Nethergate Brewery was established in 1986 in

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Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England by former Head Brewer Ian Hornsey and his business partner Dick Burge. In 2005 the brewery site was moved across the county border to Pentlow in Essex. In 2010 the brewery was sold to anonymous buyers. Since 2017 the brewery has been based back in Suffolk, in the hamlet of Rodbridge.

Brewing History

The brewery originally concentrated on

cask ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous car ...

and for a while only brewed Best Bitter, based on traditional recipes for the Yorkshire bitter style. Over the next four years this beer was joined by two other brews; firstly the Old Growler Porter, and then the IPA (in this case, IPA is also claimed to stand for "''Ian's Personal Ale''", in honour of the Head Brewer). Nethergate's interest in traditional ingredients also saw the creation of two of their most distinctive beers - Umbel Ale, and the stronger Umbel Magna - through the use of a traditional ingredient which had been ignored by brewers for many years:

coriander Coriander (;

. Nethergate then ventured in the bottled beer market, with Old Growler and Umbel ale being sold in the more specialist off licences and Tesco stores in the south east. In October 2010, Burge retired and the brewery was sold to a consortium including ex- Adnams employees Rob Flanagan, Mark Holmes and Mike Atkinson. Nethergate continued its positive growth, winning the Good Pub Guide 'Brewery of the Year' title in 2011 and in 2012 underwent a rebranding exercise which emphasised the brewery's new location across the county border and promoted the 'Growler Brewery' name on pump clips and bottle labels. As part of this exercise two of the brewery's regular beers, Suffolk County Best Bitter and Augustinian Ale, were discontinued from the core range. On 18 March 2014 the brewery went into administration and consortium led by founder Dick Burge purchased the brewery in April 2014. Brewing resumed under the 'Nethergate Brewery' name and a primary focus on selling beer to local free houses.

Notable Beers

Nethergate's core range currently consists of three beers: *Venture - 3.7% English Session *Old Growler - 5.0% English porter *Stour Valley Gold - 4.2%

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*Suffolk County - 4.0%

Traditional Best Bitter A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

The brewery also produce a number of seasonal beers including: *Umbel Ale - 3.8% Coriander beer *Umbel Magna - 5.0% Porter brewed with coriander *Lemon Head - 4.0% Golden Ale brewed with lemon and ginger *Augustinian - 4.5% Best Bitter *Essex Border - 4.8%

Blonde Ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...

*Melford Mild - 3.7% Mild Ale The Brewery also has a sub brand which beer is available in cans. Growling Dog *Tropical Ipa - 7.5% IPA *Milk Stout - 6.5%

Stout Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...

Awards

Nethergate have had notable success in the 'Speciality' category of CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain awards, with Umbel Magna winning the category three times (2007, 2009, 2013) and Umbel Ale winning in 2000

References

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External links

Official Site
Breweries in England 1986 establishments in England British companies established in 1986 Food and drink companies established in 1986