Nethergate
Nethergate Brewery was founded in Clare in 1986 as a partnership between Ian Hornsey and Dick Burge. As the popularity of the brewery's beers grew, its small premises in the High Street couldn't be expanded, so in 2004 production moved a short distance to a rented farm unit over the border in Pentlow.
In 2011 the brewery was acquired by the newly-formed Clare Brewing Company, who changed the name in 2012 to Growler Brewery. The name change and more aggressive branding were aimed at garnering popularity with the clichéd "Essex Man", but far from growing the brand, this resulted in a disastrous financial collapse in 2014 (undoubtedly exacerbated by dumping an established brand name). At this point, Dick bought back the business and reinstated the Nethergate name.
Back with its old name, the business has again become successful and in 2017 it returned to its Suffolk roots with a move to a new purpose-built brewery and brewery shop & tap room in Long Melford. More recently the Growler brand has been revived for use on canned craft ales.
Core cask ales
- Augustinian Ale (4.5%)
- Black Shadow (4.7%)
- Essex Beast (6.2%)
- Essex Border (4.8%)
- Good 'Elf (4.0%)
- Green and Pleasant Land (4.1%)
- Lemon Head (4.0%)
- Mary's Ruby Mild (4.5%)
- Melford Magic (6.5%)
- Melford Mild (3.7%)
- Mosaic Christmas (3.5%)
- Old Growler (5.0%)
- Red Santa (4.2%)
- Stour Valley Gold (4.2%)
- Suffolk County Best Bitter (4.0%)
- Summer Daze (3.9%)
- Umbel Ale (3.8%)
- Umbel Magna (5.0%)
- Venture (3.7%)
- White Stout (4.5%)
- Wild Fox (4.3%)
Gallery
