced 31 different beers through the company's 13 year history, and acquired a small chain of tied houses in the local villages. The brewery closed in 2004 when the owner retired and as at 2014 was being converted to housing.

Related Research Articles

Stout Style of dark beer

Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout.

Shepherd Neame Brewery Brewery in Faversham, England

Shepherd Neame is an English independent brewery which has been based in the market town of Faversham, Kent, for over 300 years. While 1698 is the brewery's official established date, town records show that commercial brewing has occurred on the site since 1573. Since the brewery’s formation back in the 16th century, ownership has passed in unbroken succession through five families. The brewery produces a range of cask ales and filtered beers. Production is around 180,000 brewers' barrels a year. It has 320 pubs and hotels in South East England, predominantly in Kent and London. The company exports to 44 countries including India, Sweden, Italy, Brazil and Canada.

Adnams is a regional brewery founded in 1872 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, by George and Ernest Adnams. It produces cask ale and pasteurised bottled beers. Annual production is around 85,000 barrels.

John Smiths Brewery Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England

John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s.

Brains Brewery

Brains is a regional brewery based in Cardiff, Wales. It was founded in 1882 by Samuel Arthur Brain. The company controls more than 250 pubs in South Wales, Mid Wales and the West Country. The company took over Crown Buckley Brewery in Llanelli in 1997 and Hancock's Brewery in 1999. In 2000 Brains moved to the former Hancock's Brewery just south of Cardiff Central railway station. The Old Brewery, in Cardiff city centre, has been developed into a modern bar and restaurant complex.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Brewery in the United States

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was established in 1979 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi in Chico, California, United States. The brewery produced 786,000 US bbl (922,000 hl) in 2010, and as of 2016, Sierra Nevada Brewing is the seventh-largest brewing company in the United States and is the third largest privately owned brewery in the United States.

Fullers Brewery

Fuller's Brewery is an English brewery based in Chiswick, West London, founded in 1845 and having been a family-run regional brewery until January 2019, when the brewing division of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC was sold to the Japanese international beverage giant Asahi.

Beer in England Beer in England

Beer has been brewed in England for hundreds of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation.

Hebridean Brewing Company

Hebridean Brewing Company was an independent small brewery founded in 2001 by Andy Ribbens in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The brewery produces cask ale and filtered beer in bottles.

Mountain Goat Beer

Mountain Goat Beer is a brewery in Richmond, Victoria, Australia. The brewery was founded in 1997 by Cam Hines and Dave Bonighton. The company's first commercial brew, 'Hightale Ale' amber ale, was released in October 1997. Mountain Goat Beer was purchased by Asahi in September 2015.

Oakhill Human settlement in England

Oakhill is a village located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Shepton Mallet in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It lies between the A37 and the A367. Oakhill is today is mainly a commuter village of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2) in size, and is notable for former activities which including brewing. The village contains a Church of England primary school and a surgery, as well as a public house, the Oakhill Inn. Former businesses near the inn were a bakery, a butcher's shop and a smithy.

Courage Brewery English brewery founded in 1787

Courage Brewery was an English brewery, founded by John Courage in 1787 in London, England.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Elmsford, New York. The brewery is owned and run by head brewer Scott Vaccaro. Vaccaro, a homebrewer since 1995, trained in brewing science at UC Davis.

Wells & Youngs Brewery

Wells & Young's Brewery was formed in October 2006 from the merger of the brewing operations of Charles Wells Ltd and Young's Brewery. Charles Wells initially had a 60% stake and Young's 40%. In 2011, Charles Wells took full control when it bought Young's 40% stake. Wells & Young's is now responsible for brewing, distributing and marketing Charles Wells' and Young & Co's brands at the Eagle Brewery in Bedford.

Castle Eden Brewery

Castle Eden Brewery was a brewery that operated in the village of Castle Eden in County Durham. It was best known for Castle Eden Ale, which continues to be produced at Seaham.

Beer is produced through steeping a sugar source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt. Descriptions of various beer recipes can be found in Sumerian writings, some of the oldest known writing of any sort. Brewing is done in a brewery by a brewer, and the brewing industry is part of most western economies. In 19th century Britain, technological discoveries and improvements such as Burtonisation and the Burton Union system significantly changed beer brewing.

Tractor Brewing Company is a New Mexico-based brewery, founded in 1999 in Los Lunas and since 2014 located in Albuquerque. Tractor beers have won awards at the New Mexico State Fair Pro-Am Competition.

Porter (beer) a dark style of beer developed in London from well-hopped beers made from brown malt

Porter is a style of beer that was developed in London, England, in the early 18th century. It was well-hopped and dark in appearance owing to the use of brown malt. The name originated from its popularity with street and river porters.

Sileby brewery

Sileby brewery was a Victorian tower brewery located in Sileby in Leicestershire, England.

Burton ale

Burton ale is a type of strong ale which is dark and sweet. It is named after the brewing town of Burton-on-Trent.

References

  1. Old Mendip, Robin Atthill, David & Charles, 1971
  2. "Beacon Brewery". The Directory of UK Real Ale Brewers. Retrieved 27 March 2017.