Woodforde's Brewery

The brewery takes its name from Parson James Woodforde, an 18th-century clergyman who lived at Weston Longville in Norfolk and was a noted enthusiast for local ale, connecting the brand to a distinctly regional identity that predates the brewery itself. The operation relocated to Woodbastwick in 1989, where it has remained, running a brewery, taproom, and an on-site pub and shop called The Fur & Feather. A group of investors led by Nick Easter and James Armitage acquired the business in 2016.

Woodforde's entered the low-alcohol market in 2024 with its first AF beer, a 0.5% IPA positioned as a companion to the brewery's existing full-strength American IPA of the same name and described as carrying across the hop character of the full-strength version. For sober-curious drinkers who want a regionally rooted beer at a much reduced ABV, the 0.5% IPA draws on more than four decades of Woodforde's brewing behind it.

Distribution of the AF range is currently narrow: available through specialist alcohol-free retailers and direct via the brewery's own site. The broader Woodforde's range reaches pubs, independent retailers, and direct-to-consumer channels. Whether the single-product AF range expands is an open question, but the 2024 launch signals a deliberate step towards the growing low-and-no segment from one of East Anglia's most established regional brewers.