Born In A Barn

Peak Ales was conceived over Christmas dinner in 2002, when teachers Rob and Debra Evans decided to forsake two perfectly good jobs and a house in suburbia to establish a microbrewery in the middle of Britain's favourite National Park.

Within a few months, their strategy was taking shape and a liquid "planning" lunch at the Devonshire Arms in Beeley, yielded some useful local contacts including the details of Chatsworth Estate Deputy Agent, Nick Wood.

Rob explains, "Nick showed us around Cunnery Barn on the Baslow Road on the Chatsworth estate. It was a semi-derelict structure destined, like so many of its contemporaries, for possible conversion into holiday homes."

"There was an eerie calm about the buildings, but their potential was obvious... after the various planning, electricity, renovation, nesting owls and drainage hurdles were crossed, we got to work and virtually two years to the day, we brewed our first ale which was quite an emotional moment."

The Duke of Devonshire officially launched the brewery in April 2005 with a blessing provided by the reverend John Elkington-Slyfield (see below)

The Peak Ales dream had become reality.

BLESSING
God bless this barn
from site to stay
from beam to well
from end to end
from ridge to basement
from back to roof tree
from found to summit
found and summit
God bless this barn and
prosper those who work here.
God bless the barn, that it may
give health and happiness
and
thankful hearts to the glory of God
in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

John Elkington-Slyfield
Adapted from Carmina Gadelica

"I'm off for a quiet pint, followed by 15 noisy ones"

Gareth Chilcott