Northampton school pals open new craft beer bar in the town centre

The taproom sells both their own beers as well as guest lagers.

Longtime Northampton School for Boys friends, Tom Maule of the Maule Brewing Company and England Diep of Sazerac have joined forces to open a craft beer bar, called Maule Collective, which opened its doors to punters on Friday night (August 24).

The Derngate-based bar, which was formerly a butchers' training site, is the first bar venture for Tom while England has been pouring pints for several years.

England today told the Chronicle & Echo: "The launch night on Friday went great, a big turn out, all 20 taps of craft beers and ales were on show. Our beers - Maule Brewing Co. - were super popular, alongside some awesome guest beers.

The bar has eight beers in their range including Happy Pilsner, Lucky IPA and Fantastic Pale Ale.

"Saturday daytime proved really busy too - alongside our extensive beer offering - our 'Collective' partner YellowBourbon batch made coffees and the YellowBourbon Espresso Martinis we're also a big hit.

"With our core 'Collective' concept, we have plenty of food pop-ups and music collabs all in the pipe-line, so keep following for the latest news and announcements on our Instagram page."

The beers are made with natural ingredients in the bosses' very own self-built brew house, which took 12 months to build, and the ales are all vegan-friendly.

While the duo hope the bar will be a lively get-together spot in the evenings, during the daytime they promise a 'laid-back café experience'.

The decor has remained loyal to its Victorian heritage, the bosses say, and has an 'industrial feel'.