The First and Last Brewery is moving to Bellingham

The First and Last Brewery, a family run micro-brewery, is moving their premises from the village of Elsdon to the village of Bellingham, and hope to be up and running by Easter.

Sam and Emma Kelly, owners of The First and Last Brewery, have been involved in setting up other breweries, including The Twice Brewed Inn at Bardon Mill.

The ambulance station was a perfect fit for a brewery, Sam said. "It's a great location, and a big community which we can play an active location in."

Established in 2016 in Elsdon, Sam and Emma's brewery will take up the old ambulance station in Bellingham for its larger facilities.

Since 2016, the brewery has won four awards for four different beers they have produced.

They moved to Northumberland in 2005 from Lancashire, and have two children aged 10 and 14.

The Covid pandemic put the brewery under financial strain when they lost a significant amount of their business overnight.

Sam said: "It was a very anxious time. Around 85-90% of our business was lost overnight", since they predominantly sold casks to pubs which were forced to close.

They have had to rely heavily on website sales and dealing directly with the public.

Added to this, being hit by Storm Arwen was "the worst week of the entire year for us. We had no power for six days in the first and second week of December," Sam said. Business has since returned to normal.

Before moving into their new premises, Sam said: "It needs a lick of paint and some electric work done such as rewiring, but we want to focus on doing what we need to to get the brewery in working condition. Then we can revisit in six months."

Sam said there are really exciting opportunities to explore, for example expanding their premises gives them the opportunity to diversify their income streams.

"There's the capacity to grow with the potential to open a shop, or an occasional tap room where we could host tasting events," Sam explained.

They will consider pubs in this decision, however. Sam said: "We'll close for 8pm so we don't take the trade away from local pubs. We want to be sympathetic to the local community."

Selling a range of beers including stout bitter, an Irish red ale, and different hoppy pale ales, The First and Last Brewery produce a 'foraged' range, which include ingredients sourced in Northumberland's natural environment.

Their beers are inspired by the ‘wild, untamed landscape and starry skies of Northumberland’, and they offer free delivery across Northumberland, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Gateshead.

Part of their ethos is focused on contributing to the local economy, supporting other local businesses, and celebrating Northumberland as a county.

Being environmentally friendly is another key element of the business, as Sam and Emma are dedicated to minimising their impact on the earth through using methods such as green packaging, monitoring waste discharge, and reusing waste where possible.