(Adnams Sole Bay Brewery) is based in the seaside town of Southwold in Suffolk, England. A brewery was founded on the site, behind the Swan Inn, in 1396 by Johanna de Corby. In the 19th century the brewery was owned by a local maltster who sold it to George and Ernest Adnams in 1857. Their brewery became a public company in 1891 and the Adnams were joined in partnership in 1901 by members of the Loftus family. Both families have continued to run the brewery to the present day: Jonathan Adnams is the current chairman, following the retirement of Simon Loftus, who turned the company from a small regional brewery into one with a national presence.
Adnams specializes in cask-conditioned beer and uses East Anglian Maris Otter malting barley and such traditional whole hops as Fuggles and Goldings. See fuggle (hop) and golding (hop). Their beers are widely admired. A substantial investment in the first decade of the 21st century has seen a new brewhouse installed that uses the continental system of mash mixers and lauter tuns. The flagship brands of Bitter and Broadside and a strong winter beer, Tally Ho, have been joined by a golden ale, Explorer, and a rolling program of seasonal beers, including such European styles as kölsch, German wheat beer, and Belgian abbey ale.
A new warehouse, built outside Southwold in the village of Reydon, is environmentally friendly, with a grassed roof that captures rain water for washing casks and delivery trucks. Adnams owns 74 pubs, mainly in Norfolk and Suffolk, but with one in London. Bitter and Broadside are sold throughout England.
