Spring 2024 Independent Brewer Magazine

Rock of ages

Welcome to the Spring edition of SIBA’s Independent Brewer Magazine

As I sit here writing this, while the high winds of storm Isha threaten to take the roof off my garden office, I can only hope that this turbulent start to 2024 is not indicative of the year ahead for independent brewers.

However, all storms pass. And right now, the SIBA team is fully focused on plans for our flagship event in Liverpool in March – BeerXwhere independent brewers can come together to discuss, learn and celebrate this vibrant sector and hopefully find the support and inspiration to weather these current storms.

This year’s programme of speakers and seminars include a keynote speech by the head of the US Brewers Association, Bob Pease, where he will share insight from his home market and the learnings that UK brewers can take from it (see page 37).

We have also included a BeerX Guide in this magazine (see pages 57-63) which offers an overview of the highlights at this year’s show as well as a floorplan and details of some of our on-stage presentations and panel sessions.

Don’t forget that tickets to BeerX for SIBA members and your teams who pre-register are completely free, so if you haven’t done so already make sure you go to beerx.org and put in your details before you get to the show.

Elsewhere in this magazine, we catch up with an industry legend in the form of Chris Holmes, founder of Castle Rock Brewery, who started out in the industry running his first pub in 1977 and has grown an empire on the back of it, while never losing sight of the ethos on which his business was built (see pages 38-45).

We also bring you the third in our collaboration series with the team at Pellicle, with Associate Editor Lily Waite taking a closer

look at Ledbury Real Ales and the work the team there is doing with local hop farmers (see pages 24-29). We also meet brewer Steve Sailopal, formerly of Nirvana Brewery in London and now heading up Good Karma Brewing in Kent, where he has reinvigorated his passion for AF beers and local hops (see our Meet the Brewer section on pages 48-55).

Finally, congratulations to all the finalists and winners in our SIBA Regional Bottle & Can Competition (see pages 76-83). I very much look forward to sampling beers from all our regional winners on the bars at BeerX in March, and seeing who comes out on top! Happy reading! And please do keep sending me your press releases, updates, news and views to caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk so that we can share your experiences, thoughts and successes in future magazines – the deadline for submissions for our Summer edition will be April 29th

Caroline Nodder Editor SIBA Independent Brewer Magazine

Editor: Caroline Nodder (caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk)

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Cover

The cover image for this magazine was taken at the Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham, which was opened in 1999 to provide a production arm for what was then named the Tynemill pub estate, founded by industry legend Chris Holmes in 1977. Find out more in our Business Profile on pages 38-45.

Contents

News

9-17 SIBA News All the news from SIBA HQ

76-83 SIBA Regional Bottle & Can Competition Results from the East, Midlands, North East, North West, Scotland, South East & South West

84-85 SIBA Regional Beer Competition Results from the East of England

88-95 Brewery News The latest from our Brewing Members around the UK

97-103 Supplier news Updates from SIBA’s Supplier Associate Members

Comment

7 CEO’s Update Andy Slee, SIBA’s Chief Executive, on what to expect at BeerX

8 Chairman’s Comment National Chair Richard Naisby compares the UK and US markets

18-19 The View From Westminster Our regular political update

30-31 Homebrew In Focus Andy Parker from Elusive Brewing looks at Fyne Ales’ flagship beer Jarl

37 BeerX Keynote A taste of this year’s headline presentation by the Brewers Association’s Bob Pease

47 Brewer’s Viewpoint St Austell’s George Young looks at how premiumisation could save cask

65 Brewer’s Viewpoint Hwgga Brew’s Karl Stevens on winning SIBA’s annual survey prize draw

71 Technical Focus Brewlab’s Dr Keith Thomas looks at the perils of poorly fitted bottle caps

87 Supplier Viewpoint The team at Murphy & Son examines the thorny issue of foam

Features

22-23 Membership Update A round-up of SIBA membership benefits and services

24-29 SIBA Independent Brewer x Pellicle Lily Waite explores Ledbury Real Ales in Herefordshire

33 Taproom Focus Featuring the Bundobust taproom in Manchester

38-45 Business Profile We interview Castle Rock’s founder, industry pioneer Chris Holmes

48-55 Meet The Brewer We catch up with Steve Sailopal, founder of Good Karma Brewing in Kent

57-63 BeerX Guide Everything you need to know about BeerX 2024

67-69 Business Advice Brand & marketing advice and consumer insight

72-75 Gold Members Croxsons and Vigo

104 Gold & Silver Members Listing of our key sponsors

106 Contacts Key SIBA contacts

1 Farmers

2 Seed Merchants

3 Maltsters

6 Beer Lovers

5 Pubs & Supermarkets

4 Brewers & Distillers

The case for independent beer

SIBA’s CEO Andy Slee gives a flavour of the work his team has been doing over the last few months and highlights some of the key issues and challenges that will be addressed at BeerX in Liverpool in March this year…

BeerX is SIBA’s biggest event of the year, and I look forward to welcoming you all, along with visitors and exhibitors from across the globe on March 13/14th. It will be an opportunity to both reflect and look forward with friends from across the industry.

Amongst the challenge we face as brewers, it can be easy to forget that SIBA has achieved much in its history and has traditionally punched well above its weight politically.

In the last 12 months alone, we have been front and centre when it comes to the alcohol duty reforms and deposit return scheme postponement. Let no one persuade you away from the fact that it was SIBA brewers who led the charge on lower draught duty reforms.

Given most brewers agree on most things most of the time, we are much stronger when we stick together and put forward arguments on the things that unite us. Any argument has a mix of heart (emotion) and head (fact). To make any case stronger you need a good balance of both and that’s what the SIBA team has been working towards in recent months.

In these difficult economic times, and with a General Election looming, adding more facts to back up the strong emotional arguments we have will give more power to our elbow both commercially and politically.

We also want brewers to help find a light at the end of what has been a dark tunnel, using the collective resources of SIBA. To help us do that we have enlisted well-respected bodies such as Yougov and Hospitality Data Insights (HDI), amongst others, with a priority of proving beyond reasonable doubt that there is a strong franchise for independent beer in pubs and bars of all types in the UK. Pub and bar chains spend a huge amount of time sourcing food locally and making a virtue of it. Only beer, of all the drinks categories, can do that nationwide and only SIBA beers fulfil that demand with any authenticity.

It will come as no surprise to SIBA members that the British public is keen to support local independent businesses, with c70% of people saying they are “Run by real people”, a few less say they are “Trustworthy” and represent “Quality”.

According to HDI data, drinkers who choose independent beers tend to go out more in the early part of the week and have more disposable income to spend on leisure. What publican wouldn’t want more of them keeping their tills ringing in these quiet months?

Things after that are less straightforward. Amongst drinkers in general there is a lot of confusion about what constitutes “independent” beer, with many thinking that beer brands owned by some of the world’s biggest brewers are independent. This confusion means that while they may want to buy independent and support independent brewers, they are in fact doing the exact opposite.

In support of last year’s AGM motion from our Wales & West region and to help the 65% of beer drinkers who are surprised when told the true source of the beers that they thought were independent, we have been working on ways to make sure the demand that’s out there for your beers is truly satisfied.

This, and much more, in Liverpool on March 13/14th.

Chief Executive SIBA

Across the pond

SIBA’s National Chair Richard Naisby looks ahead to this year’s keynote address at BeerX in March by Brewers Association chief Bob Pease, and ponders what lessons he might impart from the US market...

Bob Pease is to be the keynote speaker at BeerX in March. Bob is President and CEO of the Brewers Association – the US equivalent of SIBA – and it is wonderful that he is able to come to Liverpool this year.

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Craft Beer Conference in Nashville in 2023, which is the Brewers Association equivalent of BeerX –but bigger, louder and more American! Bob is an engaging character and I'm sure you'll find his speech full of wisdom and insights from across the pond. He will be around the hall during the rest of BeerX so be sure to have a chat over a beer.

Many of the challenges faced by US brewers are the same as we British brewers have to contend with and it is good that the increasing rapport between SIBA and the Brewers Association allows us to focus greater resources in the service of our members. Access to market matters whether you brew in Accrington or Arkansas –and the competition is usually the same global players who dominate the markets on either side of the Atlantic.

The US legislative system is, of course, rather different from ours, with significant powers being exercised by each of the 50 states. This results in some widely differing local markets –who knew, for example, that Minnesota leads

the world in cannabis derived beverages? - as well as the expected geographical differences deriving from a market which covers six major time zones. Recent changes in legislation proposed for the state of Alaska have significant relevance in the UK market. The global giants are accused of using their market dominance to unfairly restrict sales, tying up lines and preventing smaller, local breweries accessing cellar services and dispense equipment. The changes would also restrict the practise of “product giveaways” in exchange for bar access. The penalties for transgression seem much more stringent in the US, with both ABInbev and Heineken reportedly on-the-hook for multimillion dollar fines for market abuses. Such stories are a timely reminder that achieving SIBA's aims requires a lot of engagement with rule-makers in this country. We are fortunate that our political lobbying operation is widely respected and formidably effective. However, all of our members can assist in the long term wellbeing of our sector by getting involved at a local level. This is particularly important in 2024, surely a general election year. All SIBA members ought to consider connecting with their sitting MP and any likely candidates (not all seats have selected candidates yet, but be prepared when they do) and explaining what it is that we do. Obviously, it helps if you get along with your MP's party but that shouldn't stop you reaching out to all sides of the political spectrum. Recent experience during the lockdowns has shown how vital political engagement is in times of strife but even in normal times your MP can

provide a very useful service in getting things done. HMRC recently made a mistake with our beer duty return. Normal procedures weren't leading anywhere (sound familiar?) but an intervention from our MP brought a swift and satisfactory resolution.

The more you engage with your MP the more they can understand our industry and allow us to prosper.

Richard Naisby Chairman SIBA

image © Brewers Association

SIBA has expanded the professional advice and support it offers to its members

Professional advice can be costly to any business, which is why SIBA Members can now access a new Accountancy and Business Advisory Service as well as expanded services through the Toolbox’s Professional Advice & Support page. Already home of the SIBA Legal Portal (in association with Napthens - SIBA Gold Members), the Professional Advice & Support Page now also houses information on how to obtain a free hour long consultation with Johnston Carmichael; specialists in Business Advice and Accountancy, as well as Citation, who are offering discounted services to SIBA Members, across a number of topics.

The new accountancy and business advisory service from Johnston Carmichael, an experienced firm in the brewing sector and which already works with many independent breweries, has been developed together with SIBA and its legal partner Napthens.

Johnston Carmichael’s food and drink team works with brewers across the UK, on a wide range of services, from payroll, accounting and tax matters, digital transformation, corporate finance and business strategy. The new service promises SIBA members a response within 48 hours and a free one-hour consultation, discussing accountancy or wider business advisory related questions.

Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive said: “I am delighted to be able to launch the new Accountancy and Business Advisory Service for SIBA Members. When looking at the range of benefits SIBA offers it was clear this was an area in which we were lacking, yet it’s an area that causes members a significant amount of worry.

New SIBA Jobs Board

The ability to retain and attract staff is something most brewers talk about as a challenge to growth in the current market.

"The benefits are clear and tangible, from lobbying, to education, to member discounts and benefits. We believe membership provides excellent value for money and the central SIBA team work extremely hard to ensure this remains the case."

Access to free, impartial advice from a company who understand the brewing industry is hugely valuable to our members. I also want to make clear that SIBA takes no commission or has any commercial involvement in the areas discussedit’s all about getting members the best advice and access to the best-suited, most cost-effective services and solutions.”

Speaking about the benefits of SIBA membership, William Mayne, Bullhouse Brew Co, Belfast, said: “The benefits are clear and tangible, from lobbying, to education, to member discounts and benefits. We believe membership provides excellent value for money and the central SIBA team works extremely hard to ensure this remains the case.”

“The legal portal is incredibly useful as is the labelling and packaging information guide. Non-members should consider joining to gain access to so much useful information, and the various member benefits,” said John Cussons, Ferry Ales, Lincolnshire.

Another independent brewery member, Anthony Hughes of Lincoln Green Brewery, Nottinghamshire, also praised the Legal Helpline offered by SIBA: “The Napthens Legal

Whilst there is no easy answer to this issue, SIBA has launched a new SIBA Jobs Board, aiming to help independent brewers with this difficult challenge as recruitment continues to be a concern for members.

The Jobs Board is easily accessed by members and non-members, so applicants looking for work in the brewing industry have one place to search.

advice has been of particular benefit offering support in tricky employment matters – they’re friendly, helpful and best of all free with SIBA membership!”

As well as Governmental, financial, legal and business advice, SIBA also offer members the chance to enter their beer into the SIBA Independent Beer Awards, the winners of which are then showcased at events such as the British Guild of Beer Writers Awards dinner, Morning Advertiser Great British Pub Awards, and other beer industry events and festivals.

“Regional beer awards are a really important part of our membership as these are a chance to test your product offering against the best in the country. They cater for all beer styles whether draught or packaged. Of course we are aiming for Gold and the chance to enter the National awards but any acknowledgement is seen as real success, and even if we are unsuccessful the feedback we receive is a chance to reassess and motivate us to push a little harder,” said Joe Joyce, Harrogate Brewery, North Yorkshire. The membership team's door is always open for suggestions of new benefits to explore, whether you are a brewer with a suggestion or a Supplier Associate Member wishing to offer your services or support, discounts on your products or perhaps a programme of webinars. We really are open to all ideas!

Access the new Professional Advice & Support page on the Toolbox under Tools & Member Benefits for full details and instructions on how to access, and please do not hesitate to get in touch with membership@siba.co.uk.

The site went live in good time for the traditional January spike in recruitment. Placing job ads on the site remains free for SIBA members and £85 per ad for nonmembers.

For more information or to place an ad, please contact us at office@siba.co.uk.

Tough trading conditions and rising costs see brewery numbers slip back in SIBA’s latest Brewery Tracker update

New figures show UK began 2024 with fewer breweries than start of 2023 –with North of England worst hit.

The latest SIBA UK Brewery Tracker figures show the UK total number of active brewers now stands at 1815, compared to 1828 in January 2023.

The exclusive data tracks all new brewery openings and closures to give a quarterly growth or closure rate, and despite a promising Q3 where numbers rose slightly, the tracker finished the year with a -2 Net closure rate in Q4 leading to an overall Net closure rate of -13 for 2023.

SIBA CEO Andy Slee said: “There is still so much that needs to be done to protect independent breweries across the UK, with help from Government on a range of issues now more important than ever if we want to turn the tide and see a growing beer industry in 2024. Trading has been incredibly tough for independent breweries, and whilst the Government’s welcome introduction of draught relief for beer sold in pubs and taprooms last year was welcome we would like to see it extended in 2024 to a significant 20% discount.”

As well as the overall UK figures the tracker also analyses the regional breakdown of brewery openings and closures, with some areas of the UK faring better than others.

The North West had by far the toughest 12 months, with a significant -14 Net closure rate across 2023, with a -13 Net closure rate in Q4 alone – the highest of any region for any quarter of 2023. The North East also had a very tough year, with a –9 Net closure rate in 2023, with -5 Net closures coming in Q4.

The Welsh brewing industry also struggled, with a -6 Net closure rate for 2023, a -7 Net closure rate in the fourth quarter swinging the dial into the red for the country which began Q4 with a healthy +1 overall. It was a similar story for the Midlands who ended the year with a -5 Net closure rate following a -7 closure rate in Q4, which it started on +2.

The West of England finished 2023 with a -2 Net closure rate after a further -1 closure rate in Q4, and Northern Ireland managed a flat open/close rate for 2023 despite a -1 Net closure rate in Q4.

Moving into positive growth during 2023 was the South West which achieved a +4 Net growth rate, having finished the year with a huge +12 Net opening rate in Q4. The South East also had a positive year, with +9 growth overall following a Q4 Net growth rate which equalled the South West at +12. But it was the East of England that led the pack with the highest brewery growth rate anywhere in the UK, finishing 2023 with an impressive Net growth rate of +14 after a strong finish to the year, clocking a +8 Net growth rate in Q4.

The SIBA UK Brewery Tracker is compiled by a team of professional staff employed by the Society of Independent Brewers and is cross-referenced by SIBA Regional Directors in each of the eight SIBA Regions across the UK. The organisation considers a number of factors and data-sources alongside its own data analysis and extensive research and has become the go-to reference for accurate, up-to-date brewery numbers in the UK.

Brewer issues with suppliers

SIBA UK BREWERY TRACKER: YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARISON

Covering period 01/01/23 - 01/01/2024

UK: 1815 (-13)

Scotland 142 (-4)

Northern Ireland 29 (-)

East 192 (+14)

North East 256 (-9)

North West 195 (-14)

Wales 96 (-6)

West of England 73 (-2)

South West 211 (+4)

South East 344 (+9)

Midlands 277 (-5)

The SIBA UK Brewery Tracker can be found at

www.siba.co.uk/brewerytracker

A reminder that if brewers are experiencing issues with suppliers they believe to be acting potentially unlawfully, please call Napthens legal helpline in the first instance.

SIBA has a regular dialogue with Napthens to understand trends and issues that SIBA could potentially take up on your behalf.

The Napthens helpline number is 0845 671 0277

SIBA Independent Beer Awards:

Bottle & Can Winners announced

SIBA has revealed the results of the remote judging for the SIBA Independent Beer Award Bottle & Can competition – the UK’s leading bottled and canned beer competition judged by brewers, beer sommeliers and expert tasters.

The winning bottled and canned beers will now join the Wales & West winners (judged earlier this year) and go forward to fight it out at the National finals, taking place shortly at BeerX.

Gold (90+), Silver (80+) and Bronze (70+) prizes were awarded to breweries from across each region for a variety of beer styles; from modern Pale Ales and traditional Bitters, to Lagers, Stouts and Continental Style beers.

The SIBA Bottle & Can Independent Beer Awards 2023 were judged by a fleet of expert judges from across the UK, with beers marked against internationally recognised style guides for the different beer award categories - looking at appearance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste and saleability.

Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms, praised this year’s winners: “This year’s SIBA Independent Beer Awards Bottle & Can competition was our biggest ever, including seven regions of the UK and hundreds of individual beers. The expert judging panel only give awards where deserved, so the winners listed really are the very best beers in the region.”

Gold Award winning beers from each region:

Scotland

G XPA – Moonwake Beer Co. (3.4% Extra Pale Ale)

G King Slayer – Loch Leven Brewery (5.2% Scottish Ale)

G Arran Red Squirrel – Arran Brewery (3.8% Red Ale)

G Orange Ginger – Williams Bros Brewing Co. (3.4% Orange Ginger Beer)

North East

G Astral Voyage – Turning Point Brew Co (3.4% Session Pale Ale)

G Coney – Brew York (4.5% Hazy Pale Ale)

G Black Mass – Abbeydale (6.6% Black IPA)

Midlands

G Lukas – Thornbridge Brewery (4.2% Lager)

G Jaipur – Thornbridge Brewery (5.9% IPA)

G Quarterstaff – Lincoln Green Brewing Co. (5.0% Stout)

G Schaffler – Lincoln Green Brewing Co. (6.9% American Stout)

G Plum Porter – Titanic Brewery (4.9% Fruited Porter)

G Coffee Cream Stout – Charnwood Brewery (5.4% Coffee Stout)

South East

G Little Swine – Hogs Back Brewery (0.5% Alcohol Free Pale Ale)

G Pillars Helles – Pillars Brewery (4.8% Lager)

G Halo – Hackney Church (5.1% Lager)

G Pale Ale – Wight Knuckle Brewery (4.0% Pale Ale)

G Tropical IPA – Signal Brewery (4.2% IPA)

G Weetwood Pilsner – Weetwood Ales (4.2% Lager)

G Keswick Special Bitter – Keswick Brewing Co. (4.8% ESB)

G Lakeland Summit – Great Corby Brewhouse (4.0% English Pale Ale)

G Three Berry Pie – Lakes Brew Co. (7.0% Fruited Sour)

North West East

G Spanish Inquisition – Baker’s Dozen Brewing Co. (5.4% Red IPA)

G Winter Brown Ale – Artefact Brewing (7.5% Christmas Spiced Beer)

G Hazed & Confused – Loud Shirt Brewing Co. (4.5% Pale Ale)

G Rising Giant APA – Long Man Brewery (4.8% Pale Ale)

G Roadie – Signature Brew (4.3% Pale Ale)

G Railway Porter – Five Points Brewing Co. (4.8% Porter)

South West

G Boosh – Yonder Brewing & Blending (4.5% Pale Ale)

G Cerne Specialni – Utopian Brewing (5.9% Black Lager)

For the full list of winners from each region see pages 76-83 in this magazine.

SIBA showcased Brave Noise collaborations at British Guild of Beer Writers Awards 2023

SIBA presented a 'first of a kind' beer showcase at the much-anticipated British Guild of Beer Writers Annual Awards Dinner 2023.

At the Guild’s flagship event at the end of last year SIBA poured beers from award-winning independent breweries and presented a showcase of 'Brave Noise' beers, brewed in support of the project which describes itself as "a collaboration with a big goal: A safe and discrimination-free beer industry”.

The Brave Noise showcase represented a first of its kind in the UK, with a trio of collaboration beers being poured by SIBA

including a draught NEIPA from Hand Brew Co and two canned beers; a hop-forward Pale Ale from Attic Brew Co, and a delicious Dark Mild from Merakai. The showcase was brought to the fore by Pip Young, Founder of The Coven (a four times beneficiary and collaborator in the Brave Noise project).

“SIBA was proud to be able to showcase a selection of Brave Noise beers at the British Guild of Beer Writers Award’s and dinner, an ideal event to highlight the importance of creating a safe and discrimination-free beer industry. Brave Noise is contributing to deliver a more welcoming and respectful

culture within the beer community, something which SIBA whole heartedly supports,” said Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing.

Brave Noise is a project which has an emphasis on fostering transparency and long-term commitment from breweries to align themselves with the broader movement towards inclusivity and diversity in craft brewing. By advocating for safe spaces and inclusive environments, raising awareness and funds, they support organisations and charities that are practically helping employees and the beer community.

Grain Brewery 'does the double' as best beer in the East of England in cask and keg

Grain Brewery in South Norfolk made History in the SIBA Independent Beer Awards, taking home Overall Champion Gold in the East Region keg competition, after taking the top spot with the same beer at the end of 2023 in cask.

Their 'Slate' smoked Porter wowed judges again in the hugely respected industry awards, held at the Legra Taproom & Kitchen in Leigh-on-Sea, showing it's a beer that works equally well on cask or keg.

The 6% Porter style ale uses specialty smoked malt from Bamberg in Germany to added a distinctive yet balanced smoked flavour to the rich, dark porter - the result is a beer that's dark, rich, and smooth, with a deliciously complex and lightly smokey flavour.

Phil Halls, Owner-Director of Grain Brewery,

was on hand to accept the award and had this to say on their historic win: "I am absolutely gobsmacked that we’ve won and I’m especially pleased because this exact same beer won the cask competition back in September, so it’s a double win and I think that might be a first anywhere in the UK. It’s a beer we’ve been brewing for about seven or eight years and one which we keep changing and tweaking to keep further improving it, but the secret ingredient really is the smoked malt that we bring over from Bamberg. The rest of it is Norfolk Barley, but that smoked malt just gives it that extra edge that other beers don’t have - plus the hard, chalky Norfolk water which is great for brewing dark beers."

The prestigious awards are judged by brewers and beer experts and seen very much as the brewers’ choice awards in the industry.

Commenting on the win was Buster Grant from SIBA and Batemans Brewery, who presented the awards: “Massive congratulations to Grain Brewery on taking home the Overall Gold for a second time. It's a very difficult thing to brew a beer which works so brilliantly when served on cask and keg, two very different ways of drinking beer, and something which I have never seen before in a SIBA competition. The quality of entries across the board was absolutely superb and I would like to congratulate the category winners tooall of which will now go forward to represent the East Region at the National Finals at BeerX in March. Very good luck and well done again."

For details of all the winners from the East competition see pages 84-85.

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SIBA calls for expansion of ‘alcohol-free’ labelling to help support small independent breweries

Allowing beer of less than 0.5% ABV to be labelled as ‘alcohol-free’ would bring it in line with the EU and America, address the barriers to trade and provide clarity for consumers.

However, other labelling changes being considered could add further complexity and make it more difficult for small independent breweries to enter the market for no and low beer.

This is according to SIBA’s response to the Government’s recent consultation on changes to the no and low alcohol labelling descriptors which includes whether to raise the threshold for ‘alcohol-free’.

“The NoLo sector has increased year on year with our latest SIBA/YouGov poll showing that 18% of beer drinkers are consuming low alcohol beer,” said Andy Slee, SIBA CEO. “For small independent breweries, NoLo is a fledgling sector and our members are increasingly looking to add new innovative low

alcohol beers to their range but are hindered by confusing labelling guidance and the barriers to accessing the market. The Health Minister has the chance to provide clarity and address the inconsistencies and give a real boost to our independent breweries looking to response to increase consumer demand for tasty and interesting low alcohol beers.”

Currently, under the Department for Health and Social Care’s guidance for low alcohol products, beer has to contain no more than 0.05% ABV for it to be consider ‘alcohol-free’, but breweries in other countries including the United States and Germany, can freely use the label on their products below 0.5%. This means that imported beer can be labelled differently than home produced beer, disadvantaging small breweries.

Achieving the 0.05% strength is beyond the affordability for the vast majority of small breweries as it requires specialist and expensive brewing equipment to remove the alcohol from the beer.

The Government is also considering other labelling changes as part of the consultation including the ABV strength on the front of the label along with age restrictions and the Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines.

In its consultation response SIBA has called for the low alcohol descriptors to become:

Low alcohol – product must be 1.2% ABV or below; (no change to current)

Non-alcoholic – be applicable to any products below 0.5% ABV

Alcohol free – also be applicable to any products below 0.5% ABV De-alcoholised – applied to products that have undergone that specific process

SIBA’s response to the Chancellor's Autumn Statement

Following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, SIBA issued the below response on behalf of members:

“After the double digit increase in beer duty only months ago, independent breweries will heave a huge sigh of relief that duty is now frozen until next summer, allowing the new alcohol duty system time to bed in. The Business Rates discount being extended will also be welcome news for community pubs and taprooms, though a full reform of the system is still needed in the near future.

“However, there are a number of missed

opportunities; firstly the decision to not extend draught duty relief, which could have provided a much needed festive boost to our community pubs and independent breweries.

“Secondly that there has been no announcement of support for small independent breweries seeking to meet the Government set Net Zero Emissions targets. Breweries are increasingly conscious of their environmental impact and it is essential that targeted grants and subsidies are in place to encourage this." Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive.

The view from Westminster

Welcome to 2024 – the year that is expected to be dominated by the General Election. This Election will have ramifications for your brewery and for the direction of the country. While we don’t yet know when it will be, speculation continues to point towards November as the most likely date.

SIBA will be announcing its priorities for the next Parliament in its manifesto around March and it would really help if you can each contact the candidates in your constituency, invite them to visit and engage with them on the issues that matter. We’ll be providing a toolkit in due course to help you do this. And given the number of MPs planning to stand down plus a potential change of government, it means there’s likely to be a large influx of new parliamentarians for us to engage with. Anything we can do ahead of them being elected means we can hit the ground running, improves their collective knowledge of brewing and pubs which helps us when they’re looking at making decisions that impact breweries. However, before this we have at least one Budget to contend with (there’s also strong rumours that there could be another Summer Budget before an election!). The Spring Budget is on Wednesday 6 March when the Chancellor is set to make a decision on beer duty levels from August. You will remember that the government accounts are based on an inflationary increase every year in February. The Chancellor chose to freeze it in the Autumn Statement for another six months until 1 August and now needs to make a decision on whether to freeze again, increase it or use the new draught relief introduced as part of the Alcohol Duty System changes last year.

SIBA, and its like-minded partners, are pushing for the Chancellor to increase the draught relief in his Budget to twenty percent and at least freeze the other duty rates. You can help by using SIBA’s template letters to write to your MP ahead of the Budget and help make the case to Make it 20%.

Hopefully you’ve managed to successfully transition to the new Small Producer Year on 1 February – the time when you have to recalculate your duty rates. This is something you should add to your diary every year as it’ll now be an annual occurrence for all small breweries. Under the new Alcohol Duty System each brewery has a personalised duty rate and therefore it’s something each and every brewery has to do, unless you’re too big to qualify for Small Producer Relief (which is only for those over 100,000 hectolitres at 4.5% ABV). It means you have to recalculate your duty in hectolitres of pure alcohol using your total production for the previous production year from 1 February to 31 January. You can then use the calculator that’s on the Toolbox or the HMRC calculator to work out the cash discount and new rates.

As the duty depends on when the beer was produced, it means you may have dual duty rates to manage. If you produced the beer before 1 February (and that includes beer in duty suspense) it will pay the previous duty rate and not the new one. The EX46 forms have been changed to take account of this and allows multiple duty rates.

I have just recently returned from a meeting in Vienna, where we gathered together representatives from many of the other independent brewing associations from across Europe. Ten groups came together including from Germany, Poland, France and Austria to discuss ways to work together more closely.

We all share the same challenges – access to market, deposit return schemes, changing demographics and the growing health lobby. For example, in Austria, one Global mega brewery alone produces 60% of the beer! We hope to do more together to counter the dominant Global players and create more opportunities for independent breweries to thrive.

As ever, if you want to know more or have any views on any of these issues please do get in touch using the details below.

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

The view from Westminster

Ten groups came together including from Germany, Poland, France and Austria to discuss ways to work together more closely. We all share the same challenges – access to market, deposit return schemes, changing demographics and the growing health lobby.

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XSIBA Independent Brewer x Pellicle Collab

The spirit of collaboration is a hugely positive part of the independent brewing sector, with brewers regularly collaborating with their peers on new beers, and indeed ideas. Collaboration makes both parties stronger, through the exchange of knowledge and ideas, or by opening up new routes to market. It’s in this spirit, that SIBA Independent Brewer is running this regular feature series in collaboration with the team at Pellicle, a title we have huge admiration for. Each issue of Independent Brewer will feature a brand-new piece written by one of the regular Pellicle contributors on a brewery that is doing great things, but maybe hasn’t had the coverage that some of its peers are getting. A hidden gem waiting to be discovered by a wider audience. As ever, the Pellicle team will be writing in their own very personal and informed style and we are excited to welcome these new voices to the SIBA magazine.

Ledbury Real Ales, Herefordshire

In the third in our collab series, Pellicle’s Associate Editor Lily Waite visits Ledbury Real Ales in Herefordshire to find out why owners Ant and Kate Stevens have eschewed the usual push for growth, keeping their brewery set-up extremely modest, in order to focus on quality and innovation, working closely with local hop growers…

When I arrive at Ledbury Real Ales, brewer Jonny Bright is digging out the mash tun with a dog kibble scoop into ex-chutney barrels.

The brewery itself is a former four-car garage on the driveway of owners Ant and Kate Stevens’ house. When Jonny offers me a cup of tea, he leads me round to their kitchen; we drink tea by the sink looking north over paddocks and fields. On the draining board sit cask taps, on the sideboard cask labels for Ledbury Bitter. In one paddock, several pallet-loads of empty casks sit waiting, in the vegetable garden behind the brewery sit two more. To look at the brewery’s size and arguably DIY - or perhaps organic - nature, and make the assumption that this was a glorified hobbyist set up would be easy.

It would also be very wrong.

Based in London, Lily Waite is a beer writer, photographer, ceramicist, and the founder of The Queer Brewing Project, an LGBTQ-focused nonprofit collaborative beer initiative. She’s won a number of awards for her writing, is the youngest-ever winner of the British Guild of Beer Writers’ Beer Writer of the Year award, and enjoys cooking, music, and walking her small dog, Teddy.

Ledbury Real Ales has been a fixture of the local community for 13 years, Jonny has more than a decade of brewing experience at various larger breweries to his name, and the work he, Ant, and Kate do with the local hop growing community is perhaps some of the most important in the country, regardless of their brewery’s size.

Ant and Kate left London in 2011; Ant was working in financial services (he still does) and Kate for the Care Quality Commission. They moved to Ledbury, in Herefordshire, when they’d had enough of London and decided if there was ever a right time for them to leave, it was then.

Ant had toyed with the idea of opening a brewery in London, though baulked at the size of the capital expenditure needed to do so.

“Sambrook’s Brewery had just opened up,” Ant says. “Duncan [Sambrook, founder] used to work in the building next to me as an accountant.” Seeing Sambrook’s grow and the funding that went into it, Ant fancied the same. “I said ‘well, we'll set one up in North London.’”

“When we did the numbers,” he continues, “it was like a million and a half quid to get going. I didn’t know what I was doing, I'd never done it before. I was never a homebrewer. I just liked the idea of doing it.”

When he and Kate moved out to Ledbury and

"Around here there are around 20 to 25 hop farmers left, it's very much an art form; it's three, four generations old, using touch and feel. There's no science in it, all the equipment is still pretty Victorian.”

bought the house in which they still live, it came with a garage. Shortly after, the couple ripped out workbenches, put power and water in, and began brewing on a one barrel kit that remains there today, used primarily now for (very) small-batches such as green hop beers and hop development trials.

Initially, they were reluctant to sell beer into their local market. “We sold some beer into Leicester and Derbyshire under a different brand,” Ant says. “I'd never brewed before, so we didn't really want to start selling beer to our local community - it wasn't very good.”

But shortly after, as quality increased, they began selling into Ledbury, Malvern, and other nearby towns.

Now, 13 years later, the beer is very good. Ant and Kate were joined by Jonny five years ago, who brews and takes care of cellaring and packaging. They brew three core beersLedbury Bitter, Ledbury Dark, and Ledbury

Gold, a best bitter, dark ale, and golden bitter, respectively - as well as various other seasonals, small batch editions, and experimental beers. They distribute around Herefordshire and Worcestershire, including 30 or so pubs with permanent lines - some of which they’ve maintained from the very start.

Jonny, whose brewing career takes in time spent at the now defunct London Fields and Brodie’s Fabulous Beers, as well as BrewDog, Weird Beard, and his own brief cuckoo brewery After The Harvest, brought with him a wealth of professional experience when he joined Ant in the brewhouse, and has over the years helped increase the efficiency of the small brewery.

“Jonny is knowledgeable, very precise,” drinks journalist and co-founder of nearby cidermaker Little Pomona Susanna Forbes says, “but also generous-spirited. He was very kind to us: he showed us how to fill KeyKegs by literally spending a day with us, showing us how to do it. He is ultra-precise - it has to be done properly.” This precision and diligence is wellmatched to Anthony’s approach to production. “We do it properly, and we overthink everything,” Ant says. “The little changes: Jonny and I will sit down and scratch our heads about them. It literally is stuff that most people wouldn't care about. But for us, we sit there and go, ‘Well, if we're going to do this properly, we have to worry about it.’”

Continued on page 27

This is, perhaps bluntly, what you’d hope to hear from any self-respecting brewery owner; par for the course. The team’s finesse and commitment to quality, however, shines through. They’ve considered expanding, even building a purpose-built production brewery on Ant and Kate’s land, but decided against it.

“It's a very organic business, which frustrates me and Jonny sometimes because we could brew more beer,” Ant says. “But I think we’d end up killing ourselves for an extra few casks a week going out the door. And for us, it's all about getting the quality right, getting the product right.”

Ledbury’s beers are elegant and simple. Ledbury Bitter is a shining example of a British best bitter: bright, nutty, and bitter with delicate hop and rounded malt character. Ledbury Dark is gentle and chocolatey, neither a porter nor a stout but closer to a golden ale with dark malts added - which it exactly is, using Ledbury Gold’s base recipe with chocolate malt as flavour and colour addition. Herefordshire Hops, a seasonal pale brewed with local Harlequin, Jester, Olicana, Godiva, and an experimental Charles Faram hop CF247, is a perfect English pale ale: a decent amount of bitterness, light nuttiness, and gentle citrus and floral hop character.

When I visit, Jonny’s mid-way through brewing Ledbury Bitter, using Admiral grown by Simon Parker at Instone Court, nine miles away in Bromyard, and Progress from Tom Probert, another grower Ant works closely with.

“Around here there are around 20 to 25 hop farmers left,” Ant says. “It's very much an art form; it's three, four generations old, using touch and feel. There's no science in it, all the equipment is still pretty Victorian.”

Hop growing is an important part of Herefordshire’s heritage: the first recorded mention of hop cultivation dates back to the 1500s, and driving through the county it’s hard to miss the signs of this now-dwindling tradition. In late summer and early autumn orderly rows of hop bines stand majestic in fields, and the white cowls of oast houses, or hop kilns, point lazily away from the wind - their tipsy angle a defence from weather and an encouragement to air circulation.

This tradition and its inherent romanticism, as well as hop growing’s arcane nature, is worth protecting. Whilst some hop growers have called it a day - notably upstart nearby Brook House Hops went into administration in 2023 - many of those in Herefordshire and Kent continue. Whether stubbornly or doggedly, many of them do it for the love of it.

“Growing hops is the one you do for love,” chuckles Simon Parker. “I think there’s a handful of us still at it who probably do it for that same reason. I’ve always joked that if I wasn’t hop growing I’d pack in farming, because the rest doesn’t appeal to me.”

“I think the first love comes with the smell - the aroma and the tradition,” he continues. “There is something about that first morning of hop picking when you go down and you’re actually walking the hop shed, and that smell that comes off when the hops have been picked is very difficult to give up. It’s a bit of an addiction really.”

Ant and Jonny share this love with a number of hop growers across the county. As well as using their hops in their core and small-batch beers, every year they brew a number of green hop beers, fetching hops from farmers and adding them to the boil, often within minutes. These beers highlight individual hops, from individual farmers, often from individual fields or rows. Some grow hops specifically for them.

“He realised he’d got no Herefordshire Admiral, so I put some in for him,” says Simon, of Ant. “There’s obviously some down in Kent, but he said ‘no, I want Herefordshire.’ So I put a whole row in for him, just enough for his needs.”

“We're 95% English hops, and those English hops are 95% local, and I know every farmer and where every one came from on the fields. So for me what was important was that connection.”

SIBA Independent Brewer x Pellicle Collab

“What you find about the hop farmers is they've all got little plots of stuff,” Ant says, “that they don't tell anybody about that they grow either for themselves, or they forgot that they're growing it, or they're doing some experimental stuff. Martin [Powell-Tuck]'s got an acre of stuff which all goes to the US; we did a green hop with it - this was Keyworth's Early. Tom Probert put in 10 plants of Hersbrucker, 10 plants of Perle, some Super Fruity. We get access to all of those either green or dried.”

By showing interest and willing, Ant and Jonny have formed close relationships with these growers. Many won’t charge them for their green hops, but they make sure to give back - each year Ant spends a day or two helping out with the harvest on Simon’s farm, and the green hop beers showcase each grower’s hops to publicans and drinkers alike. Ant is working with a number of breweries such as Ossett Brewery and Buxton Brewery to introduce them to individual growers and help them forge relationships; Ossett bought 200kg of hops from Simon Parker in 2023. Ant sent some of Tom Probert’s Hersbrucker to Utopian Brewery, who then used it in their British-hopped Festbier. And there’s interest in more.

“You're right here, why wouldn't you?” Jonny says. “It’s so different to cider: you set up a cidery where you have access to the ingredients - beer's not like that. People set up in London using malt from Bamberg and hops from Yakima Valley. But for us, because we are here: why don't we use them in abundance, and experiment with them and work with the growers? It just feels like a natural thing to be doing.”

This connection they have to their local growers is an important one: not least because of how these local hops impact the beer itself, but also because of the stories they can tell with their beers, and the link to local agriculture those beers ensure. Through their annual green hop series, utilising a single base recipe with varying hops, they can do so whilst also highlighting the individual flavours of whichever specific green hop in that beer.

“We're 95% English hops, and those English hops are 95% local,” Ant says. “And I know every farmer and where every one came from on the fields. So for me what was important was that connection.”

“I can tell you where the aphids were this year, on which bits of the hops in which fields, or why that aphid did what it did,” Ant continues, proudly. “We sat through a three hour chat on the different spray nozzles you can get to get rid of the aphid eggs, and how it gets rid of it. But to me that means that when I brew with the hops with Jonny, we know what that grower's gone through for that season. We know why that hop might be slightly different, or how that hop from that farmer has had a bad year.”

This knowledge is passed on to publicans, staff, and drinkers. Ledbury’s beers platform and draw interest to a centuries-old tradition that is so often overlooked by those without special interest or understanding. As Ant says, when a customer buys a beer, they don’t just buy a Ledbury Real Ales beer. They buy how Tom Probert’s done that year. “When they then tell that story to their customers,” he explains, “it's not just Ledbury Gold. It's James Hawkins' First Gold.”

“It is absolutely wonderful that they’re throwing a spotlight on hop growers, because, let’s face it, they’re so important,” says Susanna. “I think hop growing is very difficult. It’s a wonderful tradition here but that doesn’t make it easy. The fact that for example they have meet-the-maker evenings with hop growers - we’re used to that with brewers, aren’t we, but how often do you actually get to meet the hop grower?”

“I think Anthony does a very good job of promoting us and new varieties. Is that driven by his love of playing with hops? Probably,” Simon chuckles. “He is a hophead.”

Fyne Ales – Jarl

Andy Parker from Elusive Brewing, a former British Guild of Beer Writers’ Beer Writer of the Year, caught up with Fyne Ales’ former Head Brewer Wil Wood to explore the history and craft behind iconic beer Jarl…

Homebrew in Focus columnist Andy Parker

Jonny and Tuggy Delap

Fyne Ales - Jarl (20L batch)

OG 1.038

FG 1.009

ABV 3.8%

IBU 25 (estimated)

Mash at 66C for 60 minutes

Extra Pale Malt 3.15Kg

Torrified Wheat 300g

Boil

Citra (12% AA) @ First Wort10g

Citra (12% AA) @ 30m - 10g

Post Boil

Citra (12% AA) Hop Stand/ Whirlpool - 150g

Yeast

Wyeast 1728 - Scottish Ale @ 20C, free rise to 23C

Founded in 2001 by Jonny and Tuggy Delap, Fyne Ales was created with the aim of finding a new purpose for the family’s Achadunan estate to create jobs, tourism and industry. A former dairy building was converted and Fyne brewed its first beer on St Andrew’s Day 2001. With the need to dispose of spent grain from the brewing process, Tuggy revived the estate’s farm with four highland cows and one heifer, the beginnings of a new herd. After Jonny’s passing in 2009, son Jamie took on the role of Managing Director and the brewery continues to thrive, despite its rural location and the many logistical challenges that presents.

the way, including being named Champion Beer of Scotland for a second time in 2021. This simple, aromatic and flavoursome beer delights lovers of both traditional and more modern ales and when on form in cask, Jarl really is hard to beat in terms of keeping you coming back for another pint. If you’re looking for a beer festival to attend this summer, FyneFest promises the best pint of Jarl you can experience, served right there in stunning Glen Fyne in the height of the Scottish summer. It really is a special weekend and comes with a personal recommendation!

As we emerge from the cold of winter into spring, my beery thoughts always turn to a love of sitting with friends in a pub garden. There really is no better way to while away a spring afternoon before dipping back inside when the sun sets and temperatures inevitably drop, reminding you that it’s not quite summer yet! For me, those occasions are best enjoyed supping pints of a fresh and citrusy session beer. Darkstar Hophead is always a firm favourite but if I see it on the bar, one of my absolute go-to beers is Fyne Ales’ Jarl. Jarl is, as you’ll see when we get onto the recipe, a very simple beer at its core. Extra Pale malt, some Wheat and a whole lot of late Citra hops. Jarl’s beauty and elegance comes from the very pure and soft water source that trickles down from Beinn Bhuidhe and the other mountains and munros overlooking the stunning Glen Fyne in rural Argyll, Scotland.

Jarl was first brewed in 2010, created by then Head Brewer, Wil Wood, who had moved up from Peterborough. Wil previously brewed at Oakham Ales, which is where the story really starts. As Wil explains, “Each year I’d travel back down to Peterborough to visit friends and family for Christmas. In 2009, I caught up with some of the Oakham team who told me they’d just got in this amazingly fruity new American hop, Citra, after flying it over from the USA the previous month”.

On returning to the Glen, Wil pestered hop merchant Charles Faram for some of this wonderful new hop and was able to secure enough for 10 brews of a new Citra-hopped Session Pale. Jarl was born! In the time between Oakham’s first brew at the end of 2009 and the launch of Jarl on June 2010, word had gotten out in the beer world about Citra and there was a good level of buzz around the launch of Jarl – set for the very first FyneFest (then just known as ‘Beer Fest’) on Saturday 19th June 2010.

Since its launch, Jarl has gone from strength to strength, accumulating many awards along

As mentioned, the recipe for Jarl really is very simple and unfussy. The key to getting close to the original is replicating that wonderfully soft and pure water that Fyne Ales are lucky to have flowing into the brewery. Fyne Ales Technical Brewer Yvonne Wernlein suggests treating your water to achieve a Chloride to Sulphate ratio of 2:1 and 100-150 ppm of Calcium. If you’re brewing with hard water, you’ll need to buffer the pH either through an acid addition to your liquor or some acid malt. I’d suggest aiming for a mash pH of around 5.4.

Fyne’s house yeast was originally from Fountainbridge in Edinburgh and the recommended commercial strain is Wyeast 1728 - Scottish Ale. Jarl is fermented towards the top end of the recommended range at 23C. If you’re unable to obtain this yeast, I’d suggest a clean and neutral strain such as Fermentis US-05 or Lallemand West Coast Ale Yeast. Jarl is all about letting that large Citra whirlpool hop addition sing, speaking of which, Fyne uses all whole cone hops rather than pellet, so there’s something else to experiment with when brewing this wonderfully simple recipe!

Taproom Focus: Bundobust Brewery

Taproom focus with Neil Walker

SIBA’s Head of Comms & Marketing Neil Walker highlights one of his favourite taprooms to visit in the UK…

Name: Bundobust Brewery

Founded: 2021

Location: Oxford Street, Manchester

Taproom Hours:

Monday to Thursday 12pm-9.30pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm-10pm & Sunday 12pm-8pm.

Starting at their original restaurant in Leeds, Bundobust has expanded to now run six venues including their brewery in Manchester - which manages to be a superb restaurant, taproom and brewery all in one.

I’ve been a huge fan of Bundobust from the beginning, and new owner Marko from his days opening and running the Sparrow craft beer bar in Bradford. The concept of bringing together Indian street food and craft beer started with a collab between The Sparrow and the acclaimed Prashad Indian restaurant, also in Bradford, with a string of pop-ups starting at Leeds International Beer Festival. The first Bundobust opened in 2014 in Leeds and since then they have gone from strength to strength. Their bars have always had Bundobust specials and collab beers on the bar, working with Northern Monk and other local independent breweries – but launching their own brewery to make beers for all of their venues was a first in the UK.

The Bundobust beers take inspiration from the menu, sometimes including spices and herbs which mirror the flavours of their Indian dishes – as with their Chai Porter or Coriander Pilsner – or simply lend themselves well to enjoying with food. A must visit for beer and Indian food lovers.

Beer Choice:

West is West – 6.5% West Coast IPA

Food Choice: Vada Pav + Okra Fries!

All images ©Mark Newton Photography

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Dan Carey, New Glarus Brewing Co.

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Brewing Resilience: A Business Oriented Approach to the New Era

Bob Pease, CEO/President of the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association for small and independent American craft brewers, will be travelling from the USA to present the keynote speech ‘Brewing Resilience: A Business Oriented Approach to the New Era’ at BeerX on Wednesday 13th March at 4.45pm on the main stage.

Pease’s address will delve into crucial insights about the US craft brewing landscape, offering valuable perspectives for brewers in the UK as well.

The prevailing economic pressures are demanding a strategic shift for independent brewers, emphasising the necessity of operating a brewery with a business mindset. By prioritising quality, data efficiency and informed decision-making, brewers can not only weather the economic storm but also brew a brighter future for themselves and the entire craft beer community.

Bob Pease has been serving as the CEO of the Brewers Association since 2014, following a five-year tenure as COO and prior experience as Vice President. His leadership extends beyond overseeing the Senior Management Team and day-to-day operations; Pease has played a pivotal role in elevating awareness of small and independent brewing in Washington DC. Through his efforts, he has firmly established

The UK remains an important export market for American craft beer with 7.3% of all exports, the second largest individual market behind Canada.

the Brewers Association as the advocate for small and independent brewers on Capitol Hill. Notably, in 2020, after a dedicated 12-year push, Pease witnessed the culmination of his work with the passage of the Craft Beverage Modernisation & Tax Reform Act, a landmark achievement included in the year-end Covid relief package. This legislation permanently reduced the Federal Excise Tax rates for small brewers by half.

Recognising his significant contributions, Brewbound named Pease "Beer Industry Person of the Year" in both 2015 and 2020. Furthermore, from 2018 through 2023, he earned recognition as one of the top lobbyists in Washington, D.C. by The Hill.com.

Despite facing various challenges, the craft beer category continues to enjoy widespread popularity in the US. Independent craft brewers account for more than one out of every eight beers sold, with consumers allocating approximately a quarter of their beer spending

to products from small and independent brewers and the industry remains a key source of employment and community engagement nationwide.

The UK remains an important export market for American craft beer with 7.3% of all exports, the second largest individual market behind Canada.

Date for Your Diary

Want to hear more from Bob Pease and other brewing industry experts? The Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America® (CBC™) is the largest industry-only gathering in the States and takes place 21-24 April 2024 in Las Vegas. The Craft Brewers Conference features more than 60 educational seminars spanning eight areas critical to running a successful business and more than 650 exhibitors displaying the latest and greatest product innovations, suppliers and services.

The Brewers Association publishes a wealth of resources to understand and enjoy American craft beer, downloadable free of charge from www.brewersassociation.org.

For more about the programme of speakers and seminars at BeerX see pages 57-63 or go to www.beerx.org.

BeerX Keynote speaker: Bob Pease

Rock of ages

It’s 25 years this year since Chris Holmes launched the now iconic Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham, adding a production arm to the already successful Tynemill pub estate which he had founded back in 1977. Not many people can boast a quarter of a century in the independent brewing sector in the UK, let alone almost 50 years working in the pub and beer industry, and even fewer still can say that they have spent that time at the very top of their game. Castle Rock has thrived for two and half of the most turbulent decades that UK brewing has ever seen. And not only does the business continue to serve its loyal customer base, but it has been able to innovate and evolve to stay relevant to a rapidly changing market over all those years. Chris himself admits he is ‘semi-retired’ now and not as hands on as he once was, with Managing Director Colin Wilde - the son of Peter Wilde, one of the very first investors in the business back in 1977 - overseeing things on a day-to-day basis. But the ethos with which Chris founded the company, to always focus on giving each customer a quality experience and to treat his team as family, remains at the heart of everything that the business does today. Having cut his teeth campaigning against the dominance of ‘the big six’ as one of the earliest members, and former National Chair, of CAMRA, Chris is a lifelong supporter of independent brewers and has championed local beers on the bars of his pubs – of which there are now 22since the very beginning, insisting his pub managers have autonomy to choose what is poured as, ‘they know best what their customers want’. Caroline Nodder, Independent Brewer’s Editor, caught up with Chris in January to find out more about his five decade love affair with hospitality, and how he has managed to steer his business through choppy waters while keeping his pubs and beers as relevant to the latest generation of craft beer enthusiasts as they ever were…

Name: Castle Rock Brewery

Founded: 1977 (first pub purchased) and 1999 (the brewery opened)

Location: Nottingham

Owners: Chris Holmes (60%) & assorted shareholders

Annual production (hl): approx. 13,000hl

Production split: 91% cask, 9% keg (Harvest Pale contract bottling)

Head brewer: Jonathan Edger

Total Staff (not including retail): 20

Core beers: Harvest Pale (3.8% ABV Blonde Ale), Screech Owl (5.5% ABV IPA), Preservation (4.4% ABV Red Ale), Elsie Mo (4.7% ABV Golden Ale), DDH Pale (5.0% ABV Double Dry Hop Pale), Session (4.0% ABV Session IPA) & Oatmeal Stout (4.6% ABV Stout).

Number of pub sites: 22

How did you first get interested in beer and brewing?

“I first became interested in beer, as you can probably imagine, as a teenager in Manchester. I think probably my first beer drinking was when I played cricket for my local cricket club, and of course after the game, the jug came out. So by the age of 17, I’d probably developed a taste for beer. Then when I graduated in 1968, I had a job with a city company for a few years, and became a lecturer at Nottingham Trent in Economics. I went there in 1972, which was just about when CAMRA was starting and I'd also met a gentleman called Chris Hutt who wrote, ‘The Death of the English pub’. It's a real polemic against the corporate behaviour of what was then the ‘big six’. So when CAMRA started, because of my connections, I was one of the early members. And having an academic job in Nottingham, I had a lot more spare time, so I was able to put a lot of time and effort into CAMRA when I was Chairman of the Nottingham branch. I then went on to the National Executive in 1974, or ‘75. And then I was Chairman in ‘75/’76, which just about killed me! I was travelling, I was going to meetings all over the country in the evening. So once I'd done my year, that was it!”

How did you then come to buy your first pub, the Old King’s Arms, back at the start of your journey, and what was your plan at the time?

“Having had the experience of being Chairman of CAMRA, I was acutely aware of the gap in the market for a pub, or pubs, selling a range of real ales. But by accident, I met these two characters who had been trying to re-license

a pub in Newark-on-Trent. Courage, the big brewer, through a series of takeovers, controlled 95% of the pubs in Newark. And of course, in those days, the vast majority of pubs were brewery-owned, and it was very tightly controlled by the big boys. So actually, the chance to get a freehouse that served a range of real ales, in what was effectively a beer desert, was fantastic. But I had a very, very difficult job re-licensing that pub, because the application was thrown out by the magistrates. And we decided, me and my then business partners, to go to appeal at the Crown Court, which was expensive. Our opposition, when we went to appeal, was Newark LVA. And their argument was that the public in the town didn't need another pub. And my argument was yes, but there was no choice [on the bar]. The judge who heard the appeal, after two days in court, basically said there were absolutely no reasons why this licence should not be granted. And we were granted the licence. But then after we got the licence, I did then find out that all the court costs for Newark LVA were born by Courage! The initial key motivator for me was to prove I could do it. To prove that there was a massive demand for real ale, that wasn't being satisfied by the suppliers. And then it was survival. Survival was key and after some initial teething problems, which were mainly caused by Newark being quite a violent place then, I cleaned it up and it was a very, very, very busy pub. And I was able to sell beers that were very, very popular in the Midlands, but were not available anywhere else in Newark. And that led to the success of the pub. And after a few years, I thought, ‘well, let's do another’. And then it went on from there.” Continued on

There's no branding of our pubs, no set style, apart from as much as possible offering the best quality. And by quality, I don't mean just the quality of the drink in the glass or the food on the plate.

You went on to launch Castle Rock Brewery in the late 1990s, how did that come about?

“By the ‘90s, micro-brewing had started to proliferate, but I’d always said we'd never brew, because we know a lot about selling beer and running pubs, but we don't know anything about making beer. Brewing is a profession. But my mind was changed when we went into partnership initially with a brewery in Nottingham. We had a pub in Beeston called the Victoria and a couple of locals had started their own brewery. But they were having big problems with the planners because they were brewing in a garage. And they were also having a problem with access to market, but we put their beer into our pub because they were local and the beer was pretty good and it sold well. Then the chance came for us to get a property next to one of our pubs in Nottingham, so I put it to these guys, why don't we have a joint operation where you move the brewery to these premises next to our pub, you carry on brewing, it's called Castle Rock you own 50% of it and we'll own 50%. And it all went quite well, but then we had a fallout, I then paid them off and they went off and opened Nottingham Brewery. I was left in a situation where I’d got a brewery, but no brewer! But after a while, we got a guy to come along as Head Brewer, whose name is Adrian Redgrove, he joined us in about 2003 or 2004. And he was fantastic. He had been to Heriot Watt and worked for other brewers and the way he did things was revolutionary. And he turned us from a company that made okay beers with somewhat indifferent quality, to an excellent brewery with fantastic quality.”

What is the ethos behind the Castle Rock business and the beers you brew?

“I wouldn't have said we had a plan. But we had an attitude towards running pubs. My attitude to the first pub was, I'm going to have this pub exactly how I would like it as a customer. And we still hold on to that. We like to run pubs. And we like to run pubs that are different. Because each pub is located in a different community and a different area. So your approach to that local market has to be different. There's no branding of our pubs, no set style, apart from as much as possible offering the best quality. And by quality, I don't mean just the quality

of the drink in the glass or the food on the plate. But the whole quality of the way in which the pub is run - the friendliness, the ambience, the safety. Ideally from a mixed customer base, so you're not a monoculture of just young trendies or old fogies. So if there is an ethos, it really is to make the pubs as good as they possibly can be. And at the same time, we obviously have that same approach to production of beers. I always think that we were quite fortunate, because when you've got pubs, you know a lot about what customers want, and the style of beer that they want. And if we make beers that are not popular in our pubs, then we don't sell the beers. Because the pubs have to be as good as possible. So our beers are only sold in our pubs because they're popular and successful. We don't force our beers on to our managers there has to actually be a pull from the customer.”

You are a pioneer in what has become an extremely crowded market, how have you stayed relevant all those years?

“I have to be honest, my initial reaction to this sector called craft beerI wasn't very nice about it. I said things like, ‘if we start selling cloudy beers, it's then a licence for people who have poor cellarmanship to get away with it’. Those were my initial prejudices. But I had to get over this and listen to what the younger people were saying. So the brewery was given free rein to experiment. And we were the first people to really go for it, we adopted the craft beer movement very rapidly because we saw the demand was there. In one of our standard managed houses now, it's got, say, 12 hand pumps. Maybe only three of those pumps would be ours. And the rest will be either permanent guest beers, or rotating guest beers. The mix has to be different. And to a large extent, we leave it to the managers to decide what they sell. Our view is the manager of that pub knows more about his audience than anyone else. And we also like to give the managers as much autonomy as possible. So they think of it as their pub. And take pride in their pub. The same applies to the staff. You've got to create a team ethos, so that people want to be there, and want to go to work there.”

Continued on page 43

FRAMAX

in the supply of machinery and complete “Turn Key” production lines for the bottling and packaging industry, covering primarily the beverage field but also catering for special needs in the food and chemical sectors.

The key to our success is the “know how” gained in over 40 years of experience in this industry and the ability to supply equipment performance, competitive pricing and efficiency of after sale service and support.

What would your critique be of today’s beer market?

“I mean, as far as the customer is concerned, it's never been better has it in terms of choice and availability? There's certainly no problem getting real ale anymore. And largely speaking, unless you live in a village or a very small town, there are plenty of craft beers knocking around as well. It's so diverse, and trying to forecast the way in which things are going to go is impossible. I would not wish to be critical of the beer market. We've managed to survive, and obviously we had a tremendously tough time during Covid, but as things stand now, it would be difficult for me to criticise the market, because from a customer point of view it’s never been better. And in fact speaking of Covid, our Managing Director Colin [Waite], along with our Operations Director Vicki Saxby, did a really great job steering us through the difficult times.”

What investments are you making in the business this year?

“What we're looking at at the moment is just reinvestment in the pubs. We don't have our eye on any new sites at the moment, of course our view might change in another three or four months’ time. But the real focus at the moment is making our pubs and our brewery as good as possible. We need to reinvest in equipment. Because running breweries is an expensive job. And we've had a successful financial year. So reinvestment is really the story today rather than growth. Sometimes a lot of these groups go for growth for growth's sake. All we're concerned about is having a brewery that produces great products, and running pubs where the customer experience is great. I get much more happiness from bumping into someone who says, ‘we're always in such and such of your pubs, drinking such a beer, and it is absolutely bloody fabulous’. I get more pleasure out of that than making more profit that year.”

What main challenges are you facing as a business in 2024?

“The cost base. Business rates is our biggest concern. Some of the rates that we pay on some of our properties are just ridiculous, unbelievable. £50,000 to £55,000 pounds a year. And we will be hit of course, because we like to pay our people as well as possible, so the increase in the living wage is coming up and we will adhere to that of course. And when you put wages up, you have to put everyone else’s wages up as well, because you've got to have differentials between somebody on an hourly wage and somebody as a supervisor, somebody as an assistant manager. To be honest, I'm surprised how well our pubs have done over the last 18 months, particularly since the inflation thing started. And you're thinking people just won't have as much disposable income. We depend on the market having plenty of disposable income, so we've obviously been worried about the overall demand, but we're not feeling it at the moment. We are not seeing it in our pubs. Although we're now selling less beer. We're producing less beer. But that's really about the beers that we used to sell to the big customers out there that we don't seem to supply anymore. There's been a bit of a shift there. We’re not complacent. But we are certainly happy about where we are, although we do view the future with a degree of caution. Yeah, we've got to be very careful and keep things as tight and as well run as we possibly can.”

You have to be enthusiastic, you have to work incredibly hard, and you’ve got to want to do it. You must not regard it as work. You have to regard it as a lifestyle.

What advice would you give to someone looking to emulate Castle Rock’s success?

“I would say that your prime aim should be to do things as well as possible. Not make as much money as possible, but whatever you're doing, if you're opening a pub or opening a brewery, the effort has to go into doing it as well as possible. You have to be enthusiastic, you have to work incredibly hard, and you’ve got to want to do it. You must not regard it as work. You have to regard it as a lifestyle. You've got to love it."

What inspires you?

“To be honest, the inspiration still comes from pride. And because I go to my pubs every month – I go around them, and they don’t know I’m coming - and what inspires me is the fact that they're good. The vibe is good. And the product is good. And that’s what inspires me. You can actually convince yourself that you're actually doing good for the community and you're doing good for your customers. Just seeing lots of people having a good time. Because that's what pubs are about, for people to enjoy themselves.”

Who do you most admire in the UK beer industry, past or present, and why?

“Obviously I admire very much the four founding members of CAMRA. Two of them in particular Michael Hardman and Graham Lees. I’d also have to mention Keith Bott. I call him a great mate of mine, but without Keith Bott, we would not have got progressive beer duty. He almost, in my view, single-handedly drove that. And he did a brilliant job, and I really admire him for that. I also admire my Managing Director, Colin Wilde, in fact I admire all my staff for what they do. And there's so many other people I know in the industry, but there's one particular one who does stand out actually. He used to be the Freetrade Manager or Freetrade Director at Fuller's. And his name was Simon Robertson-Macleod. I admire him because he seems to know everyone in the freetrade, and he dealt with people in such a charming, gentlemanly way. And finally, not to forget Chris Hutt. His book was certainly very important in the early days of CAMRA.”

What is your all-time favourite beer and where would you most like to drink it?

“The beer I was really weaned on growing up in South Manchester was Boddingtons Bitter. When it was an independent brewery, Boddies was fantastic. It was incredibly pale back then. It was just as pale as Harvest Pale was Boddingtons. It wasn't a particularly high original gravity, but it was attenuated right out. So it was very thin. It needed a tight sparkler. I used to adore it, Boddingtons. And I would drink it in one of our Castle Rock pubs.” Business

Whilst many publicans put the upmost effort into ensuring every pint through a hand pull is top notch, some can fall flat, which can put people off going back for another.

Cask - the original craft beer

St Austell’s George Young argues that the premiumisation of cask ale is the key to untapping its potential… "Cask has been at the forefront of our brewery team’s mind throughout this year as we continue to champion our national beer. Yes, the category is in decline – renowned beer writer Pete Brown told us earlier this year at a Cask Marque conference that cask is now 50% of the volume it was when the first Cask Report was published in 2007.

But there’s a way we could change that. It involves pricing real ale for what it is - a premium product. It’s the freshest beer on the bar, it’s the original craft beer, and it takes a lot of care and attention compared to kegged beer to ensure a top pint.

St Austell brews around 400,000 pints of cask a week, with 101 tests happening on the beer before it leaves the brewery. Casks are sent off in top condition and need constant care as soon as they reach the pubs right through to being poured into a glass.

Unlike kegged beer, cask naturally ferments in the barrel over a period of a few days – no carbonation added, it’s all natural.

Whilst many publicans put the upmost effort into ensuring every pint through a hand pull is top notch, some can fall flat, which can put people off going back for another.

At St Austell, we have an in-house trade quality team who work closely with our managed pubs to ensure each pint is perfect, and we’re launched a new Master Cellarman scheme akin to Cask Marque across our 141-strong tenanted pub estate as well. Other pub companies and landlords will have their own quality teams too, but that’s not always the standard. So you might be thinking, why would we want people to pay more for that gamble?

Despite all the above points proving that cask is a standout premium product, it remains one of the lowest priced drinks on the bar.

If we invested more money in cask, we could go one step further and use it to fund cellar

management and quality control. It would enable publicans and their teams to care for cask ale properly, and it would guarantee that each pint served is as it should be. Drinkers could rely on knowing their extra spend has been put towards a drink that never misses.

An investment and dedication to quality would mean less chance of a poor pint, get more people drinking cask, and would surely see a bigger variety of cask in our bars. The industry and its supporters have been saying the same thing about cask for years now; it’s time to push for change in the name of highquality cask beer which people can rely on and will want to spend on.

Cask represents a long history of brewing that is worthy of respect. As we stand with a new year before us, why not use it to elevate cask to where it deserves to be – seen as a premium product on the bar and priced as one too."

Meet the Brewer: Steve Sailopal, Good Karma Beer Co

Steve Sailopal brewed his first alcohol free stout way back in 2015, when the trend for AF products was in its infancy and most brewers would probably have laughed at the idea of a brewery specialising only in no and low beers. But through his interest in the expanding world of health and wellness, and his connections with mindful drinking movement Club Soda, Steve saw the potential to successfully launch AF products into the then rapidly expanding UK craft beer market. Through his first venture, London’s Nirvana Brewery, he launched a portfolio of AF beers that arguably carved a niche for what was to be the blossoming AF sector today. But with health issues eventually leading to him parting ways with the business he founded, Steve found himself in early 2020 back at square one again. By channelling the same passion he still had for the AF sector and the mindfulness movement it sits alongside,

and with the help and support of his many brewing connections, Steve ventured into the market once again with the launch of Good Karma Beer Co. Moving out of London and down to the Kent countryside, Steve saw the potential with Good Karma to give the business a real USP in the now far more crowded AF market, by using only locally grown hops. As a nomadic brewer, Steve has found great support among the Kent brewing community but now hopes to expand the operation as his AF beers gain traction, while maintaining Good Karma’s ethos of being part of the mindful movement – promoting a more sustainable, diverse and equal society. SIBA Independent Brewer’s Caroline Nodder spoke to Steve at the start of 2024 to find out more about his background and how his early interest in the alcohol free sector came about…

Meet the Brewer: Steve Sailopal, Good Karma Beer Co

Brewery Basics

Name: Good Karma Beer Co

Founded: 2020

Location: Kent (nomadic brewery)

Owner: Steve Sailopal

Annual production: 36,000 litres

Production split: 95% can, 5% keg

Core beers: Mantra (AF - British hopped lager), Chakra (AF – British hopped Pale Ale) & Tantra (British hopped IPA)

What is your background and how did you first get in to brewing?

“When my father came over here [from India] in the late 50s, he was a tailor. So he set up a little fashion clothing company in East London. I then got into that when I was in my teens and helped my Dad until he sadly passed away in around 2006. When that happened, I wanted to get away from the fashion industry. There was a friend of mine who used to sell us lace, in Lille, and he had a friend who had a brewery not far from Lille, who was in need of marketing support. This was on the other side of the border in Belgium, a brewery called Brasserie de Brunehaut, and literally it all started from there. So I helped this Belgium brewery with their branding and it became the first organic certified Belgium brand - which is still trading successfully today - to be stocked in Waitrose. I helped them with their organic certification and that's really where my passion for organic and sustainability came from. I worked with them up until about 2014, and that enabled me to get into Belgian beer which I really knew nothing about before that - I was just drinking standard UK beers - but then I discovered Orval, which changed my life, and I've not looked back since.”

How did that lead to an interest in AF?

“In 2014 I then started looking at alcohol free, because I was getting a sixth sense about that sector of the industry. I was talking to people, looking at alternative lifestyles, yoga, meditation, seeing it as a whole, holistic thing and the times were changing. And I thought, you know, I think we need to bring an alcohol free beer out. So I started working on it, working on recipes, and then in 2015 I created my first alcohol free stout at home. I remember sending the bottles to Murphy's to get an ABV test on it. And it came back at about 0.75 [% ABV], which I was really chuffed with. I grabbed hold of those bottles, and then I went to see Laura Willoughby, of Club

Soda [the mindful drinking initiative]. At that time, around 2014 or 2015, I was also hearing a lot about what Laura was doing, so pulling everything together I thought to myself, ‘this is the beginning of something here’. I went to knock on her door at her little office in Brick Lane, handed over the two bottles of stout, and she went ballistic and really ran with it.”

You went on to launch your first commercial AF beer through Nirvana Brewery, how did that come about?

“There was nothing really in the AF market at that time [2015] apart from Rob [Fink] looking to launch Big Drop, and myself. I had a meeting with Big Drop about joining up with them but I wanted to do my own thing. So I found a set of investors who invested in the project [to launch Nirvana] and within the first year we had the beers in Marks and Spencer. We were doing really well. But then sadly, I picked up a problem with my stomach, which I ignored. But it got worse. And towards the end of 2018 I had to speak with the investors. I left six months later, I went to India and I had medical care there which was quite competitive compared to over here. Then I spent time in Goa where I had a lot of alternative medicine, Ayurvedic etc, and I spent about six months there which really helped. But then in late 2019 Covid happened, of course, and I was on the next flight back to London. And in early 2020 I got phone calls from people saying they were closing the business, going into administration, they’d done a pre-pack which meant all my shares were gone. So that's the reason I started Good Karma. I had put all my heart and soul into creating the original Nirvana branding, the whole philosophy, the whole ethos. And it's difficult to do it again. But then I had a great friend of mine, Stacey [Ayeh] from Rock Leopard. He's a diamond. He got on the phone, Paul Jones from Cloudwater got on the phone. And with the help of everyone, I managed to get everything up and running and in 2020 Good Karma started.”

Continued on page 51

Meet the Brewer: Steve Sailopal, Good Karma Beer Co

What makes Good Karma stand out in the AF market?

“When I started off in 2020, for the first year, we were literally just knocking out a different beer every month. The idea of that was for me to try and get a feel for what the consumer wanted in AF. Because when I had originally started back in 2015, 2016, there was only myself at Nirvana, and Big Drop, but now come late 2020 there's a shedload! And so I threw stuff out there to see what people's thoughts were, what the reviews were from sober drinkers online and the writers and beer bloggers etc. So, we did that for a whole year. And I looked at myself and I thought, if I haven't got huge investment, I need to have my own unique USP. And being in Kent, what better than dedicate my brand to Kent hops? So that's what we've done with Good Karma. Each of our beers is brewed with one or two local hops. We've done an IPA using Olicana and Jester, our pale ale has got Ernest – which I love - and Northdown. And our lager, which is called Mantra, uses a Kent Sussex border hop called Harlequin. So for us to stand out from the rest of the crowd in the AF industry we thought we’d dedicate ourselves to our local hops, which are amazing. In return it means we can support and work with local farmers which equals the good vibes, which equals ‘Good Karma’. I think the most important thing for us is our sustainability, I've always been very much into the organic side of the industry, and now being able to use hops that are grown an hour away from me is just amazing.”

What does being part of the mindful drinking movement mean to you?

“So when I started out in 2015 or 2016, you could see the trend out there. More and more of us were getting into yoga, more of us were getting into meditation. We were also noticing a lot of people's relationship with alcohol was changing. And that’s what we focussed on at Nirvana and now what I’m doing at Good Karma. We mustn't forget, there's a lot of people out there - and I'm not knocking alcohol at allbut there's a lot of people out there who have got a bad relationship with alcohol, and who drink alcohol free. So we need to be very careful how we promote our alcohol free brands so that these people don't feel that it's a path to have another beer, a normal beer. We need to be sympathetic in our marketing. Compassionate, so that these people who were in a very vulnerable situation don't go over to the other side again. What's great about alcohol free, and what I had dreamed of from day one to happen, is it crossing over to the mainstream drinker. And that's what I came back to in 2020. I mean, your average pub has got alcohol free not just beer now, but spirits, wines. The range is just incredible compared to five or six years ago.”

Continued on page 53

Meet the Brewer: Steve Sailopal, Good Karma Beer Co

"In 2014 I then started looking at alcohol free, because I was getting a sixth sense about that sector of the industry. I was talking to people, looking at alternative lifestyles, yoga, meditation, seeing it as a whole, holistic thing and the times were changing. And I thought, you know, I think we need to bring an alcohol free beer out."

There has been a race in the last 18 months for craft brewers to make an AF beer. Is it easy to get it right?

“A lot of conventional brewers are making alcohol free with malt extract. And that to me, I feel it doesn't really give the right product –but then you can over-hop a product and hide everything really can’t you? Back in 2016, I used to brew with Windsor yeast. That was the only one at that time where the attenuation wasn't as high as other yeasts. It was still controllable. So we always used to use Windsor. Now we've got a couple of yeasts which are really good. We're also still learning. I have learned more about salts that we can use in our mash, about mashing temperatures, and there are other companies now who have launched products that you can add into your brewery routine, to help with hiding certain flavours in the wort or helping with the body. It’s amazing. People have dedicated their time just to creating products to help alcohol free brewing. To be able to make alcohol free beer is not as challenging as it was when I was brewing back in 2016. Those same brewers should now go back and see what we initially went through - the feedback that we gave to Lallemand and Fermentis back at that time, has helped them create what they're creating now. But what's happening with the growth now of conventional, mainstream brewers making alcohol free beer, I think that is going to be the challenge to the survival of brands like mine now. They've already got their route to market.”

How have you tackled the challenges of distribution?

“It's very, very difficult. There's so much more alcohol free out there. And a lot of the wholesalers are like, ‘Steve, look, we love what you're doing, but we've already got all these alcohol free brands’. Then there's the alcohol free brands who have got deep pockets and don't mind giving the wholesaler 60 days or 90 days credit. We can't possibly compete with that. But we've been quite fortunate to be able to work with one or two wholesalers, who have supported us from day one when I started again - all thanks to Stacey and Paul Jones for introducing me to these people again. Also the fact that I'm only able to produce a couple of 1,000 litres a month. I'm not in a desperate situation to need to be selling a lot, so maybe I can weather the storm. A lot of these large alcohol free brands, the bigger ones are already within the networks of Heineken distribution, and that sort of all thing. So they've got tap lines. But the indie pubs are the ones we work with locally. We can't sell a lot to them. But whatever we are able to produce at the moment we're managing to sell to them. If I had more, I'd probably be able to sell it. I just don't have the finance to fund the larger production at the moment.”

Continued on page 55

Meet the Brewer: Steve Sailopal, Good Karma Beer Co

Do you have any eventual plans to take on a permanent brewery site or retail sites yourself?

“I'd love to open up my own brewery, but I need to find the right person [to invest]. And I’d love to open up my own alcohol free taproom. The dream is also to be the UK, maybe Europe's, first 100% organic certified alcohol free beer brand. That's really my passion. With Nirvana, I managed to get the organic certification for one beer, so that's the dream for the future.”

What’s new at Good Karma for 2024?

“We need to grow, it is really important. And for that, we need to increase our production. It's been very kind of a certain brewery in Kent to be supporting us, but we need to look at another site, because the current site we're using is also very busy producing their own beers. So we're looking for alternative places. I'm being offered a lot of space brewing outside Kent, but that's not my story.”

What are you most proud of in your career so far?

“Being the first [dedicated] alcohol free brewery brand in the UK [with Nirvana]. I remember that day, I had just done the pale ale. And it wasn't a competition, but I’d managed to do it, and for it to take off. I think also what was really a good thing that day was when I presented the beer to a few people in the industry. And they tasted it, looked at me, and nodded, ‘Yeah, this is nice’. That was an emotional day.”

Where do you see Good Karma in five year’s time?

“I still believe there's a lot of things to do with alcohol free that hasn't been done yet. There’s organic, and there's a few other areas as well. Different styles, for instance you don't see any alcohol free cask do you?

The science is out there, people are creating products to help us do things like that. There's still so much to achieve, and what I want to do if I do manage to get the investment for Good Karma is for it to be a lifestyle brand. This is our focus. And I think that it will be achievable. Because if we can be doing good and spreading good out there, hopefully something good will come back to us.”

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“It's probably something that my dad said to me as we were growing up, is to make sure you have some sort of skill. Something you can do with your own hands, so you're not relying on others. And even though I'm not a qualified brewer, I've only learned my trade through my time in Belgium, I'm able to do that. You've got a lot of alcohol free brands now who have got money, and they just use contract brewers. They don't actually brew themselves. But the ability to be able to brew the beer myself and to get my hands dirty, I think that makes a lot of the difference in understanding your product, your love for your product. I also met Andy [Parker] from Elusive at Leyton Orient football club for their Christmas real ale festival and it was just weeks before we brewed our first brew at Nirvana. His advice? ‘Don’t mess it up!’”

What is your desert island beer?

“It’s Orval. People have started calling me an ‘Orvalophile’ and I’ve actually put it on my Twitter account now. Underneath Gooner. I don't know what it is. I have got this bad habit for aged Orval – not the new fresh Orval that tastes quite phenolic, or maybe it's me. But aged Orval, my goodness!”

the UK’s biggest beer & brewing event

BeerX UK 2024 set to take place on the 13th and 14th of March at Exhibition Centre Liverpool, is the biggest trade event in the UK for beer and brewing businesses, homebrewers and craft beer retailers.

www.beerx.org

Attracting over 3,000 attendees from the beer industry last year, it is attended by brewers and homebrewers, as well as beer retailers, buyers and industry professionals looking to expand their knowledge, discover the UK’s best independent craft beers, view the latest brewing equipment, ingredients and services, or network with others from across the industry.

Featuring a packed schedule of expert workshops, panel debates, networking opportunities, a huge trade show of supplier products and services, and the SIBA AGM – plus a trade-only beer showcase exclusively featuring awardwinning independent craft beers in cask, keg, bottle and can.

“9/10 Exhibitors say BeerX is the UK’s best brewing trade show”

CRAFT

KEYNOTE

Programme Content Highlights

The below highlights are correct at the time of going to print. For Live session timings and locations, plus the full content schedule, visit beerx.org or download dedicated BeerX App (Apple and Android).

Brewing Resilience: A Business Oriented Approach to the New Era With Bob Pease,

BA

Bob Pease of the US Brewers Association joins BeerX 2024 to deliver a not to be missed keynote talk on developing a business-orientated approach to running an independent brewery in 2024.

See page 37 for more on Bob Pease’s background and the focus for his keynote speech.

Hops on the Horizon: An Expedition into Experimental Flavours

With Charles Faram

Join us for an interactive session led by hop experts from Charles Faram and a panel of specially selected brewers. Together, we will walk you through the Charles Faram hop development process, unveiling new and exciting flavours.

After the popularity of our panel interview last year, this sequel session builds on the insights into our Hop Development Programme, showcasing a selection of beers crafted with the desirable hops chosen by you last year. Take part in the tasting, ask questions, and share your thoughts on our up-and-coming varieties. So, join us on this flavourful journey, where your opinion plays a vital role in the next wave of the hop revolution."

The next big thing: A tasting of the latest beerstyle trends hitting the UK

With Neil Walker (SIBA) & Annabel Smith (Cask Marque)

SIBA’s resident Beer Sommelier Neil Walker is joined by fellow Somm Annabel Smith (Cask Marque) to deliver an expert tasting of the beer styles to look out for in 2024.

From new styles growing in popularity to existing ones set to take off this year, this session isn’t just about the trends you need to watch out for, but an exploration of their flavour and aroma profiles - and how you can educate your customers when trying something new.

Building traceability into your brewery

With James Collier (Breww)

Traceability is the cornerstone of running a modern brewery, from raw materials in, to delicious beer out. Having full end-to-end traceability is crucial not only in maintaining the quality and safety of your beer but also for keeping logs of brewery activity across cleaning and maintenance, staff actions, distribution, and more.

In this session, take a deep dive into what full traceability looks like and the depth of knowledge it can provide you about how your business runs. We'll review scenarios that breweries commonly face and how to overcome them, with the aim of making gains through efficiency, greater margins and consumer satisfaction.

Beer and Music pairing: Does sound affect flavour?

With Pete Brown

Beer industry legend Pete Brown delivers a beer-pairing session like no other, marrying a varied range of beers with an eclectic selection of music.

Stronger brewery financial management, funding options and succession planning for brewers

With Adam Hardie (Johnson Carmichael) & Kieran Donovan (Napthens Solicitors)

Finance experts Johnson Carmichael are joined by SIBA’s own legal team at Napthens Solicitors to deliver an in-depth look at developing stronger brewery financial management systems, how to explore funding options and even succession planning for established breweries. Covering a broad range of subjects and aimed at brewers of all sizes this session is a musta attend session for professional brewing businesseswhether you’re looking to expand your business with funding, or simply improve profitability and financial management.

Untappd Potential: UK exclusive talk from CEO of Untappd parent company, Next Glass

With Trace Smith (Next Glass)

Whilst the full playlist is still under-wraps you can expect pairings such as Duvel with “Debaser” by the Pixies - chosen because Belgium isn’t just the birth place of strong, tasty beers, but also surrealism - the subject of the song.

Expand your mind and open your ears in this not-to-be-missed tasting session!"

The Untappd platform divides opinion amongst brewers and in this session we'll hear both sides of the argument, examining the pros and cons of a technology which has had an undoubtable impact on the independent craft beer industry. In this UK exclusive talk join Trace Smith from Next Glass - the company behind beer rating and menu platform Untappd - to hear the about the origins of the platform, the pitfalls and power of consumer reviews, and whether your brewery could benefit from some taproom tech.

The SIBA Business Awards seek to congratulate excellence in the brewing industry across a variety of categories, from pump clip, can and bottle design, to efforts taken by brewers to make their business more sustainable, innovative or successful, as well as naming the UK’s best pubs, bars and retailers of craft beer from independent breweries.

The SIBA Business Awards 2024 also include three brand new categories for Best Collaboration, Best New Brewery, and a Brewers’ Brewer of the Year award.

The new collaboration award seeks to highlight collaborations which amplify the reach of the businesses involved, appeal to new audiences, or create a commercial success to the mutual benefit of all involved. This could be a beer collaboration, product line, new business venture, festival or event partnership, and judges will be looking for innovative, exciting collaborations that capture the imagination of their target audience.

The second new category for 2024 is the UK’s Best New Independent Craft Brewery. This award aims to highlight the year’s most exciting and successful new brewery; whose impact on the industry, critical acclaim, or popularity with beer drinkers belies their short time in operation.

2024 also sees the introduction of a brand-new member voted Brewer of the Year Award. The “Brewers’ Brewer of the Year” seeks to highlight the brewer who has had the biggest positive influence on our industry in the last twelve months, either through producing truly outstanding beers, delivering change for the industry, or giving back to the brewing community.

The 2024 SIBA Business Award winners will be announced live on stage at BeerX from 18.30pm on Wednesday March 13th

Marketing Implementation

Sustainable Business

Community Engagement

Individual Design

Concept Design

Business Innovation

Commercial Achievement

Empowering People

Best Collaboration

UK’s Best New Independent Craft Brewery

UK’s Best Independent Craft Brewery Taproom

UK’s Best Independent Craft Brewery Webshop

UK’s Best Independent Craft Beer Retailer – (Combined award)

UK’s Best Independent Craft Beer Bar or Pub – City

UK’s Best Independent Craft Beer Bar or Pub – Rural

Brewers’ Brewer of the Year Supplier Associate of the Year

SIBA Brewery Business of the Year

not to be missed

BeerX Official Opening & SIBA Rebrand Launch

Building traceability into your brewery

PANEL: Can breweries, politicians and responsible-drinking bodies work together to promote responsible drinking?

How to talk to journalists, with Matt Curtis

PANEL: Are regenerative Barley and low-impact ingredients the future of sustainable brewing?

KEYNOTE: Brewing Resilience: A Business Oriented Approach to the New Era - Bob Pease, BA

Hops on the Horizon: An Expedition into Experimental Flavours

The next big thing: A tasting of the latest beer-style trends hitting the UK

Engaging with your local MP or Parliamentary candidate

Beer and Music pairing: Does sound affect flavour?

Stronger brewery financial management, funding options and succession planning for brewers

Measuring the real impact of lost and idle kegs and casks for a better world

The future of hops: Planning for climate change from field to glass

Untappd Potential: UK exclusive talk from CEO of Untappd parent company, Next Glass

Top tips on cask-conditioned beer

A tasting of "ON flavours" with beer sommelier Natalya Watson

Emerging trends from the US beer-market - with the Brewers Association

A tasting flight into the Stratasphere

Sustainable Malting with Crisp Malt

Creating inclusive environments in hospitality

Sustainable brewing – techniques for getting the most out of your kit and ingredients

Brewery growth strategy and creating a sustainable business plan

Wed 11.00 - 11.30

Wed 12.45 - 13.30

Wed 13.45 - 14.30

Future of Brewing Stage

Future of Brewing Stage

Future of Brewing Stage

Wed 14.45 - 15.30 Future of Brewing Stage

Wed 15.45 - 16.30 Future of Brewing Stage

Wed 16,45 - 17.45 Future of Brewing Stage

Wed 12.00 - 13.00 The Hop Yard Stage

Wed 13.30 - 14.30 The Hop Yard Stage

Wed 14.45 - 15.30 The Hop Yard Stage

Wed 15.45 - 16.45 The Hop Yard Stage

Thur 13.15 - 14.00

Thur 14.15 - 15.00

Future of Brewing Stage

Future of Brewing Stage

Thur 15.15 - 16.00 Future of Brewing Stage

Thur 16.15 - 17.00

Future of Brewing Stage

Thur 13.00 - 13.45 The Hop Yard Stage

Thur 14.15 - 15.15 The Hop Yard Stage

Thur 15.30 - 16.15 The Hop Yard Stage

Thur 16.30 - 17.30 The Hop Yard Stage

Thur 13:00 - 13:45 The Steep Stage

Thur 14.00 - 14.45 The Steep Stage

Thur 15.00 - 15.45 The Steep Stage

Thur 16.00 - 16.45 The Steep Stage

Please note the above is just a selection of the content planned for BeerX and is correct at the time of going to print. Sessions may be subject to change so please see the official event guide or website for final running order.

Mad about beer and high yield?

The new game-changer: plug & win i centrifuge skid for craft brewers.

As a craft brewer who likes to do his own thing, the new GEA plug & win i centrifuge skid is just what you’re looking for:

• resource efficient solution

• no oxygen pick-up

• 10 % less energy consumption

• highly efficient

• available with attractive inline carbonization

The Add Better label relates to the serial product GEA plug & win i separator skid released in September 2022. The comparison refers to its predecessor model, the GEA plug & win separator skid. Figures have been validated according ISO 14021 by TÜV Rheinland, one of the world’s leading testing service providers.

Winning big with SIBA

Karl Stevens from Hwgga Brew in Wales on how entering and winning a SIBA survey prize draw led to a subsidised place on an excellent training course…

"In January 2023 I received notification by email of SIBA’s annual survey for the Craft Beer Report.

This Survey is a vital resource for SIBA in planning its activities but also forms the key basis of the SIBA Craft Beer Report launched at BeerX. The email told me the survey had been shortened by 50% from previous years, and that completion gave entry to a £500 prize draw. All-in-all it seemed like a worthwhile use of 30 mins or so of my time, so clicked the provided link and completed the survey. I was happy to have done my bit, but didn’t give it a lot more thought.

Imagine my surprise when at the BeerX 2023 awards evening I heard my brewery’s name called out! I was tucking into a glass of 12% “Long Road Home” by Loch Lomond at the time so had to check I wasn’t hallucinating: I was even more surprised and delighted to be handed a voucher for £500 to spend with the SIBA supplier of my choice, which then raised the question of “which one?”.

My brewery is only small, with a 2Bbl brew length. I was well-stocked with raw materials and consumables and I didn’t have any plans

for new equipment, so I reached out to SIBA and asked whether I could put the money towards training. The answer was yes, so I looked for a provider in the directories of training and services associates on SIBA’s website.

It was under Brewing Consultancy Services, rather than under Training, that I found Brewing Services Ltd. I liked the fact that they had been in business for 35+ years and practically involved in setting up and mentoring many breweries. I thought they would have a lot of real-world experience to support their training course offering (they do also offer custom on-site training) and that has absolutely proved to be the case. I’m delighted with the choice I made. I’ve been brewing for many years and the last four commercially. I’ve passed my IBD General Certificate in Brewing, and whilst I know I always have more to learn I felt I did understand the principles and practical considerations pretty well, but I learned so much from this course! The syllabus is a great combination of practical and theory, backed by experienced instructors, and including really valuable visits to working breweries, maltings and packaging businesses. I met a great group of other brewers. We had a chance to all participate in a 10Bbl brew at a local brewery, working together to brew one of their gyles. Having this at the beginning

of the course gave us a chance to get to know each other in a working environment which really helped us bond and work together on the course.

There were many practical opportunities to broaden my sensory experience, together with my colleagues on the course, tasting different ales in the conducive environments of the City of York’s fine pubs and bars. Each morning we reviewed what we’d tasted the night before and compared notes, which was very helpful expanding my ability to describe taste and features of beer; Useful in creating tasting notes.

I couldn’t recommend this experience enough. The course is titled “Fundamentals” but that doesn’t mean “Beginner’s”. It covers fundamentals in great practical detail, and even if you have been brewing for some time there is a wealth of knowledge taught. All of us on the course were experienced brewers, but the chance to work alongside and learn from others including instructors with many years’ experience was invaluable. Plus, we made great contacts who will help us in our future business journeys.

So next year…complete that SIBA survey! You never know, you may win, and if you get the chance to spend your winnings on training then I highly recommend Brewing Services Ltd."

KETTLE FININGS

Compac CG, Breakbright tablets

YEAST NUTRIENTS

Yeastlife O, Yeastlife Extra, Servomyces

BEER CLARIFICATION

Proto ne, Protosol, Vic ne, Liquid Isinglass, Alpha oc Paste

FOAM STABILISERS

Drifoam, Foamaid, Allfoam

PVPP/SILICA GELS

Alphaclar (PVPP), Britesorb (Silica hydrogel)

ENZYMES

Clarizyme, Betaglucanase, Alpha amylase, ALDC, Aromazyme

ANTI FOAMS

Foamsol

ANTI- OXIDANTS

Vicant

Just who are these ‘Generation Z’ (aka Gen Z) consumers that we see referred to across all multitudes of press, social media and more these days?

What the heck have those pesky kids been up to now, I hear you ask? But these Gen Z’s really do have a voice, and suppliers and operators in hospitality should ignore them at their peril.

Gen Z includes those born in 1997 to 2011 –or close to – and represent the latest defined generation to be independently spending in the hospitality sector, following on from Millennials, Gen X and Boomers.

So it’s important that hospitality businesses, brands and industry experts get to grips with the core differences in attitude and behaviour of this generation.

KAM recently (October 2023) conducted some research amongst 1,000 Gen Z would be customers (aged 18+) across the UK to understand their drinking and socialising habits.

This is what we found:

They’re seeking activities and experiences

A typical Gen Z will visit a hospitality venue five times a month, with this visit frequency having risen 5% since 2021 when last surveyed. Their preferred venue ‘type’ is Casual Dining, with QSR and pubs following closely behind – but the real draw for this generation is activity-led venues (aka Competitive Socialising) – playing ‘games’ whilst drinking (or not….more on that later…) and eating with friends and

How Generation Z is shaking things up

Jo Lynch, Account Manager at KAM, looks at the latest research into the newest generation of pub-goers, and how the beer and pub sector needs to adapt to attract them through the door…

family. The main drive to going out is not as ‘alcohol-centred’ as previous generations, it really is more about the activity and experience.

In fact, 82% of Gen Z over the age of 18 have visited a Competitive Socialising venue in the last 12 months, with 53% visiting this type of venue more than they did 12 months ago (vs only 9% across all other age groups).

Drinking habits are changing

They’re also a discerning bunch, with 57% rating ‘range of drinks’ important to them –this was the second highest importance after quality of food, which perhaps also shows that the quality as well as the range generally is of high importance.

In terms of the range of drinks, this is where we need to be mindful of what they want to drink. Over 60% (50% in all other ages groups) said they were looking to moderate their alcohol intake vs the previous year, and 30% (25% in other age groups) said they were drinking more ‘low and no’ drinks vs the previous year.

This is perhaps why the ‘range of drinks’ highlighted above is so important. We hear regularly in our research that choosing ‘not to drink’ doesn’t mean just wanting a diet coke – but wanting access to a range of low and no beers, spirits and mocktails.

In fact, 12% of respondents said that a poor low and no range would put them off visiting a hospitality venue in the future – at a time when sales remain a challenge during this cost of living crisis, and loyalty is the big buzz word, then a venue ignoring the wants and needs of their customers (and not just Gen

Z) is surely shooting themselves in the foot?

Alongside the low and no range requirements of this generation, we also found that Gen Z value the quality of the drinks serve, with 21% more saying this is important to them than all other age groups, suggesting that ‘experience’ is king (or queen)!

Social media has a significance influence on

choice

Other important considerations when looking to attract this generation are how they are influenced to try your drinks, and how you may want to consider talking to them.

Maybe surprisingly - and I can say this with confidence as a mum of two young adult Gen Z’s - they listen to recommendations from friends and family first and foremost. This is ahead of looking at online reviews, viewing social media profiles and looking at / listening to what social media influencers have to say.

Social media though does still play a big part – with Instagram the top platform of choice (50% of Gen Z will use Insta first and foremost), ahead of TikTok and Emails both at 22%. Interesting that email is certainly not dead, which also leads me to a final point…. …..Loyalty. I do think this will be the big buzz word of 2024 as venues (and brands) look to encourage customers to spend / visit. Whether this loyalty is driven and measured through frequency of visit, spend per head, clicks and engagements, or loyalty card / app driven, it all adds up to a happy, frequently spending customer. Who hopefully would then recommend your brand to others (of course the oldest and best form of marketing surely being word of mouth?).

KAM is a boutique research consultancy, specialising in hospitality and retail, running bespoke and syndicated customer research programmes for both pub companies and on-trade suppliers. Find out more at www.kam-media.co.uk.

To cap it off

Brewlab’s Dr Keith Thomas explores the pitfalls of incorrectly fitted bottle caps and how to test of leaks and prevent packaging failures…

Every brewer knows that packaging is a pain. Managing carbonation, avoiding contamination limiting oxidation, filling to level and don’t mention the labelling. At least everything’s stable once the cap is on. Right? Or perhaps not.

We mostly rely on crown caps to seal our glassware, crimped tight to create a perfect seal. Keeping beer in and air out. After all neither liquid nor gas can get through a metal plate, however thin. This is true enough but it doesn’t mean they can’t get round the sides. And often creep past slowly so we never see a spillage or hear a hiss.

Crimping needs a fair pressure to force the cap flanges against the bottle neck. Once fully tight the inner lining is compressed to form the seal while the cap metal remains in position and protective – until attacked with an opener. Nevertheless, inadequate pressure or a distorted crimp will leave space for gas to push out and, if upended, the beer itself to leak.

You may see major faults during packaging, although not all breweries have a formal check in place and can suffer notifications from customers. Minor faults are less obvious appearing some time after packaging and may not be reported as some hiss may well be heard on opening, although not to target specification. Checking for small leaks is more exacting. You can force samples to mature in warm conditions and test after a week or two by taste or measuring carbon dioxide levels if you have the equipment. Alternatively conduct a bath test by immersing a few bottles in a bucket of warm water and watch for bubbles appearing from or around the cap.

A simple and more proactive test during packaging is to use a cap template to check that flanges have been fully crimped. Caps are generally 28 mm in diameter when crimped onto a standard 330 or 500 ml bottle so a metal or plastic bar with a slightly larger hole will pass over a tightly crimped cap. It won’t pass over a looser crimp so indicating inadequate sealing and the need to adjust your capper tension. All said though, cap leakage is relatively rare. Cap corrosion is perhaps more common and unsightly - generally a problem when liquid remains under the cap and initiates rusting.

Corks though have potential for adding value and can be great for long shelf life beers. In wine they allow slow ingress of air and gradual maturation of flavours but this may be less desirable in beer.

Often unseen until some time after bottling and when the cap is removed revealing a ring of rust on the bottle rim. As drinking from the bottle is more common nowadays this is clearly likely to cause rejection. Hand drying every bottle isn’t a practical option, even on small scale production so initial storage in dry conditions to enhance rapid evaporation is desirable. Larger scale, conveyer production would warrant an air blower as bottles pass but these do need to create turbulence all round the bottle neck or rust may be one sided but equally unsightly. Caps aren’t obligatory closures for bottles. Alternatives include levered stoppers with rubber seals and corks for premium products.

While the former has advantages for re-use, they also deteriorate with rubber seals cracking to allow bacteria colonies to develop. In worst cases the rubber can fracture and wires twist to allow gas to stream out.

Corks though have potential for adding value and can be great for long shelf life beers. In wine they allow slow ingress of air and gradual maturation of flavours but this may be less desirable in beer. Being wood they are more permeable than crown caps although this does differ greatly according to their manufacture and storage conditions. For example, peroxide and chlorine may be used to treat the wood and may affect the density and integrity of the cork. Up to 75% of oxygen infusion in a cork stoppered bottle occurs between the cork and the glass wall illustrating the importance of storing bottles horizontally so keeping the cork hydrated and swollen. Not all corks are just cork. Many are composites of cork and polymers while others are a multilayered cylinder with more solid layers at each end. Surface treatments of paraffin waxes or silicon may also be applied to reduce leakage at the glass and to make the cork easier to extract.

Cork stoppers aren’t cheap compared to caps and some beverages use plastic stoppers as a compromise. Synthetic bottle stoppers such as expanded polystyrene are cheaper but show more permeability than cork and this increases over time as the plastic hardens. Inevitably no closure is perfect and your choice always a balance of cost, convenience and customer impression. Whatever you choose has to reflect and not distract from the quality and character of the beer in the bottle – and not leave the taste of rust in your mouth.

Vigo have recently announced a new official partnership with Comac for the UK market.

The partnership is based on the quality of Comac filling equipment and systems, together with Vigo’s extensive industry knowledge, technical support and field engineering team.

For over 30 years, Comac has been a leader in the domain of automated kegging and canning systems. Today, Comac designs, manufactures, and installs complete systems with installations in more than 90 countries worldwide. Sharing many of Comac existing values, Vigo are the ideal partner to support new and existing customers using Comac equipment and fillings systems in the UK.

Canning Lines

Function & Showcase

Automatic systems for the processing and packaging of canned beverages of any size.

Filling up to 12,000 cans per hour.

(For canning lines over 12,000 cans per hour we cooperate with CFT Group).

Kegging Lines

Function & Showcase

Automatic and semi automatic keg lines for the processing and packaging of beverages in kegs from 15 to 1,000 kegs per hour.

High technological level;

Great quality of raw materials;

Excellent usability and speed of processes

Gold members

Flash Pasteurisers

Precise parameter controlled pasteurising of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, from 1000 litres. Providing high flexibility and reduction in waste and downtime.

• Completely automatic operation.

• Constant monitoring of all working parameters.

• Time optimization and waste reduction.

• For standard versions designed for low and medium production, extreme reduction of the space required.

VIGO’S ENGINEERING SERVICES

Technical Support

Dedicated to providing a comprehensive service tailored to the unique needs of the drinks industry. Our engineers expertise aligns with our high standards, covering the whole of the UK. Installation, repairs, warranties and service contracts.

892 109

Carbonators

Saturation/Carbonator units carries out all the operations of deaeration and the subsequent carbonation to obtain carbonated product, up to 7/8 g/L.

• Strong stainless-steel frame.

• Pump feeding the static mixer/ carbonator tank controlled by frequency converter and probe to guarantee a constant product inlet pressure.

• Product/CO2 static mixer & CO2 pressure reducer.

• Suitable for Water, Cider and Sparkling Wine.

Custom-designed conveor belts of any type, shape or size, that meet the specific needs of the food & beverage industry.

• Structure and components made of AISI 304 stainless steel.

• Modular structure that easily adapts to handling.

• Possibility of integrating new belts on existing lines.

• Programming by PLC.

Paper Bag Co.

Package your product in a sustainable bag

For traditional or contemporary beer brands, we’ll find the best bottles for your business. We work with some of the most revered UK brands who trust us to provide an expert and professional service. If you’re just starting out, we can help bring your products quickly to market.

For the final touches to your product we can provide paper or cotton bags to package your finished item. We work with sustainable sources and are proud of our GOTS certification. So you can be sure that your packaging is environmentally friendly & sustainable.

Regional Bottle & Can CompetitionOnline

SIBA East Independent Bottle & Can Beer Awards 2023

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

B BRONZE: Brewpoint Foghorn 4.3%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (4.5% to 5.5%)

B BRONZE: Tring Brewery Raven King 5.5%

B BRONZE: Oakham Ales CITRA 4.6%

B BRONZE: Briarbank Brewing Company Suffolk Haze 5.0%

Bottle & Can Session Lager (up to 4.4%)

B BRONZE: Brentwood Brewing Company TA Elephant School Brewing Company Pils 4.6%

B BRONZE: Lacons Brewery Ltd LGR 4.4%

B BRONZE: Ampersand Brew Co Ltd Feld 4.0%

B BRONZE: Adnams Lazy SIPA Cold Session IPA 4.0%

Bottle & Can British Ales (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Lacons Brewery Ltd Encore 3.8%

S SILVER: Brentwood Brewing Company Ltd Gold 4.3%

B BRONZE: Bateman's XXXB 4.8%

B BRONZE: Woodforde's Brewery Woodforde's Bure Gold 4.3%

Most of the Regional Heats for the SIBA Bottle & Can Independent Beer Awards are now judged online via Zoom, using the UK’s most experienced beer judges, beer sommeliers and master brewers. This system takes the pressure off the in-person regional competitions, which can now focus on cask and keg, and ensures the very best quality judging for our awards.

Bottle & Can Speciality IPA

G GOLD: Baker’s Dozen Brewing Co Ltd

Spanish Inquisition 5.4%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Brentwood Brewing Company TA Elephant School Brewing Company

My Milk Stout Brings All The Bulls To the Yard 4.5%

S SILVER: Wheatsheaf Brewery Ltd

Mockingbird 5.0%

B BRONZE: Ferry Ales Brewery Ltd

Smokey Joe 4.9%

B BRONZE: Mauldons Brewery

Black Adder 5.3%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

G GOLD: Artefact Brewing Ltd

Winter Brown Ale 7.5%

S SILVER: Bowlers Brewery Ltd

Smoke, Not A Porter 5.5%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

B BRONZE: Elgood and Sons Ltd

Coolship Mango 5.0%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Bateman's Victory Ale 6.0%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

S SILVER: Tring Brewery Death or Glory 7.2%

SIBA Midlands Independent

Bottle & Can Beer Awards 2023

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

S SILVER: Attic Brew Co. Intuition 4.4%

S SILVER: Thornbridge Brewery

Green Mountain 4.3%

B BRONZE: White Horse Brewery NZPA 3.8%

B BRONZE: Blue Monkey Brewery

Mosaic Session Pale 4.2%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (4.5% to 5.5%)

B BRONZE: Castle Rock Brewery

DDH Pale Citra 5.0%

Bottle & Can Session Lager (up to 4.4%)

G GOLD: Thornbridge Brewery Lukas 4.2%

S SILVER: Attic Brew Co. Forward 4.2%

B BRONZE: Braybrooke Beer Co. Helles 4.2%

B BRONZE: Freedom Brewery

Freedom Craft Lager 4.0%

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

B BRONZE: Freedom Brewery

Freedom Helles Lager 4.8%

B BRONZE: Purity Brewing

Helles Lager 5.0%

Bottle & Can Continental Style Beer

S SILVER: Braybrooke Beer Co. Keller 4.8%

B BRONZE: Loose Cannon Brewery Reunion Trippel 8.4%

Bottle & Can British Ales (up to 6.4%)

G GOLD: Dancing Duck Brewery 22 4.3%

Bottle & Can IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

G GOLD: Thornbridge Brewery Jaipur 5.9%

S SILVER: Peak Ales IPA 6.0%

B BRONZE: Resting Devil Ino 6.8%

Bottle & Can Speciality IPA

S SILVER: Purity Brewing Session IPA 4.5%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

G GOLD: Lincoln Green Brewing Company Limited Quarterstaff 5.0%

S SILVER: Dancing Duck Brewery Dark Drake 4.5%

B BRONZE: Titanic Brewery Stout 4.5%

B BRONZE: Peak Ales Black Stag 4.8%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

G GOLD: Titanic Brewery

Plum Porter 4.9%

G GOLD: Charnwood Brewery

Coffee Cream Stout 5.4%

S SILVER: Peak Ales

Chatsworth Gold 4.6%

S SILVER: Blue Monkey Brewery Cinder Toffee Stout 5.0%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

B BRONZE: White Horse Brewery The Dons' Dark Ale 4.3%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

G GOLD: Lincoln Green Brewing Company Limited Schaffler 6.9%

B BRONZE: Resting Devil Baba Yaga 10.0%

SIBA North East Independent

Bottle & Can Beer Awards 2023

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

G GOLD: Turning Point Brew Co

Astral Voyage 3.4%

S SILVER: Magic Rock Brewing

Saucery 3.9%

S SILVER: SALT Beer Factory Jute 4.2%

B BRONZE: Black Storm Hush 4.2%

B BRONZE: Wensleydale Brewery

Semer Water 4.1%

B BRONZE: Vocation Brewery

Heart & Soul 4.4%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (4.5% to 5.5%)

G GOLD: Brew York Limited CONEY 4.5%

S SILVER: Rooster's Brewing Co.

Thousand Yard Stare 5.4%

S SILVER: Black Storm Taxman 5.5%

S SILVER: Saltaire Brewery Ltd

Timberwolf 4.8%

S SILVER: Three Brothers Brewing Company Limited Feel the rhythm 5.3%

B BRONZE: Bradfield Brewery

Farmers Pale Ale 5.0%

B BRONZE: DALESIDE BREWERY LIMITED

Greengrass 4.5%

B BRONZE: Turning Point Brew Co

Disco King 5.1%

B BRONZE: Vocation Brewery

Crush Hour 4.6%

Bottle & Can Session Lager (up to 4.4%)

S SILVER: Jolly Sailor Brewery Ltd

Selby Kolsch 4.0%

S SILVER: Saltaire Brewery Ltd

Pilsner 4.0%

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

S SILVER: Ilkley Brewery Co Ltd Slake 4.5%

S SILVER: Three Brothers Brewing Company Limited pilsner 4.8%

B BRONZE: Abbeydale Brewery Ltd Heresy 4.5%

Bottle & Can Continental Style Beer

S SILVER: Twice Brewed Brew Co. Magna 6.0%

B BRONZE: Belschnickel Brewery Limted Erntehelfer 4.9%

Bottle & Can British Ales (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Hadrian Border Brewery AS YOU WERE 4.1%

B BRONZE: Wensleydale Brewery Gamekeeper 4.3%

Bottle & Can IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

S SILVER: Atom Brewing Co Ultrasonic 6.0%

Bottle & Can Double, Triple & Imperial IPA (7.5% and above)

S SILVER: SALT Beer Factory IKAT 8.0%

Bottle & Can Speciality IPA

G GOLD: Abbeydale Brewery Ltd Black Mass 6.6%

B BRONZE: Brew York Limited Juice Forsyth 5.0%

B BRONZE: Atom Brewing Co

Thermal Catalyst 5.4%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

B BRONZE: Atom Brewing Co

Lighthouse Effect 4.8%

B BRONZE: Triple Point Brewing Astral 4.2%

B BRONZE: Timothy Taylor's Poulter's Porter 4.8%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

S SILVER: Little Critters Brewing Company Nutty Ambassador 6.0%

S SILVER: Magic Rock Brewing Dairyfreak Affogato 5.2%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

B BRONZE: Bridgehouse Brewery LTD Riddled By Rhubarb 5.0%

B BRONZE: Belschnickel Brewery Limted Westbourne 6.0%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Belschnickel Brewery Limted Dudelsack 4.6%

B BRONZE: DALESIDE BREWERY LIMITED Monkey Wrench 5.3%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

S SILVER: Harrogate Brewing Company Kursaal 9.0%

SIBA North West Independent

Bottle & Can Beer Awards 2023

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

S SILVER: Beartown Brewery Inception 4.4%

S SILVER: Weetwood Ales Turncoat 4.0%

B BRONZE: Bowland Brewery

Hoppy Christmas IPA 4.0%

B BRONZE: Great Corby Brewhouse

Tizzie Whizzie 3.4%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (4.5% to 5.5%)

S SILVER: Crooked River Brewing Co DDH Pale 5.2%

S SILVER: RedWillow Brewery Ltd

Contactless 5.2%

S SILVER: Lakes Brew Co

NE Session IPA 4.7%

B BRONZE: Cumbrian Ales

Pacific Voyage 4.5%

Bottle & Can Session Lager (up to 4.4%)

G GOLD: Weetwood Ales

Weetwood Pilsner 4.2%

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

B BRONZE: Mourne Mountains Brewery

Mourne Mist 4.5%

B BRONZE: The Ennerdale Brewery Seven Bridges 5.0%

Bottle & Can British Ales (up to 6.4%)

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Keswick Brewing Co

Keswick Special Bitter 4.8%

G GOLD: Great Corby Brewhouse Lakeland Summit 4.0%

B BRONZE: Weetwood Ales

Cheshire Cat 4.0%

B BRONZE: Spitting Feathers Brewery

Thirst Quencher 3.9%

B BRONZE: Cumbrian Ales

Loweswater Gold 4.3%

Bottle & Can IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

S SILVER: RedWillow Brewery Ltd

Perceptionless 6.6%

B BRONZE: Mourne Mountains Brewery

Happy Trails 5.8%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

B BRONZE: Bowland Brewery

Deer Stalker 4.5%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

S SILVER: Lakes Brew Co

Not Sorry 10.5%

B BRONZE: Bank Top Brewery Limited

Port O'Call 5.0%

B BRONZE: LANCASTER BREWERY

cherry black 4.7%

B BRONZE: Hophurst Brewery Ltd

Honey I'm Comb 10.0%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

G GOLD: Lakes Brew Co

Three Berry Pie 7.0%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Keswick Brewing Co

Dark Horse 6.0%

B BRONZE: Bank Top Brewery Limited

Dark Mild 4.0%

SIBA Scotland

Independent

Bottle & Can Beer Awards 2023

Bottle & Can Continental Style Beer

S SILVER: SaltRock Brewing

Roger...Roger 6.5%

S SILVER: Simple Things Fermentations Honey Tripel 8.4%

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

G GOLD: Moonwake Beer Co. XPA 3.4%

S SILVER: Williams Bros Brewing Co.

Chillax 4.3%

B BRONZE: Loch Lomond Brewery

Southern Summit 4.0%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (4.5% to 5.5%)

B BRONZE: 71 Brewing Haze Halo 5.0%

B BRONZE: Cold Town Beer

New England IPA 5.5%

B BRONZE: Lerwick Brewery

Lerwick IPA 5.0%

B BRONZE: Harviestoun Brewery

The Ridge 5.0%

B BRONZE: Orkney Brewery

SKARA BLONDE 4.6%

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

B BRONZE: Moonwake Beer Co. Lager 4.8%

B BRONZE: Harviestoun Brewery

Schiehallion 4.8%

B BRONZE: Fyne Ales Fyne Helles 4.5%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

B BRONZE: Ardgour Ales Ltd Fìon an Eòrna 11.0%

S SILVER: Inner Bay Brewery Ltd

Pearl 6.2%

B BRONZE: Arran Brewery

Arran Blonde 5.0%

Bottle & Can British Ales (up to 6.4%)

B BRONZE: Lerwick Brewery

Skippers Ticket 4.0%

B BRONZE: Loch Leven Brewery

Outlaw King 5.0%

B BRONZE: The Innis & Gunn Brewing Company. Ossian Golden Ale 4.1%

Bottle & Can IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

S SILVER: Five Kingdoms Brewery Captain Morrison's 6.5%

Bottle & Can Double, Triple & Imperial IPA (7.5% and above)

S SILVER: Loch Lomond Brewery

Only Happy when it rains 7.5%

S SILVER: Five Kingdoms Brewery

The Great Escape 7.5%

Bottle & Can Speciality IPA

B BRONZE: Cold Town Beer

Pure Baltic IPA 5.3%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Cairngorm Brewery Company

Black Gold 4.4%

S SILVER: SaltRock Brewing Louis Louis 5.5%

B BRONZE: Inner Bay Brewery Ltd

Onyx 5.5%

B BRONZE: Lerwick Brewery

Tushkar 5.5%

B BRONZE: Loch Lomond Brewery

Silkie Stout 5.0%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

G GOLD: Williams Bros Brewing Co.

Orange Ginger 3.4%

S SILVER: Stewart Brewing

White Affogato 6.0%

S SILVER: Strangers Brewing

Hearthside 4.4%

B BRONZE: Orkney Brewery

BRODGAR BERE 4.8%

B BRONZE: Glen Spean Brewing Co

Dark Mile 5.0%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

S SILVER: Moonwake Beer Co. Gose 4.2%

B BRONZE: 71 Brewing FruitionBlackcurrant Apple Crumble 6.5%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Loch Leven Brewery King Slayer 5.2%

G GOLD: Arran Brewery Arran Red Squirrel 3.8%

S SILVER: Stewart Brewing 80 4.4%

SIBA South East Independent

Bottle & Can Beer Awards 2023

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (4.5% to 5.5%)

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY: Loud Shirt

Brewing Co Ltd Hazed & Confused 4.5%

G GOLD: Long Man Brewery

Rising Giant APA 4.8%

G GOLD: Signature Brew Roadie 4.3%

S SILVER: Signal Brewery

Turbo Joost 5.0%

S SILVER: Neckstamper Brewing

Squencher 5.4%

B BRONZE: Tap Social Movement

Time Better Spent 5.1%

B BRONZE: Firebird Brewing Company

Work Ethic 5.0%

B BRONZE: Mondo Brewing Company

B BRONZE: Tap Social Movement

False Economy 4.8%

B BRONZE: Zerodegrees Blackheath

The Bohemian Czech Pilsner 4.8%

B BRONZE: Hogs Back Brewery

Hogstar 4.5%

B BRONZE: Orbit Beers Nico Köln Lager 4.8%

Bottle & Can IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

S SILVER: Loud Shirt Brewing Co Ltd

EXP 11 6.2%

B BRONZE: Powder Monkey Brewing Co

Explosion IPA 6.0%

B BRONZE: By The Horns Tropical Crush 6.0%

B BRONZE: Wild Card Brewery NEIPA 5.6%

Bottle & Can Non Alcoholic and Low ABV (up to 2.8%)

G GOLD: Hogs Back Brewery

Little Swine 0.5%

S SILVER: Neckstamper Brewing

Swankey Swipes 2.8%

B BRONZE: Firebird Brewing Compant

Table Manners 2.8%

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY: Wight

Knuckle Brewery Ltd Pale ale 4.0%

G GOLD: Signal Brewery Tropical IPA 4.2%

S SILVER: Mondo Brewing Company

Humble 3.4%

B BRONZE: Double-Barrelled Brewery Rivers 3.4%

B BRONZE: Westerham Brewery Co

Hop Rocket 4.3%

B BRONZE: Windsor & Eton Brewery

Knight of the Garter 3.8%

B BRONZE: Hand Brewing Company

Shaka 4.0%

Bottle & Can British Ales (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Hand Brewing Company

Bird 4.2%

B BRONZE: Westerham Brewery Co

Audit Ale 6.2%

B BRONZE: The Flower Pots Brewery

Limited Buster's Best 4.2%

B BRONZE: East London Brewing

Company Ltd. Foundation Best Bitter 4.2%

B BRONZE: The Five Points Brewing Co

Ltd Five Points Best 4.1%

Dennis Hopp'r 5.3%

B BRONZE: Burning Sky Brewery Limited

Quench 5.2%

B BRONZE: Double-Barrelled Brewery

Parka 4.5%

Bottle & Can Session Lager (up to 4.4%)

S SILVER: The Park Brewery

1637 Pils 4.4%

S SILVER: The Five Points Brewing Co

Ltd Five Points Lager 4.1%

S SILVER: Zerodegrees Blackheath

Reef Rice Lager 4.4%

S SILVER:Long Man Brewery

Long Man Pilsner 4.0%

B BRONZE: Pillars Brewery

Pillars Pilsner 4.0%

B BRONZE: Signature Brew

Studio Lager 4.0%

B BRONZE: Hand Brewing Company

795 4.2%

Bottle & Can Continental Style Beer

S SILVER: Zerodegrees Blackheath

The Beast Black Lager 4.6%

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

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Pillars Brewery Pillars Helles 4.8%

G GOLD: Hackney Church Brew Co Halo 5.1%

S SILVER: Renegade Brewery

Renegade Master 5.1%

S SILVER: Howling Hops

Lagerbier Eins Helles 4.6%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Tap Social Movement Inside Out 5.5%

G GOLD: The Five Points Brewing Co Ltd

Railway Porter 4.8%

B BRONZE: Pillars Brewery Cold Porter 4.4%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

S SILVER: Renegade Brewery

Brewski 4.1%

S SILVER: Hammerton Brewery

City of Cake 5.5%

B BRONZE: Powder Monkey Brewing Co

Cutlass 5.8%

B BRONZE: Firebird Brewing Company

Coffee Porter 5.5%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

S SILVER: Burning Sky Brewery Limited Le Cœur De Provision 5.2%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

B BRONZE: Bowman Ales Limited Meon Valley Bitter 3.9%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

B BRONZE: Mondo Brewing Company

Candy Candy 11.5%

B BRONZE: Wild Card Brewery

Imperial Stout 9.5%

If you’re talking bottling and canning lines, shouldn’t you be talking to us?

At the Enterprise Group you will find a personal commitment to your project, whether it’s a single machine for integration into your existing line or a turnkey project on a green field site.

At the Enterprise Group we are not just agents, we can offer you a total package. Our experienced project layout engineers working with state-of-the-art CAD facilities, combined with our team of field engineers, allows us to respond quickly and accurately as your project develops.

This commitment continues with machine efficiency trials and performance tests, followed by full aftersales service and backup.

So whatever your requirements, you should be talking to us.

Visit : www.enterprisetondelli.com

HEAD OFFICE :

Enterprise Tondelli Srl.

Via La Spezia, 193/A - 43126 Parma – Italia.

Tel +39 - 0521-940068

Fax +39 - 0521-940067

E-mail : info@enterprisetondelli.com

INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL SALES OFFICE

Unit 7, College Farm, Barton Road, Pulloxhill ,Bedfordshire, MK45 5HP, United Kingdom. Tel. +44 (0)1525 718288

E-mail : info@enterprisetondelli.co.uk

SIBA South West Independent

Bottle & Can Beer Awards 2023

SIBA Online Regional Bottle & Can Competitions

Bottle & Can Session Lager (up to 4.4%)

B BRONZE: Utopian Brewing Bohemian British Lager 4.2%

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

Bottle & Can Non Alcoholic and Low ABV (up to 2.8%)

S SILVER: Firebrand Brewing Limited

Shorebreak AF Pale Ale 0.5%

S SILVER: Powderkeg Brewery Ltd Green Light 1.2%

B BRONZE: Butcombe Brewing Co.

Goram IPA Zero 0.5%

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

S SILVER: Arkells Brewery

Hoperation IPA 4.2%

S SILVER: Eight Arch Brewing Co

Square Logic 4.2%

B BRONZE: Stone Daisy Brewery

Cow Down - Social Pale Ale 3.8%

B BRONZE: Padstow Brewing Co.

Padstow Pale 3.5%

B BRONZE: Exeter Brewery

Avocet (Organic) 3.9%

B BRONZE: St Austell Brewery

Tribute 4.2%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (4.5% to 5.5%)

G GOLD: Yonder Brewing and Blending Ltd Boosh 4.5%

S SILVER: Quantock Brewery

Radicle 4.5%

B BRONZE: Liberation Brewing Company

Liberation IPA 4.8%

B BRONZE: Stonehenge Ales

Danish Dynamite 5.0%

S SILVER: Eight Arch Brewing Co

Little Dragon 4.5%

S SILVER: Bays Brewery

Devon Rock Craft Lager 4.5%

S SILVER: Castle Brewery Vienna 5.6%

B BRONZE: St Austell Brewery Korev 4.8%

Bottle & Can Continental Style Beer

G GOLD: Utopian Brewing

Cerne Specialni 5.9%

B BRONZE: Castle Brewery

New Season 5.5%

Bottle & Can British Ales (up to 6.4%)

B BRONZE: Exmoor Ales

Exmoor Stag 5.2%

Bottle & Can IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

S SILVER: Quantock Brewery

Broken Chains 6.3%

S SILVER: City Pub Group - King Street

Brew House White Trash 5.8%

B BRONZE: Exmoor Ales

Exile Urban Fox 6.2%

B BRONZE: Padstow Brewing Co.

Sundowner 8 6.5%

Bottle & Can Double, Triple & Imperial IPA (7.5% and above)

S SILVER: Quantock Brewery

Mind Your Head, RHYS! 7.5%

Bottle & Can Speciality IPA

S SILVER: Hop Union Brewery Bloody Nora 4.7%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

S SILVER: Palmers Brewery Tally Ho! 5.5%

B BRONZE: Twisted Oak Brewery Ltd

Slippery Slope 5.5%

B BRONZE: City Pub Group - The Bath Brew House Avena 6.2%

B BRONZE: St Ives Brewery Zennor 5.2%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

B BRONZE: Zerodegrees Bristol Our Mango 4.1%

B BRONZE: New Bristol Brewery

Salted Cinder Toffee Stout 4.0%

B BRONZE: Driftwood Spars Brewery

Hygge 14.4%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

B BRONZE: Yonder Brewing and Blending Ltd Key-Lime Pie 5.5%

B BRONZE: Goodh Brew Co

Tonka Fwonka 6.8%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

B BRONZE: Padstow Brewing Co.

Storm Runner 4.4%

B BRONZE: Stone Daisy Brewery

Snail Creep Hanging - Best Bitter 4.2%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

S SILVER: Exmoor Ales

Exmoor Beast 6.6%

SIBA East competition winners 2023

Regional Beer Competitions East

Overall Champion of the Keg Beer Competition

6.4%)

G GOLD: Elephant School Brewing Company Pils 4.6%

S SILVER: Munyard Brewery Helles have eyes. 4.6%

B BRONZE: Brewpoint Supernova 4.6%

G GOLD: Briarbank Brewing Company Hop To It 6.2%

S SILVER: Baker's Dozen Brewing Co Phantasmagoria 6.5%

B BRONZE: Mad Squirrel Brewery Aztec 6.2%

B BRONZE: Brewhouse & Kitchen Chelmsford Paddy's Jeep 6.0%

B BRONZE: Elgood and Sons Ltd BPA 5.6%

G GOLD: Grain Brewery Slate 6.0%

S SILVER: Briarbank Brewing Company Hop To It 6.2%

B BRONZE: Leigh on Sea Brewery Two Tree Island 3.8%

G GOLD: Baker's Dozen Brewing Co Undertow 4.8%

S SILVER: Munyard Brewery Fosse IPA 5.5%

S SILVER: Wylde Sky Brewing Ltd Cambridge Hazy Pale 4.6%

B BRONZE: Grain Brewery Okapi 4.5%

B BRONZE: Salem Brew Co Skull & Hammers 5.5%

B BRONZE: Brentwood Brewing Company Falcon Punch 5.1%

G GOLD: Leigh on Sea Brewery Estuari 4.0%

S SILVER: Norfolk Brewhouse Moon Gazer Ale Dewhopper 4.0%

B BRONZE: Lacons Brewery Limited lgr 4.4%

Keg Session Lager (up to 4.4%)

Keg Pale (4.5% to 5.5%)

Keg IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

Keg Premium Lager (4.5% to

SIBA East competition winners 2023

G

S SILVER: Elgood and Sons Ltd white label stout 4.3%

S SILVER: Norfolk Brewhouse Moon Gazer Ale Skiddadler 4.5%

B BRONZE: Brewpoint Genesis 4.1%

B BRONZE: Mad Squirrel Brewery Shamrock 4.5%

G GOLD: Wylde Sky Brewing Ltd Saison 4.8%

B BRONZE: 8 Sail Brewery Yule Bok 5.0%

Keg Continental Style Beer

G GOLD: Baker's Dozen Brewing Co Acoustic Landlady 3.4%

B BRONZE: Brewpoint Foghorn 4.3%

Keg Session Pale (up to 4.4%)

G GOLD: Baker's Dozen Brewing Co Pit Lane Project: Cherry Sour 4.3%

Keg Sour and Wild Ale

S SILVER: Baker's Dozen Brewing Co 50 ft Queenie 7.5%

Keg Double and Triple IPA (above 7.5%)

Keg Amber, Brown & Red Ale (up to 6.4%)

G GOLD: Leigh on Sea Brewery Two Tree Island 3.8%

S SILVER: Norfolk Brewhouse Moon Gazer Ale Snowshoe 4.5%

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY: Brewhouse & Kitchen Chelmsford

Hattrick Hurst 5.4%

GOLD: Leigh on Sea Brewery The Void Stares Back 3.9%

Keg Stout and Porter (up to 6.4%)

G GOLD: Grain Brewery Slate 6.0%

Keg Speciality and Flavoured Beer

S SILVER: Briarbank Brewing Company Mango NEPA 5.0%

Keg Specialty IPA

G GOLD: Leigh on Sea Brewery SS9 8.4%

Keg Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and above)

We

A

Foam –The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The team at Murphy & Son looks at the challenges around getting the foam levels and consistency just right for your beers…

There's nothing quite as gratifying as the captivating spectacle of a meticulously poured beer, its frothy goodness cascading from the tap, promising a delightful taste experience. Whether it's a nitro stout, a crisp pilsner, or a refreshing Weizen, achieving the perfect foam, with a head that gracefully trails the beer to the glass's bottom, is a crucial aspect of shaping the perception and enjoyment of a beer.

In today's competitive brewing landscape, where brewers vie fiercely for coveted space in the pubs, aspects of quality such as foam stability have become focal points for scrutiny by both discerning buyers and consumers.

However, it's important to note that while foam is highly desirable in your beer, it's less so in the brewhouse. Excessive foaming during crucial stages such as wort boiling or fermentation can detrimentally affect kettle and fermenter efficiency, leading to a reduction in brewery output which compromises the foam stability in your final beer.

Furthermore, foam overflow during Cleaning-in-Place Systems (CIP) poses a significant risk, exposing brewery staff to potentially hazardous chemical exposures. It is imperative to manage foam during brewing processes to ensure optimal operational efficiency and a safe working environment for brewery personnel.

Fortunately, mitigating unwanted foam formation in brewhouse processes is a straightforward and easily preventable endeavour. Despite initial reservations, introducing antifoaming agents into your brewhouse can, paradoxically, elevate the quality of beer foam. By averting boil overs and preventing foam loss during fermentation, crucial foam-stabilizing agents are retained precisely where they belong—within the wort/finished beer (Figure 2).

Of particular importance are hydrophobic foam-positive proteins derived from the grain, which would cross-link with bitter iso-a-acids derived from hops. This act of “bridging” fortifies foam structure, ensuring better adherence to the beer glass sides, creating a distinctive lacing effect. Each instance of foam formation during processing represents a potential loss of future foaming capabilities.

This is where the introduction of highly hydrophobic silica becomes instrumental—it disrupts and thwarts foam formation, preventing excess foam. When employed at the right levels, Refoam is completely removed in normal processing and does not end up in the finished beer. However, all the beneficial foam positive proteins remain unaffected and in solution in the beer ready to contribute to stable head formation.

In summary, using Murphy’s Refoam can improve beer foam, increases the volume of wort that can ferment in each vessel, increasing production capacity, lowers losses, and prevents unhygienic spills. Imagine having 10-20% increased vessel capacity per year - thirsty?

If you have any questions or want to discuss the process further, please get in touch with Dr. Celina Dugulin; Celina. dugulin@murphyandson.co.uk

Figure 2: Optimal foam control keeps foam positive proteins and bitter acids in your beer (Figure, right) and avoids losses through unnecessary foam formation, so vessel capacity is optimised (Figure, left)!

Alcohol free brewery Drop Bear Beer Co celebrates successful fundraiser

Wales' premiere alcohol free craft brewery, Drop Bear Beer Co has undertaken a significant fundraising campaign to secure £700,000 in a Convertible Loan Note round. The lead investor for this round is Henry Engelhardt's Wrightwood Investments, marking a pivotal moment for the company with a total of £2.1 million already raised by the start of 2024.

Drop Bear has been a trailblazer in the alcohol free beer market, outpacing competitors with rapid growth four times faster than the industry average. The company's success is attributed to its unique positioning, blending Welsh and Australian influences, and a commitment to producing high-quality, carbon-neutral, vegan, low-calorie, and gluten-free alternatives.

Founders Joelle and Sarah Drummond, a married couple, have not only captured the essence of their diverse backgrounds in their beers but have also garnered over 30 international awards. Their

Wimbledon Brewery launches collaboration with Charles Faram hop merchants

Wimbledon Brewery and Charles Faram hop merchants are working in collaboration to showcase recently developed English hops in a new series of Pale Ales and IPA’s for release in 2024.

These classic styles of beer are quintessentially English. The term Pale Ale first appeared in England in 1703. These beers were made from malts dried with high-carbon coke which resulted in lighter beers. It is from these early new pale beers that so many beer styles around the world have been developed.

Simon Lewis, Managing Director of Wimbledon Brewery, said: “Over the last 20 years the UK brewers have turned to using American and New World hops to make distinctive and full flavoured IPA’s and Pale Ales. These beer styles have very much driven the ‘craft beer’ revolution. We are working with Charles Faram on a range of beers that will show the amazing range of hops available in this country.”

Will Rogers, Group Technical Director in charge of the Charles Faram Hop Development Programme, said: "We are very proud to be working with Wimbledon Brewery on its new series of sustainably brewed beers featuring British hops. Using locally grown hops from our hop breeding programme will bring vibrant fruity flavours to the beers and help support the British hop industry at a time when it support is genuinely needed."

Charles Faram’s hop development programme is focussed on exciting new modern style hop varieties including a focus on English hops. The brew team at Wimbledon Brewery has been working in collaboration with the hop supplier doing trials to highlight the development of English hops including several experimental hop varieties that could one day be produced commercially.

The 2024 range of beers will focus on the popularity of IPA’s and Pale Ales for which Wimbledon Brewery has a great reputation. The range of beers will be announced over the coming months.

This programme of beers is one step in Wimbledon Brewery’s move toward reducing its own carbon footprint and promoting an attitude of sustainability. Steps are being taken across the business to reduce waste, control energy usage, recycle and reuse wherever it is possible. Find out more at wimbledonbrewery.com

vision extends beyond creating exceptional brews to owning their own brewery, a crucial step for Drop Bear Beer's sustained growth.

Henry Engelhardt, Admiral Insurance Founder and former CEO, first discovered Drop Bear in the Western Mail. Impressed by the founders' talent and the brand's commitment to sustainability, he has invested in a previous round and is leading the current fundraise. Engelhardt expressed confidence in Drop Bear's trajectory, stating, "The business is going from strength to strength, winning contracts, gaining sales, and soon they will start manufacturing the beer themselves - a big step for the business and a further test of their managerial competence." The official launch of Drop Bear Beer Co's newly acquired brewery in Swansea was due to take place in January as this magazine went to press. Find out more at dropbearbeers.com

New head of Acorn Brewery makes pledge on cask ale

Yorkshire’s much acclaimed Acorn Brewery has seen the appointment of general manager Liz Casserly, to take the 20-year-old Barnsley brewery forward under new ownership. Liz, a local lass from Penistone, joins Acorn with many years’ experience in hospitality management - and a pledge to champion cask-conditioned ale. The appointment follows the sale of the 170 brewers-barrels (near 49,000 pints) a-week-capacity brewery to boutique investment company Sonas Capital, with the retirement of former owners Dave and Christy Hughes. Over the years Acorn has won many awards for its six strong core range, including the flagship Barnsley Bitter and revered Old Moor Porter. Motorcyclist Liz attended Huddersfield’s Shelley High School before university, studying Outdoor Education at Cumbria’s Charlotte Mason College– where she grew her love for cask working in Ambleside’s Golden Rule pub.

Following several summers spent as a canoeing and rock-climbing instructor, with winters working in Yorkshire pubs, Liz joined the York based Pivovar group at their renowned Sheffield Tap where she worked for four years, rising to the role of Assistant Manager, during which time the on-site microbrewery ignited her passion for beer production. She then managed Abbeydale Brewery’s Sheffield Devonshire Cat beer emporium - while also overseeing the sister 13-handpump Rising Sun Inn at Fulwood. - organising and constructing a four-day beer festival in the car park with some 200 beers. She said: “I have a passion for hospitality, brewing and beer. I have known and loved Acorn beers for years, so I am delighted to have this opportunity to take the brewery forward, building on the past 20 successful years. We have a top-class core cask range. That that doesn’t need to change, but we will look at other opportunities for development. I would really like to brew a dark mild - Moorhouse’s Black Cat saw me through university. We will continue to develop the highly successful single hop IPA series, perhaps with new processes. Exports are also another opportunity. We already send beer to Italy and will look at building on that within the European and Scandinavian markets.”

For the industry generally, Liz would like to see cask ale championed with more marketing initiatives - especially to reach younger people - and plans to work with pubs on meet the brewer evenings and education events. “Lots of young people have never sampled cask ale. I would like to see them falling in love with cask as I did when I was 18, drinking to enjoy the flavour of beers rather than simply drinking,” she adds.

Find out more at acorn-brewery.co.uk

Wold Top Brewery wins Scarborough business excellence award

The team at a Yorkshire coast brewery is celebrating its success at the 9th annual Scarborough News Excellence in Business awards. Wold Top Brewery was announced the winner in the new Rural Business category at an awards ceremony held at The Scarborough Spa.

"We're proud that our rural business employs 18 local people and has been brewing awardwinning beer from homegrown cereals for 20 years. Winning this prestigious Scarborough News award is a fitting way to finish our anniversary year," said brand ambassador, Jo Ward who received the award with colleague, Alex Gill.

Farm-based Wold Top brews cask, keg and bottled ales from home and Wolds grown malting barley, hops and pure, chalk-filtered Yorkshire Wolds water. Find out more at woldtopbrewery.co.uk

Purity Brewing Co collaborates with local firm on new gin

Two award-winning south Warwickshire drinks brands are celebrating a pivotal partnership thanks to the launch of a new special-edition gin.

Purity Brewing Company and Warwickshire Gin Company, announced the exciting collaboration to create the 40% ABV Emperor Dry Hopped Gin.

It’s a particularly special recipe for the Purity team as it’s made with a new English hop variety named in memory of the company’s late co-founder Jim Minkin who, outside of brewing, enjoyed a passion for Roman history.

Minkin established Purity, in Great Alne, in 2005 with Paul Hasley on a joint mission to ‘brew great beer without prejudice, with a conscience and a consistency and attention to detail’.

Paul Brazier, Head of Marketing at Purity, said: “Emperor hops resonated with Jim’s love for Roman history. In his time off he could be found wandering the local area looking for earthworks that would suggest Roman camps, buildings and roads.

“Whilst experimenting with the wide variety of hops Purity use, it was decided Emperor hops in combination with the Mediterranean and ancient fruit Bergamot and Black Tea, deliver the best subtle citrus kick and

complex flavour notes to create a unique, quality and exclusive handcrafted Gin.

“We are delighted to be working with Warwickshire Gin Company whose twin passions are high-quality craft gin production and a love of local history. Emperor Gin is completed with branding design that stays loyal to that history theme, but with a nod to the hoppy, Purity twist.”

Dave Blick, who established Warwickshire Gin Company in 2018, said of the new collaboration: “We first collaborated with Purity Brewing Co. during the Covid pandemic, at a time when we were selling other local produce on our website. We’re admirers of not just their beers, but also the company’s values, which are aligned with our own. We both include stories that inspire our drinks, making them bold and unique.

“When we were asked to help develop a Hop-infused gin we jumped at the chance! We worked on several recipes with the hops and other botanicals that we thought would complement the Emperor. To add to the Roman theme we included the Italian exotic citrus, bergamot - which is a stunning fruit to use. Being able to bring Emperor Hop Dry Gin to life has been an exciting project.”

Find out more at puritybrewing.com and warwickshiregincompany.co.uk

Utopian Brewing appoints Jeremy Swainson to main board

In his most recent update to shareholders, Utopian’s Managing Director Richard Archer has announced the appointment of Head Brewer Jeremy Swainson to the main board of Directors.

Announcing the appointment, Archer said: “Jeremy joined the business at the very start and throughout those five years he has made a massive contribution to the business and been a constant support to me. Jeremy’s brewing knowledge is outstanding, his work ethic first class and he provides inspirational leadership to the brewing team. That is what underpins the consistent, exceptional quality of our beer, but his talents extend past the brewing process. He has a keen interest and awareness of our industry and has a huge amount of value to add, right across the business. That’s why I was excited to invite him to join the board, and even more delighted when he accepted.”

Swainson joins the board as Director of Brewing and Production alongside founding MD Archer and three long serving non-executives who collectively provide a wealth of industry experience spanning both small and large businesses.

Commenting on his appointment, Swainson said: “The past five years have been an incredible experience, helping to grow our team and developing our range of beers. It is a privilege to work for a brewery where beer quality and sustainability underpin everything we do, and I am thrilled to play a part in Utopians’ continued growth.”

Archer went on to provide a business update, along with some exciting developments of the brewery’s sustainability program.

On sustainability he reported that in August the team completed the installation of a Dalum CO₂ capture system which, together with earlier investments in Nitrogen generation, has now made the brewery completely self-sufficient in CO₂. Utopian is totally committed to building a sustainable future and Archer also updated on the final commissioning of their biological waste water plant in recent weeks. This six-figure investment, that has taken over 18 months to complete, will ultimately process all of the brewery’s waste-water to final effluent standard.

Find out more at utopianbrewing.com

Alex Gill and Jo Ward receive the Best Rural Business Award Alex Gill and Jo Ward Photo: Richard Ponter/Scarborough News

Rooster’s announces range of limited edition beers for 2024

Rooster’s Brewing Co is ramping up its limited release offering in 2024, with close to 50 different beers scheduled for production in addition to the yearround core range.

The Harrogate-based brewery has mapped out its brewing schedule for the year ahead, which includes several new recipes, the return of a few old favourites from the archives and a series of collaborations with some of the UK’s most highly-regarded breweries.

Rooster’s will be brewing a mix of styles that will cover various pale ales, stouts, lagers, amber ales, and fruited beers across a range of ABVs. Some beers will be only available in cask, some keg and can only and others across all three package types. As with the whole of the brewery’s core range, the overwhelming majority of the beers will be vegan friendly, while the lagers planned will also be gluten free.

Details of the brewery’s plans have been published in a 32-page ‘Little Book of Beer’ that has been printed and shared with hundreds of trade customers and is also available to view and download via www.roosters.co.uk, alongside a ‘quick view’ release calendar providing a snapshot of what to expect and when.

Tom Fozard, Rooster’s Commercial Director, said: “In addition to the many standout beers in our core range, such as Yankee and Baby-Faced Assassin, we’re delighted to share our plans for 2024. As well as the scheduled releases giving us opportunities to scratch a few creative itches and further showcase the variety of styles we offer, we’re confident people won’t be disappointed when they see what we have in store as the year progresses.”

Find out more at roosters.co.uk

Rooster’s adds a new gluten free beer to its core range

Easy-Going Assassin was first brewed in 2021 as part of a small series of offshoot beers under the Assassin name to mark 10 years since the first brew of BabyFaced Assassin - and it proved to be a hit. Having been re-released as a limited edition beer in both 2022 and 2023, the session IPA has now made the step up to become permanently available in the brewery’s core range.

As well as being vegan friendly, along with the rest of Rooster’s core range, Easy-Going Assassin has become the third gluten free beer in the brewery’s line-up, alongside Go Backer (3.6% session NEIPA) and Thousand Yard Stare (a 5.4% hazy pale ale) and is available to the trade in cask, keg and 440ml cans.

Nethergate Brewery embarks on a bold journey using AI

In the quaint heart of Suffolk, something remarkable is brewing at Nethergate Brewery.

It's a story that began with playful curiosity and has culminated in a ground-breaking creation:

AiPA (Artificially Intelligent Pale Ale).

AiPA, with a blend of traditional craft and modern AI wizardry, is not just one of the first AI generated beers in the UK but perhaps is the start of a pioneering venture in the global beer industry. As a small, adventurous team, Nothergate had been keeping tabs on AI's evolution and pondering its positive potential in craft beer. Like many, the team harboured reservations, but instead of shying away, they dove headfirst into exploring how AI could spice up their beer game. What started as a bit of fun and discovery around the office, led to conversations about the advancements in AI and, eventually, led to an audacious idea: Could the team blend the age-old art of brewing with the cutting-edge capabilities of Artificial Intelligence?

Head Brewer Ian Carson, a man deeply rooted in traditional brewing methods and initially wary of this technological intrusion into his craft, eventually gave in to his curiosity, and he agreed to embark on this unconventional brewing journey.

Thus began a series of lively discussions and brainstorming sessions between the brewing team, using AI. While the AI provided

fascinating insights and suggestions, it was clear that it lacked the tactile wisdom and intuitive touch of the experienced brewers. This realisation shaped Nethergate’s approach: AiPA would not be the product of AI alone, but a harmonious collaboration, a melding of human expertise and digital intelligence.

The result was a recipe that promised a beer both familiar in its craftsmanship and revolutionary in its conception.

Ian said: “As someone deeply rooted in traditional brewing, the thought of bringing AI into the mix felt like uncharted territory. However, this pale ale we’ve created is nothing short of spectacular and a beer that I’m super proud of and very excited about. This project has certainly opened my eyes to the benefits of embracing innovation.”

The resulting AiPA is a 3.9% ABV sessionable pale ale that radiates a golden hue, with a bouquet of citrus and floral notes, thanks to a blend of Cascade, Amarillo, Centennial, and Citra hops. The malt brings a subtle sweetness and caramel accent, culminating in a crisp, fullflavoured experience.

Find out more at nethergate.co.uk

Thornbridge and Titanic breweries join forces to release two special beers

Thornbridge Brewery and Titanic Brewery have worked together to brew two collaborative beers to kick off their 2024 seasonal beer calendars.

The first beer, Carpathia, is a 5.3% Extra Special Bitter that has been brewed at Stoke-based Titanic Brewery using the sweet and flavoursome Chevallier Heritage malt.

The second beer, Britannic, is a 5.3% IPA that has been brewed at Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell, Derbyshire.

Using a blend of Galaxy and Simcoe hops, this full-bodied India Pale Ale was made available in cask from early February.

“Collaboration beers are a great example of the love and mutual respect that exists between breweries, and it’s been a pleasure to work alongside Thornbridge to create two contrasting beers that celebrate just how diverse and varied the world of beer can be,” said Keith Bott, Director at Titanic Brewery. “Like Titanic, Thornbridge have always been at the forefront of innovation and the beers that the team at Thornbridge produce are always popular choices in our own pubs and café bars.”

“We have a lot of respect for the team at Titanic Brewery and the high quality of beer they produce,” says Simon Webster, CEO & Co-Founder of Thornbridge. “We have been very excited to create two brand new beers with them and look forward to seeing them being enjoyed in pubs around the country.”

Find out more at titanicbrewery.co.uk and thornbridge.co.uk

Triple Point bucks the trend with brewery expansion

Times have been hard for most of the brewing industry over recent years as the Covid pandemic and Government restrictions on hospitality business operations have taken their toll on the sector. As many as 500 breweries may have closed in the period with the loss of numerous jobs and beer brands.

Sheffield’s Triple Point Brewing is bucking that trend however, as the brewery, which only started operating in March 2019, has taken its first steps to expand having reached its brewing capacity.

Triple Point’s MD, Mike Brook said: “We celebrated our first Birthday and were closed down within a week, as the UK went into the first lockdown. At that point we sold mostly cask beer and our biggest customer was our own bar, we didn’t even have a web shop or courier contract. We decided to ‘pivot’ the business, putting beer into mini-kegs and cans and selling online, direct to consumers. It enabled us to keep going where some other breweries couldn’t, and thanks to that exposure we now have customers all over the country.”

Sales Manager, George Brook (Mike’s son), added: “We picked up five medals, including two Bronze, two Silvers and a Gold at the International Beer Challenge last year for two lagers and three ales, which illustrates our strength in depth and resulted in us being given the Glenn Payne Rising Star award.”

Buoyed by those awards and the ratings of their beers on sites like Untapped, the brewery has been getting busier and busier, with increasing numbers of regular customers in Sheffield, but in Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham and as far afield as Norwich too. That led the team to plan an expansion, growing capacity to brew and sell more beer. Taking advantage of a match-funded productivity improvement grant, they ordered a new 50 hectolitre Fermenting Vessel. The brewery, whose motto is ‘the beer comes first’ is now looking to grow organically within its current site, which has a taproom bar and beer garden that have also benefitted from investment during Covid.

Find out more at triplepointbrewing.co.uk

Powderkeg Brewery cans go 100% vegan and gluten free

Powderkeg Brewery has unveiled an update to one of its flagship beers, Green Light.

Green Light is a low alcohol beer that delivers big on flavour at just 1% ABV.

Until now, the beer was vegetarian rather than vegan, due to the addition of lactose to the recipe. Lactose is often used to add mouthfeel to beers in lieu of the body that full-alcohol brewing normally provides. However, the rest of Powederkeg’s core range is vegan, as well as gluten free, and Green Light is now being brought in line.

Head brewer John Magill said: “We’ve been wanting to make Green Light vegan for a while, to align it with the rest of our core range, but we had to ensure we could do it without straying too far from the alchemy of the recipe. Green Light has won lots of awards and has legions of devoted fans and we have to keep them happy. Thankfully, we think we’ve cracked it, and in fact it’s tasting better than ever.”

Find out more at powderkegbeer.co.uk

Bays Brewery raises over £3,000 for three Devon charities

The big-hearted team at Bays Brewery in Paignton is proud to announce that its 2023 ‘Charity Brews’ have raised a grand total of £3,370 for three deserving Devon charities.

The family-run brewery kicked off its charity brew collection when it joined forces with Paignton Zoo last Spring to mark its 100th anniversary with a special-edition ale.

Available in bottles, cask and beer boxes, ‘Wild 100’ proved a hit among beer drinkers looking to quench their thirst in the name of a great cause, raising £1,600 for animal conservation.

The limited-edition beer was one of a long line-up of ‘animal’ ales made in partnership with the visitor attraction, with the charity tipples resulting in £27,000 for endangered species to date.

Bays Brewery then teamed up with Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust (TCCT) in the Summer to launch a special-edition charity brew paying homage to Berry Head – a National Nature Reserve.

The aptly-named golden ale ‘Beery Head’ provided a true taste of the British coast having been made using hops sourced sustainably from UK shores, raising a total of £1,350 for TCCT.

The charity tipple sold out in record time, with beer lovers quick to snap up the local beer inspired by the stunning coastal headland with its abundance of rare wildlife.

Completing the 2023 charity line-up was the brewery’s festive favourite ‘Jingle Ale’ which went on sale in time for Christmas – spreading some much-needed cheer for another Devon charity.

The ho-ho-hoppy bitter raised much-needed funds for Torbay Holiday Helpers Network who provide free memory-making holidays to families who have seriously ill children or are recently bereaved.

Director of Bays Brewery, Peter Salmon, said: “Being a local Devon brewery, we’re always looking at how we can give something back to our community, and we are incredibly proud to have raised £3,370 for three brilliant Devon charities, all of which support causes close to our heart. A huge thank you to everyone who helped us achieve such an amazing amount by raising a toast with our charity beers, and we can’t wait to support even more worthy Devon causes in 2024.”

Find out more at baysbrewery.co.uk

Orbit Beers launches a new website

South London Brewery Orbit Beers unveiled a new website at the end of last year, and to celebrate the launch day, offered 25% off first orders with newsletter signups, a generous jump up from the usual 10% welcome offer.

Working with award-winning design agency Our Own Brand, the website redesign marks Orbit Beers’ 10th year of brewing.

It streamlines the online customer experience, offering an easy-to-navigate web shop, a simple booking system for the taproom in Walworth, and showcase the brand that the team has worked hard building over the past decade.

Robbie Sykes, General Manager at Orbit Beers, said: “We’re proud of the company we’ve built together in South London over the last 10 years, focusing on European-style beers and beer culture, as well as our local community, and supporting like-minded independent businesses. “For those who don’t live nearby, we wanted to make it a little easier to share what Orbit Beers is all about and to discover our award-winning products. Working with the creative design agency Our Own Brand was a no-brainer. Their passion for our brand, understanding of the brief, and dedication to the project has ensured the new website was up and running in time for our busy festive period.”

• As well as a new look, new features to the site include:

• A streamlined booking process for the taproom in Walworth, South London.

• Flexible shopping including the option to ‘build-a-box’.

• Purchase history & account visibility.

• Easily accessible information for trade stockists and the press.

• Visibility on Orbit Beers news, brews, and events.

• A faster, more intuitive customer experience. Find out more at orbitbeers.com

St Austell Brewery funds vital youth mental health workshop in Bude

Cornish brewery St Austell has funded a vital course to deliver a mental health fitness programme to young people.

The Pearl Exchange in Bude is a drop-in centre for 18–35-year-olds where they can find an escape from a variety of issues through creativity and workshops.

Following the death of Pearl Bamford in 2019 aged just 19, her parents Rose and Johnny felt compelled to assist the younger generation of North Cornwall to help them build more positive futures, setting up a charity to do just that.

With improving mental health for young people at the forefront of its goals, the Pearl Exchange approached the St Austell Charitable Trust to cover the cost of providing a one-day intensive course working with mental health practitioner Katie Griffin to deliver her “Thera-Sea” mental health fitness programme.

The programme promotes the idea that the understanding and management of mental health is a lifelong journey, one that participants can take ownership of by equipping themselves with an educational, science-backed approach to aid the prevention of mental ill-health.

The St Austell Charitable Trust has been

supporting local charities, good causes and individuals in need across the South West since its launch in 2003. To date, the Charitable Trust has raised more than £1,000,000.

Piers Thompson, St Austell Brewery’s External Relations Director, said: “We’re always looking to support causes in and around the South West which are actively making a difference to

people’s lives, and that is exactly what the Pearl Exchange is doing.

“It’s so important to look after our mental health, and for a charity to reach an age group which can really benefit from this course is one of the reasons we wanted to help provide a crucial resource for local young people.”

Find out more at staustellbrewery.co.uk

Burning Sky teams up with The Malt Miller to find the best homebrewed mixed fermentation beer

After an in-depth three-part video series produced by home brewing supplier The Malt Miller and Mark Tranter of Burning Sky, the duo are launching an epic homebrewing competition to discover the finest homemade beer that captures the essence of Burning Sky’s distinctive and delicate touch in mixed fermentation beers.

In August, Martin Rake (General Manager) and James Stiff (Operations and Marketing Manager) from The Malt Miller spent a few days at Burning Sky’s picturesque brewery in the hills of the South Downs, East Sussex. They delved into the brewery’s processes, learned about Burning Sky’s care in beer-making, and conducted a revealing interview with Mark Tranter, the founder of Burning Sky. During this interview they discovered Mark’s roots in homebrewing before becoming a driving force in Dark

Star Brewery, which he left just over 10 years ago to start the passion project and now renowned, Burning Sky.

Mark was keen to share knowledge and recipes with The Malt Miller, so these could then be passed onto home brewers as a way of inspiring them to try brewing these styles of beers and building confidence in what can be, initially, a daunting style to brew.

Watch the intriguing series on The Malt Miller’s YouTube Channel and explore the fascinating details uncovered during their time at Burning Sky.

Excitingly, as a result of Mark’s desire to inspire more home brewers with mixed fermentation, they’ve now teamed up to organise a Home Brewing Competition, aiming to give more brewers a starting point to venture into mixed fermentation beer styles, akin to those crafted at Burning Sky. The competition, limited to a maximum

of 50 entries, will be judged on June 28th 2024, allowing brewers ample time to brew and mature their beers. Judging will occur at The Malt Miller, followed by an evening event at The Tuppenny, an independent pub in Swindon.

The winning brewer will receive a mixed case of beer from Mark at Burning Sky, but not just any case. This will be a selection of beers from Mark’s personal vault of Burning Sky releases from over the years, an archive that are no longer available to buy! Then they will also scoop a set of vouchers from The Malt Miller for the value of £200. Finally, the winner will also be invited to Burning Sky to spend a day with the team.

Find all the competition details, including dates, prize information, and terms and conditions on The Malt Miller’s website at themaltmiller.co.uk/ product/burning-sky-mixed-fermhome-brew-competition-entry/

GEA plans CO2 recovery solution for

small and medium-sized breweries

GEA has unveiled plans for developing a CO2 recovery system for smaller breweries.

The system collects CO2 from the fermentation process and makes it available as a high-purity resource for in-house production or other applications in the food industry. As a result, CO2 recovery not only lowers production costs, but also contributes to a more environmentally friendly process with a reduced carbon footprint.

While such recovery systems are already established in large breweries, the rising price of carbon dioxide is making CO2 recovery from in-house fermentation processes an option for smaller companies too. Food-grade carbon dioxide is needed to pressurise vessels before filling and to improve shelf life.

In recent years, the CO2 usually purchased by smaller breweries has become scarce and expensive.

The focus of scaling is on simplifying the system. Thus, a special compressor eliminates the need for an additional refrigeration system for liquefaction. All components are skid mounted. These measures contribute to the optimisation of operation and also make it easier for breweries to integrate the system into their existing processes. Depending on the CO2 price, the large systems usually pay for themselves in around three years.

Find out more at gea.com/en

Beer Day Britain 2024 – Cheers To Beer!

Beer Day Britain, the UK’s annual national beer day will take place on June 15th 2024. Hundreds of thousands of beer drinkers will be celebrating Beer Day Britain as they do each year.

The focus of the day is the National Cheers To Beer (#cheerstobeer) toast at 7pm. This simple activity is not only marked across the UK but by beer drinkers around the world who participate each year on June 15th, with so many people joining in that #cheerstobeer trends on social media.

Not everyone can get out to a pub or taproom, especially people who live in care homes, so this year Beer Day Britain instigator Jane Peyton is encouraging breweries to adopt a care home in their area and take the pub to them by donating beer so they can celebrate national beer day and join the Cheers To Beer.

“Each year Timothy Taylor’s takes the pub to Manorlands Hospice near Keighley by generously donating beer to residents and staff. Local media likes this type of activity and always covers the event at Manorlands so if any breweries do adopt a care home don’t forget to let the local newspaper/TV station know and share the love! And please let me know too so I can mention it in social media,” said Peyton.

For more information and to download a Beer Day Britain logo please visit www.BeerDayBritain.co.uk or on social media –@BeerDayBritain on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Importance of strong financial management for your brewery

Following the launch of the new SIBA member advice service from accountancy and business advisers Johnston Carmichael, the team has taken a look at how keeping a close eye on your finances has never been more important…

As Brewers plan for the year ahead, after emerging from what was hopefully a busy Christmas period, this could be a good time to reflect on the past year and make adjustments to your business accordingly. It has of course been a particularly tough time for brewers, costs have increased, consumers spending is down and increases to the Living Wage are coming.

At Johnston Carmichael, as accountants and business advisers to many breweries across the UK, we know the importance, now more than ever, of having strong financial management to help brewers better understand the financial robustness of their business and navigate in the intended direction.

Whilst brewing great tasting beer and growing your business may be your focus and goal, strong financial management is at the heart for this to happen, as management teams require good quality information to make informed decisions. Manual processing is now a thing of the past as technology and accounting software packages are evolving at a very fast pace. These provide live and real time information and it is imperative that your accounting system is utilised to its full potential.

Solely relying on annual accounts to reflect on performance, can be outdated. We strongly recommend preparing monthly or quarterly management accounts, cash flow projections, budgets and using KPI’s to monitor performance on a recurring and regular basis. Cashflow projections and forecasts are key to successfully manage times where cash may be tight and require additional resources, or to plan ahead and then measure the plans against expectations.

Whether you’re seeking a review of your business strategy, ad hoc business advice, or tax planning ideas, our team of food & drink accountants and advisers, led by Head of Food & Drink, Adam Hardie, have the answers to all your business queries. The team are seeing an increase demand for Digital Transformation, Outsourced Finance, and International Tax services.

See page 9 for more information on the new SIBA member advice service from Johnson Carmichael. Should you have any questions then please arrange a free one-hour consultation through the SIBA helpline, which can be found on the SIBA Toolbox.

Mae Day Marketing has been named Global Business Marketing Consultancy of the Year

Judi-mae Alderton, owner of Mae Day Marketing, has clinched the prestigious Global Business Marketing Consultancy Of The Year Award at the Corporate LiveWire Innovation & Excellence Awards.

The accolade recognises her outstanding contributions to various industries, with a particular focus on the brewing, beer and orchard sectors.

The Corporate LiveWire Innovation & Excellence Awards are a pinnacle of recognition within the global corporate community, celebrating individuals and firms that introduce new methods and ideas.

Alderton, with over two decades of experience, served as the Head of Marketing for Woodforde’s and Lacons Breweries before launching Mae Day Marketing in 2019.

Her involvement in beer festivals, brewery tours and current role as a judge at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Regional Awards events showcases a personal and professional investment in the industry.

"I take great pride in receiving this esteemed award. It signifies not only my personal journey but also the collaborative efforts of the entire industry, underscoring the remarkable ambition within the British brewing community," remarked Alderton. "Beyond being a recognition, this award stands as a testament to the spirit of innovation, commitment to service excellence and in truth, to me that also defines the dynamic landscape of brewing."

Find out more at maeday.co.uk

The Institute of Brewing & Distilling launches the No and Low Alcohol Beer Production Course

The Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD has launched a brand new selfassessed and on demand technical course - No and Low Alcohol Beer Production.

The No and Low Alcohol Beer Production Course is the latest in a series of IBD continuing professional development courses for brewers.

The course is aimed at brewers working in breweries of all sizes who want to produce excellent no and low alcohol products safely, at minimum cost and in compliance with regulations. It provides the most up to date information on the science and technology of no and low alcohol beer production. Learners are guided through the brewing process from raw materials to packaging and provided with the knowledge required to be an accomplished

no and low alcohol beer producer.

• The course includes a downloadable PDF with technical information such as:

• The legal classifications of low and nonalcoholic beers

• Nutritional information for no and low alcohol beers

• Mashing profiles and yeast types for use in no and low alcohol beers

• The main flavour compounds to control in no and low alcohol beer

• Key calculations for processing, dilution and flavouring

• A summary of the options for dealcoholisation

• Key hurdles to microbiological contamination

This course has been developed in

collaboration with leading brewers, brewing consultants, yeast suppliers and manufacturers of dealcoholisation equipment. It provides the same technical excellence found in all IBD qualifications, with the benefit of not needing to sit a formal exam.

Stuart Howe, IBD’s Technical and Development Manager, said: “This is the first course that provides in-depth scientific and technical information about no and low alcohol beer production. It is written in collaboration with experts in the field and with the rigor and accuracy that you expect from the IBD. If you are serious about realising the potential of your brewery to make the most of the growth of no and low alcohol beer, you should sign up to take this course.” Find out more at ibd.org.uk

Croxsons appoints sales executive for internal sales and new business role

Clare brings a dynamic blend of experience and fresh perspective to the company. With a rich background in business and brand development, Clare has held various roles, including assisting in the management and growth of companies, particularly in relation to new product launches. Her proficiency in CRM and customer relationship management significantly contributed to the sales teams she worked with previously. Furthermore, she has extensive experience in freelancing both overseas and in the UK, working directly with businesses to achieve growth, brand goals and high standards in production and customer service. In her new role at Croxsons, Clare will focus on managing web enquiries from new and existing customers, especially those with smaller order requirements. Her goal is to build her

own client base, aiming to develop long-term professional relationships.

Commenting on the role, Clare said: “I was attracted to Croxsons’ remarkable blend of family business values and impressive achievements. The company has managed to maintain its original structure and uniqueness while becoming a global leader, which is quite rare and impressive.”

“Clare's experience and skillset are perfect for this role," said Croxsons’ CEO, Tim Croxson. "We are confident she will bring valuable insights and drive significant growth in her area."

Find out more at croxsons.com

Leading glass packaging company Croxsons has announced the appointment of Clare Staff to its team as a sales executive, focusing on internal sales and new business.

SHOP

Anton Paar launches Alcolyzer Beer Analysing System

The Anton Paar Alcolyzer system is designed to measure the alcohol in your beer without any product-specific calibration.

The system can monitor the entire production process with a single measurement solution.

The modular Alcolyzer Analyzing System has up to five measuring modules and more than 30 industry-specific parameters. It doesn’t just provide insight into each detail of the production process, safeguard product specifications, and uncover hidden potential for optimisation, it also reduces product loss to zero, guarantees the desired taste, and secures label declaration.

The key benefits of the Alcolyzer Beer Analysing System are:

• Measure key parameters in-house during production

• Use technology recommended by EBC, ASBC, MEBAK, and BCoJ

• Entire production process monitoring: from wort to finished beer

• Direct and selective alcohol determination

• All types of beer, cider, hard seltzer, and kombucha

Kemtile successfully completes project for St Ives Brewing

• Four measuring modules, 30+ industryspecific parameters

• Fully automatic check/calibration thanks to built-in SO

Find out more at anton-paar.com/uk-en/

Leading industrial flooring specialist Kemtile has played a major role in supporting a Cornish brewery to find a perfect home for its craft beer.

St Ives Brewing - a beachside beermaker that’s been making waves on the coast since 2010 - enjoyed a cash injection around its 12th birthday, with founders choosing to spend this investor money on a bigger, better facility. Moving out of a small brewery and cafe proved a challenge, however, with very few suitable premises in the regional area. It was only after looking a little further afield that St Ives found its rightful home: A spacious unit on the Marsh Lane Industrial Estate in Hayle.

Shortly after moving in, St Ives Brewing required the fast installation of a specific floor and drainage solution - and contacted Kemtile for assistance.

Kemtile worked with the layout to design suitable drainage for the brewery; installing the Kagetec system due to its functional properties and visual appeal (its close proximity to the new taproom meant visitors in this part of the brewery were plentiful).

Marco Amura, Founder of St Ives Brewery, said: “The Kemtile floor was installed in June 2022 and was a dream to see take shape. It was precisely laid to an excellent standard. Our brewers are really pleased with the drainage and its overall finish. I would highly recommend a Kemtile floor over a resin finish.”

David Priest, Project Manager at Kemtile, added: “This was a very exciting project where we could play a role in taking a local brewery to a bigger, better venue where the firm can really thrive. We kept aesthetics in mind every step of the way - and now St Ives Brewery has a functional, attractive flooring solution they can be proud of.” Find out more at kemtile.co.uk

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Rob:

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don't have to be complicated...

Innovus Engineering launches new LWR-F Iowerator machine

In January, Innovus Engineering delivered the first of its newly developed LWR-F lowerator machines.

A lowerator is an adaptable and cost-effective alternative to using a can twist to move cans from a depalletiser to the canning machine. The key advantage is that swapping between standard, slim and sleek cans takes just seconds, with no tools required, a task that would otherwise involve swapping out expensive and fragile can twists – a complex and time-consuming task, especially when production pressure is on!

The LWR-F features inverter driven motors for adjustable speed control, and incorporates a can rinse, drip tray and drain hose to further increase automation of the line.

Like all Innovus products, construction is all stainless steel, with Siemens controls, and food grade machined plastic components. A safety interlocked polycarbonate enclosure keeps operators safe and protects the machine from dirt ingress.

For more information contact Innovus on 01903331566 or at sales@innovusengineering.com

Brewing equipment specialist toasts record year

Bradford-based brewery equipment specialist, Collective Motion Brewing, is raising a glass to a record year of business with turnover up by 60% in 2023.

The company, which supplies and services a wide range of production systems, has also seen revenue rise by 60%, largely through growing demand from independent brewers looking to improve energy efficiency, minimise waste and reduce running costs. Sales have increased across Collective Motion Brewing’s range of products, which includes newly developed and upgraded systems alongside refurbished machinery.

Dominic Smith, director at Collective Motion Brewing, said: “2023 was the year when our business really took off. We have become a very well-established name in the industry, and we have developed relationships with new clients throughout the UK. Many brewing, distilling, and cider making companies have purchased products from Collective Motion Brewing and then signed up for our planned maintenance package to ensure that their facilities are free of downtime and remain optimised for efficiency and quality control.”

Tomasz Lenartowicz, director at Collective Motion Brewing, said: “The brewing industry, like many other manufacturing sectors, has

been challenged in recent years by rising energy prices, but many brewers have been proactive in finding ways to mitigate those costs. They have recognised that investing in enhanced efficiencies will deliver substantial long-term savings. A number of our clients have estimated that the equipment upgrades we implemented will achieve between £50,000 and £100,0000 in savings per year in running costs.”

Collective Motion Brewing plans to build on its success with increased investment in R&D in 2024. Its 1,300 sq ft premises in Bradford includes a workshop and R&D centre to trial new solutions in keg washing and filling. Dominic Smith added: “Innovation is a big part of what Collective Motion Brewing offers as a company. I have a mechanical engineering background and Tomasz has a background in electrical engineering as a lead designer of control systems. We apply that experience to design and test new concepts in brewing equipment. We will be launching some new cost-effective systems in 2024 which are designed to help smaller breweries to manage their operating costs and help to take a first step towards automation in their production facility. This is important to minimise the cost of production and stay above the red line or simply to increase the profit margin.”

Find out more at cmbrewery.co.uk

Enterprise Tondelli completes packaging project for Wye Valley Brewery

When Wye Valley Brewery in Bromyard, Herefordshire, started planning its new packaging hall with Enterprise Tondelli, it was important to maximise flexibility to allow both bottling and canning. Both lines were combined, supplied and installed by Enterprise Tondelli. The all-stainless steel empty can depalletiser from Enterprise Tondelli has automatic layer card removal and a very compact footprint not much bigger than an empty can pallet.

Cans are fed at high level to a twin lane gravity can cleaner that uses de-ionised filtered compressed air to remove any foreign bodies. The use of de-ionised air means no water consumption which can be as much as a thousand litres per hour on conventional rinser thus reducing impact on the environment.

Cans can be either pre-printed or for some smaller runs they are labelled on an empty labeller supplied by Enterprise Tondelli. A rotary counter pressure can filler/seamer was installed. Cans are flushed with CO2 from a separate gas ring before sealing and multiple times after sealing against the filling valve. The filler is fully enclosed with hepa filtration and laminar flow of air for hygiene.

After level inspection cans are inverted, pass through an air drying tunnel with directionable nozzles and punt drying prior to coding.

After drop twist the cans feed to the Baumer packer. This incredibly flexible machine packs cans into fully enclosed kraft board fridge pack in fours/sixes. Or it can pack 12 cans into a kraft board wrapround carton. This machine also packs the bottles into corrugated wrapround cartons.

Small packs need to be consolidated for palletising so a second Baumer packer was installed alongside the first allowing one operator to watch both Baumer machines. The second machine has a continuous motion 90 degree infeed turner for laning and then automatically loaded into a film free high sided tray for palletising.

Find out more at enterprisetondelli.co.uk

Gold & Silver members

Gold members

BrewMan

Sam Williams Sam@premiersystems.com

Breww Ltd

James Collier hello@breww.com

Charles Faram

Any of the team sales@charlesfaram.co.uk

Close Brothers

Brewery Rentals

Becki Mason Rebecca.Mason@closebrothers.com

Crisp Malting Group

Colin Johnston colin.johnston@crispmalt.com

Kegstar

James Bleakley jamesb@kegstar.com

Loughran Brewers

Select Digby Fullam marketing@malt.ie

Murphy & Son

Frances Maud frances.maud@murphyandson.co.uk

Napthens LLP

James Allison

James.Allison@napthens.co.uk

Thomas Fawcett & Sons

James Fawcett james@fawcett-maltsters.co.uk

Vigo Ltd Sales Team sales@vigoltd.com

William Croxson & Son Limited Sales Team sales@croxsons.com

Silver members

Anton

Paar Ltd

Tertia Rimell tertia.rimell@anton-paar.com

Beatson

Clark Ltd

Charlotte Pike sales@beatsonclark.co.uk

Beer Box Shop

Simon Hulse sales@beerboxshop.co.uk

Festival Glass

Kelsey Cheesbrough sales@festivalglass.co.uk

Framax UK Limited

Elizabeth Smith esmith@framax.co.uk

GEA UK

Micro Can Ltd

Canning Lines

Warren Stanley info@microcan.co.uk

Muntons PLC

Vanessa Makings vanessa.makings@muntons.com

Pneumatic Scale Angelus

Tom Bowdige tom.bowdige@bwpackagingsystems.com

Rankin

Brothers & Sons

Jim Rankin sales@rankincork.co.uk

Paul Leeman sales.unitedkingdom@gea.com

IGC Engineering Ltd

Chris Hamlett chrishamlettigc@onetel.com

I-Keg Ltd

Darren Duncan sales@i-keg.com

Konvoy

Christian Barden konvoy@konvoykegs.co.uk

Lemon Top Creative

Andy Mogg hello@lemontopcreative.com

Rastal

GmbH & Co KG

Timo Leukel timo.leukel@rastal.com

Saxon Packaging

Mike Impson mike.impson@smurfitkappa.co.uk

Simpsons Malt

Richard Simpson orderoffice@simpsonsmalt.co.uk

Vale Labels Ltd

John Riches john@valelabels.co.uk

WBC

Lewis Maslen sales@wbc.co.uk

Willis Publicity

Carl Andrews carl@willispublicity.co.uk

PO BOX 136, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 5WW

SIBA Head Office: 01765 640441

SIBA Team

Andy Slee

Chief Executive andy.slee@siba.co.uk

Sara Knox Company Secretary sara.knox@siba.co.uk

Rachel Harriott

Head of Membership Services rachel.harriott@siba.co.uk

Neil Walker

Head of Comms & Marketing neil.walker@siba.co.uk

Barry Watts

Head of Public Affairs & Policy barry.watts@siba.co.uk

Board of Elected Directors

Existing members wishing to contact your regional representatives can use the relevant regional e-mail addresses listed below. For individuals, just type firstname.lastname@siba.co.uk

Chairman of SIBA Richard Naisby

Vice-Chairman of SIBA Anthony Hughes

East east@siba.co.uk

Chair Richard Naisby Milton Brewery (Chair of the Board)

Ian Rydings Leigh on Sea Brewery

Marcus Beecher Elgood & Sons Ltd

John Cussons Ferry Ales Brewery

Midlands midlands@siba.co.uk

Chair Anneli Baxter Loose Cannon Brewing Co Ltd

Anthony Hughes Lincoln Green Brewing Co Ltd (Vice-Chair of the Board)

Sam Back Attic Brew Co Ltd

North East northeast@siba.co.uk

Chair Joe Joyce Harrogate Brewing

Ian Fozard Rooster’s Brewery Ltd

Alex Balchin Wold Top Brewery

North West northwest@siba.co.uk

Chair William Mayne Bullhouse Brewing Co

Paul Jones Cloudwater Brew Co

Elle Spencer-Blanchard Membership Services Administrator elle.spencerblanchard@siba.co.uk

Emma Guneyogullari

Membership Services Assistant emma.guneyogullari@siba.co.uk

All General Enquiries contact office@siba.co.uk

Scotland scotland@siba.co.uk

Chair Ian McGrath Beath Brewing

Jamie Delap Fyne Ales

Fiona MacEachern Loch Lomond Brewery

South East southeast@siba.co.uk

Chair Andy Hayward Thames Side Brewery

William Harris Wild Card Brewery

Andy Parker Elusive Brewing Ltd

South West southwest@siba.co.uk

Chair Paul Arrowsmith Isca Ales Ltd

Alan Collyer The Exeter Brewery

Paul Dimond Branscombe Vale Brewery

Wales & West west@siba.co.uk

Chair Glenn White Brew Monster

Tim Wilkins Bewdley Brewery Ltd