31st July 2008

Company Directors Ian Bradford and Ron Makins are delighted to announce that brewing will once again return to the historic town of Stone in Staffordshire.

Lymestone Brewery, a 10-barrel microbrewery, will commence commercial operations in late September to produce real ales and bottled conditioned beers for drinkers across the Midlands and North West. The beers will be available from Free Trade outlets and independent bottled beer stockists.

Award winning brewer Ian Bradford will use his experience, gained as former Head Brewer of Titanic Brewery in Stoke-on-Trent, to create a wide variety of styles of real ale. Ian is keen to stress the importance of brewing a high quality product noting that, “We have sought out the most reputable suppliers of fine English malts and choice hops from around the world and these ingredients will be carefully crafted into a range of ales that will be brim full of flavour”.

Lymestone Brewery is situated in the former Bents Brewery in Mount Road, Stone. Financial Director Ron Makins said “We were fortunate that the brewery premises were available at the right time and are proud to play our part in reviving Stone’s brewing heritage. Bents brewed here for many years and set a great example. We aim to follow that example and would like to see our beers sold in many pubs across the Midlands and North West. Although beer sales, generally, have slowed off this year, the real ale sector of the market remains buoyant and we are responding to demand for high quality products”.

The brewery is to be launched at the Great British Beer Festival in Earls Court, London on Tuesday the 5th August 2008.