Mile Tree Brewery
With the New Year and Tryanuary in full swing, it is time for our first spotlight of the month for 2019!
This month, we have had the chance to speak to Richard Matthews, the co-founder of Mile Tree Brewery.
From a Small Seed…
Richard, alongside his wife Karen, run Mile Tree Brewery which is a 5-barrel brew-length microbrewery based in Woodston, Peterborough, which was established in November 2012.
However, the dynamic duo’s journey did not start here…
“I’d been a homebrewer for a number of years, when a friend who owned a campsite in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire offered his redundant stable block to use for a commercial microbrewery.”
It was a difficult journey, but luckily, Richard and Karen had some help along the way from their supportive family and friends.
“After many months of building work, the brewery was finally up and running at the end of 2012. After five years, the brewery was relocated to larger premises in Woodston, Peterborough.”
Both Richard and Karen pride themselves on being a family run business, the time and energy that their family and friends have poured into Mile Tree Brewery has been outstanding and helped their microbrewery grow.
…To a Mighty Trunk
It may only be a small brewery, but Mile Tree Brewery has made its mark in the world of brewing.
“We are a small brewery that produces small batches of different styles of beer in cask, keg and bottles, which we supply to pubs, clubs, beer festivals, restaurants and specialist beer shops”
There are currently 10 brews available from Mile Tree Brewery, with their four permanent and popular brews being the:
- Citra Blonde – a 3.7% hoppy blonde ale.
- Larksong – a 4.5% American amber.
- Old Redwood – a 4.9% best bitter.
- Rolling Mile – a 3.6% English bitter.
Some of the seasonal brews include a 6.0% Winter Ale and a 5.2% Honey Porter. You can view their full range of brews on their website.
Despite the hundreds of thousands of brewers around the world, there is always a new craft beer coming to light and Richard enjoys experimenting with ingredients to create handcrafted ales.
“We are continually inspired by the many new and exciting beers that are being produced by craft brewers both here in the UK and around the world. However, we also like to research historic beer styles and brew our interpretation of them”.
So, if you are ever struggling to get the creative juices flowing, having a look at what made craft beer what it is today is not such a bad idea!
And Richard doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.
“I would like to see the brewery continue to grow over the next ten years, producing an ever-increasing range of interesting beers and exploring new routes to increasing sales”.
But Richard isn’t just all work and no play! He likes to wind down at the end of the day and is a craft beer enthusiast like the rest of us. Richard said that if he could choose any beer to drink from any country, it would definitely be Rochefort 10.
“A genuine trappist beer of 11.3% abv! It is brewed by the monks of Rochefort Brewery in Belgium. Rochefort 10 is a dark beer with a plum, raisin and blackcurrant malt flavour, with ascending notes of vinousness complexities.”
We’re not about to make an impromptu trip to Belgium, but it is definitely something we want to get our hands on and try someday.
A Word of Advice
With his numerous years of experience and extensive knowledge of brewing and the brewery industry, Richard has a few words of advice for all you aspiring brewers out there…
“Ensure you have a sound business plan that clearly identifies where you expect to generate sales. Also, make sure you find premises that are large enough for future expansion plans. Moving to a new premise is very costly!”
Mile Tree Brewery has been insured with Brewcover since September 2018, when Richard was recommended to us from Mike Holmes at Xtreme Ales in Peterborough.
To end the interview, Richard said: “We found the staff at Brewcover to be very helpful and knowledgeable of the brewing business”.
He isn’t wrong!
That’s a Wrap!
Well, that’s all folks for this Spotlight of the Month with Mile Tree Brewery. We would like to thank Richard Matthews for speaking with us and telling us more about his microbrewery. We loved every minute! Make sure you head over to the Mile Tree Brewery website to find out where you can try some of their beers and to keep up to date with the latest news. Oh, and don’t forget to go show them some love on social media!
Need Insurance Cover for 2019?
If you are looking for your brewery insurance in 2019, then why not grab yourself a quote from us today. You can complete our quick and easy quote form and you will receive an indication of premium. It will only take 2 minutes of your time – we promise 😊.
