A hobby which became a career, a life and a love for Kinver brewer

Breweries have been a part of the region for centuries, providing the welcoming aroma of hops and yeast in the air across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton and many different types of beer loved by thousands.

In the wake of the news of the planned closure of Banks's Brewery in Wolverhampton, the Express & Star wants to support our local breweries and show that there are still many out there producing quality beers to be enjoyed in pubs from Aldridge down to Smethwick.

As part of our Backing Our Breweries campaign, we are going to look at what different breweries do, how they grew and built up their reputation, what their products are, how they continue to run in what are difficult financial times and what makes them special.

Kinver Brewery is the result of a love of home brewing which became a desire to do more for Dave Kelly and has become a passion that sees weekly brewing take place at the brewery at Britch Farm, just outside the village.

The 67-year-old has been brewing and producing high quality beers from the South Staffordshire village for 20 years, having initially started out home brewing as a hobby, then finding that the beer he was producing was being picked up by beer festivals.

He said it was while playing table tennis with a friend in 2002 that he got the idea to start a brewery, then properly went for it when his old boiler stopped working.

He said: "I played table tennis with a mate and afterwards, we went to the pub and I was talking about how I'd always wanted my own brewery and he said 'well, go ahead and do it'.

"Our central heating system then broke down at home, which was the copper tank and immersion heater, and after it got replaced by a combi boiler, I asked to keep the tank as I could make use of it and turned it into a brewery with a pump in my garage.

"My friend then agreed to help with all the VAT and customs and excise and I concentrated on the brewing and we were away."

The first brew was completed in October 2004 after Kinver Brewery, as it was named, had purchased a brewery from Brewsters in the East Midlands, then opened up premises in the village before moving to Britch Farm in 2012.

Mr Kelly said he was a lover of real ale and enjoyed going to different pubs to try ales and also sell his wares and said pub landlords were very receptive to having his beers.

He said: "I've done a lot of market research because I love a real ale and I love going to different pubs and ale houses and when I told the ones in the village that I was starting a brewery, they said they'd love to have them and they've come back more than once for them.

"Over time, there have been a few ebbs and flows, but we are fairly consistent and brew once a week at the moment, maybe twice sometimes, so we're not a major brewer, but what we brew has been winning us awards in the old place and here as well."

The company is very much a family-led business, having been run since 2018 by Dave Kelly and his wife Carol, with their sons Tommy and Rob helping where they can.

The beer itself is what has built the reputation of the brewery, with the Over the Edge beer winning several awards, as well as the Black Ram Stout and Half Centurion Gold and Mr Kelly said he had tinkered with the recipe over the years and was still learning about different ways to make beer.

He said: "The trademark beer here is the Kinver Edge bitter, which is named after the landmark, then in the winter, we do a stronger version of that called Over the Edge, which is the one that's won most of the awards.

"I'm still learning to be honest and there are new things cropping up all the time, but I've learned how to get the beer consistent, get the strength to what it should be and extract values from the malt."

Kinver Brewery beers can be found in pubs in and around the region, as well as in bottles, something which helped the brewery greatly during lockdowns in the Covid-19 pandemic when they could work at the site and serve people on a table outside.

Mr Kelly said the brewery was his life and had really changed the course of his life, but was also looking to the future of the brewery after he retires.

He said: "It's everything to me and has really changed my life as I've always love real ale, but to actually be involved in the industry, brewing beer and selling it to pubs has been great.

"I'm getting older though, so it is getting harder and I am looking at one of my sons taking over as they help when they can and they're going to continue brewing.

"It's funny as I'm trying to step back, but retirement doesn't seem any time soon as I'm actually busier than ever."

Kinver Brewery's most popular beers:

Over the Edge 7.5%

A light coloured winter warmer, brewed between November & March.

Khyber 5.8%

Strong and bitter in true IPA fashion.