When is a distillery not a distillery? In the case of Weetwood it started life as (and continues to predominantly be) a local craft brewery. Whisky was a passion project for founder Phil McLaughlin and head brewer Pete Glover, neither of whom had prior distilling experience before starting “The Cheshire” on site at Weetwood Ales brewery in Kelsall, Cheshire back in 2018. Already working with malted barley and able to mash on their existing equipment, it seemed a no brainer with the rise of English distilleries in Norfolk, Yorkshire, Suffolk and Cumbria for this craft brewery to give whisky a go.
Using Marris Otter brewing malt and a small percentage of crystal malt (literally microwaved to crystallise the sugar crystals for more sweetness) they brew and ferment 4000 litres of wash. The team then undertake 4 x 500L distillations in their 400 litre hybrid pot still (they squeeze 500 litres in by filling with the door shut!) before the liquid is heated by a bain marie ‘jacket’ and distilled through their pot and 5 plate column into new make spirit at around 72% utilising a larger percentage of tails than some other distillereis for a deeper, richer flavour profile.
And the unique approach doesn’t end there. Filling predominantly 145 litre casks, these barrels start their life in a pair of containers at the back of the brewery on a South facing wall. Here they heat and cool to extremes giving the maturation a kick-start before the casks are moved into the main warehouse to finish the rest of their maturation journey in less dynamic temperature fluctuations. The containers have been known to reach up to 50 degrees celsius in the summer and minus temperatures in winter.
What eventually emerges after 3+ years is a rich, rounded whisky that belies it’s young age and is popular with whisky drinkers (being one of the top performing bottles at the last two year’s English Whisky Festivals and receiving widespread love on tastings we’ve featured it on). There are a handful of breweries turned distillers from Adnams to Grasmere and Lancaster – and other distilleries sourcing wash from breweris (such as Theakston’s supplying Eller’s Farm in Yorkshire). These brands all create amazingly flavoursome new make spirit from the mix of malts and brewing expertise they can call on and it’s showing in the final spirit too.
Their first release was a combination of casks. After the start of their life in the American STR cask (Shaved, toasted & re-charred), the spirit was finished in Madeira, Moscatel and Sauternes casks for their signature rich, nutty and lingering dram. Other expressions include their IPA cask finish (using their own “Jester” IPA casks) and their “Seaside” release, featuring a finish in ex Islay quarter casks. They’ve just released a 5 year old, their first age statement and just 1,333 bottles – a similar cask profile to their core Single Malt, but aged 5 years and above for a deeper, more intense experience.
Our tour of The Cheshire was a one off, kindly put on for our members and guests by Phil and Pete – but they had so much fun doing it (and can see the demand for them) Phil promised that whisky tours will start back up in 2026 and you too could spend an afternoon seeing firsthand how they make their whisky, sample their new make spirit and enjoy their whiskies in their dedicated tasting room above a very welcoming taproom for a pint or two after the tour (not to forget it also doubles up as the shop to buy your favourite bottles of whisky too).
A fantastic whisky, produced by fantastic people on a wonderful little site that seems incongruous as the site of a whisky distillery, but which, once you scratch under it’s industrial metal surface, reveals the magic of malt and maturation to deliver a grown-up and thoroughly enjoyable dram. I for one am extremely glad these brewers took a punt on their love of whisky and have given the world this small-batch dram. Like the branding on their bottles and tubes, this brand is bold, playful and high quality.
Cheers to that 🥃
Visit took place on Saturday 18th October 2025
