Our Breweries
Real ale starts close to home. Did you know that we have four incredible independent breweries based within the South Cheshire branch area, brewing a wide variety of cask and keg beers? Raise a glass, and support the people behind your local pint.
Explore our local breweries and others providing LocAle to our branch area on our Branch Map.
Established in 2022 and named after the Saxon crosses that stand in nearby Sandbach, Four Priests now brews on a five-barrel plant. A core range of cask and seasonal beers goes out to local outlets alongside keg, and the brewery tap, opened in 2024, throws open its doors most weekends, pouring the full Four Priests range plus guest beers from other local brewers. Cans and merchandise are available at the tap and through the online shop, and a popular YouTube channel follows the brewery’s story as it grows.
A word from Four Priests Brewery
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Merlin has been brewing since 2010 on an eight-barrel plant in a farm unit just outside Sandbach. Owners David and Sue Peart supply outlets within roughly a 30-mile radius and are steadily expanding, with bottle-conditioned ales produced alongside the cask range. It is a genuinely green brewery too: power comes from solar panels and a wind turbine, and spent water filters away naturally through reed beds on the farm.
A word from Merlin Brewing Company
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As a nanobrewery, Tay brews in small, occasional batches. A State of Flux lives up to its name, with a recipe that changes from one brew to the next.
Tay Brew Co is a Middlewich nanobrewery that opened in 2023. It brews in small batches, including the aptly named A State of Flux, a cask pale ale with a recipe that evolves from one brew to the next, so no two pints are ever quite the same.
A word from Tay Brew Co
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Tom’s Tap and Brewhouse spreads across three adjoining units on Thomas Street, with a vibrant brewery and taproom alongside a live music and events space, that hosts a regular alternative pub-quiz, Meet the Brewer nights, Cheese Pairing nights (in collaboration with the excellent Nantwich Cheese Shop), and many more. Tom’s Tap and Brewhouse beers travel far beyond Crewe, but you don’t have to. The bar pours a wide choice of real ciders and keg beers alongside a changing cask ale, while working hard to celebrate and support local producers and fellow independents.
A word from Tom’s Tap & Brewhouse
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Real cider and perry
It is not all about the beer. CAMRA champions real cider and perry too, and so do we. Real cider and perry are made from the fresh juice of apples and pears, pressed and fermented naturally. The key is that they come from fresh juice rather than from concentrate, and without chaptalisation (which is the process of topping up the sugars to boost the alcohol content). A cloudy glass is nothing to worry about, and pasteurised versions can still count, but the big supermarket brands are usually made from concentrate, so they do not. If in doubt, look for “not from concentrate” on the label, or simply ask.
You will find real cider and perry on the bar at several of our pubs, and flowing freely at CAMRA beer festivals, including our own Crewe Rail Ale Festival. To learn more, see CAMRA’s real cider and perry guidance.
Sadly, the North West of England is not blessed with an abundance of different cider and perry producers. However, we do have two producers right here in our branch area, both in the Nantwich area!
Traction Cider is a real cider and perry producer based in the Nantwich area. Its apples come from a Herefordshire orchard and are pressed on a mill driven by a little steam traction engine, which is where the name, and the cog in the logo, come from. Follow Traction Cider on Facebook for news of where to find it, and if you spot it on the bar, give it a try.
Wrenbury Cider is a small, traditional cider maker in the village of Wrenbury, in the south of our branch area near Nantwich. Production is on a limited scale, so you are most likely to come across it at local beer and cider festivals and through select stockists rather than on supermarket shelves. When you do spot it, give it a go: it is real cider, made the proper way, right here in South Cheshire.
Know of a brewery or real cider or perry producer in the branch area we have missed? Tell us at webmaster@southcheshire.camra.org.uk.