Beowulf History

~The Beowulf Brewing Company~
Brewers of Fine, Prize Winning Real Ales since 1997

Read the Beowulf Saga below
Click Here to See Beowulf's Real Ale List

Click Here to Buy Beowulf's Beers

The Beowulf Saga

The History of the Bewoulf Brewing Company from its foundation in 1997 to 2010...

When The Beowulf Brewing Company began life in an abandoned Co-Op shop in Yardley, the scented aroma of hops and barley had long since disappeared from Birmingham's atmosphere.

A century earlier hundreds of small, medium and large breweries had populated the city. A decade before some still existed but in 1997, when Phil Bennett first fired up his mash, his was the first independent commercial brew to have perfumed the air for years.

Initially (and with great naivety) the plan was to brew one spectacular, crowd pleasing, signature ale. To decide on this, various recipes were created and beers crafted on a domestic scale, then a series of blind tastings with eclectic tasters were organised. Beer lovers, non-beer lovers, young old, men, women, foodies, boozers . . . luckily we had access to a great array of taste buds from family and friends. Between them they settled on "Heroes Bitter" as the one to brew.

Why "Heroes"? Why "Beowulf" come to that?

The night the brewery was named was one of those early tasting sessions. It was late. It had long been decided by that evening's tasters that "Number 9" was the chosen brew but, obviously, the rest of the bevvy needed supping. Suddenly, the brewer's sister-in-law, an historian and academic and well in her cups, snatched a framed print from the wall and said:

"You know what this is? This is a feasting hall!" It reminded her of that in the epic poem Beowulf. "It is the oldest poem in English, exceedingly heroic, you should call the brewery The Beowulf Brewing Company." And so it was!

Since then, the poem in all its translations has been a source of wonderful beer names. From the original "Heroes" to the charming mistranslation "Glutlusty" (which doesn't actually mean anything but everybody knows what it means) to "Finn's Hall Porter" an apt name for our beer crowned CAMRA's champion beer of the West Midlands, 2006 and 2009.

(The Beowulf Saga continues above, right)

This page was last modified on Friday, May 21, 2010 04:22:46 PM

Finn was a character in Beowulf famed for his hospitality and that's what Beowulf real ales are all about. This beer is magnificently strong and dark, just the stuff to welcome guests.

continues below:

When Phil - Beowulf's Master Brewer - decided to take the plunge and dedicate his working life to beer he had already established himself as a champion amateur brewer and had regional championships under his belt. He had won the coveted silver cup of the Black Country Master Brewer twice; he was very partial to good real ale and thought he knew well enough what people would like. He imagined there would be a strong market for the only locally brewed beer in Birmingham...

There followed an intense period of reassessment. It quickly became clear that real ale drinkers not only savoured quality (not a problem) they also luxuriated in variety. Not just the one beer then . . .

And it became apparent that there were so few outlets prepared and able to take the beer in Birmingham that a systematic, logistically sound programme of countrywide sales and delivery would be essential. Not a problem but a huge challenge for a small company - a craft brewery producing 360 gallons per week with one man doing everything. He met the test and after seven years the time came when he was no longer the only brewer in Birmingham and he decided he needed bigger, better positioned premises.

In 2003 The Beowulf Brewing Company upped sticks and moved from a suburban side street to the side of a resevoir. The beer list had grown along with the area covered. All the Brummie pubs that supported the brewery from the start still take the beer - The Black Eagle, The Old Joint Stock and The Anchor have been constant customers and there are the new city pubs like The Wellington and The Briar Rose serving Beowulf Ales. The beers have found new homes in Staffordshire too - The Prince of Wales just down the road in Brownhills, The Duke of Wellington in Lichfield and Cannock's Linford Arms are local stalwarts.

Beowulf's double unit in Chasewater Country Park couldn't have been more different from the tiny shop in Yardley. With views of the water where deers drink at dawn the brewery was built following medieval methods, wattle and daurb, between green oak beams. The units are finished and furnished to cutting edge industrial standards. The brewery is a fabulous place to work and has an inspirational environment which is what it wanted in its second decade.

The Beowulf Brewing Company has been winning Awards since it was established in 1997. Recent Awards include:

Silver Medals for Dragon Smoke Stout in CAMRA's National Winter Ale's Festival January 2009 and 2010.

Gold Medals for Finn's Hall Porter from CAMRA West Midlands in 2006 and 2009 and a Silver Medal for Dark Raven in 2009

"Feast with Heroes"

Nearby King Offa's capital, beside a lake, in the heart of a forest, dwells The Beowulf Brewing Company. Beowulf brews delicious and fine, prize winning real ales.