![]() ![]() When this shop came up, Jo went on her own to have a look. “We knew Ashbourne pretty well from coming to walk here but we decided to drive down and have a proper look,” says Matt “I think we knew instantly it was the right spot as it had a lovely vibe. The couple were living in Cheshire (they’ve since relocated to Clifton, near Ashbourne) but decided the area was too well-served with independent beer shops. I’m now an evangelist on a mission to convert others to great beer.”ĭeciding they wanted sell beer was one thing, finding the location was another. ![]() That beer blew everything else out of the water. “When the beer touched my lips – I got it. I bought a round of four beers which came to £35 even though they were all just one third of a pint and mainly froth,” he laughs. Matt admits he also owes Nigel a debt of gratitude “He took me along to a bar specialising in Belgian beer. We loved it and, with his blessing, we decided to open our own branch.” “My brother, Nigel Mount, opened the original Maison Du Biere in Barnsley and he invited us to spend a day there. “I knew a little about the hospitality industry as I’d had part-time jobs in pubs since my son Luke (now 26) was born,” explains Jo. Matt and Jo both worked in sales for a national bookseller. Incredibly, considering all the praise flowing their way from industry experts, the couple had no experience of the speciality beer market before throwing themselves into Maison Du Biere. Our customers enjoy taking a bit of the Peak District home.” ![]() “People like the fact that we’re an independent retailer and that we stock beer from around 40 local breweries. The shop was packed and we smashed our weekly sales target on the first night,” says Matt. The minute we opened our doors in July 2018, it was just ‘kaboom’. In January, Maison Du Biere was runner-up in CAMRA’s Ashbourne’s Pub of the Year 2020, pipped only by the Barley Mow at Kirk Ireton one of the area’s oldest pubs. In the first year, they were named ‘Pub of the Season’ 2018 by the Ashbourne & District sub branch of CAMRA with the couple praised for their ‘friendliness and enthusiasm’. There is a lot of love flowing in the direction of this cracking shop-cum-bar. It’s a relaxed place where everyone’s welcome and I think people love us for it.” “Some people need a lot of help, others know more about beer than we do. “We spend a lot of time talking to people about the beers and how and where they’re made,” says Matt who hails from Bristol. The Ashbourne-based bottle shop and bar may contain a mind-boggling amount of beers (and gins) but the couple are confident they can match everyone, from serious ale buffs to timorous first-timers, with their perfect tipple. Her partner Matt (59), laughs “I wish we had a pound for everyone who says they’ve walked into Willy Wonka’s factory.” “It’s either that or a sweet shop for adults.” “Then they notice we also have a bar area and ten cask beers on tap and they get a bit flummoxed by it all.” “We don’t give too much away as, from the front, the shop gives the illusion of being a little beer shop so the first thing they say is ‘wow’ followed by ‘oh my word’,” explains Jo (51), originally from Barnsley. It has been the best part of two years since Matt Warren and his partner Jo Glover opened Maison Du Biere but the couple still savour the slack-jawed reaction of customers confronted by the 400-odd varieties of beers, ales and ciders. ![]() Taste Derbyshire’s Amanda Volley visited award-winning micro-pub and bottle shop Maison Du Biere in Ashbourne to find out why there is such a thirst for artisan ales. There are now 70 micro-breweries in the county and there’s been a huge rise in the number of outlets – bottle shops, tap rooms and micro-pubs – on a mission to bring these bespoke beers to the public. It was 2005 when Thornbridge Brewery, in Derbyshire, started producing one of the UK’s first craft ales. ![]()
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