Thomas Fentiman, an iron puddler from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, acquired a recipe for botanically brewed ginger beer in 1905 when a fellow tradesman approached Fentiman for a loan. The loan was never repaid so Thomas became the owner of the recipe. The firm became a door-to-door ginger beer sales company using a horse and cart for transport. His ginger beer was stored in handmade stone jars known as 'grey hens', all stamped with the Fentimans mascot based on Thomas' German Shepherd dog 'Fearless' who won the Crufts obedience class twice in 1933 and 1934. The botanically brewed ginger beer became popular quickly and the business grew, with several brewing and production facilities being opened in the North of England. The company fell on hard times as supermarkets entered the soft drinks market. As a result, sales of the Grey Hens slumped and the company closed down in the mid 1960s. But in 1988, Thomas Fentiman's great grandson re-established the business with a mission to produce drinks in the original way, using the traditional ginger beer recipe and 100% natural ingredients. From then, with old-style products and vintage goods becoming more popular, Fentimans has enjoyed a wave of popularity. Since 1905, Fentimans has been brewing botanical sodas with ingredients including roots, bark and flowers, and with the exception of adding new flavours, Fentimans are still making their sodas the same as they did back at the turn of the century. Some production processes have been updated, for example, pasteurisation has been introduced to extend the shelf life of the drinks. This, in turn, causes the loss of some carbon dioxide, so addition of mild carbonation was introduced.
21st century
Fentimans expects to double its turnover from 2015 to 2019 driven by demand from mainland Europe and the US. Fentimans has franchised in the US, where products are manufactured in Pennsylvania and are available across North America. More than two-thirds of Fentimans' overseas sales are in Europe, with the bulk of the remainder in the US, Japan, South America, Canada and Russia. Both UK and US divisions use the same recipe and brewing methods to create Fentimans. North America has purchased identical brewery equipment to that used decades ago, to maintain the characteristic flavour. As the 'free-from' market has now appeared Fentimans consider their gluten free alcoholic ginger beer a "perfect fit" for this demand. Another division of the business that is now fast growing is the Fentimans mixer range. These include tonic, diet tonic, rose lemonade, bitter lemonade and ginger ale.
Botanical brewing
Thomas Fentiman's botanical brewing is a technique using a combination of infusion, blending and fermentation of natural ingredients. This approach has not changed much in over 100 years as the knowledge and expertise have been passed on from generation to generation of the Fentiman family. Thomas Fentiman's original recipe involved milling ginger roots before putting them into copper steam-jacketed pans and leaving them to simmer to release their flavour. Natural botanical ingredients such as herbs, natural flavourings, sugar, spring water and brewer's yeast were then added, thoroughly stirred, and boiled together. The liquid was then transferred into wooden vats and left to undergo the process of fermentation. The liquid went on fermenting and was then decanted from the wooden vats into the iconic handmade stone jars where it would be ready to drink within seven days.
