Our story really begins with a serendipitous meeting between Louise Treseder, Landlady of The Driftwood Spars, and Pete Martin - a brewer without a brewery. Recognising Pete’s freewheeling talents, Louise gave him license to experiment in the pub’s microbrewery. The resulting beers, ‘crafted in the cove’ and made with the finest ingredients, quickly became known for their quality, diversity and drinkability.

Pete won over 30 major awards, the most significant being Supreme Champion Winter Ale of Great Britain in 2012 with Alfie’s Revenge; since then two more beers have been runners-up for Champion Beer of Britain – Lou’s Brew in 2018 and Blackheads Mild in 2019

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Pete was also one of the pioneers of gluten-free brewing in the West Country and, after some experimentation, successfully converted all his beers to gluten free, becoming the first brewery in Cornwall to do so.

Sadly Pete passed away in January 2020 after a short illness. Louise and her team pledged to continue his work by ensuring consistent future production of these unique and award-winning ales, made to Pete’s original recipes.

In Spring 2020, with new Head Brewer Mike Mason at the helm, a new range of contemporary craft beers was launched. The Cove series complements the core range and, like all our beers, each is approachable and enjoyable until the very last sip.

We aim to reduce our impact on the environment however possible, from reusing beer bottles to recycling in general. We reuse malt and hops as mulch to help grow fresh produce locally, or it goes into the bio-digester. We also use innovative British hops which contribute to reduced 'beer miles' for our final product. We love repurposing pallets, as a visit to the pub or brewery will show you!

Interesting Fact: Pre-2007 when Louise started running the Drifty, Gordon - the then Landlord - used to brew a beer called Cuckoo, named after a St Agnes legend. It has since become a legend in its own right for its dubious and inconsistent ABV and flavour.