Overview: Plans to open a new gin distillery and cafe at Stourbridge Glass Museum in Wordsley are progressing with renovation work gathering pace ahead of an anticipated pre-Christmas opening. The venture is situated on the Camp Hill site, where Suite 2 conversion includes a tasting room and coffee shop overlooking copper stills.
The Full Story
Directors Jake Harley-Arliss and Tom White lead Birmingham-based DaceCrown, which manufactures parts needed in the bottling, brewing, beverage, food, confectionery sectors. The new CrownWorks Distillery has been named after one of DaceCrown’s early bases at Crown Works on Bertha Road in Birmingham. A planning application had been submitted to Dudley Council but was withdrawn after it was discovered planning permission for a change of use was not needed. With the fit out now taking shape, the team provided details on what is in store. The unit was formerly part of the Stuart Crystal glassmaking factory.
Over the road, on the cone site, there will also be a gin school, located in Studio 8, where people can have a go at making their very own small batch gins to take home with them. Giving a glimpse inside the unit that was formerly part of the Stuart Crystal glassmaking factory, the directors noted they liked the idea of having beautiful copper stills that people could overlook and see the distilling process in action while having a drink or light refreshments.
Production & Profile
The distillery will feature small scale production with the brewhouse and stills visible through windows. Visitors will be able to overlook the small craft gin distillery area with its copper stills while tasting CrownWorks’ own gins and coffees. The business is developing specially designed 200ml glass bottles rather than the usual canned ready to drink format for its ready-to-drink gin range. Initially, four flavours will be launched, all bottled in-house at CrownWorks, with each bottle containing one unit of alcohol.
Brand & Industry History
DaceCrown manufactures engineering that helps get liquid into bottles – from filling and bottling change parts through to bespoke components, tooling and engineering solutions used on production lines. Although making their own drinks is a new direction for them, the drinks industry and the engineering behind bottling is something they already know really well. The distillery plan was met with a flurry of objections initially when a request for a change of use was published on Dudley Council’s planning portal. However, relations can be restored after conversations with residents and businesses and representatives at the council-run cone attraction to explain how the two operations will run.
What This Means
The new gin distillery venture is one of eight independent businesses based on the site – with the rent helping to keep Stourbridge Glass Museum, a registered charity, up and running. Lynn Boleyn, secretary to the trustees at the British Glass Foundation which manages the museum, said it’s wonderful that they’ve got a new attraction for visitors to the museum. The distillery site has a licence to open until 10pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays but this would be for tickets events only such as gin and whiskey tasting evenings and special occasions.
Consumer Takeaway
The cafe is on track to open at the start of December with the distillery set to be fully operational sometime between then and the new year. Visitors will be able to overlook the small craft gin distillery area with its copper stills while having a drink or light refreshments in the tasting room and coffee shop.
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