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February 2009 - and there's more...

Spire Brewery gets a hat-trick at Rotherham Oakwood Beer Festival!  Our Gold Medal winners were our new 3.8% abv Good as Golden in the Golden Ales category, Dark Side of the Moon in the Mild category, and Winters t'Ale in the Old Ale category.  Not only that but our latest brew, The Wall, was awarded a Bronze medal in the Strong Bitter category.  Head Brewer, David McLaren, was delighted and complimented his brewery team - Diane, Richard and Jim - for all their efforts in helping set the standard for this year and beyond.

 

February 2009

Sgt. Pepper stood to attention yet again at the CAMRA National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester, and was decorated with a Bronze medal - and this out of a field of eight of the best Stouts in the country.

The new 12% Spire Barley Wine is to be known, at least for now, as The Wall.  Brewed especially for Rotherham Oakwood Beer Festival - 18th to 21st February - it promises to be an event in itself.  Be there or be a rectangular 2-dimensional object with sides of equal length.

 

January 2009

Happy New Year to you all!  The recipe department, namely David, has been busy over Christmas and we're proud to announce that our new regular beer, Good as Golden, will be available from the end of this month.  It's a 3.8% golden ale which drinks well above its abv, and orders for this delicious brew are already coming in.

In fact, Spire now intends to offer a new Special Beer monthly from now on.  Each one will be unveiled at The Brit on the first Wednesday of every month.  Join us there to be one of the first to try the latest Spire offerings.

Watch this space - we're soon to unveil a majestic 12% abv barley wine.  Definitely a beer to sip and savour...

 

November 2008

Our bottle stock expands again!  We now have Overture, Whiter Shade of Pale and Twist& Stout available bottle-conditioned.

As the supermarkets have had decorations up since August you must be aware that Christmas is approaching.  What better gift could you give to a discerning drinker than one of our three-bottle presentation packs?  To place an order, Just get in touch and we'll do the rest!

We're also doing a roaring trade at local Farmer's Markets and have 12 venues booked up to Christmas - keep a look out for us at a market place near you and stock up with festive cheer!

Coals to Newcastle...  well, Stout to Ireland actually!  Our black and tasty Twist & Stout has been ordered for the Belfast Beer Festival.  The takeover begins...

And finally, in a very busy month...

Calling all brewers!  Spire Brewery is now offering a bottling service, charged by the cask and inclusive of bottles, crown caps, and warm conditioning.  We will even label them for you if your labels come on a roll.  Contact us at the Brewery for more information.

 

October 2008

We're finally there!  Our new unit is now open for business and boasts a purpose built hospitality area which can cater for parties of up to 50 people - why not be one of the first to experience its delights?  Click here to make a booking!

Our bottle stock of Dark Side of the Moon, Chesterfield Best Bitter, 80 Shilling Ale, Sovereign IPA, Winter Wonderland and Sgt. Pepper Stout is now available at all times from the Brewery in Staveley.

Britannia Cream Ale will join the list as soon as the required hops are available.  We hope to have this ready by December.  In fact, what could be better as a stocking filler?

We can also take orders for party supplies of beer - and will even rack it bright it for you if you don't have time to let our delicious cask-conditioned beer settle in its own time.  Perfect for last minute "do's"!

 

September 2008

A warm welcome to Richard Hancock, our new Brewery Operations Manager (and joker extraordinaire!), who joined the Spire Brewery team at the end of September.  He's proving invaluable in ensuring the continuity of beer supply, quality of stock and availability of our bottled beers.  That, and the fact that he brightens up the day with his practical jokes and witty comments - mainly at Diane's expense!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard, David and Jim empathising with Diane

when she had to collect her new specs...

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 2008

Important news for Spire Beer devotees and the exceptionally thirsty!  We now have a limited supply of Sgt. Pepper Stout available for retail sale.  Experience shows that they sell out fast, so order now!

 

July 2008

The Blue Stoops pub In Chesterfield will be hosting a Spire Beer Event from Thursday July 24th to Sunday July 27th.  David McLaren will be there on Friday 25th July - "Meet the Brewer" night!

You can find the Blue Stoops pub at 20 Matlock Road, Walton, Chesterfield, S40 3JQ - call the pub on 01246 273689 for further information.  For a location map, click here.

Fingers crossed!  It was long time in coming, but Spire Brewery is now in the final stages of securing new premises to add to the existing brewery operation in Staveley.  We're hoping to move in by the beginning of October.  The new unit will be used as sorely-needed office space and to house a purpose-built hospitality area for brewery visits.

And keep checking in for details of our new range of merchandise, including t-shirts and fleeces with the new-look Spire logo.  Items will be available to look at and order within the next few weeks.

 

June 2008

Spire Brewery's mobile bar went on the road for the first time this month at the very busy "Wartime Weekend" event held at Renishaw Hall, near Sheffield.  All of our beers were given names true to the era, and even the bar staff joined in the fun, dressing in 1940s clothes for the bar service!  The weekend was undoubtedly popular with the public and re-enactors alike, with the beer being particularly well received.  Spire are confident that they could do the same for any themed event and look forward to your booking in the near future!

We're also proud to announce the latest addition to our range of fine beers - Sovereign.  This 5.2% abv IPA has already been given a very positive reception from the first local outlets to stock the beer.  Join us at "The Brit" to sample a pint!

 

May 2008

We are now able to provide a mobile bar serving Spire Brewery beers (and others, according to demand) for any event catering for between 30 and 400 persons.  Apart from the cost of the beer sold, the hire fee for this service is £50.

 

April 2008

Spire Brewery has now joined The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and their Direct Delivery Scheme (DDS) which now makes our beers available to 5 pub groups and 2 national off-licence chains, amounting to some 4200 outlets!

 

March 2008

The Britannia Inn - the Spire Brewery Tap - has been voted Pub of the Season by Chesterfield CAMRA, a perfect excuse to celebrate Spire Brewery's second birthday!

Pub of the Season

Spring 2008 award goes to the Britannia Inn at New Tupton

(Innspire - March 2008)

It was with great pleasure that the Branch turned out to present this award.  Ex-teacher and biochemist, Barry Dobson - together with Spire Brewery’s Dave McLaren, Sarah West and their excellent team - have turned the ‘Brit’ into an excellent community pub.  Their watchwords are ‘High Quality, Excellent Service, Value for Money and Choice’; since opening around seven months ago, they seem to have pretty much achieved all of these objectives. 

Locals and visitors alike have certainly taken the pub to their hearts, throwing themselves into the regular quiz nights, sports leagues, fundraising and other community events.  To illustrate this, the pub played a big part in the local Christmas Fair and carol singing, followed by a series of events to support CAMRA’s Community Pubs Week in February. 

A visit to the Brit will guarantee you not only a warm welcome, but an excellent choice of beer and reasonable prices, too.  From the eight handpumps you will always find an excellent selection from Spire Brewery, together with a complementary range of constantly changing guest beers from other microbreweries.  As with all the best pubs in our area, you can always find either a stout or porter available and usually a mild! Moravka (a Czech-style lager brewed in Taddington) is also available, as is a selection of bottled world beers. 

In front of a packed pub, Rhoda Waygood (Branch Chairman) made the certificate presentation to Barry.  Congratulations to all at the Britannia and thanks for the excellent buffet on the night!

 

January 2008

In a very auspicious start to the New Year, Sgt Pepper Stout has been awarded a Bronze Medal in the Stout category of the Winter Beer of Britain 2008 contest, held at the CAMRA National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester.

Beer-judges raise a toast to winning Derbyshire ale

(Derbyshire Times - 30th January 2008)

Beer connoisseurs have raised their glasses to a Staveley-based brewery by awarding them a national accolade for their quality real ale.

Spire Brewery has scooped the bronze medal in the Stout category at CAMRA's prestigious National Winter Real Ale Festival, in Manchester, with its unique Sgt Pepper Stout.

The medal is the latest award earned by the Ireland Business Park brewery since it opened less than two years ago – taking its tally to six.

Brewer David McLaren said: "The award is a fantastic national recognition of the quality of the beer.  The stout is unique in the fact that it has got black pepper in it.  It's full-bodied, a bit like Guinness, but stronger and seasoned with black pepper."

David started home brewing 30 years ago as a hobby before setting up Spire Brewery.  He has had no professional training – learning the trade as he went along.

The brewery – which opened its first pub, The Britannia Inn, at Tupton, last year – is entering Chesterfield's beer festival which starts tomorrow.

 

August 2007
Check out all the details of our new Brewery Tap - The Britannia in Tupton!

 

March 2007
The new spring special, Whiter Shade of Pale (4.0% ABV) was sold out before the first brew was even underway!  A second batch will quickly follow….

The brewery has received its Premises License and can now sell direct to the public by prior appointment. Plans are also underway for the installation of conditioning tanks and the brewery also intends to have beers bottled in readiness for sale by Easter.  Initially, the beers to be bottled will be Land of Hop & Glory, Sgt Pepper Stout and Britannia Cream Ale.

By the end of the month, the brewery will also have celebrated it’s 1st birthday!

 

February 2007
Spire Brewery wins ‘Home Beer’ of Chesterfield Beer Festival 2007Nocturne Porter (5.7% ABV) was brewed as a festival special, with the local CAMRA festival committee assisting with brewing.  This is the first attempt at a Porter and by all accounts, it hit the spot! So much so, that this is now planned as a regular winter special.

The beers are also travelling around the country with much success, and were particularly appreciated at Rotherham Beer Festival.

 

December 2006
We are please to announce that Sgt Pepper Stout has won its very first award!

At the recent North Notts CAMRA Beer Festival - Sgt Pepper Stout came joint second in their Beer of the Festival competition, being pipped at the post by Moor Beers Old Freddie Walker - excellent news for a relatively new brew - let's hope its the first of many!

 

October 2006
Test-brews are currently underway for a spiced Pumpkin Ale using real roasted pumpkin (ABV 4.2%), and a
Mild using Maris Otter pale malt, Crystal Wheat malt and Fuggle hops (ABV 4.0%).

David is very keen to reflect his Scottish heritage by developing an 80/- Ale, with a limited supply available in time for St. Andrew’s Day on 30th November.

There is also a strong spiced Winter Wonderland Ale in the pipeline!

 

September 2006
One of the brewery’s regular outlets in Chesterfield, ‘The Industry Inn’, has just been awarded ‘Pub of the Season’ from Chesterfield CAMRA and our heartiest congratulations go to Stewart & Pauline Lawson for all their hard work in making their pub a magnet for all real-ale lovers in the area.

 

August 2006
In August 2006, just 4 months after opening, the brewery won two Medals at the 2006 Peterborough Beer Festival for one of its signature beers "Land of Hop & Glory" – Silver for Best Bitter of the Festival and Silver for Best Beer from a New Brewery.

 

March 2006
The first brew is now fermenting and will soon be ready for sale.

 

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