Robinsons Brewery

Frederic Robinson Ltd
Industry Brewing
Founded 1849
Founder Frederic Robinson
Headquarters Stockport, United Kingdom
Products Beer
Production output
 35,000 barrels
Owner Frederic Robinson Ltd
Website www.robinsonsbrewery.com

Robinsons is a family-run, regional brewery, founded in 1849 at the Unicorn Inn in Stockport, England.

The company owns more than 300 public houses, mostly in North West England.

History

William Robinson purchased the Unicorn Inn from Samuel Hole on the 29th September 1838. His oldest son George brewed the first Robinsons Ale there in 1849.

In 1859, Frederic Robinson took over from George and bought a warehouse to the rear of the inn to expand brewing capacity. As a result, Robinsons ale became available at pubs around the Stockport area. To control the quality of ale sold, Frederic began to purchase public houses. From 1878 until his death in 1890, Frederic established twelve pubs which exclusively served his ale. This was the beginning of what was to become an estate of over 300 pubs across the North West of England and North Wales.

The Unicorn Brewery still rests on the foundations of the public house on Lower Hillgate in Stockport, Greater Manchester.[1]

The brewery continues to be run by the fifth and sixth generations of the Robinson family. The company took over Hartley's Brewery in Ulverston in 1982, closing it and transferring the brewing of Hartley's beers to Stockport in 1991.[2] Robinsons have acquired a number of other breweries over the years, including John Heginbotham, Stalybridge (1915); T. Schofield & Son, Ashton under Lyne (1926); Kays Atlas Brewery, Ardwick (1929) and Bell & Co, Stockport (1949).[3]

Distribution

The brewery supplies its own estate of just over 360 public houses, mostly in North West England, but including more than 30 in North Wales; it also sells to the free trade. In addition, the company provides casking, kegging and bottling services to other brewers from its site at Bredbury, a short distance from the main Unicorn Brewery.

Brewery

The Unicorn Brewery

The Unicorn Brewery is a traditional tower type and is one of the few such buildings still being used in its original capacity.

It is possible to tour the brewery at the Robinson's Brewery Visitors Centre in Stockport

Beers

A bitter available on draught or bottled.[4]
Brewed since 2001, this bitter takes its name from the Cumbria Way footpath linking the towns of Ulverston and Carlisle.[5]
A cask-conditioned bitter.[4]
Golden Dragon Ale, a bitter brewed for Robinsons' Welsh pubs.
A strong ale that has been brewed since 1899. Available bottled or on draught.[4] Chocolate Tom and Ginger Tom are also available in bottle (6 per cent ABV).
A golden ale that has been available, following its stint as a seasonal ale, since 2012. Available bottled or on draught.[6]
An India pale ale.
A bottled stout inspired by a 19th-century recipe.
A premium bitter brewed since May 2013 to a recipe created by Bruce Dickinson, the singer of Iron Maiden.[7]
An amber bitter first brewed in 2015.[8]

Seasonal ales

2014

A ruby bitter available on draught.[9]
A golden ale available on draught.[10]
A blonde ale available on draught.[11]
A crisp pale ale inspired by American craft beers, available on draught.[12]
A blonde ale brewed with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops and available on draught.[13]
A mahogany coloured old ale available on draught.[14]

2015

A ruby bitter available on draught.[15]
An amber ale, brewed with East Kent Goldings and First Gold hops, available on draught.[16]
A blonde ale available on draught.[17]
A golden ale inspired by the Rugby World Cup, available on draught.[18]
A mahogany coloured ale for the festive season, available on draught.[19]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Frederic Robinson Ltd", robinsonsbrewery.com http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/about, retrieved 17 July 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ "Hartley's Brewery", The Brewery History Society http://www.breweryhistory.com/Breweries/CumbriaUlverstonHartleys.htm, retrieved 3 November 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ "History", Frederic Robinson Limited https://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/about-us/our-heritage, retrieved 17 January 2016 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 Pearson (1997), pp. 132–33.
  5. ↑ "Hartleys Cumbria Way", RateBeer http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/hartleys-cumbria-way/16232/, retrieved 17 December 2012 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/catalog/product/view/id/11/category/22, retrieved 17 July 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "facebook post", Robinsons Brewery Limited https://www.facebook.com/ironmaidenbeer/posts/363664547080844, retrieved 12 March 2013 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ , Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/catalog/product/view/id/103/category/22, retrieved 23 August 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/43/s/hannibals-nectar/category/22/, retrieved 6 August 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/82/s/hoptimum-prime/category/22/, retrieved 6 August 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/42/s/brazilian/category/22/, retrieved 6 August 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/92/s/citra-pale-ale/category/22/, retrieved 6 August 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/93/s/south-island/category/22//, retrieved 6 August 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/94/s/indulgence/category/22/, retrieved 6 August 2014 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/96/s/voodoo-dawn/category/22/, retrieved 12 March 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/97/s/mojo/category/22/, retrieved 12 March 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/99/s/dizzys-twisted-sister/category/22/, retrieved 12 March 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/100/s/hop-and-under/category/22/, retrieved 12 March 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ "web site", Robinsons Brewery Limited http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/101/s/frosty-frolics/category/22/, retrieved 12 March 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)

Bibliography

  • Pearson, Lynn F. (1997), The History of Robinson's Brewery, Morrison Nicholson Cartwright, ISBN 978-0-9529461-0-6 

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.