Castle Eden Brewery

Castle Eden Brewery traces its origins to 1826, when John Nimmo established a brewery in the County Durham village of Castle Eden. Under the Nimmo family, it grew into one of the North East's significant brewing businesses, producing 75,000 barrels annually and operating an estate of 125 pubs. Its traditional ales became part of the region's brewing heritage.

Whitbread acquired the brewery in 1963, overseeing further expansion to an annual capacity of 220,000 barrels and production that included Mackeson Stout. The brewery returned to private ownership in 1998, continuing the Castle Eden name and its established range of ales through another period of change.

A new chapter began in 2014 when the Castle Eden brewing assets, brand rights and recipes were acquired by new owners. Production was re-established in Seaham with a modern 20-barrel brewhouse installed in 2015, alongside bottling and kegging facilities. From 2016, the business increasingly focused on contract brewing and packaging while continuing to produce Castle Eden ales.

In May 2025 Castle Eden joined Powder Monkey Group, bringing further changes to its production operations. Following the group's acquisition of Maxim Brewery in January 2026, production of Maxim beers transferred to Seaham that April. Alongside its contract brewing work, Castle Eden began preparing a wider relaunch of its historic brand to mark its 200th anniversary in 2026, connecting nearly two centuries of North East brewing heritage with a modern production facility.