About Us
At Pumphouse Community Brewery, we’re passionate about two things – hand-crafted traditional fine ales and making a difference in our local community.
Since 2015, we’ve combined the two by creating a micro-brewery in Toppesfield, Essex, next door to the village pub, The Green Man.
Backed by the Prince’s Countryside Fund and with Head Brewer Aaron Osbourne at the helm, our community brewery has developed a range of hand-crafted ales using the best, carefully curated ingredients.
Get in touch today to discover more.
Fine Ales and Beers
Explore the wide range of traditional ales and beers produced by our community-owned micro-brewery.
Bottled Beers
Buy our bottled beer directly via our online shop or get in touch with our dedicated team for special orders.
Visit Our Brewery
Our village is very unusual in having a community-owned village shop, pub, and brewery. As one of the first community-owned breweries in the country we are always happy to have visitors, though we recommend calling in advance of your visit. When you visit us, you can buy bottled beers directly from us and we will show you around our small but perfectly formed brewery.
Our Team
Pumphouse Community Brewery is owned by more than 80 individuals. While production is run by Aaron, our Head Brewer, the day-to-day running of the brewery is undertaken by a group of volunteers. Our brewery is run on a democratic basis, with each member having one vote at meetings, irrespective of the number of shares they hold.
As a not-for-private-profit company, we ensure any surpluses achieved are either reinvested in the brewery or distributed to the broader community. The brewery also supplies a select group of nearby pubs, clubs, and has appeared at several regional beer festivals. We also provide beers for private functions, such as weddings.
Our Objectives
Our Objectives
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Produce Good-Quality, Good-Value Traditional Ales
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Create Employment Opportunities in Toppesfield
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Provide New Volunteering Opportunities, Especially for Retirees
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Work Closely with Our Neighbouring Community-Owned Pub, The Green Man, and Community-Owned Outlets
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Work with Our Community-Owned Shop to Make the Village an Attractive Destination for Visitors
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Broaden Our Membership through the Continuing Sale of Community Shares
Our History
Established in 2015, Pumphouse is a community benefit society, registered at the Financial Conduct Authority under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (registration number: 7061).
When we started, we raised a total of £38,000 to purchase complete brewing equipment and undertake building work to convert an earlier cart lodge into what is now Pumphouse Community Brewery. We were fortunate to be supported in our endeavours by the following grant-making bodies:
- Braintree District Council’s ‘Mi Community Fund’ – £10,000
- The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust – £4,000
- Essex Community Foundation – £3,000
We also raised the sum of £21,000 through a Community Share sale from 76 shareholders. Since then, we have raised a further £1,450.00 in sales of Community Shares and currently have 80 shareholders.