A second Wiveliscombe brewery has closed, although the boss hopes to bring back beer making to the town in the future.
Exmoor Ales staff and customers have been told the company’s brewing operation is moving to Guildford, Surrey, in a novel partnership arrangement.
The link up with family-owned Hogs Back Brewery will see Exmoor’s drinks produced in Surrey to the existing recipes, using the same yeast to match the existing taste and quality under current Wiveliscombe-based head brewer Sanghrash Bhattachan.
Four staff have lost their jobs, but popular Exmoor products such as Gold, Stag, Beast and Fox will still be distributed to pubs from the company’s Old Brewery Road base off Ford Road, while the shop remains open to customers.
READ MORE: 'Government to blame' for brewery closure
Owner and managing director Jonathan Price said: “Sadly, like many breweries, we have faced some challenging times recently due to the knock-on effects of Covid-19, inflation, market changes and, most recently, tax increases.
“This has meant we need to restructure and close the brewery.
“We looked at a number of other options, including linking up with another local brewer, but we were concerned that we would lose nearly all the jobs, our brands and our independence.
“Exmoor Ales has a strong following of loyal drinkers built up over more than 40 years, so we’ve been looking for a solution that will allow us to continue employing people locally and be in charge of our own sales and future.”
Mr Price added: “We will be able to take advantage of exciting new opportunities that are emerging, including the launch of our own lager, a low-alcohol beer, and a new IPA, to be announced shortly.
“We will also seek collaborations with other local businesses and introduce exclusive distribution arrangements with other drinks businesses.”
He said many small brewers across the country had folded due to being denied access to many pubs in their local area by large, mainly foreign, drinks firms.
“It’s very sad, but it (the closure) had to happen. The business couldn’t survive as it was,” said Mr Price.
“It’s a rotten day for me as the owner of the business, but we’ll still be here and it isn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that we might brew again in Wiveliscombe, but probably on a smaller scale.
“I would stress what’s happened is a partnership and not a takeover.
“The shop’s still open, so my message is, ‘come here and buy your beer’.”
Exmoor Ales was established by Jim Laker in 1979, while Mr Price took over in 2006, relocating to its current site in 2015.
The announcement came shortly after another Wiveliscombe brewery, Nuttycombe, decided to close at the end of April.
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