September 2002 till now, THE STORY!
Greenfield Real Ale Brewery is located in the countryside of Saddleworth, nestling in the Pennines. The village of Greenfield sits in an area known as Chew Valley and was a textile manufacturing area for many years until the decline in the trade. This area is now very popular with hikers and tourists. The Moorland landscapes are a big attraction.
The village of Greenfield was where Peter Percival and two friends in September 2002 decided to start up the brewery. Peter had been brewer at Saddleworth brewery for three years and produced twelve real ales while he was there. Four of the twelve were his own recipes. In July 2002 he was made redundant and so decided to start up his own brewery.
David Porter of Porter Brewing Company was asked to install a 5 Barrel show brewery in Tanners Mill Greenfield. This site was chosen because it had its own supply of Pennine Spring water. It was decided that the beers produced would take there names from the area of Saddleworth and events that took place there. On 16th November 2002 the first brew was produced, Bill 'O' Jacks 4.1% a light golden hoppy, full flavoured bitter and Greenfield Ale 4.0% followed shortly after. A dark ruby red ale with a hint of chocolate.
These two brews proved to be very popular and demand was and still is very high. Over the next two years brews were added to the range and the brewery grew. New outlets were found and Greenfield Real Ale Brewery is now known for over 24 brews. These being from the traditional English amber bitters to the now light, pale straw coloured hoppy bitters. All of these are brewed at certain times of the year, with the seasons. Christmas time sees Rudolph's tipple appear, this is a dark bitter blended with honey and is the strongest beer produced at 5% in the range (watch out for the red nose after drinking this one. Two main distributors help supply the beers around the country while some thirty plus outlets are supplied directly by the brewery.
A new faced arrived at the brewery in February 2004, Tony Harrat. He like Peter had a keen interest in beer and how it was produced. They decided to make the brewery a limited company and with Tony's help, move the brewery forward and open up more new outlets. In March 2006 we applied for membership with SIBA and hope to join the direct delivery scheme later on in the year, this allowing us hopefully to supply the local tied outlets. Many local people have aproached us asking for our beer.
The brewery will be starting tours in April 2006 and it is hoped to have some merchandise for sale. We will also be offering beer for special occasions, named to suit, i.e Weddings, Birthdays and so on. Some have already been undertaken with special pump clips being made.
Anyone wishing to try our beers or arrange brewery tours should contact Peter or Tony at the brewery on 01457 879 789
Please come and visit us. A warm welcome is always assured.