Goachers Brewery

Industry	Alcoholic beverage
Founded	1983
Founder	P & D J Goacher
Headquarters	Tovil, Kent , United Kingdom
Key people	P & D J Goacher
Products	Beer
Owner	P & D J Goacher
Website	goachers.com

Goachers Brewery is an independent brewery based in Maidstone, which supplies a number of public houses across Kent.

Range

Goachers only uses malt and Kentish hops in its beers, producing a core range of ales comprising a mild, two bitter ales, a stout and a pale ale. It also produces regular seasonal ales.

• Real Mild Ale is a dark mild with an ABV of 3.4% that is hopped with Kent Fuggles
• Fine Light Ale is a pale bitter with an ABV of 3.7% hopped with WGV and East Kent Golding hops
• Best Dark Ale is a rich bitter with an ABV of 4.1% hopped with East Kent Golding hops
• Silver Star Ale is a seasonal pale ale with an ABV of 4.2% hopped with Kent Fuggles. This was first produced in 2008 to celebrate Goacher's 25th anniversary
• Crown Imperial Stout is a seasonal 4.5% ABV stout with a high level of Kent Fuggles hops
• Gold Star Ale is a pale ale with an ABV of 5.1% and hopped with East Kent aroma hops
• Old 1066 Ale is a seasonal barley wine with an ABV of 6.7% and produced in small quantities since 1983
• House Ale has an ABV of 3.8%. It was originally a blend of Fine Light and Best Dark but is now brewed as an independent ale.^[1]

Real Mild, Fine Light Ale and Crown Imperial Stout have been CAMRA beers of the year.^[2]

History

Goachers was founded by Phil and Debbie Goacher in 1983. Originally it was situated close to Hayle Mill,^[3] later moving to larger premises on a nearby industrial estate in 1990.

Maidstone has a long history of brewing dating back to 1650, including breweries such as Style and Winch, Fremlins Brewery, Masons and Isherwood, Foster and Stacey.^[4] The last remaining brewery in the town (Fremlins Brewery) closed in 1972. Goachers was the first new independent brewery in the town, reviving Maidstone's brewing tradition.^[5]

Goachers has two tied houses (The Rifle Volunteers in Maidstone and The Royal Paper Mill in Tovil) and supplies numerous free houses across Kent.^[6] Goachers bought another pub - The Little Gem in Aylesford - in 2019 which needed renovation and was opened in 2021.^[7]