Goachers Brewery is an independent

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

based in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

, which supplies a number of

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s across

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Range

Goachers only uses

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, ...

and Kentish

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to wh ...

in its beers, producing a core range of ales comprising a mild, two bitter ales, a

stout Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscri ...

and a

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Dif ...

. It also produces regular seasonal ales. * Real Mild Ale is a dark mild with an ABV of 3.4% that is hopped with Kent Fuggles * Fine Light Ale is a pale bitter with an ABV of 3.7% hopped with WGV and East Kent Golding hops * Best Dark Ale is a rich bitter with an ABV of 4.1% hopped with East Kent Golding hops * Silver Star Ale is a seasonal pale ale with an ABV of 4.2% hopped with Kent Fuggles. This was first produced in 2008 to celebrate Goacher's 25th anniversary * Crown Imperial Stout is a seasonal 4.5% ABV stout with a high level of Kent Fuggles hops * Gold Star Ale is a pale ale with an ABV of 5.1% and hopped with East Kent aroma hops * Old 1066 Ale is a seasonal barley wine with an ABV of 6.7% and produced in small quantities since 1983 * House Ale has an ABV of 3.8%. It was originally a blend of Fine Light and Best Dark but is now brewed as an independent ale. ''Real Mild'', ''Fine Light Ale'' and ''Crown Imperial Stout'' have been

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is ...

beers of the year.

History

Goachers was founded by Phil and Debbie Goacher in 1983. Originally it was situated close to

Hayle Mill The Loose Stream sometimes called the River Loose or Langley Stream is a tributary of the River Medway notable for the number of watermills that it powered in its short length. It rises in Langley, flows through Boughton Monchelsea, Loos ...

, later moving to larger premises on a nearby industrial estate in 1990. Maidstone has a long history of brewing dating back to 1650, including breweries such as Style and Winch, Fremlins Brewery, Masons and Isherwood, Foster and Stacey. The last remaining brewery in the town (Fremlins Brewery) closed in 1972. Goachers was the first new independent brewery in the town, reviving Maidstone's brewing tradition. Goachers has two

tied house In the United Kingdom, a tied house is a public house required to buy at least some of its beer from a particular brewery or pub company. That is in contrast to a free house, which is able to choose the beers it stocks freely. A report for th ...

s (The Rifle Volunteers in Maidstone and The Royal Paper Mill in Tovil) and supplies numerous free houses across Kent. Goachers bought another pub - The Little Gem in Aylesford - in 2019 which it is currently renovating.

References

{{reflist

External links

goachers.com

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Companies based in Kent British companies established in 1983 Food and drink companies established in 1983 Borough of Maidstone 1983 establishments in England