Welcome to Colchester Brewery

Welcome to the newest brewery in the land! Formed in late 2011, the Colchester Brewery is located in Wakes Colne in Essex, a few miles from the historic town of Colchester.

Background

Some months ago three friends decided that they would get together and set up a new brewery. Their backgrounds meant that they already had considerable experience in the brewing industry. Tom Knox had been head brewer at a well respected brewery on the Essex / Suffolk border, and had worked for the company for 24 years. He brings to the new brewery enormous experience in crafting beers that linger in the memory long after the glass has been drained.

Alongside him is his comrade-in-arms, Roger Clark, who has 35 years of experience in bringing cask ales to the drinking public, and who will head up the sales team.

The third member of the triumvirate is Andy Bone, who has run a number of businesses over the past thirty years, including for a couple of years being MD of a brewery. Despite being a scion of the Watney brewing dynasty, Andy is a dedicated fan of cask ales, and has promised not to reintroduce the Party 7. He will serve the new company in the dual role of Chairman and company secretary.

CAMRA Visit March 2012

We had a great CAMRA get together in March 2012. Here you can see the gang outside the brewery in the glorious sun!

Click to enlarge the picture so you can identify the Usual Suspects.

Our Policy

Our policy is to brew memorable beers. A simple objective, but not necessarily an easy one to achieve. Time will tell just how successful we are, but with double-drop brewing and the development of old-style fermentation and brewing yeasts being part of our strategy, we are confident that before too long our beers will be delighting the discerning drinker.

At our first beer festival attendance we sold out our 3 firkins within a couple of hours (see pic right) so we think we are on the right track...

Why the Viaduct Brewhouse?

If you visit or know the area, you will see why we chose the name the Viaduct Brewhouse. The brewery is within a stone's throw of the famous Colne Valley and Chappel viaduct, 32 arches long, which carries the single-track railway between Sudbury and Marks Tey - an iconic East Anglian sight.