Wrexham Lager's comebak

Wrexham Lager’s name and brewery have been revived, and the story is a rather fascinating one. The revival began in 2011, when the Roberts family brought the historic brand back to life after its original brewery closed in 2000 and production ceased entirely in 2002. The historic Wrexham Lager name was rescued, the brewery rebuilt, and production restarted using original recipes. But what about the history of the original Wrexham Lager Brewery, and its pioneering beer? Wrexham Lager isn’t just a local beer; it’s a piece of British brewing history. It was founded in 1881, by German immigrants Ivan Levinstein and Otto Isler, and was Britain’s first lager brewery. In the beginning, the pair attempted traditional cold‑fermentation techniques, using ice banks, but early batches suffered because temperatures couldn’t be kept low enough. Then a chance partnership with German engineer Robert Graesser, introduced mechanical refrigeration, solving the temperature problem and enabling consistent…