Grand Opening of Craft Brewery
The Grand Opening of The Shoulder of Mutton Craft Brewery in Chapel Road, Weldon, took place on Friday 30th January. Present were Andy Sawford, MP for Corby and East Northants, and Anthony Dady, Mayor of Corby Borough Council, as well as officials from the Peterborough, Northamptonshire and Rutland branches of The Campaign for Real Ale. Pub regulars and many visitors joined in the celebrations to enjoy complimentary hot lamb and pork rolls while raising their glasses to celebrate the past, present and future success of the revitalised pub.
Head brewer Graham Moorhouse has had a great affinity to The Shoulder since he was a teenager. Back then, the bar was always packed as villagers and steelworkers mixed easily, exchanging the stories of their day. Nearly forty years on, he finds the welcome as warm as ever and the beer is that little bit special as it is made in the basement just below. Graham first made beer from malt extract from the local chemist aged 16, and has continued to learn about the magic of the brewing process and enjoying the amber nectar to this day. He now brews with the finest available English and Belgian malts and hops from four different continents.
The Shoulder always offers beers from local and regional breweries but delights in customers choosing its very own beer, always fresh and hugely popular with the discerning locals. Since the brewery started in August 2014, the pub is also seeing visitors from further afield, attracted by the grapevine and wanting to try both traditional and new world beers made in Weldon.
The beers evoke a nostalgia for the past bearing names like Dragline, a 3.9% Golden Ale named after the giant machine so often associated with the steelworks in the area; Rosie’s Sweatbox, a sumptuous dark ale named after a WWII bomber that crashed just a few fields from the pub in 1944; Weldon Cupola, a 3.6% ale for hopheads named after the unique cupola atop Weldon church. Weldon Windmill 4.2%, named after the last working windmill in the village that fell in 1915 following a storm, evokes memories of the tastiest of bitter beers gone by. These are supplemented by monthly specials including seasonal beers, red ales, auburn ales, chestnut and oatmeal stouts, milds and light ales, conditioning or planned for the next few months and all of which have a local story to tell.
The Grand Opening was also a proud occasion for the hosts, landlord and landlady Bogdan and Rada Vujnovic, who have been at The Shoulder of Mutton for two and a half years, devoting their time and hard work to make the pub a great community venue.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Village Connect, Bogdan and Rada are offering readers a free bottle of house wine or two pints of one of the Shoulder of Mutton beers on food orders over £20 with advance booking and a mention of Village Connect.
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