Shropshire firm rolls out barrel to toast 5,000th brew

It was a small family business back then, with just seven 36-gallon barrels being produced every week from the base they still occupy in Wistanstow, near Craven Arms.

But the firm is celebrating a special milestone this week by producing its 5,000th brew, 33 years after the first barrels of Wood's Special were rolled out of the former stables behind the village's Plough Inn.

One of its best sellers, Shropshire Lass, is being produced as the landmark brew.

Managing director Edward Wood said: "We reckon that we've brewed almost 30 million pints since my father Basil and my brother Anthony started the brewery.

"The family started it as part of the movement to continue producing 'real ale' at a time when the major brewers were shifting draught beer production exclusively to long-life 'keg' beers."

The Wood Brewery is still in its original village location, but has grown dramatically since the early days.

It started with a capacity of seven barrels a week – but today it can turn out over 100 barrels a week from a much-extended brewery. "No-one dreamt we would get this far or grow this big – 5,000 brews of beer and tens of millions of pints is a heck of a lot of beer from one small brewery in the middle of South Shropshire. We're delighted," he added.

Wood's employs 10 staff and its draught and bottled beers sell in pubs throughout the Midlands and Wales, as well as being shipped nationwide.

It has won many awards for the quality of its beers, the best known of which is now Shropshire Lad.

Edward's grandparents John and Jane Wood, founded the giant poultry production company Chukie Chicken, based near Craven Arms, which employed 1,400 workers in the 1960s, later being bought out by Unilever.

Their son Basil Wood, Edward's father, needed a new project to take up his time and the Wood family bought Wistanstow's sole pub, The Plough, from the Wrekin Brewery in 1968 with a view to brewing real ale there.

"We wanted to continue to enjoy real beer on our doorstep in the village," Edward said.

"We started the brewery in The Plough's outbuildings and it is still there now, but in greatly enlarged form to cope with the growing popularity of Wood's beers.

"The Plough itself is the brewery tap and is also a great place to eat."

The firm is also looking to the future has also recently made the unusual move to take out insurance to protect its best-loved bitters.

Brewery bosses have signed a deal with Shrewsbury-based independent commercial broker Beaumont Lawrence & Co to cover its insurance.

Ben Lawrence, managing director of the insurance firm, said: "It's not often we insure a barrel of beer.

"But we've also insured for employee, product, and public liability as well as engineering insurance and maintenance of the brewing equipment.

"We are also covering the firm for fleet insurance.

"It's great to work with a local company, producing local products for Shropshire.

"I wouldn't say we didn't clinch the deal without a little taste of Shropshire Lad," Mr Lawrence added.