The Southport Brewery

Paul and Elaine Bardsley

If you care about the beer you drink then you’ll have heard about the Southport Brewery.

It’s hard to describe just how good their beers are. Their Sandgrounder ale is as fine a session beer as you could hope for, their Natterjack bitter is in a class of its own, while their Golden Sands ale is simply one of the best beers in Britain, a claim backed up by a hatful of awards.

Paul Bardsley started the business after spending 25 years in horticulture. Increasingly fed up with the tasteless beers on the market, he decide to take the plunge in 2004, with the support of his wife Elaine.

“I wanted people to be able to drink a real ale that was locally produced and not one that had been trucked all over the country,” he says. “When I go to different parts of the UK I like to drink regional beers with their own flavours, not the tasteless bland stuff the big boys produce.”

Elaine, a special needs teacher, was the final spurt to going it alone. She says: “I told him ‘if you’re going to do it then do it’. I didn’t want him coming to me in 10 years time and saying ‘oh, what might have been’.”

“It’s nice to live with someone who’s happy with the job they do.”

Local food and drink is becoming a hot political issue as people think about their carbon footprints and local economies. But the best reason of all to drink Southport beers is the taste.

It’s Paul’s pride and passion to make a good beer using four quality ingredients: barley, hops, yeast and water.

The taste of beer comes from the hops, each variety is different, one is used for bitterness, another for aroma and flavour. For Golden Sands, Paul uses a special blend from New Zealand and the United States.

“People who like beer want flavour and love hops,” says Paul. “I use quality hops from all over the world, while the big brewers are using ever smaller amounts and cheaper varieties.

“Beer has always been done this way, it was only relatively recently that the big brewers started messing with things and brought in the keg beers that you get now. I wouldn’t drink them, I don’t know why anyone does.”

The fact that the last commercial brewery in Southport closed down shortly before World War II says a lot about the challenges Paul faces to keep his business afloat — especially as the Government takes a 20% gulp off the price of each barrel sold. At the moment he can’t make enough beer to meet the demand but is loathe to think about expanding his High Park HQ.

“For the first two-and-a-half years I was on my own. I’ve just taken someone on and doubled production,” Paul adds. “For the first two years it didn’t make any money but is now starting to break even.

“I’ve never had a problem selling the beer, nowadays people call me up and I’ve got regular customers like the Guest House and Baron’s Bar in Southport.

“Most pubs are tied to a certain brewer. There’s a big myth that pubs are allowed to bring in guest ales. In fact, independents only account for 7% of the market. If I expanded, I’d have to start sending the beers further and further away.

“I’ve even had inquiries from America, but I don’t think it would travel well across the Atlantic.”
One question I had to ask Paul was how he resisted the temptation to drink away the profits.
“I’ve never drink during working hours, in fact I drink less than I used to,” he says.

“On my days off I like to try and track down my beers in a local pub, but often I find they’ve sold out by the time I get there.”

Some of The Southport Brewery’s pump clips

The Southport Brewery

Unit 3,

Enterprise Business PArk,

Russell Road,

Southport PR9 &RF

Telephone 07748 387 652