South Shropshire’s much acclaimed Ludlow Brewery is toasting the future as it celebrates 10 years of brewing success.
Since Gary and Alison Walters founded Ludlow Brewing Company in 2006, with just themselves working for the business, the company has grown to a 20 barrel brewing plant with 30 employees both full and part time. It now produces more than 18,000 pints a week following an expansion last year to expand capacity for both cask and bottled sales.
Gary said: “This is a proud moment for us. Our dream was to rekindle the industry in Ludlow, but to achieve this level of success was beyond our expectations!
“The town has a long tradition of brewing but there hadn’t been any beer produced in Ludlow since the last brewery in town shut up shop in the 1930s.
“The business has gone from strength to strength in our first ten years proving that there is an underlying British passion for beer.”
The brewery’s first mash was started in May 2006 in the Old Maltings, Corve Street. But by 2008 the firm had outgrown the premises and were given the opportunity by Alison’s late father Tony Lloyd to renovate the unused old railway shed on the same site. With their vision they succeeded in tastefully transforming an abandoned railway shed to a buzzing real ale venue. Brewing started at the new site in December 2010, with the brewery tap and visitor centre opened to the public in April 2011.
Since then the venue has gained a reputation for being one of Shropshire’s leading craft brewery taps, offering a combination of site-brewed beers and ales. Ludlow Gold, their first ale, was followed by Boiling Well (named after a nearby meadow), Ludlow Best, Black Knight, Stairway and its most recent pale ale Blonde was brewed at the end of 2014.
Over the ten years Ludlow Brewery has won a string of awards. In September 2006, Ludlow Gold won the CAMRA Severn Valley Railway beer festival, and it picked up the distinction of becoming CAMRA’s Shropshire Brewery of the Year in 2008/9. Stairway first brewed in 2010, won silver in the SIBA for strong bitters in 2011. The company has received recognition for its effective eco-planning and picked up a Ludlow Heritage Award in 2011 for the sympathetic renovation of the building. Earlier this year its popularity as a venue saw it shortlisted for Shropshire’s best small regional live music venue in the What’s On Readers’ Awards.
Gary said: “We’re celebrating our birthday in style in our anniversary month. We wanted to hold a special event to mark the occasion and thank all our loyal customers. We’ve had overwhelming support from the local community since we launched the brewery in 2006, and we’re as excited as any of our regular customers about what the second decade holds for us.”
Ludlow Brewery is marking its milestone birthday with a free family fun day at the Brewery on Monday, 30th May. Featuring Sunshine Radio, there will be lots of excitement for regulars and newcomers alike. The event will also feature brewery tours, vintage lorries, face painting, giant pub games, a bouncy castle, plus hot food, ice creams, fusion dance company and a prize raffle in aid of Macmillan Nurses. Owner Gary Walters will be providing comedy with a stint in the stocks, letting staff and customers pelt him with shaving foam pies and water. The activities and entertainment will run from 11am-4pm.
Free brewery tours must be booked in advance by telephoning the brewery on 01584 873 291. Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.