Ilchester was born in 1962 when founder Ken Seaton discovered how to keep his Cheddar truckles fresh on the bar of his hotel in Somerset - put beer in them! Tasting rather good, Beer Cheese was created, causing an outrage with 10 million teetotallers boycotting it - even though they needed to eat 20lbs to consume the equivalent of one pint of beer! With more cheeses to create, Ken set up The Ilchester Cheese Company in the picturesque village of Ilchester and never looked back at his hotel business.