Adnams Brewery

Adnams
Type Publicly-traded
Location Southwold, Suffolk, England
Opened 1872
Key people George and Ernest Adnams, Jonathan Adnams
Annual production volume 85,000 imperial barrels (139,000 hL)
Website adnams.co.uk

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.

In 2010, the company established the Copper House distillery for the production of gin, vodka and whisky.

History

A dray horse making beer deliveries in June 2006.

The earliest recorded brewing on the Adnams site was in 1396 by Johanna de Corby.[1]

The Sole Bay Brewery in Southwold was purchased in 1872 by George and Ernest Adnams. The company was incorporated in 1890, and has remained independent since then, producing a range of beers for distribution mainly in East Anglia. The Adnams family was joined in 1902 by Pierse Loftus and his brother Jack,[1] and Adnams still has members of each family on the board, with Jonathan Adnams as chairman and Simon Loftus as a non-executive director.

Adnams distribution centre opened in 2006.

Until 1953 and from 1970 to 2006, casks of Adnams ale were delivered to the six pubs of Southwold by horse and dray; the tradition ended when a new distribution depot was built three miles from the brewery.[2]

The company founded a charity, The Adnams Charity,[3] in 1990 to celebrate its centenary as a public company. A percentage of the company's annual profits is used to support worthwhile causes within a 25-mile radius of Southwold.

The Sky Garden Green Roof that tops this state of the art distribution centre was designed with insulation and rainwater absorption in mind. The sedum plants that make up the vegetation blanket store a lot of water and slow the run off from the roof to the drains.

In 1993, Adnams Extra won the Champion Beer of Britain, an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale at the annual Great British Beer Festival. Adnams remains committed to brewing cask ale and operating non-themed pubs. Cask ale is available in all its 70 pubs, and it supplies more than 1000 other outlets direct. New fermenting vessels were installed in March 2001 to cope with demand, and the brewhouse was completely re-equipped in July 2006, making it one of the most energy efficient in Europe.

At the beginning of 2004, Adnams purchased land in neighbouring village of Reydon to expand its business with a new distribution centre, designed by architect Jeremy Blake, which was nominated for the 2007 RICS East of England Award for Sustainability.[4] Adnams was awarded a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the sustainable development category in 2005.[5]

The distribution centre features the UK's largest living roof known as the Sky Garden which is made up of a variety of sedum species. Not only does this help to insulate the building, but the water stored in the sedum plants is also harvested and used to flush the staff toilets and clean company vehicles.[6] This, combined with the solar panels and the environmental construction have meant the energy bills have been cut by half.[7]

In June 2009, Adnams signed a five-year agreement to supply Ipswich Town FC with beers at their Portman Road stadium, replacing the 14-year-old association with Greene King.

Beers

Adnams produce regular cask ales, seasonal ales, pasteurised bottled beers, "international" beers and "commemorative" beers:[8]

Regular beers

Sole Bay Brewery

Keg beers

Seasonal

Chinook Hops

Bottle of East Green beer.

Bottles

International beers

From time to time, Adnams produce limited brews of specialty beers, either in the styles of non-UK beers, or using special international ingredients. These beers are usually available only from selected outlets. Past and current international beers have included:

Commemorative beers

Adnams have a long history of producing limited and one-off special beers to commemorate events of local or national importance. These are generally available for a limited period in bottles, and in cask at a few selected outlets. Recent beers include:-

Spirits

Adnams Copper House Distillery
Type English distilled drinks
Manufacturer Adnams PLC
Country of origin England
Introduced 2010

In 2010, the company set up The Copper House Distillery for the purpose of distilling high-quality "hand-crafted" spirits.

The range of products currently available are:

Gins

Vodkas

Liqueurs and other spirits

Whisky

Whiskies are in production, although the requirement for them to be matured in wood for a minimum of three years means that availability is somewhat restricted. The first batch of Adnams Copper House Single Malt and Triple Grain Whisky were released in November 2013, having been laid down in barrels of new French and American Oak. Whiskies as at January 2016 are:-

References

  1. 1 2 "Our History - Adnams Southwold". adnams.co.uk.
  2. "Brewery calls time on horse drays". BBC News. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2012. A tradition of delivering beer by horse-drawn dray has been ended....Adnams blamed traffic conditions and the distance to a new distribution depot for ending the horses' careers. The brewery is moving its distribution three miles away and bosses have decided the journey would be too far for the horses.Adnams originally stopped using horses in 1953, but resumed the tradition in 1970.
  3. "UK Charity Commission – The Adnams Charity". 17 May 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2007.
  4. "Entries for the RICS East of England Awards". 19 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2007.
  5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57618. p. 1. 21 April 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  6. Archived 12 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. "BBC - Suffolk - Community - Adnams' eco-centre". bbc.co.uk.
  8. "Adnams: Beer from the Coast". Adnams Brewery. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  9. "Ghost Ship is here to stay!". Adnams Brewery. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  10. "Adnams Seasonal Beers". Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  11. "Adnams Mild 3.2% ABV". Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  12. "Adnams Jester". adnams.co.uk.
  13. "Adnams Southwold". adnams.co.uk.
  14. "Adnams Tally-Ho now available in bottles". Retrieved 27 June 2011.

External links

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