Owner and head brewer of BMAN Brewery, Alex Berryman, has announced he will be bringing his beloved craft beers to a new taproom and brewery site at Salters Boatyard on Meadow Lane, on the riverside near Donnington Bridge.
Operating the business and brewery by himself for the past five years, Mr Berryman has seen BMAN Beers grow from a single-brew operation to stocking his products in venues in Oxford and beyond and developing a cult following.
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Brewing is something the owner came to after five years working as a food scientist, when he faced a ‘re-evaluation’ of what he wanted to use his passion and technical knowledge of food and drink for.
Mr Berryman launched the brewery five years ago (Image: Alex Berryman)
Mr Berryman said: “I had the deep need to start a brewery of my own, where I could experiment and refine beers that inspired me.
“As much as I enjoy food science, the creativity of making your own beer and bringing it to people, and the community of that, is a lot more appealing to me than being kind of disconnected in a lab.”
BMAN Brewery, named after a nickname the owner had growing up, was launched in April 2021 from a tiny industrial unit at Monument Business Park in Chalgrove.
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The first beer to come out the new enterprise was Bitter Buoy 5.5 per cent West Coast IPA, launched in a ‘re-emerging’ beer scene following the pandemic in Oxford.
One of the company’s first supporters was the wildly popular Big Scar Monsters Social Club in Cowley Road, which shut down in October 2023 but were a huge support for the young brewery.
BMAN Beers are only available in a handful of stockists – but will be available at the new taproom site (Image: Alex Berryman)
Other long-term stockists of BMAN brews include the Lamb & Flag, The Star and The Library, and last year the secret was out, as venues in cities from Bristol to London and Cambridge requested to stock BMAN Beer.
The latest and fourth beer to hit the taps came out at the end of last year, too, with Belle Grazer six per cent Saison, described by the brewer as an ‘exquisite’ farmhouse style saison beer, but with an American Talus Hop infusion and fresh lemon peel finish.
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Mr Berryman said: “The twin goals I had when opening the brewery were to achieve my desired technical precision in refining beer recipes and winning the support of the east oxford beer community, both of which are largely achieved at this point.
“But the brewery was far from doing all that it could. Enter 2026 and the momentous step has been taken to move the brewery and open its doors for all to see.”
The brewery is planning a ‘modest’ upscale of operations at the new site (Image: Alex Berryman)
As well as a ‘modest’ upscale of the brewery – approximately doubling its brewing tanks capacity – BMAN Brewery will be opening its first taproom where it will supply its popular beers to the cult following of drinkers it has developed.
The new site will be at Salter Boatyard, near Donnington Bridge, a ‘picturesque’ 1,000sq ft taproom and brewery on the river.
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“Imagine yourself nestled between gleaming steel brewing tank or relaxing on the grass in earshot of the river on a sunny day,” the brewer said.
“Expect to have the full range of BMAN Brewery beers available direct from the cold store, as well as other drinks to keep everyone delighted, an inclusive, community-oriented space with full accessibility considerations.
“This is the physical space which embodies all of what BMAN brewery has become.”
BMAN Brewery at Salters Boatyard will open on Saturday, April 11 at noon.
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