Excitement brewing in Rochdale

A microbrewery based in Fieldhouse Industrial Estate has been officially opened by the Mayor of Rochdale.

At the open day, guests had the chance to tour the brewery, view the hops and grain and learn more about the brewing process, which of course included sampling the beers. The day was attended by local councillors, council officials, representatives from Invest in Rochdale, plus business owners from the area, landlords and bottle shop owners. 

Serious Brewing Co is run by husband and wife team Ken and Jenny Lynch, who decided to launch their own start-up business early last year. Since then, it has been a gradual process to make their dream a successful reality. Ken, who is in charge of recipes and brewing, has kept his full-time job, while Jenny left her role as a primary school teacher to focus 100% on the brewery. 

“We had been doing home brewing for quite a few years, and we were talking one day about what we’d both like to do in an ideal world. It was at that point we made the decision to create our own microbrewery,” Jenny says.

Start-up support

The couple enrolled on a commercial brewing course and gained help and advice from Rochdale Council’s Business Growth Hub and Invest in Rochdale. Last summer they secured their 2,800 square foot industrial unit at our Fieldhouse Industrial Estate and the fit out and installation of equipment was completed in November.

“Fieldhouse is convenient for us as it’s close to where we live and we were already familiar with the site,” Jenny continues.

The first time we came to look, it was all fully occupied, but luckily when we looked again this unit was available and it’s ideal for what we need.

Serious Brewing Co prides itself on the high quality of all its ingredients. It specialises in Belgian-influenced beers and all its brews are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Currently, it has three brews in production – Gold Rush pale, Blue Sky saison and Moonlight stout – with further recipes in development.  Ken and Jenny also plan to launch various seasonal brews. 

“It’s going really well so far,” Jenny says. “We are selling to local bottle shops, and we have had the stout on cask at two pubs. We’ve had good feedback from that. It’s exciting to see people drinking and enjoying our beers and going back to buy more.

“We’d like to thank everyone who came along to our opening – the whole place was buzzing. After all our hard work and planning, it’s great to see things come to fruition.”

Become part of the community

Fieldhouse Industrial Estate has more than 70 business units, including industrial space, workshops, studio space and storage units, as well as offices. It has a range of great facilities and benefits, including a spacious car park, 24-hour security, a weighbridge, plus a cafe and crèche also onsite. 

For more information contact Business Centre Manager Chris O’Connor on 01706 342 578.