Brendan Moore, who died in July, was a pioneer of small independent breweries who also campaigned in support of the environment and used the finest raw materials to save on carbon footprints.
He had worked in the food industry before launching the Iceni brewery in Ickburgh near Thetford, Norfolk, in 1995. He produced both cask and bottle-conditioned beers and used Maris Otter, considered the finest malting barley.
He named the brewery after the Iceni tribe in Eastern England which was active in the Iron Age.
He worked closely with Teddy Maufe at Branthill Farm near Wells-next-the-Sea who grows Maris Otter barley. The variety had been delisted by big farms and malting companies which replaced it with grain that grows more to the acre.
Teddy said he grows “sun-kissed barley”, and Brendan and a number of other craft brewers considered Maris Otter offered the best flavour in beer and worked in harmony with brewers’ yeast.
To help widen support for the barley and to reduce carbon footprints, in 2002 Brendan set up the East Anglian Brewers Cooperative. Malt and hops are delivered to breweries throughout the region using just one delivery van. Other breweries in the group included B&T, City of Cambridge, Earl Soham, Fat Cat and Poppyland.
Brendan also developed a small hop garden at Ickburgh where he grew Prima Donna that he used in some of his brews.
With Brendan to the fore, the co-op advised on how to brew a wide variety of beers, from mild to stout. He helped install microbrewing plants at a number of sites and advised aspiring brewers on best brewing and business practice.
He was an active supporter of the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) and chaired its National East Region for a number of years. An area where breweries were laid to waste in the 1960s by large national companies, such as Watneys, has seen a remarkable revival thanks to the work of Brendan and SIBA, with 40 now in Norfolk alone.
In 2018 Brendan closed the Ickburgh plant and moved it to the Elveden Estate near Thetford that’s owned by the Iveagh family, the ennobled branch of the Guinness clan. Brendan’s daughter Frances ran the brewery with her father’s help, but brewing became irregular and has now stopped.
But Brendan cast his net wider and in 2013 he installed a micro plant in outbuildings at the Black Horse pub in Barnet, North London. The pub was run by Punch Taverns, and a small range of cask beers was produced, using Maris Otter malt from Norfolk.
But when ownership of the pub passed to Star Pubs, part of Heineken, the Barnet brewery was closed. Star Pubs eventually closed the pub as well, but it has recently been reopened by three locals.
Brendan Moore may have stopped brewing some years ago, but his influence remains as a potent symbol of good cask beer brewed with top quality malt and hops and with a keen eye on supporting the environment.
