In 1987 Roger and his wife Laura purchased the freehold of the Rising Sun on Bowden Hill, Lacock, and ran the pub alongside the brewery and drinks business, establishing a showcase for the company’s Wiltshire Brewed Real Ales. The Pub is very well renowned today for the quality of its Moles Beers amongst locals and visitors alike and the spectacular views attract an all year round clientele up the hill from the National Trust gem that is Lacock.
In the early 1992 Moles Brewery blossomed with its own tied estate. Nine pubs were acquired in a single deal, some of these are still operated by Cascade Public House Management today. A number of acquisitions and sales over the years gives us the portfolio of pubs we currently operate below.
The key to our pubs success is the independence of our management style. With our unique management agreement, we have some of the best talent with fresh ideas running our pubs as their own business with great experienced backup from Head Office supporting them all the way. This produces a unique level of hospitality and ownership for the customer experience. As we are a small business we can and do adapt quickly to changes in taste, things that our customers love and trends in the ever-changing face of the British pub.
We continue to refresh and invest in our pubs to maintain our consistently high standards of service and to offer relaxed places to come and Unwind, Party , Host a great family get together, or simply just Join in one our events for a different night out.
Above all we are about doing the simple things really well – a great welcome, fantastic traditional beer, a wide selection of drinks to choose from, fresh honest and inviting food and a consistent quality of service. So whether it’s a walk down to the local, a ride out for a lovely meal or a gathering of the family for a special event, let us take the strain and look after you in one of our Cascade Pubs.
Want to see the types of pubs we run? Then take a look at the individual pub websites below. They all have very different personalities but share the same passion for great ales (Moles of course!), wonderful west country ciders (Black Rat and West Country Gold – naturally!) and where food is served – it’s damn good food! We are proud of our pubs and proud of the people that serve you.
Get in touch
Interested in supplying to us, or thinking about running your own pub with our help and support, we are expanding our estate! – have some feedback for us to improve our service or just want to know more about us? Then complete the little form below and we will make sure the right person gets in touch.
A friend of one of the company’s owners knew a brewer who worked for Watney’s in London, and wondered if he might be interested in helping set up the new operation and relocate to Wiltshire. Thus it was that Melksham Spa Mineral Waters Ltd – shortly to change its operating name to Cascade Drinks Ltd – came to engage Roger Catte in a relationship that has endured 30 years, and counting…
Roger’s first task was to source some brewing equipment, and he returned to London to commission a custom-built 10 barrel plant which was installed in the same brewhouse at Bowerhill Melksham which is used today. At the same time the new business was christened Moles Brewery, inspired by Roger’s nickname.
Moles Cask Bitter was the fledgling brewery’s first real ale offering and, like all Moles products, was an all-malt brew, with no supplemental sugars added. In October 1985 Roger was offered the opportunity to buy the business which employed him and, along with wife Laura, the Catte family became the new owners of Cascade Drinks Ltd. To make life even more frenetic than it was, the couple purchased the freehold of the Rising Sun on Bowden Hill, Lacock, and ran the pub alongside the brewery and drinks business, establishing a showcase for the companys Wiltshire Brewed Real Ales.
A key brand launch that was to provide a profitable boost to the operation came in 1995, with the birth of Black Rat cider. First available as a keg product, subsequently bottled and then made available in traditional ‘scrumpy’ form, the brand has gone on to become firmly established in the free trade throughout the South West of England, and even further afield. It is now exported to countries such as Finland, Sweden and even ‘down under’ to Australia.
Further proof that beers from this Wiltshire brewer have the quality that will always stand the test of time.