I make no apology for including another label from the Anglo-Bavarian Brewery in Shepton Mallet. We first featured this view of the Anglo Brewery in the Desert Island Beer labels chosen by John W, who commented that exactly the same view can be seen today and a photograph from the almost same viewpoint can be seen. And to help you, it is here. This label is from the same series as the Dinner Ale and I defy anyone not to love it.
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16 March, 2016
at 5:35 pm
The original Pale Ale Brewery was designed and constructed by Morrice, Cox & Clarke of London in 1864. It was relatively modest building compared with the building illustrated on this label. The towers to the left and right of the main building were present in the original design, although they were 3-storey rather than the 4/5 storeys of the later building. In between was range of three 2-storey buildings with pitched roofs. The Impressive building on the label with the central section rebuilt as four-storeyed columned facade dates from after 1871 when the brewery was sold to Hill, Garton & Co at which time the brewery was extensively expanded and remodelled.
16 March, 2016
at 7:35 pm
There’s a fabulous description of this brewery (the largest brewery south of Birmingham) in Vol 2 of Alfred Barnard’s “Noted Breweries of Great Britain & Ireland”. It had a very sad modern history being requisitioned by the government twice and stripped of its equipment to “help in the war effort” both in WW1 & WW2 probably due to its “-Bavarian” part of its name despite having no Beavarian connectioins except in exporting its beer to Germany. Its beer was, apparently, renowned for its quality and flavour and much was said about its water supply which was piped from a spring at Darshill a couple of miles down the road. Dead Brewers have a couple of its beer specs which show a somewhat unusual “state of the art” brewery which used 4 shallow open coppers in its brewing process and produced copious quantities of superior beer which was exported everywhere and had sales in London. The brewery is still standing as a grade 1 listed building (that’s the same as Windsor Castle) but which is on the DoE’s “at risk” register. I remember being shown round the Anglo by the last of the Bennett family in 1978 when the main brewhouse was empty apart from some dismantled Kauri Pine and oak FVs and thinking to myself “Why the hell can’t the family sue the govt for the damage they caused and reopen this wonderful, wonderful building?” I believe that there are now plans to redevelop it, but obviously not as a brewery.