Breach Farm Brewing loves East Cholderton and we love Haydown Farm.
Our mission statement was written when we started our intentionally small brewery and were already enjoying the small village life. We had a place like Haydown Farm in mind...
Produce world class beer for the purpose of bringing people together, supporting community, and promoting a healthy lifestyle, and to champion craft beer through education, exposure, and experience.
When my family and I decided to make England our permanent home we started looking for a house to buy. (We had been renting in Dummer.) We loved Dummer, the neighbours, the church, the community, and Dummer loved us, too. We started our small craft brewery there quite by accident when a neighbour asked us to brew beer for his wedding. Our tiny brewery was able to support the Church, the Village Hall, the Fete, and the Cricket Club. Our tasting room brought people from all the surrounding villages together. Coincidentally, real ale drinkers and lager drinkers enjoyed our American craft equally, and even wine drinkers switched to beer when we were open. We smiled that for a few nights each month people from every part of the village came together.
Initially we looked at houses in and around Dummer. But soon we expanded our search until gradually we came to a village near Andover. After six months of drive-bys and house visits we found our home in Amport. We were immediately smitten with the charm and visited Amport three times before making an offer. Just to be sure we brought our two Old English Sheepdogs, parked at the Green, and walked the footpaths with friends from our previous village.
We moved at the beginning of lockdown in April of 2020. For several months I continued brewing in Dummer and commuted 30 minutes each way. Meanwhile, my business partners and I began our search to find a suitable permanent location for a brewery and tasting room. We were also negotiating with a brewing equipment company for a new (300 litre) kit. We kept our Mission Statement and the new equipment in mind as we followed every lead from Odiham to Amesbury.
As the brewer and sole employee I was growing tired of my commute. A brew day on our tiny kit was often 8-10 hours, or longer, and driving home tired was a precarious chore. So, we decided to concentrate our efforts along the A303 from Dummer to Quarley. (The closer to Amport the better.) In late summer of 2020 we found a temporary location and moved our tiny brew kit to a garage unit on a nearby small holding.
We brewed for our first local event, The Not Oktoberfest. It was a collaboration with local volunteers to benefit the new Village Hall. We shared our beer with new friends from all the surrounding villages and they became keen to add a brewery to the parish and help us find a location.
A year after moving, and after dozens and dozens of phone calls and site visits, a member of the Parish Council introduced me to a local farmer in East Cholderton. The farmer had several buildings available, I was told, and one of them might be suitable.
Of course, my family and I and had walked extensively in the area, and we loved Haydown Farm. The footpaths crossing the Farm gave it high marks for accessibility from surrounding villages and the people we met seemed friendly and supportive. “This seems to line up very well with our Mission Statement and was an answer to prayers”, I thought.
The farmer and I chatted on the phone first before meeting at Haydown Farm. There was an instant connection. He was warm and friendly and has been supportive to the local community his entire life. He was keen to show me a building he had in mind as he explained, his daughter has owned and operated a brew pub in the USA for twenty years. This could continue the British-American brewing connection he mused, as I too became excited.
As fate would have it, the building was plumbed for water and was already wired for 3-phase electric, both of which are essential and not easy to find. And he was already considering some improvements to the Farm. A few days later my partners and I met with our new friend and walked the property. We all agreed: Haydown Farm and East Cholderton would be ideal.