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(Paras. 1 to 7)

Norwich Area Pubs

Local Real Ale Breweries

From 1981 		SIBA logo
 Renewal of the Pubs
2. Norfolk to the Rescue :  3. Suffolk Beers :  4. Further Progress
5. For the Record :  6. Relevant Information :  7. Stop Press  

1. : The Star Legacy

Connections with the Star micro brewery (Norwich)
March 1981 to 1984 :-

2. : Norfolk to the Rescue

The following are listed in chronological order :-
  • Woodforde's, originally in Drayton 1981
        (see para. 5 below)
  • Reepham, set up by Ted Willems in Sept. 1983.
        (claimed 20th anniversary in Oct. 2002)
        CLOSED 2009
        Re-opened as Panther Brewery 2010
  • Reindeer, Dereham Road, Norwich (May 1987)
        (Moved to WBC brewery - see para. 5 below)
  • Forbe's, Oulton Broad (1988)
        CLOSED 1992 (see Green Jack)
  • Scott's Crown brewery, Lowestoft (1989)
        CLOSED July 1999
  • Green Dragon, Bungay (1991) Expanded 1996
  • Green Jack, Oulton Broad (ex-Forbes) (1993)
        To Triangle Tavern, Lowestoft between
        early-2002 (see Oulton Ales) and Nov. 2003
  • Buffy's, Tivetshall St. Mary (Oct. 1993)
  • Chalk Hill, Coach & Horses, Norwich (Dec. 1993)
  • Iceni, Ickburgh, Mundford (Jan. 1995)
  • Old Chimneys, Market Weston, near Diss (1995)
  • St. Peter's, South Elmham (1996)
 
  • Blue Moon, Seamere, Hingham (Jan. 1997);
        from 2002 at Barford Cock.
        CLOSED 18th January 2010
  • Humpty Dumpty, Railway Tavern,
        Reedham (Nov. 1998) (now at Church Road)
  • Blanchfield's, Colkirk, Nr. Fakenham
        (ex- The Bull) (late 1998)
        CLOSED 2003 and moved to Essex
  • Tindall's, Ditchingham (Oct. 1998);
        later at Seething.
  • Blue Boar, Oulton Broad 
        CLOSED     1998
  • Alewife, Starston, Nfk. (Aug. 2001)
        CLOSED 2004
  • Winter's, Aylsham Road, Norwich (Sep. 2001)
  • Oulton Ales, Bell Inn, Carlton Colville,
        Near Lowestoft (early-2002)
        CLOSED December 2008
  • Spectrum, Barford Cock (Jun. 2002)
        (Moved to Tharston, Long Stratton 2007)
        CLOSED 2011
  • Fox,  Fox & Hounds, Heacham (May 2002)  
  • Tipple's, Acle (Sep. 2004) :
        See the Beer Shop, Elm Hill
 ^ Top ^

3. : Our Suffolk Neighbours

Observant readers will have noticed several entries in
the above list with Suffolk addresses.
They are, literally, borderline cases.

To set the record straight, the early ventures
in Suffolk proper were as follows -

 
  • Mauldon's, Sudbury (1982)
  • Victoria, Earl Soham, Nr. Framlingham (1984)
  • Wangford Arms, Nr. Southwold (circa 1984 - 86)
  • Nethergate, Clare (1986)
        Moved to Essex, December 2004
 ^ Top ^

4. : Further Progress

The brewery attached to the "new" pub The Shed,
Lawson Road, opened in September 2005.
It has been named the Fat Cat brewery,
in deference to Colin Keatley, the owner of both pubs.

The founder of Woodforde's brewery, Ray Ashworth,
was employed as a consultant to this venture.

Other new breweries present at the 2005 Norwich
Beer Festival (late-October) :-

  • Brancaster, Jolly Sailors, Brancaster Staithe
        (Nov. 2003) "Re-born" in Spring 2009
  • Elveden, Elveden Estate
  • Front Street, Chequers Inn,
        Binham (near Fakenham) 2005
  • Uncle Stuart's, Lingwood (April 2002)
        Moved to Wroxham Barns by Summer 2009
  • Waveney Brewing, Queen's Head, Earsham (2004)
  • Wissey Valley, Blue Bell, Stoke Ferry (2003)
  • Yetman's, Bayfield, Holt (2004)
  Breweries more recently identified are :-
  • Beeston, Beeston, King's Lynn (November 2006)
  • Blackfriars, Queen's Road, Gt. Yarmouth (2003)
        Moved to Main Cross Road 2008
        CLOSED July 2012 - retirement.
  • Brandon, Brandon (Summer 2005)
  • Bull Box, Fordham, Downham Market
        (January 2006) : CLOSED 2010
  • ElmTree, Snetterton (Apr. 2007)
  • Fat Cat, see above (September 2005)
  • Grain, Alburgh, near Harleston (August 2006)
  • Norfolk Cottage Brewing, N. Burlingham (2004)
  • Norfolk Square, Gt. Yarmouth (May 2008)
  • Ole Slewfoot, Hainford (c. Oct. 2008)
  • Opa Hay, Aldeby, Beccles (late-2008)
  • Wagtail, Old Buckenham (2006)
  • Why Not, Thorpe St. Andrew,
        Norwich (December 2005)
Blackfriars Brewery reported, in June 2008, as having
a notable success in the Members' Bar at the
House of Commons : 3 casks sold in two days.
 ^ Top ^

5. : Again, For The Record

Two major Norfolk breweries are both
still operating successfully :-
  • Woodforde's brewery, now at Woodbastwick;
  • The WBC brewery, formerly Wolf's, and
    successor to the Reindeer brewery, began
    near Attleborough in 1995, now at Besthorpe.
For more details of these two,
see the main breweries text.

Dave Winter of Winter's brewery, already mentioned,
had previous experience of brewing at Woodforde's
and Chalk Hill.

  Defunct breweries were :-
  • Star (Tap) brewery at the Golden Star :
          March 1981 to 1984
  • Wangford Arms Nr. Southwold c. 1984 to 1986
  • Reindeer : May 1987 - Nov. 1995
  • Firkin at the Reindeer then had a brief existence;
          but was not an independent Norfolk firm.
  • A pub-based brewery at the York Tavern closed
          in 1998; opened some two years earlier.
  • Captain Grumpy's Beer Company in Stoke Ferry
          ran from 2001 to 2003.
  • 9  breweries (just a few??) marked CLOSED in
          para. 2 above; but two were swiftly replaced.
  • 2  CLOSED breweries in para. 4 above
 ^ Top ^

6. : Other Relevant Information

An attempt has also been made to list all the breweries
still operating : with more address, website and 'phone
details - in alphabetical order.

Breweries A - M   :   Breweries N - Z
E. & O. E.

Better still might be a visit to the Norwich CAMRA
website. However, this sticks closely to those
breweries in the County of Norfolk.

  Alternatively, visit the "Quaffale" site, which does
the same. This site has discovered a brewery recently
(2009) re-located from Queniborough, Leicester;
where it began in February 2008.

Brewing re-commenced in November 2009 at
Walcott, Norfolk; known as The Bees Brewery,

 

7. : Stop Press

A new Norwich brewery, the Golden Triangle,
was started in September 2010.

Two more, both based in Norwich,
came "on-stream" in 2010 :

  • Norwich Bear Brewing Company (August) -
        based in two local pubs.
  • Northcote Brewery (October) - based at the
        Sweetbriar Road industrial estate.
Sadly, the latter closed at the beginning of 2012.

A further brewery with a Norwich address,
the Fakir Brewery, commenced in April 2011;
but initially used Blackfriars Brewery
in Great Yarmouth to produce the ales.

  Another Norfolk brewery, at East Rudham,
started up in 2010, being 'visible' by February 2011
- the JoC Ale Brewery.
The female brewer is Jo Coubrough; hence the title.

The above website, however, mentions
West Barsham, near Fakenham.

The CAMRA Good Beer Guide for 2012 mentions
there are currently 29 micro-breweries in Norfolk.
This may not have included  Norfolk Brewhouse,
near Fakenham, which produced its first ale
in February 2012.

A Cromer brewery,  Poppyland,   produced a pilot
bottled ale in June 2012; although brewed off-site
(Elveden) for the time being.
The brewery in West Street is work in progress.

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