Adnams Brewery was founded in 1872 when George and Ernest Adnams bought the Sole Bay Brewery in Southwold. The company was incorporated in 1890, has remained independent since then, producing a range of beers for distribution mainly in East Anglia. At the beginning of 2004, Adnams purchased land in neighbouring town of Reydon to expand their business with a new distribution centre, which was nominated for the 2007 RICS East of England Award for Sustainability.

The earliest recorded brewing on the site of Adnams was in 1396 by Johanna de Corby. The present brewery was taken over by George and Ernest Adnams in 1872 and turned into a public company in 1890. The Adnams family was joined by the Loftus family in 1902, and Adnams still has members of each family on the Board, with Jonathan Adnams as Chairman and Simon Loftus as a non-executive Director. Adnams remains committed to brewing cask ale and non themed pubs. Real Ale is available in all of its 70 pubs and it also supplies more than 1000 other outlets direct. New fermenting vessels were installed in 2001-3 to cope with increased demand and the brewhouse itself was completely re-equipped in 2006-7, making it one of the most energy efficient in Europe.

The company produces cask ale and pasteurised bottled beers. Annual production is around 85,000 barrels.

Casks of Adnams ale used to be delivered to the pubs of Southwold by horse and dray until September 2006 when the distribution center was moved to a new location two miles outside the town.

Adnams' most recent advertising campaign has the slogan: "Beer from the Coast". Adnams is also a major regional wine merchant and pub company.

The company founded a charity, The Adnams Charity, in 1990 to celebrate its centenary as a public company. A percentage of the company's annual profits is used to support worthwhile causes within a 25 mile radius of Southwold.

For more information please visit Adnams PLC

• Article with thanks to Wikipedia - Available via the GNU Free Documentation License