Dawkins Ales

Originally called Matthews and founded in 2005, the brewery was bought by Glen Dawkins (founder of the Dawkins Taverns pub group) in 2010.

The name changed to Dawkins & Georges, which is a nod to the city’s brewing heritage of Georges, a venerable brewing business in the town centre that was bought by Courage in the 1960s, closed in 2000 and is now apartments. A variety of cask, keg and bottled beers are produced and there are five Dawkins pubs.

‘Blending the traditional and modern we brew beers without compromise,’

says Glen Dawkins, ‘and our brews range from classic bitters to modern, hop-forward recipes all defined by a fine balance in flavours. Our beers are packaged by hand and are all “live” whether in cask, keg or bottle. Most of our beers are also unfined thus suitable for vegetarians and vegans.’

As well as the brewery’s pubs and its onsite brewery tap, a sister bar in Edinburgh was set up in 2017, which revived the old brewery name 'Steel Coulson’, with plans for a future nano-brewery.

In 2017, the brewery’s highly hoppy Ultra won the accolade of the Champion Beer of the South West at the Tuckers Maltings beer festival, which is organised by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).