Batemans Brewery

Batemans Brewery is a British brewer of beer and ales based at Salem Bridge Brewery in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire. The company's full name is George Bateman and Son Ltd. Their slogan is "Good Honest Ales"

Early history

Batemans was founded in 1874 by George Bateman, a local farmer who sold his farm in nearby Friskney in order to rent a brewery in Wainfleet, situated by the railway. He bought the brewery equipment for £505 10s (roughly equivalent to £30,000 today); a year later he bought the lease for £800. Before he retired, Edwin Crowe, from whom Bateman had bought his equipment, passed on his knowledge of the craft to George and his wife Suzanna (who had had a little experience of home brewing). Crowe's expert brewer stayed on with Bateman for some years, despite his blindness.

In 1880 Bateman had earned enough from the business to buy Salem House, a Georgian building some 200 yards from the original brewery, and a new brewery was built in its coach houses. In addition to the brewing, Bateman bottled spirits, and his wife baked bread for sale.

"On Fair Day, which was held twice a year, the farmers would come to Salem House to pay for the beer their workers had consumed the previous six months. It was very common for this payment to not be paid in cash, but with meat and potatoes. Once payment had been made, we would invite the farmers into our kitchen for a massive feast. This tradition continued until 1930." [ [http://www.bateman.co.uk/HistoryF.htm Batemans' Web site] (retrieved 29 January 2007)]

Bateman's son, Harry, went into the business, which he inherited in 1921 on the death of his father. The 1920s and 1930s proved to be a very lean time for the industry, partly because of severe restrictions on brewing that had come in during World War I, partly because of higher taxes, and a consequent decrease in sales. At one point Bateman had to lay off his entire workforce, but their resulting plight made him take them back; in order to find work for them, he expanded the business into building opposite Salem House — including a derelict windmill which was to become the brewery's trademark.

The pub business

On his twenty-first birthday, Harry Bateman had been given a pub by his father; in the 1920s he began to expand upon that beginning, and bought a group of pubs generally thought to be worthless. This chain was expanded in 1927 by the purchase of the Vine Hotel in Skegness, and in 1935 by the building of the County Hotel in the same town. In 1957, when Batemans already owned a chain of seventy pubs, they bought another twenty-nine, mostly run-down pubs to the north of Boston, as well as some in the town itself. It took eight years to renovate and obtain licences for them (at the time, a pub could not have a license unless it had at least two rooms).

Batemans beers are now available from pubs throughout the U.K., but especially within Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties.

Batemans beers

*Best Bitter (XB)
*Triple XB (XXXB)
*Victory
*Valiant
*Dark Lord
*Spring Breeze
*Dark Mild (DM)
*Salem Porter
*Middle Wicket (2007 special)
*Hooker! (2007 special)
*England Expects (2007 special)
*Spring Goddess (2007 special)
*Combined Harvest (2007 special)
*Summer Swallow (2007 special)
*Miss Cheeky (2007 special)
*Rosey Nosey (2007 special)

References

External links

* [http://www.bateman.co.uk/ Official Batemans Brewery Website]
** [http://www.bateman.co.uk/downloads/history_of_batemans.pdf History of Batemans] — leaflet [PDF]
* [http://www.wainfleet.info/town/batemans.htm batemans] — Wainfleet's Home page (includes photo of the Batemans windmill)
* [http://www.skegnessvideo.com/Batemans_Beer_Festival.html Video of Batemans Brewery Visitors Centre in action]
* [http://www.bottledbeer.co.uk/allbeers.asp?sortby=0&start=Batemans Batemans beers] — The Oxford Bottled-Beer Database