A Merry Xmas from Phipps NBC
We are proud to announce that Phipps IPA was re-launched on 7th December 2008, 40 years, 6 months since it was last brewed
PRESS RELEASE: SIR PICKERING PHIPPS
Legendary Phipps NBC Head Brewer Dusty Miller passes on the baton to our current Head Brewer, Tony Davis. The Photo was taken in 1983 when both men worked together at Ruddles in Langham, Rutland
Tony Davis today at his Grainstore Brewery working on the production run of Phipps IPA
Phipps IPA on the way
The Launch
Extract from : Chroncle & Echo 8th December 2008
The first pint of a new era was poured last night as brewers hoped to bring back a historic Northamptonshire ale, 40 years after it went out of production. Phipps India Pale Ale (IPA) was officially relaunched at the Sir Pickering Phipps pub in Wellingborough Road after former Phipps' brewery experts concocted the draught ale to the original recipe.
Brewing historian and author Mike Brown with Quentin Neville
Descendants of the legendary brewer whose firm, Phipps Northampton Brewery Company (NBC), was bought out by Watney Mann in 1960, were among the first to get a taste of the recreated ale. Ann Phipps, who flew in from Cyprus to raise a glass to the memory of her great-great-great grandfather, said: "The Phipps family is always very proud of our name and it's so thrilling that they have started the Phipps beer again. I think it tastes jolly good and it's a lovely colour." Caroline Teunissen, of the youngest generation in the family, came across the launch by accident after spotting a website set up by brothers Alaric and Quentin Neville, who have made it their project to bring back Phipps beer. She said: "I'm blown away. It has always been a part of our family history and it's lovely. We're going to organise a Phipps family reunion and call out for the Phipps to come to Northampton to celebrate it. It really is superb to see something old come back to life."
Local CAMRA stalwart, Mick Bolshaw talks with Gary and Paul McManus
The Nevilles have teamed up with Paul McManus, of McManus Pub Company, to roll the ale out to pubs across the county to test the demand for more Phipps products. Alaric said: "It's a great Northampton icon and that brings back a little bit of character in this sad world where every high street is the same. It's going to be on sale up to Christmas and if people like it and people buy it, we'll bring more beers back.
Mike Henson, Ann Phipps and John Clipston at the launch
The orders are flooding in because everybody in the county remembers it." He said the recipe was all down to Michael Henson, 72, chief chemist for Phipps and later Carlsberg, who kept the formula from his time at the brewery, as well as master brewer Tony Davis and brewers clerk John Clipston.
Mayor of Northampton, Brian Markham, poured the first pint and said he remembered when Phipps ale cost just 9p. Phipps IPA will be on sale at pubs including the Fox and Hounds in Kingsthorpe, the Brampton Halt in Chapel Brampton, The Sun in Kislingbury and The Romany in Kingsley.
The Mayor of Northampton, Brian Markham, pulls the first pint
Attention Landlords
If your interested in stocking Phipps IPA please contact:
The Grainstore Brewery on 01572 770 065 alternatively email us at Phipps NBC for more details.
Recent Press Coverage
Phipps launch at Rushden Station Bar
Evening Telegraph 15th Dec 2008
In May the Chronicle and Echo ran a story on the anniversary of the last Phipps IPA.
The above articles can be found in full online at the ET & C&E websites search under Phipps Beer
The story of Phipps NBC
Like the river Nene, the boot and shoe industry, the Cobblers, Jimmy's End Lighthouse, Bassett Lowke, ironstone villages, Phipps is lodged deep in the county's collective memory. The idea of a pint of Phipps stirs up evocative associations in those for whom the past is not a foreign country: the smell of the shoe factory and leather works, pounds shillings and pence, steam trains, spires and squires, rolling green fields and hedge rows, open roads, warm and welcoming pubs selling local beer... a gone but not forgotten world.
In 1960 Phipps Northampton Brewery Company was taken over by the London based Watney Mann, ending 159 years of independent brewing. Over the next fourteen years Phipps' brewery, beers and brands were rationalised out of existence.
In its heyday Phipps NBC beer was supplied to numerous pubs and off licences in many counties including Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The end of the line came when the brewery was knocked down to make way for the new Carlsberg plant in Northampton in 1974, although the Phipps name had been dropped a couple of years before.
After the demolition of the brewery Phipps NBCs' influence lived on as a number of it's brewers made telling contributions to the world of Real Ale we enjoy today. The well respected Phipps NBC head brewer, Noel "Dusty" Miller was initially responsible for the recruitment and transfer of the best men to Carlsberg but left soon after the lager brewery was up and running. He took his redundancy money and expertise and became a key investor and head brewer at Ruddles in Oakham, spear-heading that company's rise to prominence in the 70s as one of the best know traditional bitter brands. Pat Heron, whose father had been head brewer at NBC before him, moved to Hall and Woodhouse's Badger Brewery as head brewer and was instrumental in turning that company into one of today's most respected brewers; "Tanglefoot" his award winning beer and still their flagship brew. Peter Mauldon initially went to Watney's Mortlake Brewery but returned to his native Suffolk to re-establish the family's brewery, Mauldons in Sudbury, his son still works there today. The last head brewer at Bridge Street, Bill Urquhart started one of the country's first micro breweries in Litchborough and became a consultant to many of the micros that set up in his wake.
Phipps NBC is a colourful part of the history of Northamptonshire and as such should be celebrated and remembered.
Phipps Bridge Street Brewery being demolished in 1974
The 40th anniversary of the end of
Phipps Draught Bitter
Tuesday 20th May was the 40th anniversary of the final brewing of Phipps draught bitter. As the last wooden barrels gradually emptied in the days that followed, a small piece of Northamptonshire character drained away. Bottled Phipps brands could be bought for a few more years and the Bridge Street brewery continued to brew beer under the Watney and Manns brands until 26th May 1974.
Some of the last wooden cask Phipps bitter waiting to be delivered to the pubs, May 1968
To quote from Phipps NBC's own book on Cellar Management:
"Whilst the brewing, fermenting and serving of good beer can be partly reduced to rule of thumb methods, the ultimate product in the glass is the result of the skill of the brewer, aided by careful storage and serving by the licensee. All Cask Beers require 24-48 hours to settle and fine bright. After settling and fining, start drawing and selling as soon as possible and try and empty cask within 48 hours of starting it. Cask beers should always be sold and the Cask empty within 10 days."
The last brew was timed to give the publicans the whit weekend bank holiday to clear the final stock of Phipps Draught beers, this fell between June 1st and 3rd in 1968. The weather was warm, throats were dry and news of the finale had come from the press so some pubs had sold out well before.
Although this was the end for Phipps traditional draught beer brewed on Bridge Street, 40 years later Northamptonshire boasts 6 thriving real ale micro breweries that provide the discerning drinker with a great range of local ales;
Cherwell Valley Brewery in Brackley
Frog Island Brewery in Northampton ... frogislandbrewery.co.uk
Great Oakley Brewery in Great Oakley near Corby ... greatoakleybrewery.co.uk
Hoggleys Brewery in Litchborough ... hoggleys.co.uk
Nobby's Brewery in Kettering ... nobbysbrewery.co.uk
Potbelly Brewery in Kettering ... potbelly-brewery.co.uk
The Chiltern Brewery located to the south of the county, in Aylesbury, was founded by Richard Jenkinson who trained at Litchborough under the last Bridge Street Head Brewer, Bill Urquhart. Now run by his sons, the company still brews some beer to Bill's original recipe ... chilternbrewery.co.uk
Further away in Sudbury, Suffolk, Mauldons Brewery was founded by Phipps 3rd brewer ( 1966 -73 ) Peter Mauldon. He went on to work at Watney's Mortlake Brewery before setting up on his own. Although he retired in 2000 and sold the company, he maintains a link with the brewery through his son James who still works there ... mauldons.co.uk
At Ruddles, head brewer Tony Davis worked under Phipps' Dusty Miller when the latter moved there from Northampton. After various take overs in the 90s, and final owner Greene King's decision to close the Langham brewery, Tony decided to set up on his own in the converted Grainstore at Oakham Station. He brews a wide range of classic beers, many in the Ruddles tradition and has now turned his attention to Phipps IPA ... grainstorebrewery.com
Our region now has many pubs and bars that serve fine traditional beer but three in particular that we know of have kept or re-created a Phipps-era atmosphere with many items and signs from the areas brewing past on display;
The Folly Inn at Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire
The Malt Shovel in Northampton ... maltshoveltavern.com
The Brampton Halt in Brampton www.mcmanuspub.co.uk
Rushden Station Bar, the club bar of Rushden Historical Transport Society... rhts.co.uk
Victorian NBC printing plates found in Northampton cellar
Dave Curtis recently bought a terraced house in Abingdon, just off the Wellingborough Rd. Whilst clearing the cellar he came across a pile of copper plates wrapped in brown paper. He could make out the Northampton Brewery Company name on some and contacted us through this website. What he had found probably came from the engravers W.W. Law of Gold St., used by neighbours NBC for their stationery and press ads. There were views of the brewery, price lists, headed note paper and labels, most at least 100 years old, an unusual and fascinating find.
This view of the Grand Hotel Peterborough was the only plate made of steel and has rusted
