Bakewell's heart
Having one foot in British brewing tradition and the other in modern, US-style craft has allowed Thornbridge to stand strong, writes Richard Croasdale
Richard Croasdale
Saturday 28 June 2025
This article is from
Sunchasers
issue 119
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There are very few craft breweries that genuinely need no introduction, but Thornbridge almost certainly falls into this hallowed category. Founded back in 2005 by Jim Harrison and Simon Webster, it was one of the country’s very first modern craft outfits, even though at the time ‘craft’ wasn’t really a term in the British brewing lexicon; indeed, it remains a brewery that straddles traditional ale and American-style modernity, with a small estate of beloved local pubs cementing its position.
No brewery could ask for a more beautiful home than the Peak District town of Bakewell, and Thornbridge Hall – the grand house and estate where Jim and Simon started their brewing adventure – is the cherry on its cake, so to speak. While production has moved to a purpose-built site a short distance away, the estate is still an important part of the brewery’s story, as Thornbridge general manager James Buchanan explains.
“We had a small brew kit in the grounds of the hall itself, set up by Jim and Simon, who still own the brewery today. They hired two brewers, Martin and Stefano, who first brewed our flagship beer Lord Marples, a classic bitter at 4% abv, with all-English ingredients. That beer’s really exactly what you'd hope for from a 4% classic cask bitter, and where we are in the Peak District — muddy boots, those kind of pubs — that just works really well, appeals to everyone.”
With Lord Marples making waves in an ever-expanding radius around the brewery, the team began thinking about where to go next. At that time, the brewers were drinking a lot of the American IPAs and pale ales that had started to find their way across the Atlantic. These were essentially British styles, but brewed with American ingredients, so the team at Thornbridge began to ask the question (ground-breaking at the time) how would this taste if we were drinking it fresh?
“So they imported a load of American hops and came up with Jaipur,” continues James. “Back in 2005 there was nothing out there at 5.9% abv, especially on cask, so it was seen as the crazy rocket fuel that would never sell. And of course, today it’s a huge part of our production, 20 years later. It's the same six American hops that we use in there, on the same British malt base, which gives it the great balance that you'd expect from an IPA, even at 55 IBU.”
This original pairing of Lord Marples and Jaipur has set the tone for Thornbridge in the years since, even as the brewery has continued to innovate. Its greatest success of recent times – the brilliant Green Mountain hazy IPA – perfectly encapsulates the team’s ability to nail fashionable styles with that same trademark balance and technical brilliance.
At the same time, it has also leaned further into its own British brewing heritage, most notably with its acquisition last year of a traditional Burton Union set; a complex and high-maintenance piece of brewing kit, once considered the pinnacle of the craft, but which was very nearly lost for ever after it fell out of widespread use. Acquired from Marstons, Thornbridge’s Burton Union is now in pride of place, immediately behind the taproom.
“When we heard it was being retired we thought it a shame to see it disappear. A couple of hundred years ago, it was the premier way of brewing beer in the world, so we were able to save one of them at least, thanks to Marstons,” says James.
People are coming back to things like cask beer and the more traditional styles that we in the UK are really good at
“We brew a lot of cask on it, every other week, so 26 beers a year. It's constructed from a series of wooden barrels, so we can’t let them dry out without damaging them. Obviously you can do that by brewing on it, but the rest of the time we need to just use water to keep it ready for the next batch. So, it’s a bit of labour, but it’s also been a good education. I think for the brewers, they were really excited to get it in, and they've been tweaking their methods for it. It's been really good and some fun beers have come through it already.”
It also turns out that having a working Burton Union in your brewery wins you a lot of friends, as luminaries from The Kernel to Colorado legends Odell have flocked to collaborate.
“Brewing Odell’s 90-shilling beer on the union was a real highlight,” says James. “Doug [Odell] came out and was in town for a couple of days so he could see it in action. So, we brewed on the Monday, and then the beer went into unions for fermentation Tuesday. Doug stayed around for a couple of days to see it going in and being filled, and then fermenting through.”
In between welcoming brewing royalty to Bakewell, with plenty more brilliant collaborations on the horizon, the team at Thornbridge still finds time to expand its benevolent empire, particularly in its successful estate of local pubs.
Through its own Thornbridge & Co estate, and a partnership with Pivovar, Thornbridge now has five sites across Sheffield, and is on the cusp of opening a huge new three-storey site planned on Fargate, one of the city’s major shopping streets.
“This one puts us right at the top of Fargate, near City Hall,” says James. “So, some really positive new stuff happening in Sheffield. Then we’re opening later this year in London as well; a pub called the Wild Swan in Holborn, in a net zero building that's gone up. So yeah, it'll be pretty exciting down there too.”
There are also new beers, including a super-drinkable, crisp session IPA called Day Maker (beer of the summer alert) and Brock, a creamy stout that’s been a cask favourite for a while, but has just made the jump to nitro cans.
“We're just seeing really good growth across the board at the minute, that’s underpinned by some really positive trends. People are coming back to things like cask beer and the more traditional styles that we in the UK are really good at, which has been great with the Union set and things like that. There’s also more of a focus on quality and value for money, which a well-brewed pint of cask can definitely offer,” says James.
“We’re not going hell-for-leather on our expansion plans though — that’s never been us. It's just a nice, steady build, steady growth, on the brewing and the pubs. Gentle, steady expansion, lots of focus on fun, new beers, cask beers, and then growing everything around Jaipur, Green Mountain and Lukas, our flagships.”
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