History of Rebellion

A revival of Marlow’s proud brewing heritage

Timeline

1758

Marlow’s brewing tradition begins with the Wethered Brewery, which would operate in the town centre for over two centuries.

1987

The closure of Wethered Brewery leaves Marlow without a local brewing tradition.

1993

Inspired by those memories, friends Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens launch Rebellion Brewery at a small industrial unit in Marlow Bottom, reviving the town’s brewing legacy.

1999

The brewery settles into a permanent home at Bencombe Farm, transforming old farm buildings and grain stores into the heart of Rebellion’s brewing operations.

2003

Growth continues with the acquisition of a local pub – The Three Horseshoes in Marlow – extending Rebellion’s reach into the community.

2006

Rebellion leaves lease of the Three Horseshoes to focus on the brewery.

2014 - 2017

Brewery developments with the addition of new tanks, kegging lines, upgrades to production and packaging areas and increased brewing capacity.

The brewery shop relocates to its new, larger on-site space, opening in July.

Rebellion’s draught lager released.

2018

Two 75 barrel tanks (21,600 pints each) installed in the lower yard further increasing brewing capacity.

2019

New bottling line installed, allowing in-house bottling again, improving the bottled beer’s quality and consistency.

2020

The Covid-19 Pandemic causes widespread business closure, including pubs. The Rebellion Shop, in response to this loss of access to customers, sets up a home delivery service and on-site drive-through. Both become very successful and are still full-time services running today.

2021

Opening of the Rebellion Tap Yard in July, the on-site bar.

The returnable 1 litre bottle is introduced into the retail shop, significantly reducing the amount of single-use bottles sold at the brewery.

A 500L development brewing kit is installed. This will allow the brewers more freedom to experiment with smaller brews and encourage more diverse styles like sours, modern IPAs and more.

2022

Work starts on the digging of the bore hole, a sustainability project designed to use water drawn from the Chiltern Hills for the beer rather than local mains water.

Social and Members’ Nights restart in October after they were stopped by Covid-19.

The first beer from the development brew kit is released in May, a 4.5% Citra Session Pale Ale.

2023

Spring – Start extracting water for use in the brewery after we had carried out extensive testing for quality and obtained an extract licence from the Environment Agency.

Release of “Black”, the first Nitro Stout brewed at Rebellion.

Release of Rebellion Gin.

2024

Release of Rebellion’s first full-time modern craft beer, Hazy Pale, an American Pale Ale.

Release of “Three Threads” the first of Rebellion’s barrel-aged, bottled beer.

Release of IPA in 500ml bottles.

2025

The brewery now use water from our 50m borehole for all brewing, supplying over 90% of our site’s needs. The water is chlorine-free, mineral-rich, and consistently cool year-round, perfect for brewing. This saves up to 200,000 litres of mains water each week (around 10 million litres annually).

Lager released in 1 litre bottles.

2026

Release of Mar-Low Pale, Rebellion’s first low-alcohol beer.

Flavour-packed beers

From Then to Now

Using the chalky, mineral-rich water of the Chiltern Hills, Rebellion blends traditional brewing methods with innovative technology to create distinctive, flavour-packed beers. Their range includes crisp lagers, hearty ales, seasonal specials, and more.

By 2025, Rebellion is brewing around 125 barrels per week, supplying over 200 pubs within a 30-mile radius – all while continuing to fuel the local beer scene and win awards along the way.

Why This Story Matters

Local Roots, Lasting Legacy: Rebellion took up the mantle of Marlow’s brewing heritage and carried it into the present.
Innovation Meets Tradition: Growth and equipment upgrades never compromised the integrity of their craft.
A Community Brewery: From its humble beginnings to becoming a regional staple, Rebellion’s journey reflects passion, quality, and a commitment to Marlow.