Batemans Brewery has operated from Salem Bridge Brewery on Mill Lane, Wainfleet, since George Bateman, a farmer from nearby Friskney, sold up to rent the site in 1874; his wife Susannah brewed the earliest batches in the family kitchen. A windmill on the bank of the River Steeping stands beside the brewhouse, following the family's move to adjoining Salem House in 1880. The business stayed independent through a difficult period in the 1980s, when George Bateman, his wife Pat and children Stuart and Jaclyn bought out relatives wanting to sell up. Stuart Bateman now runs the brewery as managing director alongside his sister Jaclyn, a fifth-generation family concern. The flagship beer, XXXB, is a tawny bitter; the on-site shop sells bottled beers and merchandise, and tours of the Theatre of Beers brewhouse, opened in 2002, can be booked in advance.
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