Meet the Retailer: Real Drinks
Meet the Retailer:
Real Drinks
Issue 6
Back to Reality
Cover Story
34
Summer 2021
Nick Dolan has been a champion for independent small brewers for over 16 years through his business Real Drinks (formerly Real Ale) which he founded with the intention of showcasing the range of beers available from the UK’s craft brewing community. Growing the business from its foundation in 2005 with one independent bottle shop, Nick and his business partner Zeph now have three shops, each with its own taproom, and continue to seek out new and interesting small producers to showcase. But Real Drinks is not just an independent retail operation in the traditional sense. As a supplier to the large supermarkets, and in fact the largest category supplier of beers and ciders to Marks and Spencers, Nick is able to act as an incubator for
Summer 2021 | SIBA Independent Brewer | www.siba.co.uk
small independent brands seeking to grow their distribution into the larger off-trade environment. He will often seek out new small breweries and artisan producers, promote them on a small scale in his bottle shops, hosting events like meet the brewer nights to introduce them to his customers, and if things go well, help them grow their business into supermarkets. With touchpoints at every level of the craft beer sector this places him in a unique position to understand both consumer and retail trends and continually offer his customers something new and different. Caroline Nodder from Independent Brewer spoke to Nick last month for our first ever Meet the Retailer feature…
