Walsall brewery supporters in branching out moves
A group which offered support to an historic brewery in Walsall for more than a decade – and spearheaded a campaign to save it – is branching out to raise the profile of other breweries in the borough.
The Friends of Highgate Brewery, a voluntary organisation set up in 1995, has announced it will work with breweries and microbreweries to offer support and has already opened talks with bosses at Backyard Brewhouse based in Brownhills.
Steve Orford, chairman of the group, said the decision to look further afield was taken because members were uncertain about the future of Grade II-listed Highgate Brewery, in Sandymount Road, Highgate, which is more than 115-years-old.
The group of around 90 members campaigned to save the brewery after it shut three years ago, with the loss of 22 jobs, and a 'Save Highgate Brewery' Facebook group was joined by more than 1,900 members.
The brewery was taken over by a private consortium later that year which announced plans to transform the hospitality suite into a mini-museum to chart it's history and open a shop.
Mr Orford said members had last spoken to bosses about plans for the brewery more than a year ago, but efforts to contact them since then had failed.
He said: "We are hoping to expand our horizons and be friends of Walsall breweries, rather than just Highgate. We are carrying on our ethos and are supporting local breweries.
"At the moment we have Backyard Brewhouse on board. They are expanding quite vastly and have reopened The Fountain Inn.
"We are not taking our eye off the ball when it comes to Highgate, but we want to support other breweries too."
No one was available at Highgate Brewery to comment.
