George Gale & Co. Ltd was a Hampshire brewery with a distinctive range of, mainly,

bitter beer Bitter is an English style of pale ale that varies in colour from gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense ...

s. Founded in 1847 it was bought by the London brewers, Fuller's of Chiswick in 2005. The brewery was closed in 2006 with production transferred to Chiswick.

History

Established in 1847 Gales Brewery (George Gale & Co. Ltd) was an old brewery situated in

Horndean Horndean is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district, in Hampshire, England, north of Portsmouth. The nearest railway station is southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle. The village had a population of 12,942 at the 20 ...

, on the edge of

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

, near

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. It made the nutty HSB (Horndean Special Bitter) and the newer Gales Bitter. It took its water from its own well situated under the brewery which is fed from the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

, and the

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

and 'liquor' (local water used for brewing), coupled with the local brewing style, produced

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

s with a sparse head, quite dark in colour. In late 2005

Fuller, Smith & Turner Fuller, Smith & Turner is a public limited company based in London, England, whose origins lie in Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick, West London. In 2019, it sold its brewing division, leaving it as a pub operator. The company's registered office is ...

bought Gales for £92 million. It raised fears as to the future of Gales Horndean brewery and some of its beers, and the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founded on 16 ...

(CAMRA) launched a campaign to encourage Fuller's to continue production of the full Gales line at Horndean. However, in January 2006, Fuller's began cutting jobs at the Horndean brewery, and it was announced on 27 February 2006 that the brewery would close at the end of March 2006, although distribution and warehousing would continue in the area. At that point, production of the Gales brands moved to Fuller's Griffin Brewery in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, London, with the exception of Gales Bitter which was discontinued. As of 2017, most of the brewery site has been replaced with apartments and retail shops. The main tower remains standing and was converted alongside the construction of new buildings into apartments.

Beverages

Standard Varieties

* Gales Light Ale *Other discontinued draught & keg ( pressured) beers *XXX Light Mild, *XXXD Dark Mild, *777 Keg Mild, *Gales Keg Bitter *Other discontinued bottled beers *Nut Brown

Limited Edition Brews

*Last Drop = The last ale brewed at the Gales Brewery before its closure in 2006. *Gales Trafalgar 200 = Was first brewed in 2005 to celebrate the bicentenary of Nelson's famous victory. *Gales Clubhouse Bitter = *Gales Crowning Glory = Was brewed to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. *Gales Millennium Brew = Was brewed to celebrate the new millennium in 2000. *Gales Conquest Ale *Gales D-Day Ale *Gales Silver Jubilee Ale = Was brewed to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 *Gales Royal Wedding Ale = Was brewed to celebrate the 1981 Royal Wedding. *Gales Portsmouth 800 Ale = Was brewed to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Portsmouth in 1994. *Gales Golden Jubilee Ale = Was brewed to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. *Gales Victory Ale *Gales Vanguard Ale *Gales Forgotten Fleet = Limited brew in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the British Pacific Fleet & East Indies Fleet

References

Links

* * {{Authority control Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1847 1847 establishments in England Food and drink companies established in 1847 Defunct companies of England