W. H. Brakspear & Sons Ltd. was a brewery in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England. Since the closure of the brewery in 2002, its beers have been brewed by

Wychwood Brewery Wychwood Brewery was a brewery and pub chain based in Witney, Oxfordshire, England. The brand is currently owned by Carlsberg Britvic. Hobgoblin, a 5.2% abv brown ale, was the company's flagship brand. Wychwood Brewery produced around 50,0 ...

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downla ...

. In 1993, beer writer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

described its "ordinary" bitter as the best in England.

History

In 1711, W. H. Brakspear bought a brewery on Bell Street,

. The Brakspear family was distantly related to Nicholas Breakspear, who became

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

in 1154 — the only Englishman to become

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. In 1812, the brewery moved to a

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

-side location on New Street. The brewery was used in 1990 episode of ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'', "Sins of the Fathers". In 2002, W. H. Brakspear & Sons licensed the brewing of its beers to

Refresh UK Wychwood Brewery was a brewery and pub chain based in Witney, Oxfordshire, England. The brand is currently owned by Carlsberg Britvic. Hobgoblin, a 5.2% abv brown ale, was the company's Core product, flagship brand. Wychwood Brewery produced ar ...

, owner of

, and the brewery ceased production and closed. The site was sold and part of it converted to a

Hotel du Vin Hotel du Vin is a luxury boutique hotel chain that has nineteen hotels throughout the United Kingdom, co-founded by Gerard Basset and Robin Hutson. History The hotel chain was founded in Winchester in 1994 by Gerard Basset and Robin Hutson, who ...

boutique hotel. The now non-brewing Brakspear Pub Company and its estate of 104 pubs was bought in 2006 by pub chain J. T. Davies for £106 million; the 51 Davies pubs were rebranded as Brakspear. After being brewed at

Burtonwood Burtonwood is a village in the civil parish of Burtonwood and Westbrook, in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the name Burtonwood is known worldwide as the location of the ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, production of Brakspear beers was moved, along with some of the historic Henley brewing vessels, to Refresh's

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...

, Oxfordshire. Refresh UK was subsequently bought out by

Marston's Carlsberg Britvic is a British subsidiary of Carlsberg Group, created in January 2025 by the merger of Carlsberg's UK business (including the former Marston's plc breweries) and Britvic, acquired by Carlsberg Group in 2024. History In 2020, ...

. In spring 2013 Brakspear Pub Company made a limited return to brewing with the commissioning of the Bell Street Brewery in its Bull public house in Bell Street,

. In 2023,

was shut down by owners Carlsberg Marston's and production of Brakspear beers moved elsewhere.https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2023/09/14/Why-is-Wychwood-brewery-in-Oxfordshire-closing

Brewing

Brakspear's beer is brewed using the traditional double drop fermentation method. This involves allowing fermentation to start in vessels on an upper floor, before 'dropping' into a second vessel below. This leaves tired or dead yeast and unwanted solids ('trub') behind and encourages a healthier fermentation. Refresh UK claims that Brakspear beers possess a

butterscotch Butterscotch is a type of confection whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter. Some recipes include corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt. The earliest known recipes, in mid-19th century Yorkshire, used treacle (molasses) in plac ...

flavour due to

diacetyl Diacetyl ( ; IUPAC systematic name: butanedione or butane-2,3-dione) is an organic compound with the chemical formula (CH3CO)2. It is a yellow liquid with an intensely buttery flavor. It is a vicinal diketone (two C=O groups, side-by-side). Di ...

produced through this method and their particular long-lived, multi-strain yeast. The yeast has "distant origins" at Mann, Crossman & Paulin in Mile End, London. When beer writer

visited in 1993, the barley was

Maris Otter Maris Otter is a two-row, autumn sown variety of barley commonly used in the production of malt for the brewing industry. The variety was bred by Dr G D H Bell and his team of plant breeders at the UK's Plant Breeding Institute; the "Maris" pa ...

and water came from their own well, described as "chalk-hard". Hops were Goldings from Kent, Hereford Fuggles and "Styrians". Jackson thought the ordinary bitter the best in England, writing "In its delicate, malty sweetness, teasing, yeasty fruitiness, and hoppy bitterness, Brakspear's 'ordinary' is lightly refreshing, gently sociable, more-ish and appetite-arousing; the perfect combination in a bitter. The hoppiness is its salient feature". John Mortimer in 1986 claimed "Brakspear's draught bitter is undoubtedly the best to be had in England".

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official WH Brakspear & Sons Ltd websiteOfficial Brakspear Beers websiteRefresh UK websiteLoddon BreweryThe Bell Street Brewery
Breweries in England Henley-on-Thames Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom 1799 establishments in England 2002 disestablishments in England Companies based in Oxfordshire Economy of Oxfordshire History of Oxfordshire Grade II* listed buildings in Oxfordshire Grade II* listed industrial buildings