Exmoor Brewery takes beer to Parliament
- Guild Secretary
- Sep 15
- 5 min read
Exmoor Brewery of Wiveliscombe, Somerset raised a glass of its popular Exmoor Gold at the seat of Government recently, after local MP Rachel Gilmour chose it as the week’s guest ale in the Strangers’ Bar, sited inside the House of Commons.
Exmoor Gold was the original and first “Golden Ale” in Britain, a style of beer now brewed by most breweries. Now coming up to its 40th anniversary, Exmoor Gold’s 4.5% balanced subtle caramel maltiness with fresh citrus hop fruitiness, was enjoyed by the many MPs and other parliamentarians for whom the Strangers’ Bar is effectively their ‘local’.
Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said:
“It has been an absolute pleasure to bring this wonderful beer to Westminster and introduce my colleagues in Parliament to a taste of “Wivey”.
“Wiveliscombe has a long and proud brewing tradition, to which Exmoor Gold firmly belongs. It is great to see the Exmoor Brewery revived, which speaks to the passion for, and understanding of, the craft of brewing in Wivey. Not only has this saved jobs at Exmoor Brewery, I am sure that it will prove a real asset to our constituency, with the potential for more roles to be created as the new brewery develops, supporting pubs that are at the heart of our local communities.”
Jonathan Price, Chairman, accompanied by Shaun Vockins, Head Brewer, made the journey to London to share a pint with Rachel and said, “We were delighted that Exmoor Gold was selected for the Strangers’ Bar and grateful to Rachel Gilmour and the team at the bar for making it happen. We’re very proud of our beers and this was a great opportunity to spread the word about them beyond our usual area of trading.”
He added, “We’d love to think that a pint of Exmoor Gold may have inspired some of our politicians to dream up ground-breaking new policies in support of the beleaguered hospitality industry, but in any event we are delighted that so many MPs enjoyed drinking it.”
Exmoor Gold was made available in the Strangers’ Bar as part of a scheme run by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).
Price added, “Thanks to the collaboration with Hogs Back Brewery, which kick-started Exmoor Drinks and helped us move into our new brewery, we’re able to remain independent and brew some of our iconic ales from our spiritual home in Somerset. We look forward to launching many new beers from our new brewhouse across the south west.”
ENDS
Notes to editor:
New Exmoor Brewery
Exmoor Drinks Ltd was created in April 2025. After insurmountable business challenges forced Exmoor Ales to close its brewing operation, it entered into partnership with Hogs Back Brewery to create Exmoor Drinks Ltd and moved next door into new premises at the site of the old Cotleigh Brewery in Wiveliscombe, Somerset.
The new brewery retains its independence as well as the proud Exmoor name and the iconic stag logo.
Its first beer from the new brewhouse, a Tawny Ale, will go on sale shortly, celebrating a Wiveliscombe brewing tradition. 10p from every pint sold will go to the Jim Laker Charitable Trust, founded in memory of a Wivey legend, who originally owned Exmoor Ales.
Chairman of the new Exmoor Drinks business, Jonathan Price, was joined in September 2025 by Managing Director designate Simon French.
Exmoor Ales
Exmoor Ales was founded in 1979 as one of the UK’s first microbreweries, brewing at the Victorian-era Hancock Brewery on Golden Hill in Wiveliscombe, Somerset.
The brewery achieved early fame by winning CAMRA’s Champion Best Bitter Award in 1980 with Exmoor Ale. Exmoor Gold, launched in 1986, was the UK’s first ‘golden ale’, starting a new category which is now included in almost all brewery ranges.
Hogs Back Brewery
Hogs Back Brewery was founded in 1992 in Tongham, Surrey. Its flagship brand, Tongham TEA (Traditional English Ale), is a leading regional ale in the south-east.
In 2014 Hogs Back planted its own revival hop garden. It celebrated its 10th Hop Harvest last September, harvesting Fuggles, English Cascade, and Farnham White Bine hops. It is the largest integrated hop grower and brewer in the UK.
In 2024, it won the Le May Cup for its White Bine hop and received Gold and Silver awards for its Fuggles and English Cascade hops, respectively.
The brewery's range includes award-winning draught, bottled, and canned beers, showcasing its blend of brewing expertise and innovation. Notable awards include:
Little Swine 0.5%: Gold medals in the European Beer Challenge 2024 and SIBA National Independent Beer Awards 2024.
A over T (Aromas over Tongham) 9% ABV: CAMRA’s Champion Bottled Beer of Britain 2020.
Hogstar lager: Gold medal in the World Beer Awards 2017.
Hazy Hog: Bronze medal in the International Cider Challenge 2019.
Tongham TEA: The first beer brewed by Hogs Back in 1992, Tongham TEA has won multiple awards including runner-up in CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain in 2000.
Committed to sustainability, Hogs Back has introduced 120 solar panels to its roof, sells spent grain to local farmers as animal feed and aims to reduce its single-use plastic, having introduced refillable glass Snorters and Snifters flagons. It has removed over 20,000 PETs bottles from its business, and earning Plastic Free Champion status from Surfers Against Sewage.
In January 2025, Miles Chesterman became Managing Director, with owner Rupert Thompson now serving as Executive Chairman.
In 2024, Hogs Back stepped in to help craft brewer Mondo, investing to secure the future of its brands and the brewery and taproom in Battersea.
In May 2025, Hogs Back entered into a collaboration with Exmoor Ales, investing in a restructure and taking a 40% stake in the new business, Exmoor Drinks Ltd.
The Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) was established in 1980 to represent the growing number of independent breweries in the UK. Today SIBA has around 700 brewery members encompassing a broad range of brewers from very small nano-breweries to larger firms owning pubs, taprooms and shops.
The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group organises meetings, receptions, briefings and other activities for around 400 supportive MPs and Peers. Its purpose is to promote understanding amongst Parliamentarians of the UK beer and pubs industries. The Group is supported by around 70 individual brewing and pub companies and by SIBA. An officially registered all-party parliamentary group, the Group is one of the largest industry groups at Westminster.
The Group’s formal objectives are to promote the wholesomeness and enjoyment of beer and the unique role of the pub in United Kingdom society, to increase understanding of the social, cultural and historic role of brewing and pubs in the United Kingdom and their value to tourism, to broaden recognition of the contribution of brewing and pubs to employment
and to the United Kingdom's economy, to promote understanding of the social responsibility exercised by the brewing and pub industries, to support the United Kingdom's brewing industry world-wide and to promote a positive future for beer and the pub.
For further information, contact:
Jonathan Price, Chairman, Exmoor Drinks
01984 623798
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