Robinsons Brewery is a family-run,

regional brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

, founded in 1849 at the Unicorn Inn,

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, England. The company owns around 250

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s, mostly in

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

History

William Robinson purchased the Unicorn Inn from Samuel Hole on 29 September 1838. His eldest 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

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

. 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 Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...

in 1982, closing it and transferring the brewing of Hartley's beers to Stockport in 1991. 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). The brewery owns many historic pubs, including the New Hall Inn in

Bowness on Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was histor ...

Distribution

The brewery supplies its own estate of just over 300 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 their site at

Bredbury Bredbury is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south-west of Hyde. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 16,721. It is on the lower southern ...

, a short distance from the main Unicorn Brewery.

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

*''Unicorn'' (4.2 per cent ABV) :A

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

available on draught or bottled. *''Hartleys Cumbria Way'' (4.1 per cent ABV) :Brewed since 2001, this bitter takes its name from the

Cumbria Way The Cumbria Way is a linear long-distance footpath in Cumbria, England. The majority of the route is inside the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. Linking the two historic Cumbrian towns of Ulverston and Carlisle, it passes thr ...

footpath linking the towns of

and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. *''Hartley's XB'' (4.0 per cent ABV) :A cask-conditioned bitter. *Cwrw'r ddraig aur (4.1 per cent ABV) :Golden Dragon Ale, a bitter brewed for Robinsons' Welsh pubs. *''Old Tom'' (8.5 per cent ABV) :A

strong ale Strong ale is a type of ale, usually above 5% abv and often higher, between 7% to 11% abv, which spans a number of beer styles, including old ale, barley wine and Burton ale. Strong ales are brewed throughout Europe and beyond, including in Engl ...

that has been brewed since 1899. Available bottled or on draught. Chocolate Tom and Ginger Tom are also available in bottle (6 per cent ABV). *''Dizzy Blonde'' (3.8 per cent ABV) :A

golden 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. Di ...

that has been available, following its stint as a seasonal ale, since 2012. Available bottled or on draught. *''Double Hop'' (4.8 per cent ABV) : An India pale ale. *Unicorn Black (4.1 per cent ABV) :A bottled

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 ...

inspired by a 19th-century recipe. *''Trooper'' (4.7 per cent ABV) :A premium bitter brewed since May 2013 to a recipe created by

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

, the singer of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

. *''Trooper Red 'N' Black Porter'' (5.8 per cent ABV) : A

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

introduced in September 2016, available on draught (cask and keg) and bottled (6.8 per cent ABV). *''Trooper Hallowed'' (6.0 per cent ABV) : A limited edition Belgium style beer introduced in July 2017, available in bottle. *''Wizard'' (3.7 per cent ABV) :An amber bitter first brewed in 2015.

Seasonal ales

2014

*''Hannibal's Nectar'' (3.9 per cent ABV – Available through January and February) :A ruby

available on draught. *''Hoptimum Prime'' (4.1 per cent ABV – Available through March and April) :A

available on draught. *''Brazilian'' (4.2 per cent ABV – Available through May and June) :A

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 ...

available on draught. *''Citra Pale Ale'' (3.8 per cent ABV – Available through July and August) :A crisp

pale 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 ...

inspired by American craft beers, available on draught. *''South Island'' (4.2 per cent ABV – Available through September and October) :A

brewed with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops and available on draught. *''Indulgence'' (4.4 per cent ABV – Available through November and December) :A mahogany coloured

old ale Old ale is a form of strong ale. The term is commonly applied to dark, malty beers in England, generally above 5% ABV, and also to dark ales of any strength in Australia. It is sometimes associated with ''stock ale'' or, archaically, ''keeping ale ...

available on draught.

2015

*''Voodoo Dawn'' (3.9 per cent ABV – Available through January and February) :A ruby

available on draught. *''Mojo'' (3.7 per cent ABV – Available through March and April) :An

amber 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 ...

, brewed with East Kent Goldings and First Gold hops, available on draught. *''Dizzy's Twisted Sister'' (4.0 per cent ABV – Available through July and August) :A

available on draught. *''Hop & Under'' (4.2 per cent ABV – Available through September and October) :A

inspired by the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

, available on draught. *''Frosty Frolics'' (4.4 per cent ABV – Available through November and December) :A mahogany-coloured ale for the festive season, available on draught.

Gallery

File:Garstang Cross and Royal Oak 239-20.jpg, The Royal Oak Hotel in

Garstang Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of Preston and the same distance south of Lancaster. In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268 ...

with its brewery branding

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

*{{Official website, 1=www.robinsonsbrewery.com Breweries in England British companies established in 1849 Companies based in Stockport Food and drink companies established in 1849