Kirsty’s pick of the crop: local breweries driving
● Blueball Brewery
Blueball Brewery was founded seven years ago by Alex Haycraft who learned his trade well before craft beers became trendy.
Alex began brewing in the United States where he brewed beer in Oregon from 1994 to 1998 before moving back to the UK in 2002 and later that decade saw how independent beer demand was going to take off and opened his own brewery and then two pubs, one in Chester and one in Frodsham each with their microbreweries attached to the pub.
The firm has now sold those and moved its operation into premises the Devonshire pub on Ashridge Street in Runcorn, and the building is due to ● soon welcome Liverpool-based Top Rope Brewing to share the space under its roof, cementing the area’s beer boom further. The two breweries are looking to join forces to revamp the premises and make it fit for hosting bands and beer festivals.
Alex, who is originally from Shakespeare’s home town Stratford-upon-Avon, said: “We’ve got a plan for a beer festival.
“We’ve always done Oktoberfest so we will probably do one over here.
“I’m quite excited to have another brewery over here.” On the firm’s origins he said: “We started in Runcorn in 2010.
“I brewed in the States in Oregon in 1994-98 which is where I first got into it, then came over here in 2002 and pratted around for a bit and saw it taking off over here and opened a brewery.” ● Chapter Brewing
Chapter Brewing is based in Sutton Weaver at the border of Runcorn and Frodsham.
Noah Torn, of Chapter Brewing, said the firm is a small, independent outfit producing diverse ‘fictional beer’ inspired by literature, each with its own ‘story behind them as well as in them’.
Examples include its Tired Eyes wild honey and camomile beer inspired by Charles Bukowski’ poem No Time.
He said the styles span pales to sours, smoked porters to Belgian and other varieties.
Noah said: “On the back of the bottles the ties between the beer and the literature is explained and explored. “We also offer a reading suggestion in lieu of a food pairing which allows the drinker, if so inclined, to read the texts that influenced us.
“We are now distributing much beyond the boundaries of Cheshire and Merseyside and have recently produced a collaboration brew, Roadside Picnic: A Celery Sour with Fourpure, one of the biggest craft breweries in the country.
“Our next event is a Meet The Brewer at Chester Beer And Wine in Hoole on July 27 where eight bottled beers will be talked about and shared with discussions about the brewing process, literary influences and perhaps even the beers themselves!” ● Buccaneer Brewery
Pirate-themed Buccaneer Brewery was started in 2016 by Michelle Bryan and her mother former college tutor Manuela Simpson.
What began as a home brewing family hobby has now boomed and they are currently supplying pubs as far away as Sheffield.
After two cookers broke while making beer, Daniel Bryan and Manuela’s husband John were banished to the shed to continue their brewing, transferring from using a stove to a grain system.
Although the company was launched last year, the family has been brewing for 10 years.
They now attend the Meet The Brewer events at The Prospect on Weston Road and Daniel worked for another brewery before being made redundant, but turning it to his advantage by becoming Buccaneer’s first full time member of staff.
Runcorn Wetherspoon stocks Buccaneer and The Grapes on Halton Road also has a regular keg line.
Manuela said: “From kitchen stove to shed to brewery, we have come a long way since 2006.
“Daniel and John enjoyed brewing initially from home-brew kits, as their