One of Britain’s longest-running breweries will be closing its factory after 40 years.
Exmoor Ales has been supplying pints to pubs from its factory in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, since 1979.
But the firm’s managing director, Jonathan Price, announced this week that the company will be moving production to the Hogs Back Brewery, Surrey.
Price blamed Covid, sky-high inflation and tax increases for the closure.
‘This has meant we need to restructure and close the brewery,’ he told the Somerset County Gazette.
He added: ‘Exmoor Ales has a strong following of loyal drinkers built up over more than 40 years, so we’ve been looking for a solution that will allow us to continue employing people locally and be in charge of our own sales and future.’
Four staff members have lost their jobs in the move. The brewer’s shop on Old Brewery Road will remain open, selling popular brews like Gold, Stag, Beast and Fox.
The new Surrey microbrewery, some 120 miles from the original site, will use the same recipes and yeast to maintain the brand. Distribution will continue from Wiveliscombe, while the Guildford-based Hogs Back will help with national sales.
While it took decades for foreign global brewers to get their bottles and cans on British pub menus, they now represent 92% of the UK beer market, Price said.
These beer giants can endure many of the financial troubles that cause local breweries to fold, as well as have better access to pubs.
Price isn’t alone. In only a year, Britain lost 100 breweries, from 1,815 at the start of 2024 to 1,715 this January, according to the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) UK Brewery Tracker.
Wiveliscombe, a town of only 2,900 people, was once a thriving brewery town.
With the shutdown of Exmoor Ales and Nuttycombe this year and the Cotleigh Brewery in 2021, Black Bear Brewery is one of the last remaining Wiveliscombe breweries.
Stressing that the move to Surrey is a ‘partnership’, not a ‘takeover’, Price added that it doesn’t mean last orders for the brewery.
‘It’s a rotten day for me as the owner of the business, but we’ll still be here and it isn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that we might brew again in Wiveliscombe, but probably on a smaller scale,’ Price said.
Loyal fans of Exmoor Ales’ said the booze business’ closure is ‘worrying’.
‘So farewell @exmoorales. Another brewery bites the dust. Big Beer is really starting to flex its muscles,’ posted one user on X.
Another customer, Graham Brown, added: ‘Lovely brewery with some cracking beers, another great loss to the industry.’
Exmoor Ales, formerly the Golden Hill Brewery, is a well-known fixture of the town for its Victorian tower and chimney.
It was founded by Jim Laker in 1979 before Price took the helm in 2006.
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