Thank you to Ian Fozard and the team at Roosters for hosting a BFBi tour of the brewery on 27th October!
The initial 5bbl brewery, situated in Knaresborough, was established in 1993 by Sean Franklin. Roosters was named after Rooster Cogburn (Sean was a fan of the film True Grit). Sean was the first UK brewer to blend hops and the first to import Cascade hops into the UK (a hop back has always been an integral part of the kit).
Ian Fozard bought the cask only brewery in 2011 and, together with sons Tom and Oliver, established a medal winning brewery. Over time, it expanded into canning and kegging.
By 2016, the production split was 80/20 cask/cans and kegs, reflecting a move into the off-trade. The brewery has recently relocated to a new site with an on-site tap room, retail outlet and function room. It also consists of 100% of the brewery kit British built (the old site has been sold to Turning Point Brewery).
The new, semi automatic, brewery has the capacity to brew twice a day. Their malt mill enables Roosters to mill, mostly Simpsons, malt to specification. The small IPS filtration plant enables filtration down to 1 micron. The newly purchased Micro Can canning plant has the capacity to fill 1900/2000 cans per hour. Where are the hops, we asked. We found Charles Faram hops in a dedicated cold room, ensuring they remained as fresh as when they were bought.
Thank you Ian for the tour and good luck Tom and Oliver in the International Brewing Awards!
BFBi Future Events
Want to come along on the next tour? BFBi Members benefit from regular networking with suppliers representing the entire value chain. Keep an eye out on our events calendar or get in touch to see what else we get up to!
