Shildon’s George Samuel Brewery is celebrating after its Chocolate Honeycomb Milk Stout was crowned Overall Winner at the CAMRA Liverpool Beer Festival.
The beer, which was up against almost 200 others, was also the first to sell out at the festival, held between 15 and 17 February.
The brewery’s traditional sounding name is in fact formed from the middle names of founder, Andrew Ferriman’s sons, Thomas and James respectively.
“We were first established in 2013 at the rear of our pub The Duke Of Wellington, in Welbury, North Yorkshire,” explains Andrew.
“After moving from the pub in 2015 back to our home town of Spennymoor, we set the brewery up in our garage.
“Quite quickly demand outstripped production but at the time we were not in the position, either financially or emotionally, to expand.
“At this point I was offered the chance to help build the brand of a new north east brewery, Black Storm, by developing their recipes and becoming there head brewer.
“I was then approached by another new start-up Play Brew in Middlesbrough and became their head brewer, as well as running George Samuel Brewery.
“Just before the first lockdown, which wasn’t the best of timings, we received the keys to George Samuel Brewery’s new home in Shildon,” said Andrew.
“It was a gruelling project as the unit is a historic railway building which once housed the canteen for Shildon railway works. It was in quite a dilapidated state requiring a lot of work but we wanted a home with some character rather than a standard industrial unit.
“We paired this new start with a rebrand from LemonTop Creative, who I can’t recommend enough.
“Our new logo incorporates the initials of the company but also represents a locomotive wheel as we are now based in what is known as The Cradle Of The Railways.
“We brew a range of traditional beers and craft ales from pale ales and hazy IPA to traditional porters and flavoured stouts.
“The beers are often named with a nod to the North Easts industrial and railway heritage. These are available in many great pubs and direct from our tap room at The Canteen Bar and Kitchen, 3 Norland House Business Centre, Byerley Road.”
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
