Arkell’s Brewery and French & Jupps unveil Ancestry – a Speciality Dark Heritage Beer

Alex Arkell from Arkell’s Brewery (l) & James Marinos from French & Jupps

Arkell’s Brewery and French & Jupps are proud to announce the launch of Ancestry (ABV 3.8%), a brand-new cask ale brewed in collaboration between one of Britain’s oldest family brewers and Great Britain’s oldest maltster. Together, they have crafted a speciality dark heritage beer that celebrates more than five centuries of combined brewing tradition. Ancestry will be available in pubs during October/November 2025.

Brewed exclusively for cask, Ancestry is a smooth, easy-drinking, session-strength dark ruby ale. Head Brewer Alex Arkell selected a unique blend of French & Jupps' heritage roasted malts to build a complex flavour profile. Expect delightful notes of caramel, maple syrup, nuts, chocolate, and roast coffee in this speciality heritage beer.

The collaboration began in September when Arkell’s Head Brewer Alex Arkell and Foreman Brewer Bob Mercer visited French & Jupps’ historic maltings. They conducted an in-depth tasting and analysis of the malts, selecting the most complementary heritage profiles to shape the recipe.

In late September, James Marinos from French & Jupps joined the team at Arkell’s Victorian brewhouse in Swindon to help brew the final product—a true meeting of traditions, where French & Jupps’ story dates back to 1689 and Arkell’s to 1843. Ancestry is the product of 518 years of shared tradition and expertise.

Alex Arkell, sixth generation family member, said: “It’s wonderful to work with another family business that has such a passion for their heritage and traditions just like we do. We brew our beer in one of the oldest breweries in this country, they malt their barley in the oldest maltings, could there be a better collaboration of brewing heritage?”

"It's an honour to see our range of malts being used by a family brewer of the pedigree of Arkell's." said James Marinos, Growth & Marketing Manager at French & Jupps. "Together we chose a unique blend of our Crystal and Roasted Malts to give Ancestry a flavour which reflects the complexity and depth of our shared centuries-old craft. I’m especially excited to share and taste a beer with such a unique story behind it."

Ancestry (ABV 3.8%) will be available exclusively on cask at participating Arkell’s pubs throughout October and November 2025.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Arkell’s Brewery was established in 1843 by John Arkell. Arkell’s is Swindon’s oldest business, and one of just 29 family breweries left in the UK.  Arkell’s has 182 years in the brewery business and has four members of the Arkell’s family still remaining at the helm: Chairman James Arkell; his cousin Nick Arkell, Head of Sales, and James’ sons George, and Alex Arkell are Managing Director and Head Brewer respectively.

The Arkell family work at the brewery alongside generations of other local families, brewing real ale and looking after nearly 100 pubs across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Hampshire. Arkell’s ales include Award-winning beers such as 3B, Wiltshire Gold, and Malthouse Craft Lager. Special ales are brewed regularly, with Head Brewer, Alex Arkell, keeping the art of craft ale alive, offering drinkers new tastes and flavours all hand crafted in their brewery.     

For further info. contact: James Marinos at French & Jupps on 07725 655 650 or james.marinos@frenchandjupps.co.uk

French & Jupps is Great Britain's oldest maltster and one of the oldest manufacturing companies in the world, with a history dating back to 1689. Run by the same family for the last 336 years, French & Jupps produce the highest quality small batch speciality roasted malts to the brewing, food and whisky industries globally.

Located in Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, French & Jupps source barley from local farms, preserving centuries-old tradition, producing a unique range of 14 hand-crafted Crystal and Patent Roasted Malts including Roasted Barley, Chocolate Malt, Brown Malt, and renowned Cara Gold.

For further info. contact: Helen Ryan at Arkell’s Brewery on 01793 823026, 07972 155 303 or helen.ryan@arkells.com

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