AFTER 211 years of brewing in Blackburn town centre, Thwaites have this week commenced production at their new site and home at Sykes Holt, close to Mellor Brook, in the Ribble Valley.

This will be an exciting new dawn in brewing production for Thwaites with production being compelled to start a month before the scheduled date, after a travellers’ three-day orgy of destruction forced a premature end to a brewing era at the Penny Street site.

It must have been devastating for Head Brewer, Brian Yorston and his brewing team.

So frustrating that this passionate band of brewers had been denied the opportunity to brew a special farewell beer, to mark over 211 years brewing at the iconic town centre site.

However, Brian said: “The brewers are very excited about getting back to brewing . They are all very passionate about what they do.”

I have and always will have great fondness and respect for Thwaites, being one of the family brewers who have remained fiercely independent. Timothy Taylor, JW Lees and Robinsons, are some of the others that I recollect.

They fended off the threat of the Big Six in the early Seventies. A gigantic set of brewing companies (Courage, Allied Breweries, Whitbread, Watney Mann, Scottish & Newcastle and Bass Charrington), that were attempting to force fizzy, tasteless keg beer down our necks.

Who remembers them now? I reckon no-one under the age of 40.

The iconic brewery at Penny Street will be sadly missed.

It was in more recent times known as the Crafty Dan brewery, when production was scaled down in Blackburn, in December 2011, concentrating on monthly specials. - and their excellent 13 Guns and Nutty Black beers.

I had the pleasure of brewing my first collaboration beer at Thwaites in 2014., a golden ale I named Magoo’s Brew.

It proved very successful and popular. Over 30,000 pints have now been rolled out.

It’s brewed annually in April courtesy of Glyn Bennett, one member of their four strong brewing team.

But alas, Penny Street is now part of Thwaites’ brewing past.

But the new £12 million site at Mellor Brook is ideally suited to meet the challenges of an ever-changing brewing landscape.

It will have produced its debut beer run as you read this article. TBC (Thwaites Best Cask), a golden amber bitte which has the honour of being the first beer in production. It will form part of one and a half million pints being brewed annually.

I wish this iconic family brewer much success at their gleaming new facility. The site at Mellor Brook looks amazing.

Head Brewer, Brian Yorston, has kindly invited me down for a look around the brewery. No doubt I will be reporting back very soon.