About Us

The brewing bug bit Jeff Rosenmeier in 1994 after tasting a friend's home made stout. Jeff couldn't believe the result and bought brewing equipment, soon discovering a hidden passion.

Jeff moved to Henley-on-Thames in 1996 and fell in love with the beauty of the area. He continued to develop his brewing skills while taking a keen interest in the town's rich brewing tradition and the up and coming craft brewing movement.

In June 2005, Jeff decided to make his passion his day job, leaving behind a successful career in software engineering. He set up a small brew plant on his property and began piloting his flagship beers on a small scale.

Jeff said, "I started delivering beer in small quantities to a few free houses in Henley and Reading and I was really encouraged by the response of our first customers".

The inspiration for the Lovibonds name came when Jeff was viewing a site in Henley for the brewery, which had previously been home to John Lovibond and Sons, Brewers and Merchants.

Jeff said, "We were discussing the uses of the building through its history and the existing tenant handed me a lovely antique Lovibonds bottle. I loved the name and was impressed by the respect that the brand had locally, and so Lovibonds Brewery was formed."

The team has since expanded with Jason Stevenson coming on board to lead the restoration of our Henley site and manage the growing logistics operation. Jeff said, "Jason brings a wealth of business knowledge to the team but most importantly Jason brings the pragmatic problem solving skills that brewing demands".

While working late one evening, Jason was cleaning some old racking when a bottle of beer seemingly fell from nowhere to hit him on the head. This beer bottle (Lovibonds Yeoman Ale, circa 1950) still had beer in it and is currently with the experts at the University of Sunderland as they attempt to isolate the original yeast strain for brewing a special historical beer.