Britain’s smallest brewpub The Four Candles has been put on the market after more than 13 years as a landmark real ale centre in St Peter’s.
Owner Mike Beaumont took over an empty shop on the corner of Sowell Street and St Peter’s Road in 2012, turning it into a popular real ale destination and attracting national and international publicity.
“When we opened we were the first micropub in Broadstairs and only the 12th in the country. Since then the idea has taken off and there are now well over 500 in the UK,” Mike said. “This has been great news for beer lovers and turned Thanet into a real ale destination attracting fans of the concept from all over the country.
“The drinking area measures only about 16 square metres but it is designed in such a way that we can get a good crowd in there as well as outside during the warmer months. There is no bar. Drinks are brought through from the 12-cask chilled stillage in the kitchen.
“The Four Candles is a place to meet friends and make new ones. Once a customer told me ‘it’s not like walking into a pub, it’s like walking into a conversation’. I like that. It was what I wanted from the start.”
In 2014 Mike and his team turned the cellar into a brewhouse and began producing traditional ales and bitters using hops from all over the world.
He said: “We can produce 11 casks of beer in a single brew and the cellar can hold up to four fermenters – allowing us to brew four days a week if we wanted to.
“Our rule is that we always use the best ingredients and have produced more than 730 batches since we started.”
The formula came to the attention of the national press and The Four Candles has been featured in round-ups of the best pubs in the country. Visitors have included the Archbishop of Canterbury and Al Murray, the Pub Landlord, who filmed part of his 2016 General Election campaign documentary in the pub.
Mike said: “We had an eve of Brexit visit from American Public Radio and we were even on air on the Good Morning Britain programme on the day that Piers Morgan was fired.
“It’s been an adventure, and sometimes a rather surreal one but I’m 62 now and I have a young family and they need more of my time.
“I’ve loved building up the business and getting to know so many of our amazing customers.
“It’s been a lot of work and the time has come to pass the baton on to people who have the energy to carry it forward and help it reach its full potential.
“We’ve been in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide for most of the years we’ve been operating – and we were delighted to be included in the 2026 guide announced just a few weeks ago.”
The Four Candles remains open for business as usual.
The business has been valued at around £60,000. Full details are available by emailing [email protected]
What was the shop prior to becoming a micro-pub?
It had been a general corner shop then a delicatessen run by a woman who used her redundancy payment to follow her dream to have a sho0 selling fancy cheeses etc.
Thank you Jenny. Shame something similar doesn’t return.
It was a company called Total cleaning up to 2001 who are now in Margate then a flower shop for about 9 years, after this it was the exotic meat shop for approximately 2 years then the Delicatessen before The Four Candles took it over in 2012.
It was definitely Total Cleaning Supplies ; until they relocated to Margate ; on the opposite corner to the Mulberry Tree public house in King Street ; Margate .
Thanks, interesting. St. Peters seems as bad as Garlinge (where I lived for a few years in the ’80s) for much-reduced shops. Shame, as it’s an attractive place.
What a shame, that was a nice pub.