A visit to Hunter’s Brewery, nr. Newton Abbot, Devon: local beers, local pubs – and brewery trips.
Hunter’s brewery started up in 2008 and got off to a very good start, with a fine and varied stable of excellent beers for a range of tastes. Sadly, it entered into administration in March 2023, a great loss to the town, the county and the wider quality-beer community.
The demise of the brewery, which may yet come back into existence, got me thinking about how difficult it is to find beer made in and around Newton Abbot in local pubs. I am not at all sure if this is a problem that exists in other towns and cities around the country, but it is regrettable and I cannot help but think that there is a cure for this sad malaise.
Why is local beer – which is very good – so hard to find in local pubs?
I have been on record in recent months as expressing concern that beer produced in the Newton Abbot area is difficult – if not impossible – to find locally. That, it seems to me, is bizarre and just plain wrong. For me, a compelling reason for visiting any town or city is to visit local pubs and try local beer. It may seem nerdy, but I often make notes, just in case I visit that town, village or city again – I can then save time and shoe leather traipsing around looking for a good pub.
Not so many years ago at least half a dozen of the 20 or so pubs in Newton Abbot regularly sold cask beer made in the local area. Teignworthy and Hunters were just two highlights. You would be very hard pressed to find local beers now in any Newton Abbot pub. Why is that?
The answer to that question is lengthy and somewhat convoluted, so I shan’t go into it here. Suffice to say that ownership of pubs and/or the land on which they stand is a key factor.
One of the Newton Abbot pubs that, not so long ago, could be relied upon for having a selection of beers for all tastes was The Union. The Master of the Beer was John Osborn (I am not sure if that should be Osborn with an ‘e’?), who sadly passed away a few years ago. He can be seen in one or two of the photographs on this page. With five hand pumps to keep stocked his skill was to ensure there were always at least two westcountry beers on offer and at least two beers from around the country, sometimes as far away as Orkney or Jersey. His skill did not stop there: there would also be a variety of strengths and styles of beer on tap at any one time.
So, if you were a regular in The Union there would nearly always be something for your taste and mood; mild, stout, strong, light, golden, amber – and so on. I have visited pubs in the town this year where there are only two cask beers on offer, and both are about the same ABV (strength) and both the same style! So, if you do not like citrus, gold beer of about 4.2% ABV you’re screwed. How daft is that?
Anyway, when John was at the helm, brewery and pub trips were on offer, and in 2014 we enjoyed a trip to Hunter’s Brewery. The occasion was the opening of the newly installed bottling plant. Needless to say, it was an excellent afternoon and I was not the only one who enjoyed a pint of nearly every beer brewed. Count the barrels – that is quite a few!
I have my favourites of course. The Half Bore was a particularly good everyday beer but a very special one for me was Crispy Pig. I remember when it was launched and I was highly sceptical. An apple flavoured beer? Sounds awful! But in practice it was excellent and very much to my taste, the apple edge being not too pronounced to detract from the overall taste.
I am pleased to say that I still have a bottle of Crispy Pig – it is bottle conditioned so will be good for a while yet – I will wait for a special day to open it. As you can see from the photo below a sample of bottled beers from Hunters turned up under my Christmas tree in December 2022, so even Santa knew my taste!
If any pub landlords happen to read this, it would be interesting to know why local beers – not just from the Newton Abbot area but further afield in Devon – are not easy to find. It is not as if there aren’t plenty to choose from!
Photographs taken on iPhone 5.
Tags #beer #brewery #pubs #NewtonAbbot #Devon #Hunters #local #UnionInn #caskale
Colin Anderson 
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