Book Review – Brewing in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county I know reasonably well from cycling around the area but I’ve less of a handle on its brewing credentials. Until I got my hands on a copy of the recently-published ‘Brewing in Lincolnshire’ by Adam Cartwright (from Amberley Publishing) and found some surprises.
The first revelation came in the introduction when it was stated that Lincolnshire is the UK’s second largest county – after my own, Yorkshire, which is more than double the size (just saying). It has also historically been a serious grower of malted barley, which clearly suits local breweries.
However, over the book’s 90-plus pages, which focus on the stories of the county’s most notable breweries, the eight featured only include three currently in operation. Five of them closed circa 50 years ago, one is still brewing after many years, and two are relative newcomers. A point to note is that the county’s most notable brewery Bateman’s of Wainfleet is not featured as it has warranted a book of its own – also written by Wainwright – which I previously (reviewed here).
A reflection of dealing with long-gone breweries is that Cartwright points out that photos have been tough to come by. To counter this he sources some excellent pub photos that are scattered throughout the book. Highlights for me are two from my home town of Doncaster, including The Plough, which show outlets formerly linked to Lincolnshire breweries. The images of Soulby’s of Alford brewery are also excellent.
Of the breweries featured Melbourn’s of Stamford is of particular interest to me being still in operation – under the ownership of Sam Smith’s – that will be celebrating its 200th Anniversary in 2026. My claim to fame is I’m the only journalist to ever interview Sam Smith’s. We learn from the book that it was originally All Saints Brewery and that the Smith family acquired it in 1974 and since the 1990s have been brewing fruit beers on the site. It houses the oldest mash tun in operation in the UK, which dates back to 1876.
The two newer breweries, Sail of Heckington and Ferry Ales of Fiskerton, were founded in 2010 and 2016 respectively and Cartwright tells the tale of the difficulties of microbreweries in recent years through their stories. Most notably it is the challenge of getting beer into pubs. Ferry Ales was bought out in January this year by Mitchell Brewing. Although the brewery has been closed it is still a separate brand and so its beers live on. One to try on my next cycle ride around Lincolnshire I reckon.
Glynn Davis, editor, Beer Insider