Devon brewery 'super excited' to launch new Exeter venue

-Credit: (Image: Mary Stenson/DevonLive)
-Credit: (Image: Mary Stenson/DevonLive)


A Devon brewery has shared its exciting new plans for Exeter, which it says have been a long time coming. They're hoping to bring something "different, fresher and current" into the city.

Utopian is already an established favourite among beer fans in Devon and after years of their drinks being available in pubs across the region, they're now taking the big step to open their very own venue. Just a few months after becoming the brewery partner in the re-opening of the Tally Ho! pub in Hatherleigh, they've now set their sights on Exeter.

Managing Director Richard Archer says opening in Exeter has been part of his plans for some time but has been put on the backburner in recent years due to the cost of living crisis. But earlier this month, it was revealed that the Crediton-based brewery had applied for a premises licence in the city centre.

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The site, which sits just behind the High Street and near Northernhay Gardens, was previously occupied by Circa. The restaurant has been closed since 2022, when owners decided to focus on their branch at Sandridge Barton, which remains open.

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"Having direct consumer venues has been in our plan for a long time," Richard told DevonLive. "The financial crisis has meant there's been a lot of uncertainty with energy prices and everything else so we parked it for a bit and then it's just been about trying to find the right site.

"The old Circa site is great and it's got a great reputation as well. If you talk to people, they'll say 'oh I loved Circa'. We think 'hidden gem' is a perfect description of it."

While the name of the new venue is yet to be announced, Richard has shared details of Utopian's vision for it. Alongside a selection of their own beers, customers will also be able to order from a menu of light dishes.

Keen not to alienate people who are less interested in beer - or alcohol altogether - there will also be alternative drink options. Despite the nature of his business, Richard sees people's choice to drink less as "a positive thing".

He said: "We're trying to create an inclusive space which will have a small plates and sharers food menu. It will have a good selection of our beers and guest beers in keg and cask.

"We don't want it to be a place just for beer enthusiasts, although I'm sure we'll attract those. We don't want anyone not want to go there because they don't like beer so we'll have a good independent wine list and cocktails.

"We're also aware of people's desire to drink less alcohol, which we think is a positive thing, so we'll be introducing an alcohol-free beer ourselves in a week or so and we will have a good selection of alcohol-free drinks across the range."

Utopian Brewing has applied for a premises licence at the former Circa restaurant in Exeter -Credit:Mary Stenson/DevonLive
Utopian Brewing has applied for a premises licence at the former Circa restaurant in Exeter -Credit:Mary Stenson/DevonLive

The brewery is sticking to its strongly-held values of sourcing its ingredients locally, while also offering international-style food and drinks.

Richard said: "It will be a really relaxed environment with a high-quality food offer, which will be 100 per cent locally-sourced. It's part of our ethos to be as sustainable as we can be and a key part of that is using only British-grown ingredients to reduce food miles.

"The added benefit is it supports British farmers. It's a great thing when you're based in Devon because it is an agricultural heartland.

"It's hard to describe the food offering because we're calling it British tapas but we don't want people to think that's going to be small dishes of shepherd's pie. It's the concept that it's more graze-y type food.

"We remodel international styles with British ingredients so we make Czech-style pale lagers, German-style Helles lagers, some west coast IPAs. It'll be the same with the food offer, using locally-sourced ingredients to make internationally inspired dishes."

In the face of a challenging market for hospitality venues, Richard is optimistic that there is strong demand for new and independent businesses. And Exeter isn't the end of Utopian's plans. If all goes to plan, they may look at further venues. It forms part of the business' ongoing expansion as its beers will soon be stocked in Sainsbury's supermarkets.

Richard said: "While there's a lot of chatter about pubs closing and hospitality venues but I still think there's a lot of demand for places that are offering something a bit different, fresher and current.

"I'm super excited, I wish it was tomorrow that we were opening. If this goes well, it's definitely something we'd like to do more of. We definitely don't see it as a one-off."