Thornbridge Brewery

Thornbridge Brewery is a British brewery whose story began in 2005, when founders Jim Harrison and Simon Webster recruited two brewers to make beer on a second-hand 10-barrel brewing kit at Thornbridge Hall. The brewery identifies Bakewell, Derbyshire, as its home and describes itself as having brewed “with Integrity and without Compromise” since its establishment. Its present-day brewing operation includes the Millrace brewery and Riverside, where the company says new tanks were added to expand capacity. The brand’s best-known beer is Jaipur, a 5.9% ABV West Coast IPA that Thornbridge describes as its flagship and the beer that put the brewery on the map. Its product range also includes IPAs such as Green Mountain, pale ales including 1838 and Kipling, and lagers including Lukas and Bayern. Thornbridge sells beers in multiple formats, including cans, mixed cases and individual products through its online shop, and offers a beer subscription club featuring new releases, collaborations, archive selections and core beers. Alongside packaged beer, Thornbridge invites visitors to its Millrace brewery for a paid tasting experience. The 45-minute session includes a guided tasting of six beers and introduces visitors to brewing ingredients, the company’s history and its working Union Set. The brewery describes that installation as the world’s only working example. In 2024 it acquired part of the historic Burton Union system when Carlsberg Marston’s retired its set, then installed the equipment at Riverside. Thornbridge presents itself as a craft-beer business with a national following and says its beers are available through the UK pub trade as well as direct-to-consumer channels. Its official story page refers to Thornbridge & Co as a growing family with venues in London and Sheffield. The supplied company information does not establish its ultimate ownership, corporate parent, legal structure or listing status.

Thornbridge Brewery began in 2005. According to its official brand story, founders Jim Harrison and Simon Webster recruited two young brewers to work on a second-hand 10-barrel brewing kit in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall. The brewery’s early signature was Jaipur, which the company says put it on the map. Its product page describes Jaipur as a 5.9% West Coast IPA brewed with substantial use of US hops at a time when that was unusual in the UK, balanced with English Maris Otter malt. The brewery says the beer is often recognized as the first UK craft IPA. The company’s range grew beyond Jaipur to cover different beer styles and formats. Its current official shop highlights IPAs including Jaipur and Green Mountain, pale ales such as 1838 and Kipling, and lagers such as Lukas and Bayern. The business sells individual beers and mixed cases online, and promotes a subscription club offering new releases, collaborations, archive selections and established beers. This combination of a recognizable flagship and a broad range is central to the brand’s current presentation. A notable later development concerns the historic Burton Union brewing system. In 2024, when Carlsberg Marston’s retired its Union set, Thornbridge says it moved quickly to acquire a section and install it at Riverside by May. The brewery describes its installed equipment as the world’s only working Union set; the first beer brewed through it was a Union version of Jaipur. This equipment is also part of the visitor offer at the Millrace brewery: the Thornbridge Experience combines brewing-history content, ingredient exploration and a tutored tasting of six beers. In 2024, Thornbridge was named SIBA Brewery Business of the Year, according to the company’s brand-story page. The following year, it marked twenty years of operation with special releases, returning favourites and collaborations; the company said it recorded its highest on-trade numbers to that point. Its 2026 page describes further development, including added Riverside tanks, improvements to the Taproom and additional Thornbridge & Co venues in London and Sheffield. These are company-reported plans or developments on the supplied official page; the source does not establish further detail about the venues or corporate ownership. The available official material identifies Thornbridge as an active British brewery based in Bakewell, Derbyshire, but does not identify an ultimate owner, parent company, legal entity structure or stock-market status. Accordingly, those corporate details remain unspecified in this dossier.

• Brewery founded at Thornbridge Hall

• Jaipur becomes the signature beer

• Union set installed at Riverside

• SIBA Brewery Business of the Year

• Twentieth anniversary

• Capacity and visitor experience expansion

A British craft brewery emphasizing quality, variety and brewing heritage, with Jaipur as its flagship beer and brewery experiences as an extension of the brand.

• Jaipur

  A 5.9% ABV West Coast IPA identified by Thornbridge as its flagship beer.

• Green Mountain

  An IPA listed among the brewery’s core style offerings.

• 1838 and Kipling

  Pale ales featured in Thornbridge’s shop.

• Lukas and Bayern

  Lagers featured in Thornbridge’s shop.

• Thornbridge Experience

  A 45-minute brewery experience featuring brewing-history content, ingredient exploration and a guided tasting of six beers.

• Acquisition and installation of Burton Union equipmentOther

1. 1Thornbridge Brewery Online Shopthornbridgebrewery.co.uk
2. 2Thornbridge Brewery: Our Brand Storythornbridgebrewery.co.uk
3. 3Jaipur, Can 5.9% IPAthornbridgebrewery.co.uk
4. 4Thornbridge Brewery Tour & Beer Tasting Experiencethornbridgebrewery.co.uk