Moorhouse's Brewery
Moorhouse's Brewery, 4 Moorhouse Street, Accrington Road, Burnley, Lancashire.
The Moorhouse family have been involved in brewing since 1865, producing hop bitters concentrate for drinks. Started brewing real ale in 1979. Bought by the Hutchinson Leisure Group 1981 and was resold to Apollo Leisure 1984.
Acquired by Bill Parkinson 1985 and is still brewing.
New brewhouse opened 2010.
MOORHOUSE’S BREWERY by Roy Hartley
Up to recently you could have passed by Moorhouse’s brewery and not noticed it, looking as it did like a terraced street, set back off the main road, for that is basically what it was. The brewery’s small frontage was squeezed between the terraced houses in a street by the name of Moorhouse Street. The brewery lies on the outer edge of Burnley within sight of Pendle Hill, famous more for it’s witches than it’s beer. But due to increasing demand for their beers, the brewery had to expand.
A brand new building was added in 1995 across the front of the original brewery, housing extra fermentation tanks. Also planned was a bottling plant for eventual inclusion into the new building, though I doubt that will now take place, as I think it would be too expensive with the current trend in the bottling world. Also in this new building is a new racking plant and garaging facilities. It is planned to add more fermentation vessels in the old racking room.
Moorhouse’s was founded in the current premises in 1865 by William Moorhouse, who started brewing hop bitters for the soft drinks industry. It was in 1977, under new ownership that the company started brewing beer. Things didn’t go to well, beer consistency wasn’t very good, and the brewery passed through a succession of owners. In 1981 the company was sold to the Hutchinson Leisure Group, a Burnley based firm of hotel and cinema owners, who sold the beer in their hotels.
Around 1982 Max Taylor joined the company as sales manager, and a decision was made to sell into other outlets. Max had been in the brewery trade for many years, working for such companies as, Duttons, Matthew Brown and Thwaites. The decision had been taken to sell the beers and Max took to the road. It soon emerged that the beers were highly sought after in the south and particularly in London.
In 1985 Bill Parkinson took over the brewery, and from this point on trade increased rapidly, new brew plant was installed in 1988, and by 1991 new fermenting vessels had to be installed to keep up with demand.
From owning just the one pub, The General Scarlet, which lies across the road from the brewery, the company now owns six pubs and are on the look out for more. They supply to more than two hundred free trade outlets throughout the country and also to many beer festivals.
The Black Cat mild is a regular prize winner at beer festivals and has made the finals at the CAMRA Beer of Britain awards, as has The Pendle Witches Brew.
The brewery, November 2010:
