Westerham Brewery Co.

What Westerham Brewery Co. does

Westerham Brewery Company Limited is a founder-owned craft brewery established in 2004 in Westerham, Kent, producing a portfolio of traditional ales, lagers, IPAs, stouts, spirits, and related merchandise. The company was founded by Robert Wicks to revive brewing in Westerham and is structured around the heritage of the original Black Eagle Brewery (1841–1965), from which it acquired sole rights to the original yeast strains via Carlsberg UK and the National Collection of Yeast Cultures. Production is anchored on locally-sourced inputs: 80% Kent-grown hops (including from the National Trust's Scotney Castle hop garden managed by Ian Strang), water drawn from a 90m borehole into the same Greensand aquifer that served the Black Eagle Brewery, and proprietary gluten-free processing certified to less than 20ppm gluten. All core beers carry Protected Geographical Indication status for Kentish Ale or Kentish Strong Ale styles, and East Kent Goldings hops carry Protected Designation of Origin.

The company operates a purpose-built brewery, Taproom & Shop, and Board Room event space at Beggars Lane, Westerham, completed around 2016–2017. Revenue is diversified across four streams: on-site taproom sales (including rotating street food vendors, the Dungeons & Flagons board game café with 100+ titles, and the corporate Board Room meeting facility for 10–28 people), direct e-commerce with Click & Collect and home delivery within a 20-mile radius, B2B trade/wholesale to pubs and retailers via a trade application process, and experiential services such as Saturday brewery tours at £20 per person. Distribution is concentrated in Kent, Surrey, and London, with third-party courier reach across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, and Channel Islands for online orders. Marketing is supported by an active Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter presence, a MailChimp newsletter, and TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice recognition.

The product portfolio spans core beers (Helles Belles, Grasshopper, Spirit of Kent, British Bulldog, Viceroy IPA, Audit Ale, Bohemian Rhapsody, Double Stout), seasonal and special releases (Summer Perle, 1965, Birra Canzio, Helles Export, Gold Rush, Phantasmagoricale, Pacific Gravity), low/no-alcohol options (NE0 0.5% IPA and Pilsner), and spirits (The Hoptimist Gin and The Hoptimist Kentish Spiced Rum), plus glassware and gift vouchers. Since 2005 the company has accumulated more than 50 industry awards, including multiple SIBA regional and national golds (notably Audit Ale's Overall Champion golds in 2009 and 2010), International Beer Challenge medals, and 11 consecutive years of the National Trust Fine Farm Produce Award through 2018. Operational compliance is evidenced by SALSA Plus Beer Standard certification (one of only three South East breweries at time of achievement), Coeliac UK gluten-free certification, and DEFRA 50 Food Star recognition. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and management comprising Founder/Head Brewer Robert Wicks and Production Manager Fraser Wicks.

Name

Westerham Brewery Co.

Legal name

Westerham Brewery Company Limited

Website

https://westerhambrewery.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Westerham Brewery Company Limited is a founder-owned craft brewery in Kent, England producing award-winning heritage beers, spirits, and experiential offerings from a purpose-built facility with an on-site taproom, board game café, and corporate event space.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Beer

NAICS

Breweries (31212), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Beer Brewing & Brands (CRADAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Beer Brewing & Craft Brewing (AFAFAAAA), Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA), Alcoholic Beverage Tours & On-site Experiences (Brewery/Winery/Distillery) (THAFALAK), Beer, Brewery & Craft Beverage Tastings (THAJAGAE)

Keywords

• Craft beer brewing
• Kentish ales
• Gluten-free beer
• Brewery taproom
• Craft spirits

Headquarters

HQ city

Westerham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Taproom Sales: On-site beer, food, and beverage sales at Taproom & Shop. Table reservations for craft beer, street food, and events. Cashless venue with card-only payments.
2. E-commerce/Direct Sales: Online shop sales of beers (cans, minicasks, polypins, firkins, polykegs), merchandise (glassware), gift vouchers, and spirits. Home delivery within 20 miles, Click & Collect from brewery.
3. Trade/Wholesale: B2B sales to pubs, restaurants, and retailers. Trade application form available on website.
4. Experiential Services: Brewery tours (£20/person), Board Room corporate bookings (half/full day), event hosting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Westerham Brewery Co. produces and sells a portfolio of traditional and modern craft beers—including Kentish Ales, lagers, pilsners, IPAs, stouts, and low-alcohol options—alongside craft spirits (The Hoptimist Gin and Spiced Rum), brewing on site using heritage yeast strains re-cultured from the original Black Eagle Brewery, Greensand aquifer water, and predominantly Kent-grown hops. Direct sales occur through an on-site Taproom & Shop, an e-commerce webshop with home delivery and Click & Collect, and a trade/wholesale channel to pubs, restaurants, and retailers. The company also operates a brewery tour-and-tasting experience, a board game café (Dungeons & Flagons), and a corporate meeting venue (The Board Room).

Product overview

Westerham Brewery Co. is a craft brewery established in 2004 in Kent, England, producing a portfolio of traditional ales, lagers, stouts, and specialty beers. The core product lineup includes the flagship Helles Belles lager, Kentish Ale series (Grasshopper, British Bulldog, 1965), hop-forward pale ales (Spirit of Kent, Viceroy IPA), and strong ales (Audit Ale). The portfolio also features alcohol-free options (NE0 0.5% IPA and Pilsner), seasonal/specialty releases (Summer Perle, Bohemian Rhapsody, Ein Brau), and recent additions like the West Coast IPA Gold Rush and New England IPA Phantasmagoricale. Beyond beer, the company produces spirits including The Hoptimist Gin and The Hoptimist Kentish Spiced Rum. The company operates a tap room and shop, offers brewery tours, and maintains a board game café (Dungeons & Flagons) and meeting space (The Board Room). All beers carry Vegan Friendly, Gluten Free, and Protected Geographical Indication certifications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Hoptimist Gin: Craft distilled Kentish Dry Gin with 18 botanicals including 9 Kent bred and grown hops.
• The Hoptimist Kentish Spiced Rum

Products and services

• Helles Belles Crisp, pale Helles lager hopped with Hallertau Tradition from Germany; the brewery's #1 best selling beer across consumers and trade.
• Grasshopper Rich, malty Kentish Ale brewed with 100% Kent hops, Greensand Aquifer water, and heritage house yeast; carries Protected Geographical Indication.
• Spirit of Kent XXX Pale Ale hopped with 9 different Kent hops in 9 separate additions, featuring hops from the National Trust's hop garden at Scotney Castle.
• British Bulldog Full bodied Kentish best bitter packed with Kent hops and brewed with re-cultured yeast from the original Black Eagle Brewery; carries Protected Geographical Indication.
• Viceroy IPA English IPA brewed with Greensand aquifer water, English malted barley, Kent-grown hops, and heritage yeast culture for a fruity and hoppy character.
• Audit Ale Kentish Strong Ale brewed to an early 20th century recipe using recultured yeast from the Black Eagle Brewery; once supplied to Clarence House and protected under PGI.
• Bohemian Rhapsody Czech-style Pilsner lagered for several weeks using Czech-grown Žatec noble hops with distinctive hop aroma and bitterness.
• Hop Rocket SIPA West Coast Session IPA loaded with 8 USA-grown hops delivering citrus and pine flavors; first brewed in 2019 to mark the Apollo 11 anniversary.
• Double Stout Stout brewed to the same strength as the 1938 recipe with Pale, Chocolate, and Black Malts, using the same yeast as the Black Eagle Brewery closure in 1965.
• Light Ale Pale Ale reinterpretation of the 1940s-1950s Light Ale from the Black Eagle Brewery, brewed with Cobb's East Kent Goldings hops; protected under Designation of Origin.
• Wally Winker's Death By Chocolate Triple Chocolate Stout brewed with chocolate malt, roasted cacao nibs, and natural dark chocolate; multi-award-winning beer (SIBA national gold 2020).
• 1965 Special Bitter Ale Kentish Ale brewed to the same strength, recipe, and yeast as the last beer produced by the Black Eagle Brewery when it closed in 1965 after more than 230 years of operation.
• NE0 0.5% IPA Low alcohol IPA at less than 0.5% ABV made with 100% natural ingredients; gluten-free and vegan with 24% fewer calories than the leading UK alcohol-free IPAs.
• NE0 0.5% Pilsner Low alcohol Pilsner at less than 0.5% ABV delivering a crisp, balanced lager profile with 45% fewer calories than the top UK alcohol-free lagers.
• Gold Rush American West Coast IPA collaboration brewed by Head Brewer Robert Wicks with Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River Brewing Company) and Sierra Nevada, featuring US-grown Nugget, Columbus, Centennial, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops alongside German Tango hops.
• Phantasmagoricale Seasonal limited edition New England IPA brewed with experimental Phantasm powder, Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic hops and dry hopped with Cryo-Pop using experimental thiolizing yeast.
• The Hoptimist Gin Craft-distilled Kentish Dry Gin with 18 botanicals including 9 Kent-bred and grown hops; citrus-forward, 40% ABV, available in 70cl and 20cl formats.
• The Hoptimist Kentish Spiced Rum Kentish Spiced Rum infused with Kent-grown First Gold hops and a variety of fruits, roots, herbs, and spices; 40% ABV, 70cl.
• Core Four Mixed Case 12-can mixed case containing 3 cans each of Grasshopper, Spirit of Kent, British Bulldog, and Viceroy IPA, priced at £32.90.
• Tour & Tasting Weekly Saturday morning brewery tour and tasting (£20 per person, maximum 18 attendees), including beer samples, brewing history talk, and a 10% discount voucher on take-home purchases.
• Taproom & Shop On-site craft beer taproom and retail shop at Beggars Lane, Westerham, featuring rotating street food vendors, draught beer, take-away sales, and card-only cashless service.
• Dungeons & Flagons Tabletop gaming experience featuring nearly 100 different board games inside the brewery taproom, paired with craft beer and street food; free entry with purchases on site.
• The Board Room Corporate meeting room venue at the brewery available for half-day or full-day bookings, seating 10-28 people, equipped with a 75-inch projector and full Microsoft Teams video conferencing facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 consecutive years of National Trust Fine Farm Produce Awards (2008-2018)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Anno DistillerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2023Westerham Brewery collaborated with Anno Distillers to produce Kent's first single malt whisky in 2015. The partnership represents a strategic co-development of spirits products leveraging local Kent ingredients and heritage.
• Boneface Brewing (Wellington, New Zealand)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration brewing Pacific Gravity, a fruity Commonwealth Pale Ale. The collaboration represents international knowledge sharing and co-creation of new beer styles.
• KindOfJazz (Matthew Ruddick)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerJazz impresario Matthew Ruddick of KindOfJazz partners with Westerham Brewery to host the Westerham Jazz Lounge, featuring various singers and musicians from the jazz world.
• Ian Strang (Scotney Castle Estate, Lamberhurst)coreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary hop supplier growing hops at National Trust's only hop garden at Scotney Castle. One of a dwindling number of noble hop growers left in Kent.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Shepherd Neame: Britain's oldest brewer, based in Faversham, Kent — directly comparable heritage brewery operating in the same South East geography with similar on-site trade, real-ale heritage, and a tourism-led visitor centre at the brewery. Comparable in using local ingredients and PGI-style positioning around Kent provenance.
• Harvey's Brewery: Independent heritage brewer in Lewes, Sussex, producing traditional cask ales with strong trade and free-trade pub ties. Comparable as a similarly-sized family/independent craft brewer with deep regional roots and a focus on traditional British ale styles.
• Sambrook's Brewery: London-based craft brewer with on-site taproom and B2B trade distribution. Already a confirmed collaboration partner with Westerham (Stand With Anti-Imperial Stout), making it a directly comparable independent urban/south-east craft peer with similar DTC and trade mix.
• Ramsgate Brewery: Kent craft brewer and confirmed collaboration partner. Comparable independent craft operation in the same Kent geography, sharing the South East DTC, trade and tourism channel mix.
• Thornbridge Brewery: Established UK craft brewer with a taproom, brewery tours, multi-style portfolio and trade/wholesale distribution. Comparable mid-sized independent craft peer operating in the premium ale segment with similar experiential and on-trade channels.
• Camden Town Brewery: London craft brewer with a flagship taproom and strong experiential DTC layer. Comparable as a similarly-positioned craft brewer combining heritage narrative with on-site venue, canned distribution, and limited-edition collaboration releases.

Broad incumbents

• Adnams: Established Southwold-based brewer and hospitality group with a broader portfolio spanning beer, spirits, hotels and retail. Overlaps with Westerham in heritage regional brewing, experiential venue, and spirits extension, but operates at materially larger scale across multiple verticals.
• Fuller's: Major London heritage brewer and pub operator with Griffin Brewery visitor centre, national wholesale, and a broad portfolio. Comparable heritage brewing and visitor-experience model but operating at significantly larger scale and national reach.

Regional players

• Boneface Brewing: Wellington, New Zealand craft brewery and confirmed collaboration partner on Pacific Gravity. Comparable craft brewing model and limited-edition collaboration approach but operates in a different geographic market.

Others

• Anno Distillers: Kent-based craft distiller and strategic partner that co-developed Kent's first single malt whisky with Westerham in 2015. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but a relevant comparable for premium Kent provenance spirits and a strategic relationship that opens new category extensions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WesterhamBrew
• Facebookfacebook.com/WesterhamBrew
• Instagraminstagram.com/westerhambrew
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/westerham-brewery

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Westerham Brewery Co.