A microbrewery that’s punching above its weight – Goacher’s Ales celebrated 40 years of brewing shortly after serving up its 11 millionth pint.

For those operating in the metric system, that means the small family-run brewery, launched in Maidstone in 1983 by Phil and Debbie Goacher, has brewed enough beer to fill two and a half Olympic swimming pools.

And there’s good news for anyone who fancies a couple more swimming pools of fine award-winning ale. Goacher’s is planning to expand.

Although the final details are yet to be approved, formal plans for a new unit at Friday Street Farm, near East Sutton, were approved by Maidstone Council last month – with the hope being that the new premises, four times the size of the current Tovil site, will help Goacher’s meet increasing demand for its beer.

The fact there’s a rising demand at all is a testament to Goacher’s success, particularly against the backdrop of struggling pubs and a market still dominated by mass-produced big brand beers.

And the success is even more impressive considering the words of Phil Goacher back in 2008, when the brewery celebrated its 25th anniversary and the Kent Messenger asked him if he had plans to expand.

"I'm not an ambitious person," he said simply, looking non-plussed at the suggestion. "It's not big business; it's remarkably small but it makes a living and we produce good beer."

So what’s the key to Goacher’s new growth? Well if Phil’s responsible for the Goacher’s original secret recipes, the added secret ingredient needed to make the company explode into life was maybe his son Howard – although he’s as modest as his dad when asked about his work with the booming brewery.

"Hopefully some of it is down to my involvement, but I wouldn’t want to take all the credit,” said Howard. “The big difference since Covid is we’ve got the Little Gem pub (in Aylesford). That has led to a big increase in weekly turnover.”

It means Goacher’s now has three tied pubs, including the Rifle Volunteers and the Royal Paper Mill in Maidstone, and supplies many more venues around the county – but the expansion hasn’t been plain sailing.

The Little Gem is famous as “the smallest pub in Kent”, and while others might lay claim to the title, no one was bragging too much about that when Covid restrictions came into force.

Having spent 18 months renovating the pub, Goacher’s were aiming to open the Little Gem just as the pandemic hit – so another year of renovating followed before there was any chance of the new venture making any money.

“When the pubs were allowed to open again they were reopening with social distancing rules,” recalled Howard, “and it wasn’t a good pub for that. You can probably seat 20-odd people in there, and less with social distancing.”

Now though, the venture’s paying off, and while they might have to squeeze into the pub, the Little Gem’s customers have had no problem squeezing in a few pints of Goacher’s during their regular visits.

“It’s been a big contributor and has been the biggest change to our trade,” said Howard. “The pub has added about 10-15% volume to our weekly sales. We brew 108 casks a week if we’re running flat out, and they’re taking 12-15 casks a week, which is about the same as the Rifle Volunteers.”

Meanwhile, sales to other pubs around the county have also increased, prompting Howard to realise the time was right to expand.

“Oddly whereas there’s a lot of doom and gloom about how pubs are all suffering, and the hospitality trade being dead on its feet, our regular customers are doing as well as they have done, and we’re getting new customers too," said Howard. "We appear to have survived the pandemic and not only that, we’ve been thriving after it. I think the product has a good reputation in the trade and we’re a well-established brand. We brew a traditional range of beers whereas a lot of new brewers are brewing more modern styles with American hops.”

Part of Goacher’s long-standing philosophy has been using Kentish hop varieties grown in Kent, and they continue to use hops sourced from farms near Faversham, East Peckham and Horsmonden.

If it goes ahead, the new plan at Friday Street Farm – set in countryside south of Maidstone – would strengthen that connection, and potentially turn Goacher’s HQ into an attractive visitor location if further plans for a shop and taproom become reality.

“The big difference would be the location,” added Howard. “It’s agricultural rather than industrial and it used to be a hop-growing farm. If it happens, further down the road it would be lovely to have people come down to the brewery to have a beer.”

But while Howard is taking the lead on the new project he knows he has his parents to thank for the business and its unique reputation.

Prior to the launch of Goacher’s, the County Town had been a barren landscape for those looking for a Maidstone-brewed pint in the 1970s. Once a hub of beer-making, Maidstone had been home to dozens of breweries in the 19th Century, with a long tradition of commercial brewing dating back to before 1650.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were still four independent brewers operating in the town, including the likes of the Style and Winch and the famous Fremlins brewery which lends its name to the shopping centre built over its old premises. But by 1972 the last of these had been taken over and ceased production – leaving it to Phil and Debbie to reignite and keep the tradition alive.

The couple opened their own brewery in the Loose Valley, reviving the art of brewing in the county town, and their early success led to them expanding in 1990 and moving the plant to new industrial premises in Tovil.

Back in his 2008 interview, Phil modestly explained the key to Goacher’s appeal.

"We're working with natural products," he said. "The challenge is to produce a consistently good quality beer. Where we differ from other brewers is we brew the beer to suit our own palates. We have this strange idea that it should be enjoyable to drink.

"When you have one you should think 'cor, I fancy another one'. A lot of beers you taste and think 'this is vaguely unpleasant'. And when you've just paid £3 for it, it doesn't feel too good."

"I made my hobby my business," he added. "I used to enjoy a pint or two, and on holiday we always looked out for the local beers.

"Then family came along, which restricted our travels, so I started brewing at home.

"There was a moment when I thought 'This is good, I could sell this'."

He wasn't wrong - and of course, the fact that family came along is the reason why Goacher’s looks set to be a thriving brewery for years to come, with Howard looking to push production up and further grow Goacher’s reputation.

Having begun helping his dad out during school holidays, he went on to study a BTEC in vehicle mechanics, but always knew he'd end up back in the family business – and after a spell working part-time for the Ramsgate Brewery, Howard returned to the Goacher's fold full-time.

Now aged 30 he’s taken on the lead role with the firm, assisted part-time by former head brewer Simon Hurst, while mum and dad are taking a back seat.

“The Friday Street Farm idea is my project,” added Howard. “They’re on board and support it, but they’re happy not to have much involvement and stress.

"It's nerve-wracking. You hear a lot of doom and gloom but our experience is we can’t brew and sell enough beer. I don’t think you can carry on for too long saying you can’t do this or that because there might be another pandemic."

And of course, if things get too nerve-wracking, that's nothing a pint of Gold Star can’t cure - just try to avoid any Olympic swimming pools full of it.