A very big house in the country (Thornbridge Hall)
Richard Jones dons his gladrags for an evening of fine beer and food at the magnificent setting of Thornbridge
Hall in the Peak District
It only takes a cursory glance at the website (www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk and www.thornbridgehall.co.uk) to discover that Thornbridge is not your usual fledgling microbrewery.
The clue comes courtesy of the words ‘Country House’ on the homepage and, my, what a house it is. Perhaps this is what Blur had in mind when they penned their song of the same name during the height of Britpop. It is indeed ‘a very big house’; an idyllic, picture perfect stately home set in 100 acres of Peak District parkland and dating back to the 12th century. Not a bad gaff in other words.
The estate is owned by the inordinately wealthy husband and wife team Jim and Emma Harrison, both hugely successful businessfolk in their own right. Jim Harrison set up the brewery in a restored carpenters’ shop on the estate in partnership with Dave Wickett of Sheffield’s Kelham Island fame. Given the calibre and financial clout of its founders, its perhaps no surprise that they do things slightly differently at Thornbridge.
So, while many upstart microbreweries would still be fretting about fundamentals such as cashflow, production, distribution and sales, Thornbridge Brewery has quickly established a reputation for an adventurous approach to beer and food matching. To celebrate its first anniversary in December 2005 it hosted a sellout beer themed dinner featuring Roger Protz as guest speaker. It was so successful that the following year they decided to take the event to a new level, this time challenging S.....
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By Richard Jones
Section : Beer and Food
Page number : 39
