Brewery invests £100k to gain national pub listings

26-Feb-2019 - Last updated on 26-Feb-2019 at 09:12 GMT

No small beer: Chris John and Garry White of Stannary Brewing Company

The duo behind Devon’s Stannary Brewing Company have pumped £100,000 into the business, increasing brewing capacity to 2,000 pints a day, in a bid to gain national listings.

What has been called an ambitious expansion project is now complete, seeing the installation of a new brewhouse that will enable the microbrewery to produce 42 hectolitres a week.

The additional capacity will allow Stannary to sell its beers beyond the local market town of Tavistock where it is based and has a strong presence.

Co-founder Garry White said the investment signalled the next commercial steps for the brewery.

Go big or go home

“Since opening the new taproom and brewery unit in early 2018 the demand for our beers totally outstripped the production levels we could achieve on the kit we had, and we knew at some point we would have to go big or go home,” added White.

Supply of its core beers will now be more regular as a result of the new brewhouse and fermentation equipment, while there is now capacity to produce more novel and seasonal brews.

White, along with his friend and business partner Chris John, took over the brewery in 2017, after they were inspired by the “big, bold” flavours seen in American and UK brews.

The pair started brewing IPAs and saisons in White’s father’s garage, but launched a taproom under the Stannary name in early 2018.

Northern Monk and Cloudwater

“Guys like Verdant, Northern Monk and Cloudwater have been a massive inspiration to us since we started this crazy journey,” said White.

White also cites breweries such as Cornwall’s Verdant Brewing Co and Leeds’ Northern Monk as among those who have inspired Stannary’s journey, and has poured alongside both breweries at Plymouth’s Vessel Beer Festival, which took place in November 2018.

“To be invited to pour our beers at a festival alongside them was awesome. We work very hard to make the beers we love to the best quality we can, and to get the incredible feedback we received at Vessel from fellow brewers and punters at our very first show was both humbling and inspiring.”

Some 30 variants are now produced from the brewery, including a range of lagers, pale ales and IPAs, as well as a range of 30-litre kegs and small packaged cans.