As pub landlords here in the village of Edge – the golden heart of the Cotswolds with its rolling hills and honey-coloured villages – we’re pleased to announce that this is a region with a deep-rooted tradition of beer brewing.
Local ales are a quintessential part of the Cotswold experience, offering a taste of the area’s heritage and a warm welcome in its many traditional pubs, like here at the Edgemoor Inn.
We’re always happy to pour you a pint and talk about our unique brews.
A Bit of Background
The history of brewing in the Cotswolds is long, and intertwined with the region’s agricultural past. Historically the area was known for its wool trade. This brought in the wealth and led to the building of our beautiful stone villages. Besides all those woolly sheep, though, the land also yielded a bounty of barley, which was the inspiration for brewing, which was traditionally powered by local watermills.
Back in the 18th century brewing was done in-house in the local inns and taverns – producing just enough to provide for their customers from the community. Then along came the railways and the Industrial Revolution, turning brewing into a big business. Commercialisation inevitably brought competition and subsequent consolidation. Only the strong survived to grow and thrive, and many of these historic Cotswolds breweries are still with us, like Hook Norton and Donnington.
Excitingly, there’s also now a new wave of Cotswold brews to discover, thanks to a recent surge in craft breweries that focus on modern styles like IPAs and lagers, focusing on local ingredients and sustainable production.
Key Cotswold Breweries
If all that background blathering has made you thirsty, don’t despair. When visiting the Cotswolds you’ll find a wide variety of ales, from classic bitters to our modern craft creations, to sip, sample or slurp – as the mood takes you.
We can’t promise to stock them all at the Edgemoor Inn, but we do our best to offer as big a range of the local beers as possible.
Here’s a list of some notable ales from across the Cotswolds:
A family-owned brewery located on a farm near Moreton-in-Marsh, North Cotswold Brewery has won numerous awards for its ales. They are a reliable source for a solid range of traditional cask beers brewed using environmentally conscious methods. Pick of the pints – Windrush Ale (3.6% ABV), with a malty, slightly sweet profile; Moreton Mild (3.8%) ABV, smooth and dark with nutty notes; and Cotswold Best (4.0% ABV) – a coppery coloured bitter that is true to its name.
Brewed on Hartley Farm near Cheltenham with local ingredients (including water from a well that feeds Seven Springs) each beer in the range encapsulates Cotswolds character. Most popular is the smooth, golden ale called Shepherd’s Delight (3.6% ABV), or you could knock back a tasty Golden Fleece (4.4% ABV) – a citrussy IPA. Prefer a bitter – then opt for Top Tup (4.8% ABV), robust and marvellously malty.
A socially responsible brewery that uses surplus bread for their brewing, and produce beets that are gluten-free and (mostly) vegan friendly. Your choices here are many. Why not try Cotswold Blonde (5.8% ABV) – A Belgian-style golden ale that’s finished with woodland honey; or sample a decidedly decadent Cold Brew Coffee Stout (4.3% ABV) – a blend of dark malts with coffee.
One of the Cotswold’s historic and still traditional brewers, located near Stow-on-the-Wold, drawing their own spring water and using traditional recipes. Their flagship is the award-winning golden ale, Cotswold Gold (4.0% ABV) – a local favourite in these parts.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, this traditional tower brewery built on top of a natural Cotswold spring brews with quality and care. They are celebrated for their classic English beers with a distinct character. The core range includes Uley Bitter (4.0% ABV), and Old Spot (5.0% ABV) – a full-bodied beer with a distinct fruity aroma and malty flavour.
Here for the Beer!
The breweries and beers we’ve mentioned are but a drop in the ocean of all the lovely hoppy liquid that is available for beer lovers in this part of the world.
If you’re heading here for the beer, we’d be happy to slake your thirst at the 19th Century Edgemoor Inn with its magnificent view over the Painswick Valley. There’s no better setting for sampling the local brews, which are the perfect complement to our home cooked food.
See you soon!
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