The company was set up at the end of 2000, following the purchase of a range of brewing vessels, including much of the equipment from the former Bridgewater brewery that had recently ceased trading. Following a complete refurbishment of the equipment and the design of new cleaning and cooling systems, the brewery was installed into an industrial unit in North Manchester. Managing Director and Brewer Mark Dade brought along a wealth of brewing experience gained whilst employed as head brewer at the nearby Marble Arch Brewery. There are two co-directors of the company, Graham Walsh, a local businessman, and Anne Broadhead who has walked away from a career in nursing to manage the brewery offices. Production started during January 2001 with beers appearing regularly in pubs and clubs in Manchester, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and North Wales. By September 2001, the demand for the beers had exceeded the output capacity of the brewery and a major conversion of the equipment became necessary. This conversion carried out with the help of Brewing Solutions has resulted in an 8-barrel brewery being established. A small bottling plant was set up during November following a commission to supply a commemorative bottle conditioned beer for the Manchester Northern Quarter festival. The brewery has continued to grow, and took delivery of additional fermentation and conditioning tanks in the summer of 2002. Boggart beers have made appearances throughout the UK, and the customer database shows that the Boggart beers have made an appearance in over 500 pubs and clubs. During September 2002 the company introduced Boggart Brewery Distributions. The brewery had been associated with a number of distributors who had been introducing Boggart beers into areas outside of their traditional core areas. The recent demise of one such distributor left the brewery in a situation where they were unable to track the casks entrusted to the distributor. A good cask tracking system is the lifeblood of a brewery, because casks sat outside a pub are not working and earning. This situation was mirrored at a number of other breweries, and the Boggart brewery was contracted by the group of breweries to attempt to recover their casks. Whilst making enquiries as to whereabouts of casks, discussions with pub landlords revealed a willingness to take northern beers. Boggart has responded to the challenge, and now distributes beers from a number of associate breweries, alongside its own beers, into Scotland and the southern half of England.