They've only recently introduced a new range of fresh-looking pump clips - further modernising their image.
The history of Adnams Brewery began, in a sense, in 1345, many centuries before Adnams beers even existed. The first brewer on the site of the Adnam's brewery was Joanna de Corby, an "ale wife" who got herself into trouble for serving beer in unmarked measures. Joanne de Corby brewed beer for what is now Southwold's oldest pub, The Swan, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1659 and rebuilt a year later.
During the 1700's, The Swan pub was the home of the Sole Bay Brewery, who were reputed for brewing some of the best quality ales in the area. During the first half of the 1800's, the brewery was in the hands of Thomas Bokenham, who sold it to maltster William Crisp, who took the brewery onto great fame. When he died in 1844, the brewery went into the hands of several different owners, until it finally passed into the hands of George and Ernest Adnams. The Adnams beer legacy had begun.
The Adnams Brewery, still under the guise of the Sole Bay Brewery, became a public company in 1891, when it was completely rebuilt. Ernest Adnams died after moving to the country, leaving George Adnams to join forced with the Loftus family, who acquired a stake in the Adnam's Brewery in the early 1900's.
Adnams beer remained largely localised until the 1970's, when steps were taken to modernise the brewery and increase production. It was finally in 1999 that Adnams cleaned up its image from a small-time brewer to a national brand, with its beers being distributed throughout the UK. Within two years, it was the fastest growing beer brand in Britain. Millions of pounds were pumped into the brewery to increase production by a whopping 50%.
In 2003, Adnams beers went international, beginning to exploit several export markets. The fourth generation of the Adnams family, along with descendants of the Loftus family, run the brewery to this day. John Adnams is the president, Simon Loftus the chair, and Jonathan Adnams joining managing director. Adnams owns 98 pubs throughout the UK, all of which are non-themed and serve quality beer. In addition, it supplies almost a thousand other outlets.
Beers from Adnams are diverse, brewed with fresh, quality ingredients. They are brewed with fresh character to appeal to connoisseurs in beer personality and style. The leading Adnams draught beers are Bitter, Broadside and the recent addition, Explorer. They also brew a wide range of seasonal beers.
They've only recently introduced a new range of fresh-looking pump clips - further modernising their image.
Adnams Broadside Strong Original, equally famous as a draught and as a bottled beer, was first brewed in celebration of the Battle of Sole Bay of 1672. It's since enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame.
Adnams Bitter, sold only in draught form, has recently been rebranded as "The Bitter", owing to its importance to the brewery. It's brewed from the finest English malt and hops, and it's amongst the top 10 selling cask beers in the UK.
Adnams Explorer is the newest addition to the range of three year-round draught beers, and to the range of three bottled beers. It's a blond beer characterised by hops imported from the States, lending a somewhat American character to it - fruity and citrussy (from Columbus and Chinook hops). It's light and refreshing and is suffused with the aromas of grapfruit grove. As such, the Adnams brewery hopes that it will appeal to young and/or women beer drinkers. The hops are used by in the copper and cask stages of brewing, giving it a mix old and new-style texture. This is typical through most of the Adnams range. Adnams Explorer was first born when the managing director gave the head brewer free licence to "go off and discover" - to experiment with international ingredients and come up with a great new beer to add to the range. Even a new Adnams pint glass was created to commemorate Explorer. This was inspired by the chance discovery of a vintage bottle during the recent refurbishment of the brewery, and the glass features an embossed logo, so you can "feel" the beer, as well as taste it.
Adnams Oyster stout is a 4.3% ABV nutty-flavoured dark beer, rich and dry, and is marketed as a perfect accompaniment to seafood. It's made from East Anglian Pale Ale malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt, as well as unmalted roasted barley. Only the best Golding hops are used for bittering. Oyster Stout is available during February and March.
Adnams May Day comes into the pubs during April and May. It's a 5% proof, orangey beer, with obvious tastes of malt and hops, as well as a clean bitterness. Overall, it's a clean-tasting beer, made also from East Anglian Pale Ale malt, as well as First gold hops and a small amount of Seville oranges, making it quite a unique beer.
Adnams Regatta is a fairly light beer. It is a delicate 4.3% beer, light and crisp. It's renowned as a real thirst-quencher, served cool on a warm summer day. It's available in June, July and August.
Adnams Barley Mow, at 5% ABV is has flavours of rich malt and roasted grain. It's a dry beer, hoppy in the finish. It is amber coloured, with a texture that is dry, rich and full-bodied. Perfect for the start of the colder months of the year. The flavour is achieved through Marris Otter, Crystal and Amber malts. The hops used are Goldings and Fuggles.
Adnams Old Ale, one of their best seasonal beers, is rarely available. A rare speciality, it can be found from October from December 2006. It's a dark beer brewed for the cold weather. Adnams Tally Ho, almost as rare, is the strongest Adnams beer, at 7% ABV. It's a real winter warmer beer, available only in December, being brewed on a limited run. Old Ale is perfect for the cold winter nights.
Adnams Fisherman has the flavour of roasted nuts and dark chocolate, finishing liquorice and with the taste of dried fruits. It's a dark and mysterious beer with a deep red hue. A tradition style beer, it is refreshing, clean and rather easy drinking. The breath-taking Adnams speciality is available from October to February every year.
Finally, Southwold Bitter, strength 4.3% ABV, is a malt flavour with some bittering hops. It has an extremely smooth and silky texture, rich, with medium body. It is amber coloured with an attractive fluffy head that coats the glass from start to finish.
During this era of re-emerging popularity in quality English beer, Adnams features prominently, and it's almost inevitable that their beers will continue to go from strength to strength.
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A rich beer from Warwickshire-based Adnam's, and a tasty dark beer too - riding up there with the best of British! The overall impression this beer gives is perhaps charcoal. The taste is of burnt malt, turning somewhat bitter in the finish, and a dry bitterish palate in the mouthfeel. Broadside's colour might be described as dark copper, topped by a lovely spongy head that appears layered down the glass. It has a crisp, metallic aroma. Make a bee-line for this beer on the shelves of your local supermarket whenever you see it. It's well worth it.
A mid- to dark-golden beer, that has the same shaped label - that of a ship - as its darker cousin, Broadside. It’s labelled as SSB, for short. Medium- to full-bodied, with a moderate to high degree of carbonation, I can’t decide whether it’s a sweet or a dry beer – it seems to be a bit of both.
Malt overshadows the foretaste, with caramel and yeast bursting into the finish along with traces of chocolate and flowers. Small hints of dark chocolate seem to be evident throughout. The texture is very tingly, bitter on the palate, and rather heavy. The head is little to talk off – smooth to begin with, but mostly dissolves to become patchy. Okay, so this beer isn’t as good as Broadside, but it’s worth a try.
Angel Hotel
The Thoroughfare, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8AH
Tel: 01986 873365 WWW: www.angel-halesworth.co.uk
Queens Head
The Street, Brandeston, Suffolk, IP13 7AD
Tel: 01728 685307 WWW: www.brandestonqueenshead.co.uk
Kings Head
17 Market Hill, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4LX
Tel: 01394 387750 WWW: www.kingsheadwoodbridge.co.uk
Bell Inn
The Green, Middleton, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 3NN
Tel: 01728 648286 WWW: www.bell-middleton.co.uk
Eel's Foot Inn
Leiston Road, Eastbridge, Leiston, Suffolk, IP16 4SN
Tel: 01728 830154 WWW: www.theeelsfootinn.co.uk
Randolph Hotel
41 Wangford Road, Reydon, Suffolk, IP18 6PZ
Tel: 01502 723603 WWW: www.therandolph.co.uk
British Grenadier
67 Military Road, Colchester, Essex, CO1 2AP
Tel: 01206 500933
Dragoon
82 Butt Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3DA
Tel: 01206 573464
Hospital Arms
Crouch Street, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3HA
Tel: 01206 573572
Star Inn
High Street, Mill End, Thaxted, Essex, CM6 2LT
Tel: 01371 830368
Cherry Tree
74 London Road, Harleston, Norfolk, IP20 9BZ
Tel: 01379 852345
Half Moon
303 High Street, Walton, Felixstowe, Suffolk, IP11 9QL
Tel: 01394 216009 WWW: www.felixstowe-halfmoon.co.uk
Kings Head
Front Street, Orford, Suffolk, IP12 2LW
Tel: 01394 450271
Lord Nelson
Fore Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1JZ
Tel: 01473 254072
County
29 St Helens Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1HH
Tel: 01473 255153
Duke of York
Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 2QP
Tel: 01473 257115
Oddfellows Arms
43 Cliff Hill, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 6DG
Tel: 01493 668416
Kings Arms
The Green, Martham, Martham, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR29 4PL
Tel: 01493 740204
Ferry Inn
Stokesby, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR29 3EX
Tel: 01493 751096
White Hart
London Road, Blythburgh, Suffolk, IP19 9LQ
Tel: 01502 478217
Star Inn
Hall Road, Wenhaston, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 9HF
Tel: 01502 478240
Queens Head
Blyford, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 9JY
Tel: 01502 478404
Prince Albert
Park Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 1SP
Tel: 01502 573424
Plough Inn
London Road, Wangford, Suffolk, NR34 8AZ
Tel: 01502 578239
Five Bells
Southwold Road, South Cove, Wrentham, Suffolk, NR34 7JD
Tel: 01502 675249 WWW: www.five-bells.com
Harbour Inn
Blackshore, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6TA
Tel: 01502 722381
Red Lion
South Green, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6ET
Tel: 01502 722385
Blyth Hotel
Station Road, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6AY
Tel: 01502 722632
Bell Inn
Ferry Road, Walberswick, Suffolk, IP19 6TN
Tel: 01502 723109
Kings Head
High Street, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6AD
Tel: 01502 724517