The actor Oliver Reed was known as much for his star turns in films such as Women in Love, The Devils, and Oliver! as he was for his hell-raising life away from the silver screen. The Wimbledon-born performer moved to Guernsey in the late seventies and it would come as no surprise that he soon made his presence felt in the English Channel.

The Old Government House Hotel is located in the picturesque St Peter Port. Formerly the General Staff headquarters for German officers during the island’s occupation era, it’s now known as a lavish retreat for those partial to afternoon tea. Not for Reed, though. In the early eighties, the fun-loving thespian, fuelled on beer, gin, scotch and wine took the decision to head upstairs to the grandroom that overlooks the hotel’s courtyard. He proceeded to take a running jump, right from the window and crash right into the swimming pool a whole three floors beneath.

Emerging from the incident unscathed, it’s unlikely Reed would have recalled much the following day, let alone the chaotic combination of alcohol that led to throwing one’s self out a top floor window. And when Ross Gledhill moved to the same island back in 2012 for a new career, he found the selection of beer on offer just as forgettable. Just like Reed – who did as he pleased – Gledhill did the very same to affect a change and founded his own brewery. If he and this island were going to get along, Ross Gledhill (pictured on far left) was going to need some good beer to drink while living there.

And more than four years on after he founded White Rock Brewery Co, local drinkers and increasingly those further afield, are glad he did.

“The beer situation, in my eyes, was appalling when I moved here. It was all imported and the island was ruled by London Pride and Doom Bar. Nothing else!” recalls Gledhill. “Not only that, you’d frequently find that pubs weren’t looking after it, either. It was all very dispiriting.”

Gledhill would be greeted with pub after that pub offering one or two cask lines – if he was lucky.

Something had to change

Prior to his move, Gledhill spent four years studying Biomedical Science at the University of Norwich. Being strapped for cash, which is often par for the course during such years, he and a housemate took to homebrewing to make their own beer.

“We lived in a house of eight. It was a real party house. We’d start with those brewery-specific syrups before moving on to full grain kits. Either way, those beers got a reputation and so did our house!” he laughs. “We wouldn’t necessarily know the ABV but people didn’t particularly care either. It was part of the fun.”

Gledhill is, of course, at pains to stress that such a fast and loose approach to brewing lived and died during those formative years.

The doors of White Rock Brewery Co officially opened in late 2013. As mentioned, Gledhill was fed up of the beers available to him in Guernsey. But he was also apoplectic upon seeing an episode of BBC’s The Apprentice where the team of Alan Sugar hopefuls were peddling a beer they “brewed” to potential clients across the UK. Except they were only letting would-be customers smell, but not taste, their lavish creations.

“I already had itchy feet and was researching the brewery situation but after seeing that episode I knew enough was enough. I knew I could do better when it came to making and selling beer.” he says.

Gledhill enlisted PBC Brewery Installations to commission a 6bbl brewhouse and the brewery officially launched that December with its 4.7% best bitter, Wonkey Donkey. A beer that has gone on to become a mainstay for the brewery.

“Our best bitter adds a new depth of character to the traditional style. We use English bittering hops which provide the perfect balance to our unique combination of richly-flavoured malted barleys,” he explains. “A further level of complexity comes from our abundant additions of dedicated aroma hops. Selected for their assertive contribution of spice and citrus notes, the American Cascade hop combines well with traditional varieties to create ale with a remarkable breadth of taste and aroma. Brewed at warm temperatures to allow the fullest expression of our yeast’s fruity character, this bold and distinctive beer is one to be savoured.”

As he expected, it took time for Gledhill and the team to convert drinkers to beers that place hops at the forefront of their offering.

“It was slow to start. If you look at Guernsey historically, it’s all Mary Ann Best and Banks’s Mild. Malt-driven beers have long been popular here but we came along and started pushing hops. It’s realistically taken two to three years to get people broaden their horizons and try something new,” he says.

Improving scene

But how times change. It’s now not uncommon to see pubs and bars on the island with anything up to 10 taps pumps different beers and in Gledhill’s words, “people bucking their ideas up”.

“The scene on a whole has definitely improved,” he says. “Of course, there is still much to be done in educating people on the variety of beers available to them, as well as the people serving and selling it, too. But it’s going in the right direction.”

Gledhill acknowledges that the brewery’s range of beers could be considered somewhat conservative in comparison to the output that some its peers in the UK and beyond currently produce. But he believes that such an approach is a sound one considering the brewery’s location.

“We’re certainly traditional in that sense. But it doesn’t mean we won’t be progressing with plans for new IPAs and sour beers later this year,” he explains. “Sure, we have a Ruby, a Stout, Best Bitter and a Pale Ale. We knew that such styles would resonate with drinkers here more than a Double IPA in those early days.”

Gledhill adds: “We want to sell further afield but we need local support first. The biggest issue is that The English Channel is so costly to cross. You’re looking at £200 on top of a pallet of 18 casks. It’s a lot and has an impact on the bottom line.”

But placing such a strong emphasis on the local has paid off, and White Rock Brewery Co is starting to gain steady recognition elsewhere, too, with a major export drive into the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

It recently finalised a deal with Waitrose to stock its beer, as well as its Unit Six Gin range in a number of UK stores. It’s a move that the brewery expects to provide a massive opportunity to drive national recognition of the brand and comes on the back of deals already secured locally with Waitrose, CI Co-operative and Sandpiper CI’s Food Halls and Iceland stores.

Beer in these stores comes in bottle form. One hundred percent of its dispensed beer goes into cask while the packaging split, Gledhill explains, has recently shifted from 70/30 in favour of cask to 50/50. Bottling is expertly handled by the team at South East Bottling with the brewery shipping 3000 litres of beer, which returns in bottled form.

In addition to its strong bottled presence, the brewery side of its operation is expanding, too. Double sizes fermenters currently offer around 6000l of capacity but this will at least double to complement the arrival of a new brewhouse later this year. That system will be housed in a new facility that will also enable the brewery to offer a taproom for drinkers.

And it’s this, alongside its respected Unit Six Gin range, which is made using vacuum distillation – alongside the company’s fractionation process – is how Gledhill hopes to grow the increasing number of fans White Rock Brewery Co have created since its iteration more than four-years ago.

“I just want to continue to open people’s eyes to a better world of beer. To see people enjoy what we do, come to the brewery for tours and drink our beer is simply a fantastic feeling,” he says. “We’re doing as much as we can to grow this brewery. Sure, there will also be competition and you could be flavour of the month then out of favour the next. But you need to have faith in what you’re doing, stay passionate and know you’re going to get there.”