A visit to Wadworthshire
The Wadworths Brewery
For most of my teens I grew up in the small market town of Devizes in Wiltshire. It was one of those places that if people had heard of it, they had either driven through it, even now it doesn’t have a bypass, or amongst the older generation, they had been stationed there during the war. But Devizes does have one claim to fame amongst people who love beer, it still has one the few family owned breweries in the country, and the large Victorian brewery still dominates the town.
As I youth in the late seventies I was bought up on Waddies as its known locally, I only discovered that the rest of the country was drinking crap when I left the town to go to University. Before I left I worked the summer as a barman in my local pub and often had to go down to the medieval cellars to ‘tap’ a wooden barrel of ale. As the distribution and marketing of the beer brands has increased over the years (6X addict – gettit?) , Devizes has become synonymous with real ale and Wadworths.
Despite my long association, as a pint puller and consumer of Waddies, there was one thing I’d never managed; I’d never been inside the brewery. So this week I signed up for the tour. In the past tours used to be organised for beer enthusiasts’, but now with a new visitors centre, and a higher commercial profile, Wadworths now organises tours for the general public.
As I youth in the late seventies I was bought up on Waddies as its known locally, I only discovered that the rest of the country was drinking crap when I left the town to go to University. Before I left I worked the summer as a barman in my local pub and often had to go down to the medieval cellars to ‘tap’ a wooden barrel of ale. As the distribution and marketing of the beer brands has increased over the years (6X addict – gettit?) , Devizes has become synonymous with real ale and Wadworths.
Despite my long association, as a pint puller and consumer of Waddies, there was one thing I’d never managed; I’d never been inside the brewery. So this week I signed up for the tour. In the past tours used to be organised for beer enthusiasts’, but now with a new visitors centre, and a higher commercial profile, Wadworths now organises tours for the general public.
The open copper
After a look around the visitors centre and a talk about the history of the company which was founded in 1875, we donned Health and Safety orange jackets and were led by Lynn our guide into the brewery itself. This massive Victorian edifice, built in 1885, seems to be little unchanged from when it was built. Everything is held together by iron girders, and you move from floor to floor up narrow staircases. We are led through the brewing process, from seeing the bags of malt to mash tuns and to the copper, which is open so that fresh hops can be added manually. Although many of the original apparatus are still used, some like the copper are only used a few times a year. There is now a new brewing room filled with spanking new German machinery, which now produces most of the beer.
Missing from all this were the workers. Apparently they start work at 0430 and produce one batch of beer per day, or two if demand is higher. On the day I was there, it was a one batch day, so the workers had finished at 1300.
One thing that Wadworths still does, almost uniquely amongst brewers, is produce ‘beer from the wood’; which means that in some of its pubs the beer is served directly from a wooden barrel. To make and maintain the barrels they employ a cooper, one of only four still working in the British brewing industry. We were taken to meet cooper Alastair Simms, in his room surrounded by the tools of his trade, and his collection of hundreds of hand pump badges.
It is a four year apprenticeship to become a cooper, and Alastair is the only master cooper left, which means he has trained an apprentice. When he retires, there won’t be another cooper because of lack of funding. The government will only fund an apprentice if they get an NVQ at the end of it, they don’t recognise an old master and pupil arrangement. The Heritage Lottery fund would only give money, if they were no more coopers left, which makes you wonder who will train them. So a craft is being allowed to die, mainly because of lack of imagination.
One thing that Wadworths still does, almost uniquely amongst brewers, is produce ‘beer from the wood’; which means that in some of its pubs the beer is served directly from a wooden barrel. To make and maintain the barrels they employ a cooper, one of only four still working in the British brewing industry. We were taken to meet cooper Alastair Simms, in his room surrounded by the tools of his trade, and his collection of hundreds of hand pump badges.
It is a four year apprenticeship to become a cooper, and Alastair is the only master cooper left, which means he has trained an apprentice. When he retires, there won’t be another cooper because of lack of funding. The government will only fund an apprentice if they get an NVQ at the end of it, they don’t recognise an old master and pupil arrangement. The Heritage Lottery fund would only give money, if they were no more coopers left, which makes you wonder who will train them. So a craft is being allowed to die, mainly because of lack of imagination.
Alastair holding up one of his coopering tools Alastair at his 'trussing in as a Journeyman Cooper in 1983
Max getting some fuss.
A unique sight in Devizes is that of Wadworths beer being delivered to the local pubs by horse drawn dray. The drays are pulled by Shire horses, and as part of the tour we were taken along to their stables to meet them. Even looking at them in their stalls, their massiveness is impressive. They know they’re the stars of the show and as soon as we appeared they were putting their heads out to be patted and stroked; I’ve never seen such conceited animals. As well as delivering beer they also take part in country shows and often win prizes, so they’re used to being fussed over. Of course, keeping horses to deliver beer is by no means cost effective; they are part of the PR and marketing budget.
Lynn our guide with best of Waddies on draught.
After the horses felt they’d had enough attention, it was back to the visitors centre to sample the products. Back in the seventies, there were only two brews most of the year, 6X and IPA. Now Wadworths has a range of three or four, with regular seasonal beers brew for Spring, Summer and Winter. As part of tour, you get five thirds of a pint of each brew to sample and they were all pretty good.
I’ve been on other brewery tours around the world, where often you don’t leave the visitors centre, or the brewery is more like a factory. In one case the end product was such rubbish you wondered why the bothered. So on the Wadworths tour, where the brewery is not only old but you explore it’s nooks and crannies, plus meeting a cooper, which you are unlikely ever to do again, and then some horse bonding - all together it makes for a very good two hour excursion.
I guess I’m a bit sentimental about my home town brewery, but it’s certainly the best brewery tour I’ve been on. So if you have the urge to do a brewery tour, make it Wadworths.
I’ve been on other brewery tours around the world, where often you don’t leave the visitors centre, or the brewery is more like a factory. In one case the end product was such rubbish you wondered why the bothered. So on the Wadworths tour, where the brewery is not only old but you explore it’s nooks and crannies, plus meeting a cooper, which you are unlikely ever to do again, and then some horse bonding - all together it makes for a very good two hour excursion.
I guess I’m a bit sentimental about my home town brewery, but it’s certainly the best brewery tour I’ve been on. So if you have the urge to do a brewery tour, make it Wadworths.
