Back in production: the Thwaites team get to work in their new brewery
Thwaites brewers

Thwaites brewers have got back into action this week, working from a new site in Ribble Valley, Lancashire.

They started brewing more than two months after they were forced to stop, after trespassers caused substantial damage to the Blackburn brewery where they have been brewing beer for more than 200 years.

They were due to move to the new site in September, along with the company’s head offices and stables, but they brought the move forward so they could get back to brewing.

Thwaites’ director of pubs and brewing, Andrew Buchanan, said: “We are delighted to be back to brewing — we’ve been doing it for over 200 years, so it’s a craft we are particularly proud of.

“The new brewery looks fantastic and it’s just what we need to create our next 200 years of history.”

The purpose-built brewery has the capacity to brew 1.5m pints a year, but it’ll be a while before the team reach that. Initially Thwaites’ five brewers will be brewing Thwaites Best Cask (TBC), Nutty Black and the seasonal range that changes every week. That will expand as the year goes on, to also include Thwaites Original and a new core range of beers that is currently in development.

The beer is brewed exclusively for Thwaites 280 pubs, inns and hotels.