We visited a new tap room that has been launched by a brewery in a much-loved Derbyshire tourist town – and these photos offer a first look inside before the venue opens tomorrow.
Ashover Brew Co is launching a new tap room in Matlock, with The Castle opening its doors to customers on Friday, October 30.
Our sister title, The Derbyshire Times was invited to visit the venue and learn more about the brewery’s plans – which include breathing new life into an empty Clay Cross pub– and these photos offer a glimpse inside Matlock’s latest bar.
1. The Castle
Andy Clarke, one of the co-owners of Ashover Brew Co, is pictured here with Liam from El Chappo - who will be bringing their Mexican offering to the kitchen at The Castle. The tap room is located on Dale Road, taking over the building that was formerly home to the Twenty Ten bar. Photo: Brian Eyre
2. Rebuilding the brewery
The original Ashover Brewery was founded in 2007 and won a number of industry awards for their beers. However, due to several factors, the brewery then slipped into liquidation. A group of locals who felt this was a great loss decided to set up a new brewery in its place - with Ashover Brew Co launching again last year. Andy said: “We officially started brewing again in May or June last year. It took a lot of time to rebuild the reputation of the brand and re-establish a portfolio of beers, which take time to brew. We wanted to get to a point where we had a good amount of beer to sell, then get out and establish that customer base again - which has taken probably the best part of 12 months to get it to a level where it’s back on its feet.” Photo: Brian Eyre
3. New tap rooms opening
Andy said: “We’re expanding into brewery taps too. We’re doing that for two reasons - one is for exposure of the brand into various places, so that people see Ashover Brew Co on a daily basis - and we’re guaranteed cask beer sales through that too.” Photo: Brian Eyre
4. “Something for everyone”
Andy said: “We’re trying to do our tap rooms a little differently to a lot of other brewery taps, that focus purely on their own beers. We’re trying to focus on the industry as a whole, with a lot of focus on independents, while looking at the broader market of the hospitality industry as well. We’ll have good wines, spirits and food as well - we recognise that there’s a broader market and we’ve tried to make it so there’s something for everyone here.” Photo: Brian Eyre