SIBA Independent Brewer

Issue 1

SIBA at 40: the changing face of independent brewing

Spring 2020

Come see us at Stand 154

11-12TH MARCH 2020, LIVERPOOL

Understanding Quality.

FOR LIFE. Haffmans QC Equipment In-line, At-line, Laboratory, Packaging & Monitoring • Reliable & comparable measuring results • Reduced product loss & faster reaction time • Consistent product quality • Increased process efficiency • Accurate measurement of: air, CO2, O2, N2, TPO, foam and turbidity Phone: +44 (0) 1905 797 280 Email: Sales.uk@pentair.com 2 Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

FOODANDBEVERAGE.PENTAIR.COM

Welcome to the first ever edition of SIBA’s Independent Brewer Magazine!

Editor’s comment

To mark SIBA’s 40th anniversary year in 2020 we have given the SIBA Journal a brand new look and a new name, reflecting a new era for the organisation and its members.

Caroline Nodder Editor SIBA Independent Brewer Magazine

The market in 2020 continues to throw up challenges for all SIBA brewers and SIBA’s pledge this year is to continue Delivering For Brewers at a time when you need your trade association the most.

I very much look forward to meeting many of you at this year’s BeerX UK event in Liverpool in March (see pages 9 and 10 for details of this year’s event) and hearing more about your businesses and the challenges you face. If you are attending then please come and see me and the SIBA Team at the SIBA Hub for one of our 40th Anniversary collaboration beers which will be available on our stand on both evenings during BeerX UK this year (see pages 18 and 19 for more details).

Inside the pages of this bumper issue of the new magazine we have taken a look back over four decades of independent brewing at some of the beers, businesses and people who have shaped the industry in 2020.

I would also love to hear what you think of the new look Independent Brewer Magazine, good and bad, so if you have any feedback or ideas for future issues do drop me a line at the usual email address.

We hear from some of the most influential beer writers and commentators in the brewing sector, as well as from some of the SIBA members, past Chairs and regional representatives who have made SIBA into the respected voice of independent brewing it is today.

Finally, please keep those press releases, updates, news and views coming in to me at caroline. nodder@siba.co.uk, and if you would like to be featured for a Business Profile or Meet the Brewer feature in one of our upcoming issues then please get in touch – the deadline for submissions to our Summer edition will be May 4th.

We also look ahead to the key issues and challenges facing our sector in 2020 and beyond, and bring you the usual round-up of news and views from brewers and suppliers across the UK.

Society of Independent Brewers PO Box 136, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 5WW Tel: 01765 640 441 www.siba.co.uk Email: office@siba.co.uk

Happy reading!

Editor: Caroline Nodder (caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk) Published by: Media Alive Limited Produced on behalf of SIBA by: Media Alive Limited, 2nd Floor, The Red House, 119 Fore Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG14 1AX. T: 01992 505 810 Creative Director: Darren Kefford (darren@wearema.co.uk) Studio Manager: Jon Hardy (jon@wearema.co.uk) Advertising Manager: Claire Rooney (claire@wearema.co.uk) Managing Director: Dan Rooney (dan@wearema.co.uk)

Printed by: Printwize, 9 Stepfield, Witham, Essex CM8 3BN

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or be any other means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of SIBA and/or Media Alive Limited.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information in this publication is accurate and up-to-date, neither SIBA nor Media Alive Limited take any responsibility for errors or omissions.

Opinions expressed in editorial contributions to this publication are those of their respective authors and not necessarily shared either by SIBA or Media Alive Limited.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

3

The Changing Face of Craft Beer

4

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

The Changing Face of Craft Beer

The Changing Face of Independent Beer As we enter a new decade, the craft beer sector has never been more vibrant, and the consumers who enjoy SIBA Members’ beers have never been more diverse. For this special issue of Independent Brewer we worked with photographer Mark Newton to capture the industry in 2020, and we have also included some images from his portfolio throughout the magazine to highlight some of the people, beers and brewers who make the craft beer industry the wonderful community it is.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

5

The Changing Face of Craft Beer

We would like to thank the team at Wild Card Brewery in Walthamstow who hosted us for the day and took part in our photoshoot for this issue of the magazine. Elsewhere in this issue we caught up with Jaega Wise, Wild Card’s Head Brewer and also our SIBA South East Chair, to find out more about her work with the innovative new keg festival Love Beer London (see pages 67-71).

6

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

The Changing Face of Craft Beer

©Mark Newton Photography

©Mark Newton Photography

©Mark Newton Photography

©Mark Newton Photography

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

7

THE PERFECT MALT FOR EVERY BREWER Since 1870 we’ve lived and breathed malting.

With this passion and expertise, and by combining traditional and modern techniques, we create an impressive range of malted and non-malted products, including several unique and exclusive barley malts.

DISCOVER MORE...

Whatever the size, style and approach of your brewery, our maltsters are here to help

8

+44 (0)1328 829 391

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

sales@crispmalt.com

CRISPMALT.COM

Contents

News 13-21 100-110

112-122

SIBA news All the news from SIBA HQ Brewery news The latest from our Brewing Members around the UK Supplier news News and views from SIBA’s Supplier Associate Members

Comment 11 12-13

25

39

47

48-49

57 64-65

95

82-85

CEO’s update James Calder on SIBA’s plans for 2020 Chairman’s comment Ian Fozard on SIBA’s past and future The view from Westminster Our regular political update Four decades of beer Pete Brown looks at the cultural changes that have shaped the sector Brewer’s viewpoint Jem Ham from Cheddar Ales on challenges in brewing Brewing’s most influential Jonny Garrett looks at the movers and shakers over SIBA’s lifetime Living in the future Beer in 2020 by Emma Inch Looking ahead Matt Curtis asks how craft beer’s past might shape its future Technical focus Brewlab’s Dr Keith Thomas looks back on four decades of technology

Features

26-31 Issue 1

Spring 2020

SIBA at 40: the changing face of independent brewing

Cover Location: Wild Card Brewery, Walthamstow.

Models: Sia Matturi, Bar Manager Wildcard Barrel Store Greg Tingey, CAMRA BLO for Wildcard

22-23

26-31

32-35

37

40-41

42-45

51-53

54-55

59-63

67-71

72-77

79-81

82-85

87

89-93 96-99 124 126

SIBA’S 40th anniversary beers Beer recipes from the archives A history of SIBA at 40 Roger Protz takes a look through the SIBA archives Profile: Carola Brown One of SIBA’s most influential past leaders looks back on how it all started Profile: Ballard’s Brewery A history of one of SIBA’s founding members Profile: Keith Bott The past SIBA Chairman and President on his time in the top seat SIBA through the decades Memories and member profiles Profile: Robert Humphreys MBE We meet one of SIBA’s non-Execs An evolving sector Adrian Tierney-Jones looks at the ever-changing world of beer Profile: Guy Sheppard The thoughts of a former SIBA Chairman Profile: Jaega Wise SIBA’s South East Chair talks about the future for the organisation Business profile: Titanic Brewery Inside one of the most successful SIBA Member breweries Profile: Nick Stafford One of the longest-serving SIBA Directors on building its commercial arm The brewing revolution Bob Pease, CEO of the Brewers Association in the US, looks back on how the sector has developed A history of malt How the malt industry has supported 40 years of brewing Business advice Legal, digital and quality tips Gold members Napthens and Croxons Gold & silver members Listing of our key sponsors Contacts Key SIBA contacts

Photography: Mark Newton Photography Art Direction: Darren Kefford www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

9

ONE SEE US AT STAND 89

01733 889100

sales@brewersselect.co.uk

Al l yo ur brewing ingredie nt s 10

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

ONE ORDER ONE PALLET ONE DELIVERY ONE INVOICE

CEO’s update driving force behind these new benefits (and indeed a lot at SIBA) is Rachel Hariott, our Head of Operations. If you think SIBA could be doing something different, or better, get in touch.

Entering SIBA’s fifth decade is an opportunity for change, and to make things better Welcome to the new look SIBA Journal, the Independent Brewer! This issue marks the 40th anniversary of SIBA and pays homage to the people who have built SIBA over the last four decades.

We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

There are lessons and reflections in these pages that I have very much enjoyed reading and have learnt a lot from. I hope you will too.

Whilst it’s always nice to reminisce about the past, my job is to look forward. It’s to focus on the issues you are facing now and where we can make a difference. My job is to help drive change in SIBA from the inside to make it work harder, smarter and more effectively for you.

It’s to build on the fantastic foundations we have.

Having spent the last month or so travelling around the country meeting you in the regions we’ve focussed a lot on the issues and difficulties you are facing. I, like many of you, lie awake at night worrying about these issues and how they impact on your businesses. I really do.

But I want to use this column to talk about the ways in which we are making a difference to you as we enter SIBA’s fifth decade. I’d also

like to thank the often underappreciated people behind the scenes that make it happen. To share the birthday cake around.

Firstly, SIBA’s lobbying efforts. As I write this piece I’m listening to a Westminster Hall Debate on beer taxation and pubs. What is clear from this debate is that MPs from across the House understand the issues we face, and want to help. Positive reform of Small Breweries’ Relief has dominated this debate and will continue to dominate up until the Budget on March 11th when we assemble in Liverpool.

I’d like to thank our new Government lobbying supremo Barry Watts, who has done an incredible job helping you as brewers contact your MPs to make sure they understand the arguments on taxation, business rates, collabs, DRS and crucially, SBR. SIBA will continue to be at the highest tables in Government, banging the drum on your behalf.

Secondly, communications. This is absolutely key to everything we do as a trade body. You are busy people, and I work on the basis that if you only have 10 minutes a week to engage with SIBA, then we need to use those 10 minutes well. I hope that you have noticed a gear shift in the quality and timeliness of our communications, being led by Neil Walker.

You are busy people, and I work on the basis that if you only have 10 minutes a week to engage with SIBA, then we need to use those 10 minutes well.

We’re also engaging and reaching out to brewers who aren’t SIBA members. My view is that we’re stronger if we work together against common foes and common goals.

Thirdly, the benefits that SIBA provides. We’ve set ourselves an ambitious target to deliver new membership benefits to you every month. So far we’ve published a comprehensive labelling guide, made all our HACCP tools free to use, and are about to issue a comprehensive Health and Safety guide, to name but a few. The major

Missing casks and kegs are a huge issue, but through the hard work of Louise Henley in the team, we are starting to make progress.

Working behind the scenes we are making it clear to KNDL, TradeTeam and Kegwatch that we will not accept the status quo. For the first time we’ve got representation at Kegwatch and on the committee that looks after containers for the big brewers and distributors. Your containers shouldn’t be picked up in the first place, and if they are, they should get back to you at the offender’s cost. I hope over the next 12 months we begin to make some real progress and you see this for yourselves.

SIBA’s competitions and awards are evolving, too. We’ve made changes to our categories to make them more modern. London and the SE region are embarking on a standalone keg beer competition and festival, to ensure that we stay relevant and move with the times. Jenna, Cheryl and Elle work incredibly hard behind the scenes to make competitions happen. They’re a place where we can celebrate great beer, be sociable and remember why we’re all in this together and want the same things.

On SIBA commercial, we’re progressing ‘motion 3’ as asked by you at the AGM with our pub company customers, giving you more flexibility over the price that you can get for your beer. Ian Ward and ‘the two Steve’s’ as we affectionately call them are having those conversations. Giving you more ethical, flexible pricing, opening up more pubs and beginning the conversation on new formats. We’ve got to get access to market right because it remains a huge challenge. And it’s only going to get harder as the big boys want more and more.

SIBA has been working hard on its governance and finances, too. To be an effective trade association and an effective democracy, getting that bit right is vital. Using our resources wisely and being prudent, like any organisation is crucial. So a big thanks to Sara and Rebecca what would we do without you?

And the team behind BeerX UK. BeerX UK is in my opinion the best thing we do. So to Lucy, Nicola, Buster, Keith, Dave and all those mentioned above and many more - thank you.

Hopefully I’ll see you at BeerX UK on 11th and 12th March, where we can toast SIBA’s 40th Birthday, change for the better and British Independent Brewing’s bright future.

Cheers!

James Calder Chief Executive SIBA

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

11

Chairman’s comment craft brewing sector has meant for me over the 40 years of SIBA’s existence. As a member of CAMRA since 1975, I welcomed the gradual emergence of the new brewing pioneers, which I first noticed around 1980, when breweries like Exmoor and Woodforde’s were established.

Ironically, having relocated to North Yorkshire in 1978, one of the first new breweries I noticed was Franklins in Harrogate, established

by Sean Franklin in 1980. Sean Franklin was a true pioneer, a qualified wine taster, who was arguably the first UK brewer to spot the similarity in flavour and aroma variations between grapes and hops. He then used them to orchestrate the senses in beer in a way that is now familiar to us. Sean was way ahead of his time - he was the first person to propose that CAMRA establish tasting panels at the CAMRA AGM in Durham in 1981. I remember it well as I seconded his motion – I was barracked at the time and the motion failed. It hadn’t occurred to most CAMRA members that beer other than traditional Mild and Bitter existed! Fast forward 15 or 20 years and CAMRA tasting panels had become the norm!

Join us in facing the challenges ahead!

Let’s be under no illusion, the war is not over, there are still dark clouds looming and there are many battles still to be fought and won.

Welcome to the first issue of Independent Brewer, the re-vitalised SIBA Journal which marks the start of SIBA’s 40th Anniversary year.

Our new magazine reflects the many and significant changes that have occurred within SIBA during the last 40 years and marks the start of a new era.

Elsewhere in this magazine you will find the thoughts and reflections of many of SIBA’s leaders over the decades. We have much to be grateful for; without their dedication to the cause in the early years and specifically the efforts of those who fought for Access to Market and Small Breweries’ Relief, our sector and consumer choice would look very different indeed.

Specifically, it is difficult to believe that, without SBR, there would be a craft beer movement remotely like the vibrant one we are currently experiencing. The high rate of duty combined with the lack of economies of scale for the smallest brewer would have priced many out of the market. But let’s be under no illusion, the war is not over, there are still dark clouds looming and there are many battles still to be fought and won.

Before I elaborate on this, I’d like to reflect on what the development of our independent

12

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Due to lack of market access, Sean was unable to make a living out of brewing and called time on Franklin’s Brewery after only a few years.

Yet when the much maligned Beer Orders created some opportunities, Sean re-entered the market creating Rooster’s Brewery in late 1992 where he turned his passion for hops to the US, importing hops such as Cascade and brewing a new style of Pale Ale – the rest is history.

Earlier, I used the word “ironically” since, in 2011, my sons and I acquired Rooster’s Brewery from Sean when he decided to retire!

By the late 1990’s I was developing my own pub company which majored on cask ale. Other than buying beer from Timothy Taylors (who wouldn’t?), all the breweries I bought from were “new wave”, mostly Yorkshire breweries. At that time cask ale was still struggling to gain a significant foothold and I saw a niche market opportunity which was mutually beneficial to my company and the local brewers. The major national and global brewers were pretty much ignoring cask ale, customers were willing to pay a small premium price for drinking some new and exciting niche beers and all seemed well in the beer world.

Fast forward to 2020 and we face a myriad of new challenges. CAMRA, having, so they thought, won the war on cask ale has become much more pub focussed. There has been a massive shift from on to off trade. The UK beer market is also in overall slow decline. Cask beer, arguably the pinnacle of the brewer’s art, has become commoditised with falling prices to brewers and there is a huge debate as to who is to blame.

SIBA news In the last 10 years there has also been a massive increase in the number of UK breweries and this has coincided with a sudden awareness by the global and large national brewers of the growing consumer interest in what has become known as “craft beer” as their mainstream mass produced lager sales slumped.

Not surprisingly, they have entered the craft beer market with gusto and aggressive and, arguably, predatory pricing. This coupled with the huge increase in the number of breweries has caused significant tension – an overcrowded market with a small number of large aggressive players is bad news for most – the main winner being the consumer. It has been described as a perfect storm. In 2019, it is well known that the number of new breweries opening was significantly exceeded by those closing and this trend is continuing into 2020. It is likely that only the most successful or those who are resilient, have a sensible cost structure or easy access to new capital will survive.

There have, of course, been some great success stories and it would be churlish of me to argue that all is doom and gloom in our world. Yet many major challenges remain – Access to Market for the smaller brewer remains difficult, major purchasers, whether retail or PubCo, themselves under market pressure, continue to drive a hard bargain. Coming down the tracks is the Deposit Return Scheme; beer duty remains far too high, not to mention the continued unfairness of the transitional phase of Small Breweries’ Relief.

To those who are already members, I ask you to get more involved. To those who are not, please take the time to find out more and join us. Together we can face up to the challenges!

SIBA is the only organisation representing smaller, independent brewers. Whether they acknowledge this or not, all smaller, independent brewers owe SIBA and its early pioneers a huge debt. It is fashionable for some of the more “on trend” brewers to eschew SIBA as perhaps not relevant to them and representing more mainstream brewers but the simple fact is that we are all in this together facing the same challenges.

SIBA is changing rapidly under our new management team and SIBA could not be more relevant for all independent brewers today as we address the issues outlined above. To those who are already members, I ask you to get more involved. To those who are not, please take the time to find out more and join us. Together we can face up to the challenges!

Cheers

Founder of New England’s Trillium Brewery, JC Tetreault, named as BeerX UK 2020 Keynote speaker

The founder of one of America’s most influential breweries of the last 10 years, and a front-runner of the craze for hazy New England IPAs, will deliver the Keynote speech at the UK’s biggest beer and brewing trade event this month – BeerX UK 2020.

Jean-Claude Tetreault (‘JC’) founded the Massachusetts-based Trillium brewery with wife Esther Tetreault in 2013 and has since seen a meteoric growth in demand for their ‘New England Farmhouse-style’ beers, particularly the now globally in demand New England IPA’s they brew.

SIBA’s BeerX UK is the UK’s biggest beer and brewing trade event, taking place for a third year running at the ACC Exhibition Centre in Liverpool on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th March 2020, with the Keynote taking place on the second day.

SIBA’s Chief Executive James Calder said: “I am delighted to be able to introduce JC as BeerX UK Keynote Speaker for 2020.

Trillium’s impact on not just the US but the global beer scene cannot be overstated and in particular the growth in popularity of their hugely popular New England IPA’s, which have changed the beer world forever and led to more and more brewers producing hazy, unfiltered, and hugely

aromatic and flavoursome beers. I am sure that hearing about the successes, closecalls, and learnings from Trillium’s journey from a small independent craft brewery in Boston to a global name in quality craft beer will be hugely interesting to all the brewers and industry professionals attending this year’s BeerX UK in Liverpool.”

2020 is a particularly special year for BeerX UK as it marks the 40th anniversary of SIBA (1980-2020) and as such there will be a special 40th Anniversary Celebration from 8-9pm both days, serving five beers from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and a brand new collaboration brew for 2020.

James Calder added: “SIBA is delighted to be celebrating its 40th Anniversary at BeerX UK and will be raising a glass to entering our fifth decade by serving beers with a recipe from each of the preceding four decades, and aptly, a New England style hazy IPA brewed to a brand new recipe for 2020.”

BeerX UK 2020 runs from the 11th-12th March, at the ACC Exhibition Centre Liverpool.

Tickets via www.beerx.org For more information on the full programme see page 14.

Ian www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

13

SIBA news

Progress on Cask Repatriation But your support is needed!

SIBA recently had a meeting with KNDL and their message to all dray crews is DO NOT UPLIFT SIBA orange stickered containers.

Join us this month for BeerX UK: March 11th and 12th BeerX UK is the UK’s biggest beer and brewing trade event, taking place for a third year running at the ACC Exhibition Centre in Liverpool.

The two-day event will take place on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th March and is open to SIBA member and non-member breweries alike, as well as representatives from brewing industry businesses and the media.

“BeerX UK is back bigger and better than ever in 2020, with an increased trade show, more beers on tap, and a World-class selection of presentations, workshops, debates and keynotes for attendees to enjoy,” said Neil Walker, SIBA’s Head of Communications.

BeerX UK features a packed schedule of expert workshops and panel debates centred around beer and brewing, aimed at helping professional brewing businesses expand their knowledge and grow their businesses. Alongside this are various networking opportunities, an expanded exhibition from suppliers of products and services - plus a trade-only beer showcase exclusively featuring award winning independent craft beers in cask, keg, bottle & can.

Highlights Wednesday 11th March

It is therefore vital that our brewing members are placing an orange label on all containers being direct delivered to pubs to avoid dray crews collecting.

A SIBA orange label is the clearest way for dray crews to distinguish what can and cannot be collected - please help strengthen our message to these large companies!

You can email orangelabels@siba.co.uk to order your supply now.

Concerned Scottish Brewers write to Scottish Government on Deposit Return Scheme

Thursday 12th March

SIBA members in Scotland have written an open letter, signed by 26 breweries, to the Scottish Government about its proposed Deposit Return Scheme for glass and plastic bottles and aluminium cans. It will charge consumers a 20p deposit which they can reclaim by returning the container.

• SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2020 on the main stage • “Wild & wonderful: Sour beer & blending” with Mark Tranter, Burning Sky • “Market data: Is big beer always one step ahead?” with Pete Brown • “Beer Labelling: Balancing design & legal compliance” with LemonTop • “Make social media advertising work for your brewery” with Laurence Creamer • “Hops: “New Varieties and creative possibilities” with Charles Faram

As it is currently designed it will have major implications for SIBA members selling independent craft beer in Scotland including for those based outside of Scotland. This includes high registration fees, producer fees and labelling.

• SIBA Business Awards 2020 on the main stage • 40th Anniversary Celebrations on the SIBA Bar • “Beer & Food pairing for brewers” with Bundobust & Jaega Wise • “Mastering Malt for independent Brewers” with Crisp Malt • “Sustainability, sales, & being a force for good in brewing” with Good Things Brewing • Panel Debate: “CBD & Cannabis Beers, opportunity or threat?” with Matt Curtis

New and updated version of the SIBA Practical Guide to Labelling A new version of the SIBA Practical Guide to Labelling is now available to download through the Toolbox area of SIBA’s website.

This includes various additional items such as how and when to use the ‘e’ estimated fill symbol and a new ‘Vegan Friendly’ logo commissioned by SIBA for our members to use free of charge.

14

You can download a zip file containing the logo in various formats from the Toolbox area at www.siba.co.uk

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

The Scottish Government has been consulting on its regulations for the scheme and SIBA has submitted its response calling for changes which take account of small producers including introducing de minimis thresholds.

James Calder (SIBA Chief Executive) and Barry Watts (SIBA Head of Public Affairs) have also held meetings in Edinburgh with the Scottish Government and others to make the case for small independent brewers.

For the latest on the DPS proposals and SIBA’s response go to the Toolbox area of the SIBA website at www.siba.co.uk

SIBA news

PRESENTS

LOVE BEER LONDON Keg Beer Festival

13th-15th February, 2020

Tottenham Hale, London A two day keg beer festival celebrating the best craft beer the South East has to offer in conjunction with SIBA SE and London Brewers Alliance.

Working in partnership with Craft Beer Cares, all proceeds from the event will be donated to The Benevolent.

www.LoveBeerLondon.co.uk

Love Beer London: A new craft keg beer festival aiming to be a force for good in the Capital A new beer festival launched in Tottenham Hale, London in February, bringing together over a hundred of the best breweries from across London and the South East, in an exciting three day charity beer festival.

‘Love Beer London’ is a collaborative project between the London Brewers Alliance, SIBA South East, and Craft Beer Cares, who helped to run the festival and donated all of the event proceeds to The Benevolent – a trade charity that provides help and support to current and former employees of the drinks industry and their families.

We spoke to festival organiser Jaega Wise, Head Brewer at Wild Card Brewery in Walthamstow and an Elected Director for SIBA South East, about the festival: “Over the last 10 years the brewing scene in London has gone from strength to strength and in my opinion is now one of the most exciting beer cities in Europe, with more breweries springing up in communities across the Capital every few months. With Love Beer London we are bringing together all of the best breweries from across London

SIBA submits response to the consultation on liquor licensing laws in Northern Ireland

and the South East into one huge new beer festival, serving a broad range of beer styles of the highest quality.

“It’s the first time that SIBA has partnered with the London Brewers Alliance and we’re hugely excited about the broad range of craft breweries and beer styles that feature at the festival, so as well as modern hopforward IPAs and Pale Ales there were lots of traditional bitters, porters and stronger English ales, as well as speciality and mixed-fermentation beers. It genuinely had something for everybody.”

Organisers say that a big part of Love Beer London was to be a true and accurate representation of beer in the capital, paying homage to London’s brewing heritage whilst championing the diversity of the modern brewing scene today. Everything from traditional porters and bitters, to fruited sours and Czech-style lagers are being brewed authentically in London and Love Beer London is championing these fantastic craft keg beers in a new and exciting way.

The event is also aiming to be a force for good, as well as good beer, enlisting Craft

Beer Cares to run and staff the event with volunteers and donating all proceeds to charity. All of the organisations involved – SIBA, London Brewers Alliance and Craft Beer Cares – are not-for-profit and it means the event itself can have a positive impact on the industry, as well as serving the very best beer that London has to offer.

“Love Beer London got its name because everyone involved is doing this for the love of good beer, and making it feel inclusive and open-to-all is a huge part of what we are trying to do, it’s why we have priced the tickets and beer tokens as affordably as possible and will be donating all proceeds from the festival to charity, working with Craft Beer Cares who are experts in delivering amazing charity craft beer festivals.

As brewers we want to brew amazing beer and share it with as many people as possible, and that’s what Love Beer London is all about,” added Jaega Wise.

The festival ran from the 13th-15th of February this year. For more information visit www.lovebeerlondon. co.uk

Thank you to all those who provided their feedback to us and we’ve listened carefully to the concerns that you have raised, particularly around taprooms. In our consultation response we urged the Government to give full consideration to allow local producers of beer to sell through taprooms, brewery shops, events and online directly to the public, as is the case in England and Wales. We have suggested that this could be achieved through a new category of licence for producers.

We are continuing to work with CAMRA and others on this issue. If you wish to speak about this in more detail or we can assist you further please do not hesitate to get in touch. Email barry.watts@siba.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

15

16

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

SIBA news

New Chancellor Rishi Sunak expected to deliver news on future of Small Breweries’ Relief SIBA has responded to the news that Chancellor Rishi Sunak's first budget will take place on the 11th March, a day when around a thousand representatives from the beer and brewing industry will be together at BeerX UK waiting to hear the ruling on the future of Small Breweries’ Relief.

“The timing could not be more apt for the first Budget under the new Government,

Are you using the Assured Independent Craft Brewer logo?

We’re going to be featuring breweries using the Assured Independent British Craft Brewer logo on the SIBA website, on Social Media and in upcoming press activity, so make sure if you’ve started using the logo on your bottles, cans, or pumpclips you submit your artwork showing the logo on the SIBA website or through the Brewing in Brief.

For more information contact Neil Walker at neil.walker@ siba.co.uk.

as thousands of brewers and industry representatives from the British independent craft brewing industry will be together in Liverpool for BeerX UK – waiting to hear what will happen not only on Small Breweries’ Relief, but also on Beer Duty and Business Rates,” said SIBA Chief Executive James Calder.

“Small Breweries’ Relief has been a huge success and has helped the British brewing industry grow to be one of the most exciting and vibrant in the World. In their reform of

the system SIBA is calling on the Government to commit to smoothing the ‘cliff edge’ above 5,000 Hectolitres (HL), which is around 880,000 pints of beer and will incentivise brewers to grow. Importantly though this reform must come without withdrawing any relief for any brewer below 5,000HL, where SBR is absolutely vital and where any reduction could lead to widespread small brewery closures.”

SIBA’s March 2020 Budget requests: Small Breweries’ Relief (SBR)

Business rates

SIBA believes that SBR can be positively reformed to encourage job creation, investment and growth. To achieve this change for the long term, SIBA is calling on the Treasury to smooth the ‘cliff edge’ above 5,000 Hectolitres (HL), which is the equivalent of 880,000 pints of beer, to incentivise brewers to grow without withdrawing any relief for any brewer below 5,000HL.

The Conservatives have promised a fundamental revive of the system, but SIBA would like to see the Government go further and commit to helping small brewers on their business rates bills.

Alcohol Duty review

This means that per pint of beer the business rates paid by small independent brewers is significantly greater than that of their global competitors, who have economies of scale independent’s do not.

It is vital that the Conservative Party’s proposed review of alcohol duty – which they have said is to “ensure that our tax system is supporting British drink producers” - does not negatively impact the nation’s small independent brewers, one of the UK’s most important manufacturing industries.

The review must not lead to placing equivalence on every category of alcohol on the table, nor undo the benefits that small breweries’ relief has brought to our British beer industry.

Within the valuations system large and global brewers’ premises are classed as ‘specialist’ whereas small brewers’ premises are classed as general manufacturing.

Beer Duty & Cider Duty SIBA, alongside the rest of the beer, brewing and pub industry, is calling for a freeze in beer duty for the duration of the next Parliament and that cider duty is brought into line with beer duty, removing the situation whereby the largest cider producers pay less tax than the smallest brewers.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

17

18

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

SIBA news

SIBA Chief Executive writes to key ministers on issues facing independent craft brewers Following the recent General Election, SIBA’s Chief Executive, James Calder, has written to key ministers in the new Government outlining the challenges and opportunities for independent craft brewers over the next year.

Alongside the letters, each minister was sent a copy of SIBA’s latest manifesto which outlines 15 policies to turbocharge independent brewing in the UK. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, SIBA highlighted its “oven ready” plans to encourage job creation, investment and growth in the industry while protecting small craft brewers who operate in a highly competitive market.

Writing to the Chancellor, along with the Exchequer Minister, SIBA outlined the positive reforms that HM Treasury could make to Small

Breweries’ Relief to incentivise brewers to grow without withdrawing any relief for any brewer below 5,000HL. SIBA’s concerns on the proposed Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) were shared with the Environment Minister. Small brewers are conscious of their impact on the environment and want to work closely with the Government to develop a DRS that works for the whole of the UK. In a letter to the Small Business Minister, SIBA outlined its ideas to improve the Pubs Code and the Pubs Code Adjudicator which is currently under review.

More information on SIBA’s position on Small Breweries’ Relief, Pubs Code and the Deposit Return Scheme can be found on the SIBA website.

Supplier Associates: Get involved!

If you are a Supplier Associate Member of SIBA and you are interested in: • Attending a Regional Forum • Speaking to brewers • Hosting a small exhibition stand • Sponsorship • Presenting a brewing or business seminar Why not get in touch and find out more about how you can get involved by emailing neil.walker@siba.co.uk?

Engage with CaskFinder to improve your marketing Cask Marque has launched a new version of its CaskFinder app and is calling on all brewers to engage with this free marketing channel.

The CaskFinder app, which promotes the 10,000 Cask Marque accredited pubs, has achieved in excess of 170,000 downloads and is used 60,000 times a month by cask ale lovers, searching for that quality pint in Cask Marque accredited pubs.

The new app has approximately 10,000 beer tasting notes from 1,300 breweries and Cask Marque is encouraging brewers to engage with this channel to make sure their brewery and beer tasting notes are exactly how they would like them to be marketed.

How does it work?

If you are not already using CaskFinder in your marketing then simply email Ali@cask-marque. co.uk requesting a login to update your brewery and beer details.

You will then visit inapub.co.uk/tradelogin and enter your login details. You simply then click on ‘Drinks’ on the left menu and add and edit your beer details. Then download the CaskFinder app to see how your entries look.

Your beer entries will also be logged into the Inapub social connect system, which drives thousands of UK pub websites. When a licensee puts your beer on their bar, they simply select the beers on their Inapub system and the pump clip and tasting notes appear on the pub’s website and social media.

The new app also has a Pump Clip recognition function. This allows beer consumers to take a picture of a pump clip and then see what the beer’s tasting notes are. So, it is very important your pump clip images are on the CaskFinder app if you want to benefit.

The new CaskFinder app also includes Cask Ale trails for beer-lovers to participate in, beer news and a list of local and national ale festivals.

For more information please email Ali@Cask-Marque or call 01206 752212.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

19

20

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

SIBA news

Pete (Fluffy) Martin: 1963 - 2020 MIDDLE OF PUBLICATION

Obituary

Driftwood Spars Brewery & SIBA South West Regional Director Pete sadly passed away on 10th January after a brief stay in hospital; all are very shocked at his untimely death.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to Sarah his partner, his siblings Irene, Andrew and Isabel, his many friends and all those who worked with him at Driftwood Spars. His funeral and wake afterwards at Driftwood Spars was on 1st February where many came from across the country to remember the legend that was Pete the Brewer and to drink his beers.

Fluffy, as many knew him because of the garish fluffy jumpers and fleeces that he was seen in at beer festivals, was a passionate home brewer whilst in Cheltenham working in computing.

He gave up his well-paid job to move to Weymouth where he started sculpting and also met Sarah. Then then about 20 years ago he moved to Cornwall, starting the Bathtub Brewery at the Seven Stars in Stithians which unfortunately had to close when the pub changed hands. But a chance meeting at the St Austell Beer Festival with Louise the owner of

The Driftwood Spars resulted in him becoming the Head Brewer there.

Driftwood Spars gluten-free, the first brewery in Cornwall to do so.

Pete was also a very talented artist, sculptor and wood carver. When he could tear himself away from the brewery, he could be found creating carvings from wood, stone and slate; his sculptures are to be found throughout Cornwall, perhaps the best-known ones being the pineapple at the entrance to The Eden Project and Neptune in Charlestown which has raised thousands of pounds for Children’s Hospice South West over the years

Pete was always a friendly face at beer festivals, it was not unknown for him to get pleasantly oiled at them; on one occasion after the St Austell Beer Festival he was due to get the train back to Redruth and be picked up from there, however he fell asleep and ended up at Penzance, the end of the line, and luckily for him Sarah drove all the way there to take him home. When he was next allowed out, it was with a label tied to his fleece ‘My name is Peter Martin, please return to.…’.

He put the Driftwood Spars beers on the map and won well deserved awards with them, the latest with Alfie’s Revenge which won the Barley Wine/Strong Old Ale category in the CAMRA South West Regional CBOB in Exeter just a few days after Pete’s death.

He was very proud that his beers ‘crafted in the cove’ were all brewed using British malt and English hops. A few years ago, he started experimenting with gluten-free beers, initially using sorghum, but latterly opting to use enzymes to make all the beers brewed by

Pete was very willing to help and support fellow brewers and always encouraging; for him the pot was always half full and never half empty.

Many have enjoyed a beer or three with him in a pub or at a festival and the atmosphere was always convivial with a good smattering of fun.

For the last three years he had represented the South West Region on the SIBA Board and always made sure that the voice of the working brewer was heard. He will be greatly missed.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

21

Historic beer recipes

SIBA’s 40th Anniversary Beer Collaborations 5 beers for members to try at BeerX UK

As part of our 40th anniversary celebrations, SIBA has collaborated with five of our member breweries to produce a historic beer from every decade, and a brand new one for 2020.

be on tap for attendees to try.

A special anniversary event will take place at the SIBA Hub during BeerX UK in Liverpool on Wednesday March 11th and Thursday March 12th from 8pm till 9pm where all five beers will

BeerX UK Headline sponsor Kegstar will also have the anniversary keg beers on their bar (next to the SIBA Hub), in a bid to make sure everybody gets to try them!

Members attending BeerX will be offered five half pint vouchers, which can be collected from the SIBA Hub.

Love Lane Brewing – Baltic Haze 6.0% ABV (NEIPA) Juicy, fruity and full in texture this New England Style IPA is brewed with copious amounts of intensely fruity US hops to give notes of mango, passion fruit and citrus with a soft mouthfeel.

Neil Walker, SIBA’s Head of Communications, said: "New England style IPA has taken the beer World by storm, an antithesis to dry, bitter, resinous West Coast IPA, New England IPA (or NEIPA) is softer, much less bitter, and is typified by stone fruit flavours, a juicy mouthfeel and a hazy often opaque appearance.

When I first discussed the idea of a collaboration with Love Lane for our 2020 anniversary beer, it was the beer style that immediately sprung to mind and I am delighted that Love Lane has delivered what looks like a fantastic recipe and I'm sure will be a delicious representation of the style.

2020 22

“The timing of the collaboration could not be more apt, with this year's BeerX UK Keynote Speaker being Jean-Claude Tetreault, the founder of Trillium brewery one of the front-runners of the NEIPA beer style.

That said I am a little nervous of such an expert in the New England style judging our beer!"

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Historic beer recipes Ride Brew Co. – London Dry Gin 5.0% ABV (Kettle Sour)

Brewed with pale ale malt, kettle soured, and coldconditioned on a secret blend of gin botanicals this tart, fragrant beer could be mistaken for a smallbatch Gin with a distinctive aroma and flavour.

2010s

Dave Lannigan, the Founder of Ride Brew Co, said: “Made with pale ale malt and soured with sour pitch from lallemand, it is soured for 24 hours then boiled

Wibblers Brewery – Crafty Stoat 5.3% ABV (Stout)

Stoat is a complex robust dry stout, utterly black in colour with an incredible depth of flavour due to the eight different grains and the volume of earthy, peppery English Fuggles hops to balance out the flavour.

2000s

Phil Wilcox, the Founder & Head Brewer of Wibblers Brewery, said: “Based on the 1885 Ushers Stout recipe developed by the Durden Park Beer Circle, Crafty Stoat was originally brewed in 2007 by myself, members of the Durden Beer Circle, the Craft Brewing Association, the UK Homebrew Digest and

Rooster’s – Cream

4.7% ABV (Strong Pale Ale) Cream is a premium aromatic bitter that showcases the Liberty hop, from Washington State in the USA. Floral, citrus and candy fruit characteristics, with a touch of spice that leads to a delicate, silky smooth finish.

1990s

This is a recipe from the Rooster’s archives, having been first brewed in 2005. Cream is a premium aromatic bitter that showcases the Liberty hop, from Washington State in the USA. Golden promise pale malt, Rooster’s house yeast and soft Yorkshire water combine to create clean base for the qualities of the hops to be showcased upon; floral, citrus and candy fruit characteristics, with a touch of spice that leads to a delicate, silky smooth finish.

Burton Bridge Brewery – Bridge Bitter 4.2% ABV (Best Bitter) A classic bitter with a distinctive Burton flavour.

Pale and crystal malt combine with fruity hop aromas from the combination of Challenger, Target, Northdown and late addition Styrion.

Burton Bridge Bitter was first brewed on 25th May 1982 and racked on 2nd June 1982.

1980s

It was decided to brew Bridge Bitter as a Burton styled bitter. The strength was based on the other Burton brewed bitters at the time, and Bridge Bitter is an all malt brew, even though brewing sugars were a cheaper source of malt at the time. The hops were chosen on

as a normal wort would be. Then it’s fermented with a Nottingham ale yeast and we add a secret blend of gin botanicals during the cold conditioning stage. The first time the beer was brewed was when I had the kitchen in my tenement of Glasgow registered as a brewery. Ride Brew Co was started to create jobs for the disabled like myself. We currently support one member of staff part time through the supported employment scheme that is run by Glasgow City Council.”

other hobby brewer friends at the Wibblers Brewery Annual ‘Flocculation.’ This event is a gathering of friends, hobby brewers and, now, members of the Wibblers Beer & Cider Club. Crafty Stoat was CAMRA’s National Champion Stout of Great Britain in 2015/16 and has won a number of other local and regional SIBA and CAMRA awards over the years. The only hop used is good old English Fuggles and lots of them! Grains used is a bit more complex; Maris Otter 19, Brown Malt, Wheat Malt, Amber Malt, Crystal 150, Roast Barley (all from Crisp) Carafa Special 1, Carafa Special 3 (from Weyermann via Charles Faram.)

Historically this was brewed on a 2BBL hobby kit but due to demand we now produce it on the main plant.”

Established in 1993 and seen by many as being one of the forerunners and pioneers of the UK craft beer scene, Rooster’s Brewing Co. is an independent and family-owned brewery based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Famed for their trailblazing approach to brewing pale ales using exciting new world hops at a time when the UK beer market was very much a sea of brown beer, Yankee quickly became Rooster’s flagship beer and, more than 25 years after it was first brewed, continues to turn heads and win awards – most recently, gold at the 2019 SIBA National keg competition. Having outgrown the site the brewery had occupied since 2001, Rooster’s moved to a new home in Harrogate in 2019. The move to the new premises also afforded Rooster’s enough space to open an onsite Taproom, complete with a large beer garden and separate event space.

the basis that the varieties would still be grown in 30 years’ time. Challenger and Target are still used, along with Northdown to soften the astringency from the Target hops. The beer was dry hopped with Styrian Goldings. This aroma hop was the favourite amongst the Ind Coope brewers (where co-founders Bruce Wilkinson and Geoff Mumford) had previously worked.

Bruce Wilkinson, Co-Founder of Burton Bridge, said: "Bridge Bitter is a good Burton styled Bitter which has been brewed consistently by the same dedicated people, the same process, raw materials and plant for 38 years."

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

23

Come visit us

at Stand 24

e v i t a v e h Inno t r o f g n i g a y Pack r t s u d n I g n i w k e u r . o B c . g ckagin a p n o x a s

Promote your Brand Protect your Product Transit, Mail-Order, Gift Packs & Carry Packs

SUPPORTER

24

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

The view from Westminster

40 years young As SIBA celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, it would be remiss of me not to mention some of SIBA’s past political achievements.

Top of our list has to be securing the Small Breweries’ Relief scheme in 2002. For some 21 years SIBA was the only voice calling for progressive beer duty and SBR has undoubtedly transformed the craft beer industry in the UK. SBR is as important today as it was back in 2002 and we continue to remind our politicians of the positive impact It has as the Government prepares to announce the outcome of its recent review.

It was also the powerful lobbying by SIBA and its members that was crucial in bringing about the first reduction in beer duty since 1959, when the Government took a penny off the pint in 2013. That year also saw the scrapping of the beer duty escalator, which put the price of a pint up by 2% a year resulting in a 42% tax hike since 2008. While in the last few years duty has been frozen on beer, it is the work of SIBA and other bodies that has helped to keep it so.

It remains to be seen what the Chancellor will announce in his next Budget in March.

The view from Westminster

Opportunities in Parliament It is only with the continued support of SIBA members that we can make the case for independent craft beer in Parliament. After the recent General Election there’s now lots of new MPs for all of us to get to know and there are ways for you to get involved.

Since 2005, the Strangers Bar in Parliament has operated a Guest Ale scheme, allowing your local MP to get your beer served in the Commons. Over the past 15 years they’ve served around 700 beers to MPs and it’s a brilliant way to showcase your cask ales.

Have you had an MP visit your brewery? The majority of MPs very happy to visit and you can invite them to do a ‘Brew with your MP’ day (which can vary from just adding the hops to cleaning out the mash tun). If you need any help organising this let me know.

It is only with the continued support of SIBA members that we can make the case for independent craft beer in Parliament.

Deposit Return Scheme The Scottish Government are continuing to press ahead with their Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) which will have significant impacts on small brewers in Scotland and those who sell beer into Scotland (including through wholesalers). As it stands, brewers will have to pay registration and producer fees and comply with labelling requirements.

Now and again there’s also events in Parliament such as the Celebration of British Beer held in February where several breweries donated their beer and came along to meet their local MPs.

In January Scottish brewers signed and delivered a petition demanding proportional costs, safeguards for small brewers and a realistic timescale for its introduction. We should get the final details of this scheme later in the year.

Budget 2020

Northern Ireland

On March 11th, during BeerX UK, we are expecting the new Chancellor Rishi Sunak to deliver his first Budget. On his agenda with be the future of Small Breweries’ Relief, a review of alcohol duty which could put equivalence on the table, business rates and beer duty. SIBA has been holding meetings with new MPs as well as making its submission to the Chancellor and ministers on these pivotal points.

Please give some thought to our colleagues in Northern Ireland who under current laws can’t easily open a taproom, shop, sell beer at an event or even online. The 30 or so small independent brewers in NI have started campaigning to change these outdated laws so they have the same rights as SIBA members on the other side of the Irish Sea. SIBA and

CAMRA are fully supporting this campaign and I recently had the opportunity to meet with a dozen brewers in Belfast to talk about what we can do to help.

New Zealand Last year I had an excellent tour of New Zealand breweries – managing to visit Parrotdog, Garage Project, Blackdog and a few others. With around 200 breweries and a population of 5 million people there’s certainly plenty of beer around. As part of this I made some contacts with the Department of International Trade based in New Zealand who can offer support for anyone looking to export to the country. Get in touch if you want to know more.

Barry Watts is Head of Public Affairs and Policy at SIBA. He covers political relations and policy for SIBA members. He can be contacted at barry.watts@siba.co.uk or 07977837804.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

25

A History of SIBA

1977

And now for something completley different...

Terry Jones enjoying a beer at Penrhos Court in Herefordshire.

A History of SIBA at 40 We asked Roger Protz, one of the best known and most respected beer writers of the last 40 years, to delve into the SIBA archives and speak to some of the pioneers from SIBA’s early days to find out more about how the organisation came to be founded and what has driven its growth since then‌

26

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

A History of SIBA

The story of SIBA tells how a small group of dedicated beer lovers took on both the brewing establishment and the government and in so doing transformed the beer scene in Britain.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s the omens were not good for launching small breweries.

The industry was dominated by six giant national groups that acted as a cartel while regional brewers enjoyed the comfort blanket of their tied estates of pubs. It was an industry that had seemingly impossible barriers for new producers to enter.

David Bruce, founder of the Firkin chain of brew pubs, was one of those who crashed into the road blocks when he attempted to join the Brewers’ Society, forerunner of the British Beer & Pub Association.

“I told them I was a fully licensed commercial brewer but they said I was too small and they represented big brewers, not entrepreneurs. I was also turned down by the Worshipful Company of Brewers.”

Bruce met up with a small group of kindred spirits who faced even greater difficulties: they didn’t own any pubs and they couldn’t get their beers into outlets owned by national and regional brewers. The pioneers included Simon Hoskins of Tower Bridge Brewery, Patrick Fitzpatrick of Godsons, Mark Wallington of Archers, and James Lynch of Bourne Valley.

“We used to meet for lunch on Fridays once a month in a Davy’s Wine Bar in London called the Boot & Flogger,” David Bruce recalls. “They were very long lunches and we then drove home – fortunately before the breathalyser was introduced.”

These boozy events had a serious intent.

With his love of dreadful puns, Bruce labelled the group SLOBA, which stood for the Society of London Brewers.

“We were a bunch of renegades,” he says.

Their aim was to make good beer but they had to break the monopoly grip of the bigger brewers. Bruce then had the good fortune to meet Dave Roberts who was keen to open his own brewery, Pilgrim in Surrey. Roberts visited Bruce’s Fox & Firkin in Lewisham to see if he could buy similar brewing equipment and was encouraged the join the SLOBA group as he had muchneeded experience of government.

Roberts was a former civil servant who had worked at the top level of the Welsh Office and had been seconded to the Ministry of

Defence. He knew how Whitehall worked and how to get the ear of politicians and policy makers.

Memories differ over where the first formal meeting to set up SIBA, first known as the Small Independent Brewers Society, took place. David Bruce believes it was at the Cross Keys pub in Wootton Basset in Wiltshire, while Dave Roberts thinks it was the offices of the brewery supplies group Murphy’s. What is certain is that Bruce’s wife, Louise, became the first voluntary secretary and Dave Roberts was put in charge of campaigns.

The collegiate nature of the small brewers is highlighted by Dave Roberts’ experience.

He watched brewing at the Fox & Firkin and other Bruce brew pubs then installed similar kit at his site in Reigate.

“David came down to help me set it up, then one of his team, a brewer who had trained at Heriot-Watt, spent a day showing me how to brew – and then I was on my own!”

"I told them I was a fully licensed commercial brewer but they said I was too small and they represented big brewers, not entrepreneurs.

I was also turned down by the Worshipful Company of Brewers."

David Bruce

The fledgling group had some star dust sprinkled on it when it had the good fortune to attract the interest of Peter Austin who had connections to the Monty Python star Terry Jones. Jones, who died in January this year, recalled in an interview in 2008 with the Morning Advertiser that the Python team had unexpectedly made a lot of money from their film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and one way to avoid being hammered by the tax man was to invest in a business.

Jones loved beer, he was a member of CAMRA and he put money into launching a brewery at Penrhos Court in Herefordshire in 1977. He teamed up with Peter Austin, former head brewer at the Hull Brewery, who was keen to build and develop kit suitable for small brewers. Penrhos survived for only a few years but it had put down a marker and the publicity it generated as a result of Terry Jones’s involvement

encouraged a number of beer lovers to open their own plants.

Peter Austin was invited to become SIBA’s first chairman. Dubbed “the father of micro-brewing”, he opened his own brewery in Ringwood in Hampshire in 1978 where he achieved further fame when his Old Thumper strong ale was named CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain in 1988. He then toured the world, installing brewing kit in many new small breweries in the United States, France, Africa and China.

With Austin in the chair, SIBA attracted more members, including Carola Brown from Ballards in West Sussex and Simon Whitmore who founded Butcombe in Avon in 1978. Whitmore was a major influence.

He forced the bigger brewers to sit up and take notice of SIBA as he had been managing director of Courage Western in Bristol and knew the industry inside out.

At Butcombe he installed a 45-barrel kit that produced 150 barrels a week for 250 outlets in Avon and Somerset. Many of those pubs had been Courage houses that Whitmore had adroitly sold off when he was running Courage: it was a classic example of gamekeeper turned poacher.

He proved to his fellow SIBA members that it was possible to brew substantial amounts of beer, get them into free trade accounts and, most importantly, make a good living at the same time.

Peter Austin and Dave Roberts said SIBA’s main role had to be campaigning for drastic changes in the way duty was levied on beer.

In Britain, duty was paid on original gravity, a measure of the fermentable materials – malted grain and such additives as brewing sugar – and brewers of all sizes paid the same rates.

“Small brewers had one hand tied behind their backs,” Dave Roberts says. “The straight line in duty meant the bigger brewers could afford to offer big discounts to pubs and supermarkets as well as selling through their tied estates. We argued that small brewers needed a 50 per cent discount on duty.”

SIBA members did benefit from the switch from duty based on original gravity to alcohol by volume. It meant in effect that tax was paid when the beer was ready leave the brewery and was known as “factory gate duty”. “When duty was paid on OG,” Roberts adds, “small brewers had to borrow to pay their monthly bills.”

Continued on page 28

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

27

A History of SIBA

Keith Bott, who became a key figure in SIBA from the early 1990s, recalls the false dawn of the government’s Beer Orders that were supposed to open the market for smaller brewers. The Beer Orders flowed from a Monopolies & Mergers Commission report into the brewing industry in 1989. The findings summed up everything both CAMRA and SIBA had claimed for years: the Big Six national brewers acted as a cartel, fixing prices, wickedly overcharging for lager and closing their pubs to smaller brewers.

The Thatcher government accepted the MMC proposals and the Beer Orders instructed the Big Six to sell a large proportion of their pubs and to open the remainder to guest beers from smaller brewers.

Dave Roberts recalls a joint meeting with CAMRA at the Treasury where the minister, Francis Maude, agreed to the proposal that the guest beer had to be cask ale to stop the big brewers flooding the market with keg and lager brands. It seemed a major breakthrough but it didn’t take into account the ability of the nationals to make a mockery of the policy.

Suddenly pubs owned by the Big Six were packed with cask beers from half-forgotten breweries the nationals had bought and closed years earlier. For example, it was discovered that such Allied Breweries’ brands as Benskins, Friary Meux and Taylor Walker were all the same liquid brewed in Burton-on-Trent, with a different hop added to each batch.

“The Beer Orders actually foreclosed the market instead of opening it,” Keith Bott says.

He ran Titanic Brewery in Stoke-on-Trent

and saw at first hand the awesome grip of the nationals.

“I sold more beer in Newcastle-on-Tyne than I did in Newcastle under Lyme,” he says. “Ansells and Bass just dominated the Potteries. Even Marston’s couldn’t get a look in!”

Bott joined SIBA in 1991 or 1992 and was immediately voted on to the council. He went on to become chairman in 2003 and again in 2010 and was president in between. He was awarded an MBE in 2016 for services to the brewing industry.

He says the failure of the Beer Orders to open the market meant that SIBA’s emphasis had to be on changing the way duty was levied. He recalls that every Fifth of November a group of SIBA members would ceremonially roll a cask of beer over Westminster Bridge and set it up on the terrace of the House of Commons.

They invited MPs for a drink and then argued the case for a change in beer duty that would enable SIBA members to tackle the domination of the national brewers.

Dave Roberts, with his experience of government, had many talks with senior Tories but felt he was making no headway. “I turned to the Labour Party, then in opposition,” he says, “and struck up a good relationship with Dawn Primarola, who was a shadow treasury spokeswoman.” Roberts was backed by Peter Haydon, who had become SIBA’s national secretary and ensured the duty campaign was the association’s over-riding policy.

The tide turned in 1997 when Labour came to power. SIBA now had meetings with government and HMRC to discuss a sliding

1978

Peter Austin SIBA’s first chairman “the father of micro-brewing” at Ringwood Hampshire.

28

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

scale of duty. Dave Roberts, who had become SIBA chairman, says he was told two years in advance that a scheme would be introduced but he could say nothing until there was an official announcement.

In 2002 the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, to raucous applause from his backbenchers, told the Commons that lower rates of beer duty would be introduced and there would be cheap beer in time for the upcoming football World Cup. Not even the fastest method of fermentation could have met that pledge, but the die was cast and Progressive Beer Duty became government policy and was overseen by HMRC. After more than 20 years of campaigning, lobbying and arguing, SIBA had achieved its central aim.

Following some initial tinkering and refinement, Progressive Beer Duty meant that most small brewers who produced no more than 5,000 hectolitres or 300 barrels a year would have their duty rates cut by 50 per cent. There was then a sliding scale or taper up to 60,000 hectos or 36,000 barrels, above which full duty would be levied.

“The awareness of SIBA changed overnight,” Keith Bott says. “Until then it was hard to get consumers to try something new. They would say ‘I drink Bass’ and they would stick with that.

But now they knew there would be new beers to drink.

“Titanic was able to use East West Ales and other wholesalers to get our beers into area beyond Stoke where the tie wasn’t so powerful.

We started to sell to the North-east and to

A History of SIBA

Smiles’ pubs in Bristol.”

Getting beers to market remained a challenge despite PBD. There were new kids on the block in the shape of modern pub companies, pubcos for short. Throughout the 1990s, the Big Six national brewers, with the exception of Scottish & Newcastle, had left brewing and retailing rather than open their pubs to beers from smaller producers.

The final nail in the coffin came in 2000 when both Bass and Whitbread quit the beer stage and sold their pubs to non-brewing companies that were free from the restraints of the Beer Orders. The pub market came to be dominated by Enterprise Inns (now Ei), Punch Taverns and Mitchells & Butlers who between them owned as many pubs as the old Big Six. Beer retailing became brutal.

The Old Six brewers did have some concern for their publicans and often kept rents artificially low while they charged top dollar for their beers. The pubcos on the other hand charged not only high prices for the beer they sold to tenants but often crippling levels of rent on top.

And that meant obtaining the biggest possible discounts from brewers – discounts most SIBA members couldn’t contemplate if they were to make reasonable returns for their businesses. As the founder of Punch said, “I buy beer cheap and sell it dear – the difference is my profit”.

The late Dave Wickett, who ran the Kelham Island Brewery in Sheffield, once told this writer that he was approached by Punch with a view to the pubco taking his beer. On top of steep discounts, Wickett was told he would have to deliver casks to a Liverpool

depot once a week and then return to pick up the empties. He would also have to pay substantial annual fees to be listed by Punch.

It was an offer he was able to reject on the simple grounds that he would have ended up out of pocket.

The 21st century was a time of great turbulence on the world brewing stage To redress the balance of power, in 2003 SIBA created DDS, the Direct Delivery Scheme. It was the brainchild of Nick Stafford who ran, and still runs, Hambleton Ales in North Yorkshire. He was one of SIBA’s great success stories. He started his brewery in 1991 in a farm shed and grew to produce 100 barrels a week on purposebuilt kit, helped along the way by winning CAMRA’s Champion Winter Beer award in 1997 for Nightmare Porter.

DDS, which was renamed Beerflex in 2015, cut out the middlemen by delivering 500 SIBA members’ cask beers direct to free trade pubs and also tied pubs where tenants had some freedom to buy beer outside of the tie. As Beerflex, the scheme has been widened to include craft keg and packaged beers and they can be delivered to the offtrade as well as pubs now.

Keith Bott says the success of DDS provided the funding for SIBA to become a more professional organisation. “Until then, we’d been run solely by volunteers. Now we needed professional people to run the organisation on a daily basis.”

Nick Stafford was appointed commercial

director and over the following years experienced people were recruited to support Stafford and to handle press and public relations. SIBA subtly changed from the Small Independent Brewers Association to the Society of Independent Brewers to enable middle-ranking producers to join.

The annual meeting also changed and became BeerX, held first in Sheffield and more recently in Liverpool. It has become one of the major events of the annual beer scene, staging beer judging and giving awards for a host of categories that include promotions and concern for the environment as well as cask, keg and packaged beers.

In 2014 SIBA appointed its first chief executive. Mike Benner had powerful campaigning credentials as the former CEO of CAMRA and he says: “I saw the need to focus SIBA with a more strategic approach to its activities. We had to continue to secure access to market for our members and to get fair prices for their beer and we had to defend Small Breweries’ Relief.”

SBR was the new name for Progressive Beer Duty and the scheme had come under relentless pressure from regional and family brewers in what they called “the squeezed middle” who received no duty relief.

Benner and his council acknowledged that reform of SBR was needed but they were determined that SIBA members, especially the smaller brewers, would not lose the 50 per cent duty reduction that was their life line.

Mike Benner also took notice of events beyond Britain’s shores. The 21st century was a time of great turbulence on the world Continued on page 31

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

29

3 & 4 June 2020 BRUSSELS , BELGIUM

I

r e e B And d n o bey

I

WWW

ERS .B R E W

FORU

M .E U

The 2020 edition of the Brewers Forum will combine plenary key notes, panel discussions, workshop-like breakout sessions to disseminate knowledge, foster the discussion and shape the future of the industry.

• Sustainability, and how breweries and brewing practices can respond to climate change and its impact

or no budget • How quality can be improved by quality control

• Beer styles: what defines them and how they drive the industry and consumers

and quality management • The role of women in the beer industry and as

• The production of alcohol-free beers by smaller breweries

30

• Practical marketing tips for breweries with limited

consumers and their impact • And many more…

KNOWLEDGE

TRADE SHOW

NETWORKING

MORE THAN 20 CONFERENCES WITH TOP

AN INDUSTRY TRADE SHOW FEATURING

MEET PROFESSIONALS FROM ALL OVER

LEVEL SPEAKERS, PANELISTS AND EXPERTS.

50+ VENDORS.

THE WORLD.

From harvesting yeast to brewing non-alco-

Meet a targeted audience of beer professio-

Join us for many informal after-hours gathe-

holic beer in small breweries, from develo-

nals keen to learn about your company and its

rings in Brussels. The city makes no secret

ping a marketing campaign with almost no

products and services. The Brewers of Europe

of its passion for the good life, good food

resource to implementing the Green Deal

Forum is a unique opportunity for brewers,

and good beer. Despite all the different lan-

in the brewing industry, the Forum will offer

brewery owners, craft brewers, equipment

guages spoken on the corner of every street

inspiration for all participants as they come

manufacturers, material suppliers, distribu-

and its European dimension, Brussels has a

together to discuss and lay down the future

tors, bar and retail owners, beer educators

very villagelike feel about it.

of the industry.

and aspiring brewers.

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

A History of SIBA

1983 The character “Alfie Acid” appearing on SIBA’s first monthly newsletter The Grist Magazine first published in 1983

James Calder delivering beer to the Treasury brewing stage with the emergence of such global giants as AB InBev, SAB Miller (now part of AB InBev), Molson Coors and Heineken. With sales of mainstream lager in decline, global producers were moving into the craft sector and in Britain a number of craft breweries, including Camden, Meantime and Sharp’s, had been bought.

Prompted by this threat to the independence of small brewers, Mike Benner introduced an Assured British Independent Craft Brewers seal that SIBA members could use to help, he says, “consumers identify beer from genuine British craft brewers”. He took the idea across the Atlantic and addressed a conference of the Brewers Association in the US, which has adopted a similar scheme.

When Mike Benner moved to a new post in 2019, the new chief executive James Calder also brought a wealth of campaigning experience to the job. He’s a former lobbyist and worked on tax avoidance for the Institute of Chartered Accountants – a useful background when finding a way through the minefield of beer duty and other taxes in the brewing industry.

A review of SBR is likely at some stage – possibly even in the March budget – and Calder echoes both Mike Benner and Keith Bott in saying that the gains of the past years must be safeguarded while agreeing brewers in the “squeezed middle” need support.

SIBA has 727 members and Calder’s ambition is to grow that number to 1,000 over the next two years. £300 a year membership is a small price to pay, he says, for the services SIBA provides.

The key issues ahead he adds are protecting SBR, increasing access to market and, once Britain is fully detached from the European Union, arguing the case with government and HMRC for differential rates of duty for draught beer.

The latter aim would give a boost to pub sales that are under threat from cheap “loss leaders” in supermarkets.

James Calder wants further help for the pub sector with cuts in the current punitive levels of business rates. It’s an important issue as he’s keen for his members to buy pubs in order to attract more drinkers to craft beer. He’s especially concerned by the decline in sales of cask ale, which remains the bedrock of many SIBA members’ outputs. He has also linked up with Cask Marque to ensure better training in cellar techniques and correct serving temperatures.

After 40 years hard pounding there’s no shortage of issues for SIBA to campaign on. It will no doubt continue to rattle the cage and annoy bigger brewers, although Keith Bott admits with a grin that Titanic Brewery has been allowed to join the British Beer & Pub Association.

Just don’t tell David Bruce...

Roger Protz has been writing about beer since the early days of both CAMRA and SIBA and got to know such key figures in the small brewery movement as Peter Austin, Terry Jones, David Bruce, Simon Whitmore and Dave Roberts. He edited 24 editions of the Good Beer Guide and has written more than 20 books about beer and pubs, including 300 Beers to Try Before You Die, one of the best-selling books about beer. He writes for What’s Brewing, BEER and SIBA Journal and runs a popular website protzonbeer.co.uk. He tweets @rogerprotzbeer. He has won Lifetime Achievement Awards from both SIBA and the British Guild of Beer Writers and has twice been named Drink Writer of the Year in the Glenfiddich Awards. He conducts beer talks and tastings at beer festivals throughout the UK, including the Great British Beer Festival, and he has also appeared at Friends of the Smithsonian in Washington DC and Beer Expo in Melbourne, Australia.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

31

Profile: Carola Brown

Former owner of Ballards Brewery & Past Chair and President of SIBA

Carola Brown

At BeerX UK in 2019, Carola Brown was awarded a SIBA Lifetime Achievement Award as one of the most influential leaders SIBA has had since it was founded. First as Secretary in the late 1980s and then subsequently as Chair and eventually President of SIBA, she contributed countless hours of her time voluntarily to running the organisation, and was often to be found at the House of Commons lobbying MPs in the campaign for Progressive Beer Duty. Carola was the driving force behind many of SIBA’s key achievements and helped to grow the organisation’s profile and reach by building relationships with

32

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

the other key brewing organisations in order to improve SIBA’s credibility with Government. She founded Ballards Brewery in Sussex alongside her then husband Mike in 1980, the same year SIBA was founded, and although she has now retired, the Ballards name lives on at the Greyhound Brewery which took on the rights to brewing her awardwinning ales in 2017. Carola spoke to Independent Brewer’s Caroline Nodder about her career in brewing and her huge contribution to SIBA’s successes over the years…

Profile: Carola Brown

It was in the late 1970s that Carola was first introduced to the brewing sector by her then husband Mike. “He was a lawyer but he wanted to run his own business.

So he had various crazy ideas and this was one that stuck!” she explains. “We went to the CAMRA Great British Beer Festival at Alexandra Palace in 1978 and discovered there was such a thing as a one man brewery.

I think there were only probably about 30ish small breweries like that at that time. So we spent a few months going out and visiting and looking at various breweries, then we met Peter Austin [founder of Ringwood Brewery and the first ever SIBA Chairman], and we decided to go for it.”

In 1980 Mike was invited by Peter Austin, who was helping Ballards as a brewing consultant at the time, to attend the inaugural meeting of The Small Independent Brewers Association at Wootton Bassett. “We were not yet brewing, but nearly there. Mike’s legal background was useful in setting up the Association and Mike then attended meetings regularly,” says Carola, who did not get directly involved with SIBA herself until she took over running Ballards in 1988, when Mike decided he wanted to step away.

At that time the organisation had grown from its humble beginnings in a back room at a pub on Wooton Bassett High Street and now had a degree of structure and organisation.

“There was an amazing couple called Lizzie Baker and Tony Williamson who were journalists and they were very keen on beer and adopted the idea of SIBA,” says Carola. “They were doing a little magazine originally that was more like a leaflet really, but eventually it became more formal and was called The Grist. Lizzie just took it upon herself to take minutes of meetings and they produced the magazine together, and promoted membership and kept the membership list and various other things.

There was a Treasurer at that time too so it was reasonably formal, and by the time in 1988 I went to my first meeting there was a Council and a Chairman as well as Lizzie and Tony organising things. They would organise meetings at the House of Common and take members’ beers in and talk to MPs.” In January 1989, Carola Attended the SIBA AGM at the Jolly Roger Brewery at Worcester and was very warmly welcomed

by Paul Soden [SIBA Chair from 19851992] and Peter Austin [SIBA Chair from 1980-1985] and met Phil Freakley [SIBA Chair from1996-1997], Lizzie Baker, Tony

Williamson, John and Jenny Aries, Jim Laker and David Roberts [SIBA Chair from 19921996] to name but a few.

Carola became fascinated by the struggle to obtain a sliding scale of duty for small brewers, and invited herself to attend the following Council Meetings. Eventually she was asked by Lizzie Baker to take over running membership recruitment and run the membership list. Gradually Lizzie passed over more duties including minute taking and distribution. At some point Carola officially became SIBA Secretary, having insisted that she was made a full Council Member.

In those days minute distribution involved typing up minutes, photocopying some 80 copies, putting them in envelopes, printing 80 or so address labels, sticking them on the envelopes, plus stamps, and posting them.

Which Carola did.

It was before that, during David Robert’s chairmanship [1992-1996] that he worked out the basis of the proposals for a sliding scale of duty system that was eventually to be adopted in 2002.

As Secretary Carola had already attended many meetings with Parliamentarians, Treasury officials, Customs & Excise officials, and, as Chairman, she continued to represent SIBA at those meetings, along with many other Council Members.

During the whole period from the late 1980s and through the 90s SIBA was campaigning not only for a sliding scale, but also for an end to the Brewer’s Tie. The Implementation of the Beer Orders in 1989 was a low point in this campaign as Lord Young disregarded recommendations to introduce a sliding scale and did not remove the Tie, but forced brewers owning more than 2,000 pubs to sell off a proportion of them – the idea being that small brewers might be able to buy some of them. However, without a lower duty rate the small brewers could not afford to buy pubs, most of which in any case were sold off in groups to the newly forming Pub Companies. These companies were mainly formed by the now redundant staff who had administered the brewers’ estates; financed by foreign banks and securitised by the property value of the pubs themselves.

As these companies were not breweries they were not subject to any of the rules that now applied to breweries.

SIBA spent much energy, greatly supported

by John Bridgeman, the ex-Director of the Office for Fair Trading, trying to convince the EU Competition Commission that the

PubCos were exercising a form of vertical integration by the way in which they tied their pubs, but as the PubCos were not beer producers it could not carry this argument.

It was not until Nick Stafford came up with the idea of the Direct Delivery Scheme, implemented in 2002, that SIBA breweries were able to gain any access to the PubCo outlets, many of which had been freehouses, SIBA members’ core customers until the PubCos bought so many of them up in huge deals that saw hundreds of pubs change hands almost overnight.

Minute taking continued through the Chairmanships of Paul Soden, Dave Roberts and Phil Freakley until Phil’s investors in Aston Manor Brewery ousted him from the brewery and he did not attend the 1997 SIBA AGM. Carola remembers arriving rather late that day and was informed that she would be chairing the AGM the following day – “a daunting prospect” as she puts it!

At the Council meeting immediately following that she was elected Chairman in her own right.

Her particular contribution as Chairman was to form relationships between SIBA and the other leading brewers’ organisations – The Brewers’ Society, The Regional Brewers’ Association, the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group and the European Parliamentary Beer Club.

“My idea when I became Chairman was to talk to the other brewing organisations.

Because everyone was terribly aggressive and resentful of each other and nobody actually spoke. The big brewers considered us to be people just brewing in the garden shed really, and not at all professional. But when you start meeting people and having dinners with them and actually talking to them it becomes much harder for them to just dismiss you,” says Carola with typical modesty.

“I got the ball rolling but I never did anything on my own, there were plenty of people helping me and coming along to meetings.”

SIBA also decided at that stage that it needed to have someone in a paid role, partly to take on the minutes and admin but also to oversee the SIBA Journal which had now evolved out of The Grist and which was no longer being run by Lizzie Baker and Tony Williamson. The role was originally taken by Ruth Harriman but eventually expanded and ended up with Peter Haydon Continued on page 35

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

33

We proudly present: Craft Master Two 1 Pint • Toughened Glassware • 1 Pint brimful • Immediately available!

For all enquiries: Nick Crossley, UK agent for Rastal GmbH & Co. KG nick.crossley@rastal.com Telephone: 07768 648660 www.rastal.com | Follow us!

Visit us!

Stand # 8

34

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Carola Brown who was also involved in the campaigning side of SIBA’s work.

In 2000, After three years in the post, Carola resigned as Chairman in favour of Paul Davey [SIBA Chair from 2001-2003] and was given the position of President of SIBA and she carried on working for SIBA on the Regional Council for another five years.

The introduction of Small Breweries’ Relief and the launch of the Direct Delivery Scheme (now Beerflex) in 2002 was a huge triumph for SIBA and indeed Carola and her contemporaries. SBR has transformed the industry, bringing thousands of new breweries, new beers, new styles and new kinds of pubs to the market.

“It was very much a group effort, and people like David Roberts who had come before me had pretty much invented the whole system,” says Carola. “For 20 years we had never believed it was ever going to happen!”

Carola is also keen to credit the work Nick Stafford did in launching the Direct Delivery Scheme for turning around what had been a very tough time for smaller brewers as they saw their core pub customers being bought up after the Beer Orders by the newly former PubCos. “He is an absolute genius for delegation,” she adds. “He always had time to do things because he delegates so well. And he invented what is now BeerFlex in 2002, at a time when the PubCos were buying up so many pubs we were all losing half our customers.”

I ask Carola who she most admires from her SIBA days and also what she considers to be her proudest moment during her tenure at SIBA. She mentions Nick Stafford, Keith Bott, Peter Amor, David Roberts and Jim Laker as people she has admired within the SIBA leadership over the years.

“And I am not sure about proudest, but the most terrifying thing I ever did was speak in the House of Commons terrace marquee to MPs and Lords,” she adds. “It went reasonably well, but we had an MP from Fulham and Meantime Brewery was at the time based in Fulham and had totally convinced him about the sliding scale of duty relief. So he got an Early Day Motion through and arranged for me to speak to all these people. But when he introduced me, he basically made all the points that I was going to make – I was standing in the wings waiting to go on thinking ‘oh God, he’s already said that. And he’s already said that…’. So I got up and told all the MPs and Lords that he had obviously understood our case so well he had made all the points I was going to make, and that got a laugh!”

I finish our interview by asking Carola how important she thinks SIBA has been to the explosion in craft beer in more recent years that has revolutionised the UK beer market.

“SIBA has been absolutely fundamental,” she says “Without some organisation it would never have happened, people would have all been out there separately doing their own thing. When I took over the brewery from my husband in 1988 I didn’t know how to brew or how to run a brewery and so that is why I hurtled off to the SIBA AGM and was completely welcomed and adopted and I found it fascinating.”

Carola adds: “I am very proud to have been part of this journey, and very grateful for the brewing community’s support and for the friendships I made within and because of SIBA. I am also glad that though I’m retired, Ballards Brewery continues under the auspices of Greyhound Brewery, and will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year in the same year as SIBA’s. Long may they both last!”

Following the victory on Small Breweries’ Relief and once the Direct Delivery Scheme came in then there was, as Carola puts it “a complete renaissance of people starting small breweries. Which I don’t think has been entirely successful because there are now an awful lot of breweries and not many pubs”.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

35

36

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Ballards Brewery As SIBA celebrates four decades since its formation, 2020 also marks 40 years since Mike and Carola Brown founded Ballards Brewery in Sussex.

It was opened in July 1980 at Cumbers Farm, brewing only one beer at first, Best Bitter (4.2% ABV), a beer that continues to be a best-seller under the new owners today. Shortly afterwards, in December 1980, came Wassail (6% ABV), initially brewed as a Christmas beer and winning awards to this day. On 12th Night after Christmas that year a Wassailing ceremony was held in the orchard at Cumbers Farm, when shotguns were fired into the apple trees to frighten away evil spirits and ensure a good crop.

The success of the initial brews means that the following year, 1981, saw Mike and Carola take on Francis Weston to help in brewery and learn to brew. Barry Horton was also taken on as Drayman.

Four years later in 1985, the Ballards pub at Elsted Marsh was opened, and the brewery was moved to the old coach house behind the pub but three years after that, in 1988, the pub was sold and the brewery moved again to the Old Sawmills site at Nyewood where Carola officially took over running it.

The brewery continued very successfully until 2017 when Carola was looking to retire and put Ballards on the market.

“We put the whole brewery up for sale,” says Carola. “And it didn’t quite work like that.

We did say people could buy bits and pieces of it, and we didn’t initially get anybody who wanted to buy the whole thing as a going concern including the site which we owned.

So we did get someone who wanted to buy all the brewing equipment and take it all over to Belgrade, which he did. He was Serbian who liked British ale and wanted to produce and promote it in Belgrade. Then when we actually stopped brewing at the end of 2017 we had already come to an agreement with Greyhound Brewery that they would buy the history and the brands and they had their won equipment so they didn’t need ours.”

So in the spirit of saving one of Sussex’s original small breweries, and being admirers of Ballards Brewery’s beers, Greyhound Brewery stepped in and the spirit of Ballards beers continued.

Ballards Brewery & The Greyhound Brewery Nick Allen, along with his wife Sarah, runs the Greyhound Brewery which took over the rights to Ballards Brewery beers in 2017. He takes up the story...

It came completely out of the blue! Greyhound Brewery had been ‘commercial’ for three years and through a chance conversation with Andy Hepworth we ended up bidding on Ballards

The 2017 handover of the Ballards mashing rake to Greyhound Brewery. Fran Weston (Ballards), Carola Brown (MD Ballards), Sarah Allen, Barney the Welsh Terrier, Nick Allen, Keith Vidler (Ballards) & Sam Crosdil.

Brewery’s equipment – we missed out on that, but ended up buying the good will, casks and recipes etc.

Beers that were first brewed in 1980 are still being brewed to the same recipe today.

Of course, we knew Ballards Brewery quite well being in Sussex, and were always visiting their tent at events or drinking Ballards Best when on tap – taking on Ballards was, some say, a moment of madness, but we saw it as saving a name we had learnt to know and respect.

We at Greyhound Brewery took over Ballards in 2017 mainly because we liked the brewery, the beer and the people running it, and because we didn’t want to see a brewery melt away which had been at the forefront of the new wave in brewing just because Carola wanted to retire.

Getting to know Ballards Nick says of his experience since taking over Ballards beers…

In late 2017 the 40th anniversary seemed a century away – boxes, cases of old labels, pump clips and casks were collected or arrived almost daily. Fran, the Ballards brewer, went through the recipes which all came in different formats (they were early spreadsheet adopters) and with a mix of imperial and metric measurements to unravel

Finally, the day came and Carola Brown (then Ballards MD) handed over the Ballards mash rake to fellow brewster Sarah (Allen) of Greyhound Brewery.

When Ballards, in Nyewood, had done its last brew, Ballards at Greyhound in West Chiltington started brewing immediately to provide continuity of supply – which is how it’s been ever since.

Beers that were first brewed in 1980 are still being brewed to the same recipe today.

We brew three Ballards classics with the Best in constant demand and the Wassail still winning medals.

The graphics which had evolved organically we left alone, but two years on they are going through a sympathetic ‘metamorphosis’.

We are re-introducing gold medal winning Nyewood Gold for the spring and summer using Phoenix hops, and producing two new beers, the first of which celebrates 40 years of Ballards in 2020 and is called MMXX - a trappiest inspired 6.5% ABV dark golden ale which we are piloting in cask as well as bottle and keg.

Two and a half years on we now understand Ballards and, together with Greyhound, it continues to flourish along with other local breweries to make Sussex ‘beer central’ and London’s country cousin.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

37

38

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Comment: Pete Brown styles diversified, morphed, mingled and merged.

Refreshing the parts…

Now one of the most influential beer writers of his generation, Pete Brown started his career in beer marketing and has remained firmly entrenched in the sector he loves. Looking back over the last 40 years, he examines how beer tastes and styles have evolved and how communication, marketing and popular culture has impacted the industry…

It’s tempting, when looking back over four decades of beer, to leap straight to bits about small, independent brewing.

But the beer world is much bigger than our little corner of it, and everything is connected. We can’t talk about cask ale and craft beer without first marvelling at the lager that refreshed the parts other beers could not reach.

Whitbread pub, you got the brands Whitbread owned or licensed. In a Courage pub, you got Courage brands. And so on.

Afterwards, the massive new pub companies, with no tie to any one brewery, all stocked the most popular ones and you got the same few beers wherever you went. A move designed to increase consumer choice drastically reduced it.

Then, at the turn of the century, two developments killed the golden age of TV ad-built beer brands. Firstly, TV changed – as ‘binge drinking’ became the latest moral panic, regulations governing what could be said on TV ads for alcohol tightened to the point of absurdity. At the same time, the TV viewing population fragmented between hundreds of channels, so TV ads weren’t much use any more anyway.

In 1980, lager accounted for 31% of all UK beer sales. In 2018, that figure was 76%. If 40 years is our timeframe, the one, single headline of any retrospective has to be the astonishing transformation of Britain from an ale-drinking to a lager-drinking country.

Secondly, we started drinking more at home than in the pub, so the big brewers shifted their ad budgets to supermarket price promotions. In less than a decade, they destroyed the brand loyalty they had spent thirty years building, and trained drinkers to look for the best deal instead.

The full picture is of course more complicated than that, and craft ale certainly seems to have slowed lager’s advance. But it did so thanks to fundamental changes – as well as enduring truths – in how we choose what to drink.

The death of good advertising was followed by the growth of social media and the burgeoning experience economy, and then smartphones united the two, setting the scene for craft beer’s boom.

In the 1980s, the ads on TV were funnier than the programmes. The beers were largely interchangeable, but people ‘drank the advertising’. For the first time in British history, we moved from regionally based favourites to a pantheon of nationwide brands.

The biggest brands then cashed in on 1989’s Beer Orders, which stipulated that brewers could no longer own thousands of pubs and tie them to their own beers. This was a legendary case of unforeseen consequences: before the Beer Orders, if you went into a

After SIBA succeeded in getting Progressive Beer Duty introduced in 2002, the number of breweries in the UK exploded. The vast majority of beer in this new boom was traditional cask ale, and as the new century settled down, cask became the best-performing segment of the whole beer market. Sure, it was in decline, but at a much slower rate than any other beer style – even lager.

And then, the world shrank. Yanked together by mobile social media, the craft beer boom that had begun in the US became a global, always-on conversation. Beer ranges and

Many in the industry seemed almost desperate to paint craft as a passing fad, but in the second decade of the new century, craft went mainstream – in terms of ownership, distribution, and interest to drinkers. Forget gag-filled TV ads – brands were built now by engaging with drinkers on the level – talking to them on Twitter, and sharing beers with them in pubs, beer bars and tap rooms. Exotic provenance still counted for something in the newly invented ‘world beer’ segment, but a premium, aspirational beer brand could just as easily come from an industrial estate in Mexborough as a beach in Mexico.

Lager or Lambic, sessionable or stupidly strong, there has been one constant dynamic throughout this 40-year period: premiumisation. The beer we are (seen to be) drinking matters, and as the exciting new thing becomes popular, then mainstream, then ordinary, we look for the next thing.

Keg bitter was superseded by ersatz Britishbrewed lager, which was replaced by watereddown versions of genuine lagers, which were replaced by ‘premium’ lagers, then craft lagers, then craft beer. Along the way, dry beer, ice beer, ‘hybrid beer’ and many other fads briefly came and went.

Significantly, the mass, working-class, afterwork pint drinking culture disappeared, along with the more white-collar liquid lunch.

We drink less but better now, so beer has to be broader, more diverse, inclusive and interesting, both in terms of the style of beer brewed and the people brewers hope will drink it.

So what about the next 40 years? Well, lager may have only had a 31% share of the beer market in 1980, but it had shot to this number from a mere 7% share in 1970. That just happens to be the same figure as craft beer’s market share in 2020. From here, it really could go anywhere.

Pete Brown is a British author, journalist, broadcaster and consultant specialising in food and drink, especially the fun parts like beer, pubs, cider, bacon rolls and fish and chips. He was named British Beer Writer of the Year in 2009, 2012 and 2016, has won three Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards, and has been shortlisted twice for the Andre Simon Awards. Pete is Chair of the British Guild of Beer Writers. He lives in London with his wife Liz, and dog Mildred.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

39

Profile: Keith Bott

Founder of Titanic Brewery & Past Chairman and President of SIBA

Titanic Brewery’s Keith Bott has the distinction of having held the office of Chairman at SIBA not once, but twice, during its history, and in between becoming the organisation’s President. He is remembered particularly for his political lobbying work, initially working with fellow past-Chairman David Roberts, the architect of Small Breweries’ Relief, to win victory with the campaign before taking over as Chairman and forging a role for SIBA within the wider industry on issues including beer duty and access to market. During his tenure Keith also oversaw a quite radical professionalisation of SIBA, putting in place a head office team and broadening the range of support services and lobbying work the organisation could provide for its members. Independent Brewer’s Editor Caroline Nodder spoke to Keith to find out more about his time running SIBA, the challenges he faced, and the changes he made while he was there…

40

Keith Bott

What was your first experience of SIBA and why did you first join?

How did SIBA change during your years at the helm?

“David Roberts [SIBA Chair 1992-1996] and Carola Brown [SIBA Secretary, then Chair 1997-2000] set about me in about 1991 and said that I really needed to be a member. They convinced me if you were a small brewer you needed representation and the best way to be represented was to be a member of SIBA. So not only did I join but they made me what was then the North Midlands representative. So from the moment I joined I was on the SIBA Council.”

“There were two key changes. The first was the creation of the commercial arm of SIBA by Nick Stafford [a volunteer and then Director at SIBA for 28 years], which generated income for the organisation and showed an incredible amount of foresight. If you look back to those initial conversations Nick had with Unique Pubco he was really sitting down with a blank sheet of paper and coming up with a scheme that would work. I was working with Nick and we were trekking round everybody at that time.

Somehow Nick’s tenacity led to Enterprise taking the scheme on, and that generated the income SIBA needed to professionalise. And at that time the number of issues SIBA had to get involved in to support the brewing members was ever increasing, so we were able to use that income to professionalise and take on the paid staff we needed to fulfil those objectives we had.

In comparison with the other people who had been in the Chair before me I had that ability to use what was being generated by the then ATM (Access to Market) scheme [now BeerFlex] and it was exciting to be able to say that we now had the resources to employ people to do things. I did four years in the Chair and then Peter [Amor] took over and I was President for three years, then took over and did another four years in the Chair, and during that time we were using that resource to further professionalise the offer SIBA had for its members.”

When did you take over as Chairman of SIBA and what was your focus for the organisation?

“After I joined in 1991, we set up a marketing committee and our role was promoting SIBA and highlighting what the organisation did, but after that I got dragged into the political side with David Roberts. Obviously, David was the architect behind Small Breweries’ Relief and the driving force behind that. So I got involved working with him right up until 2002, Peter Haydon was obviously involved too on the political side, and we took that campaign to the ultimate conclusion of Gordon Brown giving us Small Breweries’ Relief and that was the point in 2003 I took over as SIBA Chairman.”

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Keith Bott

The victory on SBR is arguably SIBA’s greatest achievement, how was that won and how important was that issue during your time at SIBA? “I enjoyed the whole process of that political campaign, and David Roberts and I spent meeting after meeting with the Treasury and HMRC convincing them that SBR was a good idea, and I got the bug them for being involved in driving the cause of beer and pubs forward. I thoroughly enjoyed that political work and found that if you spoke to people with passion and truth you tended to get listened to. Thinking back to those times, SIBA was an entirely voluntary organisation with the exception of Peter Haydon who was the employed General Secretary. So Peter did lots of work and David and Carola too, but we weren’t really on then radar of the BBPA or the IFBB at that time, and if they’d noticed what we were doing we would probably have found it a far more difficult job! But because they didn’t know what we were up to we managed to sneak it through. It was a long hard slog, and I think the way that it worked was that we just stuck to what we were saying and we knew that what we were suggesting would be hugely beneficial to the brewing industry but certainly to small brewers in the UK. It was that tenacity - and David Roberts certainly never gave up on anything - that got us over the line.”

What is your view on the current debate over SBR reform?

“I am still very much in the same position as I was then, which is that is must be fair to all.

It was only European Law that prevented it being brought in as basically an income tax system, so everyone would have benefitted including Carlsberg and Heineken, but only by what to them was a very small amount.

But Europe didn’t allow that so the SBR system was brought in. If we were doing this now politicians would be insisting on impact statements and studies into the unintended consequences, but there was none of that done at the time. The levels were set according to where there were gaps in production levels of breweries. There was no science behind it. My view is the best way to resolve any unfairness there now is in the system is to increase those limits. So for a relatively low cost you can drive the same sort of growth and investment that the initial scheme brought but further up the scale. My argument with the Coalition position is that it is a very negative view of what is required to say you have to take from one brewer and give to another.

Let’s just increase the size of the pot and increase the size of the opportunity.”

What main challenges did SIBA and its members face during your time as Chairman?

“The number of things we were getting involved in was ever growing. And equally it was about understanding the way the beer market was changing and the role that SIBA was playing within it. There were obvious challenges around things that are still challenges today, like quality, and how SIBA can help improve that. There was a challenge around access to market - we were still struggling to gain a foothold in the majority of pubs in the UK. But equally we began to see that we might have a role in how we could help with the general beer duty rate. So we

I think the introduction of Small Breweries’ Relief, which changed the face of brewing in the UK, has to be the proudest moment.

were invited to join the Beer and the Economy Group with the BBPA and then we were able to start working as an industry-wide group to the benefit of everybody. If we had the statistics to prove the economic argument then it being delivered by what we like to refer to as the ‘cute and cuddly’ end of the industry worked really well.”

How did you approach the challenge of speaking for such a diverse set of members?

“SIBA has always been a broad church and I found it very difficult when people have complained that we are not representing one particular sector of the market. It is difficult enough being a brewer without worrying about how big a brewer you are.

My view was that SIBA was always a broad church and represented all sorts of different sizes of brewers from the very smallest pub brewery to some of the people who had grown considerably even by 2003 and 2004 like Hop Back and one or two others. It has always been a very democratic organisation with one brewer one vote. That means it didn’t matter if you were a 2bbl brewer of a 500bbl brewer you still got one vote, and bringing in lots of the family brewers into the stable was something I spent a lot of time doing and ultimately was responsible for convincing Molson Coors through the Museum Brewery to become a member of SIBA – they still only had one vote, but when it came to making the Proud of British film, that was bankrolled

entirely by Molson Coors and was of benefit to the whole industry.”

What was your proudest moment at SIBA? “I think the introduction of Small Breweries’ Relief, which changed the face of brewing in the UK, has to be the proudest moment. I was actually driving down to the Maltings Beer Festival in the South West when I got the call from Damian McBride [Treasury advisor at the time]. And I remember driving down the M5 trying to compute and understand what we’d just done! We knew we were gaining traction, but we weren’t expecting it to be announced. He actually apologised about how it was going to be announced – Gordon Brown stood up and announced it and said it would mean cheaper beer during the World Cup – and he knew we weren’t campaigning for cheaper beer we were campaigning to invest in our businesses. But getting down there to the festival and telling David Roberts what was about to happen, that was an incredible period to be involved in SIBA and undoubtedly the biggest success that SIBA has had.”

What do you see as SIBA’s key role in the industry in 2020?

“It is a very different industry, and the most important thing I think SIBA needs to do is to retain that ability to speak on behalf of brewers. That comes from brewers talking to each other, and we do have a remarkable industry - if you talk to anyone outside the industry and tell them you speak to your competitors on a regular basis and go for a drink with them they are always amazed that we have that collegiate view of the world. That is what SIBA has always been to me - brewers talking to brewers and helping each other with the difficulties they face.”

Who do you most admire within SIBA, past and present, and why?

“Then obvious person who was my hero when I first came into the industry was Peter Austin, the founder of SIBA. Peter and his love of beer and brewing really what was behind that initial revolution for the 30 of us who started out in the 1980s. And he trained almost everybody! You also can’t talk about SIBA without mentioning a range of people, from Carola Brown who was a fantastic Chairman and enabled David Roberts to go off and do the political work, and of course David Roberts himself who was just incredibly passionate and enthusiastic and drove the business. And of course Nick Stafford for all he did for SIBA over the years, he was there longer than I was.”

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

41

Memories of SIBA at 40

SIBA Through the Decades

Peter Amor Wye Valley Brewery - Chairman of SIBA from 2007 to 2010 What do you think SIBA’s biggest achievement was during your time as Chairman?

“In my period as chairman I look back at two things - firstly the removal of the upper limit of annual production for SIBA membership and secondly the setting up of a more professional office much helped by Lucy (Hunter-Bott) and the employment of Julian Grocock.

“Obviously the lobbying of Parliament for progressive beer duty laid the foundations for major change. My biggest disappointment was my inability to persuade the organisation to change its name and get rid of that ridiculous A!!”

What do you think the next 10 years will look like for the independent brewing industry, and SIBA’s role in it?

“I cannot crystal ball gaze but SIBA should take a lead in the uniqueness of British beer and emphasise the need for a feeling of pride in the people who produce this wonderful product. I feel that in 10 years’ time market forces will dictate that there are less brewers but better quality brewers, so SIBA should emphasise its role in quality. SIBA also has a continuing role in opening the market by keeping up the pressure on PubCos.”

42

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

We meet some of SIBA’s founding brewing Members and hear from some of the key SIBA volunteers and staff who have worked at SIBA over the years who share their memories and experiences…

I feel that in 10 years’ time market forces will dictate that there are less brewers but better quality brewers, so SIBA should emphasise its role in quality.

Memories of SIBA at 40 What memories do you have of the very early days of SIBA? “I think it is important to say that the early brewers were really re-inventing/re-creating and certainly breathing life into what had become a moribund industry.

“What is interesting is the way in which each decade seem to re-invigorate the movement, probably because of legislative changes - guest beer laws....PBD...and the MMC report in 1989 really gave hope, for at the time, many brewers were losing hope (and going bust!) that change could come to such a restricted industry.

What were your key achievements during your time as SIBA Chairman?

David Roberts Pilgrim Brewery – Chairman of SIBA from 1992 to 1996

With the coming of the EU Single Market, SIBA not only represented small brewers but promoted greater competition and choice.

“In my time SIBA evolved from a largely “meet 'n moan” organisation (with quite a few beers thrown in) into a powerful political and representative body with regional sections and industry suppliers as associate members. It also went from the Small Independent Brewers Association to the Society of Independent Brewers, thus indicating wider ambitions.

“In the early days SIBA only canvassed Governments for a “Sliding Scale of Duty”.

But then pressure from SIBA regarding market access helped push the then Conservative government to investigate the industry: this resulted in the seminal report: “The Supply of Beer, 1989” which inter alia recommended a sliding duty scale.

“With the coming of the EU Single Market, SIBA not only represented small brewers but promoted greater competition and choice.

Consultations allowed SIBA's ideas about duty rather than those of the wider brewing industry to be adopted.

“They were for duty to be: a) paid at the point of sale b) levied on ABV c) paid on agreed cask volumes not production volumes.

“After a further 10 years of campaigning SSD or, as we renamed it Progressive Beer Duty, was introduced in 2002 under the name of Small Breweries' Relief.

“I believe the greatest thing achieved during those years was to have small brewers accepted as part of the brewing industry and, most importantly, by the public. As a result SIBA had its views sought by successive Governments.”

“I had brewers on the phone begging to know if PBD would come. They were desperate. So very easy in these heady days to forget all that.

The many people who set up in the early 80's, some even earlier, who set things rolling. But they were happy, stimulating, satisfying times.... in my opinion "the best of times"...as we were all pulling together for a common objective with common enemies - the Big Six. PBD was what brought all UK brewers together with a common cause.”

You were heavily involved in the success of the SIBA campaign for Progressive Beer Duty in the 90s and early 2000s, what led up to the victory?

“We had long chased after a PBD system but a) were frustrated that nobody in government was interested so we were genuinely shocked when it was recommended by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. It was the trigger that gave us hope. That however was sort lived as time and again we were rebuffed. Heseltine the then Secretary of State responsible promised a review of the report and said inter alia a PBD system would be looked at...he subsequently cancelled the review...humph!

“At that point I decided that we would never get PBD under the Conservatives. I then started making overtures to the Labour party whilst in opposition and developed a good relationship with Dawn Primarolo who was the Opposition Spokesman to the Treasury at the time. When the Labour party came to power in 1997 she became Financial Secretary to the Treasury and I believe that it was she who championed the idea behind the scenes. When I, in a bit of desperation, rang The Chancellor, Gordon Brown's, office in about late 98/99 he was in a bit of stick for something and I thought he might benefit from a bit of good publicity. I spoke to somebody in his Private Office and then heard Charlie Whelan in the background shout "tell him we know about his bloody campaign"!

“I then realised we were beginning to win....as we had the PBD idea right at the centre.”

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

43

Memories of SIBA at 40 SIBA Member Profile

John Bryan

Brewing Director of Oakham Ales

John Bryan, Brewing Director of Oakham Ales, is one of the true Godfathers of UK craft brewing, recognised by his peers as one of the giants of the craft brewing scene over the last 30 years.

Hailing from a farming family in the Fens, John left school at 16 with no firm ideas about a future career – except that he had no interest in taking over the family farm.

Around this time, he started home brewing, dabbling with a home brew kit purchased from Boots the Chemist.

Captivated by the art and science of producing good beer, John quickly progressed to his own full mash kit and the enthusiasm and brewing intuition which have characterised his brewing over the years were quickly evident.

His early experiments were sufficiently drinkable to satisfy a thirst for good beer that matched his thirst for brewing knowledge and in 1994 a local publican introduced him to John Wood (who’d founded Oakham Ales in 1993) and he started helping out at the brewery’s original 10-barrel plant.

Less than a year later John Wood decided to sell the business, but he’d been so impressed with John’s start in the industry that he recommended him to new owner Paul Hook as the person to take Oakham Ales forward as the new Head Brewer.

John inherited three Oakham beers – JHB, Hunky Dory and Old Tosspot – and immediately set about developing the range.

But here’s something that followers of John’s subsequent brewing at Oakham might not expect.

At first, John’s vision was certainly not to brew more light-coloured, American hopped beers. His own preference at the time was for

44

more traditional copper coloured strong ales and he admits that back in 1996 he couldn’t see a commercial future for the hoppy light gold beers that were to make Oakham’s name and become key to the explosion of craft brewing in recent years.

the hops that they were given, but in the words of legendary hop grower Eric Desmarais of CLS Farms: ”We never saw any brewers – even from US breweries – until John started visiting and personally selecting the hops he wanted to use.”

That changed when he revisited a beer first brewed by John Wood in 1995.

It was the strong relationships with US hop growers that John built up over the years that led to his discovery of the Citra hop in 2009.

The beer was Bishops Farewell which made liberal and pioneering use of Cascade, the hop variety that was to power the craft beer revolution.

John was hooked, and the Oakham trademark style was established through a succession of bold, brilliant and highly drinkable beers which pulled together New World hops, a British approach to brewing and John’s “drinks good ……. must be good” strategy.

Many of the beers have of course been award-winners and John acknowledges the important part SIBA Regional and National Awards have played in building Oakham’s reputation.

John says: “SIBA Awards have meant a lot to us over the years as they’re so well respected in the industry and by consumers. It’s obviously been great to win our fair share but we’ve also gained hugely from the networking and exchange of ideas that takes place at the awards events. One of the great things about this industry is that brewers are by and large magnanimous people, willing to freely and generously share ideas and knowledge and SIBA has been great at fostering this.”

Oakham’s burgeoning reputation was underpinned of course with an uncompromising belief in the vital importance of top-quality ingredients and a pioneering approach that led in 2002 to the first of John’s trail-blazing visits to the hop fields of Yakima Valley in Washington State.

Back in those days, brewers largely accepted

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Blown away by its powerful citrus and tropical fruit aromas and flavours, he rushed some back to the UK by air and Oakham Citra made its first appearance in late November 2009.

It’s now Oakham’s No. 1 brand and the driving force behind the brewery’s success in recent years and was followed in 2011 by its big brother, Green Devil IPA. Twice World Champion Cask Beer at the prestigious International Brewing Awards, Green Devil is the strong, single hop IPA that John first envisaged when he discovered the Citra hop and is a magnificent tribute to his brewing skills and imagination.

Citra and Green Devil IPA are widely acknowledged by brewers and drinkers alike as a truly ground-breaking beers and important catalysts for the sea change in beer styles we’ve seen over the last ten years, but John doesn’t want to stop there.

“I’m so excited by the potential of the new hop varieties that are being developed.

We love using Kiwi and Aussie hops and Slovenian growers are also producing some fantastic stuff. That won’t stop me going to the USA every year for the hop harvest – the industry there is so dynamic now that new experimental varieties are emerging all the time and I wouldn’t want to miss out!”

Craft brewing owes a great debt to John Bryan - farming’s loss has very much been brewing’s gain!

Memories of SIBA at 40

SIBA founding member The Wood Brewery joins SIBA in turning 40 SIBA is not alone in turning 40 this year. The Wood Brewery, based in South Shropshire, is also about to celebrate four decades of independent brewing since they rolled out their first barrel in April 1980, three months after SIBA itself was established. The Wood family built the brewery in the former stables of the Plough Inn at Wistanstow, near Craven Arms, and it still produces quality real ale today.

Wood’s is proud to be one of the founding members of SIBA, and has always been a firm supporter of CAMRA, having been spurred on to open the brewery after the work CAMRA did in the 1970s.

Edward Wood, from the Wood family that founded the brewery, shares some of his memories from the last 40 years: “Much has changed in the beer industry since we opened our doors in 1980. I can still picture my brother in our cellar, bottling beers by hand!

We wanted to champion traditional English ale, so the first beer we produced was a 4.1% ale simply called ‘Special Bitter.’

“The CAMRA movement in the 1970s inspired us and many other entrepreneurs to embark on the world of real ale. In those days it wasn’t easy to get a license, and many of the breweries that secured one went out of business. During the 80s the UK went into recession and it became even more difficult to compete against the bigger breweries for customers.

“I was in business with my brother, but the brewery wasn’t supporting both of us so he left the business to become an estate agent. By the end of the 80s the beer market was dominated by a handful of national breweries. In 1989 the Beer Orders came in, which opened the market right up. Suddenly landlords were allowed to serve guest ales, so by the early 1990s business was great!

“The good news kept coming when beer

duty was reduced for smaller beer producers, following the amazing work of the SIBA campaign, and so beer became cheaper to produce. We increased our sales and were able to invest in new equipment so the brewery could continue to thrive. Of course, this led to more breweries opening and therefore more competition!

“We did all sorts of mad things to promote our new beers, from one of our staff dressing up in an old fashioned swimming suit and jumping in the river down the road, to when I dressed up as a Roman Centurion to promote a beer for Saturnalia, a Roman festival. Just as Wood’s do today, we would produce limited edition beers to raise money for charity, and had our quirks, like producing a beer to celebrate the Queen Mother’s birthday every 10 years – the Wood’s Porter.

“Something I’ll never forget is during 1981 when Ansells Brewery went on strike following attempts by management to put the workers on to a four-day working week to save money.

Their head office gave us permission to deliver beer out to their pubs. I remember us sneaking huge 36 gallon barrels into the cellar at the White Horse in Shrewsbury, unbeknown to the workers behind picket lines in the bar! I don’t

know how we got away with it, but it won us lots more business!”

Wood’s was taken over by new owners in 2018.

The new owners have worked with the existing team to make a range of progressive changes to the brewing process and introduce an increased focus on quality control, to ensure that Wood’s beer is of the highest possible quality.

The brewery has also introduced a new range of canned and kegged craft beers under the Ironbridge brand.

Stephen O’Neill, one of the new owners, says: “Wood’s has always stood for quality, real ale.

We continue to be dedicated to taking great care throughout our production process – carefully selecting our natural raw ingredients, attentively brewing the beers and faithfully delivering the finished product to the network of pubs and shops whom sell our quality beers. We hope that our beer continues to be enjoyed for many more years to come!”

The brewery looks forward to some unique and memorable events over the Spring and Summer to ensure that 40 years after its birth, the Wood Brewery remains a firm favourite amongst supporters of independent brewing.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

45

46

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Brewer's Viewpoint - Jem Ham 2006 most pubs were working on around 55% GP margin, now these are commonly 65-70% on “buy in price” from the brewery to price on the bar. As a result the real price of beer on the pub bar has become relatively much more expensive than it used to be.

SIBA Member Jem Ham, the Managing Director and Head Brewer at Cheddar Ales in Somerset, shares his views on changes to the beer and pub market since he started brewing 30 years ago, and looks at the current market and its challenges…

I have been in the brewing industry since 1990 and like anyone else seen a lot of profound changes in the 30 years since. Back in the day, pub cask volume sales were strong, pubs were a real hive of activity and “the” place to meet up and socialise, these days volumes are hard to get, pubs are much quieter, with some even closed at very quiet times, and no longer the first place of choice for social activity. The younger generation have their mobile devices and social media to communicate and rarely seek the solace and comfort of a cosy country pub and its offerings, instead plumping for the bright lights of any of the numerous coffee establishments or similar. The middle age generation prefer to sit at home more often than not gorging on relatively cheap supermarket food and drink whilst watching a choice of 1,000 TV channels rather than spend their down time at the local.

So where has it all gone wrong?

In my humble opinion there is no single answer and no single resolution sadly either. The pub industry has seriously declined in the last 30 years and only the strongest will survive. Back in 1989 the Monopolies and Mergers Commission broke up the big breweries domination on pub ownership and we witnessed the birth of the dreaded “PubCo”, essentially Government interference gone wrong that has never been put right. The idea was to free up competition and increase customer choice but many of the new PubCos simply tied themselves back to the breweries they came from for their supply chain, defeating the whole initial objective.

Sure since then developments have seen the ability of independent breweries being able to supply some of these PubCos but at what cost?

Typically a small brewery may achieve around £60 for a 9g firkin of 4% beer dealing through SIBA with one of the PubCos, the same PubCo then charges their tenant circa £130 a firkin for the same beer. What is their cost of facilitating this transaction? The answer to that is virtually nothing and the £70 profit made by the PubCo is merely the cost to the tenant of being “allowed” to have a local beer. That profit made many times over across many pubs alongside similar “middle man” margin profit making was used time and time again as leverage to buy more and more pubs and as a result not only did we see circa 14,000 pubs lose their former brewery owned status we saw many more lose their Free House status as they were swept up by indiscriminate PubCos seeking to maximise their property estates.

We then saw the avaricious Labour Government introduce the Beer Duty escalator which led to excise duty increases to breweries of over 40% between 2008 and 2013, no longer did pubs get 1-2p increase on their beer prices and stick 5p on a pint to cover VAT, price rises of 10p per pint became commonplace and Free Houses even began to close the price gap between themselves and the more expensive PubCos on price as they saw themselves “too cheap” in comparison. The one thing that became more and more apparent was the huge increase in GP margins being made by pubs on a pint during this time as a result of the price hikes, back in

We then have the other factors to take into consideration, cheap supermarket booze being the main one. It has always been possible to buy alcohol from supermarkets cheaper than from the local pub, this however has exacerbated in recent times to the point where the same volume of beer in a pub may cost up to four times the cost of the same product in a supermarket, this undoubtedly has led to a change in social habit as mentioned before.

The differential has simply become too great and the supermarkets “pile it high and flog it cheap” mantra keeps peoples alcohol needs met whilst keeping them away from pubs simply on affordability. Align that with far improved product choice in supermarkets nowadays and it isn’t any wonder pubs struggle. Worth mentioning also the smoking ban, tightening of drink driving regulations also had an impact on pub going activity but lesser issues than pricing differentials in my opinion in the long run.

So how can it all be put right?

This is the hardest question to answer, it is very easy to see where mistakes are made but very difficult to make them all better again. I am a strong advocate of minimum pricing in supermarkets but it appears that at Government level the supermarkets have too much clout and whether we see that or not remains to be seen. For pubs to thrive however we simply must have a narrowing of the price gap once more. It is also imperative that we allow more pubs more freedom of choice, the buy local mantra has never been more poignant than today but there is still a large proportion of pub estates off limits to the local brewers due to the aforementioned PubCo greed. Have we seen a permanent decline in pubs? As a local brewer I sincerely hope not but 2020 promises to be possibly the hardest year yet in the 30 years I have been in the industry. In 2000 there were circa 500 UK breweries compared to over 2,000 today, compare this to circa 50,000 pubs operating in 2,000 to today’s 40,000 odd and it is easy to see where the trend is going. Pubs are still closing and many are altering their working hours to suit business and survive. The one positive is that general brewing standards appear to be improving, breweries not keeping the most exacting quality control will struggle and landlords can no longer tolerate bad beer or afford to. Let’s just hope there are some pubs left in 30 years’ time for the next generation to enjoy and for the passionate, innovative, local/ craft/artisanal brewers to supply.

Jem Ham is the MD and Head Brewer at Cheddar Ales. Find out more about Cheddar Ales at www.cheddarales.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

47

Comment: Jonny Garrett

Shaking up the beer world

Making a list of the most influential is tough, impossible even. The people, beers and companies on this list have all fundamentally changed the beer scene forever, but that’s not to say there aren’t hundreds who did it with them, or something similar before, during or afterwards. Change can come from anywhere, these are the people and brands that helped us embrace it.

Firkin Brewery The 2019 British Beer Writer of the Year Jonny Garrett offers up his list of the most influential beers, people and businesses that have helped to shape the last four decades in beer and in many cases changed the beer landscape forever…

Forty years in a long time by most standards, but in beer it is an era. Beer has changed more in the decades since SIBA was founded than it did in the millenia beforehand.

Real ale nearly died out and was rescued, pubs went into decline but have rallied, and we have grown from just a handful of breweries to having the most per capita in the world. It’s been driven by technological advancement, globalisation, policy shifts, consumer patterns and financial cycles, but most of all it’s been driven by people. Looking back at the most important names is heartening. The beer scene is wider than ever, but we all share a singular passion that has taken us down this path. Few simply pass through the beer world—most are here for life and like all creative industries it has attracted some extremely talented and driven people.

48

They are long gone, but long before the craft beer movement and all through the darker times for real ale, the Firkin Brewery and its brewpubs were a shining beacon for what both could go on to achieve. Founded by David Bruce, but hosting various other names you’d know throughout its time (most notably Peter Austin and Brendan Dobbin, who every nearly made this list themselves), it was the basis upon which so many new real breweries, real ale pubs and indeed modern craft ones were built.

The Holy Trinity A name I give to the three American imports that made up “craft beer” ranges in pubs in the decade before British brewing kicked off.

Brooklyn Lager, Anchor Steam Beer and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale blew the minds and palates of many future beer geeks and helped start the revolution – even today the brands are beloved by the hardiest beer geek, and the enduring appeal of Brooklyn and Sierra Nevada is testament to how good the beers have always been.

Brewdog Founded in 2007, no brewery has had the same impact on the brewing scene in such a short time. As well as inspiring hundreds of others to found breweries, Brewdog paved the way

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

for crowdfunding and changed the way alcohol marketing was done, breaking down barriers for the breweries that came after them. Punk IPA went from cult icon to mainstream celebrity, and we are lucky to have them still bringing new people into the category.

Michael Jackson The world’s first beer writer, but also an explorer in the true sense – he mapped out beer styles and traced lines between disparate brewing cultures to piece together the scene we know today. We still use the words and descriptors he coined, and owe a debt to his dogged pursuit of the new and novel. He helped us process and understand the world around us, and made brought in a whole new audience to enjoy it.

Real ale nearly died out and was rescued, pubs went into decline but have rallied, and we have grown from just a handful of breweries to having the most per capita in the world.

Evin O’Riordain The quiet, intense force behind The Kernel Brewery, Evin is a world-class brewer with a touch still unrivalled by the other 2,000 breweries that came in his wake. But he is also inspirational for the way he runs his business – based on organic growth and good people. At 10 years old they have changed little but still look ahead of the game, brewing some of the best IPAs, stouts and wild beers in the UK.

Comment: Jonny Garrett

Camden Hells

Wetherspoons

Hells isn’t just one of the fastest-growing drinks brands in the UK - it’s the beer that made lager artisan again. Founder Jasper Cuppaige started brewing the cellar of the Horseshoe in Hampstead, but has grown Camden Town Brewery into one of the largest breweries in the country by focusing on full-flavoured, German-inspired lager. Hells disrupted the whole market, but it’s also safe to say that without Camden Hells, both the London beer scene and our wealth of great lager brewers would be much poorer.

Like or loathe the pubs, there is no denying that Tim Martin has built an unlikely empire by offering three things so many operators struggle to - absurd value, all-day service and a wide range of real ale. In doing so he has supported countless small breweries, but also perhaps influenced pricing in the wrong direction. Regardless of your views on the beer, the company has opened some remarkable pubs, using everything from old hotels, to cinemas to churches. For better or for worse, it’s what most people think of when they think of pub chains, and Martin has become a spokesperson for the industry.

Colin Gilhespy & Ian Clay You might not recognise the names, but as the managing directors of Cave Direct and James Clay & Sons respectively, these two have had an immeasurable impact on the UK pub industry. Since the late 1970s they have imported sensational beers from the continent and beyond, as well as giving a route to market to many of the modern craft breweries who came in the last decade or so. Without their foresight, passion and logistics, the British pub and brewing industry would be years behind where it is now.

Gordon Brown There are hundreds of people we should thank for the introduction of Small Brewers Relief – members and employees of SIBA for a start – but it was Gordon Brown who finally wrote the law and gave small, creative brewers a chance in the incredibly tough beer market. While SBR needs updating for today’s market to ensure a level playing field for brewers breaking that 5,000 hectolitre barrier, there is no way our beer scene would be as rich without that vital shift in policy in 2002.

Rooster’s Brewery Many could lay claim to being the first to brew with American hops, or to be the ones who kicked started the revolution of modern British brewing. Oakham are still the biggest buyers of Citra hops in the UK, Thornbridge Jaipur blew many people’s palates when it came out, and Darkstar’s Hophead very nearly made this list itself. But Sean Franklin of Rooster’s Brewery dedicated his entire brewhouse to the creation of bold, citric aromas of American hops and brewing process long before them all, inspiring and educating thousands of brewers in his wake.

Sir Geoff Palmer The achievements of Geoff Palmer over a long career are too many to list, so we’ll stick to the well known ones. First, the one we can measure – his work on malt and in particular malt abrasion, has led to huge efficiencies for malt producers and an increase in quality that makes British malt the envy of brewing scenes all over the world. Less easily measured is the impact he had in his teaching at Heriot Watt University,

where thousands of brewers have learned from him and gone on to set up some of the best breweries in the country, and the world.

Christian Townsley & John Gyngell Everyone laughed when they opened their “world beer cafe” in central Leeds in 1997 but 22 years, 10 pubs and one world-class brewery later, no one is laughing because they are too busy drinking. It was the launch of many craft breweries, and even the first place Sierra Nevada was poured on tap on this side of the Atlantic. Townsley and Gyngell basically invented the British craft beer pub in North Bar, and it’s still one of the best places to drink in the UK – especially when one of North Brew Co’s triple fruited goses is on.

Timothy Taylor’s Landlord There are thousands of delicious pale bitters being brewed up and down the country, but few are on the scale of Landlord—although many would like it be. The quality and volume of this beer is what makes it so special, the proof being its four Champion Beer of Britain Awards. WIthout it, perhaps Hopback Summer Lightning would not have been the success it was and there are countless other national pale ale brands that might say the same.

Influence side, it’s a bit of British brewing heritage beloved by people of all ages and even, bizarrely, Madonna.

Jonny Garrett is an awardwinning beer writer and film maker based in London. He’s also cofounder of the Craft Beer Channel, Youtube’s biggest beer and food network with over 65,000 subscribers and 3 million views.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

49

Tailored solutions for brewers and cider makers.

• Equipment finance

• Container services

• ECasks and Craft EKegs • Sale and rent back • Cask and keg rentals

Talk to us today 01425 485421 Visit closebreweryrentals.co.uk

Visit us at stand 80

Close Brothers | Modern Merchant Banking

50

Close Brothers Brewery Rentals is a trading style of Close Brewery Rentals Limited, which is a subsidiary of Close Brothers Limited. Close Brewery Rentals Limited is registered 2020(Company | SIBA Independent Brewer | and www.siba.co.uk in England Spring and Wales number 5826492) its registered office is Unit 1, Kingfisher Park, Headlands Business Park, Blashford, Ringwoord, Hampshire BH24 3NX

Profile: Robert Humphreys

Robert Humphreys MBE SIBA Non-Executive Board Member

Robert Humphreys is one of the best-known and most well-connected figures in the beer and pub world. Having started his career at Bass in the early 1970s where he eventually became head of communications, he went on to found the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group in 1993 and was Honorary Secretary there until his semi-retirement in 2014. He has experienced SIBA from all sides. Working on, one could say, the ‘rival’ side of the industry in the largest of the ‘Big Six’ breweries in the 1980s he saw the organisation emerge onto the scene, and he then followed SIBA’s efforts to win Small Breweries’ Relief, latterly in his role at the Beer Group where he acted as a conduit between the industry and MPs. He received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2015 for services to alcohol policy. And more recently he has taken up a role on SIBA’s Non-Exec Board where he advises on policy and supports the Senior Management Team in their decision-making. Independent Brewer’s Editor Caroline Nodder went along to meet him at the historic Reform Club on Pall Mall in London to talk to him about his experiences in the world of brewing and pubs in the 40 years since SIBA began…

Robert Humphreys sits on SIBA’s Board as a non-executive, a role that is vital in shaping the organisation’s policy on issues ranging from beer taxation, to environmental issues and access to market. At a time when competition in the market and cost pressures make running a small brewery almost a 24-hour job, it is the SIBA non-exec advisors who are able to spend time researching and discussing the regulatory and political issues coming at the sector and helping to formulate SIBA’s lobbying strategy and position so it can affectively fight for its members’ best interests.

In this regard, Robert’s background leaves him almost perfectly placed to fulfil this role.

He is probably best known as the founder and Honorary Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group which he set up in 1993 after leaving his job in PR at Bass. But it all started for him in the hotel sector back in the 1960s.

“I trained in hotel management and worked in hotels for a dozen years before joining what was then Bass Charrington in 1973 as an area manager,” he tells me. “I did that for another

dozen years and then moved into PR and became the company’s PR man in the mid80s by which time of course SIBA had been going five years, although from very small beginnings.”

Robert’s ‘patch’ as Area Manager was Central London, the City and Covent Garden where he oversaw a mix of managed and tenanted houses, most still very much of the old school, with “gas fires, lino on the floor and Formicatopped tables”, as he puts it.

“This was long before the Beer Orders and the market was so completely dominated by what was really the big ‘five and a half ’, because Scottish & Newcastle was so much smaller than the others. And there was I working for the biggest of them all, the Bass Group, in what was a much bigger beer market and dominated by the on trade rather than the off trade.”

and David Roberts were involved with the campaign in the mid-80s and I soon met them and began to understand the arguments that were starting to be made. By the time I left Bass and started the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group in 1993 the focus on the lobbying had become much more intense and the campaign really began to get going,” he says.

“On numerous occasions during that period I had conversations with them, when I no longer had any allegiance with any one company, and I have to say I thought it was a lost cause. For a long time I didn’t think the Treasury would ever give in and I was absolutely astonished when Gordon Brown finally did, although that was obviously a long time later.”

After SIBA emerged onto the scene in 1980, Robert became aware of the campaign it was championing for a preferential duty rate for small brewers.

He is extremely complimentary of the consistency and longevity of the message SIBA managed to put across to Government, a real testament to the tenacity and single-minded focus of those involved. Carola Brown in fact joined the Beer Group as a corporate member through her brewery Ballards and used the opportunity to access and talk to MPs about SIBA’s campaign.

“People like Peter Haydon, Carola Brown

Continued on page 53 www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

51

DESERVE THE BEST FILLING SYSTEMS. KHS brings state-of-the-art technology to craft breweries.

Great beer needs a filler that ensures the highest product quality. Especially for small and medium-sized breweries, our compact fillers offer the same innovative technology as larger KHS fillers. In addition, KHS stands for maximum reliability, keeping lines running steadily at a very high level – supported by our dependable on-site service. Our filling systems are available for all types of bottles, cans, and kegs. Would you like to know more? Please contact us at www.khs.com

52

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Robert Humphreys “The crucial thing with campaigns like that is to sustain them. If you don’t have that continuity you can put in a huge amount of effort and just kiss goodbye to it all. So it is hugely to the credit of the key players at SIBA during that period that they did keep it going.”

The eventual victory came in 2002 when Gordon Brown announced the introduction of Small Breweries’ Relief, and although he acknowledges that wider societal developments have no doubt played their part, Robert credits SBR alongside the Beer Orders as being the most significant force for change the industry has seen over the last 20 years, albeit that the financial benefits of SBR have been somewhat dampened by the issues of access to market and rising costs resulting from the Beer Orders: “In some ways it would be an exaggeration to say SBR has had more effect than the Beer Orders. But the Beer Orders have achieved one objective along with SBR which is to increase variety and choice. But because of the huge shift from the on to the off trade, which is partly socially driven but partly also a consequence of the Beer Orders, there has been a huge increase in the cost of the on trade at the bar.”

It is challenges like these, which threaten SIBA members’ businesses, that Robert and the other non-execs often examine and advise on. He says of the role: “The voice of the smaller business is really important and whilst the membership of SIBA is as broad a church as you could possibly imagine, there are an astonishing number of really busy members who devote a massive amount of their own time to the organisation which is just fabulous.

Having said that of course mostly the members are busy trying to keep their businesses operational and successful, so they don’t have time to reflect on the wider picture. To be able to make a contribution through dialogue with the board and the executive I do feel for us non-execs who bring a different perspective and background to the debate it is a really nice place to be.”

Coming down the line, with the new Conservative Government now in place, are some key issues that are likely to significantly affect SIBA member businesses. One which is of particular interest to Robert is sustainability and the environment – something that has always been close to his heart, but something he also realises could disproportionately impact small businesses. He says: “The biggest issue of our time, climate change, is a very significant one, and I observe the developments in Scotland with the Deposit Return Scheme that is being proposed being very important for us.

But beyond that every one of our members has got to think about their environmental impact and some of them will be forced to do

There are so many beers as yet unbrewed and untasted that I have got to get to. I can hardly believe what variety and excitement there is in what SIBA members do.

it because changes are forced upon them and others will think about it because it is important to them. But although it really is important to all of us that we all do this, that is going to have an impact on distribution and the cost of different services. Planning to keep ahead or at least keep up with all those changes is quite a distraction but quite essential and unavoidable.

The impact on small business of the DRS in Scotland is going to be massive, but the political pressure to do it in Scotland is phenomenal, so we just have to think carefully through what is an appropriate and realistic position for us to adopt.”

Other changes will no doubt be felt following the UK’s exit from Europe, political pressure on wage rates, changes to taxation, and of course the continued pressure on the pub industry.

“We are in a time of very significant change,” says Robert. “The last 12 months have been tough and I don’t suppose this year is going to be any less tough. It is very easy to engage yourself in lots and lots of issues, some of which are such long shots or of marginal significance, but we haven’t got the time to do that. So sorting out where to put our effort is really important.”

Obviously one of the issues that is on the top of the pile currently is the review of SBR, something which Robert thinks might be rolled into the Tories’ pre-Election pledge for a wider review of alcohol taxation.

“If you were to design the system today you would do it differently. But there is a risk in lobbying for change, because whilst you may feel it is very clear what needs changing and nothing else done, someone might well take a different view, and the moment someone does the principle is conceded that change is possible and you lose control of what the change might be. I think the position SIBA is taking is pragmatic and correct. But it is not without risk. The result of the General Election has shifted all manner of political realities but just before the Election the Tories announced they would be doing a review of all alcohol taxation and that presents some threats but also some opportunities. If the review included SBR then there is a much bigger debate going on and it is no longer about us saying can you look at this one issue.”

Other challenges on the horizon in Robert’s view include the battle against ‘crafty’ beers produced by ‘big beer’ – the irony of Robert’s beginnings at Bass are not lost on him here – and he feels it is essential that SIBA continues to drum home the message that its members’ beers are distinct from those of large national and international brewers due to their inherent integrity, community focus, handcrafted nature and commitment to quality and the finest ingredients. Indeed, the variety and quality of the beers that SIBA members produce continues to visibly excite Robert, even after almost 60 years in the hospitality sector, and as a frequent judge at both CAMRA and SIBA events he is able to sample a good cross-section of the array of styles now available.

“It is just wonderful!” he says. “There are so many beers as yet unbrewed and untasted that I have got to get to. I can hardly believe what variety and excitement there is in what SIBA members do.”

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

53

Comment: Adrian Tierney-Jones

It’s been a wild ride!

Adrian Tierney-Jones, who was recently named the Best Beer Writer in National Media at the Guild of British Beer Writers Awards, guides us through a brief history of the beer industry over the last four decades, including his thoughts on the winners, the losers, the key challenges and how the market has changed…

SIBA was founded in 1980 and how the beer industry has changed since that time. Back then, a milkshake was something flavoured with banana and swigged in a milk bar, while porter referred to the chap who loaded luggage onto trains. IPA was the domain of Greene King, though there were occasional sightings of bottle-conditioned White Shield in discerning boozers.

Pubs closed in the afternoon and 11pm at night. Meanwhile, Sunday opening times were as constricted as Houdini wrapped up in chains. Free houses, where the growing band of independent brewers could sell beer, were in a minority. Cask-conditioned beer was (sort of) trendy as were its bearded cheer-leaders in the Campaign for Real Ale. ‘Ladies’ drunk halfpints, bought for them at the bar by their beaus.

The past is a foreign country and the beer and brewing industry of the 1980s might as well have been on the Moon.

The fun about looking back over 40 years of the industry is that you can celebrate the winners while feeling sorry for (or maybe just wincing at) the losers. We certainly don’t need to mourn the long gone lagers that family breweries produced at the time, many of them given fake Teutonic names such as Einhorn

54

(Robinson’s) and Grunhalle (Greenall Whitley).

On a more serious note, you could argue that beer has been a loser, given that the volumes drunk have gone down as consumers while away their leisure time with wine, fancy spirits and, more recently, no- and low-alcohol beers.

Then there is the question of independence.

Are Camden Town or Fourpure losers because they are no longer independent? Or is the drinker, who enjoyed their beers alongside the independence, the loser?

The idea of the family or regional brewery with its origins in the mists of time has definitely been a loser — who now remembers Ridley’s, Morrell’s or Brakspear? Others such as Fuller’s and Greene King have been bought by mega concerns. However, St Austell, Adnams and Hook Norton are definitely winners, as they continue to thrive.

Even though it has a shining pride of place at the bar, cask-conditioned beer has been a loser over these 40 years, given its decline of market share and the dominance of lager, but it is also held in affection by many drinkers. These not only include the trad crowd but with the return of the likes of Cloudwater to cask also the new wave of beer-drinkers. So perhaps it can become a winner.

It was not easy for the emerging micro-brewers of the 1980s as they had to contend with trying to sell beers in a market dominated by tied pubs, but hope was seemingly offered in 1989 with a report on the industry by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. This would be become known as the Beer Orders with the Report recommending that all breweries with over 2000 pubs had to sell or free from the tie 50% of the excess over 2000.

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

More importantly for micro-breweries, pub tenants were allowed to buy one guest beer from someone other than their own brewery.

At the time it was seen as a good thing for smaller outfits, but the swift appearance of pub companies soon changed things, and their existence still splits opinions.

If we look towards the 1990s, this was a period of more brewers coming (and going) and continuing to use red-faced men and dray horses as branding; my favourite moment of brewery stupidity, however, is the end-of-90s launch of a Whitbread lager dispensed through a bath tap, suggesting the beer was basically bathwater. The 1990s also saw the emergence of smooth flow and nitro-keg as well the identikit Irish pub. Lager still ruled, golden ale and bitter was the main output of a lot of small breweries, though some brave souls were producing beers with spices and even green hops.

Then there was Sean Franklin at Roosters in Harrogate. In the 1990s he released a beer called Yankee where Cascade hops were used to produce a stunning array of tropical fruit aromas that were so different to the malty and earthy hop character of then contemporary beers (another early exponent of such beers was Brendan Dobbin of West Coast Brewing). It wasn’t just with hops that Franklin experimented either. In 2005, I was told by Mark Dorber, then running the groundbreaking White Horse in West London, that Franklin ‘did a lovely stout for us a few years ago which he then put in a whisky cask’.

As mentioned, one of the key challenges for the brewing industry throughout this decade (as it has been over the 40 years) was the continued

Comment: Adrian Tierney-Jones

The beer and brewing industry has been through enormous change since SIBA was founded in 1980 ©Mark Newton Photography

fall in beer sales. The industry would go on the offensive in the noughties with specially branded glasses, beers to dine for (Greene King) and, infamously, beers for women (step forward Molson-Coors’ Eve). People were also drinking beer more at home, which didn’t help pubs, while the cheapness of cross-channel beer imports was an added threat. However, at the start of the noughties there was another change coming, arguably be one of the most important of the last 40 years.

In 2002, in response to years of SIBA lobbying, Chancellor Gordon Brown introduced progressive beer duty, which cut the tax British brewers paid. Those that made less than 5000 hectolitres a year got a 50% cut, while those making up to 60,000 hectolitres got a lesser cut.

The result of this largesse was an immediate growth in the amount of breweries, which has continued in various fits and starts to this day — there are currently over 2200 though larger breweries continue to be unhappy with PBD. The decade also saw golden ales seemingly sweeping the board at the Great British Beer Festival’s Champion Beer Awards, with Deuchar’s IPA, Crouch Vale’s Brewers Gold (twice) and Kelham Island’s Pale Rider all taking the top spot. The latter’s owner Dave Wickett had another part to play in one of the decade’s enduring success stories — in 2004 he encouraged stately home owner Jim Harrison to set up a brewery. The site was Thornbridge Hall, and the godfathers of British craft beer had arrived. One of the brewers was a young Scot called Martin Dickie, who in 2007 having left Thornbridge formed a brewery north of Aberdeen with old schoolfriend James Watt.

BrewDog had arrived and the British craft beer

revolution was well under way and Black IPAs were everywhere.

Innovations started to make more sense in the noughties, as up until then they had seemed solely a chance for marketeers to change pump clip designs. Greene King sent out two taps for their beers, one a northern serve and the other southern. However, the real innovation of the decade was the onset of barrel ageing. Innis & Gunn launched in 2003, while John Keeling battled with the Revenue & Customs before the first Fuller’s Brewers Reserve was released.

Thornbridge and Brewdog all bought wooden barrels and no craft brewery worth its salt rarely neglects barrel-ageing now.

So we come up to the last decade, which has been a wild ride in the beer world. Wild Beer’s emergence in 2012 arguably kick-started the trend for mixed fermentation beers, which has been continued by the likes of Mills, Kernel and Burning Sky. London reappeared as a major brewing city featuring Kernel, Beavertown and many more. Meanwhile the family breweries did ‘craft’, which occasionally went a bit dad dancing. Multi-nationals went hunting as Fuller’s and Fourpure discovered, while pubs continued to close, albeit at a slower rate, and the rise of the tap room and micro-pub offered a lifeline.

One of the biggest changes and challenges in beer in the past decade has been the ascension of a new style of keg beer. In 2012, Sara Barton from Brewsters told me that even though she loved and brewed cask, the motivation for her as a brewer to use kegs, ‘is to extend the style of draught beers I can brew, with one of our first keg beers being a hoppy US pale ale’.

of cask as well as a perceived problem with quality, highlighted in The Cask Report 2019 where editor Matt Eley pointed out that 70% of cask beer drinkers at some point had been served an off pint. Plenty of work there to be done then. Other highlights of the past decade have been the boom in crowd-funding, breweries producing dozens of new beers, as demanded by some consumers, the continued presence of neo-prohibitionists and stand-alone lager producing breweries such as Bohem and Donzoko.

Over 40 years the brewing industry has had its highs and lows and changed, sometimes for the worse but also for the better, especially in the way it is trying to reach out to diverse groups it shunned before. Beer culture remains an important part of our country, but dipping beer sales, the fear of duty changes and Brexit throw a shadow over celebrations. On the other hand, there has never been so many beer styles available even if some of them are rather facile (whatever happened to glitter beer?) and the industry remains a major employer. It’s not always easy to travel back in time and make a black-and-white decision about winners and losers, but the beer and the brewing industry needs to keep vital and relevant. Now where’s that Miso Mocha Stout?

Adrian Tierney-Jones writes about beer, pubs, food and travel for various magazines and newspapers. Has written quite a few books. Was Beer Writer of the Year 2017 and is current Best Beer Writer, National Media. Goes to Prague a lot.

The decade has seen the continued decline

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

55

‘Free-From’ ready

The home of quality processing aids and laboratory services

Quality, Consistency & Support t: (+44) 115 978 5494 | e: info@murphyandson.co.uk | www.murphyandson.co.uk 56

Murphy & Son Limited, Alpine Street, Old Basford, Nottingham NG6 0HQ United Kingdom Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Comment: Emma Inch

Living in the Future

Former British Beer Writer of the Year Emma Inch gives us her view on the craft beer landscape in 2020, some of the themes, issues and challenges we face as a sector and some of the best things about our part of the beer sphere in the current market…

A couple of months ago, I fitted some smart speakers in my house. As a result, if I want to listen to a long-forgotten album, receive a localised weather report, or find out what a bandicoot looks like, all I need do is ask my virtual assistant and she will enlighten me. She’ll even sing me a song or tell me a joke if I speak to her nicely. Having grown up at a time when owning a VHS video recorder placed you at the cutting edge of innovation, I initially found this quite overwhelming. Once I’d got the speakers working, I lifted my daughter into my arms and swung her round exclaiming, ‘We’re living in the future! We’re living in the future!’

With the simple mix of accuracy and disdain that only a 7-year-old can muster, she calmly pointed out, ‘We’re not. This is definitely the present.’

She has grown up with touch screens, smart phones, the Internet and Facetime, and so thinks nothing of living alongside artificial intelligence, whereas I sometimes feel I’m running to keep up. And as we enter 2020 – a year I can still only associate with sci-fi stories and deep space exploration – this fear that I could end up left behind grows ever more real.

For independent brewers, the pressure to somehow ‘live in the future’ is equally tangible.

The beer scene sometimes seems to be in a race against itself, a sprint in which novelty gets a head-start over familiarity, and the compulsion to keep moving is all encompassing. In this environment, the seemingly simple challenge of getting your beer into the hands of people who want to drink it can seem anything but straightforward.

The new decade, however, brings with it some good news for independent brewers. According to figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS, 2020), the overall number of pubs and bars in the UK has increased for the first time in a decade. Perhaps more importantly for independent brewers, the number of small pubs has increased for the first time in more than fifteen years. Admittedly, these are modest increases (0.8% and 0.4% respectively) but after many years of decline perhaps we all need this glimmer of hope.

Despite fears that younger people were no longer using the pub, it would appear that they are. Admittedly, it’s not always as easy to encourage people out to the pub as it might have been forty years ago. Our homes are more comfortable than they used to be, and on average British people work some of the longest hours in Europe. Many people want different things from a visit to the pub – perhaps food, entertainment or low alcohol options. And whatever your political allegiances, many people are concerned about the impact that the UK’s changing international role might have on the economy. As a result, many people are drinking less. Importantly, however, they are also drinking smarter, in that they are making decisions about what they choose to buy with their hard-earned cash.

People are still interested in drinking beer.

But more than that, people are increasingly interested in the stories that surround beer.

Today’s drinkers value quality over quantity.

They want to know if the beer in their glass is local, if it’s made with care, and if the practices and ingredients used to make it are sustainable.

And this is something that independent brewers – particularly those producing cask ale - are equipped to deliver in spades.

The challenge, of course, is to make sure your voice is heard over the daily rush of information. That might mean considering whether your packaging or pump-clip has stood the test of time, or it might mean effectively utilising newer environments such as social

media. Finding a way to communicate your story to the people you want to buy your beer is vital, and if those people spend their time in a virtual world, then that is where you must meet them. We are living in the future, after all.

Speaking of cask ale, in amongst the reports of its slow demise are positive pockets of joy. Figures from the British Beer & Pub Association indicate that the decline in sales is beginning to slow. And some brewers – notably Hackney’s Five Points Brewery - are reporting substantial growth in their cask sales. Perhaps the message that cask beer, though steeped in tradition, can still be relevant to the modern drinker is beginning to filter through.

As SIBA marks its 40th anniversary, we are indeed living in a future the likes of which its founders could not have dreamed possible.

But this beer future doesn’t only mean the newest technology, the brashest innovations and the most modern marketing. In the hands of independent brewers, these can be coupled with an integrity and a respect for tradition that enables us to keep pace in these less than certain times.

Emma Inch is a multi-awardwinning freelance writer and audio-maker, and the former British Beer Writer of the Year. She has written for a number of national and international publications including Original Gravity, Beer Magazine and Zymurgy. She also produces creative audio and podcasts for the drinks trade. Emma produces and presents Fermentation Beer and Brewing Radio - one of the UK’s leading beer and brewing podcasts. You can find out more about Emma at www. fermentationonline.com and follow her on Twitter at @fermentradio.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

57

W

NE

Fully toughened glassware with vivid, enhanced decorative appearance

Through a major investment in 2019 Festival Glass (the UK’s largest independent glass decorator) now offer you fully toughened, UK decorated glassware from 576 pieces – with 1-5 colour decoration delivered within just 4 weeks.

Our NEW state-of-the-art glass decorating technology provides:

Toughened glass pre-treatment in progress

A fully integrated, highly efficient and robust pre-treatment station for excellent durability on toughened glass Single capture tooling for optimal and improved print results, colour to colour registration accuracy: +/- 0.1 mm Up to 5 colours, fully automated decoration for toughened and untoughened glassware options Fully automated, bespoke nucleation available for enhanced beverage carbonation Screen etch and embossed glass effects In-house CE marking Visit us For further information and your FREE no-obligation on stand 146, BeerX to find quotation please contact Kelsey Cheesbrough. out more and see printed examples

GET IN TOUCH TODAY

Email: sales@festivalglass.co.uk

Call: 01422 382 696 or visit: www.festivalglass.co.uk

Completed glassware ready for final inspection and packing

58

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Festival Glass Ltd, Unit 6, Calderdale Business Park, Club Lane, Ovenden, Halifax HX2 8DB

UK

What can the K22 do for your brand?

E TH

Brought to you through state-of-the-art CNC glass decorating technology

IN

!

E AD M

Fully toughened UK decorated glassware

Profile: Guy Sheppard

Guy Sheppard Exe Valley Brewery, Chairman of SIBA 2014-2017

Forsaking early ambitions in accountancy after studying it at University, Guy Sheppard fell in love with the pub and beer sector during his student days and never looked back. From the late 1970s he built up his own wholesaling business in the South West, predominantly taking regional ales out of their heartland and into new markets, and on selling the business in 1991 it seemed a natural progression to enter into partnership with Exe Valley Brewery, local to him in Exeter. Here, he joined SIBA, and was instrumental in launching the first of SIBAs regional festivals and beer competitions, the Maltings Beer Festival which started in 1993. Moving on from his regional role, Guy took up the mantle as National SIBA Chairman in 2014 for a three-year stint in the hotseat, where his priority was to get out into the regions and support and encourage members to get more involved in the organisation and grow its influence. Guy has since continued to drive SIBA’s regional activities forward in his current role as Chair of the SIBA Competitions committee. He spoke to Independent Brewer’s Editor Caroline Nodder about his time with the organisation…

When did you first enter the brewing industry and what did the market look like then?

When did you first join SIBA and what did the organisation look like at that time?

“I was directly involved in the brewing industry from 1991 but I first got involved in beer from 1977. My mistake, if it was a mistake, was to go to University to study accountancy and instead find myself discovering pubs! So I never went into accountancy, I went straight into the beer trade from University, into the wholesale trade for 14 years. I saw it from 1977 from the wholesale side, in those embryonic CAMRA real ales days, and I saw the regional brewers starting to branch out and get their beers outside of their home territories. I made most of my money out of Wadworth 6X to be honest, bringing it from its home in Devizes into Devon and Cornwall. By 1991 things had moved on and regional brewers had deals with the national brewers, so their beers were getting around. My wholesale business was bought out, and I went into partnership with Exe Valley, a local brewery that I knew very well, and have stayed there ever since.”

“The brewery was a member of SIBA before I joined it. But I knew SIBA before I became a brewing member and I knew the main players who were down in the South West then. The likes of Jim Laker at Exmoor Ales who was a very key player then, and John and Jenny Aries at Cotleigh Brewery were also key in what was going on regionally. SIBA in those days was very much about whoever the regional Trustees were. They did the donkey work, and they were all volunteers, there were no paid staff at that time. Certainly from my point of view I knew it regionally as an organisation not nationally in those days, and I was the Treasurer for the South West Region for many many years, because we had the Maltings Beer Festival down here which was the first of the SIBA competitions and festivals. SIBA had very little money in those days. It was started by brewers who were all very passionate about what they did, but what extra money they did have they

were investing back into their own businesses to try and grow.”

What issues and challenges were SIBA and its members facing in the early 1990s when you first joined?

“The perennial issue was always access to market, and trying the find a way in to break some of the strangle hold the national brewers had. If you look at where SIBA eventually went with the Direct Delivery Scheme, that was a really long way down the road. Cask repatriation was always an issue, and it still is an issue now. It is the biggest investment any brewery makes until you have got one trip containers, so if your cask population starts walking it is hugely expensive. The passion would always come out at meetings when someone had found a load in a scrapyard, or wherever it was. The duty regime of course as well.

Continued on page 61

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

59

We Brew WIth You. Take control of the brewing process, exercise your full creativity, and impart the exact aromatic and flavor qualities you desire. With unparalleled purity and unmatched technical support, at Lallemand Brewing we take pride in helping you perfect your craft.

Consistent, Reliable Brewing Yeasts & bacteria COME & MEET US AT

Wildbrew

®

BACTERIA

www.lallemandbrewing.com

60 Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk SIBA BeerX: stand 114 - Liverpool Exhibition Center, L3 4BX, England

STAND 114, TO TRY SOME BEER AND HEAR ABOUT OUR LATEST PRODUCTS.

Profile: Guy Sheppard

197o’s

Wholesale on the road from Devizes into Devon and Cornwall.

We were very aware that on the smaller end of the scale were being very badly treated. Our wastages were much larger than the national brewers but we were paying the same duty rates. We didn’t have the economies of scale or the access to market or the pubs, and one of the arguments from Government had always been that duty rates are high because you have your own tied houses – but of course SIBA members didn’t have tied houses so it did not apply. But that same excuse would keep being trotted out at you. Those things were slow burn battles fought over years and years – there were no quick fixes, and of course this was the early 90s and we didn’t get Small Breweries’ Relief until 2002.”

Over the years what do you see as SIBA’s key achievements?

“Getting Small Breweries’ Relief has to be up there. I can remember in the 1990s trekking up to London and lobbying people, and Carola Brown and David Roberts were the prime movers back in those days. You’d go and knock on people’s doors, meet MPs in pubs, and it was exciting to think you could make a difference. But it was very much an issue that people in the corridors of power at that time didn’t understand the small brewery sector.

They could only see Whitbread, or Watney’s or Courage – that was the beer trade as far as they were concerned. Of course, the small brewers were very few and far between then, now we have 120 maybe 150 breweries in the South West but probably back in those days there were 15 or 16.”

When did you take on the role of Chairman and what was your focus while at the helm?

“I think my first AGM was 2014, and we were in a bit of limbo land at that time. Julian

You’d go and knock on people’s doors, meet MPs in pubs, and it was exciting to think you could make a difference.

Grocock had just left the CEO role and Mike Benner wasn’t taking up the role until the Summer. So as far as I was concerned I was steering a steady course until Mike came on board. It was becoming apparent that trade was becoming more difficult and we were starting to be in recession which was hitting breweries and pubs as well so it was a difficult time. Mike was very good politically, and that was what we desperately needed at that time. I took over from Keith Bott, who had managed to tread the boards of Parliament really well. He made the job of Chairman incredibly difficult! There was almost universal refusal among the Board to take on the role after Keith because he had done it so well for so long. I can remember he sat me down in a pub and asked if I would do it, and I said I would, but what I wouldn’t do was try and be Keith Bott! Thankfully I knew Mike was coming on board, and I am a much more hands on brewer than Keith was so I knew I wouldn’t have as much time as he had. So my time as Chairman was about keeping everybody on board. I was keen to be approachable and leave the politics etc to Mike. I knew from the start that I needed to get round the regions and meet the brewers, and I wanted to be seen and be approachable to any member.”

How do you view SIBA’s key role in the industry now?

and Keith, and Julian before him, plugging away at it, SIBA is now much more the go to organisation when anyone in power talks about beer and breweries. Certainly even 10 years ago the default would be for people to go to CAMRA or the BBPA, which now talks the pubco talk, so I think with a lot of education and talking to the right people SIBA is much more likely to be cone of the key organisations called upon to talk about beer and breweries.

I really would like SIBA to be seen as the must join organisation for all the brewers who are of the right size to join us. There are still hundreds of brewers out there who won’t join or don’t see the need for it, but our strength is in numbers and I think we have got to make sure we are seen to be relevant to them all. How SIBA makes itself relevant to such a vast and diverse set of brewers is a very tricky thing.”

What does it mean to you to be a regional Director of SIBA and what does your role entail?

“Going back to where I started really, I try to engage with all the different breweries in the region. When I first started all the regional meetings were at weekends, because brewers said that was the only time they had to spare, but now we get a lot of people saying they have bars or taprooms they need to run and can’t make the meetings, and there are now so many other ways of communicating, so while the face-to-face meetings are still very valuable we can have virtual meetings, use social media, and grow the number of ways we can keep in touch.

So I think just being available to members and being approachable in whatever way is the key thing.”

Continued on page 63

“We are much more accepted, and with Mike www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

61

62

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Guy Sheppard

You now oversee SIBA’s beer competitions. What are the benefits to SIBA Members of being a part of them?

“The main benefit for the brewers, and I am talking here about brewers not the brewery owners, is to go out and see what other brewers are doing and then see how their beers compare to what other brewers are brewing and to see them actually being judged in a blind tasting.

They can see the reaction the judges are giving to their beers, and it is a great way to network with other brewers and suppliers, and then they can walk away with the award that day. It is so lovely to see at the end of a competition when you have 60 or 70 brewers from that region lined up waiting for the result all chatting over a beer, and as the winners are announced they all cheer that winner even though they are from a rival company. There is so much camaraderie.”

MIDDLE OF PUBLICATION

The last two years have seen some changes to the competitions, what were those and why were they brought in?

“The judging categories were very much based on the British styles of beer originally, and by and large back at the start SIBA members were mainly only producing cask beer a little bit of bottled beer and cans were not around then and keg was very small. We’ve come on leaps and bounds even in the last five years in terms of what is out there now, and these categories had been in place when I came on board.

But we started to get a lot more hop forward beers, the IPAs and things like Thornbridge Jaipur were coming through. They sat perfectly happily within the bitter categories, but what was happening in the competitions was that these super hoppy beers were almost sweeping the board, and some the more traditional beers were sinking without trade. It was the wow factor really, the judges were only taking a little sip of beer and smelling it and they were getting the wow factor from the hops.

So we looked at the number of beers being entered into the different categories and it was Dave Shaw from Hop Studio who suggested we needed to separate out the hop forward beers which is what we ended up doing. We have ended up with IPA categories and also categories for British Bitters and British Dark Beers. That has evened out the categories. What it hasn’t properly done is get ahead of the game with where we have gone with the keg format.

The keg competition already existed when I came on board but we were originally working to the same categories in all formats, and I think keg needs now to have its own categories because you are getting a very different range of styles in keg format now.”

carefully at what it does, how it does it, and to get it right. One of the main things about this trade is that it gets into your blood. People stay involved, and stay doing what they do because they are passionate about it and enjoy it. But you can sometimes lose sight of what you should be doing to make money. We need to be able to convince people, customers and retailers, we are adding value to our product.

What brewers get paid for the product is not enough. Three for a fiver in the supermarket means we are underselling ourselves. We need to engage with the consumers to explain all that goes into making the beer so it is not unreasonable to expect them to pay £5 or £6 for it – that is the challenge.”

Is there anything new on the competitions side for this year?

Who within the SIBA membership past and present do you most admire, and why?

“We are working through the style of judging and the category definitions and looking at the BJCP style of judging, but that is very American based. It is not suitable for cask or small pack really, although it may be suitable for keg. Certainly there are going to be far more keg entries in future and that is a different set-up for judging because you need all the equipment with it and that is one of the limiting factors. I am probably going to have to look at having more lines put in at BeerX UK, but it is not as easy as you think. I don’t think we will do anything too radical this year with the categories and I think SIBA needs to have the courage of its conviction and do what is right for its members’ beers rather than adopting someone else’s system. CAMRA is currently updating its own categories – and not before time – and interestingly their new ones don’t quite match the SIBA categories but are much more aligned than they were before.”

What do you see as the key challenges you and other SIBA Members are facing in 2020?

“To make some money! It is a terribly difficult market and every brewery has to look quite

“I think it has to be Carola Brown. It was her energy and drive. She quite literally held the Society together as it was then. She did it for the passion of it, and she was wonderful.”

What has been the key to your own success over the years at Exe Valley?

“Dogged determination and passion and probably not necessarily always looking at the hard pounds and pennies at some stages! There are things I continued to do that I probably shouldn’t have, but I felt they were right and in the long term they have been absolutely the right thing to do.”

You must have tasted thousands of beers over the years at SIBA competitions, do you have an alltime favourite?

“I am going to be very diplomatic here and say it is Crabbers Nip a dark barley wine produced

by Devenish Brewery, who sadly no longer exist.”

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

63

Comment: Matthew Curtis

The Future of British Beer is Indebted to its Past

©Mark Newton Photography

Award-winning beer writer Matthew Curtis takes a look at the future for craft beer, where the industry will evolve over the coming years, what SIBA’s role in that evolution might be and offers a few predictions of key things we can expect to see in craft beer in the future…

As we head into a brand new decade, the beer industry looks almost unrecognisable compared to how it existed just 10 years ago.

In the 2010 edition of the Campaign for Real Ale’s annuallypublished Good Beer Guide, the campaign excitedly released data indicating the number of breweries in the UK had risen beyond 700. This was the highest number since the Second World War, and four times as many as there were when CAMRA was founded in 1971.

Heading back another decade to the turn of the millennium and there were just 500 breweries. Now, in 2020, 10 years after CAMRA celebrated that historic number, there are now close to 2,500 breweries operating in the UK. But what are the factors that have stimulated this dramatic growth, and what does it mean for the future of British brewing?

64

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Comment: Matthew Curtis range of beer styles all over the country, particularly in densely populated metropolitan areas.

The benefit for the drinker is now a far broader range of choice of both brands and beer styles. Choice was the initial benefit, but as this has become more competitive, so too has the level of quality from this new wave of brewers improved. But what happens next?

©Mark Newton Photography

©Mark Newton Photography

When SIBA successfully lobbied for the implementation of Small Breweries’ Relief (SBR) in 2002—effectively halving duty paid for breweries producing under 5,000hl (approx 880,000 pints) annually, and providing a sliding scale of relief until reaching a threshold of 60,000hl (approx 10.6 million pints)—you might have expected this boom to occur earlier. As it turned out, tax relief alone wasn’t enough to stimulate the conditions that have created the market we enjoy today What beer in the UK needed was a jolt of electricity; a surge that would ignite inspiration in a new wave of brewers.

This spark would be cast into life largely (but not solely) thanks to the North American beer movement often described as the “craft beer revolution.” It involved fresh recipes using newly developed, more potent hop varieties and a willingness to regularly push the boundaries of beer styles outside of their currently accepted norms. When these beers began appearing more regularly on British shores—beers like Stone IPA, Anchor Liberty Ale and the ubiquitous Sierra Nevada Pale

Ale—the seeds for our own boom were planted, but it was perhaps the advent of social media that nourished these fresh shoots into full bloom.

Suddenly, beer lovers were becoming more interconnected, and the discussion surrounding our beloved drink was now immediate and exciting. Beer was also becoming more appealing to a younger generation, perhaps somewhat fed up with being offered the same thing their parents were drinking, or disappointed with the prevalence of mass produced lagers and their dominance of taps nationwide. It also removed some of the mystery behind the brewing process, connecting industry and drinker like never before.

What the US also seemed to inject into the UK was its notion of entrepreneurial spirit; the idea that if you’re not satisfied with the status quo then start your own business and do it yourself. Over the past 10 years this explosion of inspiration triggered a vast and dramatic rise in the number of British breweries, eventually normalising an eclectic

With exponential growth also comes a huge increase in the amount of challenges that the industry will have to overcome if it is to experience continued success. Consolidation is an inevitable factor in this growth; either via the sale of breweries to multinationals, or simply due to closures as a result of tougher market conditions. The two go hand in hand somewhat. By absorbing smaller, formerly independent businesses into a larger brand portfolio, which are in turn sold to consumers on the idea of “craft” with far greater resources—both human and financial—behind them. This poses a risk to brewers who try to compete on the same level without those same resources, who could be marginalised, pushed out of the industry entirely as a result.

A far greater threat to the eclectic, multifaceted independent brewing industry however, is after this period of growth and expansion the ladders could be pulled up, and the smaller breweries are left to compete with themselves. Currently around 14% of the industry is made up of modern “craft” brands and the regional family brewers combined.

Multinationals are more than happy to let these breweries compete over this share while it presides over the other 86%.

It’s reasons like this why SIBA is such an important organisation. It is only by uniting that the small, independent arm of the brewing industry can work together to improve market conditions, and opportunities within that market so that it can expand its share. If small brewing businesses continue to compete for the same space then the market will saturate and struggle. By looking to create opportunities outside of its existing space, then it will surely have the chance to continue thriving into this decade and the next.

Matthew Curtis is a beer writer and photographer awarded for his work by both the British and North American Guild of Beer Writers. He is the co-founder of Pellicle magazine and has written for various publications including Ferment, Good Beer Hunting, BEER, Original Gravity and The SIBA Journal. He currently lives in North London with his partner Dianne and cat Cricket.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

65

Backed by our unmatched quality assurance and technical support, Lallemand Brewing’s AB Vickers product range is used by breweries worldwide.

COME & MEET US AT

STAND 114

to try some beer and hear about our latest products.

KETTLE FININGS Compac CG, Breakbright tablets YEAST NUTRIENTS Yeastlife, Fermaid K, Servomyces BEER CLARIFICATION Protofine ANTIFOAMS Foamsol

, Protosol

, Vicfine, Liquid Isinglass, Alphafloc Paste

FOAM STABILISERS Drifoam, Foamaid, Allfoam

PVPP/SILICA GELS Alphaclar (PVPP), Britesorb (Silica hydrogel) ENZYMES Betaglucanase, Alpha amylase, ALDC

www.lallemandbrewing.com

66 BeerX: Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent BrewerExhibition | www.siba.co.uk SIBA stand 114 - Liverpool Center, L3 4BX, England

ANTI-OXIDANTS Vicant

Profile: Jaega Wise

Jaega Wise

Head Brewer at Wild Card Brewery & SIBA South East Region Chair

Wild Card Brewery’s Head Brewer Jaega Wise first became involved with SIBA after publicly criticising the organisation for its lack of voice in tackling sexism in the beer sector. She was subsequently invited to join her region in the South East to help put in place a strategy to tackle that issue and was happy, as she puts it, to ‘roll up her sleeves and get involved’. Elected in April 2018 at the SIBA South East Regional Chair, Jaega has proved to be a breath of fresh air within SIBA and injected a new dynamism to her region and to the organisation as a whole, with a drive to get new members on board and make the region more representative of some of the newer breweries emerging on the scene. Her current projects include pioneering a different style of SIBA regional keg competition at the first Love Beer London festival in February. The event saw London brewers work together on a festival which also gave back to the beer community, with all profits going to The Benevolent, a charity which supports current and former employees in the drinks industry and their families. Jaega has overseen a new standard of judging at the competition she hopes will help raise the standard for all future SIBA competitions. Caroline Nodder, Independent Brewer’s Editor, met up with Jaega to find out what is new at Wild Card and what her hopes are for SIBA in the future…

How and when did you first get involved in the brewing sector?

“I got involved in beer by drinking too much beer and being a beer fan, then home brewing and finally making the transition to brewing commercially in 2012. The brewery was set up by old friends of mine so I have helped to grow Wild Card from the beginning.”

What is your current role at Wild Card and what challenges are you currently facing?

“As the Head Brewer my role involves everything to do with the product, from the ingredients right the way through to the label on the package. My job as the team has got bigger is less on the floor and more management of the team. In the brewery we have suddenly exploded in size because we installed our own canning line last year, so that is a lot of people suddenly present in the brewery. So now we have got six full

time members of the team and one part time and about 15 others who work part time in packaging. We moved sites after we crowdfunded and doubled capacity in the brewery so we are now a 12bbl plant and we can get a 15bbl out of it so it has been a huge change since it was me and one other person brewing. Our main challenge is what it has always been, it is always the money factor. We don’t come from a rich background or know a lot of rich people so to get that extra tank it is about raising finance. It has also been tricky in the last year because there is a lot more competition from what I would I would call ‘fake craft’. So you have a brewer who has bought a craft brand but is owned by a bigger company, and we are seeing much more competition among that crowd than we used to.”

How do you see the market for small brewers evolving in 2020?

“In an ideal scenario I would like to see small

brewers in more and more places. We are seeing absolutely places that were once off limits to small brewers - especially the restaurants of Central London, you are seeing them have a much better craft beer offering. A lot of people won’t now go to a restaurant if they just see the typical named brands. That is a good thing, but on the flip side it is getting harder and harder to compete against ‘big craft’.”

What is new for Wild Card in 2020?

“You always have to invest, if you’re not you are standing still. So for us this year it is about sending out really good beers, in quantity, and keeping our customers happy. We have been really tight on supply over the last few years so we restricted it right back to the core range, so now following the expansion it is nice to be able to decide what we actually want to make.

We are doing loads of festivals this year as well that we weren’t doing last year.”

Continued on page 69

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

67

OUR FASTEST CANNING SYSTEM YET! 1250+ Customers in 60 Countries We provide innovative and affordable canning systems to the world’s small and medium-sized creators of craft beer, cider, wine, cold brewed coffee, kombucha and other life-enhancing beverages.

MULTIPLE CAN SIZES

2 LID DISPENSERS

Slim, Sleek and Standard diameter cans, all on one system with quick, simple change over.

Auto lid slice prevents jams, CO2 under lid gassing minimizes oxygen pickup.

BI-DIRECTIONAL HMI SCREEN

12 UNIVERSAL FILL HEADS

For easy and efficient operation from wherever you need to be.

Cask’s proven inline fill technology handles all can diameters without time consuming fill head change out.

INLINE SCALE & AUTO REJECT

AUDIO/VISUAL STATUS BEACON

ELECTRIC CAM DRIVEN SEAMERS

POLYCARBONATE ENCLOSURE

Provides onscreen trending of can weights to 2g accuracy, with an auto reject arm that automatically purges out-of-spec cans onto a catch tray.

Indicator of line status.

Including Underfills, Low lids, clean cycle and shut down.

Get increased seam integrity with the most consistent seam formation force.

For safety and hygiene during canning operations.

(Optional auto lockout).

CONTACT US TODAY | cask.com | +44 (0)1582 228052 Cask is an Official Supplier of aluminum cans for Ball Corporation

68

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Jaega Wise It can be quite easy to stand on the sidelines and criticise, it is much more difficult to roll up your sleeves and get involved. So I decided to have a go.

Do you feel the recent General Election will affect the craft brewing sector in the UK? “Absolutely. The Budget will be coming out soon and we are not entirely sure what the results are going to be on Small Breweries’ Relief but that is a big one for us. Wild Card is still a small brewery, still 2,000hl so well within the SBR upper limit, and we wouldn’t exist without SBR. We would close if we didn’t have it. So I am very much of the opinion that this is not a choice for us. If SBR was taken away it would be all over for us. And that is the same for a lot of small breweries and a lot of SIBA members, so this is an essential for us.”

When did you join SIBA and why?

“I actually joined SIBA after I had publicly called out SIBA and said it wasn’t doing enough in regards to sexism in the beer industry. I had a phone call from Ed at Five Points who said ‘OK. Why don’t you come and help us?’ And it can be quite easy to stand on the sidelines and criticise, it is much more difficult to roll up your sleeves and get involved. So I decided to have a go. I don’t have to be involved in SIBA, it is all voluntary, but we need our trade association to be strong in order to fight the fights that are coming and that are already here.”

In SIBA’s 40th anniversary year, what do you see as being the organisation’s main achievements over the last four decades?

“SIBA is known for a few things, the first big one is Small Breweries’ Relief and the other

one is probably route to market via BeerFlex.

BeerFlex is not a scheme that I have ever used, it is not relevant to my brewery being based here in London, but SBR, I wouldn’t be here without it!”

What do you see as SIBA’s key priorities today in supporting its members?

“I took over in April 2018 as SIBA Regional Chair [for the South East] and within the South East the key priorities are the make the region representative of the brewers in the area. That is for some of the things we do well, we have our cask competition, and we are expanding that out into a keg competition which is going to be called Love Beer London. It is giving our keg brewers a reason to join and a reason to take part. Here, we also have so much expertise in terms of beer judging – myself, I am an International beer judge and I travel all over the world judging beer competitions.

SIBA competitions need to be of the highest standard so one of the aims of Love Beer London is to force through an improvement in the standards of our competitions. In terms of the judges we are being very careful about the judge selection, we are trying to work on a mentorship programme which mentors people who work in bars to become our future judges.

These people work with beer every day, we don’t want Joe Bloggs off the street who is a beer fan, we want the assistant manager of a craft beer bar to be our judge of next year.

Then main question is what qualifies you to be a judge and we have been very tight on that. You need to be a Beer Sommelier to be

a lead judge, and these lead judges get paid which is something that didn’t happen before.

Every brewer who enters needs to get written feedback as well which they can take back to their business. In the South East our members voted to do this but ultimately I would like all SIBA competitions to be of the highest standard.”

You have been involved in addressing issues of sexism within the sector as part of your role at SIBA, is this still a concern and what is being done to address it?

“There is now a clear no tolerance within SIBA on sexism that probably wasn’t I would say there when I joined. It was made a blanket rule that you can’t win a competition with a sexist pump clip. But one of the biggest changes has been the work we were doing with the Portman Group to add it to their rulebook, and that simply wasn’t a rule before. We managed to get that through in May last year but I know that rule has yet to be heavily tested so we will see what happens when that comes up and whether that rule needs to be amended or whatever.

Now, especially with the support of James [Calder SIBA’s CEO] and Neil [Walker SIBA’s Head of Communications], we all know what the bar is and we know it has to be high. Our role is not to browbeat members it is to help guide and there have been many breweries who have come to me directly and asked for advice off the record, because it is sometimes useful to get a second pair of eyes on these things.”

Continued on page 71

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

69

70

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Jaega Wise

SIBA needs more modern craft brewers in its membership, there is a lack of them, and if we want to fight for our needs they need to be represented.

What priorities do you have this year in the South East Region of SIBA? “SIBA needs more modern craft brewers in its membership, there is a lack of them, and if we want to fight for our needs they need to be represented. That is not their fault, it is up to SIBA to say, ‘what can we do better to represent these breweries and bring them into the fold?’

It is one of the main reasons we are doing the new keg competition at Love Beer London.”

Do you feel enough is being done to encourage more diversity in brewing?

“I think that responsibility is on the whole sector collectively. It is about the way we hire, the way we think about our education programmes. The number of women getting involved in industry and sciences is still very low. So that is something that needs a crossindustry approach. If you look at what the Brewers Association in American has done, they have literally hired a Diversity Ambassador whose job it is to try and encourage lots of different kinds of people to get involved in the industry. I think making SIBA’s message clear and unapologetic about what its standards are and what it expects is really important.”

What are your views on the Deposit Return Scheme proposals and how they will affect SIBA Members?

“This is coming into play in Scotland and a lot of brewers up in Scotland are very nervous about it. We need to do something about our environment and on paper it could be a really positive thing, but how it is executed needs to be talked about to make sure it is done right.

In the South East we are looking at what is happening in Scotland with extreme interest, and we know it is coming to us. We are broadly supportive of a recycling scheme but it needs to be done right and that means getting zoomed in and getting involved on the detail. That is one of the important things, that SIBA is across the entire country, so the fact we have one issue in one region that is coming to us all means we can talk about it at every meeting and are looking at what is happening.”

How important is sustainability to you as a brewer and how are you addressing it?

“We were doing a lot of work to put in a heat reclaim system at the brewery which all works! That means all the heat produced by the fermentation goes and heats up a standing

body of water, which means we always have hot water on tap. It is amazing and very inexpensive. We used a company called Aqua Cooling who contacted us saying they do it all the time and it is not particularly expensive technology you just need to make the effort to do it. So we were already putting in a new chiller system and didn’t spend any more than we would have done and it is already paying for itself not just in money but in time and effort in waiting for water to heat up, which we don’t have to do any more.”

Who do you most admire within SIBA, past and present, and why?

“I have really been blown away by the team at SIBA Head Office and their willingness to get involved, and their willingness to make changes and improve. I have been working a lot with Neil [Walker SIBA’s Head of Communications] and Jenna [Barningham SIBA’s Operations Assistant] from the SIBA team and the drive of those two has been astronomical. They have both rolled their sleeves up and asked what they can do, working after hours and at times they don’t need to work. The infrastructure is there, and as members I think it is down to us to make our voices heard and get involved.”

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

71

Business Profile: Titanic Brewery

Titanic Brewery Titanic Brewery was one of the first small brewers to appreciate the benefit of having a retail estate to supply its beers direct to market. Spurred on to buy their first pub back in 1991 as a result of the stranglehold large brewers had on the pub market in their Staffordshire heartland, owners Keith and Dave Bott went on to develop an innovative agreement with larger brewer Everards to run selected Everards pubs in Titanic’s local area as managed houses. There are now six such sites, which Titanic runs alongside a further seven that are a mix of freehold and leased. The brewery also came early to American hops, almost by accident after their British hop supply dried up, and so Titanic is credited as one of the pioneers, with Iceberg, of the more hop-forward beers that are now a mainstay of the thriving craft beer scene. Caroline Nodder from Independent Brewer spoke to Titanic’s owner Keith Bott about the origins of Titanic and how he continues to stay ahead of the competition…

72

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Business Profile: Titanic Brewery

Brewery Basics

Name: Titanic Brewery Founded: 1985 (Keith and Dave Bott took it over in 1988) Location: Burslem, Stoke-onTrent, Staffordshire Owners: Keith & Dave Bott Capacity: 450bbl a week Brewing team: 5 in production Retail sites: 13 sites Staff: over 200 (full and parttime) Key beers: Plum Porter (4.9% ABV), Steerage (3.8% ABV), White Star (4.5% ABV) & Iceberg (4.1% ABV) Production(hl) and split (cask, keg, small pack: 16,500hl (80% cask, 10% keg, 10% small pack) Key export markets: Lithuania, Italy & Brazil

How did you come to found Titanic and what were your aspirations for the business?

“I left school in 1985 with a career in the Civil Service all planned out and in the Summer holidays after I’d finished my A-Levels saw an advert for ‘brewer wanted’. And I decided that would be far more fun than being a Civil Servant. So much to my parents distain I managed to get a job with a company y that was just setting up a small brewery. And they sent me out to go and see all the other small breweries that there were around at that time – so Lloyd’s Country Beers, Burton Bridge and Titanic. Titanic started on the first of October so I was there at the start, and they offered me a job as assistant brewer which I took. I was the assistant brewer there until 1988 when the company went into administration, and they had a pub and a brewery and the administrators saw all the value in the pub. So my brother [Dave Bott] and I managed to buy the brewery out of receivership for not very much at all. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing, no business plan, just the confidence of youth!

The business plan was ‘let’s brew great beer and everything else will follow’ and that has really been the mantra ever since. There were some sales outside of the tied house the previous owner had had so we just worked on those.”

When did you first start a retail arm to the business?

“Back in 1988 Stoke-on-Trent was so close to Burton that there were tied houses everywhere and no freehouses. So we sold more beer in Newcastle-upon-Tyne than we did in Newcastle-under-Lyme – that was thanks to the likes of Tony Brookes who became Head of Steam but was then Legendary Yorkshire Heroes and Tony Eastwood at Small Beer. And quite a lot we used to do down in Somerset, swapping beers with Smiles and Exmoor and other brewers who were around at that time. We bought our first pub in 1991, in Burslem where the brewery was, and ran that as the brewery tap. Then we took on another one which we subsequently sold to Punch, and we decided we were brewers and we would stick with that side of it. But obviously when Small Breweries’ Relief came in and we saw the number of breweries that were being created we reassessed that and in 2007 we formed a partnership with Everards Brewery. That was us realising we had to have a guaranteed route to market and Everards recognising that they could buy pubs in Stoke-on-Trent but if people wanted to drink local they had to work with us. That partnership continues today and continues to get stronger and six of

the pubs we have now are in partnership with Everards.”

What is the brewing ethos behind your beers?

“My love of beer went back to playing rugby and drinking Bass and Bank’s Mild, so it was quite staid and middle of the road. It was only really when two or three years in to running the brewery we had trouble buying British hops - because they were all being bought by the big brewers or being sent to America – that we got offered American hops and brewed our first beer using those which was Iceberg. Suddenly there was this world of flavour we had never seen anywhere else or tried. We found a whole array of beers we had never brewed or tried and consumers had never tried. At the same time we were still brewing a very traditional stout, which was my memory of what Guinness used to taste like, and just having lots of fun trying new things.

We have never stopped innovating. Even today we are always looking for something new and interesting, without going too far.

In craft brewing at the moment there are some quite extreme flavours that I am not convinced are what beer drinkers want.”

How have you seen the industry change since you founded Titanic?

“They say everything in history comes around again. And we have seen consolidation and bigger groups of pubs coming in, and then we have seen them break up and come back together, so the names of the customers have changed but underlying that there is still an awful lot of similarity between what it is like now and when we first started. You have still got to work hard to get the opportunity for people to try your beer and then the important thing is when they do try your beer they want it and they want more. You can argue that competition makes it more difficult but equally there are so many more people interested in trying something new who have given up being brand led.”

You have a different retail model to most small brewers, was this a conscious decision and what challenges has this presented?

“Going back as far as we do, there wasn’t any freetrade near us and so we knew maybe earlier than other people that we needed our own retail outlets. That was down to the geography of where we were. And once you have your own retail, you recognise that you can make sure the beer is kept properly.

All our sites are managed houses so we can control the retail standards, and you can create the kind of pubs that you want to drink in.”

Continued on page 75

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

73

est 1984 Equipping the Nation’s Drink Producers

Brewhouses

Kegging

Bottling

Canning

Support

Call us 01404 892100 See us at EQUIPMENT SERVICE SUPPORT sales@vigoltd.com

74

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

vigoltd.com

  @VigoLtd

Business Profile: Titanic Brewery

The retail market has been tough, over the last decade in particular, how have you overcome the challenges it presents?

“The key is that if you go back far enough the level of investment in pubs in the UK was dreadful. And the PubCos came in and invested in properties that probably hadn’t seen investment in almost a generation. What we realised was that if you invest heavily and create a place where consumers want to come, then you have got an advantage over your competitors. That worked brilliantly in 2007, and was really successful, but the issue comes when all your competitors realise what you are doing and they start investing as well. So the key thing for us is staying ahead. Making sure the quality of the premises and the quality of the staff and the quality of the drinks choice and provenance of the drinks choice is that bit better than our competitors.”

How much of your beer is exported currently, and how do you think Brexit will affect you?

“Export is such a small amount of our business, it is under 1% of what we do and we certainly haven’t chased it or focussed on it. It is a difficult thing to break into, and I am not sure how many much larger breweries than us have been successful with their export drives. I know a few like Fuller’s and Wells & Co have, but lots of other people have tried and not been hugely successful. Going back to Peter Austin, one of the first things he ever told me was that beer in 90% water. So don’t transport it around the world! It is better drunk closer to the brewery.

And certainly I enjoy the small pack and keg

beers we produce, but the best way to drink my beer is the cask version and that is much better drunk somewhere near where the brewery is.”

You are SALSA qualified, what did this mean for your business and how did you find the process?

“We have always really embraced any kind of audit. We have found you can take an awful lot of positives out of having someone with a different set of eyes come in and take a look at what you do. So we went into SALSA with a view that we were using it to improve our processes and make sure we were ticking all the right boxes. And it has been an incredibly positive experience. The way in which they help you to develop, and the way in which the audits are carried out, has improved things that we have done. Lots of brewers will recognise this - we do a lot of things but we rarely remember to write them all down. If you write them down then you have a resource there you can go back and check if things aren’t working as well as they should. I have a hugely positive view of SALSA, and of all the other things out there like it. Out of interest Paul Nunny [from Cask Marque] asked me to go through the SIBA FSQ at the same time as SALSA to see what the difference was between the two. It was done by a different assessor, and again we learnt almost as much from doing the FSQ as we did through SALSA. Any audit should be welcomed.”

Have you launched into the no and low market as yet?

that we could do it as well as the market leaders.

So until we are in a position to compete, we will continue to stock other people’s products in that sector.”

What current challenges are you facing as a business?

“As they have always been, lots of them.

Certainly a challenge facing the pub industry, looking at our retail sites, is business rates. We really need the government to take a long hard look at the unfairness in the business rates system. The number of people with face-toface sales opportunities that are screaming to reform business rates is increasing daily and pubs are certainly in that position. I do think the industry has done a great job over the last few years in persuading the Government that pubs are a force for good, and have societal benefit, but we need to press that home now.

We need to convince the politicians they need to give us a break so that pubs can remain sustainable and grow and employ even more people. We are only asking for fairness.”

Are there any mistakes you’ve made that you have learned from?

“There is no point regretting you just have to learn from those mistakes and move forward.

I am sure there are lots of things I would do differently but the key thing is that it is still a fun industry and I still get up every day looking forward to coming to work.”

Continued on page 77

“We have obviously thought about it, and I have looked at the various ways we could produce that style of beer. But I am not happy www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

75

SPOSTH I

VARN I

76

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Business Profile: Titanic Brewery

Have changing consumer tastes affected what you do?

“Undoubtedly, and when we are doing our seasonal beers now or looking at the keg range we are always looking at what other people have done, and recognising where they have got things right. There is a danger that we become too niche with some of the products that are being produced at the moment in the craft market and put people off. There has always been a problem with beer snobbery I think, and you end up in a world not dissimilar to where wine has ended up where people settle down and say ‘I know what I like’. We need people still to want to try new things and invest time in a really great experience. So we don’t need to stop innovating we just need to be careful we don’t over innovate.”

What’s new at Titanic for 2020?

“We are still growing the pub estate. The last four sites we have opened have been café bars rather than traditional pubs, and that is a really exciting part of the market. The plan is to open another three this year and what is really exciting about that is taking buildings that aren’t currently pubs and unlocking their potential, which on the high street is about taking advantage of some of the spaces that have been left as the high street changes. But equally it is also a new customer base. I reckon, anecdotally, there are about 30% more people who would go into a café bar than would ever go into a traditional pub.”

How do you see the structure of the UK brewing sector evolving in the coming months and years?

“I think there are two distinct markets. There is London and the South East and then there is the rest of the world. They are two very

different markets. There are undoubtedly, and unfortunately, going to be business failures, especially outside London. With breweries that have not evolved and grown and invested – and to a certain extent a number of brewers who have done it for an awful long time but haven’t worked out their exit route. So I do think we are going to see a reduction in the number of breweries outside London. London is just such an incredible market. It was so foreclosed that we never even went to London when we first started. Now it is probably the most open market in the UK. So I think we will still see growth in the number and size of breweries in that London area.”

There has always been a problem with beer snobbery I think, and you end up in a world not dissimilar to where wine has ended up where people settle down and say ‘I know what I like’.

How important are sustainability and environmental issues to your business?

“Dave and I have always had a slightly green agenda about the business and make sure where we can we limit our impact. In the way in which we operate and look after our employees and understand our commitment to communities where we have a retail site we hope that we are respectful and supportive of the world which we live in. We will always try and make sure what we do is for the greater good.”

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?

“I spend a lot of time looking at what other people do and I have never been afraid to plagiarise if I see a good idea. But equally you have got to make sure you don’t build barriers – as brewers we do tend to have rules we stick to and the craft brewing revolution effectively ripped up those rules and suddenly made everybody realise they had been following those rules for no reason. So you have to be careful you don’t stymie inspiration.”

Which brewers and retailers do you think are currently leading the market?

“I think in terms of brewers there are a number of brewers who have been around a long time who do a fantastic job – the Wye Valleys, the Magic Rocks, the Oakhams. There are a number of retailers I think have really got things right – companies like Loungers have reinvented what the pub is about and are doing a great job. Then there are the inspirational craft brewers – you look at what Beavertown has achieved and that is pretty impressive, and what Meantime achieved.”

What is your favourite beer and where would you drink it?

“I think occasion is more important than the beer. So my most favourite beer I ever drank was a pint of Yates Bitter having done a 10 mile walk in 30 degree heat in the Lake District.

But I have to mention one of our beers, Titanic Steerage, which is our session bitter, and we have just taken over a pub in my village Ashover in Derbyshire, the Old Poets Corner.

So to stand in there with a roaring fire and a pint of Steerage – it doesn’t get any better than that!”

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

77

NDL Craft Quality built to brew your craft

Brewhouses Turnkey Systems Fermenters Brite Tanks Hot & Cold Liquor Tanks

T: 01142 699080

ndlcraft.com

E: info@ndlkegeurope.com

Quality built to contain your craft We have produced the most ergonomically designed handle hole that is large enough and fully rolled under to eliminate sharp edges

Precision machined inner thread to ensure a tight seal with our range of quality safety spears

Our keg is fully TIG welded for a stronger and more accurate weld

Drain holes prevent build up of excess liquid

Choice of extractor tube

From stock or bespoke manufacture: 20, 30 & 50 litre.

T: 01142 699080

78

E: info@ndlkegeurope.com

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

ndlkegeurope.com

Profile: Nick Stafford

Nick Stafford

Founder of Hambleton Brewery & one of SIBA’s longest-serving Directors Hambleton Brewery’s Nick Stafford is widely credited with being the driving force behind the commercial arm of SIBA, through the formation of its Direct Delivery Scheme (now BeerFlex) and the creation of the annual BeerX UK event, the largest annual celebration of the UK’s craft beer scene. Through his efforts, the organisation was able to fund its expansion and professionalise, with a permanent paid team at head office and the opportunity for investment in expanding the support and services it offers its members. When he stepped down in 2019 after 28 years working both as a volunteer and at head office, he was one of the longest serving members of the SIBA team and had seen SIBA evolve over the years through some of the most pivotal moments in the development of the brewing industry in this country. Independent Brewer’s Caroline Nodder caught up with him to find out more about his contribution to the organisation and its achievements and, strangely, how the Direct Delivery Scheme might never have happened if it wasn’t for the footballer George Best…

How did you first become involved with SIBA? “In 1991 I attended the AGM in Worcester at the Jolly Roger Brewing Company when Paul Soden was Chairman [SIBA Chair 19851992] and they were asking for a Northern representative to join the National committee and my brother held my hand up! And that was it, that was how it started. Paul Soden had started the band wagon rolling [on Small Breweries’ Relief] and was trying to galvanise the membership into some kind of action and they were desperately in need of professional help but they couldn’t afford it. They couldn’t even afford to pay expenses to the National committee at that time. Carola Brown was the Secretary and was paying for stamps out of her own pocket to send out letters to members, the subscriptions barely covered anything at that stage.”

So how did you first come up with the idea for a commercial arm to the organisation?

“I suppose from day one is was clear we had to make some money and be able to cover the basic expenses. So the first thing we thought of doing was approaching sponsors. So we went to our suppliers and asked if that wanted to become an Associate Member of SIBA. Suppliers have been massively supportive of SIBA over the decades and will continue to be so. I then became Treasurer and my first job was to turn around a £3,000 loss into a profit, which we managed to do, and I ended up doing 17 years voluntarily working for SIBA, and 28 years in total. It wasn’t without its ups and downs, it was a constant challenge, and rightly so. We were getting sponsorship, launching events, trying to make events work, we even tried a Beer Lovers Club. “Then it was probably in about 1995 or 1996 when I was trying to get the Direct Delivery Scheme off the ground – the pre-cursor to BeerFlex. The SIBA Council meeting that year was at the Phoenix pub in Chelsea and I presented the business case for us to work with the PubCos that were starting to emerge, with direct supply, and they initially

rejected it. So I went downstairs and had a cup of coffee, and in the bar was George Best the footballer. He said, ‘What are you doing here? so I told him we were having a meeting of brewers but it hadn’t gone very well because they rejected my idea. And he said, ‘Well why don’t you go back upstairs and try again?’ So I went back upstairs and I suggested we give the PubCos a choice, either they let us into the pub estates or we raise our political activity. They agreed to that, so I went out to the PubCos and it didn’t happen overnight, but four or five years later Avebury Taverns then the Unique Pubco came on board. Then the next thing I remember was Enterprise Inns bought Unique Pubco and after a few months of deliberations they confirmed they would continue with the scheme and expand it, and that was the turning point. By about 2003 we had the top four or five PubCos taking BeerFlex, and were turning over about £13M of business for SIBA member brewers.”

Continued on page 81

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

79

Beer Chemistry Multiple beer and water chemistry tests with the BeerLab including ABV, bitterness, colour and VDK’s.

Rapid Micro Rapid detection of beer spoilage bacteria and wild yeasts including Pediococcus, Lactobacillus and Diastaticus with Invisible Sentinel PCR. AlcoTest-RI Accurate ABV in less than 3 minutes with no reagents or distillation.

See all our analytical solutions at BeerX on Stand 29 80

www.qclscientific.com/brewing Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Profile: Nick Stafford

What is your view on what SIBA’s key focus should be in the current market?

“Then majority of SIBA members are those producing less that 2,000hl so SIBA as a trade association must really get under the skin of those business owners and find out what they need to survive, then deliver what they need. I am lucky I have gone beyond 2,000hl but the majority of SIBA members can’t necessarily afford to make a success of their business without support - they need the fraternity of SIBA. It is all about small business owners getting together.”

The launch of BeerX UK is another of your achievements during your time at SIBA, how did that come about?

“We did five years with BeerX at Sheffield and are now entering the third year at Liverpool so it would have started in 2012.

The first one was in Sheffield at Ponds Forge and previous to that I had started an annual conference over two days and we had ended up at the Hilton in Stratford.

There was no BeerX then, it was just the AGM and a conference, and I hadn’t worked on it for the last three or four years I had handed it over to the Chairman, Peter Amor at the time and then Julian Grocock. Then there was a request, especially by suppliers, to revitalise the conference so I was asked to come back and look at it. And between Christmas and New Year of 2010 and 2011

we came up with the idea of BeerX, to have an exhibition and beer competition.

We knew we wouldn’t make money straight away, but a lot of thought went into it and it wasn’t really a loss as such, we were investing. We wanted to make it profitable but the beer festival part of it for the public was very heavy on cost. After five years at Sheffield it was time to take it up a notch so I found the venue in Liverpool and we managed to turn a loss to a profit in the first two years there. The public beer festival element was competing with so many other brilliant festivals around the country that it didn’t make commercial sense, the public was not our primary audience, so we focussed on it being business to business. In fact, I’d like to see BeerX in future leaning far more towards retailers and bringing retailers and publicans in - still retain all the supplier side of it, but definitely get retailers involved because they are our future. Market access is even more important now than it ever was.”

to great effect. SIBA members need more than ever to have a successful trade association, worked on by those three and their colleagues. It has never been more important. I think if they are successful then the next few years are likely to give me more pride in what they have achieved than what I achieved. I do take pride in my association over the years with hundreds of really great people who are not just business competitors but have become my friends and associates with whom I would like to continue sharing a pint in the future. It is down to them that for me it was a great place to be.”

What has been your proudest moment in your time at SIBA? “It is not really about being proud of what I was doing. I would rather over the next few years see [the current SIBA Senior Management Team] the likes of James Calder and Neil Walker and Rachel Harriott, using the solid financial foundations

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

81

Comment: The Brewers Association

The Beer Revolution

ŠBrewers Association

82

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Comment: The Brewers Association

How 40 years of American craft beer have shaped the global beer landscape

©Brewers Association

The USA is widely credited with pioneering the global craft beer revolution that we see today, and that’s happened in just four decades. Forty-plus years ago, there were fewer than 50 craft breweries in America and the craft beer scene as we know it was non-existent. This allowed American craft brewers to create the market from scratch, taking inspiration from the great brewing nations overseas and creating new styles that would redefine American beer beyond traditional mass-produced lager. From there the American craft beer revolution was born and the variety of high-quality, full-flavoured beers being produced by the more than 8,000 small and independent American craft breweries is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. New and exciting American craft beer styles are now emulated all over the globe and demand for styles such as American IPA, Barrel-Aged beers and well-made classic styles extends way beyond our nation’s borders. It has been an exceptional time for the craft beer industry and we like to think that American craft brewers are looked upon as leaders in consistency, quality and innovation.

There’s no doubting the success of the American craft beer industry in just a few short decades and one of the key reasons for its success is proximity to the freshest examples of highly sought-after hop varieties.

All brewers know that fresh and well taken care of raw materials make for better beer and by literally visiting the hop fields and selecting the varieties themselves brewers are able to develop flavour profiles in beer that are difficult to match without the same level of control. Combine quality and freshness of raw materials with American craft brewers’ technical expertise and it’s easy to see why American craft beer is renowned for quality the world over. This fact is borne out by the number of medals and top honours American craft beer wins at high profile international beer competitions In recent years, we started to see craft settle into a more mature growth pattern following more than a decade of meteoric growth,

Bob Pease, CEO/President of the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers, takes a look back at how the development of the craft beer market in the US has helped to shape the sector globally… with steady rates in the low to mid-single digits. Our 2019 midyear growth estimate measured 4% growth in production volumes through the first half of the year. We’re still a few weeks out from being able to publish an accurate picture of how the full year unfolded but like any year in this industry, it was a unique one, with the continued flood of brewery openings driven by consumer demand, conflicts in styles trends, increased conversation around the importance of independence and ownership transparency, and greater investment into fostering a more diverse and inclusive beer community. We’ve come a long way in four decades and I’m eager to see where we go from here.

Hopping Across the Pond American craft beers started entering the UK market in the late 1990s when the late Glenn Payne, the then beer buyer for supermarket chain, Safeway, revolutionised the UK beer scene by introducing hopforward, full-flavoured and highly innovative American craft beers to the UK off trade.

Early entrants included Sierra Nevada, Rogue Ales and others. British beer drinkers were transfixed by the big, bold flavours of American hops and the taste for groundbreaking American styles soon caught on. Recognising the growing demand for American craft beer around the world, the Brewers Association set up the Export Development Programme (EDP) in 2004 with a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. Its purpose is to identify opportunities for international expansion and media promotion of American craft beer as well as educating international partners about proper storage and handling to preserve flavour during distribution. Since then exports have increased 1,400% with a 2018 value of $74million (latest figures available) and American craft beer has spawned many imitators. The UK is an important trading partner and represents the second largest global export market (after Canada) with 16.6% of all exports.

What the Brewers Association Does The Brewers Association itself was formed in 2005 through a merger with the Association of Brewers and the Brewers Association of America and is a not-forprofit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts.

The Brewers Association is a membership organisation of brewer, for brewers, and by brewers. More than 5,400 U.S. breweries and 46,000 American Homebrewers Association members are joined by members of allied trade, retailers, individuals and Brewers Association staff to make up the Brewers Association. In a similar role to SIBA our main focus is to advance the interests of the small and independent brewers and we do this through a wide range of activities such as • educating beer drinkers and the beer industry to understand and champion American craft beer with events like Great American Beer Festival®, Savor®, Craft Brewers Conference® and the World Beer Cup®, educational resources published on CraftBeer.com and our two magazines The New Brewer and Zymurgy • advocating on behalf of the small and independent craft brewer to secure fair legislative and regulatory treatment at Congressional level in Washington DC • providing industry statistics and research • providing resources and supporting advances in safety, sustainability, education, technology, diversity and raw materials (eg. hop breeding programmes) We strive to promote, protect and support the American craft brewing industry and one such example is the Brewers Association Independent Craft Brewers Seal, a tool not dissimilar to SIBA’s ‘Assured Independent British Craft Beer’ initiative.

Continued on page 84

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

83

Comment: The Brewers Association

No matter where your beer comes from or what style you’re drinking we believe in working together to ensure it tastes as good as the brewer intended.

©Brewers Association

Independence We recognised a lack of clarity of ownership in the marketplace as the global brewing companies seek to muscle in on the booming craft beer scene and acquire formerly small and independent brewers to present them as craft. Large multinational brewing companies have massive influence at distributor level and this gives them an unfair advantage. The beer drinker is confused and finds it difficult to identify beer from a truly independent producer.

When a beer drinker walks into a bar and sees an array of tap handles, they don’t know which beers are truly independent. Many of those tap handles, while seemingly different, can often be owned all by the same large brewing company.

We call this the ’illusion of choice’ and believe it is bad for the beer industry because it reduces choice.

So, in 2017 the Brewers Association launched the Independent Craft Brewers Seal to differentiate small and independent craft brewers from ‘big’ multinational brewers. It features an iconic beer bottle flipped upside down to signify the spirit with which craft brewers have upended the beer market, while informing beer lovers they are choosing a beer from a brewery that’s independently owned.

Transparency of ownership is a key driver of purchase intent and 53% of beer lovers in the Sates indicate independent ownership as being important to them when purchasing beer. To date, more than 4,700 small and independent breweries have adopted the seal representing close to 80 per cent of craft beer brewed in the

84

U.S. A desire for independence is spreading across the globe as beer lovers increasingly want to know who makes their beer and we are seeing independent seals popping up in other countries too, like Australia and Ireland.

Style Trends American IPAs are the rock stars of the craft beer world and it was this style that caught the attention of the British beer drinker back in the late 1990s. Accounting for almost a third of all sales in America, the category is the primary driver of craft beer volume and is now more a platform for innovation than a style in itself. IPAs are synonymous with the craft beer revolution, offering hoppy innovation of their own with a variety of incarnations from 4% to 12% ABV, from fruity and floral to citrusy and piney. I often get asked what’s the next IPA? The answer: IPA. Sessionable beers and lighter styles, including lighter fruit sours, are also growing. If the drinker isn’t looking for hoppy beers, data shows it’s to be likely something “light and crisp.” There are two reasons I think this is: lighter styles allow the aging craft beer drinker to continue to support their favourite brewery while limiting alcohol consumption, and they also provide an entry point for new craft drinkers more used to drinking mass produced lager.

Consumer demand for new and exciting American craft beer styles is growing the world round. I’m often asked whether this is a good or bad thing for exported American craft beer.

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

©Brewers Association

Our belief is that growing the broader category of craft will result in high-profile listings for small, quality focused brewers regardless of origin. Most craft beer drinkers are curious and always seeking out the next big thing so a UK beer drinker who enjoys domestic craft will also seek out quality, imported craft as well. While beer drinkers may support their local brewery in their respective country, there is always scope to explore and discover beers from the great brewing nations of the world, including America. American and British craft beers are not mutually exclusive, rather we see them as complementing each other. One lifts sales of the other and vice versa. Variety drives sales.

Comment: The Brewers Association Leading in Diversity and Inclusion At the Brewers Association we believe beer is for everyone and we continue to be proactive in advancing the brewing community’s path of diversity and inclusion. Our Diversity Committee works to cultivate conversation and action and has led to initiatives like the hiring of the Brewers Association’s first ever Diversity Ambassador, Dr. J Nikol Jackson-Beckham.

In addition to traveling to state guilds and craft brewing community events to speak on best practices, she’s helped us publish a new set of guidelines that lay the groundwork for addressing, creating and managing a diversity and inclusion program for breweries. Another initiative by the committee has been the introduction of a grant in support of local and regional events that foster and promote a more diverse and inclusive beer community. By funding these projects, our goal is to inspire festival organisers to reach a broad and diverse group of festival attendees, foster growth and stimulate a cultural shift in beer.

Quality American craft beer is exported all round the world, but it is a perishable product and requires

all parties in the supply chain to be singing from the same song sheet. Beer drinkers are becoming more knowledgeable than ever before about shelf life, BBDs and flavour and this is helping to ensure higher standards are maintained throughout the supply chain. Just one bad experience can put off a potential customer from purchasing your beer again.

The Brewers Association publishes the Draught Beer Quality Manual (DBQM) an easy guide to draught line cleaning, system components and balance, proper pouring technique, glassware sanitation and more. Despite being written for an American market much of the information contained within DBQM is relevant to the UK and can be downloaded FREE OF CHARGE from http://www.draughtquality.org/ We also produce a raft of literature and resources to help our international trading partners understand and appreciate American craft beer and these are available to download free of charge from www.brewersassociation.org

American Craft Beer in the UK The Brewers Association EDP has been actively supporting American craft beer in the UK for the last 15 years and enjoys a long-standing and

mutually beneficial relationship with CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival every August. Lotte Peplow, our American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, is based in the UK and her role is to educate and inform the trade and industry about American craft beer while raising its profile amongst beer drinkers. Her relatively new appointment shows our commitment to advancing and elevating American craft beer in the UK and Europe. We have also appointed a new Ambassador in China to help our members grow their businesses on the other side of the world. We enjoy a strong relationship with SIBA because no matter where your beer comes from or what style you’re drinking we believe in working together to ensure it tastes as good as the brewer intended.

And what of the next 40 years…..it’s an incredibly exciting time to be a beer drinker and I can foresee greater innovation, greater creativity and greater choice in the craft beer industry. Cheers to that!

For more information go to www.brewersassociation.org

©Brewers Association

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

85

You have beer.

We have kegs & casks.

Let’s talk.

Stainless steel keg & cask rental 0800 534 5000 kegstar.com rent@kegstar.com 86

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Clever Kegs, great beers, happy drinkers.

Comment: Crisp Malt

A 40 year history of Malt It’s not only brewing that has changed since 1980. There has been evolution in the supply chain too - not least in the barley-growing and malting industries.

Rob Moody, director, craft brewing and logistics, at Crisp Malt looks at how things have changed…

Technical support

Gone are the days when brewers were satisfied with a limited range of malts. Past is the time when pale ale, lager, crystal, chocolate and black malts made up the full selection.

Barley varieties and base malts

A lot has happened in the past 40 years.

Base malts have evolved and speciality malts have flourished. Craft brewers get to choose from a panoply of hues and styles of malt, using them to create the wort, and enhance the beer flavour, colour and body.

Changing demands on maltsters Four decades ago, the trends towards big brands, mass production and brewery consolidation had started. Throughout the 80s and 90s, there wasn’t a huge opportunity for maltsters to produce ingredients outside of the mainstream.

Sure, there were always family brewers who refused to compromise when it came to ingredients, working closely with all parts of the supply chain and sourcing the best.

Maltsters love them! It is, after all, their support that has kept Crisp’s traditional floor-maltings open.

Now, with the evolution of the independent craft brewing movement, forget commoditisation. No craft brewer worth their salt wants soulless ingredients. No brewer creating beers bursting with character and flavour is using malts of unknown variety or indifferent provenance.

The thirst for technical insights into, and understanding of, beer’s primary ingredient is growing apace. We know that because brewers have been drawing on our company’s technical support and expertise massively more in the past five years alone – never mind the past 40!

SIBA’s 40th anniversary coincides with Maris Otter’s 55th anniversary. Most barley varieties are superseded within five years. So 55 years in continual production is quite something. Over those five and a half decades, Crisp has been a huge protagonist of Maris Otter, working with seed merchants Banham’s, who joint-own the rights to the variety; partnering with the best growers; and floor-malting it in the traditional way.

The 40-year story around base malts goes beyond Maris Otter of course. Important developments include Clear Choice, created from proanthocyanidin-free, gm-free barley.

This helps to prevent haze at the same time as stabilising flavour and increasing shelf-life.

Other base malt developments include the rescuing of heritage barley varieties, such as Chevallier and Plumage Archer. These have aligned perfectly with the “ancient grain” trends found in the natural and healthy food sectors, at the same time as allowing brewers to recreate beer styles of the past with authentic ingredients.

Speciality malts You would need to write a whole book to do justice to developments in speciality malts over the past 40 years. It would look not just at the different varieties of barley used over that time, but also the introduction (and in some cases re-introduction) of wheat, rye and oats into the

mix, and more recently spelt, buckwheat and other cereals.

Any book on the subject would also need to cover the new methods of malt production – and how maltsters are innovating in what was previously seen as a purely traditional craft. It would give insights into the technology and kit helping to create exciting new speciality malts.

It would go into intricate detail about how each tweak in the process and the resulting nuances in the malt can influence the flavour profile of the wort – and the beer.

Milling, bagging and logistics Decades ago, just about every brewery had a mill. Today, with so many smaller breweries around, this is no longer the case. Maltsters have taken on the milling role for numerous brewers, supplying them with ready-crushed, malted grain.

Producing an ever-growing range of speciality malts in whole and crushed format - and offering them in different sized bags - makes for complex logistics. That’s something the team at Crisp have been proud to embrace as part of the service to craft brewers.

The majority of independent breweries have restrictions on storage space. That means they need their malt JIT - ‘just in time’ - and often delivered within 48 hours of ordering.

Raising a glass to the next 40!

As farmers and maltsters across the country raise a glass to SIBA and all its independent brewing members in celebration of its 40th anniversary, so we also salute the on trade and off trade stockists of your beer. If all parts of the supply chain carry on working together to make the next 40 years as exciting as the past 40, the future is indeed bright.

Cheers!

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

87

88

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Business advice: Legal

Distributing your beer – some contractual issues to consider So you have taken the decision to work with a distributor to get your beer into new customers. When it comes to agreeing the terms upon which you will supply your products and the distributor will distribute them, the old adage “prevention is better than cure” applies – you are well advised to agree clear terms in writing (by way of a distribution agreement) at the outset, rather than have an uphill battle on your hands after the event.

In this article Napthens’ Commercial Solicitor, Claire Hynes highlights some key areas to consider:

Territory and Exclusivity Where and to whom is the distributor authorised to sell your products? Set this out and detail any customers or territories into which the distributor is not authorised to sell (as you may have given exclusivity to another distributor or wish to reserve that for yourself).

If the distributor is selling internationally, generally it will be best placed to understand and comply with local import requirements and practicalities and therefore the onus should be on the distributor to ensure that the products enter the territory in the correct manner and to keep abreast of and notify you of any relevant applicable local laws and changes to them.

Will the distributor have any rights of exclusivity in relation to selling the products to a particular territory or group of customers? If so, be clear if you wish to reserve the right for yourself to sell into that territory or to that group of customers (generally referred to as a ‘sole’ distribution arrangement). An arrangement termed “exclusive” can mean that you are restricted from selling your own product in the exclusive territory/ to the exclusive customers.

Where you are granting exclusivity, your agreement should address how this can be terminated. Usually parties will agree minimum sales volumes to be met by the distributor to make the exclusivity commercially worthwhile for you as the supplier, so that where these are not met, you can terminate the agreement (or the exclusivity at the very least) and engage another distributor in the territory so as not to lose out on potential sales in those territories.

Term and Termination What length of contract are you committing to and how can either party end it? If you are offering exclusivity, it is common practice

to agree a fixed initial period to allow the distributor to develop a market for the products in its territory. As above, be wary of agreeing to a long term contract however without specific rights to terminate where the distributor is not performing/ meeting specific targets.

Product Supply and Quality Consider whether you need the distributor to provide you with a forecast of its requirements for the products periodically so that you can plan ahead and meet orders placed by it.

Ideally all sales of the products to the distributor will be made on your terms of sale which should include the usual supplier protections (limitation of liability, terms relating to ordering and delivery, product warranties and caveats to this). Where you are selling beer in casks and kegs and these need to be returned to you, this should be set out in the distribution agreement (if not already covered in your standard terms).

As the supplier you will primarily be liable for ensuring product quality. However, you should be clear that you are not liable for any defects or quality issues caused by the distributor, for example due to inappropriate

transportation or storage conditions or unauthorised tampering, wilful default or negligence.

Advertising and Intellectual Property Rights The distributor’s duties to promote and advertise the products should be clearly set out. It is in your interest to keep a degree of control over any marketing content published, for example by producing brand guidelines to be followed and stating that your consent is required before printing or publication.

Be clear on what rights the distributor will have to use your branding to promote and advertise the products. If you merely supply products to a distributor, allowing it to use your trade name, you risk being unable to prevent the distributor from lawfully acquiring the goodwill in that product.

Packaging, labelling and advertisements should refer to you, and your distribution agreement should specifically protect existing and future goodwill associated with the products and trade names, along with all the trade marks and other intellectual property rights in the products.

For advice on this topic or on legal issues affecting your business, please contact SIBA Legal Helpline on 0845 6710277.

North West Law firm LLP is a SIBA supplier associated and Gold Standard Sponsor.

The firm has a team of specialists looking after legal requirements of clients in the leisure and licenced trade sector, with clients including Daniel Thwaites Plc and Titanic Brewery.

Napthens manage the SIBA Legal Helpline which offers legal advice and guidance on a wide range of legal issues affecting your business, including: General commercial, intellectual property, corporate finance, dispute resolution and litigation, commercial property, licensing, debt recovery, employment law and HSE advice including investigations and prosecutions. Any enquiry through the helpline will receive up to 1 hour of free legal expertise (if further work is required, you’ll be advised of the appropriate charging structure).

Full details of the helpline can be found on the SIBA Members Toolbox.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

89

CONGRATULATIONS ON

40 SUCCESSFUL YEARS!

@YAKIMACHIEF

YAKIMACHIEF.COM

LANEMARK BREW VESSEL HEATING

At the heart of your brewery planning...from day one • Low operating costs • 80%+ efficient • Helical coil heat exchanger occupies minimal space • Accurate temperature and rolling boil control • Natural gas and propane

We’re at

Stand 139 Visit us!

Tel: +44 (0)24 7635 2000 Email: sales@lanemark.com 5146 Lanemark SIBA HPL Ad SDAW.indd 1

90

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

COMBUSTION ENGINEERING

05/02/2020 13:43

Business advice: Digital

Digital Transformations over 40 Years Over the last 40 years (and particularly in the last 25 years), many things have changed and one of the most significant areas in which that has happened is in digital. Digital growth in the internet era has fundamentally changed the way in which the world works. Social media, websites and how they, through phones, have integrated into the world mean that your customers have totally changed how they interact with your business. This has allowed you as a business to reach more people and get further with your message. In this way you can now reach any corner of the globe to sell your beer.

New platforms

Search rankings

Regulation

Many of your businesses’ first interactions would have been through some of the early platforms like Myspace or Yahoo.

These have now been replaced largely by Google and Facebook. Google started in 1995. In the period that it has existed, the company has gone from nothing to being the primary way in which customers search for information of any kind. Facebook took over as being the biggest Social media platform from 2010 onwards. Instagram began only nine years ago and is the fastest growing social media platform. In this short a span of time these platforms have become the default communication channel for your business and your customers. This is because of the convenience and reach of these platforms. Through them you can reach any one of the 51 million people in the UK who have a smartphone.

Today the integration of social media in the UK is such that 66% of the UK logs into at least one social media platforms a day.

Over 75% of the UK is on at least one social media platform which they use once a week.

3.5 billion searches take place on Google every day for anything and everything. I the past the prominence of business was often based on spend of advertising. More and more the basis of your success will be based on where you are in search rankings.

These are the facts about how customers are finding and contacting you today. In the future they will be even more important as the integration into people’s live increases.

Regulation and government supervision will also increase in the future. The recent implementation of GDPR regulations is only just the start. Facebook, Google and the rest of the online platforms have all resisted the implementation of these regulations.

However, in the future all brewers and businesses will be subject to regulations more and more. How your business holds information, but also the way in which information is displayed will be subject to more and more regulations.

First impresssions In the past, the first impression of your business would either be when someone came across it in a pub, bar or shop. Or they would have seen it in any marketing activity which was done by hand or on posters or other POS. Today the first impression of your business for the vast majority of people will be found online. Having your business appear in the right way in the past was more about being seen in person whereas today it is being seen online. Brewers in the UK still do not take enough of this into account when they look at their work. Your first impression is more about what people can see of you online than how many places you are stocked.

Voice search & Video In the next 40 years certain things are expected to become more and more important to businesses online. The immediate future will see increases usage and growth of voice search. The popularity of the Amazon Echo and Google Dot mean that instead of people typing customers will find them by asking. This impact will change where websites and brands are found online.

Beyond that the growth in video will again be of great significance. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all pushing video more and more as they can use the content to insert advertising. This may also integrate into Virtual Reality or Augmented reality advertising which links online to what happens in person.

Over the past 40 years the world has changed drastically and digital has been a big part of that. Posting communication has been replaced by email. Seeing something in person has to an extent been replaced by seeing it on a website. Communication in person is as common as communicating through social media. The spectrum of what could happen over the next 40 years is vast, but digital communication will likely be a huge part of that journey. How that impacts on your business will be just as vast.

Inapub is the leading supplier of digital marketing solutions for Britain’s pub and beer trade, offering news, advice, training and website services.

If you’d like to know more about how Inapub can help grow your business, email sales@inapub.co.uk or visit www.inapub.co.uk.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

91

X r e 08

Betand 2 S

HUBER mini kegs...

It’s coming home! www.europeanmalt.com

WOVEN BAR TOWELS FROM HATTON TEXTILES

Many drinks industry promotions have come and gone, but the traditional cotton bar towel is still a must for the modern brewer.

This is especially true for micro breweries where our minimum order quantity of only 500 pieces makes for a great promotional campaign.

Call us today: +44 (0) 1392 412061 sales@hattontextiles.co.uk

92

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Business advice: Delivering quality

Five essentials in delivering consistent quality Want your brewery to deliver consistent quality? First Key Consulting looks at five essentials if you want to deliver consistent quality every time…

1. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)

the websites of many yeast providers and through other industry sources.

GMPs equate to good housekeeping in production facilities. Though GMPs can vary from brewery to brewery, these practices serve as the foundation for producing good beer and creating a safe and clean workspace.

3. Simple microbiological testing

For example, typical brewery GMPs cover the steps needed to meet all government regulations, such as food handling and equipment safety practices. GMPs should also include proper health and sanitation requirements for the brewery team as well as cleaning and upkeep for equipment and tools, such as written CIP (clean in place) procedures for each piece of equipment in the brewhouse. Other GMPs should cover the use and placement of chemicals, product date coding and proper pest control.

GMPs come into play even before opening a brewery as everyone should follow appropriate design and construction protocols. Wood and fabric that cannot be easily cleaned or kept free of bacteria should not be used, for example.

Though brewer’s yeast is wanted and needed in the brewhouse, other microorganisms are not, generally speaking. Bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, and wild yeast, including Brettanomyces, can easily pervade the brewing environment. These organisms, which can be found on people, in ingredients or in the air, among other places, can lead to spoiled batches, unsavory off flavours, unwanted haze and excessive carbonation.

Those breweries that rigorously follow brewhouse sanitation GMPs can help prevent beer spoilage caused by unwanted microbes. Their presence, though, can only be determined through proper testing.

We recommend using HLP tubes (Hsu’s Lactobacillus-Pediococcus) to test for those beer-spoilage bacteria in the finished product. Brewers can also use outside labs for testing or send samples to another brewery with the required capabilities.

2. Yeast cell counts and viability testing

When possible, microbiological testing should also occur upstream to help prevent potential issues.

Yeast, the only living organism in beer, requires careful usage and monitoring.

4. Oxidation prevention

When underpitched, fermentations can slow or not come to a complete finish. It can also lead to diacetyl in the finished product, leaving off flavours akin to butterscotch or buttered popcorn. Overpitching simply wastes valuable yeast and can lead to other issues.

Stressed yeast, which results from low cell counts or inadequate yeast storage practices can result in undesirable characteristics, such as beer with meaty, green apple or rotten egg flavors. To guard against stressed yeast Corbett suggests each brewery perform yeast cell counts and viability testing.

Testing the yeast regularly requires widely available lab equipment, including a microscope and a hemocytometer. The full cell count procedure can be found on

People need oxygen; beer does not. Oxidized beer creates a papery or cardboard taste and masks the brewer’s intended aromas and flavours. Just 100 parts per billion of dissolved oxygen (DO) in a finished package can reduce the shelf life of a beer by up to several weeks. Oxidation can occur several ways, but the most common are aerated water, poor equipment operation and maintenance and improper packaging.

Breweries that consistently follow standard maintenance and packaging GMPs will generally avoid oxidized beer, but here are a few specific practices to keep in mind: • Clean your parts. Improperly cleaned or maintained pumps, valves and gaskets can create air pockets or carbon dioxide (CO2) leaks in tanks containing beer that is being packaged or about to be packaged.

•P ackage properly. Ensure beer is being filled and capped properly to avoid capturing air in the packaged product.

For example, cans should be filled until a mushroom cap of foam rises just above the rim before the lid is set in place and seamed. Low-filled cans will undoubtedly contain higher oxygen levels.

•M easure DO and TPO. Many brewers use tools such as the Anton Paar CBoxQC or the Haffman’s Portable Optical CO2/ O2/TPO Meter c-DGM to measure DO and total packaged oxygen (TPO) during each run. When the measured values run high, which is bad, steps such as adjusting fill levels or seamer settings can be taken to avoid oxidized beer.

5. Bright beer sensory analysis This is your most important quality check.

Does the beer taste the way you want it to taste? Is it ready for your customers to purchase?”

Sensory analysis programs can be simple and fun. The key is to have select members of your staff (including non-brewers) trained to pick up off-flavours and understand the proper characteristics of key beer styles.

This group, known as a sensory panel, should taste beer from the brite tank one to two days before its scheduled to be packaged. The packaging team should also make a practice of setting aside cans or bottles from select packaging runs to taste at a later date. This will provide the team with a good sense of each style’s shelf life and offer insights into how flavour profiles change over time.

Rigor and discipline Putting best practices related to these five key elements of quality control can serve as an invaluable tool for breweries. Leaders and team members must follow each of the five programs with rigor and with a continuous improvement mindset for the QC program to be as effective as possible.

This implies collecting the right data, and regularly reviewing it, to take preventive and corrective actions.

First Key is a leading brewing industry consulting firm. They have been in operation for over 30 years and have worked with clients in over 50 countries. Working with breweries of all sizes, First Key offers a complete range of technical, engineering, commercial, supply chain, and financial services. www.firstkey.com.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

93

InnCellar Equipment Ltd Cask Beer Solutions Suppliers of Cask/Keg Beer Products include, Cooling (Jackets©, Saddles, Probes, Ice Blankets), Stillage (Tilters, Beer Festival and Cellar Racking) that have all been developed, with the utmost attention to price, quality, and efficiency.

No Cellar Cooling no worry! With our full range of cooling jackets to cater for casks and kegs. This gives you an easy & affordable alternative for cooling your products.

All our products can be complimented by a fully stocked range of ancillary fittings and materials, to achieve the “Perfect Pint”.

With the successful introduction of our new Keg Racking© this has been a great addition to go along with our Cellar Racking & Occasional Racking. Giving you the flexibility to double the storage area in the cellar and with our racking been extendable (within its own design) this gives you the option to add more

To Check Out Our Full Range Of Equipment Please contact us!!

Telephone: 01142 727 426 sales@inncellar.co.uk

www.inncellar.co.uk

94

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Comment: Technical focus

Four decades in brewing technology

By Dr Keith Thomas of Brewlab, Sunderland

Did brewing begin at home? Or, more precisely, did contemporary brewing begin in the kitchen?

Home brewing has certainly accounted for a lot of the vitality in the current brewing industry. 40 years ago it was pretty much the only brewing experience you could obtain before launching off with a 5 or 10 barrel kit. The established industry only promoted through very limited gateways – a Heriot Watt or Birmingham university degree, a pupillage or a family connection. Few in the brewing industry thought producing a few hectolitres at a time was technically viable or financially worthwhile.

Experience with steaming cauldrons in the kitchen and buckets in airing cupboards was a very different route, but one enthusiastically explored by entrepreneurs in the 1980’s. The commercial history of this development is well documented but the technologies employed show some interesting changes as the industry advanced.

The first major development occurred with the move away from kits into full scale mashing. Kits were particularly promoted

by Boots and the occasional home brew outlet. All they required were a boiling pan to dilute and heat the syrup and a bucket for fermentation. Maturation was in bottles and yeast handling, oxidation and microbial contamination were unknown hazards.

No wonder the image of home brew was generally dire.

Until fairly recently serious home brewing has struggled with equipment and ingredients. Boilers were simple kettle elements threaded into plastic buckets, mash tuns were plastic plates in the same or eventually picnic containers with copper manifolds. Fermentation was also in plastic buckets or occasionally demijohns or a glass pot rescued from some industrial or laboratory discard. Malt and hops were of limited range and often well past their best condition. Yeast was a residue from the baking industry.

From such conditions a tide of dedicated

amateurs took on the challenge of going commercial often more interested in the pride of their beer on the bar than any financial return. Microbrewery equipment was of a different level of operation, however, and a much larger volume than kitchen production. Vessels were generally stainless steel, volumes required pumping instead of pouring and temperature control a different technology than sitting buckets in the bath to cool overnight.

Managing such systems was often a matter of following a schedule of operations than a matching of conditions to beer characteristics. Equipment was still basic and much was second hand with cellar tanks a favourite basis for many vessels.

Lauter tuns were an unknown technology entirely and very rarely seen on a small scale. Almost all beers were ales and racked for cask dispense. Any small pack was bottle conditioned but because hygiene was limited produced variable results. Counter pressure filling was generally unknown and if practiced conducted on home made systems one bottle at a time.

Understanding of the brewing process was often basic and sometimes poorly translated from home brewing. Occasional difficulties were encountered when conditions for kit production were translated such that mashing should be conducted at >85oC to dissolve the malt! Using commercial cleaning agents, particularly caustic, was unfamiliar leading to major burns when hands were immersed.

It took around 10 years for the supply industry to recognise the technical requirements of the industry and provide a wider range of malts and hops and to introduce suitable equipment for counter pressure filling and enclosed fermentation.

Yeast provision lagged behind malt and hops but options are accelerating rapidly as new varieties of all three ingredients are swelling catalogues faster than they can be trialled.

Conditions today have benefited greatly from increased monitoring and automation,

particularly on mash and lauter control while bottling is possible using miniaturised conveyer systems with impressive production speeds. Some of this inspiration has occurred because the industry has attracted serious investment with business plans incorporating suitable marketing to provide appropriate profit. In other cases technical competence and understanding has been introduced by specialists with engineering, biochemical and microbiology experience committing to the industry.

Today lauter tuns are no longer esoteric, conical fermenters are routinely used as first choice and packaging includes filtered keg, bottles and cans. With recognition of microbial hazards breweries are considerably cleaner and more hygienic than before and many breweries use some degree of laboratory monitoring to provide feedback and traceability recording. Locally produced malt and hops are increasingly grown and locally sourced yeast providing unique characters.

Interestingly the advances in commercial brewing have now fed back to home brewing by providing miniaturised versions of automated wort production, remote fermentation monitoring and precise temperature control. Many commercial breweries use these as trial systems to test recipes but quality beers from kitchens and sheds are increasingly used as the basis for new enterprises. Even home microbiology is expanding the range of novel beers as wild beers with new microbes are trialled and tested.

With a bright technical future the microbrewery industry has the potential to expand and diversify its reach. Specialised beers for low and no alcohol, gluten and sugar free sectors are now common.

Overlap with other beverage areas of wine, cider and spirits are evident while the potential to include biotechnology applications increasingly feasible. From small buckets arose a busy industry.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

95

Gold members

Napthens provides a wide range of services to businesses and individuals.

From their offices across the North West, the firm deals with clients locally, regionally and nationally.

Napthens has been acting for breweries for more than forty years and has been actively involved with SIBA for a number of years, through long-standing Supplier Associate membership and currently as a Gold Standard sponsor. Napthens also acts for the organisation itself, providing support to the SIBA managing committee and to the membership with initiatives such as the SIBA Legal & Business Helpline, which provides members with immediate access to specialist lawyers.

Napthens has a team of individuals who are specialists in their area of law, but who are also dedicated to dealing with the day-to-day issues faced by breweries of all shapes and sizes.

The team has acted for over eighty breweries in recent years, so they understand how a brewery operates. That knowledge and experience means they are able to apply their legal skills in a tailored way; offer a more efficient service; and ultimately achieve better results.

Napthens recognises the need to work hard for their clients, not only by providing expert legal advice, but ensuring this advice is commercially focused for the individual business. They take a keen interest in their clients’ businesses and will look to meet with them regularly to understand their objectives, priorities and challenges, and how Napthens can help achieve them.

They look to introduce clients to their wide range of contacts in the industry to help in this respect and give added value to the service they provide.

96

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Napthens can help in areas such as: • Employment and HR • Intellectual Property and Trademarks • Licensing • Commercial Property • Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation • Debt Collection and Recovery • Corporate • Commercial Contracts • Business Recovery • Corporate Finance • Tax • Construction and Engineering • Services for individuals including wills, estate planning and wealth management

Below are some examples of the comments from SIBA members about the service the team provides: “I genuinely feel that Napthens has a passion for our business and will go the extra mile to guarantee complete customer satisfaction. They have dedicated specialists in each area and a very wide range of services that you would not ordinarily find outside the “city firms” and yet they are not cost prohibitive. On the contrary, we have found their price structure to be transparent, very reasonable, and exceptional value.

I can honestly say that I would recommend Napthens unreservedly, particularly for those who operate in our sector.”

Gold members

Some of Napthens’ clients include

Keith Bott, Managing Director, Titanic Brewery

We have engaged Napthens’ Leisure Team out of Kendal and, notably, Jamie Allison and Malcolm Ireland to help us with all things legal in our business. We have experienced growth and development in our business and we look at Jamie and Malcolm’s team as an extension of our own business – whether that is for advice on property, licensing, intellectual property rights, export contracts or debt recovery.

I am happy to say we are their clients and I would recommend the team to anyone who simply wants to get things done. Commercial in their outlook and user-friendly lawyers. What we, as brewers, need.”

Richard Husbands, Managing Director, Bowness Bay Brewing Company

Advice is always current, concise and - in my experience - correct. They are extremely responsive and, compared to other businesses, add good value.

Andrew Buchanan, Daniel Thwaites Plc

For further information or assistance with your legal or commercial requirements, please contact Head of Leisure and Licensing, Malcolm Ireland: Malcolm.Ireland@napthens.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

97

Gold members

CROXSONS IS REWARDED FOR INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS AND EXPLAINS WHY GLASS STILL REMAINS THE BEST PACKAGING FORMAT FOR BEER SIBA Gold Sponsor, Croxsons, offer a complete range of packaging and closures, including glass containers, closures to match, as well as decoration, all from a single source. A family owned business for over 145 years, Croxsons enjoys a rich and unique heritage, but one founded within the drinks industry since the very start. The main reason for their ongoing success is put down to a relentless attention to execution, not just in delivering a product, but also in providing service excellence.

The company has supplied brewers in the UK for over 140 years. Their continued patronage places the craft sector at the heart of what they do, giving them a unique perspective on the requirements of their wide-ranging customer base, enabling support of brewers starting their packaging journey as well as being a trusted supplier to some of the largest brewers here in the UK and brands globally.

For further information: Tel: +44(0) 20 8337 2945 Web: www.croxsons.com Email: hello@croxsons.com

98

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Gold members

O F F T O A F LY I N G S TA R T I N 2019

Following on from a highly productive 2018 - one of the highlights of which was being recognised as one of London Stock Exchange Group’s ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ - Croxsons went one [big] step further in 2019 by being awarded a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise, for their outstanding achievement in international trade overseas sales now account for more than a third of the firm’s revenue.

Commenting on the award, Tim Croxson said: “As

a family owned business, and one of only 201 organisations nationally to be recognised, we were delighted to receive such a high accolade and are able to proudly display the Queen’s Award logo. It would have been impossible without our great team and customers, and the award is simply the cherry on top on what has been many years of hard-work helping our brewing customers grow. 2019 also saw the arrival of two new liveried trucks which have gone done well with our customers.”

Winning awards didn’t stop at the Queen’s Award, as Croxsons also scooped a Harpers Design Award last year, which recognised the company’s ‘design

to shelf’ capabilities for the very first time.

Operationally, 2019 has been another successful year for Croxsons, with the introduction of new customers, both large and small. “We have brought many ideas to life during the year,” said Croxson, “designing bespoke bottles and closures, being innovative and refreshing in our approach by helping to create and develop distinctive personalities for the brands we work with. We’re here to make a difference by offering our customers transparency, trustworthiness, responsibility, engagement and a focus on developing great, long lasting relationships.”

BOTTLES v CANS

It seems that beer has been served from glass bottles as long as anyone can remember, although cans have become a popular packaging choice for the bigger breweries.

However, with more and more craft beers becoming available exclusively by the can, we asked Croxsons for their take on the current situation regarding the cans vs bottles debate.

“Undeniably, the popularity of cans has increased, particularly amongst modern craft beer fans, however, we see that there is a place for both cans and bottles right now, with both offering advantages over the other depending on things like style, practicality and quality,” said Croxson.

“Glass is incredibly strong, It offers transparency, trustworthiness, infinite recyclability and is made from natural raw materials. From a physical

perspective, glass ticks the environmental boxes in terms of sustainability - a FEVE study across Europe indicated that 85% of Europeans believe glass represents a sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

The report also found that younger people find glass packaging trendier and Notwithstanding Croxsons’ viewpoint, glass still needs to complete with cans in terms of shelf stand out and the creation of that all important point of difference. Croxsons say that alongside collaborative design, a full complement of decorative finishing technologies and closure options, they are in a perfect position to lift brands to where they want to be: “Our recent bespoke crowns for Robinsons’ Trooper ale - 16 designs, 23 colours/shades, all achieved in one print run, with true randomness ensured during the filling process are testament to that,” concludes Croxson.

CROXSONS CHARITABLE TRUST Elsewhere, the building of a school in western Kenya was successfully completed last year. Aided by Croxsons’ Charitable Trust, with the funds donated helping to pay for the land, building and continued support, the school is continuing to play a huge role within its community.

On 10th June 2019, six employees of Robinsons Brewery set out on a huge cycling challenge in aid of Help for Heroes. Croxsons has a long-standing relationship working with Frederic Robinson in supporting Help for Heroes and were delighted to be able to support and promote their latest endeavours as a team.

A FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITY Community is at the heart of what Croxsons do, both corporately, and individually, they continue to support UK based national and local charities. “One of the charities we continue to support is Christians Against Poverty, an award-winning debt counselling service,” says Croxson.

“With over 300 local centres in the UK, they not only help people trapped in debt, but focus on the causes of debt and poverty. Offering job clubs to the long-term unemployed and assisting people with their finance management with the goal of helping people get in control of their habitual dependencies, the charity equips people to live well on a low income. At Croxsons, we truly believe that a measure of society is the way in which the marginalised and less-fortunate are treated, which is why Christians Against Poverty is an obvious choice for us to support.” www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

99

Brewery news

Ossett Brewing Company reveals new look branding and visitor centre brewery. Borne of family values, team work and integrity our beers have been crafted over two decades. We’ve perfected the science of producing ales of consistently high quality and honed the art of brewing beers that are accessible to all. Now our creative new branding will reflect these core values, while, with the new brewery tap, both our loyal followers and beer enthusiasts new to us will be able to sample our award winning beers in the heart of the brewery.”

Ossett’s Co-owner Jamie Lawson (left) and MD Alex Minett raise a toast to the new Brewery Tap Room & Visitor Centre.

Yorkshire’s innovative Ossett Brewing Company has unveiled a contemporary new look for the 21-year-old brewery at the launch of a modern tap room and visitor centre.

Building on a series of major capital investments in recent years, the vibrant new rebrand ‘brings a more contemporary, bold and inclusive look that pays homage to the rolling countryside of the Ossett’s Yorkshire

heartland’. It will roll out across pump clip designs for the core range, seasonal beers, the company logo and point of sale materials.

The new taproom and visitor centre opened to the public on Friday November 15. With a capacity of some 80 to 100 people it serves as both a taproom and a venue for live bands and social events.

Alex Minett, managing director, said: “Ossett is a progressive and passionate independent

Ossett has invested more than £3m over the past two years in brewing capacity, warehouse facilities and equipment and new packaging resources, together with the new SALT Beer Factory at Saltaire, Bradford. SALT is a hop forward micro-brewery and entertainment venue in a Grade II Edwardian tram-shed at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage village.

Co-owner Jamie Lawson, said: “Our new tap room will be the cherry on the cake of a journey in finest form. And our imaginative and inclusive new branding will shout out that we are a very forward looking and very proud Yorkshire company.”

For more information go to: www.ossett-brewery.co.uk

Rooster’s collaborates on mental health awareness beer Rooster’s Brewing Co, based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, has collaborated with two independent UK breweries to create Mind Games, a 3.0% ABV Pale Ale brewed specifically to raise awareness surrounding mental health within the brewing industry.

The beer is the brain child of Rooster’s Head Brewer Oliver Fozard who teamed up with brewer friends from Salt Beer Factory and Exale Brewing.

Oliver said: “One morning in April 2019 I learned via Twitter about a man called Jo O’Keefe who worked at The

100

Maltings in York, who had ‘suddenly’ taken his own life. Despite never having met Jo, the news resonated with me, as I’d been suffering with anxiety for 6-7 years and the news stayed on my mind all day. Very few people knew about my struggles with anxiety, as I felt that I didn’t want to burden people with my thoughts and feelings, however, that evening I decided to ‘open up’ on Twitter, in order to let anyone else suffering with mental health problems know that there are others out there dealing with similar circumstances.

“In response, Colin Stronge (Head Brewer at SALT Beer Factory) and Daniel Vane (Head Brewer at Exale in London), two brewers I’ve known for the last eight years, also decided to share their own experiences with mental health. Talking to other people connected to the industry has really helped me (more so than the short course therapy I had a couple of years ago) and knowing that there are others out there going through similar situations has allowed me to be more open with people and help others in return.

In September, the pressures I was facing at work, and subsequently at home, were having a very negative impact on my state of

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

mind. I thought about what had happened earlier in the year, decided that I wanted to work with Col and Dan to help promote mental health awareness within the brewing industry. I have a lot of respect for them as brewers and as human beings and was delighted that they wanted to be involved.

We chose to brew a beer whereby a donation of 10p from every pint sold would be made

by Rooster’s to the charity Mind. Katie Brown, a former colleague of Jo O’Keefe at The Maltings also joined us on the brew day.

“January can often be a difficult time of the year for many people, so we felt it was the right time to launch this project, in the hope it could help encourage people to get together, share a pint and check up on each other’s well-being. There are also several incredible charities out there that offer support, Mind and the Samaritans spring to mind, should you need someone to speak to in confidence. My intention is for this not to be a ‘one-off ’ message, and I the aim to be more vocal about my own ongoing struggle with mental health in 2020.”

For further information go to: www.roosters.co.uk

Beverage Multipack Solutions We offer simple, robust and compact machinery to produce a wide range of beverage multipacks for small to medium throughput applications up to 18,000 cans/bottles per hour.

Visit our web site to see videos showing our range of beverage machinery in operation.

Look out for us at BEERX 2020 - Stand 46 & 47

Call our beverage team on 01724 276908 or email sales@tfreemantle.com

Gravity Systems was formed to meet the growing demand in the craft beer market for a single source for all brewhouse, fermentation, services generation and distribution. It is our aim to be the most complete partner in the brewery industry by building long term partnerships with our customers.

+44 (0) 1733 834264 | www.gravity-systems.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

101

Brewery news

Salcombe Brewery Co’s Island Street Porter wins medal at European Beer Challenge Salcombe Brewery Co gained yet another new accolade for its awardwinning Island Street Porter when it won a Silver European Beer Challenge Medal at the prestigious beer competition held in Knightsbridge.

Island Street Porter (ABV 5.9%), is a rich velvety porter that was launched earlier this year and has gone on to win a multitude of awards in its short history.

Brewer Sam Beaman said: “We created Island Street Porter to contrast with our hop driven beers and it became an instant hit with consumers in search of a beer with bags of flavour. Its popularity has gone from strength to strength in its first year and it has already gained awards from both SIBA and Taste of the West. The European Beer Challenge is one of the world’s most important beer competitions judged by beer buyers, so winning a medal here is the icing on the cake.”

Island Street Porter (ABV 5.9%), is a hand crafted, sumptuous porter. Its blend of eight malts produce hints of dark chocolate, coffee and black cherry which, combined with British hops, creates an aroma reminiscent of Black Forest gateaux.

Sam added: “Creating a new beer is an exciting process in itself but when the public reaction is so positive and it goes on to win so many awards judged by industry experts, then the feeling of pride is immense. Island

Street Porter was selected for a European Beer Challenge medal after a blind tasting of 1,000 beers from 38 countries so it is a real seal of approval for us.”

Island Street Porter can be purchased in 330ml bottles. It is part of the Salcombe Brewery Co range which includes the highly popular Seahorse, Salcombe Pale Ale, Lifesaver, Devon Amber, Shingle Bay and Salcombe Gold.

Salcombe Brewery Co launches reduced alcohol Salcombe Lite Salcombe Brewery Co is also delighted to announce the launch of its first reduced alcohol beer, Salcombe Lite, a small batch brew which will be available until stocks last on draught in pubs across the country and in bag-in-boxes (5L, 10L and 20L) from the Brewery Shop.

Head Brewer Sam Beaman said: “As part of our series of small batch beers we wanted to launch a reduced alcohol ale to meet the growing demands by consumers which would also be available in January when many drinkers are looking for a lower alcohol alternative. I am thrilled that we have been able to create a brew that fits that bill without compromising on the flavour. Salcombe Lite is a super session ale that punches well above its weight.”

Salcombe Lite (ABV 2.5%) is a smooth golden ale with floral hints and a spicy hit.

Dry hopped with Citra and Cascade for extra zing, this crisp and refreshing ale has a medium to light body with an invigorating hop character to finish.

For further information on Salcombe Brewery Co please visit www.salcombebrewery.com

Hadrian Border Brewery to honour Dickens for 150th anniversary

102

To commemorate the renowned author Charles Dickens on the 150th anniversary year of his death, North-East brewers Hadrian Border Brewery will release 10 beers named after his most famous works including ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘David Copperfield’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’.

“We’re a traditional brewery with years of experience in our craft. It feels right that on this important anniversary we should honour a man who had mastered his own craft to become one of Britain’s most celebrated authors. These beers will be traditionally brewed, but will speak to the modern crowd, much like the works of Dickens,” said Dom Hornsby, head of marketing.

It’s known that Dickens visited NewcastleUpon-Tyne on six occasions to give public readings and was a great admirer of the place and its people, once proclaiming “A finer audience there is not in England”. He began an affair with local actress Ellen Ternan, who is believed to have been a major inspiration for his penultimate novel ‘Great Expectations’.

The first beer was available from late January, an ode to ‘David Copperfield’. You’ll need to keep an eye out for the Dickensian beers which will have limited availability in bars throughout 2020.

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

For more information go to: www.hadrian-border-brewery.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

103

ALAN RUDDOCK ENGINEERING LTD - THE MALT MILLING & GRIST HANDLING SPECIALISTS -

The UK’s leading Malt Mill Manufacturer serving breweries worldwide - The AR 2000 range of mills offer highly efficient, precise, dust-free milling.

- Significantly increased extract figures.

- Additional savings on grinding charges.

To complement our mills, we also manufacture:

- Consistent, high quality grist sample.

- Elevators and Conveyors specifically designed for the

- Complete process control.

brewing & distilling industry.

- Individually designed Grist Cases & Malt Hoppers - Complete Bulk Malt Intake Systems for 25kg sacked malt through to 30 tonne silos. *All equipment designed and manufactured in-house to individual specifications*

Unit 6 Shepherds Grove Industrial Estate, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 2AR. Tel: 01359 2505989

104

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Brewery news

Arran Brewery proposes Real Bottle Return Scheme for Arran

The Arran Brewery’s Managing Director, Gerald Michaluk, condemns the Scottish Government’s Deposit Return Scheme as a further nail in the coffin of rural for small independent retail businesses….

When the public think of a deposit return scheme they think of Barr’s and the classic juice bottle being returned and refilled.

While that may not be, in all circumstances, as environmentally sound as it appears, it is generally accepted by the public as a deposit return scheme which they may be more than willing to participate in and pay a deposit for.

However, when the reality of the Scottish Government’s deposit return scheme is known, the public may be less willing to participate, although this will be academic, as they will not be given a choice since the scheme will be compulsory and we will all have to pay the deposit like it or not.

I suggest households will not keep the empty bottles to take back to the supermarket but rather return them to the local shop, to prevent them cluttering up the house between large shops. This will burden the local corner shop with having to refund the deposit and deal with the cash flow implications created while waiting for the government to refund the money to them. Not to mention the cost of the space required to store the bottles, the risk of breakages and staff injury is obvious with glass and the cost of the rental/ purchase of the machine needs to come from somewhere. Needless to say this cost will come from the pockets of the already hammered retailer especially in rural areas already being hit by online shopping and supermarket delivery services.

Add to this the ease of fraud inherent with a Scotland only system, and you have issues before you consider what is actually happening to the glass. It is not going to be refilled it is going to be crushed and melted down with huge energy implications to form new glass, but with the processing plants full in Scotland this glass will need to be transported down South for processing at huge haulage costs and environmental impact.

When you look at the already very low prices being paid for glass it will simply create more surplus glass and further reduce prices paid and the economics will be disastrous.

This would be bad enough if the consumer

Brewer’s Viewpoint

only had to pay a deposit but if there is a shortfall, and there will be, then it falls on the small producers to fund it, pushing many over the edge and out of business. Retailers will have to pass on this cost to consumers so we will, in the end, fund another Scottish Government folly.

So what is the Arran Brewery going to do about it?

The Arran Brewery is this year introducing heavy weight recyclable beer bottles for exclusive use on Arran. The same vehicle that delivers the beer will collect the empty beer bottles and return them to the brewery for cleaning and refilling.

In addition, Arran Brewery has purchased two growler filling machines. One will be in the brewery, the other homed in one of our reseller’s premises, and members of the public can take their own bottles or jugs along and have them filled with Arran Ales direct from the keg.

This I believe will be a true Bottle Return Scheme and will be a cost effective, environmentally friendly way of ensuring at least on one small Scottish Island glass is used sensibly. I hope the local businesses will support this venture by stocking the new heavy weight bottles and, the island population will embrace the growler fillers and drink our excellent locally produce ales while saving the planet.

For more information go to www.arranbrewery.co.uk

Wind Power energises Docks Beers Range Just in time to coincide with Offshore Wind Week Docks Beers have launched a new beer in 440ml can; a 3.5% session India Pale Ale called Wind Power.

The striking green and white can design features offshore wind turbines, a wind farm engineer and the Orsted Edda Mistral ship. It has been brought to life by the talented Kirk Arnold at the brewery’s go to design agency Source Four in Ayelsby.

Brewery Director Shahram Shadan explains: “This beer is unashamedly inspired by the offshore wind industry which is reshaping our town and has refocused our future on the docks. The UK is pioneering offshore wind, with more capacity installed in our waters than any other country. It’s amazing to see Grimsby emerge as the world’s leading hub for the operations and maintenance of these gigantic feats of engineering that are being constructed

in the middle of the North Sea. The whole process matches the hard work ethic of Docks Beers and so we wanted to pay an homage to the sector. We would like to dedicate Wind Power to all the industrious offshore wind employees who we are proud to see drinking in our taproom. We hope this new beer is to their liking.”

Head Brewer and Director Mike Richards added: “Even though it is our lowest strength beer, Wind Power is a surprisingly full bodied IPA. It is bittered with Ultra hops and has malt induced hints of biscuit followed by a lush, piney, resinous finish from a mix of Ekuanot, El Dorado and Azacca dry hopping. The beer is immediately available to buy in our taproom and will be available from our web shop.”

For more information about Docks Beers follow @docksbeers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and visit www.docksbeers.com to sign up news updates. www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

105

Brewery news

Fast-growing Scottish craft brewery launches crowdfunding drive in bid to secure £600,000 to fund international expansion Potential investors who want to own part of a brewery now have the chance to put their money into a Scottish craft beer brand to support its expansion and hopefully later reap financial rewards.

WooHa Brewing Company, based in Kinloss in Moray in the north east of Scotland, is launching a £600,000 crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube, as part of an overall £1.5m campaign, to raise investment to continue its successful expansion. People can invest any amount from £10 upwards and investors could benefit from tax reliefs through the EIS scheme.

This is the second crowdfunding campaign, on the Crowdcube platform, for WooHa which describes itself as a bold, ambitious Scottish brewery with a focus on exporting. With an established portfolio of export partners, funding is required to continue to build WooHa’s sales team, grow its international customer base and fund promotional activity.

WooHa was set-up in 2015 and started exporting to the US in the same year. Its international portfolio now comprises countries across Europe and south east Asia, including the vast and rapidly growing market of China.

Money raised from the crowdfunding will also go towards the launch of WooHa’s new 500ml can for the Chinese market. This is part of

WooHa’s strategy of tailoring its products to each market, having recently developed a steel keg range specifically for the US. The brewery moved to a fully-equipped 6.2 acre site in Kinloss in 2017 and after appointing a new head of sales, who brings with him experience from BrewDog, Red Bull and Carlsberg, WooHa said it is primed for further expansion.

The brewery’s current capacity is 5,000 hectolitres per year and the aim is to grow inhouse production to 88,000 hectolitres by June 2023.

As part of its fundraising campaign, WooHa is holding a series of investor events in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Inverness. The events will give people the chance to hear from WooHa founder Heather McDonald about the next stage of the brewery’s journey and will offer potential investors the chance to ask questions about the business, its growth plans and its exit strategy.

Heather McDonald, WooHa chief executive, said: “We have a strong vision about how we plan to grow the brand rapidly and in a sustainable way. Key to this expansion will be our sales team as we need more people on the ground in our key markets.

“We also need robust marketing and strong support for our international partners. The

funding secured through our crowdfunding campaign will help make our ambitions a reality.

“There are many things that make WooHa stand out in the marketplace that appeal to investors, as well as existing and new customers.

For example, WooHa’s experience with and focus on export markets, as well as a welldefined three to five year exit strategy. We even have our own WooHa tartan, listed with The Tartan Register of Scotland.

“We have big growth plans and want to give everyone a little WooHa, so now is your chance to join our clan.”

To find out more or invest in WooHa Brewing Company, visit the Crowdcube campaign here: www.crowdcube.com/ woohabrewingcompany.

Cask beer innovation for Purity Brewing Co Purity Brewing Co has announced an exciting innovation in its cask beer range with a new vegan and gluten free beer.

With increased interest from consumers in vegan friendly and gluten free products, Purity took the decision to relaunch popular

extra hopped pale ale, Bunny Hop. Bunny Hop is now available in cask without isinglass finings, changing its appearance from a light golden beer, to a Hazy Pale Ale that is both vegan friendly and gluten free.

The strength of Bunny Hop stays at an accessible 3.5% ABV whilst the recipe of the beer has been adjusted to enhance the mouth feel and aroma. The Purity brew team has increased the percentage of oats to enhance the haziness and introduced dry hopping with El Dorado, Centennial and Azacca.

Paul Halsey, Purity Founder and CEO, said: “We have seen a trend towards healthier lifestyles and an increased awareness around vegan and ‘free from’, and we wanted to offer a solution for consumers looking for these particular qualities, without losing any taste or aroma. At 3.5% it made sense to make Bunny Hop available in the vegan friendly and gluten free format, with the fullness of flavour that drinkers have come

106

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

to expect from our beers.”

Bunny Hop Hazy Pale was rolled out in trade during January and the feedback has been really positive. The pump clip has been modified to reflect this change so that consumers are fully aware it is gluten free, vegan and hazy.

From the outset all Purity keg beers have been unfiltered and vegan friendly with Session IPA, Organic Pure Helles and now Bunny Hop, all being gluten free, however Bunny Hop is the first cask ale that Purity have crafted in this format. Its early success is welcomed and other cask ales may follow the same format in the coming months as Purity Brewing Co strive to be at the forefront of the progression of the brewing industry.

For more about Purity Brewing Company visit www.puritybrewing.com

Great Beers

begin with F O R

M O R E

I N F O R M AT I O N

Muntons Malt C O N TA C T: D I S T R I B U T O R

MUNTONS DIRECT SALES

S A L E S

Joseph Fifield

David Hannah

Michaela Teagle

Pete Robson

Total Brewing Supplies

Southern England, Wales and Ireland

Scotland and Northern England

UK & International

Brewing & Distilling

North East, Yorkshire & Humberside, East Midlands, Cambridgeshire

07583 048935

07525 809093

joseph.fifield@muntons.com

david.hannah@muntons.com

07979 537764

07979 537782

01636 823909

michaela.teagle@muntons.com

pete.robson@muntons.com

gary@totalbrewingsupplies.co.uk

Muntons plc Cedars Maltings Stowmarket Suffolk IP14 2AG

T 01449 618300

muntons.com

Process Cooling Solutions

for Brewing & Winemaking Brewing, Winemaking and bottling all benefit from energy efficient heat transfer. Coolflow process cooling fluids are proven to increase productivity, reduce maintenance and lower operating costs.

tel: 01792 586800 www.hydratech.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

107

CAN FILLING

BOTTLE FILLING

N

EW

CW400 CARBONATOR & FILLING MACHINE

FO

R

CW400 Beer Carbonator and Filling System

Moravek International Limited

Tel: (44) (0)1427 890098

www.moravekinternational.com

WARMINSTER MALTINGS LTD Traditional Maltsters

Contact us now for all your Malt Enquiries

“The maltings is under new management, but our destiny is still the same – to go on producing the finest malt that money can buy.”

THE ICKNIELD SERIES

WARMINSTER MALT-STARS Tel: 01985 212014 robin.appel@warminster-malt.co.uk 39 Pound Street, Warminster, Wiltshire. BA12 8NN www.warminster-malt.co.uk

108

Supreme Champion Beer of Britain

Supreme Champion Beer of Britain

Supreme Champion Beer of Britain

2008

2011

2019

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Managing Director

The Best Barleys in the UK WARMINSTER

The Only Maltings in the West

Brewery news

SIBA members support record breaking Brewgooder Global Gathering Campaign An incredible 44 SIBA brewers are among the 250 brewers from 22 different countries who are releasing unique beers for a global campaign to provide clean water to 100,000 more people.

The Scottish craft beer brand on a mission to use craft beer to bring 1,000,000 people clean drinking water, Brewgooder, is preparing for its biggest fundraising campaign yet, with 250 breweries worldwide are set to simultaneously release their own unique beer over the weekend of World Water Day – March 20th-22nd 2020 as part of the Global Gathering campaign.

Launched in November, the campaign has garnered attention from breweries across the world as far as Australia, Brazil, the USA and Hong Kong. Northern Monk, Gipsy Hill, Wild Beer, Innis & Gunn and Vocation are amongst 44 SIBA members included in the 150 UK breweries taking part. The collaborative brewing project is set to be the largest ever coordinated release of new beers, demonstrating the ability of the craft beer industry to tackle issues collectively and make a real difference.

Each individual collaboration brew will raise upwards of £500 contributing to a fundraising target of £250,000 for the overall campaign.

Breweries can choose to raise funds in a number of ways, with many planning extra fundraising activities from fun runs to beer festivals. All proceeds will be donated to The Brewgooder Foundation and spent on its clean water projects in 2020/21.

Bars and drinks retailers across the UK are supporting the record-breaking collaboration by stocking Global Gathering beers. Licensees wanting to be part of this craft beer movement should ask suppliers for the Global Gathering Brews from their chosen participating brewers.

To date, Brewgooder has worked with BrewDog (who will also be releasing a special beer) on their flagship clean water lager, with 100% of profits going to support over 130 projects in Malawi. Projects have included well rehabilitations, new borehole construction, sanitation systems and water mapping to ensure the long term sustainability of well constructions. Through the Brewgooder Foundation the projects have already positively impacted 65,000 lives and counting.

To support brewers of all sizes to get involved, Brewgooder partnered with Crisp Malt who are kindly donating 20 bags of malt to participating breweries for their unique brews.

In addition to this, breweries have benefitted from a 10% discount from Kegstar on kegs used in the Global Gathering.

The packaging design for each collaborative beer is inspired by the theme ‘water’ and has been designed by each individual brewery using two distinct colours - orange to represent beer and blue to represent water.

Brewers were invited to contribute a song inspired by their local area to a Spotify playlist for the World Water Day Weekend. These represent the diverse range of companies involved in the project and show the variety of communities involved in making a difference.

Alan Mahon, Founder of Brewgooder, commented: “The Global Gathering is bringing together one of the most vibrant and passionate communities in the world. The craft beer community is no stranger to collaboration, but this project takes that to a whole new level. The collective effort will help empower 100,000 people through accessible, clean water.

Participating breweries have brewed some amazing beers as part of a global movement but also will be making a very real impact on people’s lives around the world.

“Water is the basis of life – and all the good things life has to offer – and there are far too many people around the world who have their ambitions, dreams and potential limited by lack of access to a safe source of it. With clean, accessible water, kids grow up healthier, girls stay in school longer and people build better lives for themselves. The craft beer community is contributing to help make that change for thousands of people this World Water Day. “To have received the support of 250 brewers in this campaign is incredible. Our whole team is humbled by the willingness of so many incredible brewers to adopt our mission as their own. We cannot thank them enough.”

For a full list of participating breweries, beers and where to find your nearest Global Gathering venue over March 20th-22nd, visit https://www. brewgooder.com/gathering for updates.

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

109

Brewery news

The Chiltern Brewery raises £500 for Wheelpower

The Chiltern Brewery has announced that its limited edition Rugby World Cup Beer, Chiltern Wheeling, has raised £500 for local charity WheelPower.

Chiltern Wheeling was available throughout the 2019 Rugby World Cup and The Chiltern Brewery pledged to donate 5p from every pint sold to WheelPower, head-quartered at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. “Being only a few miles away we have always been great admirers of the work WheelPower do, so to be able to support them in their fundraising efforts has been a real privilege,” said Tom Jenkinson, Head Brewer at The Chiltern Brewery. “We have been fortunate to have been invited to some of the events that WheelPower put on for their service users and have seen the difference first-hand that they make to the lives of those affected by spinal injuries.”

“It was great to see so many people supporting WheelPower through the strong sales of Chiltern Wheeling, many customers at The King’s Head (Aylesbury) told us how much they loved that the beer helped to raise funds, the fact it also tasted great was simply an added bonus!” added Managing Director George Jenkinson.

CEO of WheelPower, Martin McElhatton, said: “Everyone at WheelPower is hugely grateful to Chiltern Brewery for their tremendous support.

WheelPower provide newly paralysed men and women with access to sport and physical

activity which boosts their rehabilitation and gives them a positive outlook on life after injury. Thanks to everyone who bought a pint of Chiltern Wheeling, a great beer helping us transform the lives of disabled people.”

To find out more about WheelPower and their important work, please visit their website on www.wheelpower.co.uk.

For more information on The Chiltern Brewery go to: www.chilternbrewery.co.uk

Chiltern Brewery celebrates its 40th anniversary in style!

2020 is a big year for The Chiltern Brewery as the second-generation family run brewery enters into its 40th year of brewing.

The Chiltern Brewery started the decade by releasing the limited edition Chiltern Ruby in cask, which proved hugely popular both at The Brewery Shop and the brewery tap, The King’s Head in Aylesbury. Needless to say, the beer was named after The Chiltern Brewery’s 40th Anniversary milestone this year. Throughout the year the brewery will be releasing a number of limited edition brews that celebrate what the brewery has become best known for - reviving traditional styles of beer and pioneering new ones.

Another exciting development at The Chiltern Brewery’s shop in Terrick is the installation of keg lines so visitors can enjoy the brewery’s growing range of keg beers -

Chiltern Craft Lager, Golden Harvest and Chiltern Black. Head Brewer Tom Jenkinson said: “The keg lines are another excellent page in the story of The Chiltern Brewery.

We have always been proud to offer our customers a wide range of award-winning ales and are even prouder that we can offer them a greater choice of dispense method too.”

Tom also has this to say about the brewery’s 40th Anniversary Celebration Ale, available exclusively in bottle: “For this limited edition sparkling ale, we have used only the finest British malts along with Olicana and Bramling Cross hops to brew a smooth, fruity and powerful IPA that is the ideal replacement for champagne at any special occasion. We have only released 1,000 bottles, so make sure to get your hands on one whilst they’re still available!”

For more information go to: www.chilternbrewery.co.uk or on social media @ChilternBrewery

110

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

We ensure products are served exactly as you intend them to be We serve the wide-ranging technical requirements of the UK drinks industry at every level – from small independents to major brand owners – always delivering great ROI and peace of mind.

We offer supply, installation and maintenance for: • Cask and keg beer dispense

• Cellar cooling and refrigeration

• Mobile and temporary bars

• Cider dispense

• Line cleaning

• Cask beer festivals

365 days a year, dedicated service

Call us on 0121 783 8925 info@tjinstall.co.uk | tandjinstallations.com

R E L I A B L E C LO S U R E S T H AT H E L P S E A L , PR OTEC T AN D ADD VALUE TO BRAND S SPILES

TAPS

CLIP CORKS

VES SHI

Quality Stoppers and Closures Since 1774

NES STO

KEY

+44 (0)1844 203100 sales@rankincork.co.uk rankincork.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

111

Supplier news

Success at Brook House Hops leads to major investment Herefordshire based hop farm Brook House Hops has recently invested over £100,000 into its facilities on the back of customer feedback and encouragement, purchasing a much sought after hop pellet mill.

Officially launched in 2018, Brook House Hops is an independent hop farm based in the beautiful Herefordshire countryside, growing its own hops on just shy of 100 acres of hop fields as well as sourcing unique strains from around the world.

Selling directly to brewers, Brook House Hops has taken the route of cutting out the hop merchants to provide quality, often artisan hop strains to craft and traditional brewers alike.

Since launching last year, business has boomed due to the popularity of not just home grown, locally sourced hops but also the unique aromas that come from those grown in the rich, red, Herefordshire soil.

Brook House Hops was asked by customers

to provide pelleted hops alongside its whole leaf offerings. Being a business which prides itself on its care for customers, the company decided to take the plunge and made a six figure investment in a state of the art, lowtemperature pellet processing facility. It was fundamental to Brook House that no corners were cut on this project, so the equipment they sourced had to be strictly top of the line.

After a week of setting up the equipment and testing the process, the team are now in full production. Pellets are going through industry leading processing procedures at low temperatures and then going straight to the cold store.

In the spirit of collaboration, Brook House Hops intends to send out samples soon to a few select few customers who have volunteered to help them get the consistency spot on, then they will have them available for sale on their online shop and via their sales team.

For more information go to: www.brookhousehops.com

The pellet mill installed at the farm in Herefordshire. Farm worker Robert Demczuk with the laser temperature gun, monitoring to make sure that pellets are not reaching high temperatures during the process.

Brewery flooring specialist Kemtile celebrates 40 year anniversary Brewery flooring and drainage specialist Kemtile celebrated its 40th anniversary at the end of last year.

Formed in Autumn 1979, the Cheshire-based company has consistently grown over four decades in terms of size, capabilities and customer base.

Starting as a three-person team, Kemtile was acquired by US-based RPM Performance Coatings Group a year ago. It is now a division of its industrial brand, Stonhard, which provides a range of products and services to various markets in more than 65 countries across the globe.

Kemtile’s brewery clients include Gipsy Hill, Utopian Brewing, Salt Beer Factory, Brixton Brewery, Camden Town Brewery, Cloudwater Brew and Meantime Brewery.

The company recently relocated its head office team into a larger, fully renovated and newly refurbished premises on the same business park that it has always occupied.

112

Kemtile came together to celebrate 40 successful years in the hygienic flooring sector.

This increased its workspace by a third, which is now filled, in part, by the Stonhard UK team after moving its national headquarters from Hampshire to Warrington during the summer – bringing the company’s full staff headcount to 60.

Jamie Cook, Operations Director of Kemtile, said: “We are, of course, delighted to celebrate such a milestone and I’m very

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

proud of our growth and successes during the last four decades. From rather humble beginnings, our experience, expertise and attention to detail has earned us an enviable reputation amongst bakeries, food and drink manufacturing companies and pharmaceutical processors.”

For further information visit: www.kemtile.co.uk/sectors/brewery/

Supplier news

New agent for CFT in the UK and Ireland

Kegstar and The Benevolent launch a scan-tastic partnership

Kegstar, the smart keg rental and collection business, has announced a partnership that aims to “do two lots of good” across the UK and Ireland.

The company’s one-way steel keg and cask solution uses unique scanning technology at the heart of its operation to help producers keep track of what they use and reduce the risk of keg and cask losses. Kegstar is now turning those scans into a charitable donation to support current and former employees of the drinks industry who are most in need.

From November 2019 Kegstar has donated 1p to The Benevolent for every empty keg and cask scanned for collection.

Christian Barden, who started Kegstar’s operation in Europe less than four years ago and is now wanting to take the brand truly global, said: “We collect over 15,000 of our kegs from thousands of venues every week now and we love talking via phone, social media, email and events to arrange collections, but it’d be great to convert all of that into a donation that supports colleagues when they need it most. Adversity can hit anyone, any time, in many ways so this is a great opportunity to contribute to our industry through something that’s both simple and fundamental to how we work.”

If you work in a bar, restaurant, pub, hotel, club and have a Kegstar keg or cask empty and ready to be collected, rest assured, they’d love to hear from you but would be far happier if you downloaded their free Kegstar app, scanned the matrix code on each one and requested collection so you can “do two lots of good”.

For more information go to: www. kegstar.com and for information on the support The Benevolent provide go to: www.thebenevolent.org.uk

One of the emerging forces in the bottling, canning and brewhouse sectors, CFT of Parma in Italy, has appointed Richard Portman and his UK based team to drive sales in the beverage industry as its agent in the UK and Ireland.

Richard Portman said: “I have been very impressed with both the CFT company and their product range, which I believe will be ideal for this market. I have been in discussions with CFT for some time now and I am pleased to say that we have a significant number of potential clients already, bearing in mind that I only concluded the agency at Brau in early November.”

The CFT range of machinery is a great fit for the cider, beer, water and soft drinks industry, and is suitable for both the craft sector right up to the mid-sized firms who are looking for lines up to 32,000 c.p.h. CFT manufacture all of their own equipment apart from labellers, where we will of course include Makro labellers in the lines. With a number of potential clients looking at can lines where they will be labelling their cans, it is a perfect fit for us in this market.

For further information on CFT in the UK please contact Richard Portman: Tel: 07727 762710 or Cliff Salmons: Tel: 07771 913413.

Maltster heaps praise on long serving employees Berwick-based Simpsons Malt has celebrated the hard work of 13 members of its team, who between them have dedicated 360 years of service to the family-run business.

The staff being recognised at the fifthgeneration family-owned maltsters were thanked by Simpsons Malt managing director Tim McCreath at a dinner marking the special occasion.

Tim McCreath was also celebrating 25 years’ service at the company, having first joined the Simpsons Malt team in 1994.

Two members of staff were thanked for their respective 40 years of service. Peter Inglis, customer support manager and Andrew Knapp, senior operator, both received engraved whisky decanters to mark their enduring commitment to the company.

(L-R) David Cairns, Peter Inglis, Tom Hume, Shaun Bailey, Brian Halls, Mark Daynes, Tim McCreath, Mark Adam, Ivan Martin, Judith Kantor and Liz Adam celebrate their 360 years’ combined service at Simpsons Malt.

Grain admin assistant Liz Adam, Roast House supervisor Shaun Bailey, quality systems administrator Judith Kantor and seed analyst Ivan Martin were also commended for their 30 years with the firm.

celebrated 25 years. Agrochemical and technical director David Cairns was thanked for his 20 years, whilst HGV class 1 driver Brian Halls was commended for his 15 years with the company.

Fertiliser supervisor Darren Cromarty, maintenance technician Mark Daynes and HGV class 1 drivers Mark Adam and Tom Hume

Speaking about the evening, Simpsons Malt managing director Tim McCreath said: “It’s wonderful to recognise the hard work and

dedication that every one of our long-service employees brings to Simpsons Malt. We value every individual’s dedication to the company, and the experience that they each bring to their roles.”

For more information go to: www.simpsonsmalt.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

113

PremierSystems AD August2018_Layout 1 19/03/2019 09:48 Page 1

Brewman Brewery and Distillery Management Software

End-to-end solution ranging from production to dray planning and duty calculation

Trusted for 25 years by over 200 breweries

Access from anywhere in the world with our cloud solution

Starting from just £20/month www.premiersystems.com Phone: 02380 811 100 Email: sales@premiersystems.com

Durable, low maintenance designs

Proven energy, carbon and cost saving credentials

High performance equipment

Excellent ROI

CFB BOILERS The Green Steam Company

MANUFACTURERS & DISTRIBUTORS OF STEAM BOILERS & ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT

Complete Steam Solutions • • • •

Boiler ranges from 128 – 55,000 kg/hr Steam, electric and hot water boilers Ancillary equipment Fully packaged plant rooms

INDUSTRY-LEADING DESIGN, INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE AND ENERGY SAVING SERVICES T: 01255 224500 E: boilersales@steamboilers.co.uk www.steamboilers.co.uk

182x128 CFB Advert.indd 1

114

SEE US AT STAND 38

e h th itis g s ng r in ar yi B ur e Fl for act 0 y g uf 12 fla an er m ov r fo

Superior customer service

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

02/12/2016 17:01

Supplier news Supplier Viewpoint

The 4 P’s of Beer Branding Myles Pinfold, from brand design consultants WPA Pinfold, looks at the four key elements that make up a strong beer brand…

The last decade saw 3,000 new beer brands enter the UK market, bringing the total to well over 10,000 brands and 2,250 brewers. These are extremely sobering numbers for those about to enter the beer market or existing companies planning expansion.

There are plenty of examples of great brewers who have built their businesses via a market-led (rather than productiondriven) approach. Contracting out their brewery has enabled them to focus on brand building, while still offering consistently great beers brewed to their unique recipes.

The beer market has become highly competitive and dynamic which means that brewers must work smarter and faster to ensure they can capitalise on fast-moving consumer demands and develop long-term equity. Providing great and flavoursome beer is a given, but to satisfy the needs of today’s drinker having an outstanding brand that can adapt to an evolving market is equally essential.

It’s easy to follow the trend for ephemeral graphics. However, this does not necessarily build any enduring equity. The commercial reality is that brewers need to develop loyalty with their consumers through outstanding beers with a unique recognisable presence on-bar and on-shelf. At WPA Pinfold, we have developed our four P’s of branding to help ensure that your beers are relevant, engaging and on-market: 1. Proposition – what is the big idea that sums up the fundamental qualities that make your brand unique and appealing?

2. Position – what place will you occupy in the drinker’s mind and in relation to your competition?

3. Plan – setting up a clear, achievable strategy is vital, otherwise you are going to get frustrated and waste an enormous amount of time and money.

4. Pizzazz – the spark of eloquence, style and vitality that only comes through creative thinking and compelling design that will build your equity and ensure your brand engages with its target market and delivers Profit, which is the most important ‘P’ of all.

For more information go to www.wpa-pinfold.co.uk

Moody Direct appointed Authorised Distributor by GEA

GEA, one of the world’s largest suppliers of equipment for food and beverage processing, is announcing the appointment of Moody Direct Ltd as one of its authorised UK distributors for GEA pumps, valves, and homogenisers.

This appointment represents a significant business opportunity for both organisations and provides UK customers with a dedicated channel for GEA pumps, valves and homogenisers across a broad range of industries including; dairy, food, beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical.

Moody Direct has been providing the process industry with spare parts, service and maintenance, new equipment, full turnkey projects and heat exchanger testing for more than 40 years. With a team of highly trained, in-house specialist engineers, the GEA UK customer base can rest assured that Moody Direct have the knowledge and experience to provide the GEA high standard of customer service.

Visit www.moodydirect.com for more information

Leeds Based supplier SSV Limited appoints Senior Process Project Manager Brewery specialist SSV Limited have added Senior Process Engineer, Mark Roberts, to their growing project team.

Mark, formerly of Musk Process Services, has over 25 years’ experience in the brewing industry and comes with wealth of engineering knowledge.

Roberts is looking forward to working with SSV’s growing client base and comments on his new role: “With the evolution of craft beer over recent years, SSV Limited have been at the forefront of this sustained growth. I have joined SSV Limited to strengthen the projects and process engineering teams, and I am looking forward to working with some old and new colleagues at an exciting time for the company.”

In just over five years SSV Limited have grown into one of the leading suppliers to the brewing industry. With over 20 SSV Limited brew-blocs now installed in the UK and many more already in production for 2020.

For more information go to: www.SSVlimited.co.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

115

BREWERY START-UPS & EXPANSIONS TECHNICAL SUPPORT

When all around are losing theirs!

REGULAR ON-SITE Q.A. SURVEYS ON-SITE TRAINING &

RESIDENTIAL TRAINING COURSES NEXT COURSES: MARCH & NOVEMBER 2020

Visit us Beer at Stan X d 50

Innovative bottling equipment for beer

Rob Smith & David Smith

Rob: 07966 693097 / David: 07970 629552 enquiries@brewingservices.co.uk

www.brewingservices.co.uk Visit us at BeerX Stand 57

Use the best ingredients, get the best results...

Arlington is the best!

Filling Labelling Packing Inspection Complete lines

STAND

151

Returnable or one way, Arlington transport and storage containers available to rent or buy with standard or high barrier liners.

Hygienic, secure, low cost and great service.

VISIT US

KEEP YOUR HEAD

for more information call us on: 01672 563723

Liquids handling specialists since 1997 www.beercarriers.com

116

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

evolutionbps.co.uk

Supplier news

The Fundamentals of Mini-Brewing hits 30 and is still going strong Last year, 2019, saw a milestone for Brewing Services Ltd as the firm celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Fundamentals of Mini-Brewing, with attendees from across the brewing industry and from all corners of the UK taking part in the four-day residential course in York.

Brewing Services launched the first Fundamentals of Mini-Brewing course at Malton Brewery Co in October 1989. It has run twice a year ever since, making it the longest running training course in the UK for those working in small commercial breweries.

Over the past 30 years the firm has explained the intricacies of the brewing process to hundreds of brewers and potential brewers, all eager to learn more of the theory that under-pins the brewing process. The course,which has been described as ‘the course designed by brewers for brewers’, covers the basic theory of the brewing process, from raw materials through to packaging and QA, looking at what constitutes good brewing practice.

The course was set up by David Smith, who started his own brewing consultancy

for micro-brewers in 1988, and Geoff Woollons, the owner and Head Brewer of Malton Brewing Co, who between them had over 50 years of brewing experience.

The course moved to York Brewery in 1996 and last year moved again to Brew York.

The course is held twice a year in March and November and continues to attract plenty of interest from within the ever-expanding brewing community.

For more information email: enquiries@brewingservices.co.uk

Changes at the top at Norwich City of Ale After nine years at the helm, during which time Norwich’s City of Ale festival has gone from strength to strength, co-chair Dawn Leeder is stepping down to spend more time with her research interests.

City of Ale pioneered the concept of a beer festival taking place in multiple venues across a town or city. Set up in 2011, it was the country’s original Beer Week. It has been driving business into pubs in Norwich and showcasing beers from across the region ever since. Ale trails alone generated over 11,000 audited pub visits during the 2019 City of Ale festival.

Together with Phil Cutter from The Murderers pub, Dawn co-founded and co-chaired this ground-breaking event. For nine years she gave five months of her life into its organisation.

“With no professional attachment to the beer or pub industry, and the giving freely of her time, Dawn’s really was a labour of love,” says Phil. “It was an extraordinary gift to pubs, breweries, beer lovers - and Norwich.”

David Holliday from Norfolk Brewhouse has become a new City of Ale director, and he and Phil Cutter now co-chair the organisation. He will be involved in the overall running of the festival and will be taking over the key role of brewers’ coordinator.

For more information go to: www.cityofale.org.uk Photo credit Frances Brace

BFBi on tour Delivering brief technical seminars for the industry, showcasing the services and products of BFBi members, highlighting the hot topics that are affecting the industry, allowing discussions to continue one to one afterwards.

The last year has seen the BFBi on tour hold a Free From seminar at Murphy & Son Ltd, showcasing the different options, products and giving advice of creating a Free From product.

In October the BFBi on tour event saw HMRC and the BBPA give information and advice about Brexit and what companies need to do to prepare.

We now need to hear from you!

What are the subjects you would like us to present in our forthcoming BFBi on tour events?

Send all suggestions or for more information to Siobhan.mcgonigle@bfbi.org.uk

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

117

Brewlab

Your Partner for Brewing Success

We help brewers and breweries across the world improve their knowledge, skills and quality of products. Please come and visit us at SIBA BeerX on stand 55 to meet the team and find out all about what we offer, including our recently launched external brewery services.

BEERX STAND 55 Brewlab

Professional Brewery Training Whether you’re a first time brewer looking to start your career or a professional brewery seeking to upskill your team, Brewlab has a training course that is right for you.

External Services Brewlab can deliver onsite quality assurance audits to help troubleshoot issues, upskill brewers and provide certification to demonstrate high standards.

Labo Laboratory and Yeast Services We provide breweries with the expertise required to manage the quality and consistency of their products through routine and advanced analysis services. We can design custom due diligence plans for any microbrewery to maintain quality assurance.

Project Support Our experienced team can assist with the development of new innovative products, producing small batches ready for market testing.

For further information please call 0191 549 9450, email info@brewlab.co.uk or visit www.brewlab.co.uk

PROFIL

PROCESS & FILTRATION S OLUTIONS for the food & b ever age indust ry

Profil Solutions - approved UK agents for Carlson Filtration Ltd, Merck-Millipore & VLS Technologies (Velo Acciai).

Profil supply DE Filters (horizontal and vertical leaf), Crossflow filters, sheet filters and other equipment manufactured by VLS Technologies (Velo Acciai).

Profil also supply Carlson filter sheets & lenticular filters, Merck-Millipore filter cartridges and sterile membranes.

Filter cartridge housings and lenticular filter housings, bag filters, strainers and most other type of filtration equipment.

For further product information please contact Dave Manns on 01531 636704 or e-mail to davemanns@profilsolutions.com Profil Solutions Ltd A.B.E. Estate, Bromyard Road, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 1LG T: 01531 636704 F: 01531 806396 M: 07894 704895 W: www.profilsolutions.com

118

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Supplier news

Canventional Wisdom: Cask celebrates 20 years Cask Global Canning Solutions presented its first rule-breaking canning system for breweries at the 2002 Craft Brewers Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. But before that historic move, Cask smashed the bottles-only practices of the original small-batch beer makers: homebrewers.

Since the early 1980s, Cask had been providing brewing systems for the thenpopular “brew on premise” establishments that Cask equipped in North America, the UK and Australia. “One BOP customer,” Cask founder Peter Love recalls, “asked if we could figure out how to put beer into aluminium cans. That’s what got us started in the canning business.”

In 1999, Cask produced a novel tabletop canning system for these BOPs and witnessed a revelation. “The homebrewers preferred cans over bottles,” Love remembers. “They were lightweight, didn’t break, chilled quickly and were super portable. When the beer was gone the brewers recycled their cans and got new cans for the next batch. They loved it.”

That discovery led Cask to make the status-quo-defying move of championing the maligned aluminium can as the ultimate craft beer package. But brewers at the 2002 CBC were perplexed by Cask’s revolutionary idea and its unique canning system that filled two cans at a time.

“Several brewers,” Cask founder Peter

Supplier Viewpoint

Love remembers, “‘told us, ‘That is the dumbest idea I have ever seen. No craft beer drinker’s going to buy beer in cans.’

Other brewers were steadfast about bottles being the only package for craft beer. But we knew there was a better option and felt brewers and consumers would agree if given full-flavoured beer in a can.”

Love’s hunch was correct. In 2002, Cask’s first brewery customer, tiny Oskar Blues Brewery & Pub in Lyons, Colorado, used Cask’s canning gear to become the first US craft brewer to brew and can its own beer. Its assertive beers and cans-only focus made it a fast-growing success story.

More craft brewers slowly began forsaking bottles for cans and their environmental, portability and freshness-keeping powers.

Today nearly 50% of packaged craft beer in the US is in cans and US canned craft beer sales annually rise faster than bottles.

The micro-canning movement Cask created has now spread around the world. Cask has placed over 1,600 of its systems in over 70 countries, and brewers and beer lovers increasingly consider cans their preferred beer package.

Love is now known as the Steve Jobs of micro-canning, the man who put the can in craft beer. His son, Russell Love, is now the president of the fourth-generation, family owned company, which employs two more Love siblings and nearly 70 staffers in North America and Europe.

For more information visit www.cask.com

Beatson Clark to raise a glass at BeerX UK Leading glass packaging manufacturer Beatson Clark will be raising a glass in Liverpool this month and showcasing its products and services at BeerX UK 2020.

Beatson Clark produces a wide range of beer bottles for breweries large and small and will be exhibiting at the UK’s largest independent craft brewing trade show on 11th and 12th of March 2020.

Thanks to this flexible approach and centuries of experience in the glass manufacturing industry, Beatson Clark supplies bottles for many popular beer brands including BrewDog, Robinsons and Greene King.

Charlotte Taylor, Marketing Manager at Beatson Clark, said: “BeerX has always been a successful show for us, so much so that this year will be our seventh visit in a row. Our years of experience in the glass packaging sector and our flexible approach make us the first choice for breweries of all sizes, both in the UK and overseas, so we’re always very busy at BeerX.” You can find Beatson Clark on stand 137 at this year’s BeerX UK event and find out more at www.beatsonclark.co.uk

Longer lasting cask ale thanks to Fresh Keg Finally, a number of common and long standing issues facing brewers, distributors and retailers has been resolved. The revolutionary, patented and CAMRA approved Fresh Keg System, known as FK14, now guarantees that cask ale will last a minimum of 14 days from day of tapping. The essence of the FK14 system is embodied in the systems three main components. A modified industry standard multi-trip cask, a food grade liner and a connection collar with brewery standard spear.

system the shelf life of cask beer is reduced due to the ingress of air. With the FK14 system the beer is protected by the liner, and the air which normally contaminates the beer, is captured between the inner wall of the cask and the liner without coming into contact with the beer.

The FK14 system works by simply inserting a liner into an upright cask, filled with beer and then capped off using our FK14 brewery standard key shive. In an industry standard

The concept of using a liner inside each cask alleviates the expensive, time consuming and environmentally problematic issues normally related to standard casks.

Other products on the market are only a one-way system and are costly to dispose of however, the FK14 concept works in a closed loop system where the cask is returned to the brewer when empty and a new liner is installed.

With the use of a liner there’s a 95% reduction in cask cleaning costs, no more washing out and disposal of contaminated waste.

FK14

STAYING FRESHER FOR LONGER

PRODUCTION LABEL GOES HERE

TA P P E D DAT E

14 DAY GUARANTEE

GUARANTEED TO STAY FRESH FOR 14 DAYS FROM DAY OF TAPPING, IF USED WITHIN THE BEST BY DATE.

• HANDLE WITH CARE •

For further information or to discuss a free trial please contact Ray Blackburn on 01768 776753 or 07419 122623

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

119

The world’s best selling plastic casks

Independent Family Maltsters since 1809 Manufacturers of the finest Pale Ale, Crystal and Roasted Malts All Malts delivered ON TIME to your specification, crushed or whole.

Main products include: Maris Otter, Pearl, Propino and Golden Promise Ale Malts together with the complete range of Speciality Crystal and Roasted Malts including Wheat, Oat and Rye products.

Call 01432 453146 email: info@breweryplastics.com

www.breweryplastics.com

Thomas Fawcett & Sons Limited Eastfield Lane, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF10 4LE Tel: 01977 552490/552460 Fax: 01977 519076 E-mail: sales@fawcett-maltsters.co.uk

THE MODULAR CLOUD SOLUTION Secure cloud data storage

Growing with you

\

Production Scheduling

Batch Traceability SALSA data collation

BM S cloud

All for less than the cost of a coffee a day

SPAsoft

Brewery Management Systems

www.spasoft.co.uk

120

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Remote Warehousing

Supplier news

Hop Forward completes Lincoln Green rebrand Creative agency and consultancy Hop Forward recently undertook a brand refresh for Lincoln Green Brewing Co. “We take a ‘whole brewhouse’ approach when helping our customers within the beer,” says Hop Forward founder Nick Law, “to help develop, grow and sustain their business through a wide range of creative and digital solutions aimed at brewers and suppliers.”

Lincoln Green’s founder Anthony Hughes said: “We’ve been delighted to work with Nick Law from Hop Forward in a refresh of our branding – our bottle labels and pump clips had been in place since our beginnings in 2012 and the original designs were looking cluttered and ‘clunky’.

“We’d attempted a refresh using a different design agency in 2018 but never really fell in love with anything they offered – Hop Forward nailed the brief very quickly, with Nick grasping that we were looking for something cleaner, more contemporary, whilst retaining a feel of heritage and tradition.”

Supplier Viewpoint Nick Law, from creative agency Hop Forward looks back at 40 years of SIBA and at how important brand and marketing will be in tomorrow’s industry…

Remember that advert with the toads on lily pads saying, ‘Bud’, ‘Weiss’, ‘Err’?

Or the ‘Before Football’ Carling ad involving three groats and a turnip?

Or ashtrays sporting slogans like, ‘You’re twice the man on Worthingtons’?

Much has changed over the four decades that SIBA has been operating. Helles, I wasn’t even born when the ‘Small Independent Brewers Association’, as it was known, was established to fight the pub-tie system that sought - and still seeks - to keep independent brewers at bay. Crass advertising and flavourless beers aimed at men now seem both archaic and primitive.

As an industry, we’ve come a long way, but at the start of a new decade, there’s no denying that British beer has a tough job ahead of it.

In stark contrast to the marketing tactics of the global players, many of the slogans and phrases that small, independent brewers used to pride themselves are now, sadly, meaningless.

‘Brewed with the finest malts and freshest hops’. Yep! You and everyone else.

‘We’re an independent brewery’. Define independence. 51% majority shares?

‘Our IPA is bursting with hops’. Which one was that again? I’ve had 5 already this evening.

You get the idea.

As consumer demand for newer, bolder, wilder and more extreme beers only increases, solely relying on brewing a ‘great product’ and ‘letting the beer talk for itself ’ simply won’t cut the mustard.

The problem many brewers will face this coming decade won’t be an issue of inadequate quality; it will be that there is too much great quality out there. Lots of people are making great beer: the successful breweries in the next decade will be great businesses as well as great beer makers.

To succeed in the roaring 20s (or whatever we’re going to call this decade), firstly, breweries will need to have a unique selling point that really is unique. Creative branding, clever marketing and telling a compelling story will come to the forefront more than ever as each brewer and brand seeks to be heard above the bombardment of digital noise, all vying for consumer attention.

Brewers will need to innovate, inspire and truly own their niche or narrative rather than merely hopping on the hazy train and following the latest trends.

Secondly, brewery owners are going to need to value their staff more than ever, paying them a living wage, providing them with the proper equipment to do their jobs safely, and not expecting them to operate the brewhouse, cellar beers, manage the business affairs, and then run the taproom on evenings and weekends… all while posing for selfies on Instagram with the hashtag #BrewersLife Thirdly, successful breweries in the next decade will know how to educate themselves further, adding weapons to their armoury through forums such as SIBA, publications like the Brewer’s Journal, and podcasts like Hop Forward and the Master Brewer’s Podcast. They will embrace technology to help them be more efficient in bringing costs

down; focus more on tap rooms and online shops to help them retain their margins by selling and communicating directly with their target audience; and explore advancements in raw materials - such as Cryo Hops, speciality malting, and GMO ‘designer’ yeasts. Being well acquainted with these will give brewers more flavours to develop and innovate their product ranges.

Ultimately though, it’s the people within the industry that will drive craft beer forward and empower the next generation to bring their own unique take and perspectives on the nation’s favourite beverage.

In the end, though, to paraphrase writer Pete Brown, beer has been the social glue since the dawn of civilisation, and will continue to provide a table to share a deep and meaning over, a forum for debate and discussion, and a beverage by which to have a relaxing time well into the coming age.

Regardless of whether your favourite DIPA producing brewery sells out to a global giant, alcohol-free beers become a norm on the bar, or craft-lager actually does become the ‘next big thing’, the industry will continue to morph, thrive, and develop under the steady hand of those involved throughout the supply chain: from grain to glass.

As SIBA raises a glass (or two) to toast its 40th year, it’s time to celebrate what has been and start dreaming about what could be: even better branding, better business sense and better brewing.

I’ll drink to that.

For more information go to www.hopforward.beer

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

121

Supplier news Supplier Viewpoint

Building a Brewery

Richard Charlton from Vigo Ltd recently caught up with Richard Archer at Utopian Brewing in Crediton, Devon, to find out about how he tackled the complex process of building a brewery…

RC: Why open a brewery and why in Devon specifically?

RA: “My Co-Founder Steve Cox and I had been talking on and off about a brewery for maybe 10 years whilst working together in the pubs sector. About three years ago we could see the indie sector growing strongly and also felt there was a good segment opportunity around lager so just decided it was the right time to take the plunge. We initially intended to build the brewery in a pub site in west London but planners were a nightmare. More importantly though we wanted to have a big focus on sustainability in the brewery and that was very hard to do in SW7 but significantly easier to achieve in a rural location.”

RC: Where did you go for guidance?

RA: “Having been in and around the pub scene for quite a long time and having some old mates who were career brewers I was lucky to have a decent network of people who I could go to for tips and advice. Mostly their first reaction was “You’re mad” but once we got through that they all chipped in with loads of useful input. My great uni friend Nick Morton latterly of Heineken, was a great mentor, the legendary Derek Prentice was also a great help. We also engaged with David

122

and Rob Smith of Brewing Services and their consultancy skills helped to guide me through the design and planning phase. One great thing about our industry is how willingly other brewery’s will give up their time and share knowledge and experience. It is very refreshing in the current world where ‘dog eat dog’ sadly often seems the more common approach. I really love this about the brewing world and I try as much as I can to follow that ethos of freely sharing as I think it’s a wonderful trait in any business.”

RC: How did you select you suppliers?

RA: “Brewing Services helped with identifying potential suppliers and running mini tenders for most of the major expenditures. I joined SIBA early doors too and their directories were quite helpful in identifying potential suitors too. For all the brewery and major utilities I also did a lot of reference site visits. There is nothing better than talking face to face with the people who are actually using the equipment you are thinking of buying to check if the sales person’s claims actually stack up! Those visits also provide another invaluable avenue to learn about the brewery’s experience of other vendor’s kit outside of what you are actually there to look at, so double bubble value in reference visits I think!”

RC: How has it been to recruit people?

RA: “Like all industries getting the right people on the bus is probably the hardest but most important thing to get right. I was very lucky in being in the right place at the right time to get our head brewer Jeremy Swainson on board.

That was such a critical hire and he is a massive asset to the business. Adding to the brewhouse team has been a bit tricky as we really wanted traditional lager brewing experience and there just didn’t seem to be that many people around with those skills in the UK. Going forward we will now be able to address the specific skills requirements more with our own training and

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

we hope the location and creating a decent work life balance will be a big help in our future recruitment. On the sales side, we have also been helped a lot by personal references from people we respect in the industry. A personal reference is a really valuable recruitment tool and so far that is working out well for us.”

RC: Anything you would have done differently?

RA: “Apart from listening to all the people that told me I was crazy, I don’t think there is too many things that I would change.

We are less than a year into our journey so you might want to ask that in a couple of years’ time and may get a different answer. Right now though the brewery is performing well, sales are growing nicely and most importantly people seem to really like drinking our beers so there is nothing I would change with any of those.”

RC: What next for Utopian?

RA: “More of the same. The plan is pretty simple, to brew a range of high quality, accessible lagers with only British ingredients. That’s what we do and will continue to do. So far, so good but lots more to do with that plan and so we will ‘stick to the knitting’ as they say and keep focused. The one new thing that we can do more of, now that we have some scale in production, is introducing more of our sustainability infrastructure projects, notably around waste water and solar power. We are very excited about those and are certainly looking forward to moving that forward and getting us closer to the longer term ambition of brewing great beers in a carbon neutral brewery.”

Vigo Ltd are suppliers of Utopian Brewing’s Brewhouse & Silver SIBA sponsors. You can find out more at: www.vigoltd.com

RELIABLE CLOSURES THAT H E L P S E A L , PROTECT AND A D D VA L U E T O B R A N D S CORKS

NK CAPSULES T SH R I A E H & SLEEVES

WIRE HOO DS

CROW NC APS

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

123

Gold & Silver members

Gold members BREWERS SELECT

Silver members Alfa Laval

Muntons Plc

Anton Paar Ltd

NFU Mutual

Beatson Clark

Norriq Ltd

Beer Box Shop

Paktech OPI

BFBI

Pentair Food & Beverage Solutions

Rebecca Halpin rebecca.halpin@alfalaval.com

Dan Unwin dunwin@brewersselect.co.uk

Kerrie Swindon kerrie.swindon@anton-paar.com

CHARLES FARAM & CO LTD Paul Corbett paulcorbett@ charlesfaram.co.uk

Charlotte Taylor charlotte.taylor@beatsonclark.co.uk

Reem Mohsen enquiries@closebreweryrentals.co.uk

Ruth Evans ruthevans@bfbi.org.uk

Core Equipment Ltd

Jonathan Chaplin jonathan.chaplin@core-equip.com

CROXSONS

Tim Croxson Tim.croxson@ croxsons.com

Crisp Malting Group Rob Moody rob.moody@crispmalt.com

Quality, Consistency & Support

Hannah Waterfield hannah.waterfield@murphyandson.co.uk

Malcolm Ireland Malcolm.Ireland@napthens.co.uk

Flextech Hose Solutions Ltd

James Fawcett james@fawcett-maltsters.co.uk

124

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

John Riches john@valelabels.co.uk

Camilla Bridewell camilla@vigoltd.com

Kegstar

Chris Hill chill@kegstar.com

Makro Labelling

Schafer Container Systems

Vigo ltd

Willis Publicity

Carl Andrews carl@willispublicity.co.uk

Lallemand UK

THOMAS FAWCETT & SONS LTD

Rastal GmbH & Co KG

Vale Labels Ltd

esmith@framax.co.uk

Sarah Young syoung@lallemand.com

Jim Rankin jim@rankincork.co.uk

Mike Hickman mike.hickman56@outlook.com

Framax UK Limited Elizabeth Smith

Giovanni Solferini giovanni@icfsgroup.com Sam Williams Sam@ premiersystems.ltd.uk

Rankin Brothers & Sons

Mike Impson mike.impson@smurfitkappa.co.uk

IC Filling Systems Ltd

PREMIER SYSTEMS LTD

Debbie Larkin debbie.larkin@pentair.com

Saxon Packaging Ltd

Kelsey Cheesbrough sales@festivalglass.co.uk

Gary Shaw gary@flextechhose.co.uk

NAPTHENS

Helen Duffy Helen.Duffy@norriq.com

Nick Crossley ncrssly@aol.com

Festival Glass Ltd

MURPHY & SON LTD

Darren Seward Darren_Seward@nfumutual.co.uk

Elizabeth Kouns elizabeth.kouns@paktech-opi.com

Simon Hulse simon@beerboxshop.co.uk

CLOSE BROTHERS BREWERY RENTALS

Joanna Perry joanna.perry@muntons.com

LALLEMAND BREWING

Richard Portman richard@makro-labelling.co.uk

Zoedale plc

Tim Guest tim@zoedale.co.uk

SPECIALIST MASTERBREW & DISTILLERY INSURANCE

Insurance Cover

“Specialising in the Manufacture and Supply of Keystone’s For Beer Barrels“ Our industry standard T.P.E. Rubber Keystones have been tried and tested by brewery’s na�onwide for over 15 Years.

“Food Contact Compliant Material” We manufacture both so� and hard variants packaged in 'Poly-lined Polypropylene Sacks'.

Brewed to Perfection Pioneering insurance packages built around the dynamic needs of the brewery industry

Our Keystone’s are supplied in quan��es of 1000 and are all individually marked for 'End of Life Recycling'.

Price Per 1000 Delivered Only £60 + Vat PALLET QUANTITY PRICES

Price Per 10,000 Delivered £50 / 1000 + Vat Price Per 40,000 Delivered £47.50 / 1000 + Vat

Lower premiums Wider cover Tailored additional benefits

So please visit our online shop at WWW.POLY-TEK.CO.UK Or alterna�vely you can contact the sales team directly on 01795 439222

R US S E LL S CAN LAN

30 day accounts available upon request Unit 8, Fairway Business Park Castle Road, Eurolink Sittingbourne Kent ME10 3FB

Tel +44(0) 1795 439222 Fax: +44(0) 1795 439444 Email: info@poly-tek.co.uk Www.poly-tek.co.uk

0115 947 0032 masterbrew@russellscanlan.com www.russellscanlan.com

SPECIALIST INSURANCE FOR CRAFT BREWERS, CIDERIES AND DISTILLERIES WE W BE IL

L THE ATTENDI B N ON 1 EERX EV G ENT 1TH MAR & 12TH CH FIND U S O STAN D 18 N 2

We have 45 years of experience in the brewery industry and we provide extensive cover, which includes the following; Brewery experts to give you the advice you need We cover all types of business in the brewing industry including startups Exclusive access to a range of benefits through our specialist scheme For a quick and competitive quotation, please contact Bollington

on

01625 348 733

brewers@bollington.com www.bollington.com/brewers

email

BOLL 279 09/19

Bollington Insurance is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Reg. No. 229342

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

125

SIBA contacts

PO BOX 136, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 5WW

SIBA Head Office: 01765 640441 Cellar Services: 01765 641099

SIBA Team James Calder Chief Executive james.calder@siba.co.uk Sara Knox Company Secretary/ Directors Assistant sara.knox@siba.co.uk Rachel Harriott Head of Operations rachel.harriott@siba.co.uk Neil Walker Head of Comms & Marketing neil.walker@siba.co.uk Barry Watts Head of Public Affairs & Policy barry.watts@siba.co.uk Rebecca Kirby Financial Controller rebecca.kirby@siba.co.uk Louise Henley Operations Administrator louise.henley@siba.co.uk Jenna Barningham Operations Administrator jenna.barningham@siba.co.uk Elle Spencer-Blanchard Operations Assistant elle.spencerblanchard@siba.co.uk

Board of Elected Directors Existing members wishing to contact your regional representatives can use the relevant regional e-mail addresses listed below.

For individuals, just type firstname.lastname@siba.co.uk Chairman of SIBA Ian Fozard

East east@siba.co.uk Ian Rydings Marcus Beecher Richard Naisby

Leigh on Sea Brewery Elgood & Sons Ltd Milton Brewery

Midlands midlands@siba.co.uk Ken Munro John Allcroft Anthony Hughes

Milestone Brewing Co Grafton Brewing Co Lincoln Green Brewing Co Ltd

North East northeast@siba.co.uk Ian Fozard Roosters Brewery Mark Anderson Maxim Brewery Dave Shaw Hop Studio Ltd Ewen Gordon Saltaire Brewery Ltd North West northwest@siba.co.uk Shane Swindells Dave Sweeney Steve Briscoe

Cheshire Brewhouse Bank Top Brewery Peerless Brewery

Scotland scotland@siba.co.uk Christie Slater Loch Leven Brewery Jamie Delap Fyne Ales Ltd Stuart Cail Harviestoun Brewery South East southeast@siba.co.uk Andy Hayward Thames Side Brewery Jaega Wise Wild Card Brewery Robert Wicks Westerham Brewery South West southwest@siba.co.uk Guy Sheppard Paul Arrowsmith

Exe Valley Brewery Red Rock Brewery

Wales & West west@siba.co.uk All General Enquiries contact office@siba.co.uk

126

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk

Norman Pearce Chris Gooch Dave Shaw

Corvedale Brewery Teme Valley Brewery Big Hand Brewing Company Ltd

UK X 7 ER 5-3 BE S 3 AT ND US TA E S SE ON

Our specially crafted Genuine Brewflex® hose assemblies for brewing are designed to not only meet stringent food hygiene standards and obligations but also help to minimise unnecessary and avoidable costs commonly caused by improperly recommended hose solutions.

n PROTECT YOUR EMPLOYEES – ELIMINATE THE RISK

Poorly maintained hoses can burst under pressure during a CIP regime. Caustic in eyes, boiling water being flushed through or loose fittings detaching from the hose can cause serious injury to employees and operators.

n PROTECT YOUR PRODUCT – DON’T LOSE A BATCH

Hose liners can delaminate over time, especially if the wrong one is used, & (if not maintained) the microscopic particles can bypass filtration systems, into your beer, damaging product integrity.

n PROTECT YOUR BREWERY - ENSURE YOUR COMPLIANCE

HACCP. HSE, FDA 21.CFR.177.2600, EU Food Regulations (EC 1935/2004), Food Safety Act, Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP’s), SALSA Audits, 3A Sanitary Standards, 3.1B Material Traceability.

Get in touch now for your FREE HOSE HEALTH CHECK T:+44(0) 1753 570 099 sales@flextechhose.co.uk www.flextechhose.co.uk “A hose is not just a hose…”

www.siba.co.uk | SIBA Independent Brewer | Spring 2020

127

128

Spring 2020 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk