Bedford's Wells & Co raises a glass to Josephine Wells’ 175th birthday with exclusive new brew

Wells & Co is launching an exclusive beer, Josie 175, to celebrate the birthday of Josephine Wells, the inspiration behind the brewery’s founding, on October 22.

Josephine was the wife of Wells & Co’s founder, Charles Wells, and has been described as the wind in his sails.

Born in 1849, Josephine was the inspiration for founding the Wells family brewery in Bedford. She is a big part of why Wells & Co is still around today continuing this long-standing brewing legacy,

and Josephine and Charles are the great-great-grandparents of the businesses’ current CEO Peter Wells.

In the early 1870s when on leave from the navy, Charles met and fell madly in love with Josephine, but he was told by Josephine’s father that he could only marry her if he left the navy and set up his

own local business. With this, he gave up his sea-faring career, settled on dry land and became a brewer.

On the 24th September 1872, Charles and Josephine were married in Oxfordshire. And in 1876, Charles Wells bought the Horne Lane Brewery, situated on the banks of the River Ouse in Bedford,

along with purchasing 36 pubs at auction to establish the Charles Wells Family Brewery. And so, the Wells & Co story began. Charles has always been central to its brewing story, a dependable

family man with a visionary outlook, and by his side was unsung hero Josephine, who was central to this family brewing business becoming firmly anchored in Bedford.

CEO of Wells & Co, Peter Wells, commented: “Josephine Wells was my great-great-Grandmother and the longstanding wife of our founder, Charles Wells. As a mother of eight and guiding family

force, Josephine has been a huge inspiration behind the Brewpoint beer range, having played a significant role in the history of Wells & Co. To be able to commemorate what would have been her

175th birthday shows just how far we have come!”

All pubs managed by Wells & Co are offering a free pint from a selected range for guests to raise a glass to Joesphine from Tuesday October 22 until Tuesday October 29.