The Red Lion, Market Drayton

The Red Lion, our flagship Brewery Tap stands proud on Great Hales Street, Market Drayton and adjoins the Brewery itself. The Red Lion was an original Joule’s house and like most of the medieval town centre, sits over Market Drayton’s aquifer, the water source for all our ales. Hard, pure mineral water, found directly beneath the site made the decision where home the 4th Joule’s Brewery very easy.

The pub dates backs to 1623 and has been sympathetically restored to encompass the new Brewery which has been built on a half-acre site behind the ancient pub. The Red Lion is a true reflection of the Joule’s Trade Mark and we have designed the brewery around it.

The Brewer’s Hall or ‘Mouseroom’ was carefully installed between the Brewery and Tap in 2010 with fantastic Mouseman panelling as the centre piece of our hospitality room. We have a philosophy in the way we go about restoring our Taps, we use natural materials and local Craftsmen to help us do the work. We use the best materials we can lay our hands on and we find the more natural the material, the better, as it lasts, and it gains a lustre. These materials have been around for ever, so it suits our style and with over half our Pubs being listed buildings then it suits them too. We use oak as our timber, the colour, texture and patina is unique. It’s also good for the environment because it is so long lasting, oak captures carbon of course and we also recycle by using reclaimed oak whenever we can – so that’s all good news for vegetarians.

We share this interest in English oak with Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson of Kilburn, and admire the breath-taking Craftsmanship that is reflected in their rendition of furniture. In brewing we aspire to that level of Craft and we really understand the deep care and desire to do your best that can grip you from the belly.

In total the Tap has 7 carved mice and the only nodding mouse the Mouseman ever crafted. Over the years, we have added a few more pieces, 3 Mouseman church pews as well as some furniture from Mouseman apprentices known as the ‘Yorkshire critters’ who each carved their signatures [look out for Gnomes, Beavers & Lizards].

To celebrate the people who helped bring Joule’s to Market Drayton in 2010, the Directors of the Brewery commissioned renowned artist Andrew Tift to paint 8 Craftsmen, each representing their trade, who came together to build the award-winning Brewery. Andrew Tift normally works on portraits of the rich and famous; Tony Benn, Neil Kinnock, and Ken Livingstone among others. Winner of the BP portrait award and nationally recognised, Andrew is famously slow, as his work is meticulous, so the Brewery has been sitting patiently, the complete work is yet unfinished.

The “Monks” are an unusual commission as a collection of portraits; they are linked by their common endeavour, an idea that really appealed to Andrew and it was his idea to render them as Monks a nod to where our story began, which he rightly understood was so important to everyone at Joule’s, and of course with some characteristic humour. Andrew’s work always has a narrative reference, clues which hint towards what lies behind the subject. The whole commission will be done over several years unveiling the Monks one by one as they are completed. The portraits completed so far are all on display in the Red Lion Brewery Tap;

• Joshua, Giver of Light
• Adam, Man of Steel
• James, The New Generation
• Anthony, The Last Brewer
• Christopher, The Stonemason
• Daran, Keeper of the Purse

In the main bar, tucked around the corner is the original well and water source for the site, which the original Red Lion Inn would have used as the main watering point. Now it’s glazed over and you can stand (if you dare) and stare down to the illuminated watery depths below. The well is fed by an aquifer that runs between Stone and Market Drayton, the very water that Joule’s Brewed with at the 2nd and 3rd Brewery and today at our 4th site.

There is a large beer yard at the heart of the Brewery & Tap, central to the whole site. As you sit outside you can see through the large windows into the Brew House and the Mouseroom, certainly a great nosey spot. You might even bump into one of our Brew team found sampling their brews after a hard day’s work, they’re always happy to chat.

We pride ourselves in offering great pub food sourced locally and freshly prepared on site, as well as a great Sunday carvery in the Mouseroom. Pork from the Joule’s herd at Fordhall Farm is a house speciality, fed on the brewery’s spent grains and every Friday you will find complimentary homemade sausage rolls available on the bar.

Always on Tap, Joule’s Pale Ale, Slumbering Monk, Pure Blonde and our English craft lager Green Monkey, alongside our rotating seasonal ale and cold craft beer. All brewed in Market Drayton with pure Shropshire mineral water.

Super easy parking at the back of the Brewery.

Don’t miss, our Public tours held on the first Wednesday of every month, tickets are available to buy from the bar, and also don’t miss the ‘Super’ Bank holiday Sunday’s throughout the year.