Oakham Ales

Oakham Ales was founded by John Wood in Oakham, Rutland, in 1993 after more than 20 years of home brewing. Its first commercial beer was JHB, brewed in September that year, and from the outset the brewery looked beyond traditional British varieties to American hops, establishing an approach that would become central to its identity.

The brewery moved to Peterborough in 1998 as demand increased, initially brewing at The Brewery Tap on Westgate. Continued growth led to the development of a much larger site at Woodston, where a 75-barrel brewery opened in 2006. The smaller Westgate brewery remained part of Oakham's story, with a new six-barrel plant installed in 2008 and brewing revived there in 2023 for small-batch releases.

Oakham became particularly influential through its early adoption of American and New World hops. Brewer John Bryan began travelling directly to US hop growers in 2002, and in 2009 Oakham produced what it describes as the first UK beer brewed entirely with Citra hops. Citra subsequently became a permanent beer and the brewery's biggest seller, joining long-standing beers including JHB, Inferno and Bishops Farewell.

Today Oakham continues to combine its established core range with monthly seasonals, specials and strong cask-aged beers. Its Woodston brewery has expanded substantially over the years, while investment in more than 1,000 solar panels in 2025 marked another stage in its development, with that year's Sun City becoming the first Oakham beer brewed exclusively using solar-generated power.