First there was a pub, In Sowerby Bridge. There was a van,
And a Yorkshireman Who filled it with beer.
The best and most exciting European brews, All for those Sowerby Bridge taps.
That’s how it all started.
Ian Clay, a van, and his mate Andrew. They had a thirst for adventure and discovery. They stuffed that van full with treasures. Dutch Pilsners and German wheat beers. Lagers, lambics, and everything in between.
Big names these days, but not then. Things like Lindeboom and Kwak, Duvel and Chimay, Timmermans, Erdinger and Schneider Weisse. Good beer from across the sea.
Somewhere along the way it all got serious. Ian’s son James joined in. A quest for the best beer became a company dedicated to it. James Clay & Sons. Curation and conveyance.
Beer has changed a bit these days. American IPAs took the world by storm, and James Clay & Sons were there. British beer pulled itself up by the bootstraps to become world class once more, and James Clay & Sons were
there too. Now, discerning drinkers look to Japan or Norway, and they’re remembering that European heritage too. And, you guessed it. James Clay & Sons are still here.
Finding, discovering, tasting, exploring, curating and importing. Defining tastes and trends based on the only measures that ever mattered. Quality and taste. Not the rare and unique just for the sake of it, but beers good enough to grace the taps of that Sowerby Bridge pub, and the taps, fridges, cellars and shelves of customers all over the country.
These are our brands. Our good beers. Our stories. The treasures we’ve collected from around the world.
We hope you enjoy them.
ATHLETIC BREWING CO.
Founded by: Bill Shufelt and John Walker
Origin: Stratford CT, USA
Founded: 2017
‘Fit for all times’. Athletic Brewing developed a proprietary brewing process for Alcohol Free Beer in 2017 that lead to them dominating the American market within a few short years. They’ve since developed the world’s largest dedicated Alcohol Free brewing facility, and opened up on the West Coast too.
Everything they do is focused around their mission to positively impact their customers’ health, fitness, and happiness, whilst bettering their local communities and the environment.
Achieving this alongside making some of the world’s best AF beer is an incredible feat, and they’re primed in the starting blocks to have the same impact in the UK.
Run Wild IPA is the ultimate sessionable brew at less than 0.5% ABV and is carefully crafted with specialty malt and a blend of five Northwest hops. The result is an alcohol-free IPA with an approachable bitterness and classic piney, citrusy aromas with a subtle, yet complex malt profile.
While Upside Dawn Pale Ale is a refreshing, balanced, and gluten-free brew containing 45 calories and less than 0.5% ABV. It is made with premium Vienna malt and a combination of English and American hops which add subtle floral and earthy notes.
All of their AF beers are low in calories whist still delivering big flavour, the perfect combination.
Origin: Munich, Germany
Founded: 1328
Augustiner Brau
There’s a number adorning every bottle of Augustiner.
1328. The year the Augustiner monks first began brewing beer at their monastery, near Munich. An occupation designed to keep their hands busy, their minds on prayer, and their thirst quenched. And to raise a few coins for the coffers at the same time.
It stayed that way for nearly 500 years, with the result of their efforts sold at the monastery tavern in the city - much to the delight of the locals, who developed quite a taste for the revered beer that flowed from Augustiner’s barrels.
During the 1800s, the brewery had passed into private hands, but that same number still marked each bottle. A reminder of Augustiner’s heritage and history. It’s a tradition that has seen the brewery well into the modern era too, with substantial investment, and an expanded, contemporary brewhouse that’s made Augustiner a bastion of Munich beer culture.
Whether it’s the Lager Hell, the classic Pils, or the celebratory Oktoberfest brew created for the festival each year, an Augustiner beer is an exercise in quality and tradition. So here’s to the next 500 years.
Ayinger BREWERY
Founded BY:
Origin: Aying, Germany
Founded: 1877
Johann Liebhard
In a nation renowned for brewing excellence, Ayinger are one of Germany’s benchmarks. Owned and operated by the same family since 1877, they’re a prime example of the small, industrious brewing enterprise that makes Bavarian beer a touchstone for quality worldwide.
Bavarian culture doesn’t just emphasise great beer, but celebrates ideals worth striving for. Produced in the picturesque Alpine town of Ayinger, their regional beer styles are the ‘cement’ that binds the community together, helping build deep roots and forge lasting connections. Something we could all do with a bit more of these days.
Traditional-style recipes such as Lager Hell, and unfiltered Kellerbier sit alongside celebrated cult classic Ayinger Celebrator, an award winning, hearty Doppelbock.
Only one in ten Ayinger beers make it out of Germany, making a dark brown bottle of Urweisse or Maibock found lurking behind the bar a prize worth coveting.
Founded BY: Czech-speaking citizens of Budweis BUDVAR
Origin: Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Founded: 1862
Classics are what we do best, and they don’t come much more classic than this. State owned, and able to trace their story all the way back to 1265. A true tale of civic pride, over the years the people of Budějovice have fought hard to keep imposters at bay, and to take ownership of their local brewery.
Today the brewery is an incredible example of the fusion between the ancient and the modern. Wort is produced in a brewery at the cutting edge of the industry, and then once fermented the beer is lagered deep underground in the ice cold ancient cellars for months on end.
With beer this special, we’re committed to making sure we can serve it in the UK just like they would in their home town, and we’re extremely privileged to be their exclusive partner for Sidepull served Nefilter. A truly unique beer experience.
Founded BY: Castle Brewery Van Honsebrouck BACCHUS
Origin: Kortrijk, Belgium
Founded: 1955
Brouwerji van Honsebrouck have a long and storied history. Once the site of the Sint-Jozef Brewery, their current building dates back to 1793. The cellars were the only thing to survive when English, French and Spanish soldiers razed the village a century before, and the theme of rebirth is a fitting one.
The modern brewery came into being in the early 20th century, with the Van Honsebrouck family taking over brewing in the local style. The regional has only a few definitive styles, and Bacchus is one of them. The Flemish red-brown brew sits alongside oude gueuze and saison as a signature taste of the area.
The style relies on ancient storage methods and mixed fermentation to extend its lifespan, undergoing maturation in oak barrels which develop a mildly sour and fruity taste. By cutting young beer with old, Brouwerji van Honsebrouck find the perfect balance. And when a little fruit is introduced, as with Kreik or Framboos, then it can’t be beaten.
BERLINER PILSNER
Founded
BY:
Volkseigener Betrieb
Origin: Berlin, Germany
Berlin, du bist so wunderbar!
Every Berliner badge carries the breezy salute to the German capital, and the beer itself is about as good a representation of Berlin’s hyper cool work-hard play-hard mentality as you could hope for.
Though the beer is an icon in its own right, the brewery who do the legwork, Schultheiss-Brauerei, have been doing their stuff since 1842, and Berliner itself was marketed as a traditional pilsner before its recent incarnation. And these days? It’s the city’s best selling beer.
21st century Berliner is a beer that’s bang up to date, a crisp pilsner perfect for sipping anywhere from a drizzly British barbecue to a Brooklyn rooftop party. Every can is adorned by the instantly recognisable Berlin Bear, one of the city’s famous visual markers. You can’t miss it. Wonderful sounds about right.
Founded: 1902
Origin: Brussels, Belgium
Founded: 1989
Blanche De Bruxelles
If you’re going to put a Belgian icon like the Manneken Pis on your label, you need to make sure to have an iconic Belgian beer to put inside the bottle too. And with Blanche de Bruxelles, ‘iconic’ is just about right.
First produced in 1989, the beer harks back to the brewery’s founding in the 19th century. Blanche de Bruxelles inherits the genes of sessionable beers quaffed by local miners.
Beers that also gave them a fortifying daily dose of essential vitamins B1 and B12. A wholesome start for a beer that’s so damn tasty.
geuze boon
Founded BY: Frank Boon
Origin: Lembeek, Belgium
Founded: 1978
Oude Geuze is what started it all. Based on the lambic style, and synonymous with Brussels brewing, it was a beer that a 21 year-old Frank Boon loved. So much so, that when Oude Geuze started to fall out of favour, he was determined to keep it alive. He bought Rene De Vits’ geuze in 1978, acquiring the building, an arsenal of oak lambic barrels and a whole lot of dust and cobwebs.
It didn’t take too long before Frank realised Boon needed more space. A new brewery hall, built in Lembeek, was quickly followed by its first true lambic brew. And from then things went from strength to strength, mastering the blending, mixing and ageing that are the hallmarks of a truly great lambic. The delicious balance of old and young, augmented by fruit if you like, but never simple. Never basic.
Traditional geuze brewing got EU protection (with Frank heavily involved!), new warehouses were built and, in 2017, another new brewery hall was built, this time tripling capacity. And all because of one man’s love of geuze.
Beer has been on Quite a journey.
And we’ve been there Every step of the way.
Founded BY: Xavier Vanneste Brugse Zot
Origin: Bruges, Belgium
An important beer in a nation of important beers, Brugse Zot has been a family affair since 1865. The beer is the preserve of the renowned De Halve Maan brewery, (that’s Half Moon, not Half Man), the only brewery in Bruges, the beautiful and historic capital of West Flanders. That makes Brugse Zot the city’s ‘Townbeer’, and luckily it fulfils its role admirably.
Brugse Zot comes in two forms, with the Blond as its flagship, and a Dubbel rounding things out.
Quintessentially Belgian, the beer has a big body, with fruity banana notes from the yeast blended with complimentary hops.
Secondary fermentation in the bottle leads to a long maturation process and a soft carbonation. It’s a beer that gets better and better.
All sounds pretty clever, right?
Origin: Hainaut, Belgium
Founded: 1862
Founded BY: Scourmont Abbey CHIMAY
The monks of Scourmont Abbey have been brewing for over 150 years, producing world-class Trappist beer in their austere, peaceful monastery on a wild plateau in Hainaut, one of Belgium’s southern provinces.
For many years, the work of the monks was the cultivation of their fields but, in keeping with other historic Trappist monasteries, the passing of time increased the demands of self sufficiency. This led the brothers to develop cottage industries producing cheese and brewing beer, the latter of which flourished into something rather larger in scale.
And what beer they brew.
Chimay’s recognisable bottles are differentiated by coloured caps, with a red Dubbel, a blue Dark Ale, and a white Tripel, alongside a Gold ‘Patersbier’, intended to be drunk by the monks themselves but now enjoyed by many outside the monastery’s walls.
In their own rather poetic words...
‘Here, in this heaven of peace and silence, where since 1850 Trappist monks have dedicated their life to God, products are made which in themselves, gladden the heart of man.’
Founded BY: Leon Huyghe
Origin: Melle, Belgium
Founded: 1906
Delirium is hard to miss. All you have to do is follow the pink elephant. If that all sounds a bit Alice in Wonderland, then you’ll be pleased to know the beers are as wild and wonderful as their idiosyncratic image implies.
Delirium
It all started in 1906, when Léon Huyghe settled in Melle, Belgium. Four years later, he acquired a local brewery with several centuries’ pedigree, and history was made.
Whilst a standard pilsner remained the brewery’s mainstay, a line of more divergent creations hit the scene from the 1980s, each sporting a fetching pink elephant.
The first, Delirium Tremens, has achieved fame and fortune via a stint as the Best Beer in the World in 2008.
Stablemates like Delirium Nocturnum and Red have been joined by a celebrated Christmas ale, each reaping a haul of awards worldwide for Léon Huyghe’s challenging brewery.
Origin:
Tourpes, Belgium
Dupont is a brewery with deep roots. It all started with a Belgian farm dating back to 1759. The farm became a farm-brewery, producing seasonal honey and saison beers for summer sipping. Then along came Louis.
In 1920, Louis’ father Albert Dupont wanted to head off a potential move to Canada. So he bought his agronomist son the same farm-brewery, and Brasserie Dupont was born, along with their take on the popular farm beer - the now iconic Dupont Saison.
Since then, the old farm has weathered wars and depressions that sunk many a small Belgian brewery. And it gained some shiny kit along the way.
Dupont is still family run, with a line stretching through nephews and daughters, and they still produce the Dupont Saison that’s so beloved by brewers and drinkers worldwide. An archetypal farmhouse style, true to its rural roots.
Founded: 1920
Brasserie-dupont
Founded BY: Petersen + Dethleffsen Families
Origin: Flensburg, Germany
Founded: 1888
Flensburger Brauerei
Drive north until everyone starts speaking Danish. Then go back a bit.
These are the directions given for visitors looking to reach Flensburger Brauerei.
As Germany’s most northerly brewery, Flensburger are closer to Copenhagen’s innovative beer scene than they are to the beer halls of Munich and Germany’s brewing heartland. The brewery even draws water from a well that’s fed by an Ice Age spring flowing from Scandinavia. Their coastal-grown barley is buffeted by Baltic winds, not Bavarian breezes.
But they still brew German classics, like the crisp, hoppy Flensburger Pilsner, or the elegant, floral Flensburger Gold, all sealed with a flip-top stopper which give the beers their famous ‘Plop!’. A sound, an advertising slogan, and a local nickname for Flensburger themselves.
An outward-looking, maritime spirit infects everything Flensburger does. The brewery’s brand mark features a ship in full sail, setting out to discover the world. Well the world has already discovered Flensburger’s beers, and they can’t stop the ‘Plop!’
Früh Kölsch
Founded BY:
Peter Joseph Früh
Origin: Cologne, Germany
Founded: 1904
Früh brew a style distinct to Cologne, the Deliciously drinkable kölsch, a clear and crisp beer similar to lager, but with nuanced brewing methods protected by the weightysounding Kölsch-Konvention, a historic agreement between brewers in the city that ensures quality and consistency.
In a city famed for the style, Früh are considered one of the key players, and their brewerrun bars are some of the most atmospheric places to soak up the region’s drinking culture.
Waiters weave their way through packed benches, carrying trays of beers with which they replace any empty glass they see, unprompted. A beermat on top of the glass is the sign of satisfaction that stops the flow. Even the glassware is unique.
Referred to as a ‘Stange’, it’s an elegant, straight-sided vessel which holds an unusual 200ml measure.
As for the beer itself?
Kölsch has more subtlety and complexity than a pilsner, without some of the bitter notes and a softer carbonation, which makes for a refreshing, light golden ale.
Keep those beer mats firmly on the table, and keep the Früh Kölsch coming.
BY:
Origin: Kounosu, Japan
Founded: 1823
The award-winning Japanese craft beer brand make the claim ‘Nest is Best’, and who would disagree with them? Hitachino might feel like a new kid on the block, but they’ve been years in the making, scooping up international awards within a few years of their first brew hitting the shelves in 1996.
A case of beginners luck? Not quite.
Founded
Kiuchi Family HITACHINO NEST
The story of Hitachino Nest began in 1823 when the Kiuchi family began brewing Japan’s iconic brew, sake. For decades the country’s beer landscape was restricted to the styles produced by four large breweries, all governed by strict state licensing laws. Then in 1994 the laws were relaxed, making way for a new generation of smaller breweries ready to shake up Japanese beer.
Using over 150 years of brewing wisdom, Hitachino Nest took global influences on board, but stayed rooted in Japanese drinking culture. They grow their own hops, and operate brewing labs, taprooms, and restaurants from Tokyo to San Francisco. The initial lineup of three bottles has been joined by an array of innovative, world-beating brews now sought out by fans halfway across the world.
Founded by: Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria Hofbräu
Origin: Munich, Germany
Founded: 1589
Hofbräu has a lot of history. A big, Bavarian bucket of the stuff, accumulated over the last 400 years (and counting). Originally founded by Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria in 1589, the brewery’s original home is now one of Munich’s oldest beer halls.
Hofbräu began life as the brewery to the nearby royal residence, and Wilhelm’s son, Duke Maximilian I, gave Hofbräu a helping hand by granting them a monopoly on the production of wheat beer, a style he himself favoured over darker brews. A couple of decades later, the invading army of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden were all set to burn the place down, but for the gift of some 600,000 barrels of Hofbräuhaus beer and a few hostages. And that only takes us to 1632.
Cut to the mid 20th century, when American GIs returning from service in Munich brought with them iconic mugs emblazoned with the brewery’s ‘HB’ initials, quickly making the Hofbräuhaus Munich’s top tourist attraction, and fuelling demand for beers, bars, and paraphernalia all over Europe.
These days, Hofbräu is part owned by the Bavarian government, making them one of only two breweries in Munich to escape global brewery ownership. A passionate declaration of loyalty by the enterprise most responsible for exporting Bavarian culture the world over.
Quality and Taste
That’s the only thing That matters.
Hogan’s Cider
Origin: Warwickshire,UK
Cider that’s worth the wait...
For thirty years or so, Allen Hogan harvested local cider apples and made them into cider, inspired by neighbour and early eco-warrior John Stewart.
Those early Warwickshire tipples were the taste of springtime, with the first barrel opening a magical event shared between the two. Until Allen decided to share it with the world, too.
A stall at Stratford farmers market beckoned, where people gave Allen real hard cash for real, hard cider. Stuff made the traditional, English way. Moreish, delicious and quenching.
He’s come a long way from that farmers market, but the philosophy remains the same. Proper ciders and perrys, full of flavour. Winning awards all over. So we’re glad Allen didn’t keep it all in his kitchen.
Founded: 1985
Lindeboom Pilsner is an iconic beer from an iconic brewery. A noticeably bitter mix of malt and herbal hops, backed up by a nose full of sweet corn. A classic Dutch pilsner which finishes with a dry and lime-like hoppiness. A refreshing classic, happily displaying its namesake - A lime tree, or ‘lindeboom’, from the brewery’s yard.
Over the past century or so, this renowned brewery in the southern Netherlands has perfected its craft. Expanding production, and passing down expertise and passion through the generations.
Founded by: William
Geenen
Origin: Neer, Netherlands
Founded: 1870
Their brews found their way to pubs and bars in the Low Countries and beyond. To places like Bruges, Ghent, Amsterdam and Utrecht. To Liege, and Luxembourg. And in 1982, to Yorkshire.
Lindeboom isn’t just an iconic beer because of its taste and quality. It’s iconic because it was our first import. The first keg that came back in the first van. The first page in our history. And one we’ve returned to, thirstily, ever since.
Lindeboom
Founded by: Louis Moritz
Origin: Barcelona, Spain
Founded: 1856
MORITZ
THE FIRST BEER OF BARCELONA. SINCE 1856.
Over 165 years, Moritz Barcelona has perfected its brewing expertise to lovingly create a range of seven beers that make up the Moritz family.
When founder Louis Moritz arrived in Barcelona he was well acquainted with beer and everything that went into it thanks to his older brother who was already a master brewer.
By 1856, Louis had developed his own beer; three years later, he bought the factory of Joan Maurer, located on Calle Portal de Santa Madrona, and turned it into one of Barcelona’s biggest production plants.
Moritz Original is made with extra-pale malt and an intense flavour of Saaz hops, one of the most recognised aromatic hops in the world, providing an exceptional taste and sweet notes of malt and cereals.
Whether you’ve been with them since their humble beginnings or just discovered Moritz Barcelona, it’s been an extraordinary adventure and we’re thrilled to continue sharing that journey with you. Salud!
Origin: Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval, Belgium
Founded: 1931
The monks of Orval Abbey only make two beers, one of which never makes it outside the brewery walls. The other, Orval’s complex, unfiltered Trappist ale, is about as close as you can come to a lowlands cult classic, famous for the ‘Belgian Lace’ of beautiful microbubbles left on the glass as its frothy amber head recedes.
ORVAL
At bottling, Orval is characterised by lemony fresh hops and pronounced bitterness but, as with other Trappist beers, the taste and depth continue to develop as the nectar ferments in the bottle over time. It can pack a punch too, with ABV rising alongside the flavour profile.
But what of the Abbey itself? As legend has it, 1000 years ago an Italian Countess was visiting the region and dropped an ornate, jewelled wedding ring into a bubbling spring.
The ring was returned to her by a helpful trout, leading the Countess to name the area the Val d’Or (Golden Valley), from which Orval derives its name. Funds given in thanks paid for the monastery’s foundation.
And the trout? He didn’t receive a penny, but he did make it onto the label.
Founded by:
Jacob Best
Origin: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
THE AMERICAN
‘Always good for all the time’.
As uncomplicated as beer comes, but still with an incredible story. Dating back a couple centuries, the Blue Ribbon name refers to the award won at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, so it’s entirely possible that Nikolai Tesla and Thomas Edison drank this beer while showing off their inventions.
Founded:
PABST Brewing Company
The brand almost went extinct, as prohibition kicked in they were the 2nd biggest brewery in the US, and survived thanks only to a diversion into cheese production, making 8 million lbs of cheese before selling up to Kraft. Legend has it around this time they also invented the six-pack too.
In the modern day they’re known for supporting independent music and art, and collaborating with designers and artists to make incredible merch, covering anything from Rollerskates to earplugs for gigs.
Grabst a Pabst.
SCHLENKERLA
Origin: Bamberg, Germany
Founded: 1405
Bamberg brewery Schlenkerla are renowned for one particular style, the enigmatic Rauchbier, or ‘smoke beer’. Schlenkerla are a thoroughly traditional operation, drying their own malt, which few breweries have done since the industrial revolution. And that makes for one tasty, smoky brew.
Though most smoked beers now use modern gas or electric heating methods, Schlenkerla have held tight to the skills developed by generation after generation of brewers, making their Rauchbier one of the last old-style brews on the market.
Schlenkerla is as much a beer hall as it is a brewer. To really experience the beer in its home environment, a trip to beautiful, Gothic Bamberg is in order.
The city is worth exploring in its own right, but the Schlenkerla tavern is a riot of dark oak beams and ornate flourishes.
That just leaves the name. Schlenkerla roughly translates as ‘dangling’, describing the tipsy stagger of a rosy-faced drinker, apparently a nickname for an early brewer with a hobble.
So grab a Rauchbier and get dangle-y.
Origin: Munich, Germany
Founded: 1872
Founded by:
Georg Schneider I
SCHNEIDER WEISSE
When it comes to wheat beer, there is no brewery more significant than Schneider Weisse. Still owned and managed by the Schneider family, they enjoy a rare combination of historical importance and progressive ‘craft’ credentials considered practically heretical by Bavarian traditionalists.
After Georg Schneider saved the style from extinction in 1872, the brewery has established itself through not one, but two world classics, both brewed for over a century. Still made to their original recipes, and using costly open vessel fermentation, Schneider Original - the mother of all wheat beers - and Unser Aventinus - the world’s first wheat doppelbock - are true benchmarks.
The current Brewmaster, Hans-Peter Drexler, has expanded the range whilst retaining the focus on quality and tradition. Without deviating from wheat beers, Schneider Weisse have embraced the innovation and experimentation that has come to define modern craft beer movements around the world. Old and new in one pint glass.
Founded by: Georg Schneider IV schneiders
Origin: Kelheim, Germany
Founded: 1928
A new project from the esteemed Schneider family (of wheat beer fame). Schneider’s Landbrauerei will focus on producing beers with a deep connection to their local area, expressing the character of the people and region, showcasing the finest Bavarian hops, barley, and water.
Schneider Weisse Brewmaster Hans-Peter Drexler has headed up the project, and working with his team alongside Georg Schneider V, VI, and VII, have developed their first release: Bayrisch Hell, a 4.9% pale golden Helles lager.
New breweries come along all the time, but Schneider’s Landbrauerei ticked all our boxes. With the Schneider pedigree, quality is assured. We already know they’re good people. As a tool for the Schneider family to express Bavarian terroir through exceptional beer, they sealed the deal by appealing to our nerdy side too.
Beer curation AND CONVEYANCE.
It’s
what we’ve always done.
Founded
BY:
Peter Schöffer SchÖfferhofer
Origin: Mainz, Germany
Schöfferhofer. It’s definitely a tongue twister. And it’s a beer - stick with it - that’s designed to twist the tongues of beer lovers too, mixing up German wheat beer and fresh grapefruit to produce a uniquely refreshing, tangy hit of sunshine.
It’s a world first, and thanks to those fruity flavours and a low ABV it’s become a favourite with everyone from cocktail mixologists to the kind of bars that keep hip rooftop parties well lubricated all summer long.
But don’t mistake Schöfferhofer for one hit wonders. They’ve been singing the praises of wheat beer since 1978, when the original Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen was produced in its traditional, unfiltered form.
It’s all brewed in Mainz at Binding Brewery, started by Conrad Binding in 1870.
It’s unlikely old Conrad ever thought about blending 19th century wheat beer with grapefruit juice. To be honest, it’s unlikely he ever saw one of the little pink treats. But regardless, Schöfferhofer Grapefruit is a beer he’d surely have been proud of.
Origin: Watou, Poperinge, Belgium
Founded BY: Evariste Deconinck St. Bernardus
The St Bernardus story begins with early 20th century French tax law, and a group of monks looking to protect their humble revenues. With the Taxman’s interest growing, the monks abandoned their home in France at Mont des Cats, and took a look a few kilometres over the border to Watou in Belgium, where they settled and established the ‘Réfuge de Notre Dame de St Bernard’. The brethren upped sticks again in the early 1930s, and abandoned the cheese dairy that they had set up, heading back home.
As well as the workings of a Cheesery, the monks left behind the St Bernard name, and the new owner Evariste Deconinck took it on, releasing a cheese under the name St Bernard Watou. In 1946 Deconinck was invited to diversify his business, and the monks of the nearby St. Sixtus Abbey in Westvletern agreed a 30 year deal to brew their beers under licence, as the Abbot had decided to significantly decrease capacity at the Abbey brewery. This was a truly profound moment in the history of St Bernardus, as not only did it result in the foundation of the brewery, but along with brewmaster Mathieu Szafranski came the revered St Sixtus yeast, still in use to this day.
In 1998 current owner Hans Depypere purchased the brewery, the task ahead of him was made evident on the first day of his ownership when an employee plainly told him he was a fool for making the investment, the previous owners having not spent a penny on the place for decades.
Following Hans’ investment over the past 25 years, the brewery is now powering through 43,000 hectolitres, with the capacity available to double this.
Onwards to the future of St Bernardus, and CEO Junior Julie Depypere. Julie joined the business in 2011 after a career in bookkeeping and auditing, having originally not wanted to pursue a career in the family business (a story not too dissimilar to a young Master J. Clay).
Under Hans and Julie’s stewardship, the brewery has become a household name in Belgian beer, famed for their exceptional Abbey style beers.
Founded BY: Steve Wagner + Greg Koch
Origin: San Diego, California, USA
Founded: 1996
Curated BY:
James Clay
Describing Stone as a brewery with attitude is a bit like describing a diamond as ‘fairly hard’. Ever since founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner opened their San Diego microbrewery in 1996, Stone has been shaking things up and causing trouble, with the beer world’s big hitters clearly in the crosshairs. And they’ve made quite an impact.
BeerAdvocate named Stone ‘All-time Top Brewery on the Planet’. Twice.
Their uncompromising, hop-forward West Coast IPAs are amongst the most celebrated of the iconic style that’s taken the beer world by storm, much as lager did for a previous generation.
With newly opened breweries in Richmond, Virginia, and Berlin, Germany, those beers are kicking ass on a global stage.
The company’s iconic mascot is a suitably arrogant gargoyle, used for centuries to ward off evil spirits.
Since 1996, Stone claim, their gargoyle has been used to ward off ‘cheap ingredients, pasteurisation, and chemical additives… the modern day evil spirits of beer!’
Whether that’s superstition or a true trade secret, the end result is the same: Some of the world’s best beer.
STONE BREWING
Origin:
Leça do Balio, Portugal
Origin:
Leça do Balio, Portugal
SUPER BOCK
Celebrating life with refreshing moments.
The Super Bock brand was born in 1927, launched as a “winter beer”, and winning it’s first prize before it was registered in 1926, winning the gold medal at the Industrial Exhibition at Palácio de Cristal.
Since then this easy drinking Portuguese beer has gone on to continue winning awards and is the only Portuguese beer with 37 consecutive gold medals from the Monde Selection.
Super Bock maintains a leading position in the market and is the best-selling Portuguese beer in the world. Characterised as ‘a pilsner, golden and luminous beer, with a fine and refreshing flavour’.
It is a beer with a fresh, slightly malty and fruity aroma, the medium body and balanced flavour, the wellstructured bitterness with the malt sweetness and the light and dry aftertaste. It is made using the best varieties of hops to give it a unique and authentic flavour.
Let’s raise our glasses to celebrating “o sabor Autêntico” (that’s Portuguese for “the authentic flavour”).
Founded BY:
Origin: Brussels, Belgium
Founded: 1702
Timmermans is a Belgian institution, taking the title of the world’s oldest lambic brewery. Originally founded as De Mol (The Mole), in 1702, Timmermans have been perfecting their craft in the Flemish village of Itterbeek ever since.
Jacobus Walravens TIMMERMANS
After a sideline in exporting artisanal Belgian beer to the Sultan of Constantinople, the brewery became Brouwerji Timmermans in the early twentieth century, when the owner’s youngest daughter married a brewer from the nearby village of Zuun named Frans Timmermans.
The region has always been famous for the Lambic style, where malt-heavy beers are allowed to ferment through contact with wild yeast and native bacteria, giving gueuze and kriek their unique sour and wine- or cider-like flavour.
Timmermans have always been famous for fruit-forward brews, using fresh peach or raspberry to cut through the beer’s natural acidity, and recent small-batch bottlings of protected lambic styles like Oude Kriek and Oude Gueuze have taken things to the next level.
In 1900 there were around 300 lambic breweries. A century later there are ten left, so here’s to Timmermans for keeping those sour fires burning.
DECADES OF EXPERIENCE
OUR STORIES.
trappistes Rochefort
Origin: Rochefort, Belgium
Founded: 1595
Amongst the universally celebrated field of Trappist brewing, Brasserie de Rochefort hold their own. Just 15 monks producing beers held up as world greats by beer experts and everyday drinkers alike. Like fellow monastic brewers Chimay, Orval or Tynt meadow, the brothers of the Abbey of Our Lady of Saint-Remy in Rochefort, Belgium, live a simple and serene life of work and prayer.
Records indicate that beer has been brewed on the site since 1595, and like the monastery itself, the beers age impeccably.
Modern recipes were set down in the 1960s, with the help of brothers and neighbours Chimay.
Three beers brewed with essentially unchanged ingredients and a ‘secret herb’ thrown in for good measure. All brewed in handsome copper kettles.
The results speak for themselves. Three varieties, 6, 8 and 10. Three beers to take on the world.
Origin: Leicestershire, UK
Founded: 2018
Tynt Meadow
Trappist brewing is a closely guarded and exclusive club. One that’s home to only 12 members, each producing some of the world’s finest beer using methods and practices which stand the test of time. ‘New’ isn’t really what Trappist brewing is all about. And it’s all the better for it.
So when the Cistercian monks of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in Loughborough set aside a living of dairy farming to start brewing, it was bound to cause a bit of a stir. The first ever Trappist brewery in the UK. The exclusive club of 12 became 13.
And what a beer to enrich the Trappist roster. Rather than mirror their continental cousins, the brothers have brewed an ale imbued with English sensibility.
A critically acclaimed bottle distilled with the techniques and ingredients of nearby Burton-on-Trent as much as Brasserie de Rochefort. Tynt Meadow, named for the field in which the Abbey was founded two centuries ago.
Pure bottled history.
Founded BY: Childhood Friends Vinohradsky
Origin: Prague, Czech Republic
Founded: 2013
1893 as Měšťanský Pivovar
Distinctive unfiltered Czech lager made from high quality, locally sourced malt and hops, brewed in a restored 19th century brewery building.
Brewing has taken place on the site since 1893 originally as Měšťanský Pivovar, back when Vinohrady was still it’s own town detached from Prague. Eventually industrialisation saw concrete replace verdant rows of barley and Vinohrady grow to become one of the country’s biggest towns.
In the roaring 20s, the brewery was the place to be, with film studios setting up nearby. Unfortunately though, production was halted during World War II, before being nationalised by the government and eventually shuttered. Although no beer was produced commercially for a while, the site operated as the country’s Brewery and Malt Research Institute.
Today it’s a buzzing taproom in a European capital, brought back to life by old school friends in 2014. Paying respect to the methods of the past, the brewery’s direct fired kettle is made of hammered copper, a replica of a model from 1912. Properly made old school Czech beer in a modern environment.
Founded: 1753
Warsteiner
Founded by: Antonius Cramer
Origin: Warstein, Germany
OVER 270 YEARS OF BREWING EXCELLENCE. Warsteiner are 9th Generation family-owned, and currently under the stewardship of Catharina Cramer. The brewery’s roots can be traced back to Antonius Cramer being requested to pay tax on his beer for the first time in 1753, his homebrewing passion project having exceeded the maximum volume allowed.
Flash forward a few centuries and his descendants have built a globally-renowned brewing dynasty based on their exceptional Pilsener, after each generation intensively invested in the next, instilling quality as the primary goal of everything they do.
Nestled in the Arnsberg forest, the brewery draws its water from the ‘Kaiserquelle’ spring, and this perfectly soft water is at the heart of Warsteiner’s excellence. After significant growth through the 20th century, the brand is a key player in the worldwide beer market, and we’re delighted to be part of developing it into the 10th generation and onwards.
Westmalle Brewery
Origin: Westmalle, Belgium
Founded: 1836
Westmalle Brewery is a true Trappist trailblazer, an abbey with nearly two centuries of brewing history whose work has done so much to progress the cherished monastic brewing tradition. The brothers of ‘Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’, as the abbey is known, began in 1836, with only a single, low-alcohol recipe on offer for the first two decades.
The brewery uses mineral water from the abbey’s well, combined with a unique yeast strain and, unusually, a direct flame brewhouse that causes beneficial caramelisation during the brewing process.
1856 saw the introduction of the Westmalle Dubbel, perhaps the monastery’s true claim to fame. A chestnut brown beer with stunning complexity, it is considered the first of its type, a now iconic Trappist style defined by dark candy sugar, which imparts a toffee-like flavour with a surprisingly light body.
But the monks weren’t done yet. From the 1920s, Westmalle beer was sold commercially to support the monastery. In 1934 a strong pale ale Tripel was added to Westmalle’s lineup, another much-imitated beer which has defined its own style and taken its place as another undisputed world classic.
The monk’s first priory was founded in 1794 at a farm named ‘Nooit Rust’, or ‘Never Rest’, a moniker that perfectly encapsulates Westmalle’s innovative spirit.
Ian
Clay, a van, And his mate Andrew.
That’s how it all started.
ANSPACH & HOBDAY
Founded BY:
Paul Anspach & Jack Hobday
Origin: London, England
Leading the new wave of craft beer in London, curating a mix of modern and classic flavours.
Founded: 2013
Beginning their journey in Bermondsey in 2013, Anspach & Hobday were originally located in the arches of the Bermondsey beer mile. In March 2020 they expanded and moved the majority of their production to their new site in Croydon, allowing them to make three times the amount of beer.
One such beer is London Black. Described in their own words as “The true craft alternative to Big Beer Macro Stouts.”
London Black is a session strength Nitro Porter that takes inspiration from their flagship beer, The Porter. Creamy, smooth and truly sessionable.
The beer brings together the rich history and heritage of London Porters, with the modern techniques of brewing nitro beers. The result is a beer that is easy drinking, without sacrificing its character.
One of the most long established names of UK craft brewing, Arbor have been brewing in Bristol since 2007.
Starting out as a brewpub at the Old Tavern in Stapleton, before swiftly outgrowing that site and finding their own industrial unit.
They’re unique among other modern brewers as they pay full respect to the pint format, with their big 568ml cans, making them immediately stand out on the shelf.
With names like Faked Alaska, Why Kick a Moo Cow, and Massive Azacc, there’s clearly an edge of comic genius working behind the scenes too.
Origin: Bristol,UK
Founded: 2007
ARBOR ALES
Origin: London, UK
Founded: 2018
Quiet until you try it.
You’d be surprised by the number of UK craft brewers who cite a Kernel beer as their ‘lightbulb’ moment. Until you try one.
The brewery has forged an enviable reputation as one of the founding fathers of London’s progressive brewing scene, setting up shop in Bermondsey in 2010, when the area was just taking off as a pilgrimage destination for beer fans.
It’s no small claim, but so much of what makes British craft beer an internationally unique proposition came from that small Bermondsey outpost, from the uncompromising, upfront hops, to the utilitarian design that adorns the brewery’s brown paper labels. Hoppy American brews sit alongside sours and stouts, all brewed with the same attitude and attention to detail.
The Kernel Brewery
This is a brewery that comes with serious craft brewing chops.
After all, in 1997, when brewing their own beer was still but a glint in the bottom of their schooner, John Gyngell and Christian Townsley laid claim to pioneering Britain’s first craft beer bar on Upper Briggate, Leeds.
The place quickly became an Yorkshire institution, stocking and influencing a new wave of UK craft breweries. But all the while they harboured their own brewing plans.
In 2015, after twenty years of sourcing and serving, they finally made it happen with a 15bbl brewery and 200-person capacity tap-room just half a mile from the flagship bar. A core range, multiple collaborations and whole host of awards later, they’ve not looked back.
And how good is the beer? Well, let’s put it this way: it’s good enough to be stocked by the original North Bar. In craft beer terms, that’s all you need to know. What more, we’re such good pals, that they’ve only gone and made a beer just for us. Atlantis is a 4.1% pale ale, made to be smashable and full of fruity aromatic hops.
Origin: Leeds, England North Brewing Co.
Monk
Origin: Leeds, UK
Northern Monk might not have the history of North Brewing Co., But it’s just as rooted in the heritage of Leeds - and building a reputation for seriously impressive craft beer.
The idea behind Northern Monk was to create a brewery that would be a union between the traditional monastic brewing practices of ancient Yorkshire, and a modern, progressive approach towards ingredients and techniques. And have it all rooted it all in the spiritual heart of the industrial revolution (which is also known as Holbeck).
With a core range that specialises in IPAs, Northern Monk also boasts a refectory bar at the Holbeck brewery site where people can sample from 16 keg lines, two cask lines, and fridges stuffed with fresh cans.
