Handcrafted, award-winning, small batch real ale in the heart of the Cotswolds

Inspired by beers which I had tasted whilst travelling in the US and Belgium, I began brewing in the early 2000s with the aim of creating my own versions at home. Brewing began in the kitchen using malt extract but it wasn't long before this progressed to making beer from scratch using malted grains and in 2011 a move in to the garage and a step up to a 50 litre brew kit enabled me to make enough beer to fill a cask. 

In 2015 I secured a commercial brewing licence with the aim of selling my beer to the general public. The following year I won runner-up Beer Of The Festival at the 2016 CAMRA Maidenhead Beer & Cider Festival with “Gold”; a hoppy pale ale made with plenty of the big American hops. 

Spurred on by this success I ordered a new 160 litre (1 BBL) micro brewery from Elite Stainless Fabrications in Swindon.

Ashton Brewery was founded in January 2018 in the Wiltshire village of Ashton Keynes where brewing began in earnest and provided a supply for local pubs and beer festivals.

In October 2020 the brewery moved to its current home in the lovely town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire where I continue with my passion for creating high-quality real ales that are rich in flavour and free from artificial additives and flavourings. 

My New Zealand pale ale, "Kākāpō", won 3rd place at Swindon Beer Festival in 2022. This was followed by another 3rd place at the Tewkesbury Winter Ales Festival 2023 with "King's Speech"; a strong winter ale. Most recently my chocolate orange stout "Jaffa Cake" was declared the winning beer at the Tewkesbury Winter Ales Festival 2025.

Pete Clark

Owner and brewer