Dudley brewery set up by brothers announces closure

The brothers announced after 11 years, the Fownes Brewing Company will no longer trade

A brewery set up by two brothers has ceased trading after 11 years.

The idea for the Fownes Brewing Company was born in 2012 when James and Tom Fownes began brewing up their own beer in the Jolly Crispin pub in Dudley.

Rising utilities bills and cost of materials had helped to prompt the closure decision, the brothers said.

But announcing Fownes closure the brothers said their Epic Ales would now be produced by another firm in Kidderminster.

A social media post said it had been a long trip but the team had written their final chapter.

"James and Tom have found themselves with no option but to cease trading."

The brewery began when the brothers started making their own beer at the Jolly Crispin in Upper Gornal

The brewers had been planning to open their first pub, the Old Royal Oak in Burton upon Trent, but the pandemic had put that plan on hold and things had not improved enough over the last two years, the statement said.

Rising utilities bills and cost of materials to produce and deliver the beer were cited as the reason for the company's closure.

The team wrote: "It has been a real experience getting to know all of you over the last eleven years and having the opportunity to create award winning beers and artwork that have made people so happy.

"The Fownes Brewing Company may have met its demise, but this is not the end of the road for our Epic Ales! Tim Hibbert, the brewery assistant we took on when we moved to Brierley Hill will now be brewing all your favourite Fownes ales for Fownd Brewing Company over in Kidderminster."