WYCHWOOD BREWERY

Tucked away behind the main street of the market town of Witney, Oxfordshire lies Wychwood Brewery. The brewery was founded in1983 by Paddy Glenny, who established Wychwood at the site of Clinch’s Brewery, which unfortunately closed in 1961. Besides its most famous line, Hobgoblin, Wychwood is also known and loved for its unique mediaeval-style labels that are inspired by the myths and legends surrounding the ancient Wychwood Forest that’s located just behind the brewery!

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Coming SoonAward Winning

Wychwood Hobgoblin Gold English Golden Ale

4.5% ABV / 0.0

$8.50
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Wychwood Hobgoblin English IPA

5.3% ABV / 0.0

$9.00
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Wychwood Hobgoblin Ruby Amber Ale

5.2% ABV / 0.0

$8.50

let's tap into their story!

Wychwood Brewery is a British brewery located in Witney, Oxfordshire. Before Wychwood was established, there was actually another brewery that stood in its place - Clinch’s Brewery. Clinch’s Brewery was founded by the son of a banking family, John William Clinch, in 1841, and was Witney’s local landmark and successful family enterprise for over 120 years.

However, all legends eventually come to an end, marking the start of a new one. In 1961, the board decided to sell out to Courage, and Clinch’s Brewery was closed shortly after. Though this was sorely unfortunate, it opened the path for a new brewery to succeed in Clinch’s place. In 1983, Paddy Glenny - an English brewer who had trained in Germany - purchased the original Clinch’s Brewery site and christened it The Eagle Brewery - later changing it to Glenny Brewery.

In 1990, Glenny renamed his brewery once again to Wychwood Brewery, in honour of the Ancient mediaeval Wychwood Forest that borders Witney. The brewery is housed in the old Eagle Maltings, a historic building built in 1841 to malt barley for Clinch’s Brewery. Although the building had been extensively renovated over the years, some of its original features have been preserved.

Wychwood’s yummy beers and quirky labels

In 1988, the brewery was asked to brew a special celebratory wedding beer for a local landlord’s daughter. This special wedding beer later became the legendary Hobgoblin - the brewery’s signature brew. In 1996, the first Hobgoblin beer became the first bottled beer in the UK to have a pictorial front label as opposed to having its name only depicted in words. The Hobgoblin’s distinctive and peculiar labels appealed to many, especially to the new, younger market for traditional English ales.

The Hobgoblin Ruby is the original Hobgoblin beer and remains the most popular. The Hobgoblin Ruby, like its name, is a beautiful ruby ale that has distinct sweet caramel notes and a fruity aroma that teases the taste buds. You can expect a delicious full-bodied toffee flavour with a fruity finish of figs, raisins, and dates.

In addition to its signature brand, Hobgoblin, Wychwood Brewery also produces seasonal and limited-edition beers, under quirky names and artworks. For 2016’s Halloween, Wychwood released Dunkel Fester - a delectable dunkel and tribute to Halloween’s greatest uncle from The Addams Family.

Following the success of Hobgoblin in bottle, Wychwood continued to bottle its other popular cask ales, including its mysterious and spellbinding porter - Black Wych - and its sublimely fruity and indulgent King Goblin.

Many of Wychwood’s beer labels are inspired from the ancient Wychwood Forest located just behind the brewery, with each character loosely resembling the mythical creatures of the forest. The brewery’s most famous character - the hobgoblin - remains the iconic king of mischief on its Hobgoblin bottles. Other mythical characters that inspired Wychwood’s beer labels include witches, goblins, giants, and elves.

Wychwood’s distinctive mediaeval-style artworks continue to appeal to and impress beer lovers all around. Eventually, Wychwood gathered a cult-following, not just for its tasty brews, but also for its creative labels on every bottle.

Wychwood Brewery’s growing success

When the closure of another local and iconic brewery, Brakspear Brewery, in Oxfordshire was announced in October 2002, Wychwood was determined to bring it back. Following the redevelopment of the Wychwood Brewery site, Wychwood created a separate Brakspear brewhouse and fermenting room.

Recently acquired by Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company, the Wychwood Brewery now owns, houses and brews both the Wychwood and Brakspear's beers, making them one of the UK's leading beer producers of traditionally handcrafted British ales that also exports to markets all over the world!