Taking the tour at Thornbridge for an insight into a huge Derbyshire business success story

A brewery tour at Thornbridge, in Bakewell, is not like a typical brewery tour but perhaps that’s befitting, because Thornbridge are no ordinary brewers and no ordinary company.

It is a tour worth doing, though, and more on what was my third tour at the new brewery in a bit.

Attending the tour, from left, myself, Glynn Brearley, Yvonne Bower, Rob Bower, Sandy Dyson and Dave Fawcett.

Thornbridge are, as most people interested in beer are aware, one of the biggest business success stories in the industry, 21 years on from when they were founded in outbuildings at Thornbridge Hall, near Great Longstone.

The move to a purpose-built brewery on the edge of Bakewell came only four years after launch, when they out-grew the space at the hall. A splendid taproom opened in 2020.

Every time I go back, they seem to have moved into another building in the busy complex as the business continues to grow.

Again, as most people know, the company’s overall success was built on the phenomenal impact of their flagship beer, Jaipur. I was, quite inadvertently, in at the start, not long after I’d started writing a beer column for the Derby Telegraph, early in 2006.

I ventured up to Thornbridge Hall to have a chat with Simon Webster, who remains chief executive. I was introduced to two young brewers, a Scotsman, Martin Dickie, and an Italian, Stefano Cossi, in an Azzuri football shirt, who had come to England armed with a degree in brewing, the better to pursue his chosen career.

I was told about this new beer they had come up with, Jaipur, using a complex combination of hops to produce a powerful IPA at 5.9%. Little did I know what was soon to happen. I guess, perhaps, that they, too, did not know just how big an impact it was to have – but they were certainly confident about the beer.

Pictured with one of the Burton Union sets acquired from the former Marston's brewery are, from left, Thornbridge founder Jim Harrison, head brewer Rob Lovatt, brewer Ben Wood, production manager Dom Driscoll and co-founder and chief executive Simon Webster. Picture courtesy of the brewery.

It made Cossi’s name in the industry. He went on to a series of senior positions with big brewers. Dickie, meanwhile, moved on to found BrewDog with his friend James Watt back in Scotland.

Back, then, to the tour. Pre-Covid, they would take you around the brewery. They don’t now and that’s partly because most people on a brewery tour have been on one before and know what they’ll see.

In fact it’s not called a tour, it’s called The Thornbridge Experience. For £18, you sit around tables next to the main brewing operation and are shown a film detailing the history. There’s a chat through the ingredients, with the obligatory touching and smelling of malts and hops, then you’re talked through a tasting of six of the brewery’s staples – three keg, three cask in third of a pint glasses, with Jaipur to finish.

I went with five friends in midweek and you can get off the Trans Peak bus from Derby right outside. We were the only ones on the tour at the time. Frankly, it’s low key to start with. You announce your arrival, they send you to where you’ll sit, then they set up the film and leave you to it for 10 minutes or so.

Let me say, I’ve no problem with this. The film is bang up to date, clearly updated from the first and second times I saw it and very professional.

To anyone who goes along, I would say, don’t hold back. Engage with the tour host, ask questions, just chat and both sides will get more out of it. Our guide, Matt Swindells, responded to our enthusiasm and we had a really good back and forth which went beyond the allotted time. It could be a fairly brief tour otherwise.

Visitors are shown a film on Thornbridge's history.

A couple of facts stuck with me. Jaipur was actually the third beer they brewed. The first, Lord Marples, a traditional bitter, is still a staple on the roster. The second was called Blackthorn Ale and you may never see it: “the forgotten middle child!” said Matt.

It perhaps won’t surprise those familiar with Thornbridge that Jaipur, the pale ale Green Mountain and the lager, Lukas, are their big three. Jaipur, accounting for 40% of production, is a long way ahead of the other two and, unlike them, appears in all “formats” – cask, keg, bottle and can.

They make no secret of the fact that the company’s huge growth is down to the success of Jaipur. It’s a bit like Richard Branson starting Virgin Records with Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.  

It’s not only made the business a success but it allows them to do good things for the industry, like saving Kelham Island Brewery in Sheffield last year and like taking on one of the historic Burton Union fermentation units Carlsberg-Britvic (the former Marston’s) would otherwise have chucked away.

Thornbridge never stand still.  There was work going on to upgrade the shop when we were there. They’re always looking to improve something, always coming up with new beers. They are to be cherished. * As usual, if you like reading my articles and haven't subscribed, the chance to do so is on the home page. Costs nothing and you just get an email telling you when I've written another. Cheers.