On the map: Westbury & Warminster

Hancock and Jenkins opened True Story here – on the Curtis Centre trading estate – partially because it was close to where Ben grew up and partially because they wanted to recreate the amazing experiences they were having in Bristol in a unique area.

Now, five years on, not only is the brewery thriving, it has become one of the main players in an unlikely but lovely little beer scene. Across the neighbouring tri-towns of Westbury, Warminster and Melksham – all within a 15-minute drive of each other – a range of independent breweries and must-visit taprooms have sprung up. Craft operations like Milk Town Brew Co, Stealth, and Rude Giant – along with real ale outfits like Twisted (based on the same estate as True Story) – have turned this small corner of West Wiltshire into a mini beer haven.

“The taproom concept has been done to death in big cities,” says Ben who has been homebrewing since he was a teenager. “But out here, it’s still a novelty. When you see [all these new breweries], it shows people are really buying into it.”

True Story’s own beers – including their crisp Solstice IPA – have won such a loyal local following that, safe to say, they no longer have to do £3 pints. But, well, they still occasionally do something similar – like with the Rotunda raspberry lager currently on tap.

“We do a small-batch experimental beer every week or so,” says Ben. “And quite often we’ll just drop a WhatsApp message saying it’s on for £4. We’re proud of it and we want it to be accessible.”

One theory why craft has found an enthused market here is that this patch of Wiltshire has never been quite so infiltrated by macro-beers as other parts of rural England. Why? Because in the nearby village of Devizes is the vast (but family-owned) Wadworth Brewery. This outfit has been producing first-rate brews – like the rum-infused Swordfish Ale – since 1876 and remains much-loved today.

“They own loads of pubs round here,” says Dave Martin, founder of Milk Town in Melksham. “So I think there’s a culture of appreciation for local, independent beer. My view is if your regular drink is Henry’s IPA [by Wadworth] that probably makes you more likely to try something we’ve made.”

Martin himself used to be head brewer at Stealth, also in Melksham. He spent almost a decade there helping pioneer its reputation for beers like the brilliant Cloak & Dagger (a 6.2% NEIPA) and the 8% Monstermuggery coffee stout. Then, in 2024, he went alone, setting up his own micro-outfit a five minute walk across town and which today produces around 50,000 pints a year. 

First questions first, then: why name it Milk Town? Because the area was once so famed for its dairy that Melksham itself means milk village. “I wanted to play on that idea of quality produce,” says Martin. “It’s a promise that the beer will be of that same high standard.”

Brews like the Milkround In The Sky hazy and the Burning Rubber smoked porter live up to this claim. Earlier this summer the taproom held a festival with 250 glasses made for the occasion. People were queuing outside 40 minutes before opening, and the glasses had gone within a couple of hours. “Seeing that enthusiasm – that's probably the best moment we've had,” says Martin. Lyall Dew, co-founder and head brewer at Rude Giant in Warminster, has had plenty of similar pinch-me moments.

This brewery was founded in 2023 by a quartet of local lads – Dave Hancock, Ethan Davids and Joe Robinson as well as Lyall – who had either brewing or hospitality experience, and had seen, first hand, the local thirst for better beer. Lyall himself had spent five years at the highly rated Sixpenny Brewery down in Dorset.

“We wanted our beer to be big, loud, silly,” he muses.

Beers like Rude Lager and the hangover-free Lo IPA (a 2.4% joy) are evidence of a job well done. While there is no onsite taproom at the outfit’s converted farmhouse HQ, it does have its own boozer, The Royal Oak, in the village of Great Wishford – which is well worth a trip.

As, indeed, is this whole corner of Wiltshire.

The conclusion? Forget Bristol – Westbury, Warminster and Melksham are where it’s at.