New man heads up West Berkshire Brewery
WEST Berkshire Brewery (WBB) has a new man at the helm.
Ian Rogers has been appointed the new managing director by owner The Yattendon Brewing Company Ltd.
The Yattendon Brewing Company Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yattendon Group plc, acquired West Berkshire Brewery on December 23 last year.
Mr Rogers said: “I am keen to turn WBB (new name coming; watch this space…!) into a cutting-edge craft brewer with unique beer brands, incredible tastroad ing craft ales and English lagers, in addition to our award-winning Good Old Boy Best Bitter.
“When I started my first brewery Wychwood 32 years ago I was at the vanguard of the craft beer industry. I basically want to see if I have still got it?”
He joins WBB with a wealth of experience in the field. Having worked for Bass and Allied in the 1980s, Mr Rogers founded Wychwood Brewery in 1990 at the age of 27.
From small beginnings of one brewer and one drayman, with the help of 3i he developed the company into a £30m turnover business – with 36 pubs and created the famous Hobgoblin beer brand.
Between 2006 and 2020 Mr Rogers was MD of Randall’s of Guernsey, where he transformed the Victorian company into a dynamic and much-loved brewery, distillery, pub and hotel business.
Mr Rogers takes over at the helm of the WBB with the intention of turning this state-of-the-art brewing and packaging company into a force to be reckoned with in the competitive UK craft beer market.
West Berkshire Brewery, which was set up in 1995 as a five-barrel brewery in a shed behind the Pot Kiln pub in Frilsham, went into administration last year.