Family-run Sedgley brewery brings more than a century of tradition to the boil to produce much loved, award-winning beers

The West Midlands has a long-standing tradition of brewing and beer making.

Breweries have been a part of the region for centuries, providing the welcoming aroma of hops and yeast in the air across the region and many different types of beer loved by thousands.

In the wake of the news of the planned closure of Banks's Brewery in Wolverhampton, the Star wants to support our local breweries and show that there are still many out there producing quality beers to be enjoyed in pubs across the region.

As part of our Backing Our Breweries campaign, we are going to look at what different breweries do, how they grew and built up their reputation, what their products are, how they continue to run in what are difficult financial times and what makes them special.

It's a brewery which strikes a chord with the community it sits in and which provides a familiar taste and smell to those who live nearby, as well as those visiting from far afield.

Sarah Hughes Brewery in Sedgley is a familiar and welcoming sight to those visiting the Beacon Hotel and has, over the last 150 years, produced a number of popular, award-winning and very moreish beers.

The brewery came into being in the 1850s and became Sarah Hughes Brewery in 1921 when she bought the pub and worked to brew and produce beers which were sold to customers until her death in 1951 and the first closure of the brewery in 1957.

After 30 years in the doldrums, the brewery was brought back to life by Sarah's grandson John Hughes in 1987 and, since then, has kept the traditional art of brewing alive.

Simon Massey is one of the directors and also related to John Hughes as his nephew and spoke about how the brewery had risen back up and become so popular.

He said: "It had closed in 1957 due to costs, as it was cheaper to buy beer in pubs from the big boys that it was to brew yourself, but my uncle had the vision to open it back up in 1987 and it's just progressed from there and I have just kept that tradition of running it for the last 15 years.

"We brew as close as we did to 100 years ago, apart from the fact that we don't use coal, but use gas instead, but we still do the majority of things by hand and so we mash by hand and there's no mechanisation at all.

"It's in a Victorian tower, so it starts at the top and works its way down, whereas more traditional breweries, especially modern ones, are on the flat and in a warehouse, but we have a building purpose-built in the Victorian period."

The brewery has become well-known for the excellence of its beers, with the Snowflake Barley Wine winning multiple CAMRA awards, including Champion Winter Beer of Britain (Gold) in the Barley Wines and Strong Ales category.

Mr Massey said the brewing process still used traditional copper and said that the taste and flavour of the beer had not changed much over the years, with the Dark Ruby Mild very much the most popular beer.

He said: "We strive for quality and it's all about teamwork, so I have a very good team around me in the brewery and over in the pub and we all pull in the right direction.

"The Dark Ruby Mild is the most famous beer from Sarah Hughes and it was one of the original beers back in the day, where as the likes of Sedgley Surprise, the Pale Amber and Snowflake were all introduced by my uncle in 1987.

"We sell most of our beer at the Beacon Hotel, which is a great generational pub that is friendly and full of both locals and visitors, and we do go out to beer festivals as well and sell to people through wholesalers or, if they want to, by coming to collect it."

Mr Massey said the appeal of Sarah Hughes came from the quality of the beer, as well as being cheap to buy because of it being brewed at the source, and said that it was a part of his life.

He said: "It means so much to me as it's more than just a job, it's a passion, and I think a lot of the people who work here can say the same, so it's just a great place."

Sarah Hughes Brewery favourite beers

Dark Ruby Mild 6%

A dark ruby strong ale with a good balance of fruit and hops, leading to a pleasant, lingering hops and malt finish.

Snowflake 8%

A flavour of candy sugar, plenty of rich malt, slight creamy alcohol and plenty of berry fruits.