"Brewers of Bear Island, White Sea, Summer Session and White Squall ... all Gold Medal Winners"

Willoughby Arms Cottages
Station Road
Little Bytham
Lincolnshire
NG33 4RA

Tel: +44 (0)1780 411119
Mobile: 07721 602542

E-mail: enquiries@newbywyke.co.uk
Website: www.newbywyke.co.uk




From "Beer Around 'Ere" the magazine of the Peterborough and District Branch of CAMRA (Feb/March 2004) ...

added 30/01/04

Newby Wyke collect Awards

Newby Wyke were presented with Awards, won at the Peterborough 2003 Beer Festival, at a ceremony during January 2004.

In the Speciality Beers class, White Squall won the Gold Award whilst Slipway won Bronze in the Premium Beers class.

Chesapeake though excelled, winning Gold in the Strong Ales class and then going on to win the Bronze Award when judged against the winners of all classes at the Festival.

Well done to Rob and his team!

Click on the image below to see a larger version ...

From "Beer Around 'Ere" the magazine of the Peterborough and District Branch of CAMRA (March /April 2003) ...

Added 26/04/03

March to Success for Newby Wyke

Rob March began his love affair with beer many years ago, and became a keen home brewer for more than a dozen years. During a brewery visit to the original Oakham brewery plant in 1994 he obtained the recipe for JHB from John Wood and promptly went home and brewed some. After a few tweaks with the hop ratios and an increase in ABV, the beer now known as White Squall was born. So, after encouragement from his friends he finally decided to launch his range of ales commercially.

He established a 2.5 barrel brew plant in a converted garage at the rear of his home in Grantham in late November 1998. The choice of name for the brewery was easy, Newby Wyke being a Hull based trawler his late grandfather had skippered for many years. Likewise, the beer names followed a nautical theme, leaping from the pages of the meticulous kept ships log books.

Initial brews, of which White Squall 4.8% was the first, found their way into a few local pubs, including the Blue Bull, where Rob set up a display of brewing ingredients and would happily share his enthusiasm with anyone interested. Two of his beers SLipway and Slingshot, both 4.2%, were showcased during the popular Easter Beer Festival at the Green Man, Stamford, and received much praise. Very soon his beers were appearing regularly in all the leading outlets locally as well as in Nottingham, Leicester and of course Peterborough, where his first big break came later that year.

The 22nd Peterborough Beer Festival in 1999 on the Embankment in August attracted close on 40,000 visitors and showcased over 300 beers and many new breweries. Despite the odds, White Squall collected the Gold Award for Best Beer from a New Brewery and the name Newby Wyke was now on the whole nations lips. White Squall continued to do Rob proud, picking up a further two Gold Awards in September at Grantham and then St Albans beer festivals.

In 2000, White Squall again collected Gold at St Albans. By 2001 there were 23 beers in the Newby Wyke range and it bacame obvious that expansion was necessary to maintain and expand upon current production levels. it was at the Willoughby Arms, Little Bytham (for whom Rob produced two house beers), where the solution awaited. Licensee Neil Salisbury, an ardent supporter of micro-breweries and enthusiastic about Newby Wyke, invited Rob and his wife Christine to install a purpose built 10 barrel plant in disused cottages at the rear of the pub.

Peterborough Beer Festival, August 2001 and yes, youv'e guessed it, Newby Wyke beers steal the show. Summer Session 3.8% collected Gold in the Bitter category, Bear Island 4.6% Gold in the Premium Beers category and Kingston Amber Wheat 5.2% Silver in the Strong Ale section, being denied only by Oakham Ales St Bibiana, which also went on to deny Rob Gold in the Overall Champion Award, narrowly defeating Bear Island.

After a few teething problems, like waiting for vessels to arrive from Germany, the first beer off the new plant, appropriately titled Refit 4.2% was launched at the beginning of September. This was closely followed by Deck Aid 4.0% (since rebadged Decade) brewed especially to celebrate 10 consecutive years in the Good Beer Guide for Charters.

2002 and Rob finally got White Squall in at the Great British Beer Festival. At the 25th Peterborough Beer Festival a few weeks later he surpassed all expectations by collecting no fewer than five awards! Summer Session won Gold for the second year running in the Bitter category, Bear Island slipped to Bronze in the Premium Beer section but White Sea 5.2% excelled in the Strong Ales section, emphatically winning the Gold Award. In the voting for the Overall Champion, White Sea collected Silver and Summer Session the Bronze being denied Gold for the second year running, this time by Roosters Yankee.

Such is the popularity of Newby Wyke beers, and of course the Willoughby Arms, that a full sized coach took branch members out there twice last year, in March and December. The pub usually has at least two of Rob's beers on sale from an otherwise ever changing selection of rare ales.