Durham Brewery

Durham Brewery was set up in Bowburn in August 1994 by Christine and Steve Gibbs, both full-time music teachers at the time, and grew from a small kit into a ten-barrel plant by 1999. Every bottle is conditioned and filled in-house rather than sent out for bottling, and cask beer is left to mature slowly rather than force-conditioned in tanks. Since 2016 the brewery has aged part of its output in ex-whisky, rum, bourbon and wine casks, sitting alongside a core range that is brewed to gluten-free recipes. A shop and licensed bar opened directly opposite the brewhouse in 2011, selling the full range of bottled and cask beer from 3.8% session ales up to barrel-aged beers around 12%, and Saturday brewery tours take visitors through the mash tun and fermenting vessels.