Plassey Brewery
Plassey Brewery, The Plassey, Eyton, Clwyd.
Founded October 1985 in old dairy buildings using some former Border Brewery Ltd equipment.
In 2012 they were acquired by Gertie Sweet and renamed the New Plassey Brewery.
In 2017 bought by Richard Lever, trading as Magic Dragon, Leisure Park.
THE PLASSEY BREWERY "The oldest established Ale brewery in North Wales" by Derek Jones
The Plassey Brewery is located within the Plassey Visitors complex at Eyton near Wrexham. When brewing ceased at the Border Breweries site in 1984, one of the redundant brewers, Alan Beresford decided to set up a small brew-house within the former shippons of the Plassey Farm. The farm was built as a model dairy farm in 1902 for a local Horse Auctioneer, Mr Frank Lloyd. It is now owned by Mr T Brockshaw, who has converted it into a large visitor craft complex.
Unfortunately, Alan died in 1989 and this left the brewery in a perilous situation, but fortunately a brewer at the Wrexham Lager Brewery, one Ian Dale, stepped in and kept the brewery ticking over. Ian, when he worked for Border, was made redundant in 1984, he then joined Wrexham Lager only to find himself again the victim of rationalisation in late 1996. He, in the spring of 1997, decided to enter full time brewing on his own by relocating the Plassey Brewery from its original site in the shippons to a new site within a large barn.
The Brew-House This comprises a brewing room. a fermenting room , a store room and shop, and an outside keg yard. On the upper floor there is a malt and hop store and an office. Within the brew-house are the Mash tun, Liquor Tank and Copper, and in the fermenting room is a 15 barrel Fermenting Square together with room for the storage of 8 portable FV's of 5 barrel capacity and 1 15 barrel portable.
It is a traditional Ale brew-house, with a capacity of up to 40 barrels per week. There is gravity feed of the malt to the half ton mash tun, and local mains water is treated to the brewery's own specification. Normal production brews are in 15 barrel batches, and brewing is according to demand, which at present is up to three days per week.
Malts used :- Pale Marris, Marris Otter, Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Crystal and Roasted Barley. Hops :- Pelleted St Tettang, Styrian, Hallertau, 1st Gold, Nugget, Pacific Gem. Cascade and Mounthood. Yeast :- A strain of Sacchromyces Cerevisiae. This is obtained from Hanby's of Wem, who get their yeast from Thwaites of B1ackburn.
Distribution is nationwide through a number of wholesale outlets. Brews:- *Plassey Bitter 4% Abv. A Traditional well hopped Bitter *Cwrw Tudno 5% Abv. A strong Bitter *Dragons Breath 6% Abv A traditional Old Ale *Plassey Welsh Stout 4.6% Abv A full bodied Stout *Ruddy Rudolph 4.5% Abv A Christmas Ale
Future plans include the installation of a 500 ml bottling plant, it is intended to bottle a new brew of conditioned ale at 4.5% Abv and Dragons Breath.
Awards:-
- Champion Beer of Wales, CAMRA 1995/6/7.
- Plassey Bitter and Dragons Breath.
- UK Finalist, Olympia 1991/92/93/95/96/97.
- Bronze Medal 1993 and 1996
Within the Brewery complex is a well stocked shop, offering such items as sweatshirts, baseball caps, ties, aprons. tea towels, engraved brewery glasses and presentation packs and home brewing equipment etc. A recent application for Off Sales, will, if granted enable the future bottled beers to be sold at the brewery.
Having been made redundant twice, Ian Dale, together with his assistant brewer Andy Holmes, have now dedicated themselves to making the Plassey a success and to further the range of prize-winning ales, thus maintaining the long tradition of brewing excellence in the Wrexham area.
The brewery is just one of many craft outlets that are open within the 250 acre Plassey Centre and visitors are welcome, it is situated on the B5426 Ruabon to Bangor-on-Dee road near Eyton Cross roads, some 3 miles from Wrexham and is well sign-posted.
The boss of the Plassey Brewery has pledged to keep traditional cask ale brewing alive in North Wales. This promise is as a result of the closure of the Bragdy Dyffryn Clwyd Brewery at nearby Denbigh which left the Plassey as the only brewer operating in the region. Trading has been tough but the Plassey has kept its head above water. The Bragdy team have sold their entire plant to Flannery’s Brewery in Aberystwyth. This will allow the latter to expand and brew the Bragdy Dyffryn beers under contract.