Brewing in Gloucestershire

ëGloucestershire is a poor county for real aleí: that was the sad assessment of the countyís brewing heritage in the 1976 Good Beer Guide according to the Campaign For Real Ale. Just two breweries were in operation then, supplying only four real ales. The ubiquitous Whitbread PA was easy to find, but it took a determined effort to seek out the delights of XXX, BB and SBA from the highly regarded and picturesque Donnington Brewery near Stow on the Wold. It was all a far cry from the glory days of brewing in Gloucestershire, when most towns could boast their own local brewery, producing beers of character. Itís tempting to be overly sentimental about the closure of much-loved breweries such as Wintleís Forest Brewery of Mitcheldean, Taylerís Cotswold Brewery of Northleach and so on Ö but there were economic and social factors that made such rationalisation inevitable.??With the closure of the Whitbread Flowers Brewery in Cheltenham in 1997, it was feared that the rich history of brewing in Gloucestershire was under threat. However, nearly twenty years later, Gloucestershire is awash with breweries producing truly wonderful and distinctive beers. Indeed, beer drinkers have never had it better. Cheers!