Market Drayton's Joule's Brewery buys pub next door to expand

The Stags Head, in Great Hales Street, has been bought by Joule's Brewery from Admiral Taverns

It is next door to the brewery and the building will be utilised to expand brewing operations for the growing brewery and pubs chain.

It will not be knocked down but incorporated into the brewery.

Joule's was originally based in Stone, Staffordshire, and re-launched with the new brewery in Market Drayton in 2010.

It has since established a taphouse estate across Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Wales, with its current estate consisting of 44 pubs.

In 2021, 11 years after the opening of the brewery and eight months later than originally scheduled due to Covid restrictions, Crown Wharf in Stone opened to celebrate the brewery’s rich heritage in its original home town and on original brewery land.

Joule's will also soon be opening Henry Tudor House in Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury – Shropshire's only Grade I listed pub. Local contractors who Joule's has worked with closely for many years are putting together the finishing touches. The project is being managed by the brewery's project manager Louke Glover.

It plans to continue to invest in creating new pubs in local communities where it is confident the Joule’s brand can thrive.

Joule's has held its beer prices for the third year in a row despite the economic challenges .

Development director Anna Brakel said: "I am thankful to Admiral Taverns for hearing our case and allowing us the opportunity to develop our brewery land which has successfully resulted in the purchase of the Stags Head on Great Hales Street, next door to Joule’s Brewery.

"We are delighted that we are able to expand next to an original Joule’s pub and develop further what is already an iconic landmark for Market Drayton.

"Our recent developments, centred around beer reverence, have seen the demand for Joule’s cold beer grow. Our customers are choosing Joule’s as their beer of choice. In August 2023, we celebrated 10 years of our English Craft Lager, Green Monkey, a naturally carbonated lager brewed to the German Purity laws of Reinhotsgebot.

"Our popular annual T-shirt promotion centred around Green Monkey celebrations was extremely well received and we saw the highest volume of Green Monkey leave the brewery with a record breaking 45,000 pints making their way across Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Wales. A very proud moment for us all."

Victoria Colclough, operations director added: "It’s an exciting day for us to be able to announce this progression for the brewery. We are delighted to be investing in the brewery and creating additional jobs in the town of Market Drayton.

"It also offers us the chance to invest in our flagship taphouse the Red Lion Inn, which also adjoins the brewery. This investment will give us some vital extra capacity which we need if we are to grow, this news also marks our total and unequivocal commitment to Shropshire and to our home town of Market Drayton."