The Brewers Journal May 2018, iss 4 vol 4

The magazine for the professional brewing industry

Brewers J o u r n a l

May 2018 | Volume 4, issue 4 ISSN 2059-6669

PRESSURE DROP taking the next steps in tottenham hale

26 | stillwater artisanal : a new home in brooklyn

36 | signature brew : expansion in leyton

45 | starting a brewery: advice from the experts

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to educate and inform

f you can forgive the cliché, it feels like only yesterday that the assembled throng from the inaugural Brewers Congress descended upon the Mother Kelly’s craft beer bar in Vauxhall, London. The congress is this magazine’s annual conference that takes place in the heart of the capital each November.

We were thrilled with the speakers that gave up their time to talk at that event, and with the attendees that took in a full-day of lectures from the great and the good that this industry has to offer.

It’s with great pride then in this issue we announce the incredibly talented individuals that will be speaking at this year’s Brewers Congress, which takes place at One Great George Street in Westminster on the 28th November, 2018.

Like many, Brooklyn Brewmaster Garrett Oliver is a brewing hero of mine. And having him speak later this year is this writer’s equivalent of being into heavy metal music (I am) and have Metallica come play your festival.

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Mr Oliver has brewing neighbours less than three miles down the road in the form of the Kings County Brewers Collective.

Pete Lengyel, along with co-founders Tony Bellis and Zack Kinney, are producing absolutely brilliant beers.

I’ve no doubt they will be one the driving forces in modern US beer in no time at all and I’m immensely happy KCBC will be represented at this year’s event.

Back on this side of the Atlantic you have Georgina Young, head brewer at Fuller’s and Andy Leman, Timothy Taylor’s head brewer, sharing their immense knowledge. To drive innovation while being responsible for the quality and consistency that defines beers such as London Pride and Landlord is a fantastic duty and the admiration brewers such as Young and Leman receive is only fitting.

Northern Monk production manager Colin Stronge is a hero for many in the field of modern brewing, as is the fantastic and tireless Jenn Merrick, while Chorlton Brewing Company founder Mike Marcus continues to

n the tap. program.

editor's choice How London's Signature Brew have secured a future in Leyton and have a wealth of exciting projects up their sleeves - page 36

help set the benchmark for slow beer in the UK. Elsewhere, Sophie De Ronde made the transition from technical brewer at Muntons to heading up brewing operations at newcomers Burnt Mill Brewery, leading them to universal acclaim as a result. While Chris Pilkington continues to put out world class beers at Estonia’s Põhjala with effortless ease.

Completing the lineup is the irrepressible Brian Strumke, the creative mind behind the stunning Stillwater Artisanal, Brewlab founder Dr Keith Thomas and Ray Daniels, founder of the Cicerone Certification Program. The impact Thomas and Daniels have had on training and raising standards in the industry across the globe cannot be underestimated.

We can't wait for November and we'll definitey be back at Mother Kelly's, too. So, see you there?

Own It. Brand It. Ship It.

brewersjournal.info

Tim Sheahan Editor

Visit us online at www.KegLogistics.com May 2018

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contacts Tim Sheahan Editor tim@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 592 Jim Robertson Head of sales jim@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 593 Josh Henderson Sales executive josh@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 594 Jon Young Publisher jon@rebymedia.com Reby Media 42 Crouchfield, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1PA, UK

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May 2018

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contents 56

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36

42

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Cover story 20 - Pressure Drop Brewing has quietly made a name for itself in recent years but following its move to Tottenham Hale, the team are ready to move to the next level

Brewers Congress, LONDON 16 - The full lowdown and speaker lineup of The Brewers Congress taking place in London on 28 November, 2018

COMMENT 18 - Chris Hannaway, co-founder of Infinite Session, on why we need to look at the facts when it comes to low and no-alcohol beers

tHE BIG INTERVIEW | STILLWATER ARTISANAL 26 - Stillwater Artisanal founder Brian Strumke discusses his plans to open a fermentation facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

meet the brewer | signature brew 36 - Leyton's finest made their name with collabs but they're now forging their own path

crossing continents | cambodia 42 - How Cambodia's Khmer Beverages has experienced monumental growth in several short years

the big issue | starting a brewery 45 - A new series featuring essential do's and don'ts when it comes to taking those first steps in the brewing industry

science | barrel ageing Insight | bottling

6

30 - Insight and advice from contract bottling providers and equipment providers

May 2018

56- Alltech's director of brewing science Dr Gearoid Cahill on the art of barrel-ageing and the qualities it can impart on your beer

Brewers Journal

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SIBA CHAIR STEPS DOWN B

uster Grant, chairman of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has stepped down from his post, a

year after taking on the role.

Grant, who is head brewer at Brecon Brewing in Wales, said he took the decision to dedicate more time to his business activities.

membership charter.

The motion, which was voted down by three votes (66 to 63), had suggested raising the body’s membership threshold from its current 200,000hl to 437,340hl.

As a result, breweries such as St Austell and Fuller’s were left unable to join the body.

Ian Fozard, the association’s vice chairman is tasked

Speaking at his appointment last year, Grant said:

with providing leadership for the organisation until a new

“The reputed curse of ‘May you live in interesting times’

chairman is elected by the Board.

has never seemed truer, with a number of threats and

Mike Benner, chief executive said, “I would like to thank Buster for his hard work, dedication and leadership since

opportunities facing our industry.

“However, I see mostly opportunities, and I’m delighted

his election to the Chair in March 2017 and wish him the

to be working with SIBA’s Managing Director Mike Benner

very best of luck for the future.”

and the team towards a goal of a more professional

The move comes came just a month after the SIBA

industry, with a real focus on quality products, sustainable

AGM, held at BeerX in Liverpool, resulted in members

business and fair access to market for all of our members,

of the body voting against proposed changes to its

whatever their size.”

UK appetite for US craft beer grew 7.1% in 2017

Goose Island to open London brewpub

T

G

he UK remained the second biggest importer of craft beer from the US in 2017, accounting for 10.5% of

exports.

Its appetite for US craft beer continued to grow last

oose Island has confirmed plans to open a brewpub in the "heart of Shoredtich" in London, and is also on

the hunt for a brewmaster to head it up.

The brewpub, that will open in late summer, will offer

year, with a 7.1% increase in amount it imported, according

beers from the brewery’s core range, including English-

to the latest figures released by US-based the Brewers

inspired style ales, barrel aged stouts, dry hopped IPAs,

Association.

sours, lagers, as well as small-batch beers brewed on

The UK remains the second largest importer of US craft beer behind Canada, which accounts for 51.3% of total exports.

Elsewhere, Sweden accounted for 6.7%; Korea 4.6%; Australia 3.8%; and China with 2.5% of exports.

Steve Parr, export development program manager for the Brewers Association, explained: “The UK grew by

site.

The venue’s brewmaster will undertake a month long trip to Chicago, to meet and work alongside the Goose Island brewery team.

They will also be responsible for the everyday running of the new brewpub, its first in Europe.

Ken Stout, the president of Goose Island Beer Co.

7.1 percent in 2017 to maintain its position as the second

International, explained: “We’ve been on an incredible

biggest export market after Canada.

journey here in the UK and are looking forward to this

“This growth is impressive when set against the thriving domestic brewing scene the UK is currently undergoing.

next chapter.

“We’re so flattered and excited about the reception

“It proves that the UK’s taste for full-flavoured, high

that Goose Island beer has enjoyed in London and

quality, diverse American craft beer is far from waning

we want to continue to share and contribute to the

and shows that American craft beer is continuing to break

incomparable beer culture in the UK."

new boundaries.

“From innovative styles to international distribution, the

He added: “The new Goose Island Brewpub will give beer lovers a chance to enjoy our established range of

Brewers Association Export Development Programme, is

beers, as well as small batch specialties brewed on site

able to take the success of local brewers and showcase

by our very first UK Brewmaster.”

them on a global scale."

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MOORHOUSE’S BREWERY REBRANDS – LAUNCHES NEW KEG RANGE American Pale Ale. Moorhouse’s has also invested in rebranding, working with leading brand design consultants, WPA Pinfold to create a new look for beers such as Blonde Witch and White Witch, designs that has come under fire previously for their outdated branding.

Williams, who joined the business little under a year ago, said the rebrand was top of his agenda when joining the brewery.

He said: “Let’s be honest, we were guilty as charged

M

oorhouse’s Brewery has launched a new range

and let those brands exist for too long. If I has been able

of keg beers and rebranded its existing lines that

to change them sooner, I would have. But that would

include Blonde Witch and White Witch.

The brewery’s managing director Lee Williams has said the brewery’s outdated branding had “gone on for

have been a knee-jerk move and we wanted to get things right.

“We wanted to get rid of those indefensible designs,

too long” after unveiling a new-look for its established

get our own house in order and be that one brick in the

range of beers.

wall of affecting a positive change in the industry.”

The Burnley-based brewery has draw upon its heritage

Williams added that the new range of beers is also

in the shadow of Pendle Hill with the launch of Malkin

integral to the brewery’s future, allowing the brew team to

Pale Ale, a 4.1% ABV beer been brewed with Citra,

formulate and produce a broader number of recipes.

Eldorado, Calypso and Cascade.

The beer will follow in 330ml cans in the summer as well as the imminent launch of Sabbath Flight, a 5.0% ABV

Thomas Fawcett & Sons revamps malt packing operation

“It was important to create a broader platform for our brewers to show what they can do. It’s their chance to shine and to tell our story,” he said.

Filler and flexible screw conveyor in the packing room area has created a more flexible packing operation and saved operators from double handling of the malt.

Brian Hickman, Thomas Fawcett & Sons, malting

W

est Yorkshire-based maltster Thomas Fawcett &

manager, explained “By installing the bulk bag filler, we

Sons has invested a new filler and conveyor to

save between six to eight hours of operator time each

improve efficiencies in its pale ale malt filling operation.

The business required a more efficient system to pack

week.”

A bulk storage silo was fitted with a charging adapter

pale ale malt into 350 kg (772 lb) to 1,000 kg (2,205 lb)

for connection to a Flexicon horizontally-oriented flexible

bulk bags, sold across the UK and internationally.

screw conveyor 7.5 m (25 ft) long and 168 mm (6.6 in.) in

Most of the company’s malt was previously supplied in

diameter. From the conveyor's discharge housing, malt

25 tonne (27.5 ton) bulk lorry loads and 25 kg (55 lb) sacks.

flows through downspouting to the bulk bag filler inlet.

When the company first supplied malt in bulk bags,

The bulk bag filler is equipped with an adjustable fill

members of the malting staff transferred batches of malt

head that can be raised or lowered to suit all popular

from pre-weighed 50 kg (110 lb) sacks into bulk bags by

bag heights, and secured in place with two quick-

wheeling the sacks on a sack truck on the upper floor

release pins. An oversized filling spout accommodates

and tipping them into a bulk bag held on a fork lift truck

open-top bulk bags.

on the floor below. This was a three person job: one

Mounted on load cells, the unit can weigh-fill 350 to

filling sacks, one tipping sacks, and one operating the

1,000 kg (772 to 2,205 lb) of malt into bulk bags. To fill a

forklift truck.

bag, the operator positions a 1200 x 1000 mm (47 x 39

Installation of a Flexicon Twin-Centerpost Bulk Bag

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in.) pallet on the filler deck and attaches the bag loops to

Brewers Journal

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The Wild Beer Co announces cask collaboration project T

he Wild Beer Co has taken the wraps off a collaboration project where the Somerset-based

business will partner with six international breweries The Cellarman Project – Wild Beer Cask Collaborations – is the first such initiative, with other projects to follow later in 2018.

The brewery is teaming up with Magic Rock (UK), Left Handed Giant (UK), Ignition Brewery (UK), Fullers (UK), Budvar (CZ), and Brooklyn Brewery (USA).

Russell Sykes, brewer at Wild Beer Co, who is curating this project and will lead the brews, explained: “Collaborations provide us, as brewers, with opportunities

"The job of the cellarman is crucial in carrying the

to share knowledge and experiences; develop and refine

baton of the beer effectively from cellar to pump – this

our skills; and further expand our horizons.

appreciation is what cemented the project idea between

“So in choosing our collaboration partners, we have not been constrained by geography; size or market

ourselves and Garrett Oliver at Brooklyn.

"Each of the beers produced in this series will bring

segmentation. Instead, we have sought out those

something wildly different to the market. Each will be a

whose ethos and passion we share; who will push our

unique sum of the parts brought into the collaboration,

boundaries and their own; and who believe great cask

the combination of our ideas and identities at this

beer is worth investing in.

moment in each brewery’s development.

"It is also about highlighting the importance of how we

“Through this, we will add our collective weight to the

not only produce our beer but how we look after it and

argument that cask beer is capable of being more than

maintain it once it rests in the venues cellar.

the cheapest pint at the bar.”

each of four retractable bag hooks on the fill head.

well as independent retailers.

The operator secures the bag inlet to the

Logan Plant, founder of Beavertown Brewery, said

downspouting. The system’s PLC runs the flexible screw

the move was not something the business rushed into

conveyor at a high feed rate, reducing the feed rate to

and instead, spent the time to “survey the landscape

trickle before stopping the conveyor when the accurate

and assess the impact of other craft brands hitting

target weight has been loaded into the bag. The bag and

supermarket shelves over the last 12 months.”

pallet are removed by pallet jack.

“Individual customer orders are typically 24 one-tonne bulk bags of malt,” said Hickman.

He added: “The system works well and we are

He said: “We wanted someone who holds the same attention to detail and commitment to quality that we do.

"If we were going to do this it was only going to be with someone who was going to take as good care of

pleased with the reliable operation it provides to our

our beer, as we do ourselves and in Waitrose we believe

malting facility.

we have found a partner who is willing to, and invested in

Beavertown beers to be sold at Waitrose

T

hree of Beavertown Brewery’s most popular beers are now available at more than 270 Waitrose stores.

Beavertown’s beers Neck Oil, Gamma Ray and

doing just that.”

Commenting on the move, Sarah Hammond, beer buyer at Waitrose, said: ‘We’re so excited to be able to offer Waitrose shoppers this wonderful range of innovative craft beers.

“The guys at Beavertown are so passionate about what they do, it’s been a pleasure to work with them on this

Lupuloid, joined the retailer’s lineup at the end of April,

launch, and I can’t wait to hear what our customers think

marking the latest brewery to supply supermarkets as

of the beers.”

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Eden Brewery taps into Asian markets The export deals follow a number of visits to the countries as part of UK Trade and Industry supported missions to exhibit and explore potential business partnerships.

In addition, the brewery is continuing to explore new markets, with Mr Hill undertaking a trade mission to Sweden later this year.

Hill said: “We have been developing our ties in China and Japan for a couple of years now, working hard to get to know the market and make connections with trading partners in those countries.

“What we’ve found is that there is a real and growing enthusiasm for the type of beer we produce, whether that’s our more traditional range of classic English ales, or the more contemporary, stronger, deeply flavoured experimental beers.

“The brewery has grown steadily in recent years, both

enrith, Cumbria-based Eden Brewery has sent its first

P

in terms of sales, and by moving to new, much larger

beer consignments to Japan and China.

premises last May. This means we’re now in a position to

expanding the company’s reach beyond Cumrbia and

more varied styles and flavours.

Jason Hill, managing director at the brewery said that

the UK was integral to enable them to “grow and build a successful business on the scale that we desire”.

service much larger orders and keep exploring more and “We know that to really be able to grow and build a successful business on the scale that we desire, we need

The brewery is exporting a combination of keg and

to expand to sell to markets beyond Cumbria and the UK.

bottled products, with a consignment of its traditional

This is an important first step on that journey and it’s really

English beers sent to a distributor based in Beijing, in

important to us to stand up and represent all the great

addition to its range of specially brewed fruit beers.

food and drink producers in the area.

In addition, the brewery has sent 180 kegs of its well-

“Hopefully, these are just the first orders of many that

hopped, higher strength beers to the Ikon Europub chain

we send out to the Far East as we continue to grow our

in Japan.

reach across the UK as well.”

Shepherd Neame appoints new master brewer

brewing heritage and carry on its traditions, so when I saw the opportunity was available to work at Shepherd Neame, Britain’s oldest brewer, it seemed the perfect

S

hepherd Neame has appointed Mike Unsworth as its new master brewer and operations manager.

Unsworth, who has nearly 30 years of experience

in the brewing industry, joins the Kent-based brewery following the retirement of Richard Frost at the end of

move.

“Kent is renowned as the Garden of England, and the opportunity to brew beer in the heart of hop country was among the many factors that attracted me to the role.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity to access so

March. Originally from Liverpool, he has experience

many different hop varieties, not only from the fields all

working in the UK and overseas in Tasmania at The

around, but the historic varieties in the nearby National

Cascade Brewery Company, Australia’s oldest operating

Hop Collection. I hope to work with the team to come up

brewery

with some innovative additions to the beer portfolio.”

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I have been

Chief executive Jonathan Neame said: “We are

at Cascade for seven years, and really enjoyed it, but my

delighted to welcome Mike to our award-winning brewing

partner Jane and I wanted to move back to the UK to be

team. He is a talented, experienced brewer, and we are

nearer our family and friends.

sure he will do an excellent job ensuring the continued

“I was really proud to be part of Cascade’s long

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May 2018

quality and exciting development of our beer range.”

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b r e w e r s

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speakers

Brewers congress meet the speakers

The speaker line up for the 2018 Brewers Congress has been announced, bringing together leading industry names from the UK, Europe and the US. The congress will again be held at One Great George Street, London. Super early bird tickets are on sale for ÂŁ55, for full details go to: congress.brewersjournal.info

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May 2018

Brewers Journal

Ray Daniels | Cicerone

Andy Leman | Timothy Taylor

Few have had more of an impact on raising standards across the board than Ray Daniels.

Since starting Cicerone, the certification program designed for those that sell and serve beer, nearly 95,000 individuals have passed through its doors. “I wanted to motivate servers and retailers to ‘up their game’ by learning more about proper beer service as well as beer styles so that they could talk to their customers about their offerings,” says Daniels. A mission statement as valid today as it was then.

Timothy Taylor and quality go hand-in-hand, and Andy Leman is only the fourth head brewer in the company’s history. Following on from figures such as Peter Eells, Allan Hey and Sydney Fairclough, Leman manages a team of brewers trained at the prestigious Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. He is also responsible for overseeing production of some of the UK’s best cask beers such as Landlord, Boltmaker and Knowle Springs.

Pete Lengyel | KCBC

Sophie De Ronde | Burnt Mill Brewery Sophie De Ronde is the head brewer at Burnt Mill Brewery. Formerly brewing technologist at Muntons, she has a wealth of technical knowledge that spans cellar management, production brewing and product development.

She has passed on her knowledge and helped many brewers over the last decade and at Burnt Mill, rated best new brewery in the UK at the most recent Ratebeer awards, she’s running the day to day brewhouse and cellar operations to get the best out of their equipment and raw materials with the aim of ever increasing the quality of the brewery’s beers.

brewersjournal.info

A recent article from online media site Thrillist described KCBC as NYC’s best brewery you’ve never heard of. But it’s not going to stay that way for much longer. Pete Lengyel, who founded the business alongside Tony Bellis and Zack Kinney, is a trained molecular biologist and is producing world-class beers in a part of the USA that has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to excellent breweries. In the UK, KCBC have recently collaborated with contemporaries such as Beavertown, Verdant, Brew By Numbers and Hackney Brewery. Beers that left shelves as soon as they hit them.

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speakers

Mike Marcus | Chorlton Brewing Co

Colin Stronge | Northern Monk

Mike Marcus left his studies in the world of fine art when he started Chorlton Brewing Co in 2014. Driven by a respect for the heritage of German sour beer, he produces some of the nation’s most respected beers that are making waves both in the UK and overseas. The brewery prioritises supplying to independent businesses and our beer is always unfiltered, unpasteurised and unfined.

There’s few names more synonymous with quality in modern brewing parlance than Colin Stronge. Stronge, who was previously head brewer at Buxton Brewery, is now the production director at Northern Monk and is helping oversee ambitious expansion at Leeds-based business.

Along with head brewer Brian Dickson, Stronge can turn his hand to any style with aplomb, resulting in predictably impressive results.

Jenn Merrick | Earth Station

Brian Strumke | Stillwater Artisanal

Jenn Merrick is the founder of Earth Station, a brewery that will launch in east London’s Royal Docks later this year. Merrick, who has previously worked at Meantime, Dark Star and as director of operations at Beavertown, wants Earth Station to become a community hub and events space that provides employment to the local area.

She recently spearheaded a collaboration that featured 14 of the finest female brewers alongside students and lecturers from HeriotWatt to showcase the very best in brewing.

Brian Strumke is the founder of Stillwater Artisanal. A mainstay among the best brewers in the world, Stillwater Artisanal continue to push the boundaries when it comes to styles, flavours and design. A keen collaborator with breweries across the globe, Strumke also has his sights set on his new venture, Production in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It'll offer a fermentation facility, barrelageing store and much more when it opens later this year.

Dr Keith Thomas | Brewlab

Garrett Oliver | Brooklyn Brewery To be talented in one field is impressive. To turn your hand elsewhere with similar results?

That’s just not fair. But thankfully for drinkers and readers across the globe, Garrett Oliver is just that. Brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, Oliver is also the editor-in-chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer, and author of The Brewmaster’s Table.

Probably the most recognisable figure in modern beer, Oliver has hosted more than 1,000 beer tastings, dinners, and cooking demonstrations in nearly 20 countries.

Chris Pilkington | Põhjala Chris Pilkington has helped turn Estonia’s Põhjala into one of the driving forces in modern beer.

Known for they excellent barrel-aged output, the Tallinn-based brewery also produces an excellent range of IPAs and beers brewed with rare botanicals and forest ingredients. In addition to their own output, Põhjala has produced a number of excellent collaborations with breweries such as De Struise, Lervig, Stillwater Artisanal and To Øl.

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Brewers from across the globe have learned their craft at Sunderland’s Brewlab. Dr Keith Thomas established the business, a leading provider of training and analysis services for the international brewing industry, in 1986 and it has gone from strength to strength since. Dr Thomas is also a senior lecture in Microbiology at the University of Sunderland teaching undergraduate, MSc and PhD students in microbiology, biotechnology and food sciences.

Georgina Young | Fuller’s Georgina Young is the head brewer of Fuller’s.

The West London-based brewery has ably demonstrated how to maintain the quality and consistency of popular beers such as London Pride, Frontier and ESB, while also working and collaborating with newer breweries in the UK and beyond. Upon her promotion last year, Fuller’s global ambassador John Keeling said: “She’s a great person to lead the brewery going forwards and inspire the next generation of brewers.” It’s safe to say the future of Fuller’s brewery is in safe hands.

Brewers Journal

Supported by

Co m m e n t

L ow

and

no - alcohol

beers

Chris (r) with co-founder Tom

Let’s get the message straight It’s a fact; 0.5% ABV beers are safe to drink. So, let’s make it easy for consumers to pick an alcohol-free beer, for brewers to experiment with new flavours and styles, and for retailers to display our range, says Chris Hannaway, co-founder of Infinite Session.

part thanks to the great work done by some German breweries and the likes of Mikkeller, Pistonhead and Big Drop in the UK. I’m looking to continue the charge with my brother Tom at my new company, Infinite Session.

Following this recent growth and attention, our government has recently started a public consultation on the legal descriptors used for these drinks – in large part thanks to Club Soda, the leading promoter of the category.

At present, to be alcohol-free the beer should be

by Chris Hannaway

0.05% ABV or below, while products with 0.5% and less should be called “de-alcoholised”, although many products, including ours, don’t even have alcohol

R

removed. On the contrary, products from the EU below

it’s actually possible to NOT make alcohol-free beer

the rules and align us with the rest of the world so that

taste like sweet wort water. This has been due in large

we’re less confusing for consumers, giving them accurate

ecent figures show that value sales of low/

0.5% – many widely distributed in the UK – can be 0.5%

no-alcohol beer grew £5.9m (20.5%) to

and labelled alcohol free or alkoholfrei. As you may have

£34.7m over 12 months, the highest growth

guessed, defining alcohol-free is confusing, particularly

in five years (Nielsen to July 2017). This has

as the same rules as the EU exist in many other countries

been heavily influenced by the movement

in the world, including Australia and the US where it’s

towards “mindful drinking” (much a recognition that we don’t always have to get smashed all the time) and that

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called “non-alcoholic”.

Club Soda’s aim is to have the government clear up

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and

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information and yes, promoting the category, which is fairly certain to only have positive benefits for society.

However, this wouldn’t be real life without agendas getting in the way of common sense. Following the launch of the consultation, we’ve had public opposition from Steve Magnall, the chief executive at St Peter’s Brewery and a producer of a range of 0.05% alcohol beers. Magnall is against a simplification of labelling laws, with his reasoning being: “We’ve put time, effort and money into producing a zero alcohol range of beers [they’re actually still 0.05%], so why should a 0.5% beer be branded as zero alcohol when it isn’t?”

In situations like these it’s best to place the facts first and where better to go for them than Germany, where alkoholfrei (<0.5%) beers have long passed €1bn in sales and the national Olympic team are heralding its contribution to their recent success.

In typical fashion, the Germans have carefully studied the suitability of the 0.5% and alcohol-free claim and provided conclusive evidence. Studies show that consuming 0.5%

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beer has “no physiological” effect on the body.

The Germans have a zero tolerance limit on new drivers in and yet 0.5% beer can still be consumed in large quantity because it has no effect, considered a “trace amount” (much like gluten-free beer may contain a trace of gluten: <20ppm).

Europe’s largest university clinic, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, has also approved its consumption during pregnancy. The body already has a permanent blood alcohol content and many everyday foods contain similar or more alcohol, including brown bread, apple juice and ripe bananas. Common sense has prevailed and consumers are given a great tasting product that is safe and healthy.

Magnall continues in his argument that “someone wishing not to drink alcohol doesn’t want a 0.5% ABV beer.

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That would be like feeding a vegetarian a tiny bit of thinly cut ham.” Now, this may be ignorance above malice, but this comparison is desperate, misleading and down-right hilarious. This is self-serving nonsense and does nothing but inhibit everyone’s future potential. The difference between a 0.05% and 0.5% in terms of taste, texture and flavour is really that significant.

My message back is clear: the work has already been done, let’s not reinvent the wheel. Let’s put agendas to one side and base this on the facts: 0.5% is safe because it has no impact on the body. Instead, let’s make it easy for consumers to pick an alcohol-free, for brewers to experiment with new flavours and styles, and for retailers to display our ranges. Let’s focus our efforts on working together to build this category to have the impact that we know it can, not limit it and stifle our potential – just like it has in Germany and the rest of the world. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats.

brewersjournal.info

With over 35 years experience in the bottling and brewing industry. UK manufacturers of bespoke carbonating/premix carbonating equipment. Supplying new and second hand filling, rinsing, washing, labelling, capping and packaging for; soft drinks, water, beers, wines and alcopops. We also offer maintenance engineering services with full support, technical advice and after care service.

Carbonation Techniques Ltd. Office: +44 (0) 1952583901 Email: wendy@carbotech.co.uk

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D rop

Time to Shine London’s Pressure Drop Brewing has been busy creating great beers for a good five years. They, in their own words, don’t court the spotlight and push themselves publicly. But now that they’re settled into their new home in Tottenham Hale, and with the beers tasting better than ever, they may not have any say in the matter for much longer.

beer they can, and to enjoy themselves while they’re doing it.

Drinkers, too, are enjoying what they’re doing. Beers like the evergreen Pale Fire; its IPA Bosko; brown ale Stokey Brown; and a Simcoe IPA Alligator Tugboat, have resonated with consumers that have found them in bottle shops and bars across London and further afield. Their new release, Parachute, a double-dry hopped (DDH) pale ale, is sure to be a success, too.

But lets rewind a couple of years. Freeman met the brewery’s other co-founders, Graham O’Brien and Sam Smith, back in 2012. O’Brien, who has known Smith since

by TIM SHEAHAN

school, stuck up a friendship with Freeman at London Fields Brewery, a brewing operation that often seems to

I

have had more alumni than Oxford and Cambridge put

f you happen to be an eager drinker that’s still on the hunt for Ballwanger, a mythical beer from Pressure Drop Brewing folklore, then bad news, it’s time to give up the search.

Because, you see, Ballwanger, never really

existed. Yet beer swap sites still have a listing for it and forums still have it on record but little beyond that. In fact,

together.

“We’d be brewing in Graham’s shed during the Olympic summer of 2012,” says Freeman.

And for a moment, he muses.

“The world seemed a different place back then! It’s almost like it never happened,” he sighs.

Much has changed in London, and the UK, in the years

the most comprehensive acknowledgment of this fabled

since that summer of celebration. The brewing industry

beer is on the app that spawned its existence, Untapped.

has transformed and evolved, too.

“Yep, we sure annoyed some people with that one,”

The team carried out several hundred brews on

laughs Ben Freeman, both a brewer and a third of trio that

O’Brien’s modest 50L Braumeister setup, something that

founded Pressure Drop back in 2012.

joined the trio when they took their steps into bricks and

“Someone logged our Wallbanger Wit beer on Untapped a couple of years ago as Ballwanger. Rather than just leave it at that, we got 200 or so labels printed

mortar when they moved into a railway arch in Hackney’s Bohemia Place in late 2012.

By the following January, they had sold their first beer

up with the new name and labelled a fair few of the

– a foraged herb hefeweisse in the form of Wu Gang

Wallbanger bottles that went out with that name instead,”

Chops The Tree, a beer that initially came together during

he says. “Next thing we know, it was causing chaos on the

the team’s third ever brew.

ratings sites with people shouting: ‘This is the same beer!"

“That beer came together pretty much immediately.

“So yeah, never again,” smiles Freeman.

But Graham and I were somewhat amateurs on the

But with its impressive new London unit, along with

brewing front so something like Pale Fire, on the other

the equipment to boot, you get the impression that the

hand, seemed to take forever to nail, in comparison,” says

Pressure Drop team will continue to do things their way.

Freeman. “It needed lots of tweaking and work to get it to

And, that’s by keeping things personal, making the best

where we wanted it to be. It was obviously important that

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Brewers Journal

Pressure Drop brewing tream (from left), Ben Freeman, Craig Carmichael, Katie McCain

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we did.”

At this point, Pressure Drop were brewing on a fivebarrel kit, something they had hit capacity on a little more than six months after installing it. Beer was being preordered before it had been brewed and attractive export accounts were being turned away to ensure the team could service existing customers.

“The brewing sector in London was really starting to grow at that point, but in comparison we were still very small,” says Freeman. “We bought some old FVs from Beavertown when they moved from Hackney Wick and expanded our kit where possible. But after brewing as much as we could, with ever-decreasing space, it was time to look elsewhere.”

The desire to take the next step in the Pressure Drop journey became reality in early 2015 with the team scouting out possible locations. “We know every industrial estate in East London quite intimately these days,” he laughs.

But it was important to get somewhere that met the team’s criteria. It needed to be local enough for the employees and also accessible for consumers to take advantage of the taproom they had planned. But as importantly, the lease agreement needed to offer more than the two years that many Hackney properties had in

“ D rop

We believe we should be responsible for every stage of the process and control the quality that way Ben Freeman, Pressure Drop Brewing

fantastic.”

And with Katie McCain and Craig Carmichael,

alongside Sam Freeman, Graham O'Brian and the team’s new sales and marketing coordinator Sienna O'Rourke, Freeman gives you the impression he’s at his most comfortable.

“Sam used to work in project management in the city

and he'll often say that he doesn't wanted to go back behind the spreadsheets again. We keep things lean and we all do our bit across brewing, packaging, and

place.

“We wanted somewhere that allowed us to build for the future,” says Freeman.

With a 10-year agreement, the team’s new facility in Tottenham Hale gives them that.

“There was no point moving in to somewhere and then two years later having to up-sticks, rip everything up and start again,” he says. “In reality, the landlord knows you

cleaning,” he explains.

Brewing and cleaning has changed somewhat since Pressure Drop commenced production on its new kit last year. They now operate a 20-barrel brewhouse from UKbased Gravity Systems, technology used by Redchurch, Burning Sky and nearby Beavertown.

“They obviously had a good existing order book!”

don’t want to do that so they’ll have you over a barrel with

he says. “We wanted to work with a British firm so

rent increases. It’s so important to get things right and I

they could come down, discuss our requirements and

think we have.”

ensure the system was built with this facility in mind.

The team got the keys to the Tottenham Hale facility in January 2017, which is located at Unit 6 on the Lockwood Industrial Park in North London. If that name sounds

They listened to what we wanted rather than offering us something off the shelf.”

The new brewhouse is complemented by six 32hl FVs,

familiar, it’s because Pressure Drop can call Beavertown,

with room for modest expansion if required. Packaging of

sat just over the yard, neighbours.

kegs and bottles is carried out in-house, an area Freeman

The unit, previously used by a clothing business, has been remodelled to fit the brewery’s needs. It’s hard to

is particularly passionate about.

“We’ve always packaged in-house and it’ll stay that

fathom the current setup upon looking at those early

way, We believe we should be responsible for every

shots, but six-months graft – while brewing continued

stage of the process and control the quality that way,”

in Hackney – enabled something resembling a smooth

he says. “If you’re sending something out, you don’t

transition. Deposits were placed on the new brewhouse

know what’s coming back. To me, the beer’s journey is

at the beginning of that period in early 2017 to ensure the

only starting at the point of packaging therefore it’s so

team could be up and running later in the year.

important to control that as much as possible."

“I was based here in Tottenham while the rest of the

Pale Fire remains the brewery’s most popular beer. The

team were holding fort in Hackney. It meant that both

4.8% beer is hopped with different varieties, depending

sides of the business were progressing at the same time

on the version, but accounts for more than 50% of what

and there was no point where we weren’t producing beer,”

Pressure Drop produce. Elsewhere, Bosko and Wu Gang

he says. “At those times, Katie and Craig were absolutely

are kept in stock year-round, while everything else is

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released seasonally.

The kit investment is enabling Pressure Drop to produce new beers, too. It’s latest release, the

D rop

we then hopped again post fermentation to bring the total dry-hop rate up to 16g/L. “It was our first time using this technique of hopping

aforementioned Parachute, is one such example. The

during fermentation, our research on the style and advice

5.5% Pale Ale was a foray ahead of a collaboration with

from fellow brewers yielded a resounding message of

one of many breweries the team have admiration for,

‘hop early and often’, so that is precisely what we did.

Cornwall’s Verdant.

“Our mission for Parachute was to create a soft stage

“We’re very pleased with the results of this miniadventure into New England territory. The beer is gold

for the hops to dance on. We focused on the idea of

coloured and hazy, with a rich aroma of hops, low

softness and worked on the water profile to achieve the

bitterness and, we feel, a soft palate that allows the hops

mouthfeel we were after. Low bitterness was key to the

to express their fruity goodness.”

plan, as was a grain bill with the inclusion of oats and

Freeman and the team are enthused about the new

wheat to build the texture of the beer,” says Freeman.

beers, but also how all beers are tasting with the new kit.

He adds: “When it came to the hops we used our

He pinpoints improvement in quality across the board

recent experience with our Pale Series beers to inform the

and is equally relieved they are no longer at the mercy of

choice; Ekuanot and HBC431 both being stand-outs. We

temperature fluctuations at its old Hackney arch.

also included Citra to put the matter beyond any doubt.

“Having a large cold store means the beers we

The first dry-hop took place during active fermentation,

produce, aside from those such as stouts, have never

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been at a temperature higher than 6C when they leave us.

It’s a focus on exports that will continue to play

So if you order direct, or go through The Bottle Shop, you

an increasing role for Pressure Drop as they look for

can have complete confidence in that,” he says. “We’ve

opportunities away from their London market.

also invested in conical fermenters where the previous dish bottom vessels limited us on the dry hop side.

“In addition to a whirlpool kettle and a BrauKon hop

“It’s definitely more competitive in the capital now.

People are having those transformative moments where they drink good beer and find it hard to go back to what

gun, we continue to focus heavily on the laboratory,

they had before. But is this happening at a faster rate than

which is so, so essential. It’s a great feeling to be able

the amount of breweries expanding and opening? I’m not

to realise and apply everything we have learned during

sure. It’s a fantastic scene to be part of, though,” he says.

these last five years, knowing the beer is coming out as good as we can possibly make.”

The additional capacity has also enabled the team to return to customers they previously had to turn away, while attracting new ones in the process.

“Around three-quarters of the beer we produce stays in

And, being part of that community, making great beer and giving people a living is what remains the priority for Freeman and the team.

“I think we all like the fact that we’re a tight, efficient unit. We don’t want to be a massive brewing outfit,” he says. “We don’t want to take over the world. If we’re

London, but it pops up everywhere. And, exports continue

making beer people enjoy, making a living and providing

to grow, with beer going to France, Italy, Australia and

the team with a healthy work/life balance, then I’m happy.

Switzerland, among others. It’s really rewarding.”

That’s what we’re about.” u

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Production Values It has been eight frenetic years since Brian Strumke started Stillwater Artisanal.

But now, the company's founder wants somewhere to call home and that place is Production, located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The operation will be a fermentation facility, barrel-ageing store and much more when it opens later this year, and Strumke is turning to the public to help fund it.

by Tim Sheahan

I

f we were going to enter the market in 2018, it felt only right that we take a different approach, one

labelled myself a beer designer rather than a brewer.

“It’s disrespectful to call myself a brewer when so

where we felt we were offering something unique,

many talented people are helping create these abstract

something special,” says Brian Strumke, founder of

beer ideas I come up with. But with Production, I’ll have

Stillwater Artisanal.

the ability to explore beer styles I’ve not been able to fully

And Strumke is planning to do just that with the

opening of Production, the company’s first bricks and

immerse myself in, until now.

“And that means wild fermentation and barrel-aged

mortar operation, when it launches in Greenpoint,

sours. Being able to respect space and time, to give beer

Brooklyn at the end of 2018.

aged in wood the due care and attention it needs.”

The focus for Strumke, who founded Stillwater

Stillwater Artisanal has estimated the cost to achieve

Artisanal in 2010, is to open a space that is defined

its goals at Production to come in around $1.8 million

by creativity, invention and experimentation. This will

(£1.27million). Strumke is hoping to raise $1 million through

comprise a fermentation facility and barrel-ageing room,

contributions made by attracting revenue-share investors

along with a bar, events space, restaurant and more.

using Regulation CF authorized platform GrowthFountain.

“This has always been a goal of mine,” Strumke tells us.

This means Investors will be considered debtors and

“Production is an evolution of the project I started eight

will receive five percent of Production’s gross revenues,

years ago. I want a lab, the ability to experiment. The

up to a 200% cash-on-cash return, which is paid on an

Gipsy side of what we do will continue, but this gives us

annual basis.

something new.”

He explains: “Brewing at other brewer’s operations has been great for many reasons. But, despite being a home brewer for years before starting this business, I’ve always

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The company’s projections estimate that the capped rate of return will be paid back to revenue-share investors within nine-years.

In addition, Strumke is offering ‘perks’ based on

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quality, but I’m also surprised to receive them as our beers have always been so abstract.”

Strumke points out that the first five years of Stillwater Artisanal would have disappointed IPA fans. Not one was produced. Instead, he preferred to focus heavily on farmhouse style beers.

“I liked the idea of farmhouse beers as they are undefined. It’s more of a philosophy than a style. You’d have originally brewed with what was available to you on the farm. I appreciated the attributes of those beers in the sense that they’d be dry beers. That saison characteristic the level of investment made. These span from beer, discounts and merchandise to an all-inclusive, around-

resonated with me,” he says.

“But what happened was while, in my mind, I was

the-world beer adventure for you and three friends with

trying to do new beer styles, people were lumping us

Strumke, and much more – if you’re willing to stump up

into recognisable categories. That is frustrating for any

the $1million.

artist. People would pass comment and say ‘Brian makes

“At the start, Gipsy brewing was a way for me to lead into having a brewery. But as time went by, coupled

saisons’ and that pissed me off.

“I was being put into the box that had been built for

with the success the beers had, I ended up in a situation

me. So the logical response was to move away from that

where lots of fantastic brewers and breweries would open

and brew a dry-hopped Lager, IPA and Smoked Imperial

their facility for you to work in,” he explains.

Stout. I wanted to show people I could make other beers

“For someone like me, who is self-taught, it was very special to be making these abstract beer styles across the

and enjoy them too.

“Salvador Dali was criticised by the realist crowd for

globe. These beers didn’t fall into categories, they were

focusing on surrealist paintings. People said he wasn’t

evolutions of beers I made in my backyard in Baltimore.

classically-trained. So he showed them he could do just

So to be ranked second in the ‘Best New Brewers in the

that. That’s how I felt!”

World’ category by RateBeer so early on in Stillwater’s life,

And with the launch of Production, Strumke is keen to

and to be considered one the Top 100 breweries in the

show people once more of what Stillwater Artisanal can

world is really rewarding.

do.

“It’s weird for me though, at the same time. My goal

“The brewing scene is massively growing, like so many

was never to enter competitions as those categories are

places,” he says. “In 2018 we weren’t going to open up

very strict and I came into beer wanting to disrupt the

a straight-forward brewery. Coming into beer in 2010, I

industry. If I’m part of a contest then I’m putting myself in

knew I wanted to shake it up. And I think we helped do

a box, and that not me.

that. Beer now is a monster, and we want to shake it up

“So awards are nice as people have recognised the

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Brewers Journal

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bottl i ng

Bottled or Canned Find the right pack for your beer

The death of glass has been greatly exaggerated. Granted, the prevalence of canned beer from modern UK breweries cannot be denied, but these two vessels are complementary as much as they are competing. For every advocate of aluminium, there are – at least – as many fighting the bottling corner.

supplement their core ranges with small runs of specials and one-offs.

“Being able to offer something that end-customers can’t buy cheaper in the big retailers is essential in keeping small bottle shops and independent retailers on board and engaged with your brewery,” he says. “The vast majority of packaging we do now is 5bbl or 10bbl batches, rather than large 20bbl+ packaging runs that were common a couple of years ago."

But regardless of their choice of output, Harrison is keen to point out that the demands are underpinned by two

by Tim Sheahan

requirements: Flexibility and quality.

“Brewers want to be able to split a batch between

T

various packaging options. They may want to fill some

here are a number of benefits of glass that

KegStar kegs, a few key kegs, do a short run of 5 Litre

we can, hopefully, all agree on. Glass bottles

mini kegs and then put the balance into bottles – all in

have narrow necks and therefore can be

the same packaging run. This enables them to meet

purged of oxygen before filling. As glass is

their customer’s needs whilst keeping stock low and the

inert, there is no need for a chemical layer

beer fresh,” he says. “They ask us to meet their quality

to keep the beer fresh. Glass is also 100% recyclable and

standards, which are now higher than they have ever

can be recycled indefinitely. It’s no surprise then to see

been. And, as a working brewery ourselves, our ethos is

so many breweries nailing their colours to the glass mast,

that we treat all contract packaging beer as if it was our

despite the other benefits canning ones beer may offer.

own.

“Small brewery pre-pack as a sector seems to be in

“This means we won’t cut corners, or accept anything

a really exciting growth area at the moment, explains

other than perfection. We could reduce prices by using

Ben Harrison, brewery manager at Hambleton Ales. “Five

cheaper raw ingredients, less efficient process aids, by

years ago breweries sold 90% of their output as cask, 10%

cutting tank time, and by using less staff. But we wouldn’t

as bottle. Today many are putting the majority of their

be able to do this and offer the same level of service and

production into pre-pack. It’s a vibrant, exciting, growing

quality that we do now.”

market. And as far as I can see there is room for everyone.

Mark Hammond, operations director at Edwin Holden’s

We are certainly busier now then we have ever been.”

Bottling backs Harrison’s observations, adding price to

Harrison sees canning as complementary to bottling,

the mix.

and is witnessing many of the company’s customers

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“Flexibility, quality and price are areas that crop up

Brewers Journal

Contract bottling offers many breweries much needed flexibility

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Kent-based South East Bottling’s contract operation

time and time again. You need the flexibility to respond,

new processing block. Within the bottling service they

customers often have short or little notice to fulfil orders,

have the ability to pack into any of the following bottle

which in turn puts pressure on the supply chain process

sizes; 200ml, 275ml, 330ml and 500ml across a number

which we form an integral link. We are therefore trying to

of case formats. For brewers that don’t like to use IBC

establish a responsive flexible service with a short lead

type containers, they run their own tanker services, all

and fast turnaround time,” he says.

of its tankers are split compartment so they can collect

Hammond adds: “Quality – is key to the success of us and our customers, we believe we are as only as good

multiple batches of beer from a customer.

They have a fully-equipped lab with the capability to

as our reputation, this ultimately comes down to the last

analyse ABV, PG, OG, pH, colour, haze, CO2, DO2. The Lab

batch. We have to instal confidence in our customers

operation is in the BAPS and ILCS proficiency schemes

that we have quality under control across our site and

and they are also in the process of equipping a specific

processes, this is why we invest in new plant, and people.

micro Lab facility.

"Then there’s price. Material, energy and labour costs

When posed with the canning conundrum, Hammond

continue to rise, but each customer demands the best

admits that a couple of years ago, he believed that

price possible. The market is becoming more competitive

they "probably wouldn’t stay the distance", but there

with new competitors opening each year. All three of the

does however seem to a be an increasing demand for

above demand an excellent working relationship with our

such vessels, particularly in the wake of the upsurge in

clients, we work extremely hard to balance, offer flexibility,

environmental concern and responsibility they've seen in

best quality at a rate we believe to be fair to both parties.”

2018.

The Dudley-based business has the capabilities to

“Although a can will always be a one-trip container,

take bright or rough product. Bright product goes straight

they are considered to be more environmentally friendly

to the bottling line, but rough product goes through its

in terms of footprint and recyclable in comparison to

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Mobile Bottling For any brewer who daydreams of having a state-of-the-art bottle filling line but cannot afford the capital costs, those dreams can come true. Mobile bottling now exists in the UK. Mobile canning has been available for several years and now brewers who want the option of packaging in glass can avail themselves of the convenience of a professional doing the work on a kit that meets all the requirements for quality beer, says Jane Peyton.

At present in Britain there are a handful of companies that offer a mobile bottling service for wine makers, but at time of writing there are only Mobot in the UK and Mobile Craft Bottling Company in Ireland that are specifically set-up for brewers. Both use Meheen fillers, the industry leader and the go-to kit for American brewers who need mobile bottling services. Oasthouse Engineering in Sheffield is the distributor for Meheen in Europe with hundreds of clients.

Sam Morris of Oasthouse Engineering says: “The compact size and weight of the Meheen makes it ideal for the mobile market. Both the filler and labeller are on wheels and are robustly made to move around. “The functionality of the machine allows the user to tailor the fill process to the customers’ requirements and product type – slower smoother fill for high CO2 products like wheat beer to the inclusion of a pulse function for porters and stouts to ensure low DO by capping on foam.”

Having the bottles come to the beer rather than vice-versa eliminates the risk of oxidation and other quality control issues.

Asked about other advantages of a mobile bottling service Mobot founder Seimon Williams says: “One big benefit is that

we can bottle smaller amounts of several different products on the same day. This way the brewery doesn't have a load of one single product to sell. Also, the beer can be ready to sell as soon as we've finished bottling.”

Mobot arrives at the brewery and the kit is unloaded from a trailer. It needs two square metres of space and during the filling process it rinses, purges CO2, fills, crown caps and labels the bottles (330ml size). Setup and cleaning afterwards takes an hour plus the time to fill the bottles with bright or bottle-conditioned beer. For 1,200 to 1,500 bottles it is an hour from beer in the tank to beer in cases.

The brewery supplies water, CO2 bottles, sanitizer and cleaning chemicals, plus someone to help pack the filled bottles into cases. There is no minimum run size, but there is a set-up fee. Price per bottle depends on volumes so larger numbers will be more cost efficient.

One thing to consider with mobile bottling is the bottle itself. Catherine Robinson, product performance manager at Glass Technology Services, explains: “If you move from hand-bottling to automatic filling, or changing filling provider, it’s important to check your bottles will be compatible. “For example, tolerance for variation in bottles’ ‘verticality’ is less on an automated line. Or to put it simply – bottles that are imperceptibly wonky won’t worry a human filler but can upset a machine. There will inevitably be a bit more rattling of the bottles on an automated line, too. So before you make the switch, check your bottles are up to spec.

If you’ve any doubts, we can carry out the necessary performance checks.”

plastic. We are looking at the options at being able to add

for some time had concern about the quality of some

a canning service in support of added-value, but not a

canned products on the market, for a third party contract

replacement for our bottling service. Our approach would

packer, such as ourselves, I would not feel comfortable

be much the same as we have used on our contract

offering non-filtered, non-stabilised product as trendy and

kegging facility,” he says.

fashionable.

Hammond adds: “I feel that produced properly, there is a strong future for both packaging formats. I have

brewersjournal.info

"We would offer canning based on offering a high level of process control, consistency and quality to give

May 2018

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bottl i ng

The Mobot service leverages Meheen bottle fillers

reproducibility of product, like we do with our current

needing cases of eight, 12, or 24, cartons, tray with shrink-

packaging services.” Complementary Technologies

wrap – basically retail-ready packaging, all of which the

At Kent’s South East Bottling, managing director Tracy

business can offer. The company offers bottling and

Sambrook is firm on one thing. That canning is not a

canning options as well as doing split runs and multiple

threat.

packing formats, so it is well-positioned to deliver the

“It is definitely not,” she says. “Canning is creating

flexibility its customers need, according to Sambrook.

more interest in the craft beer market which increases

And, on the technology front, all the technology and

demand across both formats. Since we see canning as

equipment the business has invested in over the last five

complementary to bottling, we installed our own state-of-

years has been designed to minimise DO uptake, from

the art rotary canning line in early 2017. We selected the

intake through to final packaging.

rotary line as we knew from our bottling experience that beer quality maintained where DO is minimised.”

Within glass, Sambrook has witnessed that breweries

“The bottling line has been designed to do this since as brewers, our founders recognised this was one of the biggest risks to small pack beer. So we invested in

want new products, and flexibility from their contract

a bottling line with rotary fillers and with double pre-

partners.

evacuation on filling,” she says. “The business benefits

“Our customers are exploring canning alongside

are we deliver quality and consistent small pack services,

bottling and so, want that flexibility from their packaging

and from the beginning we have been SALSA accredited,

partner. These breweries all have continuing demand for

which many large retailers demand. So we benefit

bottling so they aren’t switching away from bottles. Many

because our customers trust us to look after their beer as

want to test canning for certain products,” she says. “What

carefully as they would, coming back to us time and time

we’re learning from our customers is that they are trying

again and recommending us.”

to find the right packaging for their different styles of

Robinsons offers contract brewing, cask racking,

beer. For example, British premium ales and best bitters

petainer filling, kegging, packaging, and bottling. They’ve

lend themselves best to 500 ml bottles, whilst high ABV

packaged beer brewed in England, Scotland, Wales,

imperial stouts, Double IPAs and tasting styles work best

Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Italy and despatch worldwide,

in 330ml bottles.”

including to the USA and Australia.

Sambrook adds that the market’s need for flexibility

They echo some of the earlier points, and that is much

isn’t limited to matching the style of beer to bottle or can

of what breweries demand from businesses, such as

style, but also extends to different packing with breweries

theirs, has stayed the same for many years. "Customers

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bottl i ng

demand a high-quality, good value service that offers

i n s i g ht

packaging options.”

good yields, flexible packaging options, consistency

Elsewhere, on a supplier front, Andy Pegman, sales

of product and for supermarket supply such as BRC

manager at Vigo, says when it comes to investing in new

accreditation,” says Robinsons. “We’ve seen an increasing

kit, the functionality and quality of the manufacturing of

interest in non-standard bottle shapes, as customers are

equipment is important to its customers as it is essential

always looking for a point of difference. We have also had

to preserve the integrity of the brand.

a notable increase in enquiries about 330ml Vichy bottles and 660ml size bottles.”

“It is important for our customers to understand that the bottling process is just as important as the initial brewing process. Shelf life, dissolved oxygen pickup,

Secondary sales

hygiene and fill-levels can all be compromised if the equipment is of poor quality,” he says. “That’s why we are

R

very selective about the manufacturers we work with and

obinsons has also noted a trend or need for the

all equipment is scrutinised by our engineers to ensure it

company to be able to act as a secondary sales

passes our high standards.”

arm for many contract customers.

"For example we brew, package and warehouse

for a lot of customers, and we are now about to enter relationships where we do all of the above and sell

And, as a supplier of equipment across the board, Pegman has seen enough to see the benefits of offering both canning and bottling output.

“Those of our customers who have ventured into

alongside our own range in both UK take-home and in

canning have generally found their market share and

export markets,” they add. On the canning front, they have

routes to market have increased as a result. In many

mixed views.

instances the addition of a canned range alongside

“Consistency of product quality and taste is key and that seems to be a hurdle when producing small batches in a can. Currently brewers need to scale up and go to

bottles, is complementary to their brand and portfolio of products,” he says.

Pegman adds: "However, due to the numerous benefits

the large packagers like Marstons, however, that is not

of packaging in cans and current consumer trends, some

an accessible option for all,” says Robinsons. “There is

customers have shifted away from bottles and into cans.

still a stigma attached to drinking from a can, glass gives

"In both cases our customers have reported a positive

the feeling of quality or a more premium product, but it’s

impact on their business when they choose small-pack

always good to give the customer choice and variety of

options.” u

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Striking a chord Signature Brew was founded with one purpose, to get good beer into live music venues. Seven years on, they’ve long since established their core range and collaborated with countless musicians.

But, despite this success and with a new brewhouse on the way, they’re as fired up as ever.

McGregor has every right to be thrilled. He founded Leyton’s Signature Brew alongside cousin Tom Bott with one goal in mind. To bring decent beer to live music venues. And seven years into their journey, that’s exactly what they’re doing. But they know this is only just this the start.

It’s a time of transition for the team, and if everything goes to plan, 2018 will be defined as one of expansion, of stability and of growth.

“We’ve set ourselves a difficult brief of trying to straddle two ends of the market. We are trying to

by TIM SHEAHAN

create approachable beers for the uninitiated gig goer.

While also trying to stay in the craft beer world and be

I

respected for that,” says Bott. “Sometimes they compete

f you’re into your pop punk or hardcore genres of

with each other, but we want the person on the street to

music, the Slam Dunk festival has been something

drink our Roadie beer, enjoy it and then want to try more

of a saviour in recent years. As gig venues

craft beers.

disappear, grimly replaced by luxury apartments, the cost of entry to events such as Reading and

“For want of a better word, we think of ourselves as a gateway from bad beer to good. But we also sell a good

Leeds also move out of sight to many young music fans.

volume of beer into craft beer bars in London and the UK,

Slam Dunk has combined great bands and accessibility

too. That’s a our bread and butter and it makes sense to

with aplomb.

try and grow those permanent accounts. That gives us

And, it’s at the Leeds leg of that festival last year that Sam McGregor, co-founder of London’s Signature Brew, knew the brewery had made it.

“Those events are great. They’re hard work, but great fun,” he explains.

During the event McGregor was pouring from the brewery bar and clocked someone in the distance.

confidence to feed into other creative projects.”

Bott is articulate and pensive. His passion for brewing, and the business of brewing, comes through at every turn. Qualities no doubt refined during his early years working at Stoke’s Titanic Brewery, a business run by his father Dave and uncle Keith.

The Signature Brew story started over a pint in the

They stopped. Dead.

Strongroom bar in Shoreditch, London in the summer

Then proceeded to lash their cup of generic lager to

of 2011.

the ground and celebrated wildly after coming to the

“We were fed up that every time you’d go to a gig and

swift realisation that they were able to drink a pale ale

wanted a beer, you’d have no other choice than a pint of

while listening to some of their favourite bands.

monolithic lager. But it didn’t take long for us to decide we

“It was hilarious. It was wasteful, but very satisfying at the same time!” he says.

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wanted to test the water and try and change that situation.

It was a question of how,” he says. “So we decided what

Brewers Journal

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brew

better mouthpiece for the cause than the people on

and the team were acutely aware of the limitations such a

stage with the audience. We set about to try and use

business model presents, too.

our connections to enlist bands that liked beer, agreed

“Working with artists has been great and we’ve made

their was an issue with choice, and agreed that fans

friends for life thank to such projects. But ultimately, you

deserved better."

are at the whim of them also. So if the album they are

The first fruits of their labour was The General, a 3.8% pale ale contract brewed at Titanic Brewery in collaboration with London band The Rifles.

“We produced 1,000 bottles. It was solid, but there was plenty of room to improve on!” says Bott.

Others followed at breweries across the UK.

promoting is pushed back six months, so too is the beer. It made us realise something had to change,” he says.

That realisation happened fairly early in the company’s life. Team Signature Brew started life above an old Hoxton pub called the Marie Lloyd. While the pub itself was closed, the main room was left as is, while businesses

Collaborations with Craig Finn from US group The Hold

such as Signature Brew utilised office space upstairs. They

Steady, British rapper Professor Green, singer-songwriter

were fun times, Bott recalls.

Frank Turner and US metal band Mastodon resulted in

“The Marie Lloyd was an old Enterprise Inns pub. We

exposure both sides of the pond and Signature Brew had

shared with four other businesses including Soulshakers.

become synonymous with the sector.

They are a bar consultancy so the shelved and fridges

“The music world has almost infinite parallels with the

were stocked with each and every drink you could think

independent beer world. Everyone knows each other

of. They told us to help ourselves. I’m pretty sure we lost a

in beer and it’s the same in music,” says Bott. “It seems

year of Signature Brew thanks to that!”

like it’s never too hard to find the right person. So it was

A move to Hackney followed at the end of 2012.

a case of going for the right audience, or someone with

Utilising contract capacity alongside Braumeister and

the right audience, which is what we did. Well, apart from

Brew-Magic kit, it wasn’t long before the team had grown

Professor Green who had neither! However, that was a

out of the new space. Hard work building the brand and

great opportunity and one we probably wouldn’t turn

establishing core beers such as Backstage IPA allowed

down again.”

the company to establish stability away from the transient

Despite the growing popularity of such beers, Bott

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nature of artist collaborations.

Brewers Journal

s i gnature

Bott says that beer then was stronger and more piney

brew

m e e t

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collaboration. This summer alone sees the brewery run

than it is now – something that has coincided with the

its own stage at the aforementioned Slam Dunk festival

growth in the UK developing its own drinking identity.

while collaborations with two major alternative UK bands

“Historically beer commentators have said that that the UK will mimic what’s happening in the US a year

will bring such projects right back into the spotlight.

They’ve grown, too. Riina Lääts joined Signature Brew

later. But as we mature, we’re carving out our own

as head brewer from Estonia’s Sori Brewing as in 2016.

patch,” he says. “The key difference is that we are 100% a

And last year, she was responsible for the launch of a 10%

pint drinking culture. Sure, I love finding unusual strong

imperial stout, Anthology.

beers and have a few thirds. But I’m also a big fan of

The well-received beer features six different malts,

enjoying four or five pints of low abv pales, and I have a

healthy additions of Chinook hops and the addition of

great time doing do. As an industry we’re trying to find a

cacao nibs adding profoundly bittersweet chocolate

happy medium in the UK.”

notes. The beer is set to become an annually release beer

Signature Brew found its current home in the third quarter of 2014, moving in that September. A

with future releases including barrel-aged versions, with some of the first iteration currently maturing in oak.

crowdfunding campaign raised funds before “being lost

Lääts is busy producing new recipes as well as

in the noise” of Camden Town’s campaign that followed

overseeing any tweaks in the core range. She’s also

a week after. But, it enabled the company to purchase a

enthused about upcoming expansion at the business.

20hl kit and four FVs from Five Points, also in Hackney.

Such is the level of growth, Signature Brew were looking

“It gave us chance to start in earnest to go ahead

at the possibility of upping sticks from Leyton within the

with our own beers. But even then, having fun remained

next year. But the demise of a neighbouring business

incredibly important for us. We like to engage with the

presented the brewery with the perfect opportunity.

audience and show people that craft beer shouldn’t be something to get too hung up about.”

In the three or so years since moving to Leyton,

“We need to fulfil our aim, and that’s to grow while maintaining our values. We can affect change in live music venues without growth and that’s what we plan to

Signature Brew has established its range of beers

do,” says Bott. “We needed to increase production and

without losing sight of its commitment to live music and

had done all we reasonably could here. Unfortunately

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the business next door had to shut but in doing so, allowed us to stay, and we’re thankful for that. Otherwise

brew

much a success,” says Bott.

He continues, "You need to have faith in what you do.

it looked like a move outside the M25 was the only

If you make something the market wants, the market

eventuality, and we know the disruption that would have

will find the way to access your product. If you do it right,

caused the team.”

you’ll find a way. So for us, Roadie can work in music

He adds: “We can now extend our stay in Leyton. In

venues, while our 9.4% Treble IPA probably wouldn’t. You

addition, we are investing in a new brewhouse, extra

have to know your market, respect it and work out what

capacity, a keg washer/filler, Cask canning line, isobaric

works where."

hop injector. Mobile CIP and steam boiler. The works."

Lääts adds: “I’m looking forward to it. We’ve been

“I’ve just been ticking off the shopping list,” laughs Lääts.

through a cycle during previous expansion where we’d be

The new brewhouse, which will be housed in the

hitting capacity time and time again, forcing us to rethink

extra unit, means Signature Brew move from a maximum current capacity of 4,800hl up to a initial limit to 13,500hl

things on a regular basis. This changes that.”

“We have spent an awful long time banging the drum

on its new setup. And the team are rightfully optimistic

and making headway,” says Bott. “But now we’re getting

about what the future holds.

settled and we have a fantastic team that’s making great

“If we can get this new setup up and running, with all the cracks ironed out by end of 2018 then this year is very

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beers. The foundations are there and we’re ready to crack on and ready to walk the walk.” u

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co nti n e nt s

K hmer

B everages

Craft in Cambodia The brewing sector is not confined by geographical boundaries. It’s a universal language that and one that continues to grow across the globe. The same applies to Cambodia. When Chip Mong Group decided to enter the arena through its company Khmer Beverages, it had ambitious plans that it has realised with aplomb in its first seven years, and it’s not stopping there.

by Peter Buchhauser

K

hmer Beverages isn’t your standard brewery. Very few breweries hit an annual output of 600,000hl in its lifetime, let alone from a standing start. But that’s exactly what Meng Leang, group president of

the brewery’s parent company Chip Mong Group has achieved since the business came into operation in 2011.

Khmer Beverages is part of a family-managed group that also comprises a construction business and trading firm among others. The idea of the company came into being back in 2009. However the group had no expertise in the brewing sector so Leang’s brother Peter traveled to the prestigious Research and Teaching Institute for Brewing (VLB) in Berlin where he completed his apprenticeship as a brewmaster.

Construction swiftly followed and in 2011, the brewery was founded. It launched with an initial capacity of 600,000 hectolitres alongside kit for processing, as well as a canning, a glass and a kegging line from a range of manufacturers.

Impressive growth followed. Output swiftly increased to 750,000 hectolitres in 2012, expansion the year after enabled the brewery to upsize further and in 2014, output hit 1.3 million hectolitres.

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May 2018

From the off, Khmer Beverages relied solely on its Cambodia brand, a 5% pale lager. More than 90 percent of it is now filled in cans. Leang explains that glass bottles have to be imported, are expensive and in terms of distribution in the country, less practical.

Beer in cans, by contrast, are a mature and popular choice in Cambodia, a preference that in Leang’s view is not going to change in the foreseeable future.

It was in 2015 that the brewery took the ambitious decision to expand even further. They turned to manufacturer Krones for a turnkey order that would triple the capacity of the brewery and its filling kit.

This comprised a five-kettle brewhouse rated at 600 hectolitres per brew and 14 brews a day, growing its capacity to 4.2 million hectolitres per year.

The investment also allowed the business to diversify its product range to cover soft drinks, too. Leang’s plans involve producing one million hectolitres of its water brand, 0.7 million hectolitres of the Wurkz energy-drink brand, 0.5 million hectolitres of the Cola-Ice brand and 0.5 million hectolitres of the Joop juice brand along side its beer output in the coming years.

“Entering the soft-drinks market is yet another major milestone for us,” Leang says. “And for beer, we’re targeting a market share of 45 per cent to be reached by 2022.” It’s something that looks well within reach thanks to the company’s partnership with 29 exclusive beer distributors located across the country.

He adds: “Having a good team is extremely important.

We look after our customers, we want to learn from them and improve our performance on a daily basis. These sales partners are now part of the family.

“You can’t buy a good relationship” Elsewhere, the business is also planning further expansion and diversification across the alcohol sector.

“We now have gained some valuable experience with products based on water,” he adds. And within two years Chip Mong is aiming to set up a production operation for whiskey in the vicinity of its brewery.

“People aren’t going to stop drinking,” he concludes. u

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Get a head start in the brewing industry Taking your first steps in starting a brewery is both an exciting and anxious time. For every exhilarating opportunity there’s a potential pitfall to stop you in your tracks. In this new series, manufacturers and suppliers from across the industry shared their wisdom on how you can get ahead in those early days.

appealing to a far wider audience than a bottle of beer with a steam engine on the label or with a sleepy name ever could.

"We were inspired by the amazing craft beer scene in America and the more we read about Stone and Dogfish Head the more we thought that with enough belief, passion and effort we might too manage to start making our own beer and selling it.”

Much has changed. Yet much has stayed the same since BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie penned the above blog entry on starting a brewery way

by tim sheahan

back in August 2008.

The beers they desired are no longer impossible to

A

find. Quite the opposite, in fact. Fans of good beer in the

brew; we both love innovative, strong, progressive beers

not seeing the eye-catching figures of one opening every

and these were impossible to find in the UK amidst the

two-days that were bandied about in 2015, but the lure of

plethora of 3.8% Best Bitters and industrially brewed

entering the industry is still very much there.

s ardent beer fans we were always

UK and Ireland have never had it better. There’s choice

completely disillusioned with the UK

and variety at every turn, and it’s only improving. The

beer scene. All the microbreweries tend

opening of a new bottle shop is a beautiful thing, and no

to produce very boring, similar beers and

doubt a welcome addition to the local area. But like new

market them in a way that would put my

breweries, it’s almost become expected now, rather than

grandparents to sleep.

“We knew exactly the type of beers we wanted to

lagers.

“We thought the best way to rectify the situation was

a surprise.

And those breweries continue to open. Granted, we’re

So with that in mind, as part of an on-going feature, we’ve enlisted the great and the good of industry

to brew our own. We also had really firm ideas about

suppliers and manufacturers to give their sagely advice

the brand we wanted to create, we were determined to

on what to look out for, and what to avoid, when starting

make our brewery's brand be one that was capable of

out on your own journey in the brewing industry. u

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Protect your brand from day one When it comes to starting out and building your name, there’s some do’s and some don’ts that should be at the top of your agenda, explains Edward Carstairs, senior associate at Gill Jennings & Every LLP

it’s easy to get swept up in to thinking all international enquiries will be your ticket to a lucrative exit – and to file lots of applications which could bankrupt you.

Take a step back, work out where the riskiest countries are, as well as those with the greatest commercial potential, and focus your efforts and budget there. You can’t do everything – and you don’t need “global” brand protection. Work out a strategic and sensible phased filing plan with your attorney – and review progress and market

by edward Carstairs

performance on a regular basis, to check you have your priorities right.

D

Do watch out for logos changing which could put

o run clearance searches before you

your registrations at risk. If you’re not using your logos

commit to a new beer name or new

“as registered” as a result of the inevitable “brand refresh”

markets – ideally a full search in your

then they will become unenforceable and cancellable

home/most important markets, but at

over time for “non-use”.

least identical screening searches in

So hold off filing applications until your logos are fixed

others. Think laterally – not just other beer names but also

and (hopefully) set to stay; and keep brand refreshes

soft drink, wine and even bar names could be a problem.

to a minimum (or at least make sure your marketing

Do your own checks at the UKIPO, on Google and the

people are aware of the consequences and costs of their

usual beer databases like BeerAdvocate and Untappd,

decisions ie if new applications are needed).

before getting professional advice to identify the biggest

Do think creatively when it comes to brand protection.

problems – and have a few possible names as back-ups

You can’t file applications everywhere but having the right

(don’t get wedded to a single name too early on). Make

clauses in contracts with third parties can go a long way

sure you don’t get caught out and forced to rebrand at a

to protecting you. Make sure they acknowledge you own

critical moment which will cost you valuable money and

the rights to your name and agree not to file applications

management time.

or challenge yours.

Do file applications early on – especially if you’re

Then if things go wrong, at least you’ve got them for

talking to third parties. This proves the name is yours

breach of contract, if not also for trade mark infringement.

(disputes in collaborations are not uncommon) and avoids

The mere act of signing such an agreement may also

the risk of distributors, retailers or other business partners

deter them. Remember also to use TM and ® where

stealing your name. It also gives you valuable rights early

appropriate and to include statements of IP ownership

on, before you have common law rights (resulting from

on websites, labels etc to send out a strong deterrent

sales).

message to third parties.

Further down the line, having the right protection in

Now here are the don'ts

place also shows to investors/purchasers that you know how to manage risk and protect your assets – think ahead to future due diligence and how your business will be perceived and valued.

In this industry, your beer and brewery names could well be the most valuable thing being invested in/sold, so make sure they are properly protected.

D

on’t assume your domain or company name gives you the right to use the name. Registering a domain or company name is a purely

administrative process – and your use of that name

Do be pragmatic and focused when it comes to

could still be infringing someone else’s registered or

international brand protection. When you’re exporting,

unregistered rights. Make sure you carry out the right

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checks early on, to make sure the money you’ve invested (especially in a domain) is on an asset you can actually use.

Don’t assume your registered trade mark gives you the right to use the name. A trade mark entitles you to stop others using that name or a similar name, it doesn’t

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guarantee your own freedom to use, since you could still be infringing a third party’s earlier trade mark or common law rights. Again, make sure you carry out the right clearance checks early on, to avoid any nasty surprises down the line.

Don’t forget to take assignment of the copyright in any creative work (logos, labels, beer taps, websites etc) you’ve commissioned. In the UK, the designer will own the rights unless you’ve had them specifically assigned

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or included the right clauses in your contract with them. Since most design work is carried out without a formal contract in place, it’s likely an assignment will be necessary.

Getting it sorted now will be much easier than years later, when you’ve lost the designer’s contact details or they try to charge you an extortionate sum for this subsequent assignment. Again, think ahead to the due diligence at investment/sale and make sure you can prove you own all the assets you’re planning to sell.

Don’t think that once your name is registered, your work is done. Reviewing your portfolio regularly, to make sure it continues to match and support your evolving business plan, will pay dividends.

Make sure you identify any new beers you’ve introduced, any new markets that have risen in importance and any new names or logos that are being used.

Do also keep an eye on what other breweries are doing, by informal or formal watches, and consider challenging them if they get too close.

Don’t be an ostrich – if you think there could be a problem in the future, deal with it now, on your terms, rather than leaving it to fester and catch you out later on

Suppliers of speciality cleaning & hygiene chemicals for breweries, cider makers & beverage manufacturers

info@cclpentasol.co.uk

Call 01942 722 000 www.cclpentasol.co.uk Detergents, Disinfectants, Conveyor Lubrication, Water & Effluent Treatment

in due diligence or otherwise.

This applies to ownership disputes, third party marks which are barriers in your key markets, squatter marks, disagreements with distributors, people copying you and so on. u

brewersjournal.info

CCL Pentasol are a division of Zenith Hygiene Group Plc

www.zhgplc.com

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The canning conundrum Concrete Cow head brewer Dan Bonner has seen the flexibility contract canning can offer brewers that are dipping their toes in the water. Here he offers his advice for those starting out.

licence retailers with most forward thinking craft micros now considering canning.

The trend seems very much set to continue and this is why we decided last year to offer our contract canning option to other micro brewers under our Keg2Can service.

Most packaging services love to tell you of the large volumes that can be packaged in the least amount of time and are predominantly aimed at the larger

by dAN BONNER

businesses. For us it’s different: we pride ourselves on catering for the smallest of breweries who wish to enter

N

the exciting world of canning.

their beer into cans. It was a very exciting time for the

customers.

early three years ago micro brewery

Brewers can send Concrete Cow a pallet of up to 24

Concrete Cow Brewery we acquired our

kegs of beer which are then canned for them, keg by

own canning line. This followed one of

keg. One important and unique advantage of this method

our beers reaching the finals of The Indie

is that brewers can mix the pallet with different beers

Beer Can Festival a national competition

so they are able to offer their entire range of beers in

set up to discover the UK’s best canned beers.

At that time few smaller craft brewers were putting

business, we’d just got over the excitement of our beer

canned version but in small volumes, creating true choice and a highly marketable multiple beer offering for their Pipes are flushed clean between different beers and

reaching the finals of a national competition (the beer was

there’s extremely low wastage (approximately four or five

canned for us as part of the competition) when we took

cans for every keg).

the plunge to go down the canning route.

It was a huge decision and subsequent investment for

Kegs are chilled to a low temperature prior to canning and once filled the cans are rinsed, boxed and palletised

us being a small brewery but one we thought would fit

ready for sending back. The operation is very efficient as

well with the growing demand for canned beer. We could

space is always needed in the brewery.

see where the market was going.’

Fast forward and these market predictions are proving well founded.

There currently seems no let up to the growing thirst

We get great feedback both in terms of quality and service with customers coming back once they see how well their cans are received.

Modern canning methods are technically and

for aluminium and given all the advantages it brings, it’s

qualitatively superb with extremely low dissolved oxygen

easy to see why.

take up. This means the beer has a very good shelf life

According to latest research, cans make up over a quarter of craft beer sales in multiple grocers and off

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we’ve even kept by some cans of our own beer for two years without a hint of oxidisation. u

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Creating the mosaic Setting up a brewery for the first time is like creating a mosaic on the floor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; many small pieces required before the project is complete, explains Craig Wilson, managing director of Enterprise Tondelli.

by Craig Wilson

O

ne vital aspect of this process is flavour formulation and the profile of your beers.

It is a common danger for a new entrant to the brewery scene to overcome the many difficulties of building a brewhouse

only to spend the next six months going broke as they try to formulate recipes and agree new beers. A lot of trial and error can go into this before a satisfactory repeatable recipe is achieved.

When we work with prospective brewhouse customers, we encourage them to partner with our

originally started as a frustrated brewer who could not

brewhouse manufacturer Simatec that will create new

find on the market the brewhouse they wanted to buy.

recipes to the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brief. This means that the customer beer is pilot brewed in the first phase and perfected.

The customer then has the choice of the manufacturer

One of the key factors is low hot oxidation so that those amazing flavours and aromas from the malt and hops are actually transferred to the final product without

brewing larger quantities of the beer that can then be

being changed by oxidation. Low hot oxidation also

sold in the market before the brewhouse is in operation,

means a longer shelf life.

or they can wait until their new brewhouse is delivered.

The second was that they wanted true modularity so

The fact the beer is produced on the same equipment

that as they grew they did not want to have to buy a new

means no changes to the beer upon start up. During

brewhouse every few years with all the disruption that

the commissioning process of the new brewhouse,

entailed nor did they want to tie up money in an oversized

the manufacturer sends their own master brewer to

one for year 5 projections tying up valuable cash. Then

commission and produce two or three batches of beer

importantly for the modularity the process should not

with the customer. This means within a very short time

change by the addition of holding vessels but maintain

cash flow is being generated for the new business and a

the same process through out to avoid flavour changes.

customer following is being established.

They have achieved this and can now offer plants with a

The planning stage of a brewery project also critical with the many disciplines required such civil works, mechanical and electrical services, effluent,

modularity allowing from 1-13 brews per day but growing the plant as the demand grows.

Third point was reduction in filtration requirements to

environmental considerations and so on. As part of

save running costs and to make a cleaner fresher beer

the brewery supply, we can provide a turnkey solution

requiring less filtration at the end. This also reduces

including interfacing with the local civil contractors etc.

wastage and increases yield.

The brewhouses supplied come in three differing

And finally they wanted to make money! As much as it

levels of automation; manual, semi-automatic and fully

is fun to brew beer we all need to be here tomorrow and

automatic. The supply can also include all vessels etc for

that means making money. For this, the manufacturer

a turnkey project. However they all follow the key guiding

uses a very impressive and highly developed lauter that

principles of our manufacturing partner Simatec that

also gives great flexibility in ingredients experimentation. u

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Keep clean and carry on

Producing the perfect pint, on a consistent basis is at the heart of any brewery business, explains Peter Thorman, UK sales manager for brewery and beverage at Holchem. And a key way to help achieve this is by placing impeccable hygiene at the top of your agenda.

ultimately consumers will turn to alternative, better quality / more consistent products.

Brewers should include their hygiene solutions supplier as an extension of their team, and work hand in hand to ensure the correct cleaning and sanitising chemicals are used to achieve the highest level of plant hygiene.

This should be accompanied by regular visits by the hygiene solutions supplier to ensure the appropriate advice and support is given on an ongoing basis as well as ensuring the correct cleaning methodology audits and

by peter thorman

Cleaning In Place audits (CIP) are carried out.

Contaminants in small numbers can become a bigger

N

problem during the production process, and cleaning

throughout production sites, facilities and equipment

organisms which can spoil the quality of the beer, but

is key. If this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the case, then business can suffer and

the relatively small numbers have the potential to have a

o matter what the size, from craft

and disinfecting thoroughly will help deliver a high-quality

brewers, micro brewers to family and

beer, delivering customer satisfaction and avoiding

large breweries, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imperative that they

the potential for loss of revenue. We know that no two

deliver a consistently good pint. Ensuring

breweries the same and a bespoke solution is required for

excellent standards of hygiene are

each individual site.

maintained as well as adhering to stringent regulations

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devastating effect on the end product, severely altering flavour and / or causing the beer to go cloudy and potentially causing gushing. It’s key to remember that

Play it safe | empteezy

there is no one solution to cleaning and hygiene and it can’t be bought ‘off the peg’.

In the brew house area deposits of protein/tannin can when left result in the contamination of the end product with caustic based detergents the best method to combat this type of soiling. The husk of the grain causes an additional problem in mash and lauter tuns, and again, this responds to prolonged caustic treatment.

In fermenting vessels protein/tannin deposits can

The food and drink processing industry is subject to strict regulatory Health & Safety compliance and as such the storage and secondary containment of liquid should be a serious consideration when making processing provisions and procedures, explains spill prevention and containment firm Empteezy.

cause issues, sometimes combined with beerstone.

Once formed this can be dissolved by using sequestrants and / or the correct acid blend. Beerstone build up can be prevented by using the correct blend of caustic.

The majority of maturation tanks are relatively easy to clean, however beerstone can very occasionally be an issue. The main potential issue in kegs & casks are organic deposits left due to storage conditions between emptying & returning to the brewery.

We have worked with Marston’s across its five breweries for over 14 years to help achieve the perfect pint time after time. Our relationship with Marston’s ensures this is achieved via excellent plant hygiene, the highest quality cleaning and sanitising chemicals and technical support. The 360° approach is clear to see in the Burton upon Trent Marston’s brewery where our team is part of the day to day operation. The combined efforts ensure that the site performs to the best of its ability.

Production on the site has increased and with this comes additional needs so that the quality of the final product is achieved.

We work with Marston’s to ensure that we are supplying the correct cleaning and sanitising chemicals to meet their ongoing requirements. This is then backed up with regular visits by the dedicated technical team to deliver the required advice and support to help achieve the highest level of plant hygiene. Included within this are cleaning methodology audits and Cleaning In Place audits (CIP) as well as a requirement to optimise (quality, time & utilities) the whole cleaning process and ensure the site is as efficient as possible.

Fundamental to the success of the whole cleaning and hygiene regime is our understanding of what Marston’s is trying to achieve and ensuring that the whole operation is maintained from a plant hygiene point of view. Some of the work we have carried out now forms part of Marston’s continuous improvement programme.

Supplying Marston’s is very much a technical related approach. It’s not just about supplying chemicals, it’s about the technical back up in terms of improving the

If you are working with alkaline or acid sanitising and cleaning agents, you must ensure the safety of your employees, whether you use a manual or clean in place system.

Secondary containers should be used to transport any kind of cleaning or sanitising chemicals around the brewery or plant. By using the right product for your application, you will improve safety, reduce the risk of pollution and provide a cleaner, safer environment for your staff.

It is essential to create Material Safety Data Sheets to identify what storage solution is adequate for each solution.

You should also consider the appropriate storage temperature for your cleaning solutions; sodium hydroxide being the perfect example, where the chemical crystalises should the temperature fall below 15 degrees.

If you are in any doubt, obtain expert advice.

In the event of a spill the most important factor to consider is health and safety. Oils and chemicals can pose major health and safety risks through skin/eye contact and through inhalation of the fumes they give off, many oils and chemicals will be flammable and as minimum can cause a slip hazard.

In order to protect workers, it is imperative that companies dealing with liquids in the workplace devise a spill response checklist.

Not only will this limit the risks associated, it will ensure your teams act swiftly and responsibly to deal with any spill that may occur u

quality, cost and efficiency and time it takes to clean.” u

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Get your weekends back When starting out, you’re probably going to be running a lean operation.

So avoiding having to head into the brewery on your well-earned days off is a welcome bonus. Here, Dotmatix, which offers technology for the monitoring and controlling of fermentation, explains how to do it.

I

t’s a Sunday morning in January and it’s raining.

You would rather stay under your duvet with your significant other, but it’s your turn to go into the brewery and take the gravity readings for eight fermentation vessels. By the time you have

travelled to the brewery, taken the readings, entered the info on a soggy clipboard and returned home your Sunday morning has gone, possibly along with your significant other.

We’re not offering partnership counselling, but we

by Edward forwood

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know a thing or two about gravity readings. So with

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monitors and controllers fitted, on Sunday morning you

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which are a chore.

can stay under your duvet. If, like most brewers, you do

In addition, automatic monitoring will help maintain

want to take a sneak peak at the state of your brews all

consistency between brews and spot errors quickly. We

you have to do is roll over and reach for your smartphone.

have yet to meet a brewer who has not had a problem

Click on your dashboard and check the gravity

with a cooling system at some point in their career. It is

readings and temperatures in real time. If you know a

not usually a disaster, but it can be. If your monitoring

brew is reaching completion you click through to view a

system sends you a text message if a temperature is out

graph of gravity. If you decide that you want to drop the

of range, a problem will not become a disaster. On top of

temperature later that afternoon, but you know that you

that, soggy clipboards serve a purpose, but it is a lot more

will be at the football, you just type in the set point and

convenient to have all your brewing information available

the number of hours ahead you want it to be set and roll

online to all your staff wherever they are.

over and go back to sleep.

This scenario highlights one of the issues that brewers

Traditionally, this equipment was far too expensive for start-up brewers, but the Internet of Things revolution and

face, particularly in the early days, when your job title

some smart ideas have brought the cost of this type of

includes head brewer, head of sales and floor mopper.

equipment into the realms of craft brewing.

There just aren’t enough hours in the day and you aren’t selling enough of you fabulous ale to pay for extra staff.

There are some brewers who abhor technology and

When starting out as a craft brewer, the capital costs are relatively easy to determine. You will have a large shopping list and a bunch of quotations. What is harder

we respect that. They have decades of experience and

to determine are the ongoing running costs and in all

really can tell the state of their beer by a feeling in their

brewery’s the cost of labour is significant. And if you are

bones. For other mere mortals, we do think that some

the only employee you need to plan to have at least

technology can save a great deal of time and remove jobs

some time under your duvet. u

Stay Focused | kegstar Kegstar entered the UK & Ireland craft beer and cider market just two years ago and now rent their kegs and casks to more than 320 customers. They’ve walked the same kind of startup path that many new brewers walk, so here is the advice they have for breweries starting their own journeys Create a good support network through partners and suppliers,” advises James Bleakley, Kegstar’s business manager of Ireland, Scotland and the North of the UK. “Ensure you make time to work with the right people for your business and gain as much industry expertise and knowledge as you can. It’s a great industry and generally one where people will support you if you ask them.”

Richard Atkinson, Business Manager of the South of the UK fully backs James’ comments, adding: “Understanding and getting close to the various trade bodies that exist in the market, both nationally and regionally, is key to starting out right.

Organisations like SIBA, BBPA, LBA to name a few, are all there to help you succeed.

brewersjournal.info

“Whilst it is a very supportive industry, it’s also very competitive, so make your products and brand stand out by being approachable yet different from the rest.

Take time to really understand the market you are going to operate in and from there you will be able to create a strong presence.”

“Surround yourself and your business with great people and treat them well. Without good people and good networks, you cannot succeed” explains Christian Barden.

Barden started up the UKI business with founder Adam Trippe-Smith alongside a small focused team and is now charged with building the European business and developing Kegstar into a global brand.

“Be clear about exactly what you’re setting out to achieve and why, stay focused on it and do something to drive it forward every single day,” Barden adds. “Keep progress in context to avoid getting distracted by the inevitable bumps in the road that easily throw any us off track. You have to back yourself and your team but more importantly stay agile, hungry, humble and remember to have fun!” u

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Don’t cut corners

When choosing your equipment, one of the key things is to take lots of advice from suppliers and other brewers, and use this advice to try to have a good idea of the size and type of brew kit you need; both for the short term and longer term, explains Jon Clatworthy, managing director of Element Equipment and Consultancy.

equipment they can afford, have good finance in place and have plenty of support and expertise around them.

Relationships are key – with suppliers, other brewers, and customers. All of those groups can give support, guidance, and help you find solutions to all kinds of problem – even if just pointing you towards somebody who can help. Much of the industry is driven first and foremost by a love of great beer, and many people will offer you their help if it allows you to also make a great product.

In our experience, some of the most successful start-

by Jon Clatworthy

up breweries have has a buzz of anticipation before they have even started production; often because they have built up a reputation. Do lots of networking, try to get

A

some time working or collaborating with brewers, to get

good conversation with suppliers can

the brand known before you have even started. Of course,

certainly help you ask yourself the

a point of difference is key in the current market, whether

right questions, pick up some pointers,

it is the style of beer you make, the brand, the way you

understand the best options, and ultimately

package it, or the way you promote it.

save you time and money. We have had

It’s the beer that ultimately does the talking, and can

many situations where after a good talk with potential

make or break you. The most successful brewers don’t

clients, they have been able to refine their plans and

cut corners, use the best kit and ingredients they can

requirements, allowing them better flexibility in the future,

get, and are heavily focused on cleanliness, quality and

and getting them the best kit for their money.

consistency, with the focus being on flawless beer every

It almost goes without saying that a start-up brewer

time. There are many ways to achieve this, but accessing

should try to get as much space as they can, get the best

as much expertise as possible will give you a great start. u

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Brewers Journal

You have beer.

We have kegs & casks.

Let’s talk.

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

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We have the answer An Enterprise Tondelli Small Beer Bottling or Craft Canning Line u Lines from 700 bottles per hour/3,500 cans per hour upwards (High speed lines are available up to 80,000bph) u Also kegging plant 16 kegs/hr upwards Modular brew houses and turn key breweries built by brewers...

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Clever kegs, great beers, happy drinkers.

M e t h od

B arrel - A ge i ng

Patience is a virtue An important job of the brewer is to constantly look for new ways to take brewing to the next level. Dr Gearoid Cahill, director of brewing science at Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company, explains how an oak barrel previously used to age bourbon, wine, or maybe gin, can add a lot of complexity to beer in a relatively short amount of time

A

barrel-aged beer is a traditional style or a unique experimental beer, that has been aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel. “They tend to be premium or super premium beers,” says Dr Gearoid Cahill,

director of brewing science at Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company. “They are usually high alcohol and small batch, and come at a high price, and they deserve that as it is painstakingly prepared. They aren’t easily scaled up and we have to do a lot of actively managing that in order to make sure we get the most consistent product that we can make.”

Bourbon barrels are the gold standard when it comes to used casks. But with the number of breweries in the UK

by Rhian Owen

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exceeding 2,000 and with distilleries also looking to buy

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M e t h od

bourbon barrels, producers face more difficulty acquiring

other beers, the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale makes up

them affordably. In the past, used barrels once fetched

about 75 percent of our production and we need to make

£50, but now the used barrel commands upwards of £150.

sure we keep making it as well as we can.”

“A lot of people are using the bourbon barrel, but with

The right barrel

Irish and Scottish whiskey producers trying to get their hands on these, you’re already competing with them straight away. The competition for these barrels is fierce,” says Dr Cahill.

Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company has been brewing its Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale since 2006, and the company makes 40,000 barrels of barrel-

K

nowing the history of the barrel that is going to be used is vital. The nice thing about spirits is that they’re high in alcohol, which means

that the barrels they inhabit are more or less devoid of

aged beer per year. “That’s a lot of beer going through,”

microscopic life forms. But the way the barrel has been

says Cahill. “Barrel-aged beer is hard to do when you’re

looked after still needs to be inspected thoroughly.

doing a barrel here and there, but to do it on full scale and get consistency is tricky. While we do a whole range of

brewersjournal.info

“So you have a four year old bourbon that has been emptied and bottled, and you have this barrel. That’s an

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excellent barrel to use for barrel ageing beer – if it’s fresh,”

barrels that we could and as we would say here in Ireland

says Cahill. “Let’s say the barrel is two months old and it

- we steamed the bejesus out of them. The steam went

has been hanging around in a warehouse before you get

into the barrel, the bung hole was in the bottom, we

your hands on it. If that bourbon barrel dries out you’re in

steamed them for 10 minutes. They get really hot, the

a bad place. First of all, if it really dries out it leeks like hell.

wood takes a while for it to come through, but a lot of

It’s only a piece of wood at the end of the day made up of

heat builds up in it, we steam them and let them drain

a load of sticks. if it shrinks you will not fill it with anything.

out, and then we fill them with beer after they’d cooled

It may sound like a stupid question, but your first question

down. And we had perfectly good beer, we didn’t have a

should be “Is it water tight?” Then you should be asking,

lot of bourbon character in it, but we had nice oak flavours

“and is it wet?” If it’s watertight but it has dried out then

in there, and the beer was perfectly sound.”

you’ve lost a whole load of bourbon character and flavour.

Cahill explains that there are some manufacturers that

Also, if the barrel has been left open and it is dry and

steam their barrels to get the last dregs of bourbon out,

there is no more bourbon in there, you can have anything

and while the barrel may be wet the bourbon contribution

growing in there. You could get fungus and bacteria

might be quite low, and may need reconditioning. “So if

in there. Therefore, one that is watertight but dried out

you steam the barrel and recondition it then by adding

loses its antiseptic properties. The history and condition

red wine, or bourbon or sherry, back into it that’s an

of the barrel is very important. But if you source fresh

interesting thing to do and there are some people in

barrels, then you’re on the way to having good success at

Europe that are reconditioning barrels in that way. They’ll

creating barrel-aged beer.”

do all that work for you and they’ll sell you a reconditioned

Whereas, with wine, bacteria can happily grow in the barrels. Cahill says that while extra care needs to be taken, these barrels can be used. “If you look at a barrel

barrel and it’s pretty good, it is pretty bullet proof at that stage,” says Cahill.

Cahill says that it is important to know when a beer is

that was used for wine, and it is a sour as hell inside – it

considered a beer, and when it is considered a spirit. “If

has a bit of fungus growing in it – it can certainly still be of

you add in bourbon or whiskey into your barrel, rejuvenate

use. What you need to do is rejuvenate that barrel.”

it, and you’re leaving liquid in that barrel then technically

Rejuvenation techniques can bring a barrel back to

you’re adding spirit to beer, and it’s not a beer anymore it

life. The first thing that needs to be done is sterilising the

is a spirit. You will pay through the nose dearly for the duty

barrel. “We’ve done this. We’ve picked the worst popular

bill on that. So reconditioning or re-soaking the barrels in

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the original liquid is fine using a duty paid liquid, but you then need to make sure it is drained off completely, or

M e t h od

From far left: Filling whisky barrels in Kentucky; Dr Gearoid Cahill; A barrel filling nozzle

you’ll be in hot water,” Cahill notes.

Making beer

after six weeks and we take out our beer,” says Cahill.

Some brewers are putting their beer into a barrel for

F

much longer than Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling

illing and emptying is a careful process, and when

Company. “It’s a brave step, but I’ve tasted some beer that

it comes to using barrels extra care needs to be

has been aged for a year in barrels and it was fantastic.

taken as the environment is not as controlled as

They had used some souring cultures as well and I think

stainless steel. “We will change the valve settings and run

that’s how it was able to survive the journey of one year in

CO2 through down to the bottom of the barrel – and CO2

a barrel.”

is much heavier than air so it basically fills up the barrel

However, Cahill notes that the flavours produced from

with CO2. Then we switch over and fill our beer from the

the barrel aged process are intense, and sometimes

bottom. So we don’t get any air mixing; we fill it up to the

hypersensitive to the treatment. “Bourbon barrels hold

brim full, hammer in a bung and off we go,” says Cahill.

about 200 litres. There’s actually two square metres of oak

The Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is always stored

in contact with your beer at that stage, and that is quite

cool. “We can’t afford to have a high level of failures,” says

a large area for impacting a flavour. But if you take the

Cahill. “Some people are storing ambient, works really

volume of spirits, so I have a barrel of bourbon, I empty it

well for sours, it’s a bit risky if you’re not doing that. We

out, and now I’m going to do something with beer, there’s

collect our own barrels from our distillery, sometimes

actually six litres of bourbon at high strength available to

we have to go further afield as well to collect our barrels.

you from that barrel, even though technically it’s empty.

They are fresh, and in the summer we keep them in a

So, that’s fantastic, it’s a wonderful flavour, but you need

giant cold room, even though they are bourbon, they’re

to be careful that if it’s a well wetted barrel, and if you’re

empty, they’re stable, but when we use them fresh we

putting in a lighter flavour beer, particularly with whiskey

keep them cold because we have to minimise the risk.

it seems to happen, you can get an over-pronunciation

If three percent of our barrels get infected, first of all it is

of the whiskey notes so that you get a beer that is pretty

a enormous waste of beer, but secondly if we had any

honking of whiskey and it is out of balance. It works with

of that beer get out to market our reputation would be

some beer styles and not with other ones.”

spoiled.

So what does the barrel give you? The six litres of

“A cool area out of sunlight as a bare minimum and

flavours from the bourbon, and the wood itself, can give

refrigerate it if you can. We mature our barrel-aged beer

you some vanillins, lactones, and a lot of different sugars,

in the cold at four degrees celsius for six weeks. We find

which add to the character of the beer you’re maturing.

that’s the sweet spot, and it is a minimum of six weeks,

But with sourcing of barrels becoming increasingly

we sometimes have to go to eight weeks depending on

difficult and more costly, Cahill notes it can be a “nail

stock levels and production. Then we go into the cold

biting process and it isn’t for everyone”. u

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c l a s s i f i e d

malts Cont'd

consultancy services

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60

May 2018

quality assurance

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Brewers Journal

c l a s s i f i e d

quality assurance Cont'd

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training

Packaging

Packaging systems Cont'd

We supply the finest quality kegs & casks in the world, manufactured to the highest industry specifications. We provide 50 litre kegs, 30 litre kegs, 4.5 gallon Pins & 9 gallon Casks.

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Brewfittâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s range of Lindr dispense units are designed to dispense excellent chilled beer anytime and anywhere.

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The dispense units have a quiet inbuilt compressor and will be ready to dispense within 5-8 mins. The units can be used as a permanent or mobile dispense unit.

Distributor

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Visit our website

www.brewfitt.com May 2018

61

date s

&

e v e nt s

events

The London Brewers’ Alliance festival will take place on 23rd June, hosted by Fuller’s at its West London brewery.

03/05/18 - 05/05/18

The Kingdom of fife Rothes Hall, Glenrothes www.kingdomoffife.camra.org.uk 24/05/18 - 03/06/18

28/06/18 - 30/06/18

Bromsgrove Beer Festival

Various venues, Norwich www.cityofale.org.uk

Bromsgrove Rugby Club, Bromsgrove www.bromsgrovebeerfestival.org.uk

Brewers lectures Wylam Brewery, Newcastle lectures.brewersjournal.info

May 2018

Fuller’s Brewery, London www.londonbrewers.org

City of ale

13/06/18

62

23/06/18

Lba Festival

19/07/18 - 21/07/18

Kent Beer Festival Canterbury Rugby Club, Canterbury www.kentbeerfestival.com

Brewers Journal

Brewers L E C T U R E S

n E w C a S T L E

w y L a m b R E w E R y, 1 3 J U n E 2 0 1 8 , 1 p m Confirmed speakers Dave Stone | Wylam Brewery Sean Knight | Fourpure Fabian Clark | Muntons Rich White | London Brewing Co Sarah John | Boss Brewing Gino Baart | Fermentis Sara Barton | Brewster's Brewery

When 13 June 2018 1pM to 5.30pM

Where Wylam Brewery, palace of Arts exhibition park, Claremont Rd, newcastle upon tyne ne2 4pZ

tiCkets £25 or £12.5 for young brewers (includes beer tasting)

lectures.brewersjournal.info