Brewed in Northamptonshire from 1801, with the Albion producing beer until 1919, Phipps is a well-known name in the county’s brewing history. The company was bought up by Watneys in 1960 but its brewery was closed in 1974 to make way for Carlsberg. The company continued as a pub chain until a management buyout in 2004 saw local director Quentin Neville take control along with his brother, Alaric. Phipps revived ales have been brewed for the past five years in Oakham, Rutland. As demand continually outstripped supply a decision to rebuild a Phipps brewery was taken and Jeremy Phipps, a six-times-great-grandson of founder Pickering Phipps joined the board as Chairman. The Ratliffe family, whose forebear built the Albion Brewery, are also involved along with 20 other local investors. This month brewing began once more back at the old Albion Brewery on Kingswell Street, Northampton. The fascinating story of Phipps’ return was made possible by a Cold War decree by Winston Churchill that samples of yeast from all the country’s breweries should be stored to protect the brewing and baking culture should the atom bomb drop on Britain. The National Yeast Collection was formed, and survives today and it was from there that the original yeast was cultivated in order that genuine Phipps ales could be brewed once more. Now, the Albion Brewery is capable of producing 360 72-pint casks per week, with planned expansion as the demand begins to grow. Three recognised brews will be produced; Phipps IPA, Phipps Red Star and Hoggleys Albion Bitter along with the first brand new Phipps Ale for 60 years, Steam Roller and a revival of the last new brew Phipps devised at the original Bridge Street brewery, Gold Star. Alaric Neville said: “The brewery has a fantastic history and it’s wonderful to see it making beer once again. We are grateful to the Phipps family and all the other investors for helping us to find the funding to get this wonderful venture going again.” Jeremy Phipps said: “The family has obviously grown and diversified over the generations but it’s very exciting to think that we are back in the heart of the Northamptonshire brewing scene, where it all began.” More information about the Albion Brewery can be found at the website www.phipps-nbc.co.uk
