Mayflower Brewery in the beginning
The Mayflower Brewery was established in December 2000 by Stewart Thompson who, after reaching the age of 50 and having worked in various managerial roles in a number of breweries, decided it was time to take a gamble and realise a dream by starting his own brewery.
Wigan and District has had many breweries in the past, the closest being the breweries at Haigh and Almonds in the centre of Standish. For 30 years or so there had been no local brewery and Stewart, being a real ale fanatic, saw the need for a microbrewery to serve Wigan and District. Since the capacity of the plant is quite small, the aim is to serve local pubs within a small radius of Wigan, with quality real ale. So far the project has met with much support and enthusiasm from local drinkers.
Due to the demolition of the original premises at the Bleachworks site in Standish, the brewery relocated to the Royal Oak in Wigan in 2004. The original vessels and casks were still used, although the premises are much smaller than the Standish site.
In 2006, Stewart decided it was time to retire and was keen to pass on his knowledge and experience to someone with a passion for real ale. Al Branagan was the ideal candidate and under Stewart's expert tutelage, he was soon brewing his own popular recipes alongside the original Mayflower ales.
Al took over the reins full time in June 2007 and the brewery is in the process of moving to its new home in Upholland, brewing should commence again in early June 2010.