SIBA Journal Autumn 2018

ISSUE 110 A UT U M N 2 0 1 8

THE PERFECT BLEND HOW SIREN CRAFT BREW MIXES IT UP

20 YEARS IN CASK

MEET CASK MARQUE’S PAUL NUNNY

MEMBERS MATTER

CEO MIKE BENNER FOCUSSES ON YOU

MEET THE BREWER

AWARD WINNER SARA BARTON

BE OUR GUEST

PETER ALEXANDER ON CAMRA’S FUTURE

HAFFMANS

ADVANCING QUALITY CONTROL TOGETHER In-line, At-line, Laboratory, Packaging & Monitoring Haffmans’ QC Equipment enables you to • Reduce your product loss • Achieve consistent product quality • Speed up your reaction times • Increase process efficiency • Accurately measure O2, CO2, TPO, HSO, foam & turbidity • Achieve reliable comparable measuring results FOODANDBEVERAGE.PENTAIR.COM Phone: +44 (0) 1905 797 280 Email: Sales.uk@pentair.com

Visit us at: Nuremberg, Germany - November 13-15 and find out more about our technologies. Hall 9, Booth 538

EDITOR'S COMMENT CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE WORDS PETER ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHY DOUGLAS BARCLAY

WELCOME

TO THE AUTUMN 2018 EDITION OF THE SIBA JOURNAL! The leaves are just starting to fall, along with the conkers, as I prepare to send this latest issue off to print, which in my book makes it the perfect weather for a darker stout or porter. However, I was delighted to see that the hot weather of the summer certainly didn’t put drinkers off that category, as proven by the unseasonable spike in orders for this year’s CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain, Siren’s Broken Dream Breakfast Stout, an unusual dark 6.5% beer.

In this issue we caught up with Siren’s owner Darron Anley to find out why he has such a passion for the more unusual beer styles and how he has kept his thirst for experimentation alive while keeping his core range strong (see pages 46-53).

Elsewhere in this edition, for our Big Interview we spoke to Cask Marque founder Paul Nunny, who is celebrating 20 years on the path to beer quality enlightenment and still sees a bright future for the scheme as it evolves with the beer market (see pages 38-45).

And our featured Meet the Brewer is Sara Barton, the owner and founder of Brewster’s, who has also been in the industry for over two decades, and was recently named the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group’s Brewer of the Year (see pages 29-35).

We include our usual updates on SIBA’s activity on your behalf in Westminster (see page 21), and also the highlights from the annual in-depth look at the health of the cask market with

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

highlights and key learnings from the Cask Report 2018 on pages 24-27.

As you can see from our CEO Mike Benner’s column on page 7, the focus for SIBA at the moment is very much on its members – improving the benefits and services you, our brewing members, receive and looking to add more value to your membership.

So for the Members’ Views section in this issue we asked for your thoughts, both good and bad, on SIBA’s current benefits and where you felt we should be improving or adding more value (see pages 22-23). It is very important for SIBA to hear from you direct on issues like this and all your comments will be useful in deciding how to evolve SIBA’s membership benefits and services in the future, so thank you to all those that took the time to respond and please do watch out for the Toolbox updates where we ask for your views each quarter.

As ever, please keep those press releases, updates, news and views coming in to me at caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk, and feel free to add me to your press release or media distribution lists with our new look Supplier and Brewery News sections we have plenty of room in each issue for all your latest updates.

Happy reading!

Caroline

CAROLINE NODDER EDITOR, SIBA JOURNAL caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk

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@media-alive.co.uk) Studio Manager: Jon Hardy (jon@media-alive.co.uk) Printed by: Advertising Manager: Claire Rooney (claire@media-alive.co.uk) Printwize, 9 Stepfield, Witham, Managing Director: Dan Rooney (dan@media-alive.co.uk) 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 JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

3

CAMURRI BRAUER BREWING SYSTEMS Ideal for Brew Pubs, Nano Breweries or for Breweries looking for a test kit

Prices from as little as ÂŁ1,299

Available in 23 Litre, 50 Litre, 200 Litre and 400 Litre versions Hot Liquor Tank, Mash Tun and Kettle in one unit PLC Embedded computer to control temperature changes Monitor progress and control on your phone via Bluetooth Removable mesh filter, ideal for Sparging Heats to desired temperature very quickly Rapid cooling process with the chilling coil High quality, Italian made

Zoedale Ltd

@ZoedaleUK www.zoedale.co.uk 01234 832832

A UT U M N

CONTENTS

2018 ISSUE 110

A TRIBUTE TO TUCKERS

CASK REPORT 2018 THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LATEST SURVEY

ALL THE NEWS AND VIEWS FROM YOU, OUR MEMBERS

PAGE 17

PAGE 24-27

PAGES 74-85

SIBA MEMBERS MOURN LOSS OF HISTORIC MALTINGS

NEWS 9-19 64-69 74-85 87-97

SIBA BREWERS’ NEWS

FEATURES

SIBA NEWS

22-23

All the news from SIBA HQ

REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS

24-27

The winning beers from the North East, East and South East competitions

SIBA BREWERS’ NEWS

The latest from our Brewing Members around the UK

SUPPLIER NEWS

News and views from SIBA’s Supplier Associate Members

COMMENT

29-35 38-45 46-53

SIBA MEMBERS’ VIEWS

Our members have their say on SIBA membership benefits

CASK REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

The key findings of this year’s survey

MEET THE BREWER

We meet the Beer Group’s Brewer of the Year, Sara Barton

THE BIG INTERVIEW

As Cask Marque hits 20, we caught up with its founder Paul Nunny

BUSINESS PROFILE

We feature Champion Beer of Britain winner Siren Craft Brew

7

CEO’S UPDATE

55-61

BUSINESS BACK OFFICE

21

THE VIEW FROM WESTMINSTER

70-73

GOLD MEMBERS

37 63

Mike Benner on his vision for members

Our regular political update

GUEST COLUMNIST

Beer blogger and regional CAMRA Chair Peter Alexander on the organisation’s future

TECHNICAL FOCUS

Brewlab’s Dr Keith Thomas looks at surface contamination

Advice on law, marketing, digital and finance

Close Brothers & Thomas Fawcett

98

GOLD & SILVER MEMBERS

101

MEET THE SIBA REGIONS

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Listing of our key sponsors

Introducing two of SIBA’s regional representatives

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

5

CEO’S UPDATE

OUR MEMBERS MATTER MOST

Two things define a great membership organisation; firstly, its members feel good about being members and, secondly, it is easy to be a member; to access services, support and advice.

more for members. BeerX is recognised around the World as the event for professional brewing businesses.

As a group of businesses, independence is our common thread, our DNA. We know people care; it matters to 40% of I’m looking hard at whether SIBA makes the grade. beer drinkers that their beer is from an independent brewer.

I’m pleased to see Wetherspoons promote our Assured British How many members recommend us to other breweries? Do Independent Craft Brewer seal as part of their October beer you? I want it to be 100%. How do members feel about their festival potentially reaching 2 million people. The retail prices are dealings with SIBA? I want every interaction to be positive and unsurprisingly low and have raised a few valuable. This is all part of our renewed eyebrows, but hopefully it will effectively focus on our member businesses. We strive build consumer recognition of the seal. to be a member-focused trade association THE SIBA MACHINE EXISTS Other retailers will follow as recognition and not SIBA-focused, but perhaps we of genuine provenance as a commercial ONLY TO BRING GENUINE have sometimes been guilty of failing in this benefit grows. respect in the recent past.

ADDED VALUE TO OUR MEMBERS’

No more. The SIBA machine exists only to BUSINESSES. bring genuine added value to our members’ businesses. We will strive to ensure that every pound which comes in to SIBA whether from member subscriptions, commercial margin or sponsorship is multiplied “ten-fold” in terms of delivering member benefit.

The framework for how we deliver this value is in place and all projects and activities will be judged on what value they bring to you through building access to market at fair prices, cutting your costs, promoting your beers, helping you add quality or reducing taxation and red tape.

We know our members face very real challenges, but also understand the vibrancy and opportunity which lives in this great industry. I don’t promise magic bullets, but I do promise commitment towards healthy solid progress to a better environment in which to do business.

Your trade association is unique. Our supplier members interact well with brewers to the mutual benefit of all, providing services to you and enhancing the SIBA networking experience for everyone. Our commercial activities help fund our member services and we are proud of the achievements over many years.

Our new commercial plan has been advised by a newly-formed Commercial Committee of brewers, setting guiding principles for the business and working to deliver the best access at the best achievable prices. These are bold aims in a challenging retailerled market, but we are building our sales capability to deliver

A recent Board exercise has demonstrated the value members can extract throughout the year, concluding that membership is very good value for money indeed. But there is still a divide, if not a gulf, between knowledge of and utilisation of these benefits, which means your financial bottom lines are losing out unnecessarily. It’s clear we need to engage more with our busy members to build awareness of what a great deal membership represents and need to make it easy for members to engage.

There have been a number of surveys in recent years to establish levels of member satisfaction and to help us understand what it is members actually want from your Society. We will keep seeking intelligence, as we can’t be complacent in our response. So I hope that by responding you will help me to help you.

I’m very pleased to be able to work to deliver the added value and improve the membership experience with our new chairman, Ian Fozard, who writes elsewhere in this issue about his vision.

In these uncertain and challenging days you need reassurance that the team is working hard for you, whatever your size, for a sustainable marketplace for the best in British beer. It follows that only the best service from us is good enough for you.

Mike

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

MIKE BENNER CEO mike.benner@siba.co.uk

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

7

SIBA CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN

THE MORE YOU PUT IN, THE MORE YOU GET OUT!

I write this column just three months into my role as SIBA national Chairman.

By the time you read it I will have visited at least half of SIBA’s regions and spoken with as many brewers as possible..

We’re hopefully coming towards a positive resolution of the SBR reform campaign which I am optimistic will culminate in some reform in this year’s budget for those faced with a huge increase in beer duty above the “cliff edge” at 5000hl. SIBA has campaigned vigorously on this issue in accordance with our published proposals but at the same time SIBA has also resolutely defended the 50% relief which all brewers below 5000hl currently receive.

I’m personally very clear that any reform above 5000hl should never be at the expense of smaller brewers who rely on the 50% relief to offset the huge diseconomies of scale they operate under.

We shall have to await the Chancellor’s determination but it is very clear that reform of the current system can be achieved at a very small relative cost to the Exchequer – a sum that has been quoted as being “less than the amount that the Government loses down the back of the sofa each day”! We must also hope that the Chancellor resists increasing the headline rate of duty which can only be damaging for both the pub and brewing industry.

During my travels one of the questions I have asked those I have met is “what should SIBA’s role be and what do you want SIBA to do that it currently isn’t doing?” I have received several good suggestions and I’ve also received one

8

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

consistent message as to what SIBA should not do. That is that SIBA should never prop up businesses that don’t have the wherewithal, ability or determination to succeed themselves. Everyone realises that it’s a tough market out there. And all brewers who I’ve met respect other breweries who brew good beer and are doing their best to eke out a living in that market. But there is no warmth towards breweries who cut corners, price their beer unsustainably or behave unethically.

The view is consistently that SIBA should be an enabling organisation, providing information, guidance and opportunities for members as well as ensuring that all members adhere to minimum standards of quality and behaviour. All too often we become aware of breweries (thankfully usually non-members) selling beer at ridiculously cheap prices “off invoice”.

It is suggested that they cannot possibly be paying their lawful duty by this practice and all they are doing is damaging law abiding breweries who do pay their dues. In addition they are damaging the market for everyone.

SIBA has good established links with HMRC and will always pass information on to them maintaining complete confidentiality at all times – please contact SIBA office in Ripon if you have any concerns.

The other observation I would like to make as I visit different regions is that it is clear that successful competitions, events and meetings will only occur if enough brewers give up their time to help these events. Each region of SIBA will no doubt recognise the difficulties in getting sufficient voluntary help for their events. Some brewers are fantastic, being generous with their time and without them most SIBA Competitions and festivals wouldn’t happen. But

many events struggle, relying on too few volunteers.

Most SIBA members value SIBA’s beer competitions and report that winning an award helps them with promoting their business. So my plea is for all SIBA members to ask themselves what they can do to assist within their region. It’s very easy to sit on the side-lines and criticise SIBA events but your views would be much more valid and more likely to be listened to if you expressed them having volunteered your time in the first place!

Finally, the brewing industry has changed much in the last few years, mostly for the better as beer drinkers will attest. However, we all recognise that it’s a tough market out there and that smaller breweries, however well run, need as much market intelligence as possible as well as insight into new legislation which will impose unwelcome burdens on them. For example, the likelihood of a plastic/ glass/aluminium Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) happening soon is high and SIBA is working hard on your behalf to ensure that the impact on small breweries is kept to a minimum.

This is one example of the sort of issue that SIBA campaigns for on your behalf. By attending regional meetings, responding to Toolbox messages and generally getting involved with your regional representatives you’ll be kept as well informed as anyone in the industry which can only help your business. It’s very simple, the more you put in, the more you get out!

Cheers!

Ian

IAN FOZARD CHAIRMAN ian.fozard@siba.co.uk

SIBA NEWS

SIBA joins the Independent Brewers of Europe (IBE) The independent craft brewing associations of nine European countries, including SIBA in the UK, have announced successful discussions towards the formation of a new body, the Independent Brewers of Europe (IBE).

The new organisation aims to work to promote and advance the mutual interests of its members with the European institutions and media. Bodies from France, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands and the Czech Republic, all of whom represent smaller, independent craft brewers, agreed their plan at a meeting in Brussels last month.

With approaching 2,000 member breweries, the nine organisations represent a growing proportion of Europe’s brewers, producing local, artisanal beers of quality and character that drinkers demand. They employ local people and encourage the responsible consumption of their beers in social settings in their communities. The IBE intends to convey its message both politically and commercially in Europe, where the small independent producer’s voice is often not heard.

The organisation aims to become a central point of contact for the European institutions and to field representatives to make their case on issues of concern, such as regulation, taxation and access to market, and invites similar bodies from other countries to join them.

Representatives from nine European craft beer associations met to discuss the new venture.

The IBE founding members are: • Independent Brewers of Ireland, Republic of Ireland • SIBA, UK • Syndicat National des Brasseurs Indépendants, (SNBI) France • Unionbirrai, Italy • Scanian Beverage Producers, Sweden • Det Fri Øl, Denmark • Craft Brewers Netherlands • Czech and Moravian Microbreweries Association, Czech Republic • La Asociacion Española de Cerveceras Artesanas Independientes (AECAI) SIBA’s Chief Executive, Mike Benner, said of the move: “We're very pleased to see progress in establishing a muchneeded voice for independent brewing

Earl Soham Brewery and Elgoods win gold in East of England Earl Soham Brewery in Suffolk and Elgoods Brewery in Cambridgeshire have taken home the two top spots at the SIBA East Independent Beer Awards, taking home overall Gold in the “cask” and “bottled & canned” beer competitions respectively.

organisations across Europe. The craft beer revolution has spread across the continent and with well over 5,000 breweries the sector is well-placed to supply the diverse range of high quality beers demanded by today's discerning drinkers. We know that beer drinkers in the UK care about the provenance of beers and it's clear that the same applies across Europe. Bonded by our independence I hope a strong and united voice will result from these early discussions. The European beer market remains dominated by global big beer, despite the swing in consumer demand to craft-brewed beer. As the UK's exit from the EU draws closer I'm pleased that we will be able to work with groups similar to SIBA to the commercial benefit of our members, sharing best practice and ideas to help develop the sector for all.”

The prestigious awards, run by SIBA, and held at Elgood’s Brewery in Wisbech, are judged by brewers and beer experts and seen very much as the brewers’ choice awards in the industry.

Earl Soham Brewery’s “Albert Ale” took home the overall Gold in the cask competition and is a traditional best bitter with delicate bitterness from the British Fuggles hops and a delicious balance of malt and hop character. Elgoods brewery’s “QE Cherry Wheat” is a very different beer altogether – a cloudy wheat beer infused with cherry juice for a sweet, fruity flavour and slight tartness – showing the diversity of these exciting awards Commenting on the competition was SIBA Competitions Committee Chair Guy Sheppard, who presented the awards, he said: “The SIBA East Independent Beer Awards judge the very best cask, bottled and canned beers from the region and the overall winners can be considered the very best of the best in terms of independent craft beers from the area. The winners will now go on to the National finals in Liverpool next year and I wish them all the best of luck, with particular praise due to our overall Champions Earl Soham and Elgoods.”

Collecting the award for Elgood’s brewery was Head Brewer Alan Pateman, who said: “This award is recognition of the hard work that has gone into developing our new-style beers which come from a completely new style of brewing. Our unique, spontaneously fermented sour beers and fruited wheat beers are a new thing for many British drinkers but our Cherry wheat is sweeter and fruity and proving really popular thanks to its approachable, full fruity flavour.”

For a full list of winners, please see pages 68-69.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

9

SIBA NEWS

Are you using the 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 emails – scroll down to the bottom of the email for the link to submit.

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

SIBA partners with Wetherspoons on Autumn beer festival This month saw SIBA Members’ ales showcased in Wetherspoons outlets across the country as the pub chain launched a 12-day real-ale and cider festival that featured beers from 30 of the brewers signed up to SIBA’s Assured Independent British Craft Brewer campaign.

The 12-day event ran in pubs across the UK and the Republic of Ireland from Wednesday 10th of October until Sunday 21st of October and for the first time, all 30 festival ales were brewed by SIBA members.

The festival line-up also included new, seasonal and speciality beers – in addition to which many of the beers were available in Wetherspoons for the first time, having been brewed exclusively

for the bi-annual event.

Among our SIBA award-winning ales were the golden Liberation IPA (4.8% ABV) from Liberation Brewery in the Channel Islands, Sirius Dog Star (4.4% ABV) a deep red ale by Wolf Brewery in Norfolk, West Dunbartonshire’s Loch Lomond Southern Summit (4.0% ABV), Suffolk-based Mauldons Blackberry Porter (4.8% ABV) and Old Man (4.3% ABV) from Long Man Brewery, in East Sussex.

Festival-exclusive beers on offer were Perthshire’s Inveralmond Fortingale (4.0% ABV), Cotleigh Styrian Wolf (4.4% ABV) from Somerset, Carmarthenshire’s Evan Evans Hop Picker (4.5% ABV), Wadworth Burnt Orange IPA (4.5% ABV) from Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire’s Castle Rock Wheel of Fortune (4.6% ABV) and XV Oatmeal Stout (4.8% ABV) from Acorn Brewery, South Yorkshire.

Customers were able to sample any three of the real ales in special third-of-a-pint glasses for the price of a festival pint.

Tasting notes were also available at pubs throughout the festival.

The Sheffield Brewery Co and Rooster’s win SIBA’s North East beer awards The Sheffield Brewery Company and Rooster’s Brewery have won the two top awards in the SIBA North East Independent Beer Awards. Their win makes it a one-two for Yorkshire brewers in a competition entered by breweries from the whole of Yorkshire, as well as Humberside, Cleveland, Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. It is also the second year running that Rooster’s have taken home the top spot in the bottle and can competition.

The awards were this year held at the “B-Fest” Beer, Blues & Folk festival at the Barbican Centre in York, and are judged by brewers and beer experts and seen very much as the ‘brewers choice’ awards in the industry.

The Sheffield Brewery Company took home the overall Gold in the cask competition with their uniquely named “Get Thi’Sen Outdooerz”, whereas Rooster’s Brewery in Knareborough was named bottle and can winner for their “Baby-Faced Assassin IPA”.

Commenting on the competition was SIBA Competitions Committee Chair Guy Sheppard, who presented the awards,

Supplier Associates:

Get involved!

said: “I would like to say congratulations to all of the winners and in particular Sheffield Brew Co and Rooster’s who took home the prestigious top spots. I’d also like to thank to all the judges from around the country, and our fantastic venue and hosts the York Barbican for our second year here. The quality of independent craft beers being brewed in the North East has never been higher and is testament to the passion and skill of brewers from this exciting beer region.”

‘Get Thi’Sen Outdooerz’ is described as being ‘refreshing and light, crisp and citrusy, perfect for lazy sessions in a beer garden or after a long bike ride out in the Peaks’.

Paddy Spencer from The Sheffield Brew Co, who accepted the award, said: “This

is a session IPA, a great fruity beer with a dry hop. Every pub we have sold it to the feedback is incredible and so positive.

We originally brewed it just once at the start of summer but have had to keep brewing it to keep up with the demand. It’s amazing to have won overall and picked up three awards altogether today. Absolutely dead chuffed and extremely happy.”

The smallpack winner, Rooster’s Baby-Faced Assassin utilizes a single American hop variety ‘citra’ and started off life as an ambitious homebrew by now head brewer Oliver Fozard, before being scaled up as a Roosters beer. Since then it has become a fan favourite in the breweries line-up and is now about to be sold nationwide, as Oliver explains: “It’s always great to be recognised in any competition. It shows all of the hard work that goes on back the Brewery. Everyone will be absolutely chuffed. It’s a team effort.

Baby faced is a single malt & hop beer that is turning into one of our flagships – in fact Baby faced in cans has just gone nationwide in Morrisons and the co-op.”

For a full list of winners, please see pages 68-67.

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?

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

11

You Brew it, we'll brand it.

Label Design Pump Clips Keg Badges Beer Mats Bar Runners

Web Design e-Commerce Logo Design Brochures Packaging

Exhibition Stands Merchandise Banners Illustrations ...and much more

LemonTop are your first point of contact for all of the above and more

Talk to us on 01325 311177 or email hello@lemontopcreative.com For inspiration, visit www.LemonTopCreative.com/our-work

SIBA's Membership Criteria Review: Your questions answered

SIBA NEWS

This Summer, SIBA completed a two year review of its Membership Criteria to ensure that the Society is representative of the diversity of British independent brewers which share common values and principles.

The SIBA Board listened to members and consulted widely in establishing the revised membership criteria, which extended SIBA Membership to include British independent breweries which account for up to 1% of the UK beer market (approx. 430,000HL as of July 2018), whilst at the same time removing ‘Associate Membership’ for Global breweries, or breweries over the aforementioned limit.

Q WHY DID SIBA REVIEW ITS MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA AND HOW LONG DID IT TAKE? A SIBA’s Membership Criteria Review started approximately 2 years ago.

This review was part of SIBA’s 2015-2018 Strategic Plan.

Q A

Q A

Q

A

members between March and June 2018, in particularly at regional meetings. This feedback was considered in the Board’s final decision at the Board meeting (13th June).

Q WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES FROM THE MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA REVIEW? IBA’s membership is open to all British A •S HOW DID SIBA CONSULT ITS independent breweries brewing up MEMBERS THROUGHOUT THE to 1% [1% of the UK beer market is MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA REVIEW? approx. 430,000HL (Source: BBPA)] SIBA has consulted widely to establish of the UK beer market which share our this revised membership criteria – this values and principles. included a Membership Review Group, • Global breweries can no longer join SIBA. feedback from SIBA’s Regional Meetings, a national Membership Ballot, direct •A ssociate Brewing membership category contact with members, social media polls, has been scrapped. members consultancy with SIBA’s elected L • evel 6 Membership – British Directors.

Independent Brewers brewing between 200,000 HL and 1% of the UK beer WHAT WERE THE KEY ISSUES THAT market will have opportunity to apply REQUIRED ATTENTION AS PART OF for a new Level 6 membership. These THE REVIEW? Level 6 applications will receive rigorous The key issues identified were as follows: special analysis, including taking into • SIBA should be inclusive of account the view of the relevant region, ‘independent’ but ‘exclusive’ of Global to make sure applicants reflect SIBA’s brewers as SIBA seeks to represent values and principles – set out in British independent breweries and serve Members’ Charter. Level 6 members those who do NOT dominate the market. will pay between £2,360-£5,000 per • Global brewers are producing so called annum. ‘craft beers’ to compete against the •A ll members receive equal status – beers produced by many of SIBA’s one member, one vote. members.

•R evised definitions of ‘independent’ WHAT HAPPENED TO THE and ‘British’ will be incorporated in MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA GUIDELINES the SIBA Members’ Handbook.

THE BOARD COMMUNICATED IN FEBRUARY 2018?

Q WHAT IS SIBA’S NEW ‘INDEPENDENT’ DEFINITION? The Board agreed new Membership A The brewer is independent…

Criteria Guidelines in February and submitted a motion to the AGM asking • I f brewing under 60k HL a year in members to ratify the inclusion of the accordance with Excise Notice 226, guidelines in the Members’ Charter.

Section 8 – Small Brewery Beer.

These guidelines had been created to • I f brewing over 60k a year and not give regions guidance when considering connected to any other brewery in membership application accordance with Corporation Tax Act However, the motion was defeated by 2010, Section 1122.

63 to 61 votes. As with all motions, For clarity, a brewery that has control/ other than Special Resolutions which influence (in accordance with Section 8 require a 75% majority, all results are not of Excise Notice 226 or the Corporation binding on the Board in accordance with Tax Act 2010, Section 1122) over SIBA’s constitution. The Board uses this another brewery / breweries may become information to guide its decision-making a SIBA full brewing member, when Total process.

Production of the connected breweries is Following the debate, it was not clear to under the volume defined below – i.e. the the Board why all 63 members (including ‘topco’ is the SIBA member.

23 proxy votes) voted against hosting the guidelines in the Members’ Charter and therefore the Board consulted further with

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Q WHAT IS SIBA’S DEFINITION OF ‘BRITISH’?

A SIBA is introducing the definition for ‘British’ as follows: The brewery is British…

• If the brewery, and its registered office, are permanently established in the UK. • A minimum of 75% of the brewery’s beer production must be brewed in the UK. For SIBA’s purposes the definition of UK includes the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. This percentage has been discussed with the SIBA regions and a few members made cases for both higher and lower percentages.

However, in principle, the 75% figure was liked and has been set to give some breweries flexibility should they require to brew certain styles of beer abroad or require assistance outside of the UK with extra capacity.

Q WILL THE SIBA REGIONS CONTROL WHICH BREWERIES CAN BECOME MEMBERS OF SIBA? A SIBA’s members via the regions, in line with SIBA’s Membership Processing protocols (Members Handbook, Appendix 6, Point 4) and special vetting analysis by the representative Board, will remain in control of which brewing businesses become members of SIBA. Q HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE SMALLER BREWING MEMBERS TO SIBA? A The Board recognises the majority of members are small businesses and SIBA continues to be committed to supporting smaller brewing members’ e.g. SIBA’s SBR work to protect the 50% discount beer duty rate for those brewing up to 5,000HL. SIBA will further develop focused membership benefits to the smallest SIBA members.

Q HOW WOULD THE SIBA BOARD SUMMARISE THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA REVIEW? A The SIBA Board has led the way to ensure SIBA is the ‘voice of British independent brewing’ businesses with a practical and inclusive way forward which ensures members remain in control.

Find out more about SIBA membership criteria by logging onto toolbox at siba.co.uk SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

13

ECasks and EKegs.

E = Easy.

You brew your beer, fill our EKegs or ECasks and deliver to approved wholesalers.

Tell us where you have sent them and we collect the containers.

Benefits include: Flexibility Fixed and transparent pricing Convenient Fill and forget To find out more call us today on 01425 485421 or visit closebreweryrentals.co.uk

Close Brothers | Modern Merchant Banking 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 in England and Wales (Company number 5826492) and its registered office is Unit 1, Kingfisher Park, Headlands Business Park, Blashford, Ringwoord, Hampshire BH24 3NX

SIBA NEWS

Bedlam and Hammerton Breweries named best in the South East Bedlam Brewery’s ‘Phoenix’ and Hammerton Brewery’s ‘CRUNCH’ have been named the top beers in the SIBA South East Independent Beer Awards.

Bedlam took home Overall Gold in the cask competition with their American hopped ‘Phoenix’ Pale Ale, whereas it was Hammerton’s ‘CRUNCH’ Peanut Butter milk stout that beat the competition to be named the Overall Gold in the Bottle & Can competition.

The awards were held prior to the opening of the SIBA South East Beer Festival at Tonbridge Rugby Club.

Joshua Drake from Hammerton Brewery said: “It feels really great to win – getting the recognition for Crunch. This beer is the result of 37 different experiments on our pilot brewing kit over the course of three months, in an effort to get it right and it’s great that all of that effort has come off. We’ve always wanted to do a specialty stout as we’ve always been a fan of this style – which is why we put so much effort into getting this right.”

For a full list of winners, please see pages 64-65.

SIBA welcomes new research linking moderate drinking to reduced chance of dementia

Commenting on the University College London and French institute for health (Inserm) research on the link between moderate drinking and reduced chances of dementia, James Calder, Head of Public Affairs at SIBA, said: “It is great to see a piece of research make headlines which backs up the 40 years of evidence on the positive effects of moderate alcohol consumption. Not only does moderate, sensible consumption of alcohol reduce the incidence of dementia compared to teetotallers, there is evidence it also has beneficial effects in guarding against type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, macular degeneration and many other conditions.

“This study backs what we know, and the temperance movement refuses to accept – that the J shaped curve between alcohol consumption and life expectancy is real.

“The social effect and positive benefits to mental health of having a beer with your friends and family in the pub also cannot be overlooked. That’s why SIBA and brewers across the country are backing the Long Live the Local campaign which aims to cut beer tax and protect that vital national institution – the UK pub.”

SIBA pledges support to “Everyone Welcome” initiative SIBA last month pledged its support for a new nationwide initiative aimed at making beer venues across the UK more welcoming and inclusive.

The 'Everyone Welcome' initiative aims to ‘provide beer venues and events with a strong statement that everyone who walks through the door is welcome regardless, of their gender, sexual orientation, race, health, religion, age or disability’.

SIBA will be sharing the advice from ‘Everyone Welcome’ with its brewing members – many of whom run their own tap rooms or beer events, and will also be adopting the initiative’s mission statement at their Independent Beer Awards across the UK.

SIBA’s Chief Executive Mike Benner welcomed the partnership, saying: “The core aim of the ‘Everyone Welcome’ initiative, to make beer venues across the UK as open and inviting as possible to the broadest spectrum of people, is one which SIBA wholeheartedly agree with and are very happy to publicly support. Beer is the most sociable drink in the world and Britain’s pubs, taprooms, breweries, and bars should be social levellers, where everybody feels comfortable and welcome.

The advice and guidance brought forward by the Everyone Welcome initiative is practical and well thought out and something which we are not only sharing with our membership but also adopting at our own events across the UK.”

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Spokesperson for the Everyone Welcome Initiative, beer writer Melissa Cole, says of the move: “We came together as a diverse group to try and ensure that people from every walk of life would understand that, in the main, the brewing industry and the pub, bar and brewery tap trade wants them to feel welcome and safe.

It’s easy to be blind to the fact that we are generally surrounded by ‘people like us’ and disappear into a bubble when we should be doing more to ensure that we are reaching out to all areas of our local communities and should be not only welcoming, but inviting and having this and the window stickers displayed will go some way to doing that.”

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

15

SIBA NEWS

Tuckers Maltings: A tribute It was with great sadness that SIBA Members learnt in June that family-run Tuckers Maltings in Newton Abbot in Devon was to close its doors after 118 years supplying malts to the brewing sector in the region. As the maltings prepared to send out its final supplies at the end of this month (October), the SIBA Journal’s Editor Caroline Nodder spoke to Maltings Director Richard Wheeler to find out more about the closure and thank him and his team for their enormous support for SIBA over the last three decades…

Tuckers Maltings was the smallest maltster in the UK and used the floor method of malting, one of only a few still to use this very traditional method now in the UK. It had been producing malt for brewers in the South West region for almost 120 years but, as with many small traditional businesses, in recent years competition from more modern, larger suppliers and issues with the high cost of traditional small-scale production and the ageing equipment used at Tuckers had eroded profit. Add to this the pressure on small brewers to look for cost savings on ingredients like malts and some had turned to cheaper, larger suppliers. This is something Tuckers’ Maltings Director Richard Wheeler, who followed his father Tommy into the business 59 years ago, said he completely understands.

“It is a tough world for everyone at the moment,” he said. “We have lots of customers who have been very stretched themselves and have had to make savings and one of the things they can do is buy from a larger supplier at cheaper

prices. The closure is just a sign of the times really. All businesses have various problems at various times but in the last few years all of our problems seem to have come at once. We really needed to upgrade our kit, our gas fired kilns – they are beautiful bits of kit but they are now 40 years old. But that would have been a £500K investment, and in the current market that is not going to give us a return on our investment.”

Richard said Tuckers was asked over the years to expand its reach, into export for example, but with the traditional, very manual, processes used at the maltings there was never the opportunity to increase volume to a level that would make this possible. As others mechanised and automated, Tuckers was one of the few that had kept to the floor method, a tradition that many of SIBA’s members who used Tuckers feel will be a real loss to the industry.

Existing customers of Tuckers have already been advised to move supply to Warminster Maltings, which although larger than Tuckers still uses the traditional floor method and in some cases sources barley from the same farmers as Tuckers did.

Richard added: “I wish all of our customers well – I am aware of how difficult their business is at the moment – and I also wish the rest of the malting industry well, especially Warminster who I think have done a super job, and invested when we couldn’t.”

For more than 25 years, Tuckers had been a fantastic supporter of SIBA and its membership, launching and hosting the South West beer festival and competition

in 1993, following which the format was taken up and used as a blueprint for SIBA regional events around the UK. “It all started with Jim Laker, from Golden Hill and then Exmoor, who was a leading light in SIBA back in the early 1990s,” said Richard. “We started the beer festival in 1993 and it went from there. The South West region have always done a super job with it, and I hope they will be able to find a new venue and make it work in the future.”

In tribute to Tuckers’ generosity in hosting the event for free, they became SIBA’s first and only Supplier Associate member given honorary membership.

Current SIBA South West Chairman and Chair of SIBA’s Competitions Guy Sheppard, said they would be sorely missed by members. He paid tribute to the contribution that have made to the region over the years: “The closure of Tuckers Maltings is a great blow to all of us.

Tuckers have been wonderful supporters of what SIBA Brewers do over the decades that SIBA has existed - it was through their generosity that the first SIBA festival and competition actually happened and all the subsequent SIBA competitions have been based on that. The closure of Tuckers eliminates one of the few remaining floor Maltings in the country, in removes any malting activity from the far South West, it makes it more difficult for brewers to use barley from their own area, it has implications for brewers whether or not they use Tuckers since it concentrates the supply on a smaller number of generally large players. Tuckers closure will remove hundreds of years of history and experience in the maltings industry and they will be sorely missed by many.”

SIBA South West: The future of The Maltings Beer Festival We are very grateful for the support that we have received following the announcement that we will no longer be able to use Tuckers Maltings for this festival after the shock announcement of the maltings' closure this Autumn.

We are now working hard to bring you the 27th Maltings Beer Festival which almost certainly will be on Osborne Park in Newton Abbot from Thursday 11th April 2019 to Saturday 13th April 2019 with the SIBA South West Independent Beer Awards 2019 taking place on the Thursday.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

17

Mount Saint Bernard Abbey

SIBA NEWS

becomes Britain’s first Trappist brewery

One of SIBA’s newest members, Mount Saint Bernard Abbey brewery, has just become the country’s first accredited Trappist brewery, joining an exclusive club of only 12 in the world. John Westlake went along to the Abbey to find out more…

Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, nestled in the lovely rolling countryside of Charnwood Forest just to the north of Coalville, was founded in 1835 by a small band of Cistercian monks sent over from Ireland and was the first monastic community to be established in Britain since the Reformation.

In those early days it is widely believed that brewing formed part of their regular activities but over the years this gave way to agriculture and in particular, dairy farming. However, in more recent times, declining milk prices lead to the brothers finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet and thus the need to seriously consider other potential sources of income, ideally involving something that would provide common work for the Abbey community.

So it was that, early one morning in 2013, the monks bade a sad farewell to their herd of some 200 cows, which were sent off to market, and then set in motion arrangements for the land to be leased to a local farming family, primarily for sheep grazing. This, of course, still left the question of what to do next.

During a period spent in Rome, Abbot Dom Erik had been impressed with the beer produced by a local Benedictine community and the brothers were also aware, of course, that similar religious orders in Belgium and Holland were successfully producing highly acclaimed beers in order to fund their activities.

The idea that Mount Saint Bernard could do the same had been kindled and the brothers set about a programme of serious

research, with visits paid to other Trappist breweries such as Westvleteren, Achel and Westmalle, while a small, 20 litre brew-kit was installed at the Abbey to facilitate recipe experimentation and development.

Father Michael, who was chosen to head up the brewing team, travelled to the Abbey of Zundert in Holland to gain some brewing experience and then returned to work alongside a Dutch masterbrewer with strong connections to the Trappist movement in order to hone his skills and to formulate, in conjunction with the Abbot, a suitable product. They had been advised not to try and replicate any of the continental brews but to come up with a quintessentially English ale, but with a Trappist twist.

The time had come to take the plunge.

Space was created at the Abbey by relocating the refectory and kitchen, together with the laundry and state-of-theart, fully computerised equipment capable of brewing 20hls at a time ordered from a highly respected German manufacturer and installed towards the end of last year.

Needless to say, this was followed by a period of kit acclimatisation and further test brewing, culminating in the first commercial beer, Tynt Meadow English Trappist Ale (7.4% abv), named after the nearby field where the Abbey was first established, being rolled out in its own specially selected, 330ml, stubby brown bottles towards the end of June 2018.

Great care has also gone into the packaging and presentation, including the production of a unique, goblet shaped glass featuring the stylised Abbey window logo and, unusually, the Abbey’s name embossed into the base.

Father Michael kindly offers to show me round the new brewhouse with its gleaming, stainless steel vessels and it is certainly one of the most impressive installations I have seen in a long time.

Typically Germanic in design, a combined mash tun and kettle sits next to an equally sized lauter tun, a whirlpool is employed to conveniently remove the spent hops and there are two conical fermenters where the green beer rests for ten days while the yeast performs its magic prior to being pumped into maturation tanks in the adjoining bottling hall for a further three weeks conditioning. All bottling, up to 4,000 a day, is done by the brothers themselves and the beer is then retained at the Abbey for a further two weeks’ bottle conditioning before dispatch.

“It’s been a steep learning curve, but I have been amazed how helpful and supportive other local brewers have been, especially Charnwood in nearby Loughborough, Pheasantry, who are based

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

just north of Tuxford and Framework from Leicester,” Father Michael tells me.

Interestingly, the very first experimental brew was conducted on 16th June, St Lutgard’s Day, a singularly appropriate patroness as her diet apparently consisted of nothing other than beer and bread, both of which are made, of course, from the same basic ingredients. Indeed, Trappist brewers believe their beers, given what they consider to be the inherent wholesomeness, should be seen as a form of ’liquid bread’ rather than just coloured, alcoholic water!

But what of the beer itself?

Fashioned from top-notch Maris Otter malt along with a dash of crystal malt for colour and seasoned with a blend of no less than four English hop varieties, including UK grown Cascades, it presents with a deep, chestnut brown hue, topped with a creamy fawn head and exhibiting a wonderfully complex, fruity aroma.

Beautifully crafted, full-bodied, luscious and gently warming on the tongue, the palate mirrors the aroma with hints of dark berry fruits, damsons and figs combined with a firm backbone of juicy malt and culminating in a long, smooth, satisfying finish accompanied by a rewarding wisp of spice. It well deserves to take its place among the pantheon of Trappist beers and I have little doubt that the Abbey will have no reason to regret their investment.

Looking to the future, Mount Saint Bernard Abbey has already been officially accepted as the latest and twelfth member of the International Trappist Association, but have yet to receive the coveted ‘Authentic Trappist Product’ designation. This can only be achieved following a detailed inspection of the business once the brewery is in full production and it is hoped this will be completed within the next few months (a space for the prized hexagonal logo has already been allocated on the bottle label). In addition, potential export markets are already being identified and the brothers hope that this is another string they can add to their brewing bow before the year end.

Had it not been for the vandalism ordered

by Henry VIII, it is quite possible that we would have had the pleasure of Trappist beers being brewed in this country for many years. However, better late than never. Belgium has six, Holland two and there is one each in Austria, Italy, the USA and now England.

It is a proud moment for the Abbey and, indeed, an event in which all discerning beer drinkers in Britain can also take great pride.

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

19

You have beer.

We have kegs & casks.

Let’s talk.

Stainless steel keg & cask rental 0800 534 5000 kegstar.com rent@kegstar.com

Clever Kegs, great beers, happy drinkers.

The View from Westminster

In every issue of the Journal James Calder updates you on some of the things that SIBA has been doing in Westminster (and beyond) on your behalf.

Budget 2018 By the time you will be reading this, the Chancellor will have delivered his Autumn Budget for 2018. As you will know, SIBA campaigns heavily in advance of every Budget on behalf of members because it’s the event which sets tax rates and spending for the year ahead. It’s a big deal and this one is bigger than normal as the last before Brexit in March 2019.

James with the Chancellor, Philip Hammond

SIBA has been campaigning strongly for a cut in beer duty, supporting the Long Live the Local campaign, action on business rates for pubs and positive reforms to SBR. At the time of writing (beginning of October) we simply don’t know if the Chancellor will back SIBA’s calls for reform and for tax cuts for Britain’s brewers, publicans and drinkers. We will have to cross our fingers and wait.

The Chancellor may not have listened, but he did hear what we had to say.

In the run up to the Budget we met with the Chancellor and his adviser at the Conservative party conference.

The Chancellor spoke at a reception to business leaders where two SIBA members provided the refreshments – naturally with beer from the

Prime Minister and the Chancellor’s constituencies. A big thanks to New Wharf Brewery and Thames Side Brewery for the beer.

Deposit Return Schemes in Scotland Something big is coming down the track which all SIBA members need to be aware of. Deposit return schemes, or DRS for short, will revolutionise the way in which consumers recycle their drinks containers. Based on models in Germany, Norway and Sweden the Scottish Government are the first to go ahead and hope to have a system in place by the end of 2019. The premise is simple.

Drinks containers will have a nominal amount (10p or so) added to their cost.

Consumers then bring the containers back, and they get their deposits back.

Sounds simple. But in reality, it is much, much more complicated than that.

Many of the details have yet to be finalised including what kinds of material will be included (plastic, glass, aluminium) or where the drop offs will be. Will there be an exemption for small producers? Beer made by English and Welsh breweries will also need to be compliant with any labelling changes the Scottish Government want to make to barcodes or SKUs. Once you scratch away at the surface, it gets more and more complicated.

Westminster and Cardiff are also keen for schemes to go ahead in England and Wales too, but will be implemented in 2020. Which means we may end up with three, totally separate recycling schemes with three different sets of requirements.

SIBA have responded to the Scottish Government consultation with a set of principles. If you want to take a look, its on the Toolbox.

South Sweden Brewers Association I was invited by the south Sweden brewers association (Skånes

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

THE VIEW FROM WESTMINSTER

Dryckesproducenter) to go and visit Malmo in September. On the trip I learned about the ridiculous levels of taxation and regulation that small brewers in Sweden have to deal with. They can only sell their beer to one, national, government monopolised retailer called Systembolaget.

They also don’t have any form of SBR so they pay full rates. They aren’t really allowed to open taprooms, sell online or have a brewery shop. They can’t really advertise online either. It really put into perspective how good we have it in the UK!

James with Uncharted

They also run a successful deposit return system, which was great to learn about in preparation for the introduction of something similar here. In return, I told them about what SIBA does and what is possible when brewers get together to raise awareness of craft beer, lobby Government and network.

My flights and accommodation were kindly paid for by the Swedes – so members need not worry I was on a brewing holiday!

I did have to sample some of the beer of course and visited four breweries, Brekeriet, Malmo brewing company, Uncharted Brewing Company and Remmarlöv Gårdsbryggeri. All were fantastic.

James Calder is Head of Public Affairs and Communications at SIBA. He covers political relations, policy and PR for SIBA members. He can be contacted at james.calder@siba.co.uk or on 07934 850250.

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

21

SIBA MEMBERS’ VIEWS

SIBA MeMBeRSHIp BENeFITS In the last issue of the Journal we introduced this new section, where we ask Brewing Members for their views on a particular topical issue or challenge.

We will be asking for your comments via a Toolbox alert each quarter and then printing a selection (as space allows) of your responses here each issue. All the comments and views – both those that make it into print and those that don’t

- will be shared with SIBA’s Executive and help inform SIBA’s future strategy decisions.

the comments so under each one you will find an update on what SIBA is doing to address each issue.

Our topic for this edition is SIBA itself, and we asked members to give us their thoughts on the benefits SIBA currently offers and what areas we should be looking to improve to add value to your membership. For this particular topic we felt it was useful for SIBA to respond to

A selection of the views we have received from members are printed in this section – please note these are views personal to the individual quoted and do not necessarily reflect the views of the breweries they work for.

Speaking as the Vice Chair and the Chair of the Midlands Region: I joined SIBA originally for the specific benefits of DDS (now Beerflex) - it represents only a small part of our business at just 2% of sales, but for us it more than covers the costs of our membership to SIBA and the costs of FSQ. I also think that we got a lot of benefit from the FSQ audit - it forced us to look carefully at our brewing practices and we've made a lot of improvements since - I don't think we're ready for SALSA, but FSQ has helped as a stepping stone to get us on the way.

VIEWPOINT

1

Thinking today about why we're members, I now believe that being part of a trade organisation that represents the brewing industry at a national level is more important. Take the challenge of the Small Brewer Duty Reform Coalition proposals for example - if they were adopted by HMRC, our brewery (<5k Hl) would be considerably worse off. In comparison, SIBA's proposal sees more benefit to brewers looking to increase production.

My other reasons for being a member?

1. Networking with other brewers Whether it is attending your regional SIBA meetings, participating in SIBA's regional beer competitions or attending BeerX, SIBA membership offers us a great opportunity to network and exchange ideas with other like-minded brewers.

2. Supplier Associate members SIBA's Supplier Associate membership of over 300 businesses offers our brewery access to a great range of products and services. Many offer discounts and free advice to SIBA members. Has anyone ever contacted the legal or brewing helplines?

3. Keeping Up to Date with Changes to Legislation Anthony Hughes, Midlands Region SIBA

SIBA supplies us with a wealth of knowledge, including important notifications of changes to legislation. Don't believe me? Check out the Toolbox - there's loads of stuff on there. Oh, and while I'm at it, let's remember the SIBA Journal - for me, there's always an article that provokes me to think differently about our brewery.

4. SIBA Classifieds Where else can you go to find brewing stuff? From fermenters and tanks to odd pallets of bottles and packets and yeast, it's a bit like eBay for the Brewing Industry!

“As Anthony quite rightly mentions SIBA’s benefit to members is about much more than commercial access to tied pubs via Beerflex – as the UK’s largest trade association for independent brewing businesses SIBA also has strong influence on Government through our lobbying and public affairs work.

Neil Walker, SIBA Membership team

22

This side of SIBA, which includes our protection and extension of Small Brewers’ Relief, has become one of the most important aspects of SIBA membership for many breweries and as such we have strengthened our resources with the appointment of James Calder as our Head of Public Affairs. The voice of independent brewing businesses must be heard in Parliament and your membership of SIBA gives you a say in how you are represented – from campaigning for a reduction in Beer Tax or against harmful alcohol legislation, to our vital work protecting SBR against a myriad of attacks. It’s important that you, and independent breweries as a whole, have a say.”

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

SIBA MEMBERS’ VIEWS

VIEWPOINT

2

I wonder whether as a trade organisation with members that use the same products to make their finished product, there has been any thought given to trade price negotiation for the members?

I suppose by approaching a supplier and offering to move more business to them there would be a circle of happiness – supplier gets extra volume – SIBA gets a commission – member gets a pre-negotiated price.

I have found it odd since joining that there seems to be no desire to get involved in member price negotiation – I believe it could bring a super benefit to the smaller members who are probably being charged a premium price.

Andrew Murray The Twisted Brewing Co

“SIBA has negotiated a number of joint-purchase schemes for things such as bar runners and beermats on behalf of members, but this is an area which we are now actively looking to extend and improve. Your joint purchasing power as a whole membership is extremely strong and we are looking at ways in which we can work with our existing Supplier Associate Members to ensure you get a better price as a member of SIBA than you would outside of the organisation, as an individual business.

As Andrew rightly mentions, our focus in this aspect is on the core of your costs, including ingredients such as malt and hops, as well as utilities, legal advice and other aspects of running a successful brewing business.

Our Operations & Membership teams are working hard on this and will have more information to come.”

Neil Walker, SIBA Membership team

VIEWPOINT

3

VIEWPOINT

Adrian Chapman Wishbone Brewery Colin Campbell Drone Valley Brewery

To be honest I have been torn as to whether or not to stop being a SIBA member, we don't get anything particularly useful from being a member and all I mostly find is things that SIBA do I don't agree with.

A proposal to 'Keep Me' as a member would be to have a minimal membership level where say we pay up to half of what we currently pay each year, and this gives us a say on SIBA matters regarding the UK Beer Industry (including any taxation/Duty reform proposals) and Votes at the AGM etc, though we don't get any of the so-called member benefits (that we have never used), No DDS/ Beerflex, No FSQ. I feel like a 'Basic brewing member' package would appeal to more brewers and give SIBA a wider relevance if SIBA feel the need to keep pushing that they are "the voice of British Brewing", The Basic Brewer would be able to have their say on issues that effect ALL UK brewers.

4

We joined in May this year in the hope of expanding sales of our products.

However, you can’t join Beerflex until you have attended a member’s meeting and in our case that’s Sept 27th (next week – at time of writing).

So I think this needs to be reviewed.

Four and a half months from paying membership and no real benefits?

“This is a really interesting idea and something we are happy to look into. As members will know our pricing structure is based on production size, meaning the smallest brewers pay just £122 a year, or roughly £10 a month. This gives members access to SIBA Independent Beer Awards, which unlike other competitions can be entered for free, as well as a range of tools which help you to run a better business. Member benefits such as the free legal helpline offered by Supplier Associate Member Napthens Solicitors are just one of many benefits which if used would save you more money than the annual subscription costs.

“The rule that breweries cannot become full members until they have attended their first regional meeting was to encourage new members to engage with their local peers and to ensure existing members were fully aware of who was joining the organisation and had no serious reasons why a membership should not be accepted.

That said it is clear that we as a trade association need to be better at highlighting the benefits which matter most to members, ensuring they work properly and are easily available. Our development of the Members Toolbox has been a step on the road to making it easier for members to get the most out of your membership – but we value all feedback and are looking to improve things further.

However, this policy was introduced some time ago now and following feedback from members (including this valuable feedback from Drone Valley Brewery) we are going to revisit the issue and look at the best course of action for all members, new and existing, moving forwards.”

As mentioned before we also have a strong voice in Government as a whole and want to represent a broad and diverse range of breweries in order to have maximum impact on policy makers – clearly we are stronger together.”

Neil Walker, SIBA Membership team

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Neil Walker, SIBA Membership team

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

23

CASK REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

THE

Cask Report 2018/2019

CASK RECONSIDERED

HIGHLIGHTS & KEY FINDINGS This year’s Cask Report found that despite falling sales, the British public still has a passion for cask ale and its tradition and hand crafted nature. But cask is failing to attract new drinkers and falling behind craft keg, bottles and cans when it comes to pulling in younger customers. The Report looks at where cask has gone wrong and how the UK’s pub operators and brewers can address these issues and get cask back on track. Here we bring you some of the highlights from this year’s report…

CASK IN 2018 People love the idea of real ale, believing the traditional hand pumps to be a vital part of a good pub. New research highlights strong affection for this crafted beer, special to its British homeland. The Cask Report 2018 lays out the reasons for declining sales (6.8% in the past year alone); explains why it matters; and points to ways of reversing the decline.

“The Report is aimed at the pub and beer industries,” says editor Matt Eley, “but the findings impact on the wider public. 17 pubs a week are closing, ripping the hearts out of communities - but thriving sales of cask ale can help keep pubs open.”

There are now 2,500 breweries in Britain. Between them, they produce over 10,000 different cask beers a year. Astonishing then that two thirds (66%) of 18 to 24 year olds have never tried a single one of them.

Eley adds: “There’s a job to be done to engage these younger drinkers, as well as older ones, in this fantastic drink – and to reduce the risk to pubs in the process. You can’t buy real ale from a shop. The only places you can get it are pubs and bars. That’s why it’s so important.”

24

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

Findings on temperature may hold some of the answer. Real ale should be served at a cool, not chilled, 110 to 130C. But the research showed just over two thirds of pubs (69%) to be selling pints at above 130C in the summer.

The Report also found that just under two thirds (64%) of cask drinkers would prefer their beer served even colder than the recommended 11%. Cask Marque will be launching a ‘Making Cask Cool’ campaign to get licensees and barstaff to become beertemperature aware.

The Cask Report also shows that 85% of licensees say stocking cask is extra work, but they take pride in getting it right. “That passion needs to translate into the positive action – in terms of beer temperature, staff training and customer service,” says Paul Nunny from Cask Marque.

“Barstaff should taste the beers for themselves. Licensees should then be encouraging them to offer samples of different real ales for customers to try. They should target those younger customers whose default socialising might otherwise be at home; who are unlikely to have tried cask beer; who may not have a very positive view of it, but who may find themselves unexpected converts.”

CASK REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

ON-TRADE CASK AND TOTAL ON-TRADE BEER CHANGE SALES (MAT)

THE REPORT’S KEY FINDINGS:

5 4 Sales of cask ale are declining faster than overall on-trade 3 beer sales.

2

5 4 3 2

oyal cask drinkers tend to be at the upper end of age L demographics.

Cask is still hugely valuable to the on-trade. One in seven

In the minds of many consumers there is an overlap between

1 pints of beer sold is cask and at £1.6bn it is double the size of 1 cask and ‘craft’ beer but craft potentially repositions cask as gin in the on-trade (£0.77bn). old fashioned and out of touch.

0 0 There is a gap between the customer’s perception of quality -1 -1 Pubs are struggling to maintain recommended cask serving temperatures. There is also an appetite for cask served at and that of the licensee. Many customers do not return pints -2 -2 lower temperatures. they are unhappy with.

-3 Golden ale sales are in growth.

Half of committed cask drinkers believe it is the same price as -3 -4 The top 10 cask brands are generally outperforming the mainstream lager, indicating cask could be undervalued on the -4 bar.

-5 -5 market.

M

any pubs have too many handpumps for the amount of cask More

people ARE including cask in their repertoires – but they -6 -6 they can sell.

-7 drink it less frequently.

-7 Many people avoid cask due to perceptions about flavour hose aged under 30 are least likely to have tried cask.

-8 TJan -8 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct be Nov Dec Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May orMaybelieving it to anJanold-fashioned drink.

14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18

% Change VS LY

Total Cask

Prem Cask Ale

Std Cask Ale

Total on-trade Beer

CONSIDER THIS

THE CASK MARKET

Have you the correct range for the customers you wish to attract?

Does your cask offer appeal to new entrants to the category?

Growth of craft

Do you have a recognised cask brand on the bar?

KEY INSIGHTS: Overall the cask market is down 6.8% in volume.

Golden beer is growing across the board in cask and keg formats.

Cask is still held in high regard by licensees.

THE CASK REPORT CHECKinclude cask in their repertoires.

The 2018/2019: majority ofREALITY beer drinkers Leading cask brands are outperforming the market.

Company tie/policy

7 3 73 3

50

The over 50s are the most likely to have tried cask and the under 30s the least likely. This means the onus is now firmly on the trade to attract new people to the category. By Matt Eley

40

Growing consumer Interest Point of difference vs local competition Publican/company Improving offer Growth/interest in local breweries Innovation, variety, better offering Broader quality implication Personal dedication/ passion Point of difference vs off-trade

30

And let’s not forget the consumer here. Most beer drinkers (68%) count cask as part of their repertoire. As you will see later in this report, our research indicates that more people than ever may be drinking cask, but just not as often as they used to.

20

0

10

LICENSEES SAY WHY CASK IS BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT

Nearly half (49%) say this is because of growing consumer interest (see chart, right).

49

21 21 18 16 15

Source: Survey Monkey licensee survey for Cask Report August 2018.

7

56921 Cask Report AUG 2018 210 x 210 V3.indd 7

13/09/2018 1

ON-TRADE CASK AND TOTAL ON-TRADE BEER CHANGE SALES (MAT)

5 4 3 2

5 4 3 2

1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8

1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18

% Change VS LY

Total Cask

Prem Cask Ale

Total on-trade Beer

50

40

30

Growing consumer Interest

20

And let’s not forget the consumer here. Most beer drinkers (68%) count cask as part of their repertoire. As you will see later in this

LICENSEES SAY WHY CASK IS BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT SIBA JOURNAL 10

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

0

Nearly half (49%) say this is because of growing consumer interest (see chart, right).

Std Cask Ale

AUTUMN 2018

49

25

What did you see? Man? White? Over 50?

The evidence tends to point in that direction too. This has some advantages.CASK CaskREPORT drinkersHIGHLIGHTS are happy to spend money at the pub and can be the people who influence where the group goes out.

However, the downside is that if cask does not start to recruit new drinkers soon it will be heading to the grave along with its predominant fan base.

What’s more, cask drinkers, like most pub goers these days, are repertoire drinkers who are not solely committed to ordering from the handpumps.

So not only does cask have to bring new people in, it needs to do more to encourage the mainstay to keep loyal.

It’s a beer style I’ve never tried

It’s a beer style I generally choose

24%

24%

44%

8%

I drink it occasionally but not often

THE CASK DRINKER

I used to drink it but not anymore

KEY INSIGHTS Loyal cask drinkers tend to be in the older age brackets.

Men are more likely to drink cask but more than half of women are open to drinking it.

Younger pub-goers are the least likely to have tried cask.

Source: OnePulse consumer survey, Cask Report 2018.

Those who are most likely to order cask are among the least frequent pub visitors.

ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Cask features in the repertoire of 70% of beer drinkers, but its popularity varies across the country.

PERCEPTIONS OF CASK

The regions where people are least likely to have tried cask are the North WestKEY (29%INSIGHTS have never tried it), Scotland (28%) and the North East (28%). The more loyal cask drinkers – those who generally choose Few people really know the difference in how cask ale is to drink it – will be found in Yorkshire (28%), England and made compared to other beers.East What they do (28%) know has the South West (27%). largely been grappled from bits and pieces picked up from

hearsay.consistent They don’t feel caskthe alecountry is relevant to them or One thing that remains across is that in every aligns with their tastes or lifestyle. region more people picked the option ‘it’s a beer I drink occasionally but not often’ than any Thepicked majority of other. non-cask ale drinkers think cask ale is flat

and warm.

TheyReport believe beer Source: OnePulse consumer survey Cask 2018.

ask

oubled

for

Or

needs to be served at a very cold temperature to be flavoursome and refreshing.

Cask ale is perceived to be a drink enjoyed mainly by old men. As such, it lacks aspirational intrigue and appears to be a THE little CASK stuck in the past.

Invariably,THE this CASK meansDRINKER it is not REPORT 2018/2019: coveted in CASK terms ofHAVE its image.

Or rather, it doesn’t make CRAFT AND A SIGNIFICANT people look good if they order it. That needs to change.

OVERLAP IN TERMS OF PERCEPTION WHAT DO 'CRAFT BEER' AND 'REAL ALE' MEAN TO YOU?

d

13/09/2018 12:44

racter?

‘craft beer’. appened to ng hype. l lot of ch thing niversally

s, because it. Those

sa : according ay they are . Almost st fine

CRAFT Experimental TRENDY EXPENSIVE HIPSTER FUNKY/COOL

REAL Quality over quantity HANDMADE DIVERSE

CAN

DIFFERENT

KEG

local

AMERICAN

TRaditional HERitage natural Homely art of brewing cask british

COMMON GROUND Source: Big Beer Ballot 2018, Colour and Thing for Box Stream Brewery.

seem to d that most emained

26

rather than are clearly

In the past, the Cask Report has argued that cask and craft are interlinked, and this has divided opinion. But if consumers are telling us that cask and craft are two aspects of the same thing, it doesn’t SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018 matter what the industry thinks: consumer opinion is the only one that matters. In qualitative research for the Cask Report, consumers would

CRAFT AND CASK KEY INSIGHTS Cask ale and craft beer overlap in drinkers’ minds.

Craft beer potentially repositions cask as oldfashioned and out-of-touch.

But cask is the godfather of craft beer – which is why is it still revered by craft beer fans and brewers in the US and all over the world.

Temperature Is it time to consider cooling cask to

CASK REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

see if it can turn up the temperature on sales?

Our own research along with another study by Molson Coors indicates that there is indeed an appetite for cask served at a cooler temperature.

TEMPERATURE

All this comes against a backdrop of pubs struggling to maintain recommended serving temperatures, particularly in the summer months.

‘Cooler’ cask would not only create a point of difference at the bar but could be a way of recruiting new drinkers to cask who will be more familiar and comfortable with the colder servings of craft beers and lager.

KEY INSIGHTS

Two-thirds of cask drinkers told us they would prefer cask to be served at caskthan ale served far warmer than even a coolerMost temperature theis recommended 11-13°C.

devoted cask drinkers would like. temperatures.

And thisPubs is not just occasional cask drinkers.

More than halfat (56%) who are struggling to serve beer recommended say cask is their favourite beer style say they would prefer it served cooler than 11°C, while only 29% say they prefer it at the recommended serving temperature of 11-13°C. CASK IS SERVED FAR WARMER THAN THE VAST 34.45 MAJORITY OF DRINKERS WOULD LIKE

Temperature cask was served Temperature drinkers would like

% 26 19 8

5 Below 11

11-13

13+

WHAT WOULD YOU PREFER THE TEMPERATURE OF CASK ALE TO BE?

37 The preference for a cooler temperature is consistent among all age groups up to those aged 55+. Similarly, those who drink cask regularly are more likely to be happy with cellar temperatures as they currently should be. This points to a scenario where the baby should not be 29 thrown out with the bath water.

Alternative serves should be considered rather than simply dropping the temperature from current recommended guidelines as this runs the risk of alienating core customers.

%

KEY INSIGHTS 56921 Cask Report AUG 2018 210 x 210 V3.indd 22 Findings from research by OnePulse for the Cask Report suggest an opportunity for some price elasticity for cask as it reveals that as many as 14% of people think cask is priced too cheaply whereas a mere 7% believe it is too expensive.

The people who state they are very or fairly likely to pay more for a pint of cask ale cut across all demographics with 68% in the ABC1s and 66% among the C2DEs. A quarter of people think cask is more expensive than mainstream lager.

2

All three reasons again highlight the importance 3 of looking after cask, training staff to deliver it properly and giving customers what they demand.

Same as lager

Cold; but not as cold as lager

Cool; but not cold

Cooler than room temp.

Room temp.

Don’t know

PRICING

During the month the Cask Report research took place, cask volumes fell by 10% versus the previous year.

Meanwhile, Cask Marque monitoring during July 2018 showed that almost 7 in 10 pints of cask were served warmer than the recommended temperature of 11-13°C. Only 26% were served at the recommended temperature and 5% were served below 5°C. Worryingly, 2% were served above 20°C. Hot weather clearly makes it tougher to maintain cellar temperatures.

Further Cask Marque analysis shows that in June, 25% of cask dispensed was at 14°C +. In January the figure was 17%.

THE CASK REPORT 2018/2019: TEMPERATURE

20

18 14

10

%

5

6

14 This lack of knowledge of pricing would be understandable among infrequent drinkers of cask but the research also found that many of cask’s core drinkers are also unable to identify where it and mainstream lager sit on the relative pricing scale.

7

The figures show that only 40% of these people correctly believe it is cheaper than lager. Whereas a hefty 52% of these committed cask drinkers wrongly believe their preferred tipple is the same price or more expensive than lager.

0 It’s cheaper than mainstream lager; and it should be.

It’s about the same price as mainstream lager which is fair

It’s cheaper; but it deserves to be a bit more expensive

It’s about the same price as mainstream lager which is wrong

It’s more expensive; and it should be

It depends where you go

It’s more expensive than mainstream lager; and it should be cheaper

Source: OnePulse Cask Report Survey 2018.

And c

By Pe

It was the third most stated reason, behind cask being poorly kept (31%) and cask being poorly served (29%).

56921 Cask Report AUG 2018 210 x 210 V3.indd 23

17

Some taken

Further to that, 12% of people said that one of the reasons they are put 10pint of beer. off the category is being served a warm

Not only does the evidence suggest that customers would like cooler cask but that there are also too many examples of it being served above recommended temperatures.

On a typical bar in a pub near you, how do you think the price of a pint of cask ale compares with a mainstream lager?

24

15

These maint

The Molson Coors study reinforces that there is an appetite for cask served18 at lower temperatures. Reasons given were that it would be more refreshing, preferable in the summer and could appeal to a younger audience.

TOO HOT TO HANDLE THE CASK REPORT 2018/2019: TEMPERATURE

22

25

Source: OnePulse for the Cask Report/Cask Marque, July/August 2018.

69

64

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

“It’s my favourite style of beer. I love it.”

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Among core cask drinkers and some occasional cask imbibers who know it is cheaper than lager, more than half (55%) reckon cask should be pitched at a higher price than its current level in the marketplace.

The Cask Report 2018 was written and produced by Pete Brown and Matt Eley, with contributions from Jessica Mason, Glynn Davis and Andrew Harrison.

CONSIDER THIS To download the full report go to www.cask-marque.co.uk/cask-reports.

If most people believe cask is or should be the same price as mainstream lager then can you raise prices accordingly?

Think about the demographics of your own customer base and their potential willingness to pay more for a pint.

Premiumisation has worked in other categories but has SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK cask truly capitalised on this trend?

Price is closely linked to customer service and quality of

27

13/09/2018

QUALITY ASSURED PERFORMANCE GUARANTEED

KETTLE FININGS Compac CG,

FOAM STABILISERS Drifoam,

Breakbright tablets

Foamaid, Allfoam

Fermaid K, Servomyces

YEAST NUTRIENTS Yeastlife,

PVPP/SILICA GELS Alphaclar (PVPP), Britesorb (Silica hydrogel)

BEER FININGS Vicfine, Liquid

BETA-GLUCANASE

ANTIFOAMS Foamsol

ANTI-OXIDANTS Vicant

Isinglass, Alphafloc Paste

Glucanase Plus

Plus discover the newest fining agent in the AB Vickers range, Protofine™, a pectin-based product suitable for vegan diets which maximises your brewing capacity.

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

Tel: +44 1283 563268 | www.abvickers.com

MEET THE BREWER

Sara Barton was there right at the start of the craft brewing wave which has, over the last two decades, transformed the production and consumption of beers in the UK market. Cutting her teeth alongside some still well-known industry faces in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s at then national giant Courage, Sara’s impeccable technical skills, combined with a strategic MBA in Business, meant she was able to launch her small brewery Brewster’s in 1997 as almost a one woman operation. She was brewing, selling, marketing and running all the distribution in those early days, backed by her husband who was still working in accountancy.

So to have built Brewster’s into the business it is today, and stayed true to her technical quality focused roots, despite the intervening ups and downs of a volatile and increasingly competitive market takes serious skill. And that prowess has been recognised several times in Sara’s career, notably when she was named as the Guild of Beer Writers’ Brewer of the Year in 2012, and most recently when she took to the stage in Westminster in July this year as the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group’s Brewer of the Year for 2018. The SIBA Journal’s Editor Caroline Nodder spoke to Sara to find out more about her career and what inspired her to launch Brewster’s…

BREWER'S CV:

Sara Barton, Brewster’s Brewery

1987 - 1988 - Master s in Brewing, Heriot Watt University, Edin burgh, Scotland.

1988 - 1991 – Produc tion management training with Courag e at their Bristol, Tadcaster and Readin g brewery sites.

1991 - 1992 – MBA in Business, Bradford.

1992 – 1995 – Variou s roles within the pharmaceutical and su gar industries, Liverpool and Manche ster.

1997 – present – Owne r, Founder and Head Brewer, Brewster’s Br ewery, Grantham, Lincolnshire

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

29

MEET THE BREWER

Sara Barton is fresh from a frantic morning in her brewery yard, organising her team to prepare a pallet for delivery to Italy, when we catch up one sunny morning in mid-September. She has managed to find time to grab a restorative cuppa, and seems enthused rather than exhausted by her busy start to the day, her love of the practical and unpredictable nature of the brewing sector evident in her voice as we start chatting through her personal journey into beer.

“It goes back an awful long way, especially when you see all these new brewers who have just started!” she begins, laughing.

“It was back in 1987 when I went to Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh to do my Masters in brewing, having done a Biochemistry degree before that. I did that for a year before I was then recruited by Courage, as they were at the time, and that was in the days when Fosters owned it. So I got onto their production management training programme. There were about a dozen of us and various others are still in the industry now as well which is nice – Simon Bartlett now runs Bristol Brewery and various others are still around today too which is good.”

Initially working as a production shift manager at the huge Reading site – now sadly a Tesco distribution warehouse Sara tells me – she already had an inkling that she wanted to start her own much smaller operation at some stage.

“I was production manager at Reading and my boss at that time was Paddy Johnson, now from Windsor & Eton Brewery. I was

there until the early 1990s and by then I knew I wanted to start my own brewery but I took a very technical approach and thought I would go and do some business training,” she explains.

Off to Bradford Sara went to do an MBA in business studies to supplement her already significant technical knowledge of the brewing and production process, but as with most careers, she ended up almost by accident moving across into another industry.

“I got side tracked and was recruited into the drugs industry,” says Sara. “The brewery I had in mind wasn’t really possible financially at that time and I’d finished my degree so I just needed a job really. I went into the drugs industry and I worked for a drugs company in Liverpool and then went to work for a sugar company in Manchester. I was making sugars for the brewing industry there, so there was still a bit of interest on the production side, but I then got made redundant and that was my opportunity to think outside the box about what I could do.”

The timing was right to explore her options in terms of starting up on her own, and with her husband’s support she began looking into launching a brewery into the then embryonic Irish market.

“Originally we looked at doing it in Ireland, which is where my husband’s family are from,” she explains. “But we did a lot of research and it was before anybody had really done it so there were no real microbreweries over there. We walked down

Temple Bar and saw Porterhouse which was just starting out. But we backed out, because it just wasn’t right for us. We retrenched back to home and came back to where I’d been born and brought up, in Leicestershire, and looked at starting a brewery there.”

Brewster’s first site was right behind Sara’s parents house and true to form Sara rolled up her sleeves and with her husband’s help at weekends, built the first brewery herself.

“The practicality of actually making something first drew me in to brewing – there are not many people these days that can say they actually make a product from scratch. For me, taking the raw materials and making a product you can then go to the pub and see people enjoying – well what could be better than that?

"We very much started from scratch, so it was me as owner, brewer and everything else and then my husband subsidising it as he was still working in accountancy,” says Sara. “We sourced the brewery equipment and in those days there weren’t all these places that made breweries so you had to buy it in from someone else – we got ours from a brewer down in Wiltshire – and started up from there. We just wanted to brew beers that we enjoyed and we hoped other people would enjoy those.”

Local drinkers evidently agreed, and Sara soon forged links with local pubs, and sent out her first ever delivery in 1998 to the nearby Castle Rock pub group. Typically hands on, Sara delivered those barrels

Continued on page 33 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

31

GET READY TO

KICK-START Y

O

U

R

BREWING

CAREER The World Brewing Academy is a strategic alliance between Doemens Academy (Munich, Germany) and the Siebel Institute of Technology (Chicago, USA.) in order to provide students with a truly international brewing education.

STUDY AT TWO OF THE WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MOST PRESTIGIOUS BREWING SCHOOLS COMPREHENSIVE THEORY & PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

www.worldbrewingacademy.com

FAST-TRACK LEARNING PROGRAMS EXTENSIVE E-LEARNING PROGRAM LEARN FROM INDUSTRY LEADERS

MEET THE BREWER

WE VERY MUCH STARTED FROM SCRATCH, SO IT WAS ME AS OWNER, BREWER AND EVERYTHING ELSE AND THEN MY HUSBAND SUBSIDISING IT.

herself in her car with a trailer attached!

“We were doing only cask, Brewster’s Bitter, a brown beer, because people liked brown beers in those days. It was a 4.2% well balanced beer and it sold very well. From the one brand we then rapidly developed others and our second brew was Hophead which is now our best seller by miles.”

With sales going so well, the brewery doubled its capacity from five to 10 barrels over the next few years and eventually, nine years later, moved to a larger site in Grantham with better transport links. But Sara’s scientific mind and attention to detail have remained constant.

“Our focus has always been on quality and consistency and taking a very scientific approach to it,” she explains. “There is a lot of art to it of course, but for us it is always very much worked out, with all the extracts, the ABVs and the bitternesses, all mapped out and analysed consistently so that where some breweries might make a different beer every time, we make beer consistently and we make it well.”

Now brewing at around the 3,000hl mark annually, Sara has a team of four full time and three part time staff at the brewery and has taken a more managerial role since employing another technical brewer – Alice – to oversee the day-to-day running of the brewing process and recipe development.

“We have got a brilliant team now,” she adds. “Alice, who is also a technical brewer, has done a Masters in brewing so she is looking after the brewery and I am giving her more responsibility with recipe development. And then we have a new chap Tom doing the brewer’s diary, and he has come from a food a cheffing background so he has an eye for quality and we’re trying to develop him on the

brewing side. It is about taking people through some proper focused training so they know how everything works and how it should work.”

In an industry almost unrecognisable from the one she first joined, Sara has experienced the ebbs and flows of the recent boom, and sees a challenge ahead for herself and other small breweries as pub-going habits change and economic pressures on people’s spending are becoming more of an issue.

“We are finding there seems to be a bit of an economic downturn and people are not doing the discretionary spend they were, shall we say, on beer. There is all the pressure from the temperance movement as well which drives me crazy! They take figures from just after the war and say ‘look at how much more we are drinking now’ which makes good headlines I suppose but just is so misleading. Then there are the changes in people’s lifestyles.

Young people aren’t drinking that much and a lot of people are drinking at home, not so many people are going out to pubs and if they do go out to pubs they want something other than just having a drink with friends, they want entertainment ping-pong, Scrabble, - they can’t just go there and have a drink.”

Having remained below the SBR cut-off at 5,000hl, Brewster’s is not currently planning expansion that would take it over the threshold, but Sara is also concerned that the debate over a potential review of SBR is taking away from the wider issue of how high the UK duty rate is on beer overall.

“We are still below the threshold, but if we got above that then that would be a great thing to move onward and upward,” she says. “But obviously beer duty is higher in the UK than in many other countries so we really wouldn’t want it to go back onto

an escalator or RPI or whatever they’re looking to link it to. It needs to be frozen or brought down because we are trying to compete against so many other factors.

Instead of reexamining how it’s spread between all the brewers it should be about looking at how it can be brought down for everyone. With the family brewers, some of them seem to want to kill off the microbreweries which I don’t think is right, I think we all need to fight together for all of us.”

I ask how Sara handles the competition in the market today with so many other small brewers out there, and she is typically circumspect, no doubt partly due to the longevity she enjoys with Brewster’s as one of the longest established names in the sector. The core ethos behind her beers has not changed since the late ‘90s, and while beer trends have come and gone, Sara keeps on top of what is happening and may take inspiration from some of the new flavours out there, but has stuck to her guns when it comes to making the kind of balanced beers you can drink time and again.

“There are so many breweries out there, that what we try and do is just brew consistent beers that people will enjoy. We do look at the trends, and sometimes we take them on board, but our core beers are daily drinkable beers. We like to know that if someone has had a pint of our beer last year it is the same as it is this year. We do tweak things to improve them but we don’t want it to be radically different to what people have had before, because it is a brand you’ve got,” she says.

That is not to say Brewster’s has not embraced the breadth of the new market, and the brewery now produces keg beer, lager, bottles and cans as well as the cask she remains passionate about. She has also dabbled in collaborations through

Continued on page 35 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

33

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

MEET THE BREWER

INSTEAD OF GETTING EACH OTHER OFF THE BAR IT IS ABOUT LOOKING AT THE BIG GUYS AND SEEING HOW YOU CAN GET IN THERE. I DO FEAR, THOUGH, THAT THEY ARE LOOKING BACK AT US AND THINKING HOW THEY CAN CONTROL THE CELLARS AND NOT LET US IN.

the Project Venus initiative and also some partnerships with local food producers.

“It is about trying to pick out the difference between the fads, and something that is really core and will continue,” she explains. “Years ago it was all about wheat beers, then IPAs, and single hops and things move around, but it is about picking out the best bits. We do two monthly specials we use to experiment with different hop varieties and malts, and we’ve got a raspberry beer on at the moment, so we do try to experiment through our seasonal beers. We did a collaboration brew with Stu (McKinlay) from Yeastie Boys using earl grey tea, and we have now developed from that Bergamot Beaut which we do in can and keg. And we have also done more unusual collaborations with local food producers, so we did a collaboration with a local gingerbread maker to do a ginger brew – it is about thinking outside the box really and working with people both inside and outside the industry. We are doing things now that are a long long way from the brown beer we started with!”

Looking ahead to 2019, Sara will also be exploring export as one of the potential areas for expansion for Brewster’s, having already gone into Italy and had a trial run at the tricky Russian market.

“Italy is the key one for us, and we had a dabble in Russia,” says Sara. “We were approached by somebody and did one with them but have not gone back since because everything is so difficult with Russia at the moment. It was an interesting learning exercise as to what things might be like post-Brexit, because the contract we had from them in both English and Russian went backwards and forwards. They were paying up front and wanted all sorts of guarantees about money laundering etc and although they were obviously all above board they had to have all these things in place because of their laws, so trying to work our way through that and trying to get someone on board who could export beyond the EU was really hard. I think for 2019 that is something to look at more.”

The brewery has now branched out into lager as well, a growing segment of the market, with its Helles Lager brand, which, at a lower than normal 4%, Sara describes as ‘a very nice drinking lager’ and sees as a way of competing on the bar with the big mass produced lagers like Amstel.

canvass! We’ve now put it into cans and are getting really positive feedback about the style and the quality.”

“Instead of getting each other off the bar it is about looking at the big guys and seeing how you can get in there. I do fear, though, that they are looking back at us and thinking how they can control the cellars and not let us in. I think we’ll see a lot more of that, and some of them even have sealed systems now so you have to go in and put in your own full kit so that could be an issue and could add a whole level of complexity to the market,” she adds, although she is pleased to see how the current fashion for craft keg has enabled small brewers to get into areas of the retail market previously outside their domain.

“It sounds terrible saying your own beer and your own pub,” she laughs. “But a lot of it is about drinking with friends and people you know and ours is a great little pub and there is a great vibe in there. I think keeping going to your local pub is a key thing. It is the hub of any community and if that was to go it is a tragedy really.”

“There are lots of interesting things happening out there at the moment.

Particularly the development in craft keg and can. We have started producing unfiltered beers, and these things are amazing to me coming from a big brewery background. Who would have known back in the day that cask would be clear and keg would be hazy? And these things are also opening up new markets – café bars and micro-pubs - which is really fascinating. It’s interesting to see the places you can sell beer now.”

Brewster’s does have its own direct route to market in the Marquis of Granby, in Granby itself which is about 10 minutes from the Grantham brewery site. The CAMRA award-winning site was a micropub before micro-pubs were invented, with no food, just craft beer and snacks, and a huge local following.

“It is a very good test market,” says Sara.

“We tested out our Helles Lager there which we crucified ourselves over the years trying to get right. The thing about a lager – as Roger Ryman at St Austell will tell you - is that there really is nowhere to hide. It is like painting the perfect white

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

It is also where Sara would choose to sip her ‘Desert Island’ beer – a pint of Brewster’s Hophead with friends at the Marquis.

Elsewhere in the wider sector, I ask Sara who she sees as leading the field, and not surprisingly she name checks Thornbridge, a brewery she sees as having championed quality and consistency in the same way that she has.

“Thornbridge are producing particularly good beers, and consistent beers, and they are always trying something new and adventurous but they have their core brands as well. It is also amazing what Beavertown have done – it’s very controversial obviously – but I think anybody in their shoes would have done the same. And I have to mention some of my friends from Project Venus as well – Jaega from Wild Card and Sophie from Burnt Mill – it is great to see their successes.”

Talking of success I have to finish our chat by asking about her own recent award from the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group this summer, when she was names as their Brewer of the Year.

Typically modest, she laughs. “I was very naïve, I thought I was just coming down for a nice dinner! I was very humbled.

It was great to be acknowledged after being in an industry for 20 years - you sometimes feel like you’re banging your head against a wall and people don’t notice you, but it is nice to know that somebody does. I was really touched by that, it was fantastic.”

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

35

Keeping up the momentum

Well-known beer blogger and CAMRA regional Chair Peter Alexander looks at the future for the CAMRA Revitalisation project…

Back in 2011, with my colleague Graham Donning, now a Regional Director of CAMRA, I was jointly responsible for proposing that CAMRA review its activities with a view to sharpening up its act.

The Fit for Purpose Review, chaired by MP John Grogan, resulted in a number of proposals, including identifying four Key Campaigns as a focus. The Review achieved much in making campaigning more coherent and relevant, both internally and externally. Nonetheless, at the time, there was a sense that we had, in some ways, missed the point. We had addressed – as was our remit – the “how” of campaigning, but not the “why” and the “what”. This was an itch that would need to be scratched as the beer world around us moved on and developed in ways that could only be guessed at when the concept of “Fit for Purpose” was agreed by members.

Fast forward six years and these shortcomings were addressed by the Revitalisation Project. The aims were more fundamental. Driven forward by founder member Michael Hardman, alongside Chief Executive Tim Page, who had replaced Mike Benner, this project aimed to reshape the future in the light of the fast changing beery environment.

Michael cited the growth of craft, pubco dominance, the huge increase in brewery numbers and much more.

The world had changed and CAMRA needed to change too.

Last year, following a massive consultation exercise, members debated and passed five out of six motions on the subject, thus agreeing the main principles of a new way forward. Real ale would remain at the centre of the Campaign, but CAMRA would officially recognise that other ways of presenting beer have merit. The focus

GUEST COLUMNIST

would be on protecting pubs, promoting the social aspects of beer and educating drinkers about all types of beer. Beer festivals would be allowed to stock beers in any format. One aspect was rejected by a small majority. CAMRA would not claim to be voice of all pub-goers and beer and cider drinkers. Most active CAMRA members however recognised that this aspect was more or less covered by the other five motions that were agreed.

In effect, I would argue, all of the main proposals of Revitalisation have been accepted.

REAL ALE WOULD REMAIN AT THE CENTRE OF THE CAMPAIGN, BUT CAMRA WOULD OFFICIALLY RECOGNISE THAT OTHER WAYS OF PRESENTING BEER HAVE MERIT. THE FOCUS WOULD BE ON PROTECTING PUBS, PROMOTING THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF BEER AND EDUCATING DRINKERS ABOUT ALL TYPES BEER.

Job done? The jury is still out on this one. There is a demographic time bomb that Revitalisation is meant to address, as older members fade and move aside.

Nonetheless most members seem relaxed and, by and large, still aboard while waiting to see what the future will bring.

Membership continues to grow and those who predicted the Campaign would split have been proved wrong. The odd member who couldn’t accept the changes has stepped down, but on the whole the Campaign has carried on much as before. At this year’s GBBF the volunteer T shirts, sponsored by SIBA, bore the graphic “Cask&Keg&Bottle&Can”. Only one or two die-hards got to work with gaffer tape to remove “Keg” and “Can”. Given

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

the dire predictions of mass resignation, this should probably be viewed as a pretty good outcome.

Worryingly though there has been little communication on how the Revitalisation proposals will be actioned. A change of National Chairman, loss of the Chief Executive (with no indication if he will be replaced) and a newly elected National Executive may be valid mitigations, but considering the frenzy with which the project proposals were met, the silence is disappointing. Does it indicate, given that the Campaign has not split as feared, that inertia has taken over?

CAMRA’s super complainant status, its lobbying ability and its huge 192,000 membership with its finger on local pulses means it still has a significant contribution to make to our joint beery future. The CAMRA Executive must assure its members that Revitalisation will deliver against the concerns about the future raised when members were urged to vote for the proposals. Additionally CAMRA needs to consolidate its standing as much as it ever did and reassure both industry and government of its continued commitment, relevance, vigour and vibrancy.

Momentum is needed here though.

Vision must become reality. If there is no sense of urgency and no obvious change, observers may be forgiven for thinking that Revitalisation was much ado about nothing.

Peter Alexander is a member of the British Guild of Beer writers and is the author of Tandleman’s Beer Blog – www.tandlemanbeerblog.blogspot.uk – and the editor of local CAMRA magazine More Beer. He is the Chairman of CAMRA Rochdale, Oldham and Bury Branch and is the Deputy Organiser of the very successful Manchester Beer and Cider Festival. You can follow him on Twitter @tandleman SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

37

THE BIG INTERVIEW

PAUL NUNNY, DIRECTOR, CASK MARQUE

38

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

When Paul Nunny first launched beer quality initiative Cask Marque back in 1998, the beer market was very much in decline, and cask, in particular, was struggling with its image and also with quality issues at dispense. At the time the move was unprecedented, bringing together brewers for a national push to turn the cask sector around.

Much has changed since then. Cask Marque signed up its 10,000th pub last year, reaching a target few thought realistic back in the late 1990s, and the craft beer boom has seen a resurgence in consumer interest in beer while Small Breweries Relief has supported huge growth in the number of breweries across the UK. But for cask ale, challenges remain in terms of both quality and the shrinking margin for the brewers producing it. So Cask Marque’s work is far from done and it continues to expand its reach to drive home the core quality message.

As Cask Marque celebrates its 20th birthday this year, it seemed timely for Caroline Nodder, the SIBA Journal’s Editor, to catch up with its founder Paul and find out more about how he came to launch the initiative and where he sees it going in the future…

THE BIG INTERVIEW

WE NOW HAVE A 77% RECOGNITION BY CASK ALE DRINKERS OF OUR CASK MARQUE PLAQUE.

Tell us a bit about your background and how you got into brewing.

“I trained as a chartered accountant in the City, and then joined a client company called Lay & Wheeler, which is a big wine merchant and wholesaler. I joined as Company Secretary in 1973 and left there as Deputy Managing Director in 1986 to join Adnams. I went there as Sales & Marketing Director and left there in 1997 as Deputy MD to set up Cask Marque.

Being a chartered accountant you can end up in any industry and I was just fortunate that one of the clients was in the drinks business. I am very lucky, and I do feel once people join the drinks industry they like to stay in it because of the friendship and camaraderie and how it becomes part of your everyday life.”

You founded Cask Marque 20 years ago now, what was your aspiration for the scheme and how has it evolved from there?

“The problem we had while I was at Adnams – and the idea was obviously formulated at Adnams – was that we were growing our beer sales but it was in a declining market. So therefore the longevity of our success was not guaranteed. So I got together with three other brewers – Marston’s, Greene King and Morland’s – and we sat round the table and then did some research and found that 60% of pubs were not serving beer in the glass to the brewer’s specification. It was horrendous! And it just needed someone to take this project on, so I said I would do it if I had the support of the other brewers.

In fact I then got the support of 11 brewers who were the original founders, and the idea was that if we gave an accreditation to pubs people would aspire to achieve that accreditation and that would drive up quality – so that was the idea. Interestingly in those hay days we set a target of 10,000 pubs. Which is what we achieved last year. At that time it was just a dream but we actually achieved it!”

How does Cask Marque work in practice?

“Effectively the pub has to apply to be accredited and they then get two inspections a year. We test up to six beers on the bar – they are tested by a qualified brewer – and they have to pass with each beer otherwise the inspection fails because the beer would have got to the customer in poor condition. We test them for temperature, appearance, aroma and taste. The brewers and pub companies get involved because frequently they will pay half the fee, because they want to support their tenants and licensees or their brand stockists. The real success is not just the industry buying into it but also the consumer. We now have a 77% recognition by cask ale drinkers of our Cask Marque plaque. So that effectively completes the circle – more licensees want to get it because drinkers recognise it and that drives up quality.”

What common issues does Cask Marque pick up and what are the challenges?

“Temperature has always been a big issue and still is – particularly with a Summer

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

like we have just had. The other problem is that there are too many pumps on the bar and throughputs are slowing, so quality is declining in that aspect. The last thing is regular line cleaning which is so important for good quality beer in the glass. They need to clean their beer lines, because there is a lot of yeast in cask ales, and they need to clean them every seven days. Temperature was one of the major things in the early days and we did some research last year which showed 9% of Cask Marque pubs today still failed on temperature. But we then visited non-Cask Marque pubs and we found 49% failed.

So although we have done a good job with Cask Marque pubs there is a real issue in the industry, which shows our work is not done and the message hasn’t got through to a certain extent.”

How does Cask Marque work with SIBA members?

“SIBA members own pubs and that is a growth area for small brewers as obviously it improves brand recognition for them.

So they should be sponsoring their pubs for Cask Marque and their brewery taps, but they also should do their permanent stockists. Every brewery wants permanent stockists for their brand so they get consumer recognition and it is a simple way of supporting that pub to stock their product because that pub will benefit both in quality terms but also in terms of footfall.”

Continued on page 41 SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

39

THE BIG INTERVIEW

WE TEST UP TO SIX BEERS ON THE BAR – THEY ARE TESTED

BY A QUALIFIED BREWER – AND THEY HAVE TO PASS WITH EACH BEER OTHERWISE THE INSPECTION FAILS BECAUSE THE BEER WOULD HAVE GOT TO THE CUSTOMER IN POOR CONDITION.

How does the Scores on the Cellar Doors initiative work and what progress have you made with it so far?

“It is going very well so far. It is based on the food hygiene rating – so it is a five star rating system – and from the results of our inspections we have shown that we can deliver better yields and better quality.

Currently we have 2,000 pubs with star ratings, which is a quarter of our pubs, and we are getting to the stage now where we should be engaging with consumers. So it is going to become another quality symbol. We do it as a window sticker, and I think it has been a great success. Because we are already going there to do a Cask Marque visit it only costs them an extra £25. The average is 3 star, which is not good, but what the initial inspection does is provide a benchmark and then they have something to work to improve to get their 4 or 5 stars.

We check 11 areas in the cellar and they then get a report showing where they have lost points. It is almost a training session for the licensee because they can join the inspector in going round the cellar and working out what is wrong and how they could be doing things better.”

How do you see Cask Marque evolving over the coming years?

“We call it Cask Marque but we are moving more towards being an accreditation body. So we now inspect breweries to check quality at the brewery gate, we inspect distribution and warehousing and we obviously inspect cellars and beer in the glass – so we call that grain to glass. We are becoming more of an accreditation body for the whole industry based on the skills we have developed through Cask Marque.”

What has been your involvement in the FSQ scheme for SIBA members?

“We do the FSQ inspections and we have always said that the FSQ is the first step towards Salsa + Beer which is our own scheme. The FSQ we wrote with SIBA and we regularly review its progress and performance. It is a light touch of Salsa + Beer, which is much more rigorous, but it is about getting brewers on that path. I think it is a really important first step for brewers just to ensure they are legally compliant.

And we have just built on a health and safety aspect to FSQ too.

It covers basic things you need to have for traceability.”

Continued on page 43 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

41

New! Nitro-canning & BrewPilot™

Canning lines (900-3900cph) Brewhouses (2-43 BBL) Keg cleaners & fillers (15-600 kph) Bottling Lines (500-3000bph) Semi-auto fillers

Call us on

01404 892 100

email sales@vigoltd.com

@VigoLtd

Crafted for you Supported by our team of engineers here in the UK

Quality Service Support

www.vigoltd.com

Bottling, capping & labelling equip. (semi-auto to auto) • Cross flow filters • BiB filler Pumps • Tanks • Temp. control • Rinsers • Consumables

See us in Craft Beer Pavilion, Hall 9 (st. 9-300)

THE BIG INTERVIEW

How important are schemes like the FSQ and Salsa + Beer and what are the benefits for SIBA members?

in the pipeline. You just need the one accreditation, and I know it is costly, but it is an endorsement of what you do.”

“I think about it in terms of the benefits of Salsa + Beer because I believe that is where brewers need to get to. Salsa + Beer is tailor made for small brewers, just like Salsa originally was made for small food producers, and it looks at product safety, legality and consistency of product brand – and if they get this one accreditation all the beer buyers recognise it. So you have a one-off cost and you don’t need to have all the supermarkets come and inspect you separately. Also if you’ve got it you can flaunt it, so although it is a safety standard it is also part of your sales proposition. It shows you are serious about the market and being professional. I have been told Lidl won’t take a beer unless the brewer has Salsa + Beer and I know Waitrose won’t.

Most of the supermarkets now won’t take new products unless you have it.

The supermarkets are more advanced than the on-trade but you are now seeing on-trade buyers not opening the door to new products unless you’ve got Salsa + Beer too. It is well known by beer buyers now and there are about 120 brewers signed up now with 30 or 40 more

“From the on-trade point of view we now have around 2,000 brewers in the sector, so it is a highly competitive market out there with margins being squeezed.

That is difficult for everybody, and going forward we are going to have winners and losers. Breweries are a bit like football clubs, it’s nice to own them, but once you have to start making money it gets a bit more difficult. And of course there is the debate about craft and cask – 20 years ago craft wasn’t a thing – so that gives brewers more opportunities in terms of canned beers and craft keg etc. So it is a very interesting, very competitive market out there but margins are small and with a diverse market you need investment too in equipment etc so I do think it is difficult to open a new brewery now and be profitable. You have to have a real USP and I don’t know what that would be, because most of the USPs have already been used!”

What is your view on the changes to the brewing sector since Cask Marque launched?

What challenges do you see the cask sector facing now?

“It has got severe margin problems now because the retailers are very professional

these days and they know the cost to the brewer with the duty relief they get. So that is a major issue. You need volume in a production industry but on the other hand you need margin. There are so many new beers on the bar as well these days that throughputs are getting lower and obviously with cask you need to sell that beer within three days of opening that cask. Cask benefited from keg being dull, uninteresting and old fashioned but now it is the exact reverse. It is appealing to that new generation of drinkers. And of course with cask you can have quality issues and the customer now expects a quality product every time.”

What have the initial findings of this year’s Cask Report revealed about the current market?

“The research this year showed the reason for the decline in cask is three fold.

Obviously pubs are shutting, and cask is only in pubs. Secondly the cask ale drinker who was responsible for the growth in cask is now between 30 and 40-years-old which means they have family and other commitments and aren’t going to the pub as regularly as they used to. Finally, people under 30 are not engaging with cask so we are not getting buy-in from millennials.

So those are the issues, and what we have to do about it is target that new audience, deal with the temperature issues – 25% of Cask Marque inspected pubs over the

Continued on page 45 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

43

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Summer were outside the temperature specification which is incredibl, and introduce more passion from barstaff about beer in general. Mostly these barstaff are themselves the age we want to reach, and they can be our ambassadors. The final issue is pricing, and we do need to get pricing right for cask. So this year’s Cask Report explores those issues and we do have answers this time as to how we need to tackle them. We have also looked outside beer at the gin market and vinyl records to see how those markets have tackled this type of issue.”

Have the proliferation of keg beers affected Cask Marque?

“Keg beers have affected both cask and mainstream lagers, they’ve taken market share from both – in fact Heineken would say their research shows they have taken more from lager than cask. The other issue is that selling craft keg and world lagers is more profitable so there is a double whammy there. Cask needs to be more niche and reinvent itself, which is easier said than done!”

Do you think there are too many small brewers in the market now?

“The answer is yes. More brewers and a declining pub market with beer sales falling as a result – the perfect storm in some ways. There are going to be winners and losers, more closures and consolidation.”

What are your views on the current proposals to revise the beer duty system of Small Breweries Relief?

“I think it was a great idea and well done SIBA, but everything needs to be reviewed, and you have to ask did it achieve its

objectives? And how has it affected the marketplace? So I definitely think a review is appropriate. The two things that really stand out for me are export – beer that is exported should be excluded from the duty calculation – and secondly there needs to be some mechanism to allow brewers to merge. With the rationalisation going on in the market, at the moment you put two brewers together and you lose the benefit of SBR, and the market needs that activity.

You might argue, not talking about the brewers currently in the market, but that you might not want too many more people joining the market.”

Where do you see the cask market heading in the next five years?

“I think it will go more niche. Pubs that focus on cask as a USP will still do very well, but those that jumped on cask and added pumps on their bars when it was doing very well should delist it. They are not serving a great product and it is not doing overall sales any good so we do need a bit of rationalisation.”

Are there any trends in the beer market currently that excite you?

“To me, it’s nice to have these wonderful one-off beers, but I think drinkability is sometimes lost. I think that is so important. I want to have a beer that is cellar cool, sessionable and full of flavour and I want to order a second pint. It’s about giving the customer what they want not what the brewer wants to brew.”

local markets, but I have to take my hat off to Adnams. Obviously I used to work there, but they have almost reinvented themselves with Ghost Ship which now sells more than Best Bitter. St Austell with Tribute, getting a new beer to the whole market while being stuck out in the South West and nowhere near a conurbation they have done phenomenally with that.

Marston’s with Wainright again almost reinventing themselves, and I do take my hat off to Timothy Taylor, because although they haven’t reinvented themselves they have kept their pricing right and quality is a key issue for them so they have invested in that. When it comes to local I think most smaller local breweries have their own local USP in that local area – in my area we have Mauldons Brewery and Woodforde’s, which has sought to own Norfolk and has been really successful with Wherry.”

Who do you most admire in the brewing sector and why?

“I do admire Tim Martin, the boss of JD Wetherspoon. He is never afraid to say what he thinks is right and has always had a short decision-making process in the company. He does things that are right for his business and is prepared to take a financial risk.”

What is your favourite beer and where would be your favourite place to drink it?

Which breweries do you see leading the market at the moment?

“My favourite beer would be a pint of Adnams Best Bitter and I would drink it at The Old Crown at Messing which is a pub outside Colchester which is a fantastic local village pub with great food.”

“If I talk about national players first, because I do believe local brewers are all busy doing what is right in their own

To download the 2018 Cask Report go to www.cask-marque.co.uk

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

45

BUSINESS PROFILE

The Perfect Blend

When Darron Anley left the IT sector and launched Siren Craft Brew back in 2013, his inspiration came from the USinspired new wave of hoppy IPAs that had just hit the UK market and the BrewDog school of rule-breaking craft brewing that was challenging a previously quite staid beer market. Siren started as it meant to go on with its first brew being Maiden, an 11% American style Barley Wine which is aged in a variety of wine and spirit barrels and then blended back together. Five years on and Darron has succeeded not only in growing Siren into a substantial player within the UK craft brewing arena, but also balancing a strong core range of ales with some of his trademark experimental brews that continue to excite beer aficionados. Among them is of course Broken Dream Breakfast Stout that won Siren the overall Champion Beer of Britain award at this year’s Great British Beer Festival – no mean feat for a 6.5% dark porter style beer. SIBA Journal’s Caroline Nodder spoke to Darron to find out more…

46

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

BUSINESS PROFILE

Brewery BaSiCs NAME: SIREN CRAFT BREW FOUNDED: 2013 LOCATION: FINCHAMPSTEAD, NEAR WOKINGHAM, BERKSHIRE OWNER: DARRON ANLEY CAPACITY: 15,000-16,000HL BREWING TEAM: 7 BREWERS AND 6 PACK TEAM STAFF: 28 (INCLUDING TAP STAFF) KEY BEERS: SOUND WAVE (5.6% IPA), YU LU (3.6% PALE ALE), BROKEN DREAM (6.5% STOUT & PORTER) AND CALYPSO (4% SOUR & SAISON) PRODUCTION: 13,000HL ANNUALLY – 62% KEG, 19% CASK, 19% BOTTLE KEY EXPORT MARKETS: FRANCE, ITALY & GERMANY

Tell me a bit about your background and the background to the business.

“I was in IT for most of my life and ran a number of different businesses, the last one selling IT security into other businesses.

I sold that in 2011 and was supposed not to be doing anything for a while, just taking some time out, but that didn’t really happen! I have been into beer my whole life – well, from a legal age obviously – and I got into the kind of beer I drink now through BrewDog. BrewDog showed me there was something very different out there to the usual cask ale and it started me on a bit of a journey. So when I left in 2011 I just started thinking that this could be fun. I liked the idea of making something, I hadn’t really done that before, and actually manufacturing something and creating a brand was exciting to me. So instead of taking time out, within three weeks of leaving my other business I was actually on a brewing course up in Manchester and one thing led to another and I spent the next year and a half planning to start Siren. I had done a lot of home brewing before I got started but I went out to the US Brewers Association conference in the States in San Diego in 2011 to get some good advice and to see what some of the brewers out there were doing, because it was still quite a fledgling part of the UK market at that time. One of the bits of advice I was given out there from someone actually working in the UK market at that time, was to get a professional brewer on board. So I interviewed about eight or nine brewers here and abroad and ended up taking someone on.”

What are your aspirations for the business?

“The thing that was always key for me was to have a really strong solid flagship range, something that people can always come back to. So at the time we started off with four core beers. But actually the first beer we ever brewed was Maiden. Which is an 11% Barley Wine and the idea is that we brew it and then split it up between various different barrels – that first year it was Armagnac, brandy, tequila and so on – and the idea was that we taste each of the barrels after a year and we brew a fresh batch of barley wine and then look at how we might blend them together to make something that is better than the sum of the parts. The thinking is that we wanted to experiment and play around and push the idea of what can and can’t be done and to take risks. We didn’t know how it was going to work or whether it was going to be viable financially but I wanted to set out our stall and say this is what we are about – we want to push the boundaries and we want to be experimental. We still continue to strive to do that now, but we also have to make sure we have a good solid flagship range.

Those are the beers that people like and enjoy so that once they have tasted everything they haven’t tried on the bar they can come back to something tried and tested. I came into this not knowing this business at all – I’d never worked in a brewery or owned a brewery. So I did some research obviously but mostly it was about an understanding and interpretation of what was going on out there and what people wanted. And I felt that there was a growing market – there is still now – for people who are looking at what they are buying and they are interested in provenance and the story behind something. They can identify with that being important in a brand. They are moving away from mass market and they want to feel like there is some authenticity behind it. So that was where our customer base was going to be.”

Continued on page 49 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

47

NEW, EASY TO REMOVE DESIGN

Attractive.

Innovative.

OUR HANDLES:

• 100% Recyclable • 100% Post-Consumer Recycled • Repurposed from Milk Jugs

CAN Handles

OUR APPLICATORS:

• Highly Efficient & Cost Effective • Turnkey Application Solution • Proven to Run 24/7

CROWLER Handles

BOTTLE Handles

View All of Our Handles and Applicators at www.PakTech-opi.com Call Us: +1.541.461.5000 | Follow Us: @PakTech

BUSINESS PROFILE

How would you describe your brewing ethos?

“We like to make brews that we like to drink. Sometimes that can be a really good technical example of a style and sometimes that is just pushing the boundaries and challenging people’s thoughts on what a beer can be. When we do something like that I take the opinion that I don’t want to half get there. If we are going to push it then we do. We buy the best ingredients, we buy everything we feel we need to do what we want to do.”

Where are you investing at the moment?

“We have done a lot of investment every year. We are still on our original site but we took a second unit then a third unit and we took a space over the road, then closed that and now have a bigger warehouse where the tap room is, but the original three brewing units are still there. The advice I got when I was first starting out was double the brewhouse size you’re thinking of putting in, and if you can afford it, treble it. And we did that, which was part of how we were able to scale up without too much pain. But last year we decided to replace the brewhouse – it is the same brew length but we can now do two to three brews in one day. And we have really invested in the team to make sure we are ahead of the curve in terms of wanting to put that much more beer out. We made sure they knew what they were doing, that the processes were all working well etc. So the last year has been about settling everything in, but we are now about to go to canning which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

One of the things that put me off was that the lines out there or that we could buy were not good enough compared to bottling.

I think one of beers’ biggest problems is oxygen and some of the smaller lines really struggle to put your beer into can with a really consistent level of dissolved oxygen. So to do that we are looking at spending £800K-£1M. We are about to hit a crowdfunding round to do that, going out to our customers, our fanbase, and asking if they want to be involved. I am hoping we can go live on that the middle to end of October.”

How is Siren different to other brewers in the sector?

“I think when we started there were a few others that had set the groundwork for a brewery such as us. People like Thornbridge, Magic Rock, they all brewed and we all brew very similar styles and I like to think our dedication to experimentation and not being afraid to push the boundaries sets us apart but there are some really good breweries out there doing very similar things. We can’t really lay claim to any of those things as being what sets us apart from anything out there.”

Can you describe the challenges you’ve faced as a business?

“It has been about learning everything from scratch. The phrase ‘every day is a school day’ has never been more true of the last five years for me. Having been in an industry I knew pretty well for the last 25 years or so and coming into something completely different has been a huge challenge - learning how to get the most out of production processes and how that all works. How that then factors into everything you do as a brewery has been so different. It is hugely capital intensive, which I knew before I started, but looking at it on a spreadsheet and then being in it are two very different things.”

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

“I don’t think there is. They say everything that happens on the way to get to where you are is part of your story and I am a firm

Continued on page 51 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

49

mACS

Micro-Canning's Most Flexible System 3 HEAD FILL STATION Individual inline fill head control technology combines fill level sensors with proprietary foam control valves.

LID DISPENSER Automatic lid slice avoids jams. CO2 under lid gassing minimizes oxygen pickup.

CO2 PRE-PURGE Piston like purge completely evacuates all oxygen from the can prior to fill.

ELECTRIC CAM DRIVEN SEAMER Revolutionary new seamer design!

Increased seaming reliability combined with significantly easier setup and maintenance.

MULTIPLE CAN SIZES Simple change over between multiple can heights and widths!

TOUCHSCREEN HMI Intuitive panel with auto CIP cycle and recipe memory feature.

COMPACT FOOTPRINT 7’ x 2-1/2’ = 17.5 ft2 Mobile Option Available.

MICRO-AUTOMATED CANNING SYSTEM

ELECTRICAL CERTIFICATIONS ETL (Canada/US) and CE Compliant (Europe)

POLYCARBONATE ENCLOSURE For safety and hygiene during canning operations.

3 HEAD FILLER | 20+ CANS/MIN 50+ CASES/HOUR | 15 - 20 PPB DO

ONE CANNING SYSTEM FOR NEARLY EVERY CAN SIZE

CASK HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CRAFT BREWERS WORLDWIDE SINCE THE EARLY 1980’S. WE OFFER AFFORDABLE CANNING SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM SCALE BREWERIES, WINERIES, CIDER MILLS AND DRINK MANUFACTURERS WORLDWIDE. 47

CUSTOMERS IN THE UK AND EUROPE

246

CUSTOMERS IN CANADA

55

CUSTOMERS IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

365

CUSTOMERS IN THE UNITED STATES

14

CUSTOMERS IN ASIA

875+ customers & 46 countries

Contact us today

cask.com

1-403-640-4677

Official supplier of Ball Corporation for the supply of printed aluminum cans to our customers

BUSINESS PROFILE

WE ARE LOOKING TO GROW BUT ONLY IN A WAY THAT IS SUSTAINABLE, SO I AM LOOKING TO PUT THE RIGHT THINGS IN PLACE FIRST RATHER THAN COME ACROSS PROBLEMS AFTERWARDS.

believer in that. If there was anything I would do differently I would say to make sure we buy the best that we can buy at the time, and we have always been about that but looking back when we replaced our brewhouse perhaps I should have gone a bit further and moved a bit further up the value chain.”

What is your view on the debate around reforming the beer duty system?

“It needs reform. It is an interesting subject, because we joined the Coalition a while ago which we then bailed out of when we saw how hard they were looking to cut the relief for the smallest brewers.

From my point of view it does need change, because to get up to 5,000hl, which is not a small business at that point, and then to suddenly chop it for anything over that doesn’t support the industry. You get some breweries happy to operate at that level, but for the rest of the industry who want to power through there is definitely an issue. My gut is that there needs to be some tapering but there isn’t the appetite among small brewers for that. The bigger issue is in how much duty we pay in the UK. That is really where the story is and where we should be looking for change is anything. Whether there is any chance of that happening – I can’t see it myself. But we do a lot of high ABV beers and that is where it really hurts. If we want to play around in that area we have to reduce our margins significantly. It also affects the cask market where it is far harder to maintain the price point.”

Do you see any barriers to your growth and if so how are you approaching these?

“Space – breweries seem to just consume space with ingredients, beer, equipment, kegs, empty kegs, and that is always a

challenge. And funding. If you are going to grow that is always big, which is why we are looking at crowdfunding. Those are probably the two biggest challenges to making sure you can grow and do it in the right way. For us, we are looking to grow but only in a way that is sustainable, so I am looking to put the right things in place first rather than come across problems afterwards.”

How are you seeing consumer attitudes to beer change and how has this affected your range?

“There is probably not an awful lot we are doing differently now, but there are an awful lot of other people doing similar things now, so it’s about making sure you’re good enough and you’ve got a loud enough voice that is the challenge. We are trying to find new people and get them excited about what we are doing and about our beers, and we have been doing that through Project Rainbow or Barista [an experimental fusion initiative using coffee and beer] for example. Project Rainbow we have been doing for five years and it has become an international project – it started off with seven UK brewers and we pair them with another brewer from another country and they get given a colour to inspire a collaborative brew. Things like that are great way to interest people in beer. But those people are usually already quite interested in beer, so it is also important to find new people. So we have a flagship range to do that. But the real challenge is that one of the things we are seeing is that people don’t want to drink the same things twice –my personal belief is that although there are some people like that out there, the bulk of people, if they recognise Sound Wave on the bar, they will buy that beer. But the managers and barstaff are all hooked up into this craze of wanting to constantly put new beers on the bar and that is really starting to add

some challenges for everybody.”

How long have you had your brewery tap on site and are you expanding in to any other retail sites?

“We had a brewery tap on site originally but we didn’t really do a good job with it, so now we have a tap that’s been open for a year that is the polar opposite. We have a dedicated team of people there and we work really hard to make sure it is a great showcase for everything we do.

Expanding into other sites is something we are definitely looking at – we have had a couple of opportunities that have come our way that just weren’t right, but it is something we want to expand on and it is another area for our crowdfunding going forward. It has to be right though. We do also have The Original Patty Men, a burger restaurant under the arches in Moor Street station in Birmingham, which is not necessarily part of Siren, but I am involved in that and we put a Siren draught system in there so they only serve our beer on draught.”

How do you see the structure of the brewing sector changing over the next few years?

“It is hard to look beyond the fact there is going to be some more consolidation.

But I hope not. I don’t think there is too much out there, we seem to have a very happy, vibrant industry at the moment and it would be good to see that continue. But with my sensible hat on I think we will probably see some more consolidation.”

Are there now too many small brewers in the UK market?

“I’d not suggest that the current market can support an awful lot more brewers but my honest feeling is that there are still a lot of people out there who still don’t know

Continued on page 53 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

51

Champion Beer of Britain at the GBBF

BUSINESS PROFILE

WE REALLY DIDN’T EXPECT IT, AND ESPECIALLY NOT WITH A BEER THAT IF I AM HONEST IS OUT OF THE USUAL FOR CAMRA. IT IS A 6.5% BREAKFAST STOUT WITH COFFEE AND LACTOSE AND A LITTLE BIT OF SMOKED MALT.

about beer and what we are doing. Our local area is a great case in point – we don’t sell a lot locally, we mainly go into larger metropolitan areas – so there is still such potential to grow the market. That is what we all have to focus on, rather than fighting for the same people – we need to focus on growing the whole market and finding those new opportunities. But that is going to take a bit more time and bit more effort from all of us.”

You were recently crowned Champion Beer of Britain at the GBBF – what impact has this had on your business and what do awards like this mean to you?

MIDDLE OF PUBLICATION

“We definitely didn’t expect it! We didn’t place anywhere in the categories we were in so we didn’t think we were in with a shot overall – but it turns out we were already finalists. So we really didn’t expect it, and especially not with a beer that if I am honest is out of the usual for CAMRA. It is a 6.5% breakfast stout with coffee and lactose and a little bit of smoked malt – it is a big beer in many many ways – and to think it would get through to that level with CAMRA was quite a surprise.

And to see a beer like that recognised we were really really chuffed. The immediate effect was that we saw an awful lot of demand for 6.5% stout in the middle of the heat of summer! We sold out, and hadn’t planned to brew Broken Dream until last week but we have managed to get four brews of it in before then and have some more coming to try and keep up with demand, which is great.”

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?

“They come from everywhere to be honest – food and drink has so many flavours and combinations and that is always where ideas start. Sometimes it can come from something really innocuous, but they

can come from anywhere. So we take inspiration from cocktails, or if you look at our first beer Maiden, one of the ideas for that came from the sherry industry, where you have different variant barrels of sherry you take some to blend and then you always top it up with new stuff so it blends and mixes and kicks off the ageing process and oxygenation. We still do that so we probably still have a year 13 Maiden somewhere in some of our barrels somewhere. Project Barista is now in its second year and is an expression of coffee and beer in four different styles.

Ways of using coffee in the beer basically.

One of them was Breakfast Shake is a big 9.5% stout which one of our guys brewed after being inspired by the energy shake he drinks in the morning – loads of oats, loads of chocolate, some bananas, honey and almonds!”

What beer trends currently excite you?

“One trend I do like is seeing restaurants take beers and even bars that don’t see themselves as part of this beer bubble that we look at are starting to take more and more beers and take an interest in what we are doing which is great. From a beer standpoint, one thing I do find quite exciting is the Brut IPA. I don’t think anyone has quite nailed exactly what that is, or what it could be, or what they think it should be. To some extent this is the polar opposite to the New England IPA in that it is completely bone dry, that is probably its main difference, and everyone is trying different ways of making it bone dry – whether you use AMG an enzyme that goes in the fermenter to ferment it out to below zero, or whether you use champagne yeast, there are various ways to do it. And then people don’t know how to get the best out of the IPA flavour. That is a fun area. We’ve played with it twice and are about to do a third one so from a beer perspective that is a bit of a trend I am excited about.”

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Where do you see yourself being in five year’s time?

“For me it is important we stay in control of how we grow and continue the rock solid approach to quality and what our beers should be about. I don’t think we are necessarily looking to super charge our business – for me we will be planning for sustainable growth. Our business plan we have is not to be 10 times bigger than we are, but realistically in five year’s time we might be maybe two to three times bigger with a bit of luck.”

Who do you most admire in the sector and why?

“For me, I admire Thornbridge and Magic Rock as great examples of where I want to be. Their obsessive focus on quality but they both work hard to stay innovative and fresh as well, which are things we strive to do. Looking globally, Cigar City put out some fantastic beers – the way they build their recipes and tell their stories we take a lot of inspiration from.”

What is your favourite beer and where would you drink it?

“I would generally go for something hoppy, so IPAs are my beers of choice, but barley wines are my guilty pleasure if I am looking for something to chill out with.

I actually tried Mark Tranter at Burning Sky’s Petite Saison at a festival this week though and that was a great beer, I loved it. My favourite pub would be the Bell at Waltham St Lawrence about 25 minutes from the brewery which is a community owned pub, full of lovely locals and is a great little place.”

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

53

BEERS

•

CLOSURES

•

FOODS

•

SOFT DRINKS

•

SPIRITS

•

WINES

SUPPORTING BREWERS, ROUND AFTER ROUND

COLLABORATION

WWW.CROXSONS.COM

DESIGN

CONTAINER

CLOSURES

DECORATION

LOGISTICS

SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE

LEGAL

CROWDFUNDING – IT GLITTERS, SO IT MUST BE GOLD? Crowdfunding is a hot topic but there are some key aspects to this type of funding. In this article, Jamie Allison, Head of Cumbria and Real Estate at Napthens Solicitors, considers the importance of understanding these aspects, before considering it as a means to access finance..

on offers to the public under section 755 of The Act. The rules are prescriptive and officers of companies need to know about them.

What is crowdfunding?

If you are thinking about using crowdfunding consider:

Crowdfunding is invariably a web-based process. It enables a business to market a summarised information memorandum through an online portal to attract investors from far and wide.

The ‘investment’ can take various forms including, but not limited to, monies advanced on the back of a loan being adopted (paying the principle sum borrowed together with an agreed interest rate repaid) or shares being offered in exchange for the investment being made – an equity investment.

Whatever the approach, it should be governed by the correct documentation to protect all parties. Both of these forms have different mannerisms and create different levels of control over the company’s direction, whether highly restrictive or allowing the business founders to be as liberated as they wish.

What about regulation?

In the UK companies carrying out activities such as loanbased or equity-based crowdfunding may require Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). You would without doubt need to seek professional advice to be guided properly through any due process.

The fund-seeking exercise is all executed online and the attitude to this pioneering method of funding-raising is cautious. The FCA views crowdfunding as high-risk, with people facing the possibility (if the investment or loan fails) of sustaining the loss of their investment. Shares have limited powers, they can be diluted and there can be little or no control exerted over the owners of the company invested in and it’s not 100% proven.

The rules surrounding conduct and regulation in investmentbased activities can be daunting, but another aspect that people need to be mindful of is a part of the Companies Act 2006 which deals with offering shares to the public. So, for example, if a private limited company brewery is thinking about raising equity finance using investment-based platforms, it should be careful not to ride rough-shod over the restriction

Jamie Allison, Head of Cumbria and Real Estate at Napthens Solicitors

a) Is your proposition clearly set out as to why you need to raise funds? b) Are your headline figures viable and attractive? c) H ave you involved your accountant in the process (you need to)? d) Have you exhausted other means of raising money in a more conventional way? e) C hoose your crowdfunding platform carefully. Undertake due diligence on the chosen provider – how much success has it had and what is its reach in your sector? f) Understand the full scope and cost of the exercise and ensure your business is ‘investment-ready’ (with documents ready to accommodate your new investors, govern the founders’ positions and relationships with new shareholders) g) What is your exit plan?

Whilst there have been a number of successes in this industry, there is still scepticism. Brands such as Brewdog, The Wild Beer Co and others have attracted high levels of investment, but be mindful of future valuations (and aspirations of coshareholders) of your business and having a cohort of wideranging shareholders.

Not all that glitters is gold, as they say, and there have been casualties in this sector although there are some who have endured the process and continue to perform well.

Final thoughts…

1. Get the right advisory team on board early in your thinking 2. A sk for your business to be scoped – is it appropriate for your business to crowdfund the next phase of its evolution 3. K eep your advisers close and ask them about monetising ideas and financial modelling

For advice on this topic or on legal issues affecting your business please contact SIBA Legal Helpline: 0845 6710277 North West law firm Napthens LLP is a SIBA supplier associate and gold standard sponsor. The firm has a team of specialists looking after the legal requirements of clients in the leisure and licensed trade sector, with clients including Daniel Thwaites plc and Sceptre Leisure Ltd. Napthens manages 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 and employment law. Any enquiry through the helpline will receive up to 1 hour of free legal expertise (if further work is require, 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 JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

55

SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE

DIGITAL

THE CHANGING WORLD OF FACEBOOK Facebook has changed how it works a lot in the past 12 months. This has been brought about by Facebook wanting to change how users interact with the platform. The goal, Matt Jones. Inapub's Digital Services Manager they say, is to ensure that the engagements that people have on the platform are of a higher quality. This has meant (and will increasingly mean) that time users spend on Facebook has already begun to drop and will likely continue to do so for the rest of this year. Part of that means that businesses will get less reach for their posts and will likely have to spend more on paid advertising to get ahead on the platform. Breweries should look at what they are doing, and consider changing what they do with Facebook if they want to continue to get the most out of the platform. Focus on what Facebook calls “Meaningful Interactions” to get the most out from it.

You may have seen the Facebook Adverts on TV (particularly at peak times) about the changes they have made. These videos are designed to generate more trust between users & Facebook. Much of this trust has been lost due to the impact of recent political issues. One of the ways Facebook is generating trust is to show users real posts & authentic information. Posts which are added by Verified Facebook pages will get higher reach. Verified pages are official in the eyes of Facebook. Your page will also come higher in searches on Facebook, and therefore on searches engines such as Bing & Google if it is verified.

One of the best ways to increase you reach on Facebook is to focus on video content. As phones have developed, the ease with which you can create this content has also become easier.

Consider showing your brewery in a different way than you have before.

Film things that demonstrate how your business doing something different. If you are at an event, film that. If you are brewing something new, film that.

Think of the question you get asked about most, film your staff talking about that. Even if it is something as simple as your opening hours over Christmas, it gives you the opportunity to interact with customers. It will get more views than other types of post such as just pics, and will also show it as being more meaningful.

Many posts from businesses are repetitive and are less interesting.

Think of your own feed and think of how often you see phrases like ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Check this out’. You have probably not actually bothered to look at what is on offer, like the post or comment on it. . However, consider how often you have engaged when a post has asked a question. So instead of ‘Buy Now’ you could ask ‘Would you like to try this beer?’ Instead of ‘Check this out’ you could ask ‘Did you know this about our beer?’

Research into asking questions has shown that if the customer agrees with the question and interacts by engaging with it, they are 44% more likely to make a purchase of the product related to that post. This is in comparison to only 5% where the post uses statements like ‘Buy Now’. This is so much the case, that there is now a Start Q & A button for all Facebook pages which you should look to use.

Looking at how you can be part of the community on Facebook and not only be there to sell. You are probably following other brands, advocacy groups and brewers on Facebook already. Consider sharing the content they provide. For instance, if you see a post on the SIBA page you think your customers might want to talk about, share that content. Customers think 26% better of businesses which support groups related to

them. Ensure you are following any pages which you think relate to your business. Also follow, local sports clubs, community groups and other influencers. You can always share and add your own message to the post to help with the reach.

You will increasingly see stories as being a place where brands can talk to customers. The post appear at the top of the Facebook feed when you login on a phone. The posts only last for 24 hours once they have been added. So consider how to post things which have an immediate message & impact. video, questions and the above methods should all be considered as part of a Facebook story.

Facebook is progressively looking to filter out the less engaging content.

This is part of its overall plan to win back users trust & interest. It might not happen overnight, but unless you are considering how to create meaningful content, you will lose reach, followers and ultimately business. All brewers should be looking at ways to make the Facebook posts & interactions more useful & interesting to their customers. Think of content as not being about selling, and being more about engaging, entertaining and informing customers.

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 JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

57

SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE

MARKETING

HAVING A SOCIAL CONSCIENCE It is incredibly important to stay on top of the right information and therefore the trends.

When you look at all marketing tactics, social media is the one that keeps changing at a constant pace. If you don’t stay on top of the trends there you will be left behind.

We are scrolling and scrolling through our phones and taking in so much information but we are not really clicking on too much. Yes, if something is fantastic, we will like it or put a comment underneath or maybe tag a friend in, but clicking on links and going out to external websites for external pieces of content is getting harder and harder to get your customers to do.

So something I think that all marketeers should take on board is that just measuring the clicks on your content isn’t going to tell the whole picture. What you need to be looking at is your reach, your impressions, your video views. So how many people are sucking in this information but not reacting.

It is an important point because I think there are a lot of people that go into social media and think ‘we are going to get some sales, some leads’ when actually a lot of the time social media is really for branding and awareness.

So getting people thinking about your brand on a regular basis, talking to their friends about your brand offline, getting people to come into your store or brewery tap, because of a post they have seen on social media. That shift in our attitude to social media needs to change.

Also how do you think about using other tactics?

For example, if you are launching a new beer or you have a campaign running, you really need to think about the whole picture – how many emails are you going to send during that campaign? What’s your in-store experience going to be like? How are you going to drive people using Instragram stories?

You can’t go in focusing on one part.

It is tricky but in terms of branding,

a great brand on social media is one that looks amazing but also is one that is engaging with customers. So, for example if I messaged a food brand on twitter, if I don’t get a response then I am going to feel negatively about that brand. Sprout Social did a report at the end of last year that said the average customer expects a response on social media within an hour.

Thinking away from your brand page, who in your business can be representing your brand online? Are there staff you can use? Is your CEO a prolific tweeter? Clive Schlee, the Pret CEO, is a great example, of a head of an organisation that is always tweeting on customer feedback. He comes across as very genuine on twitter and he is not on there all the time.

It is quantity over quality - when he does tweet it is something important.

That company has really embraced the need for feedback and they shout about the fact they are asking us about what we like and don’t like and what they should try next. I think that is something not enough brands are doing, letting customers be part of the big decisions.

But it should not just be about your employees. Have you got ambassadors? Have you got an ambassador programme for your VIP customers? If so, could they be talking/tweeting about you. What about influencers? Talking to Alison Battisby, who founded Avocado Social, having worked in the social media marketing industry since 2008, on one of my podcasts earlier this year, she pinpointed influencer outreach as probably the biggest trend at the moment in terms of PR online. Getting influential people to talk about your brand on a regular basis. Not just paying them £50 to do a post on Instagram, but actually engaging them in a scheme or a campaign, that they can be an ambassador for on a longterm basis.

Mark McCulloch is the Founder & Group CEO of WE ARE Spectacular

A lot of people say you can’t measure the impact of influencers, but she argued you could, depending on what your objectives are. If you have got a particular product you want them to increase the sales of, then you can give them individual codes for their followers to use or links in their bios which can be tracked and use the google analytics from that.

Something she is starting to see brands do more of now, is to enlist a group of influencers for maybe a longer term campaign and getting them talking about the brand on a regular basis over six months to a year. Rather than picking celebrities, brands are also looking to picking achievable, real-life role models as ambassadors who people can relate too. A great example is Joe Wicks, where as his influence has grown so has your brand associated with him.

Even if you haven’t got the plan or the budget in place, start to identify who fits well with your brand, who is creating great Instagram posts etc, who could really compliment your brand.

My main advice is to make sure you have brilliant content ready to go. One of the key trends over the last year, is to have batch content, getting a load of content done in a day, so you can plan it out and make it the best it can be. People need to understand that on Instagram, particularly, your content needs to be amazing, people want to scroll through a beautiful feed in the food and drink world, and if your content/feed isn’t up to scratch they won’t follow you.

Mark McCulloch, Founder & Group CEO of WE ARE Spectacular. Mark has 15 years experience in brand, marketing, digital, social and PR. WE ARE Spectacular have worked with many leading pub, food, beer & wine clients including Long Arm Brewery and Harviestoun Brewery. www.wearespectacular.com Twitter/Instagram: @spectacularmark

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

59

®

SMALL BOTTLING PLANTS FOR CRAFT BEER ®

MANUAL ISOBAROMETRIC FILLER

®

MANUAL FILLER

MANUAL CORKER

MANUAL RINSER

SEMIAUTOMATIC ISOBAROMETRIC FILLER

AUTOMATIC ISOBAROMETRIC FILLER

C.E.M. COSTRUZIONI ENOLOGICHE MILANO Milano, via Asiago 26, Italy Phone +39 02 25 71 51 39 | Fax +39 02 25 71 704 Email info@cem-milano.com | Web www.cem-milano.com

SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE

FINANCIAL PLANNING

HOW TO INCREASE REVENUE FOR YOUR BREWERY In previous issues, we’ve looked at a number of ways to grow and protect your brewery, from creating strong plans to grow your business, to creating a robust financial model, to exploring what to do if your venture is struggling.

In this article, we’ll take a look at ways to increase revenue for your business, whether through increasing sales of existing products and services, or diversifying into new streams of income.

It’s always good to have a plan to increase revenue, but in these times of political uncertainty, where Brexit may impact on people’s income over the next few years, it’s even more important to be prepared.

A diversified revenue strategy can help you build both sales and profitability and will also help with cash flow control, increased brand awareness and lowering overall risk by widening your sales channels. Here are a few areas to look at.

Product range. Have a review of the types of beer you produce, and determine which ones are growing in popularity and which are falling, and compare these to overall market trends.

Examples of categories that were seen as niche just a couple of years ago are growing fast, such as low-alcohol, vegan and gluten-free beers. Low-alcohol beer is becoming popular as it still allows people to enjoy the taste of craft beer in situations where a normal-strength drink is not appropriate, for example at lunchtimes during working hours. A recent survey showed that around 3.5m people now identify as vegans, which makes it worthwhile looking at extending your product range. Having another type of beer also helps to push your brand out to your non-core audience.

Tap room. Do you have the space for establishing a full- or part-time tap room? Not only will the extra sales to onsite customers increase your revenue,

but it also helps to increase your overall visibility. Many brewers are now seeing a tap room as a brand differentiator.

SIBA member North Brewing have made their tap room in Leeds a key part of their offering. They open on a Friday and Saturday and offer street food as well as their own beer brewed on the premises.

They also show that you don’t need large premises to do so: most of their “tap room” is actually outside, with picnic benches in the car park.

Canning. If you only produce keg or cask beer, you are restricted to the on-site trade. By offering canned beers, your distribution strategy can be transformed. Research from Neilsen shows that craft beer in cans is growing faster than bottled craft beer (+66% against -3%). Cans can also keep your beer in circulation far longer than kegs or casks, due to their extended shelflife. You can either invest in your own canning equipment or contract this out to a specialist; lower volume and more flexible contracts make mobile canning more cost-effective for smaller brewers.

Export. Following on from canning, you may want to think about exporting some of those cans, to mitigate against any possible downside in the UK economy due to Brexit. British products have an enhanced status around the world so you could make exporting a larger part of your sales strategy. Keep up to date with exporting regulations, as these may change depending on the final Brexit deal.

Make the most of your assets. Have a look around at your brewing schedule, your canning lines, your warehouse.

Can you rent some of it out to other

James Sleight, a Partner at Geoffrey Martin & Co

brewers, to maximise the revenue for assets you’re already paying for. If you’re delivering beer to bars in a large catchment area, could you also deliver another brewery’s stock and charge them for it? Keeping assets working as much as you can will increase overall profitability.

Selling online. If you already sell to the off and on trade, selling your beer online can be an effective way to increase revenue and profits. The market for buying beer online is growing, and you can sell through sites such as Amazon or specialised online beer retailers like Beerhawk in the UK and Beerwulf in Europe. You can also sell direct through your own website, which will give you more control over the profit you make through selling online, but will have some costs associated such as payment systems and shipping costs.

Expand your off sales. It’s easy to think of off sales as just grocery stores and off licences, but what about other outlets?

Are there local takeaways that would like to offer their customers craft beer instead of the usual mass-produced offerings? This market is growing fast due to the increasing use of apps such as Deliveroo. Think about working with restaurants and hotels to develop tasting menus with beer instead of wine.

Take time to think about your revenue strategy and whether you can diversify it, through new products, distributors or by making the most of the assets you already have. Having a number of revenue channels makes your business stronger overall, by reducing reliance on one product or market sector.

James Sleight is a Partner at Geoffrey Martin & Co, a Supplier Associate Member of SIBA. Geoffrey Martin & Co provides practical advice concerning growth, financial issues, exit and contingency planning, to a business’s directors, owners, investors and financiers at all stages of its life cycle.

We work with companies, individuals, partnerships, and lenders across the whole of the UK, with experience in many sectors including Bars, Restaurants, Media & Marketing, and Technology.

For a free, informal chat about any aspects of your business including financing, please call our Leeds team on 0113 244 5141.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

61

Beer Quality Analysis Measure IBU, ABV, EBC and pH in one analyser Beer Spoilage Detection Detect bacteria in less than 3 hours and wild yeasts in less than 4

TECHNICAL FOCUS

UNDER THE SURFACE

By Dr Keith Thomas of Brewlab, Sunderland

Much of our time as brewers is spent face to face with surfaces whilst cleaning, seeking out patches of soil and checking for damage. Ideally, we’re looking for our surfaces to be hygienic and free of contaminants, particularly microbes. And, with suitable sanitation, they mostly are.

Surfaces are not only relevant for the inside of our vessels. Every brewery has critical surfaces in its working space.

Two of particularly relevance are the large expanse of your floor and the intricate convolutions of parts in motion. Look at the floors of some breweries and you will see a preponderance of cracks caused by impacts and inadequate specification of concrete and surface material. Tightly bonded epoxy or polyurethane resin is really needed to provide best resistance and prevent floors hosting a microbial jungle.

Indeed, once crevices form biofilm easily develops from microbial growth. This is particularly effective in shielding microbes from disinfection though the protective matrix. Sanitizers work well on isolated microbes but poorly when they aggregate in a film. Biofilm is similarly hazardous in areas of constant motion – conveyers and filling systems. Here biofilm may fragment randomly and spread microbes directly into your packages. The current concern over diastaticus contamination causing over carbonation seems to have a focus on the filling environment suggesting hygiene in these areas needs improving and surfaces kept as smooth as possible.

In contrast it is interesting then to view the current trend in using less than perfect surfaces such as wood and copper – two materials associated with traditional brewing practices now superseded by the magic of stainless.

With the move to stainless steel vessels and pipework brewing hygiene has become easier to manage and beer quality more guaranteed.

Surfaces matter, and in so many ways. We obviously rely on them to contain our beers in fermenter, in bottles, cans, kegs and casks. In addition though, they provide both hazards and help to the quality of our beers and often in very subtle ways.

Stainless has so many advantages for hygiene that it far outpaces other materials. Particularly being smoother and stronger but also easy to use in fabrication and relatively cheap being based on readily available iron compared to, say, expensive copper. This does not mean that stainless steel is perfect. High powered microscopy exposes flaws in apparently smooth surfaces as shown in Fig 1 but these are comparatively limited compared to what can develop on softer surfaces such as plastic, particularly after an over-enthusiastic scrub.

That said some brewers are happy for the contribution as the effect of copper on yeast is to reduce undesirable sulphur flavours. Copper does seem to be making some comeback such as in the revival of open cool ships as traditional approaches to cooling wort. In the push for novelty will we see breweries reverting to other traditional materials - slate, ceramic tiles, even cast iron? I think some early brewers produced ferments in mud pots hardened by fire. That really would be down to earth brewing.

Wood has diametrically opposite contours to stainless with extensive crevices, fibres and extensive surfaces exposed to its contents. Microbes may penetrate very deeply into wood. This doesn’t mean that it cannot be sterilized given enough steam but the potential for long term microbial colonization is clear and poses major issues for hygiene of standard cask ale.

In some circumstances though, microbial colonisation can be desired. Cider typically ferments using the indigenous population from the pressing system and wooden vessels. Sour beers follow this pattern and can benefit from inherited communities of whisky or wine origins.

The future of wood currently focuses on maturation or small-scale fermentation but will we see an adventurous brewer recreate the enormous maturing vessels of Victorian times?

Other Victorian surfaces of note must include copper – popular in its time because of its malleability in construction.

Copper is lightly soluble in acid solutions including wort and beer and gradually thins over time releasing copper into your products. Naturally this is at low levels but with a recommended daily intake of only one milligram a day concerns can be valid if extensive copper is in contact.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Fig 1: Crevices in stainless steel allowing microbial contamination

Biofilm with yeast and bacteria on a cellar stillage

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

63

South East Region Cask Winners

REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS

SIBA South East Region

Overall Champion of the Cask Competition Sponsored by

SPAsoft Ltd

Cask British Dark Beers (up to 4.4%)

Cask British Dark Beers 4.5 to 6.4% Sponsored by Bulk

Storage & Process Systems Ltd

Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club, Tonbridge.

6th July 2018

Jaega Wise (Regional Director) presents the silver award

Bill Egerton presents Tom Bott (Proxy) with the gold award

GOLD Bedlam Brewery Bedlam Phoenix 3.9 SILVER Andwell Brewing Comp King John 4.2 BRONZE Whitstable Brewery Pearl of Kent 4.5

GOLD West Berkshire Brewery Maggs' Magnificent Mild 3.8 SILVER Long Man Brewery Old Man 4.3 BRONZE Bowman Ales Limited Meon Valley Bitter 3.9

GOLD Bedlam Brewery Bedlam Porter 5.0 SILVER Brumaison Ltd 1770 London Porter 4.7 BRONZE Tonbridge Brewery Firebrick 4.5

Cask British Bitter (up to 4.4%) Sponsored by

Cask British Premium Bitter (4.5 to 6.4%) Sponsored

Cask Session IPA (up to 4.3%)

Cask Premium PAs (4.4 to 5.4%)

Iain McIntosh (Regional Director) presents Gerald Daniels (Proxy) wizth the gold award

Iain McIntosh (Regional Director) presents Tim Abbott with the gold award

James Calder (SIBA Communications) presents Charlie Long with the gold award

Murphy & Son Ltd's Mathew Henney presents Tom Bott (Proxy) with the gold award

GOLD Andwell Brewing Company King John 4.2 SILVER Ramsgate Brewery Ltd Gadds' No5 4.4 BRONZE Tonbridge Brewery Countryman 4.0

GOLD Whitstable Brewery Pearl of Kent 4.5 SILvER New River Brewery Ltd Isle of Rye 5.2 BRONZE Langham Brewery Langham Special Draught 5.2

GOLD Bedlam Brewery Bedlam Phoenix 3.9 SILVER The Wimbledon Brewery SW19 Summer Ale 4.0 BRONZE Redemption Brewing Company Rock the Kazbek 4.0

GOLD Bedlam Brewery Bedlam Amagansett 5.0 SILVER Hammerton Brewery N7 5.2 BRONZE One Mile End Juicy 4pm 4.9

Cask IPA (5.5 to 6.4%)

Cask Speciality Light Beers

Cask Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Cask Strong Beers 6.5% and over Sponsored by Crisp

Gary Martin presents Wil Calvert with the gold award

Gary Martin presents Joshua Drake with the gold award

GOLD Windsor and Eton Brewery Molotov 4.0 SILVER Signature Brew Festival Saison 4.5 BRONZE Flack Manor Brewery Romsey Gold 4.0

GOLD Hammerton Brewery CRUNCH 5.4 SILVER Tap East Smokestack Porter 6.0 BRONZE Brewhouse and Kitchen Portsmouth Flaming Cow 5.0

Nigel Hoppit of SPAsoft Ltd presents Cheryl Ford (Proxy) with the gold award

Rastal GmbH & Co. KG

Sponsored by

Charles Faram & Co Ltd

Jason Little of Charles Faram & Co Ltd presents Asa James & Joshua Walker with the gold award

GOLD Tap East IPA 6.0 SILVER The Wimbledon Brewery Quartermaine IPA 5.8 BRONZE Holler Brewery Loot 5.5

64

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

by

Rankin Brother & Sons

Sponsored by

QCL Scientific

Sponsored by

Murphy & Son Ltd

Malting Group

Nigel Gibbons of Crisp Malting Group presents Charlie Long with the gold award

GOLD The Wimbledon Brewery XXXK Vintage Ale 10.0 SILVER Gun Brewery Zamzama 6.5 BRONZE Signature Brew Anthology 10.0

South East Region Bottle & Small Pack Winners Overall Champion of the Bottle/Can Competition

REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS

Sponsored by Croxsons

Bottle/Can British Dark Beers up to 4.4%

Bottle/Can British Dark Beers 4.5 to 6.4%

Justin Giddings of Croxsons presents Joshua Drake with the gold award

Ian Fozard (SIBA Chairman) presents Adam Hardy & Francis Smedley with the gold award

Tom Bott (Regional Chair) presents Stuart Lascelles with the gold award

James Calder (SIBA Communications) presents the gold award

GOLD Hammerton Brewery CRUNCH 5.4 SILVER Zerodegrees Time Warp Session IPA 4.3 BRONZE Signature Brew Backstage IPA 5.6

GOLD Reunion Ales Pia 4.4 SILVER Gun Brewery Parabellum 4.1 BRONZE Hammerpot Brewery Red Hunter 4.3

GOLD East London Brewing Company Ltd. Quadrant Oatmeal Stout 5.8 SILVER Red Cat Brewing Murmuration 6.0 BRONZE Andwell Brewing Company Porter 5.2

GOLD Long Man Brewery Copper Hop 4.2 SILVER East London Brewing Company Ltd. Peacock 4.2 BRONZE Old Dairy Brewery Copper Top 4.1

Bottle/Can British Premium Bitter (4.5 to 6.4%)

Sponsored by Saxon Packaging

Bottle/Can Session IPA (up to 4.3%)

Sponsored by CFB Boilers Ltd

Bottle/Can Premium PAs (4.4 to 5.4%)

Bottle/Can IPA (5.5 to 6.4%)

Stuart Haggar of Saxon Packaging presents Martin Roberts with the gold award

Dave Parish of CFB Boilers Ltd presents Jeff Hueneman with the gold award

Iain McIntosh (Regional Director) presents Alex Brown with the gold award

Iain McIntosh (Regional Director) presents Tom Bott with the gold award

GOLD Bowman Ales Limited Quiver Bitter 4.5 SILVER Whitstable Brewery Kentish Reserve 5.0 BRONZE The Crafty Brewing Company Laughing Wolf 4.5

GOLD Zerodegrees Time Warp Session IPA 4.3 SILVER Truman's Brewery Pale Ale 4.1 BRONZE Reunion Ales Jump-start 4.0

GOLD Old Dairy Brewery Blue Top 4.8 SILVER One Mile End Juicy 4pm 4.9 BRONZE Long Man Brewery Wild Man 5.2

GOLD Signature Brew Backstage IPA 5.6 SILVER CRATE Brewery CRATE IPA 6.0 BRONZE Arundel Brewery Uptown NEIPA 6.2

Bottle/Can Imperial IPA 6.5% and over

Bottle/Can Session Lager & Pilsner up to 4.4%

Bottle/Can Premium Lager & Pilsner (4.5% to 6.4%)

Bottle/Can Speciality Light Beers

Sponsored by Beatson Clark Ltd

GOLD

INDEPENDENT BEER AWARDS 2018

Sponsored by Atlas Packaging Ltd

Jaega Wise (Regional Director) presents the silver award

GOLD Brick Brewery DIPA 8.6 SILVER Gun Brewery Zamzama 6.5 BRONZE The Five Points Brewing Company Five Points IPA 7.1

GOLD Fourpure Brewing Company Indy Lager 4.4 SILVER

By The Horns Brewing Co. Lager 4.0 BRONZE Holler Brewery Bunko 4.2

GOLD

Nigel Hoppitt (SPAsoft Ltd) presents Joshua Drake with the gold award

GOLD Hammerton Brewery CRUNCH 5.4 SILVER Sambrook's Brewery Battersea Rye 5.8 BRONZE Tap East Coffee In The Morning 5.6

REGIONAL BOTTLE/CAN

WINNER PREMIUM LAGER & PILSNERS (4.5% TO 6.4%)

GOLD Upham Brewery UB5 5.0 SILVER Brick Brewery Peckham Pils 4.8 BRONZE Fourpure Brewing Company Pils Lager 4.7

Bottle/Can Strong Beers (6.5% and over)

Tom Bott (Regional Chair) presents Terry Baker with the gold award

GOLD Flack Manor Brewery Romsey Gold 4.5 SILVER Windsor and Eton Brewery Uprising's White Riot 5.5 BRONZE Red Cat Brewing Art of T 3.6

Bottle/Can Sours/ Spontaneous INDEPENDENT BEER AWARDS 2018

Bottle/Can Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Justin Giddings (Croxsons) presents Jaegar Wise (Proxy) with the gold award

Bottle/Can British Bitter (up to 4.4%)

GOLD Brick Brewery Citrus Sour 4.3

REGIONAL BOTTLE/CAN

WINNER SOURS/ SPONTANEOUS

Ian Fozard (SIBA Chairman) presents Charlie Long with the gold award

GOLD The Wimbledon Brewery XXXK Vintage Ale 10.0 SILVER Loud Shirt Brewing Co Ltd Ecstasy Stout 6.6 BRONZE

By The Horns Brewing Co. Russian Imperial Stout 11.0

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

65

North East Region Cask Winners

REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS

SIBA North East Region

Overall Champion of the Cask Competition

Cask British Dark Beers (up to 4.4%)

Cask British Dark Beers 4.5 to 6.4%

David Grant of Brewology presents Paddy Spencer with the gold award

Nigel Hoppit of SPAsoft presents Andy Leman with the gold award

Jamie Ramshaw of Simpsons Malt presents Joe Atkinson with the gold award

GOLD The Sheffield Brewery Company Get Thi'Sen Outdooerz 4.0 SILVER Saltaire Brewery Unity 6.0 BRONZE Ainsty Ales Cool Citra 4.4

GOLD Timothy Taylor's Ram Tam 4.3 SILVER Black Sheep Brewery Milk Stout 4.4 BRONZE Acorn Brewery of Barnsley Ltd Old Moor Porter 4.4

GOLD Goose Eye Brewery Over and Stout 5.2 SILVER Ainsty Ales Ainsty Assassin 4.9 BRONZE Brew York Viking DNA 5.0

Cask British Bitter (up to 4.4%) Sponsored by

Cask British Premium Bitter (4.5 to 6.4%) Sponsored

Cask Session IPA (up to 4.3%) Sponsored by

Cask Premium PAs (4.4 to 5.4%)

Mark Anderson, Regional Director presents Mike Hiscock with the gold award

Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Chris Harter with the gold award

Paul Evans of Close Brothers Brewery Rentals presents Paddy Spencer with the gold award

Nick Brading of Murphy & Son Ltd presents Andy Capel with the gold award

GOLD Elland Brewery Beyond the Pale 4.2 SILVER Ainsty Ales Bantam Best 4.2 BRONZE Beer Monkey Brew Co. Bitter Revival 3.9

GOLD Yorkshire Heart Brewery Odin's Judgement 6.0 SILVER Hadrian Border Brewery Grainger Ale 4.6 BRONZE Daleside Brewery Square Rigger IPA 4.5

GOLD The Sheffield Brewery Company Get Thi'Sen Outdooerz 4.0 SILVER Cullercoats Brewery Limited Shuggy Boat Blonde 3.8 BRONZE Hambleton Ales Session Pale 3.6

GOLD Ainsty Ales Cool Citra 4.4 SILVER Brew York Down with the Citrus 4.7 BRONZE North Brewing Sputnik 5.0

Cask IPA (5.5 to 6.4%)

Cask Speciality Light Beers

Cask Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Beth Eaton of Charles Faram & Co Ltd presents Ed Noble with the gold award

John Hart, SIBA Director presents Oliver Fozard with the bronze award

Ian Fozard, SIBA Chairman presents Mark Anderson with the gold award

GOLD Saltaire Brewery Unity 6.0 SILVER Cullercoats Brewery Limited Rocket Brigade IPA 5.5 BRONZE Rooster's Brewing Co. Baby-Faced Assassin 6.1

GOLD Credence Brewing Ltd White Session IPA 4.8 SILVER Bridgehouse Brewery Ltd Tequila Blonde 3.8 BRONZE Rooster's Brewing Co. Roots. Rock. Reggae. 6.4

Sponsored by

Brewology

Sponsored by SPAsoft Ltd

Sponsored by Simpsons Malt

York Barbican, Paragon Street, York.

17th August 2018

Rastal GmbH & Co. KG

Sponsored by

Charles Faram & Co Ltd

66

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

by

Rankin Brother & Sons

Close Brothers Brewery Rentals

GOLD Maxim Brewery RASPBERRY PORTER 5.0 SILVER Brew York Tonkoko 4.3 BRONZE Old Mill Brewery La Bolsa 4.5

Sponsored by

Murphy & Son Ltd

Cask Strong Beers 6.5% and over Sponsored by Bulk

Storage & Process Systems Ltd

Bill Egerton of Bulk Storage & Process Systems Ltd presents Ian Fozard, SIBA Chairman (Proxy) with the gold award

GOLD North Brewing Transmission 6.9 SILVER Ossett Brewery Rat Brewery/Ratsputin 7.4 BRONZE Black Sheep Brewery Imperial Russian Stout 8.5

North East Region Bottle & Small Pack Winners

REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS

Overall Champion of the Bottle/Can Competition

Bottle/Can British Dark Beers up to 4.4%

Bottle/Can British Dark Beers 4.5 to 6.4%

Jenna Barningham, Regional Executive presents Oliver Fozard & Jamie MacNamara with the gold award

Mark Anderson, Regional Director presents Anna Scantlebury with the gold award

Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Paddy Spencer with the gold award

Bottle/Can British Bitter (up to 4.4%)

John Hart, SIBA Director presents Christy Hughes with the gold award

GOLD Rooster's Brewing Co. Baby-Faced Assassin 6.4 SILVER Saltaire Brewery Velocity 4.1 BRONZE Sonnet 43 Brew House Miss Scarlets Revolver Toasted Coconut Mocha Porter 6.8

GOLD Cullercoats Brewery Limited Polly Donkin 4.3 SILVER Pennine Brewing Co Northland 4.1 BRONZE The Hop Studio Limited Porter 4.3

GOLD The Sheffield Brewery Company Berlin Black 5.7 SILVER Twice Brewed Brewhouse Steel Rigg 4.9 BRONZE Timothy Taylor's 1858 5.3

Bottle/Can British Premium Bitter (4.5 to 6.4%)

Bottle/Can Session IPA (up to 4.3%)

Bottle/Can Premium PAs (4.4 to 5.4%)

Bottle/Can IPA (5.5 to 6.4%)

GOLD Wold Top Brewery Wold Gold 4.8 SILVER Ossett Brewery Yorkshire Blonde Premium 4.5 BRONZE Sentinel Brewing Co. Ar: American red 5.2

Simon Hulse & Chris Holleran of Beer Box Shop present Ed Noble with the gold award

Chris Palmer of Beatson Clark Ltd presents Ian Fozard, SIBA Chairman (Proxy) with the gold award

Mark Anderson, Regional Director presents Jamie MacNamara with the gold award

GOLD Saltaire Brewery Velocity 4.1 SILVER Bingley Brewery Goldylocks 4.0 BRONZE Beer Monkey Brew Co. Beer Monkey Blonde 4.1

GOLD North Brewing Sputnik 5.0 SILVER Hambleton Ales Thoroughbred IPA 5.0 BRONZE Ilkley Brewery Alpha Beta 4.5

GOLD Rooster's Brewing Co. Baby-Faced Assassin 6.4 SILVER Brass Castle Brewery Sunshine 5.7 BRONZE Wold Top Brewery Scarborough Fair IPA 6.0

Bottle/Can Imperial IPA 6.5% and over

Bottle/Can Session Lager & Pilsner up to 4.4%

Bottle/Can Premium Lager & Pilsner (4.5% to 6.4%)

Bottle/Can Speciality Light Beers

Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Mark Anderson, SIBA Regional Director (Proxy) with the gold award

Ian Fozard, SIBA Chairman presents Paul Metcalfe with the gold award

John Hart, SIBA Director presents Jamie Ramshaw (Proxy) with the gold award

Mark Anderson, Regional Director presents Wayne Smith with the silver award

GOLD Allendale Brewery Wilderness 6.5 SILVER Brass Castle Brewery Disruptor 7.4 BRONZE Hadrian Border Brewery Double IPA 8.0

GOLD Beer Monkey Brew Co. Evolution Pilsner 4.3 SILVER Leeds Brewery Leodis 4.4 BRONZE Hadrian Border Brewery Tyne Pilsner 4.1

GOLD Sentinel Brewing Co. cK: Cologne-style Kolsch 4.9 SILVER The Great Newsome Brewery Ltd Cold Snap 5.2 BRONZE Tyne Bank Brewery Helix 5.0

GOLD North Brewing Pinata 4.5 SILVER Brew York Rhubarbra Stressand 5.5 BRONZE Brass Castle Brewery Yorkshire Lavender 4.0

Ian Fozard, SIBA Chairman presents Alex Balchin with the gold award

Bottle/Can Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Sponsored by Beatson Clark Ltd

Sponsored by Beer Box Shop

Bottle/Can Strong Beers (6.5% and over)

Bottle/Can Sours/ Spontaneous

Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Nick Hopper with the gold award

GOLD The Great Newsome Brewery Ltd Liquorice Lads Stout 4.3 SILVER Cullercoats Brewery Limited Portland 4.2 BRONZE Brew York Imperial Tonkoko 7.5

Ian Fozard, SIBA Chairman presents Lee Grabham with the gold award

GOLD Brew York Goose Willis 5.3

GOLD Acorn Brewery of Barnsley Ltd Yorkshire Pride 3.7 SILVER Timothy Taylor's Landlord 4.1 BRONZE Rooster's Brewing Co. Yankee 4.3

GOLD Sonnet 43 Brew House Miss Scarlets Revolver Toasted Coconut Mocha Porter 6.8 SILVER Elland Brewery 1872 Porter 6.5 BRONZE Credence Brewing Ltd. Kaamos 10.5

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

67

East Region Cask Winners

REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS

SIBA East Region

Overall Champion of the Cask Competition

Cask British Dark Beers (up to 4.4%)

Cask British Dark Beers 4.5 to 6.4%

Ian Fozard (SIBA Chairman) presents Alice Batham with the gold award

Neil Walker (SIBA PR & Marketing Manager) presents Tim Dunford with the gold award

GOLD The Earl Soham Brewery Ltd Albert Ale 4.4 SILVER Tring Brewery Pale Four 4.6 BRONZE Oakham Ales Green Devil IPA 6.0

GOLD Brewster's Brewery Aromatic Porter 4.4 SILVER The Earl Soham Brewery Ltd Sir Rogers Porter 4.2 BRONZE Wolf Brewery Sirius Dog Star 4.4

GOLD Green-Jack Brewing Co. lurcher 4.8 SILVER Mauldons Brewery Black Adder Stout 5.3 BRONZE Grain Brewery Ltd Slate 6.0

Cask British Bitter (up to 4.4%) Sponsored by

Cask British Premium Bitter (4.5 to 6.4%) Sponsored

Cask Session IPA (up to 4.3%) Sponsored by

Cask Premium PAs (4.4 to 5.4%)

Mike Benner (SIBA CE) presents Will Neaverson with the silver award

Ian Fozard (SIBA Chairman) presents Paul Crush with the gold award

Nigel Gibbons of Crisp Maltings Group presents Mark Springham & Ian Rydings with the gold award

Iain Kenny of Murphy & Son Ltd presents Richard Shardlow with the gold award

GOLD The Earl Soham Brewery Ltd Albert Ale 4.4 SILVER Tydd Steam Brewery Ltd Dr Foxs Bush Wax 4.2 BRONZE Lacons Brewery Encore 3.8

GOLD Milton Brewery Minerva 4.6 SILVER Elgood & Sons Ltd Greyhound Strong Bitter 5.2 BRONZE Green-Jack Brewing Co. trawlerboys 4.6

GOLD Leigh on Sea Brewery Legra Pale 3.8 SILVER Adnams Mosaic 4.1 BRONZE Brewster's Brewery Aromantica 4.2

GOLD Tring Brewery Pale Four 4.6 SILVER Adnams Ghost Ship 4.5 BRONZE Shortts Brewery Indie 4.8

Cask IPA (5.5 to 6.4%)

Cask Speciality Light Beers

Cask Speciality Mid to Dark Beers Sponsored by Bulk

Cask Strong Beers 6.5% and over

Sponsored by

SPAsoft Ltd

Elgoods Brewery, Wisbech.

20th September 2018

Nigel Hoppit of SPAsoft Ltd presents Sam Abbot (Proxy) with the gold award

Rastal GmbH & Co. KG

Sponsored by

Charles Faram & Co Ltd

by

Rankin Brother & Sons

Neil Walker (SIBA PR & Marketing Manager) presents Will Fry & Elizabeth Louch with the gold award

Neil Walker (SIBA PR & Marketing Manager) presents John Cussons with the gold award

GOLD Oakham Ales Green Devil IPA 6.0 SILVER Leigh on Sea Brewery Crowstone 5.5 BRONZE Brewhouse and Kitchen Bedford Invarsity 6.0

GOLD Ferry Ales Brewery Ltd Farmhouse Ale 5.0 SILVER Turpin's Brewery Cambridge Strawberry Haze 3.9 BRONZE Grain Brewery Ltd Weizen 5.0

68

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

Crisp Malting Group

Storage & Process Systems Ltd

Bill Edgerton presents Steve Sims with the gold award

GOLD Mauldons Brewery Blackberry Porter 4.8 SILVER Green-Jack Brewing Co. red herring 5.0 BRONZE Elgood & Sons Ltd Plum Porter 4.5

Sponsored by

Murphy & Son Ltd

Mike Benner (SIBA CE) presents Richard Shardlow with the gold award

GOLD Tring Brewery Death or Glory 7.2 SILVER Green-Jack Brewing Co. ripper 8.5 BRONZE Ferry Ales Brewery Ltd Cossack 8.0

East Region Bottle & Small Pack Winners

REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS

Overall Champion of the Bottle/Can Competition

Bottle/Can British Dark Beers up to 4.4%

Bottle/Can British Dark Beers 4.5 to 6.4%

Bottle/Can British Bitter (up to 4.4%)

Ian Fozard (SIBA Chairman) presents Alan Pateman with the gold award

Marcus Beecher (Regional Chair) presents Will Edwards with the gold award

Sam Abbott (Regional Director) presents Daryl Sleaman with the gold award

Stuart Bateman (Regional Director) presents Roland Kannor with the gold award

GOLD Elgood & Sons Ltd Cherry Wheat Beer 3.6 SILVER Oakham Ales Green Devil IPA 6.0 BRONZE Nethergate Brewery Old Growler 5.5

GOLD Wolf Brewery Sirius Dog Star 4.4 SILVER The Earl Soham Brewery Ltd Sir Rogers Porter 4.2 BRONZE Shortts Brewery Two Tone 3.8

GOLD Nethergate Brewery Old Growler 5.5 SILVER Mauldons Brewery Black Adder Stout 5.3 BRONZE Turpin's Brewery Cambridge Cambridge Black 4.6

GOLD Brentwood Brewing Company Brentwood Gold 4.3 SILVER Nethergate Brewery Venture 3.7 BRONZE Lacons Brewery Encore 3.8

Bottle/Can British Premium Bitter (4.5 to 6.4%)

Bottle/Can Session IPA (up to 4.3%)

Bottle/Can Premium PAs (4.4 to 5.4%)

Bottle/Can IPA (5.5 to 6.4%)

Mike Benner (SIBA CE) presents Judi-Mae Alderton with the gold award

Dave Parish of CFB Boilers Ltd presents Charles Baldwin with the gold award

Ian Fozard (SIBA Chairman) presents Mike Holman with the gold award

Adam Futter of Saxon Packaging presents Will Fry & Elizabeth Louch with the gold award

GOLD Woodforde's Brewery Nelson's Revenge 4.5 SILVER Leigh on Sea Brewery Two Tree Island 4.5 BRONZE Leighton Buzzard Brewing Co Restoration 4.6

GOLD Calvors Brewery Limited Calvors Session ipa 4.2 SILVER Farr Brew Ltd Wildside 4.1 BRONZE Woodforde's Brewery Norada 4.3

GOLD Ferry Ales Brewery Ltd Golden Fleece 4.5 SILVER Green-Jack Brewing Co. jester 4.4 BRONZE Elmtree Beers Ltd Golden Pale 5.0

GOLD Oakham Ales Green Devil IPA 6.0 SILVER St. Peter's Brewery Co. Ltd India Pale Ale 5.5 BRONZE Brewster's Brewery IPA 6.0

Bottle/Can Session Lager & Pilsner up to 4.4%

Bottle/Can Premium Lager & Pilsner (4.5% to 6.4%)

Bottle/Can Speciality Light Beers

Bottle/Can Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Mike Benner (SIBA CE) presents Charles Baldwin with the gold award

Ian Fozard (SIBA Chairman) presents Charles Baldwin with the gold award

Neil Walker (SIBA PR & Marketing Manager) presents Steve Cook with the gold award

GOLD Calvors Brewery Limited 3point8 3.8 SILVER The Norfolk Brewhouse DewHopper 4.0 BRONZE Adnams Dry Hopped Lager 4.2

GOLD Calvors Brewery Limited Calvors Premium Pilsner 5.0 SILVER Turpin's Brewery Cambridge Underback Pilsner 4.6 BRONZE The Norfolk Brewhouse No 1 Norfolk Lager 4.5

Nick Stafford (SIBA Operations Director) presents Alan Pateman

Bottle/Can Sours/ Spontaneous

Bottle/Can Strong Beers (6.5% and over)

Sponsored by Packaging for Retail

Neil Walker (SIBA PR & Marketing Manager) presents Alan Pateman with the gold award

GOLD Elgood & Sons Ltd Coolship Mango 5.0

Sponsored by Beatson Clark Ltd

Sponsored by CFB Boilers Ltd

GOLD Elgood & Sons Ltd Cherry Wheat Beer 3.6 SILVER Adnams Triple Knot 10.0 BRONZE Leighton Buzzard Brewing Co Barrel-Aged 2016 9.0

Sponsored by Saxon Packaging

GOLD Wibblers Brewery (Farms) Ltd Port infused Imperial Stoat. 9.0 SILVER Elgood & Sons Ltd Plum Porter 4.5 BRONZE Mauldons Brewery Blackberry Porter 4.8

Mike Benner (SIBA CE) presents Richard Shardlow with the gold award

GOLD Tring Brewery Death or Glory 7.2 SILVER Lacons Brewery Audit 8.0 BRONZE Elmtree Beers Ltd terra firma 7.8 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

69

GOLD MEMBERS

Equipment finance Providing you with flexible finance packages to meet your business requirements.

Equipment finance Equipment finance Providing you with flexible finance packages

Funding solutions that let you make long term

Key benefits of equipment finance

In today’s market where finding capital to fund we are uniquely positioned to help as w Providing you withrequirements. flexible financedifficult, packages to meet your business 1.

In depth knowledge of the supporting the drinks industry including brewe industry to meet your business requirements. distilleries and wine producers. We are familiar 2. Finance can be tailored tosolutions that let you commonly and have good relationships w Funding make long used term investments. specific requirements Key benefits of equipment finance In today’sIndustry market where finding capital fund investment is often What we do: specialists offering tailored solutions for kegs, Types ofto equipment funded: casks and drinks equipment difficult, we are uniquely positioned to help as we solely focus on 3.

Fair deposit and security ECasks and Craft 1. In depth knowledge of theEKegs • Brewhouse vessels and complete Brewho supporting the drinks industry including breweries, cider producers, requirements are an experienced and respected solution provider for Cask and keg rentals and sales distilleriesWe industry and wine producers.

We are familiar with the equipment all brewery equipment container maintenance services.

• and Malt and with drythe goods handling equipment Container Services 2. Finance can tailored to 4. beNo hidden costs orcommonly fees We used have good relationships main suppliers. are and a specialist division of Close Brothers, a leading merchant specificSale requirements and rent back Fermenting vessels, conditioning and brig banking group.

Types of equipment funded:• 3. Fair deposit and security Equipment Finance Funding solutions let you Brewhouse makecarbonators, long term investments.

•complete Chillers, filters and other pro • Brewhouse vessels andthat installations requirements • Malt and dry goods handling equipment In today’s market where capital to fund investment is often 4. No hidden costs or fees • finding Keg washing and filling lines difficult,vessels, we are uniquely positioned to helpbeer as we solely focus on • Fermenting conditioning and bright tanks • industry Bottling lines, canning labellers and supporting the drinks including breweries, cider lines, producers, • Chillers, carbonators, filters and other processing equipment Key benefits of equipment finance distilleries and wine producers. We are familiar with the equipment • Keg washing and filling commonly used andlines have good relationships with the main suppliers.

1. In depth knowledge of the • Bottling lines, canning lines, labellers and packers Types of equipment funded: industry • Brewhouse vessels and complete Brewhouse installations 2. Finance can be tailored to specific requirements • Malt and dry goods handling equipment 3. Fair deposit and security • Fermenting vessels, conditioning and bright beer tanks requirements • Chillers, carbonators, filters and other processing equipment 4. No hidden costs or fees • Keg washing and filling lines • Bottling lines, canning lines, labellers and packers

70

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

GOLD MEMBERS

EKeg case study Redchurch Brewery At Redchurch Brewery, the approach is simple: exceptional beers brewed with respect for process and flavour.

After starting with an initial core range, the brewery has pushed the boundaries of fermentation to develop a wide range of experimental beers called ‘Urban Farmhouse’.

The company has grown since 2011, and now has sites in Poyser Street, Bethnal Green and Harlow, Essex.

The Poyser Street site has a tap room which has fast become a local hub for beer lovers, stocking the company’s signature beers and showcasing their latest creations.

In 2018, Redchurch recognised that due to business growth, an increasing customer base and new sales opportunities, their historic keg supply route had become costly and ineffective.

Change was needed to take the company to the next level.

Redchurch considered increasing their own fleet and kegs to meet demand, but this proved to be heavily capital intensive.

Although development was needed, it was clear that capital could produce better returns if it was invested into lucrative projects such as new vessels with a view to increasing sales opportunities.

We're extremely happy with E-Kegs and all the support CBBR have provided in the transition. This service far exceeds the level of support offered by other companies in the market - we’re glad we chose Close Brothers Brewery Rental and EKegs for our steel!

Redchurch Brewery

The answer was found during a chat over a coffee. Close Brothers Brewery Rentals (CBBR) spoke to Redchurch about the current market and how by working closely with customers, and listening instead of “selling”, CBBR could help find Redchurch a solution that worked, even if that solution wasn’t a CBBR product.

CBBR took the time to understand how Redchurch were operating, the future plans and what any current capacity challenges were. Most importantly, CBBR shared some recommended solutions which would enable the desired growth to be realised. A range of products were considered, and CBBR provided an honest evaluation of each option, providing facts and highlighting benefits and challenges across the industry.

Ultimately, Redchurch decided that the Ekeg solution best suited their needs.

Supported by the team at CBBR, Redchurch were able to find a flexible way to meet container requirements, using a fleet option as a supplement to their own population.

CBBR have industry quality and engineering specialists who visited the site to ensure that each part of the kegging process was operating at maximum capacity and returning the value to Redchurch as required.

To find out more call us today on 01425 485421 or visit www.closebreweryrentals.co.uk

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

71

GOLD MEMBERS

FAWCETTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MALT Quality, Variety, Flavour.

72

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

GOLD MEMBERS

Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd

is a seventh generation family business that has been manufacturing speciality quality malts for over 200 years on its original site in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

The Company has always operated on this site in Yorkshire for the simple reason that it is close to one of the best barley growing areas in the UK and The Company’s own bore holes provide excellent and consistent quality water for the manufacture of malt.

The Company is unique in that it operates six different production units from the same site; two Floor Maltings, a Saladin Box Maltings, a more modern Germinating Kilning Vessel Maltings, and two bespoke roasting houses for the production of Crystal and Roasted products.

Our production times are quite lengthy by modern standards, but we believe it leads to greater consistency in mash tun performance and more intense malty flavours.

Batch sizes are small which allows for tight control of blending in order to achieve any customer specification. We manufacture over 30 different malts; a full range of Pale Ale Malts from different barley varieties, together with all the other malted cereals of Wheat, Rye and Oats.

Whilst barley malts comprise the majority of the brewers’ grist, our other cereal malts are fully modified and can be used at relatively high addition rates without the need for step-temperature mashing or separate cereal cookers. Oat Malt has a higher husk:endosperm ratio and is useful in keeping the mash bed open / porous as well as for its unique flavour and mouth feel contribution. Crystal Malts are made from fully modified grains where the starch

has been broken down into sugars and then caramelised at high temperatures in the roasting drum. The Crystal malt range is from light coloured, honey flavoured Caramalt, through toffee / caramel flavours of standard Crystal, to very dark Red Crystal which gives an intense, rich, rubyred colour to the beer. Conversely, Roasted malts are made from partially germinated, kiln-dried grain that is then roasted at high temperatures resulting in a toasting of the starch. This gives a range of flavours and colour from slightly biscuity-flavoured Amber Malt, to coffee / chocolate flavours of the mid-range products, and the intense roast character and colour of Black malt.

We also include Wheat and Rye in the crystal and roasted range which gives any Brewer the complete spectrum of raw materials with which to create unique, top quality beers.

The finest barleys make the finest malts and the Company strives to procure the best barley samples from each season. Pale Ale malts are largely made from the iconic barley varieties Maris Otter and Golden Promise, though not exclusively.

Proven winter varieties such as Halcyon and Pearl are still available and the current main spring barley variety is Propino.

The Company prides itself on quality and service. The Company offers the complete range of products, packaging and delivery options – a “one stop malt shop” for all Brewers. Malt is supplied in 25kg sacks (either whole or pre-milled) shrink wrapped on pallets or in larger tote bags (350kg, 500kg, or 1,000kg) and in up to 25 tonne bulk loads. The Company provides a dedicated delivery service via its own transport fleet inclusive of drivers willing to help off-load.

HARVEST REPORT 2018 2017/2018 has been a very interesting and difficult barley growing year in the UK and throughout Europe. The very wet autumn and early spring made sowing conditions testing for both spring & winter crops. The spring crop went into the ground up to two and a half months late.

The extremes of the spring were followed by the hottest and driest summer on record which dramatically affected yields and nitrogen content specifically in the spring crop. Whispers and then the unfolding reality of a shortage of quality has led to significant increases in price which are likely to remain firm until the next crop.

The good news form our perspective is that The winter barleys were better. Though they went into wet seed beds, they were protected from the worst ravages of the drought, producing generally low levels of nitrogen. The heritage varieties of Maris Otter, Halcyon and Pearl were the best of the winter crops, and we have managed to buy enough quality barley for all our Pale Ale, Crystal and Roast Malt production requirements.

We can therefore reassure all our customers of our ability to supply high quality, low nitrogen Malts for the coming year, giving them the confidence of consistent brewing performance in a year of great uncertainties.

We are customer driven to help brewers of all traditions and sizes. For further information or for a bespoke quotation to reflect your malt variety preference, volume, packaging and delivery requirements please email: sales@fawcett-maltsters.co.uk or call us on 01977 552490.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

73

SIBA brewers' news

SIBA BREWERS' NEWS

Dorking Brewery continues its expansion

Dorking Brewery continues to grow apace, with kegging and bottling in house now bringing everything under control.

Last November the new 50hl brewery was commissioned so that cask ale production could keep up with demand and 2018 has continued to see double digit growth and the new kit now keeps pace. Quality, efficiency and repeatability have all substantially increased.

“We enjoy dry hopping some our beers,” explained Ted Carey, Lead Brewer. “And when we mention a hop there is enough in there to taste it. So for some of our styles the keg format is perfect, it really allows the hops to shine. Our cask ale customers demand clear beer but the kegs are unfined and unfiltered, keeping all the flavour in the beer. The added bonus is that these beers are now vegan friendly.”

“We decided on metal kegs for several reasons,” commented Neel Singh, owner of Dorking Brewery. “Reusable kegs are more environmentally friendly and we feel they offer greater consistency at present. The choice of bottles over cans was more difficult. Maybe cans are the future but the bottling line gives us much more flexibility for quick, short runs and different sizes. It is a format that sits equally comfortably in a bar or an off-licence or a local farm shop.”

For more information go to www.dorkingbrewery.com

Derby Brewing Company uses crowdfunding to finance new equipment The multi-award winning Derby Brewing Company has recently invested in new equipment to improve the efficiency and output of their Nottingham Road brewery.

The family owned Derby Brewing Company successfully raised £500,000 through a crowdfunding campaign in 2017, some of which has been used to purchase the new equipment. The new kit includes a glycol cooling system, a large fermentation vessel and canning and kegging machinery.

Head Brewer Andy Marshall says, “This new equipment will enable us to keep up with demand in terms of both volume and packaging methods. The new cooling system will enable us to consistently keep larger vessels of beer at an optimal fermentation temperature of 20 – 22 degrees centigrade for ales and 7 -13c for lagers.

“The new fermentation vessel is capable of producing 15 barrel brews. Many of our core beers are so popular we sell a single brew within a matter of weeks so this new vessel will help us to maintain stocks and avoid shortages in busy periods. The main difference of this one to our current ones is that it’s dual purpose therefore allowing us to use it as a conditioning tank as well. It will also allow us to carbonate our beer opening up more packaging options on site.”

Director Paul Harris added: “The crowdfunding campaign has enabled us to invest in this fantastic new equipment which will be a big boost to our beer production. I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who invested with us. We’ve also got some exciting news about new

sites we’ll be taking on over the next few months so watch this space!”

Follow Derby Brewing Co on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all the updates on this and future brews from their #beardybrewers.

Stormwatch returns at Salcombe Brewery Co

The autumnal seasonal rye ale Stormwatch from Salcombe Brewery Co. makes a comeback this year! Created with the storms lashing at the Brewhouse, this beer has a spiced caramel and toffee malt base with a balanced bitterness followed by a smooth fruity finish.

This year, this festive seasonal ale Christmas Tide will also be available in bottles, ideal for Christmas gifts! In addition to the pump on the bar, Christmas Tide will be available in cases of 8 and in retail gift packs. This well structured, malt driven beer is at a strength that can be enjoyed throughout the festive season.

For more information go to www.salcombebrewery.com

74

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

SIBA brewers' news

SIBA BREWERS' NEWS

Stroud Brewery launches range of small batch brews Organic beer producer, Stroud Brewery, is delighted to launch a range of small batch limited edition brews. The first, is a brand new organic lager called Light Organic Lager or LOL. With an ABV of 4%, LOL has a light crisp and refreshing taste gently hopped with a soft malt aroma. It has been brewed using traditional lager malt and organic Brewers Gold and Saaz hops and then bottled in 330ml bottles.

The second ale of the small batch brews is a collaboration with innovative ale producers, TOAST ALE, to create a pale ale called Melba (4.4%).

Brewed using unsold organic Hobbs House Bakery bread (Organic Wild White and Organic Light Rye Sourdough) It is a generously hopped pale ale using organic Simcoe, Chinook and Mandarina Bavaria hops to give a crisp finish and balanced bitterness.

With a soft malt flavour and a stone fruit aroma

from the hops, Melba, will be available in cask, keg, and 330ml bottles with 5% of the revenue going to Stroud District Foodbank.

Greg Pilley, MD of Stroud Brewery, commented: “We have developed this range of small batch brews primarily to meet customer demand. As we see sales of organic produce up year on year, with sales of organic beer, wine and spirits up by 8.7%,* it’s important that we are leading this from a brewery perspective and offering as much diversity in the category as we can. These small batch brews we believe will also encourage new audiences into the category to try different styles of craft ales.”

Both beers are available to trade customers nationwide via Eebria https://www.eebriatrade.com/

London Brewing Company secures listings with St Pancras and Mitchells & Butlers Award-winning London Brewing Company has secured significant partnership listings with St Pancras International and Mitchell and Butlers. Crafting in the capital since 2011, the company has expanded its range of beers and rebranded its livery to reflect the company’s growth and further reach.

Leeds Brewery’s first adventure in canning Leeds Brewery has made its first move into cans with its popular Hellfire beer.

With flagship brews Chuckaboo Extra Pale, Upright Session IPA, 100 Oysters Stout and Beer Street Best Bitter, the expanded product range is launched at the perfect time to support these listings and pays homage to the Victorian era behind those beer names, bringing humour and wit alongside a fun and engaging design.

Hellfire had always sold well in cask and in its former clothing, a 330ml bottle, but the brewery team decided to bring the branding for the beer up to date to reflect the current trend for Pale Ale in cans.

The result is a striking product, that looks great in the fridge and the can format also ensures quality during storage and transport.

For more information go to www.leedsbrewery.co.uk

With St Pancras International celebrating its 150th Anniversary in October, London Brewing Company have teamed up with the station to join in the celebrations, creating a 4.8% dry-hopped St Pancras International 150 IPA, available for drinkers to enjoy in the Kings Cross St Pancras area.

As part of the Mitchell and Butler’s listing, the full range of ales were featured within Nicholson’s Beer Showcase until the 14th October 2018, across over 40 London pubs. The St Pancras International 150 IPA will be joined by new additions Flying the Mags (a new 3.8% Mild), London Lush (3.8% Pale Ale), and Never Mind the Kent Hops (5.5% ESB), Senan Sexton, Director, commented “The brewery continues to go from strength to strength and as a team we’re all really proud of the beers we’ve been producing. These listings and partnerships are a testament to that journey and give us a great opportunity to showcase our beers to a wider beer loving audience across London.”

For more media information go to www.londonbrewing.com

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

75

Hire our FVs & CTs

• Speed - we deliver from stock so you can have extra capacity, normally in just a couple of weeks • Flexibility - hire short term, keep long term, or return, it’s up to you • Turnkey - we provide everything and deliver into the Brewery, all you need to supply is power • Quality - we only supply the very best equipment making NINKASI tanks the easiest and most efficient to use • Service - we are committed to looking after our clients We now hire out dish bottomed fermenting vessels as well as conical. Get in touch if you would like more information.

76

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

SIBA brewers' news

SIBA BREWERS' NEWS

Slater’s Ales’ Top Totty changes its name to 1Hop Top Totty was first brewed in 1998 as a one-off summer special. However, due to its popularity and feedback from drinkers Slater’s Ales decided to make it a permanent ale and over the intervening years it has become their biggest selling ale and has won multiple awards.

The original pump clip of a bunny girl was designed to be humorous and never intended to offend anyone, but following feedback and with the change in times since the original clip was designed, the decision was made in 2014 to remove the bunny girl from the pump clip as Slater’s acknowledged that this wasn’t appropriate for the beer market and modern society.

During the following four years the Slater’s team have argued internally about what is the correct thing to do with Top Totty bearing in mind its popularity with drinkers and feedback received from detractors. As a result of focus groups the decision has now been made to completely rebrand the beer and as of 1st October 2018, Top Totty has changed its name to 1Hop. This name has been chosen as it reflects the breweries willingness to showcase the single hopped ale as it is brewed solely with English WGV hops.

For more information go to www.slatersales.co.uk

Woodforde’s enjoys summer success Woodforde’s Brewery enjoyed a fantastic summer after launching two seasonal beers; Volt and Red Admiral, at the Royal Norfolk Show which went down a storm with the crowds, who drank thousands of pints across the two days.

Red Admiral (4.0% ABV) is a red rye beer, alluring and deep ruby in colour, and Volt (4.5% ABV) the Indian pale ale is packed with the best American hops, offering citrus, floral and pine scents.

Woodforde’s also won three awards for their beers, two CAMRA ‘Beer of the Year’ awards for Mardler’s Mild and Nelson’s Revenge and a Bronze International Beer Challenge medal for Wherry.

On the 1st August the brewery also announced its sponsorship of The Barclay Stand at Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City Football Club. The iconic Barclay Stand is now emblazoned in the yellow and green of Norwich City and Woodforde’s eye-catching brand featuring Lord Nelson. CEO James Hughes said: "We have a lot of passionate supporters for our beer and the club has the most passionate fans in the EFL so it's a natural partnership and we're delighted to be a part of this journey."

You can keep up to date with Woodforde’s Brewery by following @WoodfordesBeer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or at Woodfordes.com

Wibblers Brewery shortlisted for Rural Business Awards EAST 2018.

Located in the heart of the Dengie peninsula, Wibblers is a family business with a real passion for true, craft and innovative beers, lagers and cider.

Head brewer and owner Phil Wilcox is overjoyed with the recognition. “I am thrilled to have been nominated. This is real recognition of everything we stand for at Wibblers. This started out as a hobby, now being put forward for such an award, is a great chapter in our story!”

Operations manager George Cullen-Mcleod added: “As one of the more diverse micro-breweries in East Anglia, this is a tremendous pat on the back for the whole of the Wibblers team. This re-iterates our commitment to producing a consistent, top quality, hand crafted product with East Anglian raw materials.”

The awards ceremony was due to take place as the Journal went to press at in Ipswich on the 25th of October.

For more information go to www.wibblers.co.uk

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

77

SÜDMO

INCREASE YOUR PRODUCT SAFETY & RESOURCE EFFICIENCY Achieve a reliable, trouble free operation, with less downtime, easy maintenance, and optimum cleanability with Pentair Südmo’s Process Valve Technology • Trusted DSV Complete Double Seat Valves • Robust SVP Select Single Seat Valves

Visit us at:

• SVP Fill Valve - Fast and Durable • Flow Diversion Device with the IntelliTop 2.0

Nuremberg, Germany November 13-15

• Aseptic Process Valves - P Diaphragm 3

and find out more about our technologies.

• Smart Valve Manifolds

FOODANDBEVERAGE.PENTAIR.COM

Hall 9, Booth 538

Phone: +44 (0) 1905 797 280 • Email: Sales.uk@pentair.com

half-page_sudmo_ad_182x128_en.indd 1

20.09.2018 13:22:56

you?

What can I get er mats, Bar runners, be ckets, glassware, ice bu oards, A-boards, chalkb irts….. bar blades, t-sh bespoke?

Maybe something

PPS for POS 78

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

david@beaumontpps.com 0141 226 3411

SIBA brewers' news

SIBA BREWERS' NEWS

Windswept Brewing Co opens its doors to beer fans At the start of June, Windswept Brewing Co opened its new Tap Room bar right next to their brewery in Lossiemouth and it is proving to be a real hit with locals and tourists alike. Built from recycled pallets, the bar has 12 beers on draught including two on cask. With a selection from the core Windswept range, speciality barrel-age beers, experimental trials and guest ales, there is always something to interest any beer fan. They also serve local gin, whisky, hot and cold drinks as well as cakes baked by a local baker.

Nigel Tiddy, brewery owner, said: “We wanted a place for people to come and enjoy great beer. By creating really relaxed atmosphere, we think it is the perfect place to pop in after a walk with the dog, a cycle or a day out at the beach or on the sea.”

Visitor numbers are already exceeding expectations and have also included a couple of surprise celebrity guests, TV chefs - James Martin and Nick Nairn, who recently came in to sample some of the beers.

TV chefs - James Martin and Nick Nairn visit the new Tap Room

For more information go to www.windsweptbrewing.com

Fuggle Bunny Brew House goes from strength to strength Hiver, The Honey Beer, launches in cans The award-winning, all-British craft beer introduces the original Hiver favourite, The Honey Blonde, and the popular draught beer, The Honey IPA, will be the winning combination for the can launch. Limited-edition, seasonal variations are currently being planned in can for 2019.

Marking Hiver’s fifth birthday, the introduction of cans demonstrates how the brand has grown under the direction of founder Hannah Rhodes to become the UK’s honey beer of choice and the only honey beer now available in cans in the UK. Cans are the fastest growing format in craft beer and these new Hiver introductions are a response to trade and consumer demand.

Commenting on the launch of the can format, Hannah said: “It’s been fantastic to see how Hiver has developed to become a firm favourite amongst UK drinkers, both for refreshment and alongside food. Our current packaged format perfectly showcases us as a premium British brand stocked in foodie havens up and down the country. With this in mind, launching into can made perfect sense to open wider F&B opportunities, especially as this format now accounting for 25% of craft beer sales.”

After opening their doors in 2014 as a brand new venture into the beer industry Fuggle Bunny took only eight months before winning SIBA's prestigious Business Award for the Best Total Design Concept 2015.

During the next four years the brewery has grown in strength and stature and gained numerous awards for its beers - it now has a core range of nine real ales varying in strength, character and taste.

Fuggle Bunny has now launched its first keg beer called Latest Squeeze, a 4.0 pale bursting with lemon and elderflower. As a member of the SIBA DDS the brewery sells to tied houses, Wetherspoon, Stonegates, freehouses and wholesalers regionally and nationally and decided to open its first ale house in Worksop in August 2017 called Fuggles Chapter ONE which has been warmly received by the locals. Much to owners David and Wendy Steeple’s surprise, after only six months trading they were Awarded North Notts CAMRA pub of the winter and spring season and have also just received notification that they have made it into the CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2019.

For more information go to www.fugglebunnybrewhouse.co.uk

For more information visit www.hiverbeers.com WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

79

integrity BEER of thE

malt Chris Garratt, head Maltster . tel: 01985 212014 Chris.Garratt@warMinster-Malt.Co.uk

F22949 CDHA Distillers advert A5 v1.indd 1

80

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

30/03/2017 17:34

SIBA brewers' news

SIBA BREWERS' NEWS

Ferry Ales uses local hops from brand new Lincolnshire Hops Lincolnshire Hops is a brand new small hop farm just outside Lincoln run by David Wykes. David approached nearby Ferry Ales last year to gauge their interest in working with him and using his first hops, which are believed to be the first commercially grown Lincolnshire hops in a long time.

David is only 10 minutes from the brewery and Ferry Ales have now been working closely with him for the last 12 months. To celebrate this very local hop farm Ferry have just brewed a green hop beer with Saaz hops which is the first hop harvested from the Lincolnshire Hops vines. The beer should be ready shortly after conditioning and there is already a lot of interest from pubs across the area.

For more information go to www.ferryalesbrewery.co.uk or search Lincolnshire Hops on Facebook.

Wold Top Brewery wins Great Taste Awards for two of its beers The team at Wold Top Brewery is celebrating after two of its beers won stars at the Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards.

Wold Top Brewery’s Marmalade Porter has added a prestigious two star award to the host of commendations that it has received this year, including success in the World Gluten Free Beer Awards and a bronze award in the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) regional Independent Keg Beer Awards.

In addition, Wold Top Bitter, the brewery’s first and flagship beer that was first brewed 15 years ago, was awarded one star.

Brewery manager Alex Balchin said: “It’s fantastic news that Marmalade Porter has won yet another award and good to see that Wold Top Bitter is considered as good now as it was when we first started brewing it. It’s a great result for the hard working team at the brewery.”

For more information go to www.woldtopbrewery.co.uk.

Sixpenny Brewery raises over £8,000 for good causes Small Dorset brewery Sixpenny has already raised over £8,000 this year for charities and good causes with some really unusual events.

Sixpenny Brewery held a charity auction of 'priceless wonders' to raise money for NHS Bloodwise on behalf of one of their regular customers who lost his daughter to Leukaemia earlier this year.

'Priceless' Lots included a day out and lunch on a 32ft sailing yacht, a morning making a lucky horseshoe with the local farrier, VIP tickets to Bath Rugby, a day course learning how to make artisan bread and of course a brewery experience day at Sixpenny Brewery. Live music from local bands and BBQ from the local farm, all at the Sixpenny Tap in Cranborne, Dorset.

The total raised during the day was over £3,000 to make a total of over £8,000 raised for local and national charities so far this year.

West Berkshire Brewery & Soft Cell Launch ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ West Berkshire Brewery (WBB) and 80’s synth-pop duo Soft Cell collaborated to create a limited-edition new beer named ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye, available exclusively in Mitchells & Butlers pubs in cask this Autumn.

The next charity Event is Sixpenny’s annual Big Curry night on Sunday 11th November raising money for the Army Benevolent Fund. Limited tickets available from the brewery to join in the feast cooked up by the local regiment, with all profits going to the charity.

‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’, 4.2% ABV, is a pale ale inspired by the classic English Bitters enjoyed by the band during their early years in Leeds, with the addition of New World hops to reflect their time in America. The beer has flavours of digestive biscuit, toffee, grapefruit and orange and will be on tap across the popular M&B brands Nicholson’s Pubs, Ember Inns and Castle Pubs for three months as part of their Autumn Seasonal Cask Range.

For more information go to www.sixpennybrewery.co.uk

For more information go to www.wbbrew.com

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

81

Process Cooling Solutions

for Ale and Lager Brewing Cost effective wort cooling, brewing 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

01283 565912 www.ubplastics.co.uk UB Plastics Ltd, situated in Burton on Trent, are the primary UK manufacturers of a complete range of 2 piece plastic shives in 6 different sizes to suit all cask bush variants. We also manufacture thermoplastic keystones, hard pegs, keystone re-sealing bungs - which are a far cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to cork - and a complete range of keg caps.

Shives, keystones and keg caps can be customised to our customers requirements.

We manufacture in a large range of colours and can also offer printing on the shives.

UB Plastics are now manufacturing an in mould labelled Plastic 1 Pint Cup offering up to 5 colour branding.

The cups are reusable therefore environmentally friendly, fantastic quality and are an excellent advertising tool for festivals / events.

Please contact Steve Brown on 07885 866777 or stevebrown@ubplastics.co.uk for any quotations or information regarding Stainless Steel Kegs or Casks and we will be happy to discuss your exact requirements.

82

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

brewingbusiness.co.uk

33

SIBA brewers' news Top Out Brewery celebrates 5 Years

SIBA BREWERS' NEWS

This summer Top Out Brewery in Edinburgh celebrated their 5th Anniversary with two new beer releases.

Double Cone is an exceptional Double IPA and a double version of Top Out’s defining and award-winning The Cone IPA. Head brewer and co-founder Michael simply double mashed it and doubled the hops of all-American favorites Simcoe, Amarillo and Palisade. For good measure, Double Cone was also matured on a load of oak chips. This moreish hop beast comes in at 10.6% and is available in 750ml champagne bottles with cork and cage.

The other new beer from Top Out is part of First Ascents, a brand new range featuring experimental and limited edition brews. The first in this new series is a kettled sour beer matured on fresh plums (1kg/10L) packing a punch with its fresh and fruity acidity. First Ascents will feature approximately four beers a year that will sit alongside Top Out’s core beers.

For more information please email info@topoutbrewery.com or visit www.topoutbrewery.com

Bragdy Mon – Anglesey Brewhouse is among the Great Taste winners of 2018 Great Taste, the world’s most coveted food awards, which celebrates the very best in food and drink, has announced the Great Taste stars of 2018. Out of over 12,600 products to be judged, Bragdy Mon – Anglesey Brewhouse was awarded a 1-star Great Taste award for its Rhosneigr IPA. Judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers, as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers.

Phil, the brewery’s founder, explains: “If it wasn’t for the help of one the Welsh Government departments, Cywain, we’d never have entered. Their assistance and encouragement has been fantastic providing free workshops and in particular how to get award ready. At the moment demand is outstripping supply so as soon as we have some free we’ll be raising a glass (or two) to Cywain and to celebrate our now award-winning brew.”

For more information go to www.angleseybrewhouse.co.uk

Revolutions Brewing Co. launches "The Final Countdown", Brexit themed beers Whatever your own thoughts on the matter, it is indisputable that the Brexit deadline is approaching.

Revolutions Brewing Co. are marking the last few months of UK EU membership with a series of very pale 4.2% abv beers featuring some choice European hops. Version 1 showcasing Polish Junga hops sold out faster that a Government U-turn and features an abstract view of Krakow on the pumpclip.

Version 2 with German Mandarina Bavaria hops has just been released with another abstract image on the pumpclip, this time a graffiti section of the Berlin Wall. Further versions with French, Belgian, Czech and Slovenian hops are planned.

In keeping with Revolutions' abiding musical theme, the beer references the 1986 song The Final Countdown, by, ironically, the group Europe. #BrexitBeer

For more information go to www.revolutionsbrewing.co.uk

Ride Brew Co launches new social enterprise project Scottish brewery Ride Brew Co has announced plans to start a new social enterprise dedicated to creating a Scottish first, a taproom and event space that is 100% accessible for people with disabilities. To do this the brewery will move to a new, bigger site in the south side of Glasgow which will allow it to use a bigger kit and house the onsite taproom.

It was conceived by Dave Lannigan, Head Brewer and founder of Ride Brew Co, who is officially disabled through loss of hearing and suffers from ADHD and dyslexia.

The project, dubbed The Glasgow Brewery Collective, aims to create a number of jobs that will provide employment for people with disabilities struggling to get into work.

Ride Brew Co will be joined by other local breweries in various capacities to help get the project off the ground.

“My disabilities have given me personal experience of being excluded and the struggles that people with disabilities face when trying to find work”, he said. “I’m keen to do something to help people in a similar situation to me find meaningful employment.”

For more information email info@ridebrewing.co.uk

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

83

CaskForce_Ad183x128_Mar_18.qx8_(v) 23/03/2018 13:38 Page 1

Recommended by Breweries Everywhere Specialist Manufacturers of Cleaning and Filling Systems

Designed and built in the UK Saves time, saves money.

• Simple to operate • Powerful and thorough • Digital control panel • Washes 18 gallon, 9 gallon and Pins

SEE IT IN ACTION ON OUR WEBSITE www.CASKWASHER.com

for more information call us on 0800 157 7198

The CANPRO filling system is a state-of-the-art, high-speed, mechanically controlled can filling system designed around proven European counter-pressure-gravity filling technology and can seaming technology. The CANPRO is designed to fill beer in a variety of can sizes and volumes offering today’s craft brewers a wide range of flexibility.

The CANPRO filling systems achieve filling speeds ranging from 80 cans per minute with (330ml cans) up to 600 cans per minute while delivering very precise fill levels, very low O2 pickup and minimal product loss.

Please contact us at info@moravekinternational.com for further information.

Moravek International Limited Pure Offices, Kestrel Court, Harbour Rd, Portishead, Bristol BS20 7AN

Tel: (44) (0)1427 890098

www.moravekinternational.com

84

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

SIBA brewers' news

SIBA BREWERS' NEWS

Yeovil Ales bottles eight of its favourites using bespoke technology A passion for brewing combined with their engineering background has seen the owners of Yeovil Ales brewery build their own state-of-the-art bottling line from scratch.

Rob and Dave Sherwood, owners of the family-run brewery in Somerset have used their specialist knowledge and love of ale to produce and bottle on-site “fridge-friendly” unfiltered and unfined bottled beer, with the range including their Summerset blonde ale, Lynx Wildcat bitter and POSH gourmet India Pale Ale. The new bottling line enables the team to have full control over the quality of the bottled beers and maintain the highstandards the brewery is known for.

All the beers in the Yeovil Ales range are vegan friendly, and the low sediment content of the bottled varieties means they can be laid down in the fridge.

Rob said: “We’ve created from scratch a four-head counter-pressure bottle filler. It’s all computer controlled using technology known as Raspberry Pi. The whole operation is a real blend of skill sets - I designed all the pneumatics and electrical switches circuits, and Dave wrote all the software. I wanted to create a bottling line that allows us to use gravity to clarify the beer, keeping all the flavour in but reducing the variability of yeasty bottle conditioned beers.”

For more information go to www.yeovilales.com

The Cheshire Brewhouse shortlisted for the RMI Analytics Heirloom Malt Brewing Award 2018 The Cheshire Brewhouse are delighted to announce that they have been nominated as a competitor in the RMI Analytics Heirloom Malt Brewing Award 2018.

The Awards were open to beers produced with Heirloom varieties of barley malt, varieties that are no longer used on mass commercially, but have contributed greatly to world brewing heritage.

The competition took entries from breweries from all around the world in March 2018 and The Cheshire Brewhouse, with its heritage recipe Govinda Chevallier, English IPA were nominated as one of only 10 competitors globally invited to compete for the award alongside other competitors from Germany, Sweden, Austria,

USA, India and the UK. Govinda Chevallier takes a heritage 1840’s English IPA recipe that was originally brewed commercially in Burton Upon Trent, at the time. The Cheshire Brewhouse are already one of the first breweries in the world to produce a commercial beer with Chevallier malt, brewing a 5bbl batch of Govinda in 2014.

The awards will take place at The RMI Analytics Heirloom Terroir Barley and Malt Symposium 2018, Held in Nuremburg on the 12th of November the Day before Brau Beviale, Europe’s largest Beer & Drinks Expo.

More details here: www.rmi-analytics.com/rmi-analyticsheirloom-terroir-barley-and-malt-symposium-2018/

Oakham Ales commemorates founder with ‘Once to yourself’ Beer lovers will be able to raise a glass in tribute to one of their own after Peterborough-based Oakham Ales’ latest brew, Once to yourself, was launched in memory of the brewery’s founder, John Wood.

A keen real ale enthusiast and stalwart of the Rutland branch of CAMRA, (the Campaign for Real Ale), John Wood, who founded Oakham in Rutland in 1993, passed away this January.

The new Oakham brew, which derives its name from his other great passion, Morris dancing, was made public for the first time at the recent Rutland Beer Festival, where it was awarded the Champion Beer of the Festival, and is now available in wider circulation during July.

The golden ale has a volume of 4.4% and in tribute to John’s open-minded approach to new taste is made from four new types of hop

varieties from Slovenia – Fox, Kolibri, Cardinal and Eagle.

The drink is a fitting tribute to John Wood, someone who devoted much of his life to the real ale industry. He founded Oakham in 1993, two years before the company’s purchase by senior partner Paul Hook and subsequent relocation to its current Peterborough base.

Wood’s own creation, Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB), has won many awards over the last 20 years, including gold in CAMRA’s Supreme Champion Beer Award in 2001, and remains a key part of Oakham’s range to this day.

Adrian Posnett, Oakham Ales' managing director, said: "John’s contribution to Oakham Ales will be never forgotten, a man without whom there would be no Oakham Ales at all."

For more information go to www.oakhamales.co.uk WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

85

Accredited training for brewing excellence Brewlab is a leading supplier of training for the brewing industry Our range of courses allow you to > Set up, run and develop a successful brewery > Brew and package with consistently high quality > Gain a recognised, professional qualification in brewing

Tap us up for more info or to book a place contact +44 (0) 191 303 6825 or info@brewlab.co.uk FOLLOW US

www.brewlab.co.uk

FREE HOSE HEALTH CHECK DO YOU NEED A HEALTH CHECK? IF YOUR HOSES ARE 3 YEARS OLD OR OVER WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU GET A HOSE HEALTH CHECK

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INCLUDED? 1. FREE INTERNAL HOSE LINER ENDOSCOPE INSPECTION 2. FREE EXTERNAL VISUAL INSPECTION 3. FREE INTEGRITY INSPECTION OF END CONNECTIONS 4. FREE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT STEPS

GET IN TOUCH TEL: +44 (0) 1753 570 099 | SALES@FLEXTECHHOSE.CO.UK

86

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

LEARN MORE HERE: https://goo.gl/FkvWqk

SIBA supplier news

SUPPLIER NEWS

SUPPLIER viewpoint

Crisp Malting Group:

VOTE FOR THE

OAT IN BEER

Oats have been used in brewing for hundreds of years, almost disappearing at times, but making a re-appearance at the end of the 19th century and being commonly used in stouts in the 20th century.

They certainly aren’t up there among the top beer ingredients in volume terms. However, according to Crisp Malt’s Carl Heron, they offer special qualities for brewers to play with and should not be underestimated.

“Particularly when it comes to stouts, porters and New England IPAs,” he says, “oats in their various forms can make a really positive contribution to texture and flavour. Dark beers brewed with significant quantities of black and chocolate malts respond really well to the added body and satin texture that oats can bring. New England IPAs – known for their distinct appearance and unique flavours – are commonly brewed with oats. While most IPAs are filtered to bright clarity, New England IPAs are anywhere from hazy to extremely cloudy. An addition of oats can create a desirable haze, a smooth mouthfeel, and complement NEIPS’ often-fruity undertones. But whilst all oats may be created equal – they are not all the same. Different types of oats impart different features, so choosing the right ingredient for the job is essential.”

The Right Oats for the Right Notes: Flaked Torrefied Oats

A non-malted cereal, micronized flaked oats improve mouthfeel and increase body, but also bring a smoothness and pleasant oaty flavour to the beer. The starches are gelatinised during the process which means these can be used directly in the mash tun up to 20% of the grist.

The husks help wort filterability.

Naked Oat Malt

When mixed with barley malt, naked oat malt can improve mouthfeel and introduce notes of a toasted, biscuity aroma and palate. They work fantastically in oatmeal stouts and pale ales. The soluble fibres are passed into the beer and impart smoothness and mouthfeel.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Malted Husk Oats

Malted husk oats are slightly less modified than other malts, and will add more body. The husks also provide a filter medium for the wort.

Find out more at: www.crispmalt.co

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

87

SPEC I AL IST MASTE R B R E W & DI S T I LLE RY I NS URAN C E

Insurance Cover

Brewed to Perfection

Beermats

Pioneering insurance packages built around the dynamic needs of the brewery industry

special rates for sIBa members

Lower premiums Wider cover Tailored additional benefits email either bernard.maples@thekatzgroup.com or Jenna at SIBA riponoffice@siba.co.uk

www.thekatzgroup.com 0115 947 0032 masterbrew@russellscanlan.com www.russellscanlan.com

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 ÂŁ20/month www.premiersystems.co.uk Phone: 02380 811 100 Email: sales@premiersystems.ltd.uk

88

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

SIBA supplier news

SUPPLIER NEWS

SUPPLIER viewpoint

Russell Scanlan: Why Your Brewery Needs a Tailored Insurance Policy When it comes to micro brewing, no two breweries are the same. All are unique like the product they produce which means “off the shelf” insurance does not tick the box. Nottingham-based insurance brokers Russell Scanlan has specialised in brewery insurance with its unique product Masterbrew since 2007. Marketing Director, Mike Dickinson takes a look at why it’s so important to create tailored policies for breweries: “The micro brewing sector has taken off at speed over the last decade and has become a shining example of innovate British industry. But like with any new sector of business, it has changed rapidly as it has settled into a profitable model and with that change comes complexity which many small brewers have found hard to keep up with.

Russell Scanlan has researched and reviewed every element of cover required for the brewing sector, however specialist, and continues to research on an ongoing

basis to make sure we’re at the forefront of the most cost efficient and effective solutions for brewers. We believe small businesses like micro brewers are the backbone of the UK economy and we want to make it as easy as possible for them to establish their business with the peace of mind that they are always effectively insured.

Back in 2007 we were the first insurance provider to offer coverage for the brewery and craft beer industry with our product, Masterbrew. Our extensive knowledge of the industry ensures that our dedicated Masterbrew team provides businesses with a bespoke policy to fit their needs and for the last decade we have been creating new insurance products to recognise the everchanging advancements and technology within the brewery industry.

Masterbrew continues to evolve and incorporates innovative and sector related additions to insurance for operators of all sizes across the sector, including liability cover for specialist events such as beer festivals, extra cover for legal expenses with access to a legal helpline, loss of

licence, commercial vehicle cover and enhanced protection of business income.

A bespoke insurance policy will provide peace of mind and security to both established brewers and start-ups, offering cover for stock, IT, property, revenue, events and staff. In addition, optional cover is also available for inspection of plants and equipment, brewery taps and associated businesses, personal accident cover for staff, internal theft and fraud, cybercrime vehicles and loss of licence.

Whilst you may be able to purchase ‘off the shelf’ brewery insurance online, it is dangerous to do so, with breweries potentially involved in so many different activities, whether it be attending trade fairs, brewery tours or shipping your goods overseas – it is really easy to underestimate the level and type of cover you need. By speaking to an expert who understands your requirements you can be sure to get the right level and focus of cover that won’t leave you under insured.”

For more information call 0115 947 0032 or email masterbrew@russellscanlan.com.

SUPPLIER viewpoint

WPA Pinfold: What can cask learn from craft?

Myles Pinfold, of brand design consultants WPA Pinfold, looks at the lessons cask could learn from the craft movement…

“Despite the pressures of increased competition and discounting in the trade, beer has managed to retain and grow its high end, premium positioning. For over a decade the craft beer sector has led the way, both in terms of adding value and innovation, and this has been achieved through storytelling, presentation (including packaging and glassware), ingredients, beer styles and ultimately branding. Whereas cask ale has largely been left in the doldrums.

This is an interesting phenomena, cask is arguably fresher, more natural and requires much more care and attention in its keeping and management. So why has it become the poor relation of craft keg?

I suspect a large proportion of beer

drinkers under the age of 50 don’t understand the difference between cask and keg, and probably don’t care either – all they want is great tasting beer to suit the occasion and a significant number are willing to pay a premium price for it.

However, talk to any American craft brewer and you will find that they idolise our cask beers – to quote Steve Hindy (Founder and Chairman, Brooklyn Brewery) ‘Cask ales are outrageously good and a delight. The English manage to put so much flavour in their delicious, lower ABV regional ales’. Initially the American craft brewers based their beers on our traditional ale recipes, until they built up the confidence to experiment and innovate their own versions. Now, one of the latest phenomena to hit the USA is Nitro-Keg which, in my understanding, enables keg beer to emulate the smooth drinkability of cask – invented this side of the ‘pond’ in

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

the 90’s!

The UK craft brewers are learning from the Americans and emulating their winningways. If traditional cask is to get out of its current predicament it must also learn from its richer and more successful protagonists. It needs to reinvent itself through innovation and adopt craft branding techniques in order to super premiumise and appeal to today’s drinker.

Adding value will also go a long way to solving some of the cellarmanship issues that have been prevalent across the industry – it will make it more worthwhile to take greater care in the keeping of the ale and give better returns to the vendor.

Will branding save the ailing cask sector? It can certainly help make a difference…”

For more information go to wpa-pinfold.co.uk

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

89

PUMP CLIPS YOUR ONE STOP SHOP With over 125 years of manufacturing experience, Rudd Macnamara is your perfect choice for pump clips. Available in any design and finish!

Benefits of Rudd Macnamara: n Bespoke solutions for all types of pump clips from foam board through to premium metal

The premier It’sUK’s Clear to See Micro Brewing The UK’s premier insurance provider Micro Brewing We have taken greatprovider care to create a special insurance brew using only the finest ingredients:

n Electro plated, paint sprayed, woodgrain, slate, and any other finish you can think of n Concept to reality service n Experienced manufacturing and print company n Produced here in the UK to the highest quality n Competitive tooling costs n Unparalleled print options for outstanding quality

E M A IL N A COM OW FOR PE

QUOTITIVE TE

We have taken great care to create a special

Covers the risks you need to insure

 Pint Sized premiums using only insurer the finest ingredients:  brew International  Extensive list of inclusive cover  Pint Sized premiums  Exclusive risk management service  International insurer  FREE survey and assessment  Extensive list of inclusive cover  Loss of Licence cover  Exclusive risk management service automatically included  FREE survey and assessment  Cover for Events and Shows  Loss of Licence cover

• Property & Liability cover for the brewery • Directors Insurance automatically included automatically • Cyberofincluded Insurance  Deterioration Stock cover  Cover for Events and Shows automatically • Vehicleincluded Insurance automatically included 

Deterioration of Stock cover

Call the experts Call the experts on 01492on: 534524 automatically included 01492 534 524 Enquiries@cbi-insurance.com pblundell@cbi-insurance.com Call the experts on:or visit www.cbi-insurance.co.uk our website www.cbi-insurance.co.uk

01492 534 524

pblundell@cbi-insurance.com 10% DISCOUNT or visit during October and November. our website Quote www.cbi-insurance.co.uk ‘SIBA Autumn’

0121 523 8437 beerbranding.co.uk enquiries@ruddmacnamara.com

“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'.

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 So please visit our online shop at WWW.POLY-TEK.CO.UK

Taking the Risk Out of Insurance

Pint Sized is a trading name of Caravan and Leisure Insurance Consultants Ltd., which is authorised andthe regulated by the Conduct Authority.

Taking Risk Out ofFinancial Insurance

Pint Sized is a trading name of Caravan and Leisure Insurance Consultants Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

90

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

Or alterna�vely you can contact the sales team directly on 01795 439222

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

SIBA supplier news

SUPPLIER NEWS

Beatson Clark: Trappist Beer Bottles Glass manufacturer Beatson Clark has a heritage dating back centuries, so it’s appropriate that the company has been chosen to supply bottles to the first monastery to brew beer in the UK since the days of Henry VIII. Monks at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey near Coalville in Leicestershire have become the first in the UK to brew an officially recognised Trappist beer – and their brewery is one of just 12 in the world to earn the name ‘Trappist’.

Beatson Clark, based in Rotherham in South Yorkshire, is supplying 330ml amber beer bottles from its general sale range to the brewery, along

with green crown closures which feature the brewery’s logo printed in white.

The beer is called Tynt Meadow and packs a punch at 7.4% ABV. It is named after the meadow where the monks originally settled in 1835 and is on sale at the abbey and in specialist beer shops.

Father Erik Varden, Abbot of Mount Saint Bernard, said: “We chose Beatson Clark because they were able to provide the shape of bottle we wanted. Our dealings with the company have been very happy so far; we have found their service very good and their communication prompt, courteous, and effective.”

For more information go to www.beatsonclark.co.uk

Moorgate Brewery Finance: How should brewery businesses source funds for growth?

Bruce Benyon of Moorgate Brewery Finance looks at the world of brewery finance...

“During the early years of a business’s life, the prospect of having debt and monthly repayments can often seem daunting.

‘Should I wait until I have money in the bank?’ This is the question that small businesses often ask themselves. When a business owner has put time and money into a business, which is very common for a new brewery, managing risk is a key part of the job. However, before being tempted to stay still, the questions below should be considered: 1. If business is growing and I am making profit, can an increase in my outgoings help capture opportunities?

2. Do I risk other businesses overtaking me, and does “staying still” become “going backwards”?

3. Can I, by accessing funds, improve the efficiency of my business? Whilst my business may not grow sales, lower costs might increase my bottom line.

It’s a good time to review the business plan that you started with or have developed over the years when making decisions about funding. At this stage a change to your plan may show that finance is beneficial. For example, using finance to create a brewery tap room which allows sales to the public can be a major project. Bruce Gary, of the Bristol based brewery Left Handed Giant, recently

outlined at the London Craft Beer Festival his plan of selling 75-80% of beer straight to the end drinker. The higher price and margin this offers clearly has a potential benefit that outweighs the cost.

So, what are some of a brewery’s options for sourcing funds?

When borrowing to source new assets, such as new plant, most businesses opt for Asset Finance, which takes the form of a Lease or Hire Purchase (HP). Because the finance is secured on the asset, the perceived risk for a lender is lowered because of the asset value.

With HP the business pays all the VAT upfront, and the purchase is offset against profit in year of purchase via capital allowances. At the end of this agreement, the asset automatically becomes the property of the borrower. With a Lease the VAT is paid by the lender, and all of the repayments are classified as a cost on your P&L, making it 100% tax deductible in every year of repayment. Which choice is more cost effective for you comes down to how large the outlay is compared to your current profits, remaining allowances, and growth plans. I.e. a brewery with a small profit planning a very expensive new purchase or bar may be better leasing their purchase, but a highly profitable brewery adding additional CTs may opt for HP if they have allowances left. End of term ownership implications are different for HP and Leases, and you should always seek transparency from any broker or lender on this.

Finance for intangible costs, such as marketing or labour, or assisting cash flow, is more often done as a loan. This is a fixed amount of money given directly to a business, whereas asset finance is typically paid to the asset suppliers or

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SUPPLIER viewpoint

manufacturers. These finance products can be mixed to achieve the flexibility required on an expansion project. Asset finance tends to attract lower rates than loans as they pose less risk to a lender.

When you have significant trade sales routes, and the time between cost and return due to payment terms causes a strain on cashflow, invoice finance may offer a longer term solution. Invoice finance releases a percentage of the funds due in an invoice to the business, at the point the invoice is raised.

Another way of raising funds for your business is Crowd Funding. This is an increasingly popular method in the brewery sector because the consumer feels more of a link with the business.

There are several breweries who have successfully crowd funded, but the funding platforms do command a portion of your takings. This can be a stressful and time consuming process, and apart from giving away part of your business, there is also risk of what can feel like a rather public failure if funding isn’t achieved.

Private equity raises, or government grants, are other ways that certain brokers (Moorgate Finance being one) can assist breweries without using debt.

In conclusion, when you want to raise funds decide what you hope these funds will achieve for you, and identify what level of cost is sustainable and outweighed by the benefit. Refer back to your business plan to help you track your growth and changes as a business, and give yourself that pat on the back for how far you have come!”

For more information go to moorgatefinance.com/brewery-finance/

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

91

BREWERY START-UPS TECHNICAL SUPPORT REGULAR ON-SITE Q.A. SURVEYS ON-SITE TRAINING & RESIDENTIAL TRAINING COURSES NEXT COURSE: 4 — 7 NOVEMBER 2018 David Smith or Rob Smith David: 07970 629552 / Rob: 07966 693097 enquiries@brewingservices.co.uk www.brewingservices.co.uk

ALAN RUDDOCK ENGINEERING LTD - THE MALT MILLING & GRIST HANDLING SPECIALISTS -

Lawrence 14.1 Imp.fl.oz.

All equipment designed and manufactured in-house to individual specifications

The UK’s leading Malt Mill Manufacturer serving breweries worldwide - The AR 2000 range of mills offer highly efficient, precise, dust-free milling.

Introducing the new Lawrence Tumbler

- Significantly increased extract figures.

- Additional savings on grinding charges.

- Consistent, high quality grist sample.

- Complete process control.

· A stemless tasting tumbler combining elegance and practicality · Its convex shape bundles aromas and the upward tapering allows aromas to develop fully · Sits comfortably in the hand · A solid base ensures perfect stability · Perfect for brimful 2/3rds pint (Schooner) measures and in addition can be calibrated at 1/2 and 1/3rd pint to line · Nucleation possible if required · 119mm high by 84mm diameter · Boxed in 6’s with an MOQ of just 500 pcs

To complement our mills, we also manufacture: - Elevators and Conveyors specifically designed for the brewing & distilling industry.

- Individually designed Grist Cases & Malt Hoppers - Complete Bulk Malt Intake Systems for 25kg sacked malt through to 30 tonne silos.

For all enquiries: Nick Crossley, UK agent for Rastal GmbH & Co. KG nick.crossley@rastal.com Telephone: 07768 648660 www.rastal.co.uk Unit 6 Shepherds Grove Industrial Estate, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 2AR. Tel: 01359 2505989

Anz_Siba_Lawrence_87x260.indd 1

92

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

13.09.18 10:01

SIBA supplier news

SUPPLIER NEWS

Brewfitt: Transforming the Tuck & Tipple Bar Innovators in dispense, Brewfitt Ltd, have recently installed their Future of Dispense (FOD) system into the Tuck & Tipple Trailer Bar, a unique luxury mobile bar based in East Yorkshire.

Huddersfield based Brewfitt have helped to increase the capabilities of the Tuck & Tipple Trailer Bar, their unique FOD system increases the efficiency and cooling abilities of the mobile bar.

The Tuck & Tipple Trailer Bar, previously a horse box, has been fully renovated to give a touch of sophistication and luxury to any occasion. The mobile bar offers a full range of beverages and, thanks to Brewfitt’s FOD system, now offers three draught taps serving extra chilled Lager, Cider and Frizzante.

Based in East Yorkshire, Tuck & Tipple is a bespoke trailer bar designed to provide weddings, festivals and corporate events with a unique and luxurious experience. It is a fully functioning bar serving a full range of products.

Brewfitt installed a high pressure mixed gas system to allow Tuck & Tipple a fast dispense speed without the use of gas or electric pumps in their confined cellar space.

To dispense the super-chilled beverages Brewfitt installed a three out chrome Cobra Tower with aceline taps and a recessed tray, this was neatly attached to the trailers grey water system to allow for drainage of the drip tray in a clean and hygienic manner.

For more information go to www.brewfitt.com

Kemtile: Key considerations when specifying a brewery floor Before you buy hygienic flooring and drainage for your brewery, read our top four tips to getting it right first time: #1 Do the job right, first time When considering a new brewery floor, make sure all aspects of the job are considered and tackled at the outset. This includes civils work (usually drainage connections) and surface drainage - is it big enough to cope with spillages and clean down?

For most of our brewery customers the flooring and drainage specification is often dictated by where the drainage can be connected (manholes) and even by their lease agreement, which usually stipulates that premises must be left exactly as they were upon arrival.

Most breweries begin life with a concrete floor, which in itself is not ideal. The concrete is usually flat, and it gets attacked by the sugars in the beer and the caustic solutions used for cleaning and CIP. Flat floors suffer the worst, liquids end up ponding on the floor this is bad for chemical attack, slips and hygiene.

Concrete wears quite quickly especially if it’s being attacked by chemicals and the like.

It’s essential to invest in hygienic flooring and drainage, something that will protect that very important concrete floor.

Kemtile supplies and installs two main types of flooring in breweries. The first is Kagetec, which is a ceramic tiling system and the other is Ucrete heavy duty polyurethane resin flooring from BASF – both are complemented by stainless steel Weidemann-Technik drainage systems. As one of the few companies that installs all three solutions, we’re enviably placed to advise customers on the solution that will best suit their needs. This is sometimes a combination of all three to meet specific performance and cost requirements, with both offering breweries an excellent service life.

#2 Minimise the risk of slips and falls According to HSE statistics, slips, trips and falls continue to be a major cause of injuries in the workplace, resulting in a huge rise in personal injury claims over recent years.

The correct drainage and floor covering will avoid liquids ponding on the floor and provide appropriate slip-resistance to help to reduce such accidents. We always ensure that for surfaces that are prone to spillages, flooring slip-resistance is higher than on dry areas.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SUPPLIER viewpoint

#3 Meet the highest hygiene standards As with all food and drink processing facilities, brewers must adhere to the highest hygiene standards. This means that brewery floors must be food grade or food safe and able to withstand the high temperatures and harsh chemicals used during the everyday cleaning process.

Brewery floors must also have excellent drainage. We very often recommend long floor gulley drains - installed along the centre with the floor finish laid to ‘falls’.

This helps prevent the puddling of waste liquids and its subsequent hygiene, health and safety issues including micro bacterial growth. We recommend that hot liquids and chemicals are discharged directly into the drainage system rather than run over the floor finish.

#4 Work with flooring company that understands your industry Each environment has its own specification requirements, so make sure that your flooring system partner has the right experience and expertise for your job.

For further information, visit www.kemtile. co.uk/brewery, call 01925 763045 or email enquiries@kemtile.co.uk

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

93

PLANNING APPLICATIONS AND APPEALS FOR: CHANGE OF USE LISTED BUILDING CONSENT MICRO-PUBS AND BREWERIES SEATING / OUTSIDE AREAS ADVERTISEMENTS / SIGNAGE EXTENSIONS TO OPENING HOURS

www.jwpc.co.uk

01524 599980 enquiries@jwpc.co.uk

The perfect pour, every time T&J Installations is a leading UK technical services provider to the drinks industry T&J Installations serves the wide-ranging technical requirements of the UK drinks industry at every level from new microbreweries to pubcos, and bars to stadiums.

We provide responsive and effective solutions, as well as a range of products and services that can develop a drinks business and grow its revenue streams.

Working alongside our clients, we deliver great ROI and peace of mind – making sure that products can be served exactly as you intend them to be.

We offer supply, installation and maintenance for: • Beer dispense

• Mobile bars

• ‘Cask Marque’ specialists

• Refrigeration and cellar cooling

• Tank beer • FastPour beer

• Line cleaning

• Nordaq commercial water filter • Wine, spirit, cocktail and soft drinks dispense

365 days a year, dedicated service

Call us on 0121 783 8925 info@tjinstall.co.uk | tandjinstallations.com

94

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

SIBA supplier news

JWPC: Pubs and town planning Paul Tunstall from JWPC Ltd looks at the pitfalls that can face a new pub on the high street…

“A decade ago, opening a new pub on a high street was a battle: local and national planning policies were protective of shopping areas in town and city centres, and you’ll remember how difficult it was to get planning permission for a new pub or bar without special justification.

Ten years on, it’s now well recognised that leisure uses are vital to the health of the high street, often bringing new life to units that have been empty for months or even years. But planning authorities must still try to maintain a balance between welcoming leisure uses and supporting the struggling high street retail sector. Planning policies are becoming more relaxed, reflecting the growth and popularity of eating and drinking establishments in town centres, but there is still a reluctance to lose retail units.

Many of the more successful premises are those which offer something unique, a niche experience which can’t be recreated in the beers, wine and spirits aisle of a supermarket. Consequently there is a surge in opportunities for new public houses and micro-pubs that you can benefit from.

However, we’re still frequently contacted by clients who have bought or leased town centre premises, only to find that local planners remain fiercely opposed to the loss of a retail unit and say there’s insufficient justification to change its use – even if it is empty, dilapidated and unsightly.

Local planning policies divide town centre areas into primary and secondary retail frontages, setting criteria to be met for anyone trying to open a new pub in a former a shop or store. These look, for example, at how strongly the unit was marketed while vacant, and how many other non-retail units already exist nearby.

Different authorities can also show varying levels of pragmatism depending on local

political priorities; in tired, down-at-heel parts of town and city centres, they may be willing to bend the rules to restore life and vibrancy into empty buildings.

It’s worth being aware, too, that planning Use Classes don’t differentiate between a SIBAstyle micro-pub, selling craft ales to discerning drinkers, and a loud music bar with screens and events. Over the past decade more and more planning applications have met with objections from the police, whose ability to prevent anti-social behaviour can be jeopardised by reduced officer numbers.

IT’S NOW WELL RECOGNISED THAT LEISURE USES ARE VITAL TO THE HEALTH OF THE HIGH STREET, OFTEN BRINGING NEW LIFE TO UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN EMPTY FOR MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS.

Police objections tend to carry significant weight and the liaison officers who are assigned to comment on planning applications don’t always take on board the additional and immediate controls that would be available through a premises licence.

There’s also the tricky issue of deciding whether to apply for a premises licence or planning permission first. Each can work in the other’s favour, but every case is different and the strategy depends on the specifics of the new, proposed premises.

Would the new use regenerate a neglected unit which has been empty for ages? Is the site part of a cluster of other licensed

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SUPPLIER NEWS

SUPPLIER viewpoint

premises dogged by anti-social behaviour?

Is it well lit and accessible by car?

At JWPC we’ve found that before you commit to a site, it makes good financial sense to commission a planning appraisal.

This reviews the likelihood of support for the principle of change of use, and also recommends a strategy for important factors such as customer and visitor safety, and the desire to maintain retail frontages – your main stumbling blocks in getting planning permission. It can also give you guidance on whether you should apply for planning permission or a licence first, whether you might be able to have outdoor seating areas, and if necessary, how to engage with the local authority so that snags are identified and sorted out early in the process.

Ultimately, if you want to open a new town centre bar, you should give planning issues due diligence, because planning authorities nowadays are engaged in a delicate balancing act: maintaining the traditional shopping streets we all value, while ensuring that town centres remain viable and vibrant places that people want to visit.”

Paul Tunstall is the director of JWPC Ltd, an associate member of SIBA. For a free, informal chat about how JWPC might help, please call 01524 599980.

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

95

#MadeWithMuntons

Muntons - Est. 1921 -

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T: MUNTONS DIRECT SALES

DISTRIBUTOR SALES

Katie Richardson

David Hannah

Staffordshire Brewery

Total Brewing Supplies

Absolute Brewing Supplies

South & Ireland

Scotland & Northern England

North West & West Midlands

North East, Yorkshire & Humberside, East Midlands

Wales, South West & Hampshire

07979 537759

07525 809093

01538 361919

01636 823909

01733 700089

Katie.richardson@muntons.com

David.hannah@muntons.com

info@staffordshirebrewery.co.uk

gary@totalbrewingsupplies.co.uk

sales@absolutebrewingsupplies.com

Muntons plc Cedars Maltings Stowmarket Suffolk IP14 2AG T 01449 618300 muntons.com

Durable, low maintenance designs

Proven energy, carbon and cost saving credentials

High performance equipment

Excellent ROI 182x128 CFB Advert.indd 1

96

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

CFB BOILERS The Green Steam Company

MANUFACTURERS & DISTRIBUTORS OF STEAM BOILERS & ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT

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

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 02/12/2016 17:01

SIBA supplier news

SUPPLIER NEWS

David Porter, PBC Brewery Installations: Can Filtered Beer Taste Better?

“CAMRA was established back in the 70s on the back of an ever increasing tide of filtered carbonated keg beer, and the fear was that we were going to lose our beloved real ale to a mass onslaught of very bad beer. What happened was the bigger breweries of the time decided to try and take this strange product (real ale) away from the grip of the pub operators, so they could not dilute it, filter back, generally mess with it and bastardised it, therefore they could (in theory) get constant stock volumes and consistent beer from the very first pint to the very last.

I have always maintained that the problem was that they started with crap beer and made it even crapper by filtering it, falsely believing that the introduction of carbonation would possibly save the product. I have always maintained that CAMRA would probably not exist in its current form and the ‘Craft Beer’ movement would not be as vibrant as it is today if the brewers of the 70s decided to make the beer better than it ever was, before filtering, then there would have not been a need to try and protect real ale as the saviour of the genre. Also if the biggest brewers had evolved over the last 40 years

to actually add to the flavour, definition, aroma, character, depth, ABV etc. Instead of actually continually removing these and diluting the product the whole UK beer scene could be quite different.

One of the biggest problems that real ale has always had to overcome was to successfully sell it across a bar in that short window of shelf life once it's opened, but this problem coupled with poor stock management and idiots being allowed to look after and serve it only made the problem worse.

About 15 years ago I decided to try and produce a proper Pilsner style lager, I was naive enough to believe that this beer could be sold as a cask product, upon sampling this beer through a hand pump I came to the conclusion that it was very good beer and that was obvious, but it is a beer style that demands to be served cold and demands to be served carbonated. I think this is one of the reasons you never really see full on lager style beer in cask, it simply doesn't work.

Keg beer does not have many of the drawbacks of real ale and has the obvious advantage of carbonation but if it has not been sterile filtered (or pasteurised) then shelf life will still be as short as real ale.

For a good few years now I have had the joy of being able to give groups of brewers and potential brewers samples of beer

SUPPLIER viewpoint

that are the same temperature with the same level of carbonation that have not been filtered, have been coarsely filtered (between 5 and 10 µm) and fully sterile filtered (> 0 .5 µm). And it's always one of my pleasures to ask what their reaction is to the varying differences in perception of the beers.

If we sample a well hopped ale the consensus of opinion is that the unfiltered and the coarsely filtered product gets almost all of the votes, if we are filtering well brewed lager style beer quite surprisingly the course filtered and the fully filtered product generally get the nod. There are a lot more craft brewers now turning their hand to trying well brewed well lagered lager, there are still not many who are taking the risk of selling it on a bar unfiltered, and certainly if more mainstream accounts are needed to be maintained on a regular basis, unfiltered lager is not really going to work at this moment. Can filtered beer taste better? Standard strength lager style beers well brewed with passion and care can I believe stand being fully filtered and be improved. Is this one reason why real ale is still around on these shores and filtered lager style beer is dominant almost everywhere else in the world?”

For more information go to www.pbcbreweryinstallations.com

Saxon Packaging: Packaging trends Suzy Harrold from Saxon Packaging takes a look at the latest trends…

“Packaging is changing. With the current increase in consumers seeking products that match their needs along with an ever expanding competitive market place, packaging is now often the first impression a brand can make on a potential consumer.

When we look at the alcohol beverage market, more often than not the potential consumer has not tried the packaged drink before and relies on the packaging to reflect the brand and the product value. Most drinks packaging have a product description, but it is the packaging that encourages the consumer to take that pack off the shelf (over its competitors) and read the description.

It is important for a pack to appeal to the consumer and create a sense of want and desire, as well as reflecting the core brand.

Once they have selected the product the packaging needs to speak on behalf of the product and brand leaving the consumer with a

SUPPLIER viewpoint

positive and memorable experience.

This can be achieved by investing in well designed and quality manufactured gift packaging.

Most drinks bottles are of a standard size therefore creative structural design can be a little tricky, but with access to a large range of printing options and print finishing there is still so much a brand can do to make their product stand out.

At Saxon Packaging we have seen an increase in the use of lithographic printed packaging to really give products a crisp and high quality photographic print finish. On many recent packaging projects customers have gone that one step further and have used a range of laminate finishes such as soft touch, matt and gloss – further embellishments can also be added using spot UV varnishes and block foiling.

With such a diverse range of print finishes to choose from there are many ways to bring that luxury feel to any packaged product whilst still conforming to the standard sizing, and product protection structure required to ensure the drink remains in optimum condition.”

For more information email saxon@smurfitkappa.co.uk

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

97

GOLD AND SILVER MEMBERS

Gold Members BREWERS SELECT

Dan Unwin dunwin@brewersselect.co.uk

MURPHY & SONS LTD Frances Maud Frances.Maud@ murphyandson.co.uk

CHARLES FARAM & CO LTD Paul Corbett paulcorbett@ charlesfaram.co.uk

NAPTHENS

Malcolm Ireland Malcolm.Ireland@ napthens.co.uk

CLOSE BROTHERS BREWERY RENTALS

CROXSONS

Reem Mohsen enquiries@ closebreweryrentals.co.uk

PREMIER SYSTEMS LTD Jackie Smith Jackie@ premiersystems.ltd.uk

Tim Croxson Tim.croxson@ croxsons.com

THOMAS FAWCETT & SONS LTD James Fawcett JFawcett@ fawcett-maltsters.co.uk

Quality, Consistency & Support

Silver Members ZOEDALE PLC

SAXON PACKAGING LTD

PAKTECH OPI

WILLIS PUBLICITY

RANKIN BROTHERS & SONS

ANTON PAAR LTD

SPASOFT LTD

BREWFITT LTD

RASTAL GMBH & CO KG

RUSSELL SCANLAN

BEATSON CLARK

CASK BREWING SYSTEMS INC.

mike.dickinson@russellscanlan.com

Charlotte Taylor charlotte.taylor@beatsonclark.co.uk

CRISP MALTING GROUP

SCHAFER CONTAINER SYSTEMS

FLEXTECH HOSE SOLUTIONS LTD

PENTAIR FOOD & BEVERAGE SOLUTIONS

MOESCHLE (UK) LTD

VIGO LTD

KEGSTAR

VISION33

Tim Guest tim@zoedale.co.uk Carl Andrews carl@willispublicity.co.uk Nigel Hoppit nigel@spasoft.ltd.uk Mike Dickinson

Nigel Gibbons nigel.gibbons@crispmalt.com

Debbie Larkin debbie.larkin@pentair.com

MUNTONS PLC

Joanna Perry joanna.perry@muntons.com

BFBI

Ruth Evans ruthevans@bfbi.org.uk

NORRIQ LTD

David Ashmore david.ashmore@norriq.com

Mike Impson mikeimpson@saxonpackaging.co.uk Jim Rankin jim@rankincork.co.uk

James Paxman jamespaxman@brewfitt.com

Mike Hickman mike.hickma56@outlook.com Andrew Wall joanne@moeschle.co.uk Christian Barden Christian@kegstar.com

NFU MUTUAL

Paul Shattock paul_shattock@nfumutual.co.uk

VALE LABELS LTD

John Riches john@valelabels.co.uk

FESTIVAL GLASS LTD

Kelsey Cheesbrough sales@festivalglass.co.uk

98

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

Jamie Christopher jamie.christopher@paktech-opi.com Angela Meringolo angela.meringolo@anton-paar.com Nick Crossley ncrssly@aol.com Peter Love peter@cask.com

Gary Shaw gary@flextechhose.co.uk Camilla Bridewell camilla@vigoltd.com

Ben Crow ben.crow@vision33.com (orchestrated beer)

MAKRO LABELLING

Richard Portman richard@makro-labelling.co.uk

KEG LOGISTICS UK LTD info@keglogistics.com

The world’s best selling plastic casks

Call 01432 453146 email: info@breweryplastics.com

www.breweryplastics.com

REDUCE MANUAL HANDLING AND SAVE MONEY! Bring your material handling process into the 21st Century, automate your system with a Collinson silo and conveyor and eliminate heavy bag handling.

• Silos: - Storage from 1-30t - Fully Galvanised - Choice of 6 Plasteel™ colours - Any discharge height • Conveyors: - To suit various lengths or speed - Pick up from existing store • Material weighing facilities • Solutions for all business sizes

T: 0800 542 5772 collinson.co.uk

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

99

reliable closures that help seal, protect & add value to brands wood shives

keg caps ribbed plastic shives

taps & ďŹ lters banded plastic shives

plastic keystones

hammers

wood keystones

spiles clip corks

tamper resistant caps

bar towels 3c Drakes Farm Drakes Drive Long Crendon Buckinghamshire HP18 9BA United Kingdom

+ 44 (0)1844 203100 sales@rankincork.co.uk rankincork.co.uk

QUALITY STOPPERS & CLOSURES - SINCE 1774

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.

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

100

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

MEET THE SIBA REGIONAL ELECTED DIRECTORS

Meet the regional elected directors NAME: Sam Abbott REGION: East (Lincoln)

NAME: Shane Swindells REGION: North West

CONTACT: sam.abbott@siba.co.uk

CONTACT: shane.swindells@siba.co.uk

How did you first get into brewing?

I have been working with Karl and Claire Brown the Directors of Lincolnshire Brewing Company for just over 10 years providing bars and beer tents for events and festivals. We all realised that there was a growing trend of people asking for real ales on the bars. We decided it might be a good idea to brew our own in 2013/14 and the brewery has grown from there.

How long have you been involved with SIBA and why did you join?

Since around 2015, right from the start really, we thought it would be useful to be involved with others from the trade as well as to have access to suppliers and keep up with industry regulations and news.

What is the main focus of your SIBA role?

Since we became involved with our regional meetings a position on the board opened up, and after some encouragement from other brewers in the region and of course from Karl and Claire I decided to run. Since being on the board I have found it a fantastic opportunity to meet the brewers from other regions and to be at the forefront of what is happening in the UK brewing industry. What has been really eye opening to me is how many of the other board members are also very small brewers and how passionate everyone at SIBA is about driving small breweries toward lasting success, of course how to best do this is always a debate.

How do the regions support SIBA members?

Keeping brewers up to date with everything that is going on is always hard but that is what I believe we are there for. Brewers are an incredibly diverse group of individuals from every corner of the East so staying in touch is a seemingly endless task but I feel that we usually make it work. Also getting involved with SIBA led initiatives, we have personally just had beers exported which has been a goal for a while.

How can Members get more involved in SIBA locally?

How did you first get into brewing?

I worked at Molson Coors’ Burton Brewery as an engineer, and got quite heavily into brewing as a result.

How long have you been involved with SIBA and why did you join?

I’ve been a SIBA member for almost six years, I joined as I wanted my business to be represented to government, and I wanted to access the support and advice that a trade body can provide to a fledgling business.

What is the main focus of your SIBA role?

My main focus at the moment is to represent my regions’ membership, and to get the regions’ members communicating better with each other, and their Trustee directors.

How do the regions support SIBA members?

The regions are there to listen to members, and as a first point of communication to the board. We also facilitate the running of competitions. And hopefully knit together a regional network of support and communication between members.

How can Members get more involved in SIBA locally?

We need members to communicate with the Trustees more and, also to come to the regional meetings. I also recently set up a Facebook group for North West Members to join and communicate better. Any SIBA North west member can join the group, by request.

What’s new in your area of SIBA this year?

We had Beer X come to Liverpool, and it was a great success.

What do you do outside brewing?

Not a great deal, at the moment if I’m honest, but I do make time to play guitar, and sometimes sing.

Networking groups between breweries could be a good way forward, to share experiences and knowledge.

What is your favourite beer in your region other than your own?

What is your favourite beer in your region other than your own?

Marble Earl Grey IPA.

Elgoods, QE Cherry Wheat.

Who do you most admire in the brewing community and why?

Stuart Bateman and Batemans Brewery. He has moved the brewery with the times and the brewery remains stable. The beers are also consistent and seem to remain popular through all the trends and changes with the brewing industry.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK

Who do you most admire in the brewing community and why?

Ken Grossman, head of Sierra Nevada. What he has achieved in his brewing lifetime is awe inspiring, definitely one of the best breweries in the world.

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

101

contacts SIBA Head Office: 01765 640441 Cellar Services: 01765 641099

DIRECTORS

OFFICE TEAM

Mike Benner Chief Executive mike.benner@siba.co.uk Nick Stafford Operations Director nick.stafford@siba.co.uk John Hart Finance Director john.hart@siba.co.uk Sara Knox Directors Assistant sara.knox@siba.co.uk

Rachel Harriott Head of Operations rachel.harriott@siba.co.uk James Calder Head of Public Affairs & Communications james.calder@siba.co.uk Neil Walker PR & Marketing Manager neil.walker@siba.co.uk Rebecca Kirby Financial Controller rebecca.kirby@siba.co.uk

Louise Henley Commercial Administrator louise.henley@siba.co.uk Jenna Barningham Regional Executive – North East, North West & Scotland jenna.barningham@siba.co.uk Siobhan McGonigle Regional Executive – East, Midlands, Wales & West siobhan.mcgonigle@siba.co.uk Cheryl Ford Regional Executive – South West & South East cheryl.ford@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 Sam Abbott Stuart Bateman Marcus Beecher

Lincolnshire Brewing Co George Bateman & Son Ltd Elgood & Sons Ltd

MIDLANDS midlands@siba.co.uk Greg Maskalick Draycott Brewing Company John Allcroft Grafton Brewing Co Lincoln Green Brewing Co Ltd Anthony Hughes

SOUTH EAST southeast@siba.co.uk Tom Bott Signature Brew Jaega Wise Wild Card Brewery Red Cat Brewing Iain McIntosh

NORTH EAST northeast@siba.co.uk Roosters Brewery Ian Fozard Maxim Brewery Mark Anderson Hop Studio Ltd Dave Shaw

SOUTH WEST southwest@siba.co.uk Exe Valley Brewery Guy Sheppard Driftwood Spars Brewery Peter Martin

NORTH WEST northwest@siba.co.uk Shane Swindells Cheshire Brewhouse Bank Top Brewery Dave Sweeney Peerless Brewery Steve Briscoe

102

SCOTLAND scotland@siba.co.uk Andrew Richardson Black Wolf Brewery Isle of Arran Brewery Gerald Michaluk Harviestoun Brewery Stuart Cail

SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018

WALES & WEST west@siba.co.uk Norman Pearce Corvedale Brewery Chris Gooch Teme Valley Brewery Big Hand Brewing Company Ltd Dave Shaw

We are proud to offer one

free water analysis per year to our customers*.

Contact our laboratory to book your test: laboratory@murphyandson.co.uk

We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t turn your water into wine, but we can turn your water into brewing liquor!

The home of quality liquor treatments and laboratory services

Quality, Consistency & Support t: (+44) 115 978 5494 | e: info@murphyandson.co.uk | www.murphyandson.co.uk Murphy & Son Limited, Alpine Street, Old Basford, Nottingham NG6 0HQ United Kingdom *Murphy & Son Ltd reserve the right to refuse this offer, please contact the laboratory for terms and conditions of this service.

Vessels to enhance your craft

COPPERS (gas & steam heated options available) MASH TUNS HOT/COLD LIQUOR VESSELS FERMENTATION & DUAL PURPOSE VESSELS (cylindrical/rectangular) CONDITIONING VESSELS & BBTs PRESSURE VESSELS

From a single vessel to a full 40 barrel brewery, Moeschle’s expertise and “keep it simple” approach will ensure the right solution for your individual needs.

Moeschle (UK) Limited | Unit 1b Parkway Rise | Sheffield, S9 4WQ Phone: +44 (0)114 243 4463 | Email: sales@moeschle.co.uk | www.moeschle.com