Stroud Brewery Launch – Good On Paper – March issue 2019

If you have ventured along the canal these sunny days you may have stumbled across the new Stroud Brewery bar. The people of Stroud can now stroll or cycle down the tow path and roll on in to the Stroud Brewery to sample premium quality, multi-award winning, organic  beers – brewed using Cotswold grown barley traditionally malted at Warminster Maltings – along with the famously delicious sourdough pizzas. What could be finer?!

Amidst the recent boom in craft brewing, Stroud Brewery have thrived as one of only a handful of 100% Organic UK brewers. Receiving (generous) notice from their previous landlords provided a nudge for the fledgling business to take a leap and expand their operations. After a two year hunt around the area, the ideal location turned out to be under their very noses!

The brewery’s new landlords – who also happen to be such fans of the brewery that they have taken the opportunity to become stakeholders as well! – are Howard Tenens logistics. The company purchased a parcel of land behind their Brimscombe offices, adjacent to the canal, in order to develop a purpose-built facility which is leased to Stroud Brewery as their new centre of operations.

In 2018 the Brewery launched a crowdfunding campaign with Triodos Bank to raise £300,000 to help fund the relocation and expansion plans. Members of the public were offered the opportunity to buy bonds in the business  for a minimum of £1000 and become Stroud Brewery Beer Club members of the for the period of the bond. The bonds sold out in a matter of days, becoming one of the fastest crowdfunding campaigns that Triodos Bank have ever done.

Speaking about the move, Managing Director Greg Pilley tells us: “This is a significant development for Stroud Brewery and will provide us with the platform to take the business to the next stage.  The new brewery will allow us to ensure we retain and enhance our quality reputation and also to develop a range of new beers.”

While their core range of beers – which looks set to expand with the new capacity – is available throughout the year, the brewery are always releasing innovative seasonal brews to intrigue and delight their customers. In fact, the bulk of the big move took place over just three weeks in early December, all in order to get the brewers established in their new surrounds just in time to get a festive brew on for Christmas!

The brand new building houses an expanded brewing capacity, storage facilities, larger offices, the tap room and a number of event spaces. This purpose-built facility will accommodate the brewery’s growing needs as they move closer to their long-term goal of becoming the number one organic brewery in the UK. Greg tells us: “We are recognised for our ethos of sustainability and for producing a nationally recognised range of organic beers. When we first started talking about this project we wanted to ensure this was at the core of the brief, we needed a sustainable brewery with a strong identity, that would be a vibrant community space and a visitor destination.”

The original Stroud Brewery bar developed organically by necessity and function – becoming a well-loved social space for the immediate local community, as well as folks from farther afield. The new taproom maintains the laid back community vibe and rustic decor, with a dose of industrial chic. This industrial look and feel remains as honest as can be, with the steel-framed building housing the brewing operations which even provide waste heat to keep everyone cosy through the winter months.

I ask Greg what excites him most about the new building and the opportunity it presents to Stroud Brewery: “The reason we all brew beer,” he tells me, “is creating something to share with other people. To enjoy the pleasure with other people. Having a venue – a space to bring people together- is very exciting.”

Greg hopes to see the local community, as well as visiting groups from across the region, making good use of the generous canal-side rooms set out over three floors for events such as film nights, musical gigs, workshops, creative groups, parties, weddings and even business meetings! He believes that it will be the people of Stroud and the local area who will help shape this new building to evolve for purpose, and in his view this is the best contribution people can make to support the brewery at the beginning of their new chapter.

So head on down to Stroud Brewery to check out the new taproom and event spaces, and to enjoy the same delicious beers, yummy pizzas and buzzing music nights as ever! “We are really pleased we are going to be able to continue this tradition at the new brewery with our brand new taproom onsite. We hope to capture the unique, laid back atmosphere we have always had but this time with a scenic view and more space” says Greg.