The Founding of Storm Brewing

At the turn of the century in a time when great rivalry existed between the brewing families of England, one family was favoured above all others to supply ale to the royal court. Sworn on pain of death to keep these recipes secret, Thomas Storm and Sons brewed their “Royal Ales” from ingredients supplied to them from all over the empire.

The youngest son, James Storm, fell in love with Sarah Hardington, the only daughter of a powerful rival brewmaster who had fallen out of favour with the king for supplying royal ales to the court of the hated French king. Seen as a threat to the royal decree, their relationship was forbidden by both families.

Driven by his unfulfilled love for Sarah and frustrated by his captive life in the service of the king, James planned their escape and, during a furious gale, stole away to meet his love.

As fate would have it, a cruel and bitter blow was dealt to both lovers as they made their way to their rendezvous. Sarah, alone in the dark and struggling against the lashing rain, fell prey to mysterious forces and tragically disappeared. James arrived to find his love missing and betrayed and broken-hearted he made his way back to his family’s brewery. As James approached the heavens unleashed a ferocious lightning strike setting the buildings alight, burning them to the ground and killing all his family.

With his love gone and his home and family destroyed, he made his way to Liverpool to catch a ship to the East Indies and a new start. However he was not to travel alone; the king, keen to recover the secret recipes of his favourite ales, which only James now knew, and Sarah’s father, convinced that James had taken his daughter, sent hired mercenaries to track him down.

Now forced to flee his pursuers, James embarked on a series of adventures around the world encountering over the years many of nature’s wonders, inspiring him to create a series of new recipes for real ales, combining his families secrets, with special ingredients from the many places he visited.

Finally he settled in Mauritius and once again found happiness marrying a local girl and starting a family. It was here that James began brewing beer to try and recapture his family tradition and recover his fortune. This was where Storm Brewing was first conceived.

But tragedy struck once more as time caught up with James and the mercenaries finally tracked him down. During a fierce gun battle the local people, who had developed a deep love for James and his revitalizing brews, came to his rescue, killing his attackers. Now in fear of his life again James was forced to leave with his family.

As time went by James found he could never settle and adopted a life on the high seas, traveling from island to island wherever the winds would take him. His family grew and his oldest grandson, Robert, was finally entrusted with James’ precious recipes on his death bed.

Robert inherited his grandfather’s spirit for adventure but also developed a passion for photography, which he used to capture dramatic landscapes often under extreme weather conditions around the world.

A favourite place for example, was the endless sand of the Arabian Empty Quarter, frequently swept by roaring sand storms. Another was Kyoto in Japan where he would brave the harsh cold of winter to capture the sunrise over the mists of Mt Fuji. In the Australian outback the beautiful skies over Ayres Rock would enthrall him and in Bali he would wait for many nights to photograph the perfect moon.

As his fame grew and he accumulated some wealth, he returned to his favourite island retreat of Bali to settle down. Whilst searching in the central mountains for land, he stumbled upon the purest source of spring water he could have hoped for and here, finally, he founded “Storm Brewing”.

Now Robert Storm devotes most of his time to brewing ales which are inspired by the many exotic places around the world where his adventures have taken him. If you are lucky enough to find him at home in Bali, maybe he will share some of his family’s history with you as you quench your thirst with the latest delicious creation from Storm Brewing.