Mauldons x EA Sustain 2024: Interview with Charlie Buckle

Mauldons Brewery is sponsoring EA Sustain in 2024, so we caught up with Charlie Buckle, Managing Director of Nedging Hall Estate, to find out more about Mauldons and the other businesses within the Estate, one of the most successful family businesses in East Anglia.

JO: Why did you decide to sponsor EA Sustain?

CB: Considering that sustainability sits at the heart of everything we do across the whole of the Nedging Hall Estate and that EA Sustain seeks to enhance the sustainability of East Anglia, we were delighted to sponsor the festival. Our mission is to deliver top quality products and experiences that have a positive sustainable and economic impact — not only to our customers, but the region. As a group, we invest to ensure that our  impact on the environment is always positive.

It’s also a very exciting time for our cluster of rural businesses. Nedging Hall Estate is a collection of country pubs, Suffolk's oldest brewery and the exclusive hire venue, Nedging Hall. Mauldons Brewery has recently expanded with the addition of a new cold store and Bottle Shop, doubling the size of the business. We’re looking ahead to a year of growth, creating our award-winning ales, whilst offering brewery tours and tasting sessions in the Bottle Shop.

JO: What led you to acquire Mauldons Brewery? 

CB: When Nedging Hall Estate purchased Mauldons in September 2019, it was a family-owned business. With our passion for beer and particularly Mauldons, it was the perfect way to continue the business as it was before – in the hands of a family who care.

We love that our businesses work full circle. We craft the ales that are served at our three Suffolk pubs, The Lindsey Rose, The Bildeston Crown and The Brewery Tap.

JO: The beer and ale business is very competitive, What's the Unique Selling Proposition of Mauldons? 

CB: Since the beginning, Mauldons has used traditional methods and quality materials. Steve Birch, our Head Brewer, has been with Mauldons over 40 years and he is paramount to the success of Mauldons; we wouldn’t be here without him. Besides being an amazing brewer, he understands the ethos and mentality of the business. 

Mauldons core range is five traditional award-winning ales, with seasonal brews created throughout the year. The key point of difference is that we know where everything comes from. The barley is grown on the family farm, and we pride ourselves on crafting the very best brews. It’s that quality that shines through. We have won several awards through the years. More recently, Mauldons Brewery’s Suffolk Pride took home Gold in the Best British Bitter at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) East Independent Beer Awards.

JO: What steps are your businesses taking towards sustainability? 

CB: Where others might pay lip service to sustainability, there is a genuine commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it in. At the same time, we recognise that hospitality by its very nature has a considerable impact on the environment so we’re not shying away from that but tackling it head on by investing in mitigating strategies and learning new techniques to reduce our impact.

These include reducing and reusing packaging, growing the vegetables used by the estate at Nedging Hall and dedicating space to a new “no dig” flower farm, reducing the need to rely on imported stems. We have made furniture out of ancient oak trees felled by recent storms, erected boxes for swifts and owls and we feed endangered Turtle Doves at likely nesting points during their flight.  

And it doesn’t stop there. Malting barley grown on the farm is one of the key ingredients used at Mauldons, the estate’s brewery. The spent grains are then fed to Red Poll cattle, a Suffolk rare breed. The beef is then served in the estate’s dining establishments. Meanwhile, maize grown on the farm is sent to anaerobic digestion plants owned by the estate, which produce electricity used within the businesses. This ensures that all our electricity is renewable. A by-product of this is CO2 which is captured and used at the brewery in carbonating the beers.

Last but not least, our team are vital to the success of the business and genuinely care about making our business sustainable across the whole estate. They are, and always will be the driving force behind our success.