Woolfont Brewery

 Sponsored by the Beechbourne  Herald & Courier  The Woolfont Brewery  is a ‘community brewery’ producing real (cask) ales and beers, real cider, and real perry, and located in Woolfont Parva. It is majority owned by a charitable trust itself enfolding the Woolfonts & District Community Brewery Enterprise. Its other shareholders are the Taunton Estate and, ex officio  and in trust, the Rector’s Discretionary Fund Trust for the Combined Benefice of the Woolfonts, Somerfords, and Harstbournes.

History
The Dukes of Taunton, with (in the words of the present Duke) ‘their usual eye for the main chance’, and with a distillery of their own in Perthshire, have been involved in the creation and preservation, and now the restarting, of the brewery since they had it built in 1789. Ale and cider, and perry within the succeeding decade, became all the more established as part of the wages of farm labourers and tenants during this period, particularly with the economic effects of the war against Bonaparte and the French, and the ducal landlords were highly attentive to such matters. The brewery thus created remained in operation, in despite of Arkell’s and Wadworth, well into the 1920s, after the death of the ninth Duke at the Somme. It was only during the 1930s that the Trustees, whilst the title was in abeyance (depending as it does upon the succession to the underlying Earldom), reluctantly accepted the necessity of closing the brewery; it was, however, preserved, in anticipation of better times.

In 2014, His present Grace, a real ale enthusiast in his own right, elected to restore and reopen the brewery as an adjunct to his plans for doing the same with the Woolfonts & Chickmarsh Railway and a Rail Ale scheme; and chose to do so via a community buy-in, as with the W&CR. The present Community Brewery resulted, and has gone from strength to strength (‘as measured by abv’, as the Duke jests); it is now managed by Jack Stamford, formerly of Marstons, whose late daughter Pauline was until her early death the wife to the Rector of the Combined Benefice, the Revd Canon Noel Paddick SSC.

The Brewery Buildings
The Georgian brewery, which is Grade II* listed, was built to plans drawn up for the then duke by John Rennie the Younger. Owing to its fortuitous location on the slope, to the East of Bramble Lane, which rises to Beechbourne Down, it – unlike Rennie’s Royal William Victualling Yard Brewhouse, built for the Navy in Stonehouse, Plymouth – was from the off, almost accidentally, a true ‘tower brewery’ in its internal function. In 1883, under the direction of the Devon-born brewery architect William Bradford, purely internal alterations were made transforming the brewery into a full ‘steam’ (tower) brewery of the modern sort.

Beers and ales
The Brewery brews only real – cask – ales and beers, alongside its production of real cider and real perry.

The names of its range (not infrequently reflecting ducal wit) largely refer to the ducal family history (Judge Jeffreys, for example, tried the rebellious supporters the first duke’s cousin Monmouth), holdings, armorial supporters (e.g., Rampant Boar, which is also a nod to the Blue Boar in Woolfont Magna, itself named for one of the supporters in the ducal achievement), and the village and district itself.

There are maltings in the Vale and in Chickmarsh and Beechbourne. Some malt and much of the hops comes from other major ducal holdings, in Cheshire and in Worcs respectively.

Year-’round range
Judge Jeffreys  (familiarly, ‘Hanging Judge’ or ‘Bloody Assizes’): jestingly referred to ( not  by the Brewery) as a session bitter (from ‘Court session’); but that should presume a very strong head for a long session. A premium strong bitter, quite dry, with a remarkable 6.7 per cent. abv.

Village Concert Jam Session: legitimately a session bitter, and smooth with it. 4.1 pc abv.

Rampant Boar Best Bitter: a bitter with a porterish character. 4.5 pc abv.

James’ Fits Scotch Ale: named for James 5 th, King of Scots (‘Jamie Fit’ in Scots, thrice-great-grandfather to the first duke), and conditioned in old Balhomais single-malt casks; an ‘80/’, ‘export’ Scotch ale. 5.5 pc abv.

Wolfdown Strong Umber Brown Ale: an old-fashioned, spicy brown ale. 5.0 pc abv.

Duke’s Stout:  a smoothly assertive stout with a bit of peppery bite to it, in keeping with its namesake. 5.8 pc abv.

Mainline Steam Mild:  initially a celebratory release in honour of the W&CR, demand has been such that it has remained in year-’round production. A quaffable, toffee-tasting mild. 3.6 pc abv.

Old Mill Old Ale:  a strong, malty old ale. 8.0 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Second Innings Summer Ale: another seasonal ale which became year-’round by demand. Quenching and quaffable. 3.8 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Wicketkeeper Extra:  a classic and creamy porter. 4.3 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">John Barleywine: a heady, traditional heavyweight. 12.0 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Sirkar IPA:  a traditional, very hoppy India Pale Ale with a dominant lemony-biscuity note often compared to Shrove Tuesday pancakes. Unlike Modern IPAs, it has only a 3.8 pc abv, although, due to its characteristic attenuation, citrus notes, and hoppiness, and the antiquity of the brewing receipt, CAMRA grudgingly concedes it is an IPA of the Late Georgian / Regency period and style.

Seasonal
<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Otterhound: ‘the mild with the shaggy coat’, an early-season dark mild, with English Goldings, Sovereign, and a top-up of English Fuggle, brewed of single-malt all Maris Otter. 3.2 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">May Queen: a Mild Month, May mild, very floral. 3.0 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Bishop of Myra Winter Warmer:  a toasty, warm, treacly Christmastide winter warmer. 6.0 pc abv.

Commemorative & celebratory
<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Wedding Belles:  a one-off mild from February of 2017, marking the marriages of the Duke of Taunton to the then Lady Lacy and of the then Lady Crispin to Sir Giles Trulock. 3.5 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Canons & Fuggles:  noting the joining of the Somerfords and Harstbournes to the Combined Benefice, this is a special best bitter now slated to move to the year-’round range. It has a tag- or strap-line in which JS Bach (the joke in the name being ‘canon and fugue’) is made to state, ‘It an Englisch beer is, not a bock’. 4.2 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Mrs Thrale’s Lexicographer: a planned 2019 release, of an Imperial stout, celebrating Dr Johnson. His friends the Thrales owned the brewery which first brewed and exported stout to Russia in the style which came to be called Imperial Russian stout.

Cider
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">All Woolfont ciders are made of West Country traditional cider-apple varieties, including Dabinett, Tom Putt, Bloody Ploughman, Somerset Redstreak, Tremlett’s Bitter, Kingston Black, Slack-ma-Girdle, Foxwhelp, Crimson King, Sweet Coppin, and Yarlington Mill. These are almost wholly sourced from ducal holdings and interests in Somerset and Devon.

<p class="western" style="margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">As the old orchards in Chickmarsh are brought back to full function, His Grace intends that these supply as much as possible of the cider-apples used, including an increased quantity of Wiltshire varieties, notably including Chickmarsh Redstreak, a variant of the original Scudamore cultivar from Holme Lacy, Herefs, brought to the area by the Scudamores’ cousins the ducal families of Trowbridge and of Taunton.

Year-’round range
<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Wolf Hill Cider:  from an old name for Wolf Down; a traditional West Country cider, of 4.8 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Woolfont Scrumpy: a traditional farmhouse cider, 6.0 pc abv.

Commemorative & celebratory
<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Varmy Army: named for and consumed by the ‘Farmy Army’, the supporters of the Woolfonts Combined CC, whose motto is, ‘Drink up thi zoider an’ skittle they buggers out’, it premiered after yet another season in which the Woolfonts Combined 1st XI was all-conquerant in the West of England Premier League. 8.0 pc abv.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Bridal Lace: a very small run of single-variety cider to celebrate the marriage of Millicent, Lady Lacy, to HG the Duke: all Chickmarsh Redstreak. 6.8 pc abv.

Perry
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">His Grace owning estates in Salop and in Worcs, the Brewery has ready access to perry pears. The following perry varieties are produced.

<p class="western" style="margin-left:0.49in;margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">Clentwood:  made primarily of Judge Amphlett Worcs perry pears. 7.0 pc abv.

Future plans
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom:0in;font-weight:normal">His Grace has suggested that plum jerkum might also be produced from Clentwood plums.

Museum and gift shop
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom:0in">There is a museum and gift shop, and tours are laid on. As of June of 2017, HG the Duchess of Taunton has enlisted the aid of industrial archaeologists on the Great Vale Dig team to advise upon museum operations and expansion.