In the year 1851, Walter Hicks mortgaged his farm to set up a brewery business. 160 years later, St Austell Brewery is one of the largest employers in Cornwall, with an annual turnover of £90 million and 167 pubs throughout Devon and Cornwall, all offering a fine range of traditional St Austell cask ales. 

The pick of those ales is Tribute; born and brewed during the 1999 solar eclipse, it was originally named Daylight Robbery. The brew proved to be so popular it was renamed and is the now the Tribute ale you enjoy today. 

In 2007, Tribute was not only voted the South West’s favourite ale in the Daily Telegraph Best of British Awards, but it also became the proud sponsors of the RFU (Rugby Football Union) leagues in Devon Cornwall and Somerset.

In 2009, with sales in pubs going from strength to strength, St Austell invested in a new purpose built bottling line, primarily to handle the growth and interest in Tribute as a bottled beer.  

In 2010 Tribute won a silver medal in the Great British Beer Festival Best Bitters category. In the same year cans of Tribute became available on the First Great Western train service to London Paddington from the South West.