Truth in every Taste
THE LATE SUMMER OF 1978
Simon Whitmore founds Butcombe Brewing Co. using his Courage Western redundancy payment to convert his farm buildings and family home into a brewery. The brewery equipment, purchased from Allied Breweries surplus plant in Burton-on-Trent, is driven back to Bristol in Simon’s Bedford 35cwt truck.
Simon and his small team shut out the world, in search of the perfect pint. For 21 years they meticulously brew the iconic Butcombe Bitter, created from Maris Otter malt and a secret blend of English hops, with a distinctive bitter, clean and refreshing flavour – a truly Original beer.
1999 - Butcombe Gold joins the family – a true Bristol sunset in a bottle.
2003 -Simon sells the brewery to Guy Newell, Paul Horsley and family friends, whilst remaining a consultant for three years.
2005
Butcombe Brewery relocates to a brand new site at nearby Wrington, with brewing commencing on February 26th. The team dig a borehole deep into the ground to access the finest Mendip Spring water and slowly expand their range – crowd favourites like Butcombe Blonde, Mendip Spring and Brunel Atlantic; icons of a bygone era.
Ashton Press cider comes into the fold at a similar time. Made the Bristol way, in collaboration with local cider producers Thatchers, using harvests of prime cider apples.
2011
Adam Henson begins collaborating with Butcombe. It’s rare you meet a farmer as passionate about sustainability as Adam. His Cotswold-grown Maris Otter barley malt produces a stunning pale ale, and we dedicated a beer to his farm – Rare Breed.
2015
Liberation Group acquires Butcombe, merging two of the most successful, independent regional breweries.
2018
Butcombe opens a state-of-the-art bottling, kegging and distribution depot in Bridgwater.
2019
Butcombe Original and Goram IPA win Gold medals at the British Bottlers’ Institute awards.
2020
Butcombe Original wins Gold in the South West Keg category at the SIBA National beer Awards.
Stateside Session IPA is launched, an American-inspired IPA
The Vintage Nostalgia team are proud to be Sponsored by the Butcombe Brewery Group & appreciate all the support and expertise that they bring to the festival. There will be a wonderful range of classic and craft ales on offer over the weekend.
Partners...
Specialist in Vintage & Classic car parts, spares & accessories.
We are delighted to announce that our nominated charity for 2022 is the Stars Appeal Charity.
We would like to thank @swing art by Stevo (Jess Stevenson), Nic Proud, Lastscene photography, Neumann Graham Photography, John Rose Photography, Paul Bussey publishing, Russell Sach, Gillian Downes photograpy, Kirsty Hardimann, Mike Johnson and Christo Nicolle for supplying the wonderful photographs in use on this website and on other promotional material. We would also like to extend our thanks to our Sponsors and partners who help and support the festival.