Wadworth to expand offering with new brewery

09-Dec-2022 - Last updated on 09-Dec-2022 at 11:33 GMT

Moving with the times: Wadworth Brewery to expand offering once new site is in operation (Pictured: Wadworth managing director Toby Bartholomew at the new site)

Wadworth Brewery has planned to expand into the craft beer market after investing millions into new “more efficient and flexible” brewery.

Remaining in Devizes, Wiltshire, the new site is scheduled to be in operation by spring 2023 and has benefited from between £7m and £10m investment from Wadworth while the old brewery, which was built in 1885, will be decommissioned.

Wadworth have planned to keep the Grade II listed part of the old brewery while the remainder of the site has been sold for residential housing, with Wadworth working alongside the local council to take care of some of the old equipment due to it being heritage listed.

The new site will be much smaller but will offer the brewery “much more scope” for the future as well as being “significantly more energy efficient”, according to Wadworth’s chief engineer Stuart Sinden.

Siden explained kegs at the old site had to travel three miles but will be on-site at the new brewery while a new operation to create pure water by treating water from local bore holes had also been installed.

Exciting new technology

Additionally, as well as installing LED lighting, refrigeration usage will be reduced from 600kwm to 96kwm at the new site while the brewery is also looking into CO2 recovery using “exciting new technology” according to Sinden.

He added: “Reducing our carbon footprint is where we ned to be.

“Energy efficiency is a key thing for us, not just because of cost of energy, because the road to net zero is important to us.”

The old brewery only enabled the brand to brew cask, but after investing in 10 80 hectolitre (HL) and 10 40hl jacketed vessels with brew length reduced from 70 barrels to 15, Wadworth has planned to expand into the craft beer market once the new site is up and running.

Big investment

Furthermore, the brand has also planned to expand its portfolio with a lager offering in the future, thanks to a newly purchased hop gun and an updated packaging system allowing for on-site bottling and canning as well as racking.

However, Wadworth stated its flagship 6x serve will remain its core focus.

Moreover, the brand stated it had not planned to lose any staff during the transition.

Wadworth managing director Toby Bartholomew said: “[The new site] is a big investment for us.

“Our old brewery was built for big brewing and large brews, and we're not that anymore, we've had to modernise movement and move with the times.”