Cracking Open 47-Year-Old Bottle Of Ale – Now Guildford’s Little Beer Corporation Plans To Brew It Again

Published on: 16 Feb, 2016
Updated on: 18 Aug, 2016

By David Rose

It was a bit of a strange and somewhat nervous moment, allowing a bottle of beer of mine to be opened for the first time since it was brewed in Guildford 47 years ago!

Yes, that right. The bottle being a Friary Meux Audit Ale, allegedly from one of the last brews to take place at the brewery (now the Friary Centre) before it closed in December 1969.

Just before opening the 47-year-old bottle of Friary Meux Audit Ale. From left Jim Taylor, David Rose and Paul Hutcheon.

Friary’s Audit Ale was known as a barley wine due to its high alcohol content. I’ve spoken to people who remember it and they say it always packed a punch!

I’m also known for collecting old bottles – most of them from the Victorian and Edwardian era and empty – but I do have a few more recent ones and some still unopened.

The bottle of Friary Meux Audit Ale, a barley wine, believed to be from one of the last brews at Guildford in December 1968.

Jim Taylor, founder and owner of The Little Beer Corporation, a micro-brewery on Guildford’s Midleton Industrial Estate, assured me that, because of the original brew’s strength, and it being perfectly sealed, it should still taste pretty good.

He also said he’d be confident he would be able to tell me a good deal about the ale, how it was brewed and even the ingredients!

With the bottle opened and the ale poured out, it looked ok.

So off came the crown cork and Jim then poured out the contents (just a third of a pint) into glasses for him, me, Dragon editor Martin Giles, plus two of Jim’s staff.

“You try it first,” I said, and so Jim took the first sip. It was indeed rather good, well, considering the age of the beer, very good indeed.

Very good indeed! The brewery’s local sales manager Paul Hutcheon (third from left) said it was the oldest beer he had ever tasted! Martin Giles is far left.

Jim said the specific gravity (alcohol content) was about 6.5%. He said it was made with a dark roasted malt and that he could replicate it very well.

And this is where it gets interesting. Jim plans to brew a similar beer later this year in recognition of the town’s once famous Friary Meux brewery.

He says it will be available in the same size bottles and will make a lovely winter drink.

A peek inside the brewery.

The Little Beer Corporation was founded in 2012 in premises on the Slyfield Industrial Estate. Production soon outgrew that site and in 2014 it was relocated to where it is now.

Jim’s background is firmly in the drinks industry. He previously worked as a global marketer for SABMiller in Woking, one of the world’s largest brewers.

Now he runs his own brewery and clearly loves the work.

The Little Beer Corporation’s concept is a somewhat different from other small breweries – and there are a good number of them now throughout the UK, with the Hogs Back Brewery and the Surrey Hills Brewery here in Surrey already well established.

The Little Beer Corporation produces a range of bottled, keg and cask beers.

It’s slogan is “Live a big life, drink a little beer”, and its focus is on quality, variety and creativity.

It currently offers a range of bottled, keg and cask beers: from IPA and pale ales based on recipes from the UK and America, a milk stout, Vienna and Pilsner lagers, to special brews that include one that’s flavoured with raspberries.

They all have delightful names such as Little Wild, Little Smooth, Little Tenderness, Little & Often, Little Snug, Little Slow, and so on. Ands they taste good too!

Cask beers from the brewery are popular locally. Jim says: “We sell an awful lot of cask beers to Surrey pubs.”

In Guildford you can find these beers in pubs that include the Weyside; the Robin Hood; the Kings Head in Quarry Street; the Stoke; and the Onslow Arms at West Clandon.

Pictured outside the brewery on the Midleton Industrial Estate, from left: local sales manager Paul Hutcheon, admin manager Karen Fredborg, and owner and founder Jim Taylor.

The brewery is increasing its output of its keg beers that are going down a treat in London pubs. Jim says: “The pub trade in Guildford does not seem ready for these yet, but it will come.” He also has plans to sell his beers in the Brighton area.

The bottled beers can also be found locally, but why not take a trip to the brewery and buy them direct.

Off-sales are Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. The address is: Building 3, 14-15 Midleton Road, Guildford GU2 8XW. Just follow the signs from near Ladymead.

There are lots more details about The Little Beer Corporation on its website. There you will find information on brewery tours, special events and its Little Drinking Club. The club events are staged at the brewery six times a year. For a membership of £80 per year you can go along to three of the events enjoy live music and free beer!

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