SIBA Independent Brewer Summer 2023

Heart of the countryside

After everything that’s been thrown at the UK’s independent brewing sector over the last three years, SIBA members could be forgiven for not being in the best of spirits. But that’s not how independent brewers roll!

Far from taking it as an opportunity to dwell on the negative, this year’s BeerX back in March brought out the very best in our community, and really shone a light on how great being a part of this industry is. Everywhere you went at this year’s event you could see brewers sharing their experiences, insight and wisdom with

each other, discussing solutions, celebrating the success of their peers and colleagues at the SIBA awards, packing out the educational panel sessions and catching up with industry friends at the end of the day over a beer.

That feeling of positivity and camaraderie in the room was not only the result of the hard work the SIBA HQ team puts in to organising BeerX, but a reflection of the attitude and energy of our membership, and their focus on growing and thriving alongside their competitors, not at the expense of their competitors, even in the tough times.

One of our award-winners from this year’s BeerX is Full Circle Brew Co, which took home the Community Engagement Award at the SIBA Business Awards for the second year in a row. We spoke to founder Ben Cleary for our Business Profile on pages 36-43, and you can find the full listing of all our winners in both the Business (see pages 78-81) and National Beer competitions (see pages 82-89) in this magazine too.

And speaking of the awards, our compere for the awards at BeerX this year was the legendary beer writer Pete Brown, who is also our Guest Columnist for this issue, waxing lyrical about the Drink Cask Fresh campaign, which aims to tackle the issue of cask decline (see page 25).

We also caught up with another industry legend, Justin Hawke from Moor Beer, for our Meet the Brewer feature on pages 46-53, to find out more about his journey and his views on the current craft beer market. And our other Business Profile is on German-style lager specialist Braybrooke Brewery which is blazing a trail for food and beer pairing in the high end restaurant market (see pages 58-63).

Elsewhere in this edition we also feature the highlights from this year’s SIBA Craft Beer Report (see pages 26-31), a Homebrew in Focus from the British Guild of Beer Writers’ Brewer of the Year Andy Parker featuring Brew York’s Katy Berry beer (see pages 32-33) and a trend report from the US on fruit beers (see pages 55-57).

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 Autumn edition will be August 25th.

Caroline Nodder Editor SIBA Independent Brewer Magazine

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

Published by: Media Alive Limited

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Cover

Featured on our cover for this issue of the magazine is an image taken at Braybrooke Farm in Northamptonshire, which is the base for Braybrooke Beer Co, specialising in lagers brewed true to traditional German methods and sold in the high end restaurant market. Read more in our interview with co-founder Nick Trower on pages 58-63.

News

9-15 SIBA News All the news from SIBA HQ

17 BeerX Review News from our biggest and best BeerX yet

26-31 SIBA Craft Beer Report Highlights The key findings from the latest report

78-81 SIBA Business Awards All the winners from our 2023 competition

82-89 SIBA National Beer Competition A round-up of the winners from the national finals at BeerX in March

90-95 SIBA Regional Beer Competitions Results from the South West, North East and West & Wales regions

96-103 Brewery News The latest from our Brewing Members around the UK

107-111 Supplier News Updates from SIBA’s Supplier Associate Members

Comment

7 CEO’S Update Andy Slee, SIBA’s Chief Executive, on the challenges ahead

8 Chairman’s Comment SIBA Chair Richard Naisby gets ready for summer

19 The View From Westminster Our regular political update

32-33 Homebrew In Focus Andy Parker from Elusive Brewing examines Brew York’s Katy Berry pastry sour

25 Drink Cask Fresh The legendary Pete Brown on the thinking behind a new campaign to

Features

Time for pessimism or optimism?

SIBA’s Chief Executive Andy Slee is focussing on the positive as he and the rest of the Board work on a strategy to help independent breweries thrive in these challenging times…

These are tough times for everyone. Except, it seems, bankers, utility companies and those lucky enough to secure PPE contracts during Covid. The hospitality sector continues to struggle, and in a declining beer market SIBA members have still not recovered to prepandemic levels of trade.

The pub trade has recently been very effective in painting a public picture of jeopardy and despair. But at what cost? The mood around the sector has been downbeat, inward investment difficult to attract and who wants to socialise and work in a sector where ‘the end of the world is nye’?

Every business closure is a personal tragedy for those involved, doubly so for pubs and independent breweries who play such a vital role in their local communities. My heart sinks at the closure of either.

However, I came into the role of SIBA Chief Executive with the overriding thought that our members generate 60-70% of the goodwill towards Britain’s national drink. Why then do we only enjoy 6% of sales?

That, to me, feels like an opportunity we can attack collectively.

I have spoken to many independent brewers in recent months and am left perpetually amazed by their resilience, willingness to innovate and passion for their role in the community they serve. On my travels members talk about common barriers in their way; access to market, lack of capital to grow and expand, availability of labour - both quantity and quality - legislation that’s designed for global not local businesses and of course the hardy perennial taxation.

There is no silver bullet to any of these challenges but along with my colleagues and your elected Board representatives we are developing a plan to help overcome and reduce those barriers over time. We are focussing on policy, member services and commercial development as priorities and will be working hard over the summer to develop an integrated plan of attack we can share more widely.

People, especially governments, love good news stories and opportunities, and there aren’t too many of them around at the moment, so this is an opportunity to strike.

Whilst I can’t promise miracles, the one thing I know for sure is that if we stick together as independent brewers and focus on the things we agree on we have a greater chance to grow, survive and thrive.

Independent brewing is a rare British millennial manufacturing success story, and if we pull together then I believe our best times are ahead of us.

I look forward to working with you all on the challenge ahead.

Chief Executive SIBA

Seasonal changes

SIBA’s National Chairman Richard Naisby ponders some of the big changes coming up for independent brewers as he looks ahead to the summer season…

If the weather forecast is to be believed, today's may be the last frosty morning of the season. Trees are in leaf and this brewer's thoughts are turning to the summer schedule of sporting events, beer festivals and barbeques.

The winter of 2022/23 seems to have gone on for an inordinate length of time, and though the feared blackouts did not happen, the energy crisis was all too real for all of us in the beer business. The closure of so many pubs was always going to lead to a reduction in the number of brewers, though it is heartening to see that the rate of closure seems to have slowed since the dark days of December. Thankfully, we now have a reliable way of measuring our progress or decline. The launch of the SIBA UK Brewery Tracker generated many favourable comments and some surprising headlines. SIBA now has the most powerful tool for measuring the health of our industry. Since it is updated on a quarterly basis, it is both rigorous and timely. I hope we'll start to see the end of some of the sillier articles that have been a feature of the business commentary in recent years. It is only when the data is solid that we can expect sound decisions to be made.

The Holyrood parliament has announced a delay in the implementation of the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme, as well as some – very welcome – concessions that will favour the smallest producers. SIBA has been instrumental in obtaining this re-think and we'll continue to

press for changes that recognise the enormous challenges faced by the independent brewing sector. The campaign is not over but SIBA can be very proud of the work done by the staff team and the Scottish directors (Jamie Delap deserves special mention for work above and beyond the call of duty).

While the Scottish parliament is delaying a harmful proposal, Westminster is busy enacting the legislation that will provide for a differential in draught beer duty. I was going to write ‘a cut’, but since the headline rate rose by a compensating amount this just amounts to a taxation hold for beer sold in pubs. It is, however, a significant moment – recognition of the unique social advantages that only supervised drinking can provide. In itself, this small change won't make a big enough difference to anyone. But as an indicator of the direction of travel, it is a huge step in the right direction. The supermarkets have had it their own way for far, far too long…

The big changes this year will come in August when the long-awaited alcohol duty reform goes live. I think we are all aware that this brings mixed blessings. SIBA has been holding detailed webinars for those who wish to familiarise themselves with the minutiae. As ever, the proof will be in the pudding, but I will be surprised if we don't see some megabrew beers reformulated so that they fall under the magic 3.4% duty barrier.

April saw the launch of an ill-advised t-shirt by Marks & Spencer featuring a fake ‘Craft Beer’ logo. While it is good that a major UK retailer sees the marketing benefits of associating themselves with our industry it is probably fair to say this was a failure on many fronts.

It did, however, highlight some of the legal and trademark advantages offered by SIBA membership – advantages that all members should be aware of.

The frost has melted, the sun is now out. I need to work out where my cricket whites were left at the end of last season. My hop audit tells me we are down on numbers for some of our expected summer beers and the outdoor taproom won't clean itself.

Welcome to the change of the seasons!

Cheers!

Richard Naisby Chairman SIBA

The total number of breweries in the UK has remained ‘relatively stable’ in the first quarter of 2023 according to figures released from the SIBA UK Brewery Tracker - which tracks new brewery openings and closures across the UK to give net numbers both regionally and Nationally.

Covering the period from the start of January 2023 to the end of March 2023, the SIBA UK Brewery Tracker shows some regions increasing their net brewery number, and overall the UK figure being down by just -4 on the start of 2023 – just a 0.22% change and a much better picture then many in the industry would have predicted given the mounting pressures on small independent breweries.

“It is very positive to see some areas of the UK now in growth and a National figure which has beaten the odds to remain relatively stable, despite the challenges faced by brewers. With rising raw material and utility costs, alongside existing market access issues, far too many small breweries are closing but the figures paint a much better picture than many predicted.

“Small breweries have a hugely positive impact on their local community, providing jobs, raising money for charity, supporting local initiatives, and providing access to the freshlybrewed local beers that are now in such demand across the UK. All small independent breweries deserve your support,” said Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive.

“It is clear that demand is there from drinkers for great quality beer from local breweries, but

getting those beers onto bars and into the hands of consumers can be tough in a competitive market. It’s the reason why so many breweries are now opening community taprooms where they can serve brewery-fresh beer direct to local people,” Andy added.

The SIBA Craft Beer Report launched in March showed 40% of independent craft breweries now have a taproom (up 10% on 2022) and that on average 27% of an independent brewery’s income now comes from sales direct to consumers via their taprooms, brewery shop or webshop – a huge increase for an industry historically heavily reliant on pub sales.

According to the latest SIBA UK Brewery Tracker figures, Wales leads the UK in terms of brewery growth, with their net number rising by an impressive +5 overall, whilst just over the border the West of England saw the needle swing in the opposite direction, with figures falling by -4 overall. Surprisingly this was mirrored in the South East, an area which has seen a huge growth in breweries in recent years, who also registered -4 overall in the first three months of 2023.

South West and North East England each had a decline in their overall brewery numbers of -2, with Scotland seeing a smaller decline, now with -1 brewery less overall.

It was a more positive picture elsewhere though, with the East and Midlands regions each seeing a +2 growth. The North West of England and Northern Ireland have finished the first quarter of 2023 on the same number as they started it, with any closures counteracted by new openings.

SIBA UK BREWERY TRACKER Q1, 2023

Covering period 01/01/23 - 31/03/2023

UK: 1824 (-4)

Scotland: 145 (-1)

Northern Ireland: 29 (-)

North East: 263 (-2)

North West: 209 (-)

East: 180 (+2)

Midlands: 284 (+2)

West of England: 71 (-4)

Wales: 107 (+5)

South East: 331 (-4)

South West: 205 (-2)

The above shows the new total number and net change compared to 01.01.23

The SIBA UK Brewery Tracker can be found at www.siba.co.uk/ brewerytracker

SIBA responds to announcement of delay for Scottish Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)

"The announcement by the First Minster that the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will be delayed until March next year gives small breweries time to at least catch their breath and begin to prepare for its introduction.

“While we fully support the principle of DRS, we have highlighted for many months the extreme complexity of the scheme in Scotland which many small producers do not have the resources or finances to prepare for. Many small breweries have been anxious about the impact it will have on their businesses as they face the cost-of-living crisis, energy price increases and the lingering effects of the pandemic.

“Last year we called on the Scottish Government, in partnership with others, for them to do three things – reduce the costs to small businesses, amend the terms of the scheme so small producers weren't required to take on extra debt and to delay the start of the scheme in order to allow small producers time to implement the scheme successfully. It is welcome that they have listened to all three and under the new First Minister now delayed it. Now is the opportunity for the Scottish Government and Circularity Scotland to work in partnership with small businesses to come up with real solutions that work for everyone not just the largest businesses and we look forward to working with them to address the other barriers to a successful launch of the DRS,” said Jamie Delap, SIBA Scotland Director.

UK Brewery numbers relatively stable despite industry challenges – with some regions seeing growth

Brewing our way to Net Zero: SIBA launches sustainability strategy

“In many respects small independent breweries lead the way in sustainability. Their core product is locally produced beer, 66% of which is packaged into reusable containers and sold to community pubs predominantly within a 40-mile radius of the brewery. There are also many breweries who have placed environmentalism front and centre of what they do with astonishing results – water usage down to 1.5 pints, energy sourced solely from renewable technology and early adopters of CO2 capture equipment to name but a few of the cutting edge initiatives adopted by independent breweries.

BREWING OUR WAY TO NET ZERO SIX KEY AREAS

A new sustainability strategy has been published by SIBA, setting out plans to help independent breweries across the UK to meet the ambitious Net Zero targets set by the UK Government.

Launched at BeerX, the ‘Brewing our way to Net Zero’ strategy includes a consultation with breweries, suppliers and others across the UK before being implemented.

This comes as the latest 2023 YouGov Craft Report consumer poll shows almost half of consumers (48%) believing the sustainability credentials of a brewer is an important factor when choosing a beer. For female consumers this increases to 52% with 55% of younger consumers saying it is important.

In his introduction to the report, Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive, highlights the fact brewers already take many positive measures to lessen their environmental impact, but more still needs to be done.

“Yet as small and medium sized businesses, many independent breweries lack the economic, human and technical resources they need to make the jump to net zero – increasingly the number one priority in sustainability. As significant users of materials and as energy intensive businesses they face an uphill challenge to meet the government’s ambitious and legally enforced environmental goals over the next few decades,” said Andy

Slee, SIBA Chief Executive

The practical ‘Brewing our way to net zero’ sustainability strategy sets out how independent breweries can achieve their net zero obligations with help and support from SIBA as well as examples from breweries that lead the way.

“Sustainability is at the heart of what we do and has to be delivered in an economic, rational way to enable small independent breweries to make the changes to their businesses they need to succeed in the decades to come,” Andy added.

SIBA has identified six key areas on which they will focus to help small breweries achieve the Net Zero targets, these are: Energy Use, Ingredients, Transport & Logistics, Packaging & Recycling, Solid Waste Management, and Water.

Within each of the key areas SIBA has set out short, medium and long-term goals to achieve Net Zero for the independent brewing sector by 2045 – five years ahead of the Government’s legally binding Net Zero emissions targets, which dictate net zero emissions by 2050 and to reduce national emissions 78% by 2035 and 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

The report consultation was open until 19 May to gather feedback on the scope and objectives of the report, and will help shape the strategy.

SIBA issued a statement in response to the Budget announcements that the lower rate for draught beer will be topped up to 9.2% when the new changes go live in August.

SIBA CEO Andy Slee said: “While it’s welcome that the Chancellor has topped up the draught relief from 5% to 9.2%, by increasing overall duty by RPI, the Government has eroded the benefits of the wider big bang changes to the alcohol duty system that are being introduced in August.

“We are also disappointed in the lack of support for pubs, bars and taprooms, which are a critical part of small brewers’ businesses and are facing existential threats from energy price hikes, a costof-living crisis and other inflationary costs.

“The Craft Beer Report shows the extent of the stubborn post-Covid hangover for pubs, with a worrying 20% of people having not visited a pub in the last 12 months.”

SIBA reacts to Chancellor ‘topping up’ draught duty relief with increase from 5 to 9.2%

UK’s best beers revealed: The craft breweries who took home the silverware from the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2023

Grainstore Brewery’s ‘Nip’ and North Brewing Co’s ‘Triple Fruited GoseMango Guava Guava’ took home Overall Champion Gold in the Cask and Keg Awards at the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2023 at BeerX, with Abbeydale being named the best bottled or canned beer with their ‘Black Mass’ black IPA –making their three beers officially the best in the UK.

In a first for the awards there were also international beers judged, with Hofmeister being named the Overall International Gold for their delicious Bavarian wheat beer ‘Weisse’ which wowed the competition judges as a 'perfect example of the style'.

Judged by brewers and industry experts and organised by SIBA at their flagship BeerX UK event in Liverpool, the awards run across a huge range of beer style categories in cask, craft keg, bottle and can.

One of the night’s big winners, North Brewing Co, was on hand to accept their Overall Gold award in Keg for their mango and guava

triple fruited Gose, a German-style sour beer traditionally brewed with a touch of salt for added flavour.

“We’ve worked really hard to get the balance in this beer perfectly between the slight sweetness that the salt brings out, and the sourness and fruit of the beer itself, and I’m just blown away –I can’t believe we’ve won!

“It been a really tough year for our industry and this award will mean so much to everybody at the brewery, and it’s not just the brewing teamthe amount of care that goes in from brewing, to packaging, to warehousing, distribution, the marketing team. It’s a huge pat on the back for everyone at the brewery,” said Christian Townsley, North Brewing Co.

In the bottle and can competition it was Abbeydale’s ‘Black Mass’, a big bold and hoppy dark beer that wowed judges and won the Overall Champion Gold Award in the Bottle and Can Awards.

Christie Mcintosh from Abbeydale accepted the award saying: “We make this beer just three times a year and it’s a joyous, strong, bitter, fruity dark ale. Winning the National as a black IPA is pretty

wild, we won the Speciality IPA which we were really pleased about, but to then go up again and win the Overall Gold is just amazing.”

The SIBA Independent Beer Awards at BeerX UK are the national finals and in order to earn a place at the competition brewers must first win at their regional competition – making these overall Champions very much the ‘best of the best’ when it comes to British independent craft beer.

SIBA Competitions Chair Anneli Baxter, congratulated the winners on their huge achievement: “The quality of entries into these awards genuinely does go from strength each year, and 2023 was no exception with some superb beers across the Board. To win at the Regional Competitions is tough, to then go on to win your National Category even harder – and to take home the Overall National Gold is almost impossible - being named the best beer in the whole of the UK by an expert panel of judges. Huge congratulations and well done to all of this year’s winners."

For the full list of winners see pages 82-89.

New SIBA Independent Beer Award winners medals introduced for 2023 season

SIBA has launched new-look Independent Beer Awards 2023 winners medals, including an option for Gold medal winners to use medals featuring their 90+ winning score.

The badges were developed by SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing Neil Walker with design partner MA, in consultation with the SIBA Competitions Committee chaired by SIBA Board Director Anneli Baxter. The new winners medals come after a major shake-up of the awards categories and a new international style judging system was introduced in 2022.

“The new SIBA Independent Beer Awards winners medals further cement the competitions place as the leading beer awards in the UK, with

the new categories introduced last year alligning the competition with internationally recognised styles and judging processes. Gold winners will also have the option of using a new style medal which displays their score too, giving a further buying incentive for consumers browsing beers on the shelf. I look forward to seeing the medals in action when they are officially launched at our first Regional Awards of 2023, at MaltingsFest in Newton Abbot on the 20th April,” said Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing. Under the new awards rules introduced last year to align with internationally recognised beer judging standards beers, must score 70/100 or more to be awarded a Bronze Medal, 80/100 or more to gain a Silver Medal, or a whopping 90/100 or more to take the top Gold Medal Awards.

Wildcard named ‘Brewery Business of the Year’ in the SIBA Business Awards 2023

The winners in the SIBA Business Awards 2023 were revealed at BeerX in March, highlighting the very best beer businesses across the UK – including breweries, pubs, taprooms and bottle shops.

Wildcard in Walthamstow, London, took home the award’s biggest accolade, winning Brewery Business of the Year 2023 in what was a big night for the beer and brewing industry.

Wildcard’s owners Will Harris and Jaega Wise were on hand to accept the award.

“Delighted to win the award – it’s just huge recognition for everyone at Wildcard and we’re just really proud of what we have achieved as a team,” said Will.

“We have been going for 11 years now and to get recognition on a national level is unbelievable for the team – we’re going to go out tonight and celebrate! At Wildcard we operate a skinny team that works hard, so for us this is the ultimate validation. Sometimes things have got tough over the last couple of years and so an award like this really does mean

everything,” added Jaega Wise.

The SIBA Business Awards are judged by a panel of independent beer industry experts, and organised by SIBA. The awards cover everything from brewery marketing, design and innovation, to efforts to make businesses more sustainable or impactful.

Presenting the awards was beer industry writer and broadcaster Pete Brown, who had this to say on Wildcard’s win: “Wildcard were hugely impressive across the board, taking home the top prize in two categories and carve a niche for themselves with unique design, top quality beers and keen business instincts. Their influence on the industry has been huge for what is a relatively small brewery and judges were blown away by just how much they doing to progress the brewery on all fronts.”

The 2023 awards also for the first time included a new “Empowering People” Award, which seeks to highlight the best breweries in the UK to work for by empowering and supporting their teams and championing inclusivity and diversity.

Won a SIBA Keg Beer Award?

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The new award places a spotlight on independent craft breweries who go above and beyond for the members of their team; empowering people to achieve more in their professional career, introducing initiatives and incentives which create a positive working environment, making efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity, or providing benefits or support mechanisms which encourage a happier healthier life for employees.

Joining the expert judging panel for 2023 were Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive; Caroline Nodder, Editor of Independent Brewer and the SIBA British Craft Beer Report; Alex Metcalfe, lead on CAMRA Learn & Discover; Jo Hunter, Interior & Architectural Design expert and founder of Hunter’s Daughter; Charlie Docherty, SIBA Business Development Officer; and Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing, who chaired the panel. For the full list of winners see pages 78-81.

Invite international breweries you know to join SIBA

SIBA’s International Membership is now live and SIBA would like to encourage all members to reach out to any breweries worldwide you know or have perhaps collaborated with to join as a SIBA International Member.

As a member they get entry into the SIBA International Beer Awards and free entry to BeerX, as well as the opportunity to network with fellow brewers and a range of other membership benefits.

Find out more at www.siba.co.uk/international

A round-up of the most recent regional competitions in the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2023:

Eight Arch Brewing Co & Yonder Brewing named Champions of the South West

Eight Arch Brewing Co and Yonder Brewing took home the two Overall Champion awards in South West Independent Beer Awards, which took place at the MaltingsFest beer festival in Newton Abbot. Square Logic by Eight Arch, an aromatic and fruity pale ale using buckets of American hops, was named the best cask beer in the competition after a final round judging against all other beer style category winners. In the separate keg beer competition it was Yonder Brewing's Raspberry Gose that took the top spot, wowing judges with huge fruit flavours, subtle sourness and a refreshing, balanced finished.

Steve Farrell, Owner and founder of Eight Arch Brewing in Dorset was on hand to collect this prestigious award. He said: "Absolutely over the moon to win the overall cask champion at SIBA South West. Just did not expect it, as a 4.2% beer going up against some of the regions bigger beers is always tough, so an amazing feeling to win. The beer itself is a really easy drinking pale, there's oats and wheat to give great body, but also loads of citra and mosaic hops too giving great aroma and flavour. The whole aim of this beer is that people can just enjoy it and drink pints and pints of it, and obviously the judges enjoyed it today!"

For the full list of winners see pages 90-91.

Vale of Glamorgan and Geipel Brewery took Overall Champion Golds in Wales & West

The Vale of Glamorgan Brewery, and Geipel, based in Pant Glas, Gellioedd took home the two top awards at the SIBA Wales & West Independent Beer Awards 2023.

Vale of Glamorgan was named the best of the best in the cask beer competition, taking the Overall Champion Gold Award, with Geipel doing the same in the separate Bottle & Can competition.

The awards are run by SIBA prior to the opening of the popular SIBA Ludlow Beer Festival at Ludlow Castle and judge the best independent craft beers across a variety of style categories before overall ‘Gold Champions’ are selected in the separate ‘Cask’ and ‘Bottle & Can’ competitions.

Acorn Brewery takes gold at the North East SIBA Awards

Acorn Brewery, in Barnsley, took home the overall champion gold award from the SIBA North East Independent Beer Awards, which took place at Gateshead Rugby Club.

The winning beer was Acorn’s flagship Barnsley Bitter. Magic Rock Brewing Co’s Ringmaster took overall silver, with Ossett Brewery’s Voodoo picking up bronze.

“Barnsley Bitter was one of the first beers we ever brewed,” said Acorn brewer Steve Bunting. “It’s one of the beers we started the brewery with and has a long heritage, using the original yeast strain from the original Barnsley Brewery from the 1850s. It’s amazing that, against such a wide variety of beer styles in the awards, such a traditional style could come out on top today!”

For the full list of winners see pages 92-93.

Vale of Glamorgan's hefty 8.4% Russian Imperial Stout was specially brewed for the competition and proved a huge hit with judges in the Cask Imperial & Strong Beer category, before going on to win the overall Champion of the Cask Award against all of the other beer style category winners. Collecting the award for Overall Cask Champion was Craig Edmunds, owner of Vale of Glamorgan Brewery, who admitted they took a risk entering such a new beer: “It's been a bit of an experiment to be honest, we knew we wanted to do an imperial stout and we targeted this competition as we really wanted to step-up our game up this year. It means the world to us to win this award. We bought the brewery in 2021 and built the new brewery this Januaryit is a brand with an incredibly pedigree, and we thought we could raise the level even further, and for us this win means we're headed in the right direction."

Geipel's 'Bock'—a traditional German-style 6.5% dark lager, with complex flavours and a bittersweet finish— was named the top beer in the Bottle & Can beer competition. Erik Geupel, Brewer at Geipel Brewery, said: "It's a strong dark lager and when people first have it they're often surprised, because it doesn’t taste like what you'd expect from a lagerbut it's got so much flavour and depth that it really surprised and impresses people. We've been brewing it for 10 years now and coming to the SIBA Wales & West for 10 years, and to win the top prize in any of the categories is really something, but to win the overall Champion is just amazing." For the full list of winners see pages 94-95.

OVER 2000 DELEGATE ATTENDEES

BeerX cements itself as the UK’s biggest beer & brewing event with a hugely successful 2023 show

By Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing

Thank you to everybody who made the trip to Liverpool in March for BeerX UK 2023, I hope you got a lot out of the event, found time to catchup with friends and colleagues over a beer, and maybe even learnt something new or picked up an award.

For a small SIBA Team BeerX is a huge undertaking but we’re incredibly proud of what we have achieved in establishing it as the premier beer and brewing trade event in the UK, and each year we seek to deliver a show which is even better than the year before.

Attendance and feedback

BeerX 2023 attracted 2,002 individual Delegates and a further 655 Exhibitor representatives and guests over the two days, a fantastic achievement given the challenges caused by the rail strikes which coincided with the show. Feedback from Delegates has been excellent, with 93% of Delegates saying they would recommend the show to an industry colleague.

Delegate engagement with the new BeerX app also allowed us to track the most popular sessions at BeerX 2023, helping to inform the kinds of seminars, talks and tastings to include

in future years. The top sessions this year were ‘Hands on with British Hops’ (1st), ‘The Cost of Inefficiency in Craft Breweries’ (2nd), ‘Pushing the Boundaries of Beer’ (3rd), ‘Drink Cask Fresh’ (4th), and ‘How to write better tasting notes’ (5th).

BeerX also had excellent approval rates with Exhibitors, with 88% rating BeerX as the UK’s brewing trade show and a huge 94% saying they will be Exhibiting at BeerX again next year.

Sustainable progress

Sustainability is a really important part of how we approach BeerX and with this in mind we launched our new app-based delegate programme and guide this year, putting us on-track for an entirely paperless event in 2024. The app was incredibly well-received and made it easy to navigate the event, view the beer list, highlight seminars you want to attend, or even message fellow Delegates and Exhibitors.

With sustainability in mind we also agreed new three year partnerships with our hugely valued Headline Sponsor Kegstar, Stage Sponsors Breww, Charles Faram and Crisp, and our

Bar Sponsor Konvoy – meaning all of the branding and printed signage for the event will be in use for the next three years. This is another way in which we have reduced singleuse signage for the event, in combination with the excellent digital signage used at Exhibition Centre Liverpool.

Looking to next year

Whilst BeerX may move again in the future we are happy to once again confirm Liverpool Exhibition Centre as being the venue for BeerX 2024, which will take place on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th March 2024.

Liverpool is a fantastic beer destination and the local beer community has really embraced BeerX, with an ever-increasing number of fringe events, tap takeovers and after-parties taking place across the city during BeerX week. We’d like to thank all of the pubs, bars, and restaurants that put on events and support BeerX and look forward to what you’ve got in store for 2024.

From everybody at SIBA, thanks and see you again next year.

The view from Westminster

Finally we’re starting to get the details of the long awaited ‘Big Bang’ changes to the alcohol duty system – all of which are being introduced in only a few months’ time on 1 August 2023. Brewers will remember that this started with a review of SBR in 2018 and has resulted in every part of the duty system changing for small breweries. Since the review started in 2018 we’ve gone through eight Exchequer Secretaries with the ninth being appointed only a few weeks ago. We’ve also on our sixth Chancellor and fourth Prime Minister!

Now is the time to start preparing for these changes. You can rewatch our webinar on the Toolbox, along with a guide and calculator to work out your new duty levels. You’ll need to recalculate this ahead of August using the new small brewery year which runs from 1 February 2022 to 31 January 2023. You’ll also have to convert your production into hectolitres of pure alcohol (HLPA) which takes account of how strong it is and not just how much you produce. And you’ll have to do this every year (on the 1 February) as its very likely your duty rate will be different.

Remember that Small Breweries’ Relief is becoming part of a wider Small Producer Relief, which includes other products such as cider and RTDs and only applies to drinks below 8.5% ABV. Anything above that, such as your imperial stouts, will pay the full duty. Relief is no longer a percentage but in cash terms and the amount of relief you get will vary depending on its strength and how many HLPA you produce. The Government is also expanding the ‘Farmgate exemption’ to beer. Currently cider producers producing below 70hl don’t have to pay any duty at all. This will be applied to breweries producing below 5 HLPA with a full 100% discount on beer below 3.5% and a 90% reduction from 3.5-8.4%.

In addition there’s the new draught duty relief, which gives a duty discount on the beer you

package into large containers of 20 litres or above. In the Budget, and on the back of SIBA’s Make It 20% campaign, the Chancellor increased this differential from 5% to 9.2%. However, with the headline duty rate going up by 10%, this translates into a freeze for beer sold in pubs. Remember that small breweries will receive Small Producer Relief on draught products as well.

There is one significant issue with the draught duty that breweries should be aware of and that is its impact on takeaway beer. A quirk to the system means that there are new restrictions on repackaging beer from draught duty containers into crowlers, growlers and other takeaway cartons. For a pub to do takeaway beer it will have to buy from the brewery non-draught duty relief containers (i.e. those that have paid the fully duty rate and not the reduced draught rate). Failure to do so could result in fines and the bar equipment being forfeited.

There’s also been significant news on the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). SIBA has been lobbying on this issue for some time and six months ago we outlined a series of measures that we believed the Minister could introduce to assist small breweries prepare for the scheme. I’m pleased to say that they have listened and now put in place all of the mitigations that SIBA proposed. The scheme has now been delayed until 1 March 2024 with registration closing 12 January 2024. The Government has also announced that products that sell fewer than 5,000 units per year will be exempt from the scheme – especially helping those who do a few sales in Scotland from their webshops. In addition they’ve removed some of the charges – the so call Day One charges – and

introduced 60 day payment terms. We’re still expecting separate schemes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which are expected to go live in October 2025.

There was also good news on the alcohol promotion and sponsorship consultation in Scotland which could have resulted in perverse outcomes such as a ban on brewery branded t-shirts and delivery vans. The Scottish Government has agreed to revisit the issue meaning its likely we’ll get a new version of the consultation soon.

Finally – don’t forget that a great way to speak to your MP is by having your beer served in Parliament. Having your cask ale chosen as a guest beer in the Strangers’ Bar is a great opportunity to come down to Parliament, have some photos taken to send to the local press and lobby your local MP for changes. Please contact me if you’re interested in this.

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.

Relief is no longer a percentage but in cash terms and the amount of relief you get will vary depending on its strength and how many HLPA you produce.

copy is sent to all members in January.

If you are interested in an enhanced listing or advertising in the email Claire@wearema.co.uk

SIBA Membership UPDATE

SIBA’S REGIONAL MEETINGS

Regional Meetings offers Supplier Associates the opportunity to and fellow Supplier Associates. There are also a limited amount at these meetings for Supplier Associates. If you are interested

NEW LOOK SIBA REGIONAL MEETINGS

After a very successful trial of our new Regional Meeting format earlier this year, SIBA will be rolling out the format across the UK in 2023, with many meetings featuring industry guest speakers, or updates on key subjects such as lobbying, strategy, marketing and more.

SIBA is also inviting Supplier Associate members to come on board as sponsors for one or multiple meetings throughout the year, which allows us to offer complimentary beer and food at most meetings, creating a great networking environment for all members.

Regional Meetings are an essential part of SIBA as a membership organisation, which is why we’re putting time and investment into making sure meetings are as interesting, valuable and well-attended as possible moving forwards. Where other parts of the industry are moving online, we believe that face-to-face meetings (and hybrid where possible) are absolutely essential - getting together to highlight issues and discuss opportunities with colleagues over a beer is more important now than ever.

MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT

If there’s one thing which we come back to again and again when discussing SIBA Membership, it is that as brewers we really are stronger together. Whether it is the work that SIBA does on members’ behalf in Westminster and the devolved administrations, or representing the best interests of independent breweries in the industry – the more breweries involved, the louder our voice will become.

That’s why we want your help in recruiting more breweries to become SIBA Members and drive forward the future of British independent brewing.

SIBA’s Business Development Officer Charlie, who many of you will have hopefully met at SIBA Regional Meetings and Beer Awards, is also on-hand to speak to any prospective members –so if you have any suggestions of brewers near you who may be interested in SIBA membership drop him a line via membership@siba.co.uk

Equally if you have any questions or suggestions regarding your own membership or the benefits you receive then feel to drop us a line via the same address.

SPECIALIST SUBJECT WEBINARS

LEGAL HELPLINE

FREE ADVICE FROM EXPERIENCED SOLICITORS

Our focus at Regional Meetings is discussion, debate and engagement, making it the wrong place for lengthy presentations or in-depth presentations on specific subjects. But sometimes 20 minutes just isn’t enough time for our team, or guest speakers, to truly explore and explain a subject, which is why we have also committed to delivering more online webinars for members throughout 2023.

As with all manufacturing industries, breweries and their suppliers open to a variety of legal issues. To help protect your brewing business Members, Napthens solicitors offer members the best advice from wealth of experience. All members are eligible for one hour’s free there’s no limit on the number of times you can use this service

Already this year we have had webinars on the Deposit Return Scheme, the Alcohol Duty Review, and BeerFlex, and have future webinars in the planning on Utilising Social Media Advertising, the Drink Cask Fresh campaign, and much more. Much in the same way BeerX is used to offer deep-dives into specialist subjects or areas of interest, our webinars will throughout the year offer opportunities to learn something new.

WWW.SIBA.CO.UK | 01765 640441

NEW MEMBER BENEFITS AND MONTHLY SUPPLIER FOCUS

SIBA’s Supplier Associate Members offer hugely valuable insight and expertise in a range of areas – from hops, malt and yeast, to design, marketing or legal advice. In order to ensure all member breweries are making use of the specialist advice and offers these companies provide we are currently working with our Gold and Silver suppliers to create a range of new member benefits and services which will be available via the Toolbox this year.

Whether it’s a SIBA-member discount or access to free training and advice, this new initiative seeks to ensure all members are making the most from the exclusive service offered from Supplier Associates to SIBA Breweries.

From October 2023 SIBA will also be expanding the number of Gold Members from 8 to 12 and launching a new monthly focus for the Brewing in Brief e-newsletter, offering advice, insight and special offers from our most-valued supplier associate members.

Why Drink Cask Fresh?

Beer writer extraordinaire Pete Brown on what the Drink Cask Fresh campaign is trying to achieve and why cask beer deserves saving…

There’s a pivotal bit in Shakespeare’s King Lear, where the vain old king’s two scheming daughters are dismantling his authority. If he’s staying with them in their castles, he doesn’t actually need quite so many soldiers of his own, does he? Does he really need 50? 10? Finally one daughter, Regan, asks: “What need one?”

“Oh reason not the need!” explodes Lear. It’s not about needing his entourage for practical reasons. Sometimes it’s just nice to have things. If we only talk about what we need, we’re no better than animals.

I think about this speech often when I hear conversations along the lines of, “Do we still need cask ale?”

Cask ale was saved for the nation when the only alternatives were twiggy, stale keg bitter and fake continental lagers. Now, we have every beer style in the world freely available in bottle, keg and can. The old idea that you can’t have good keg beer and that cask is always best has all but disappeared. Cask, meanwhile, is less visible on the bar, harder to keep, and provides a lower margin than most other beers on the bar. So.

What need cask?

Oh reason not the need!

If cask ale were to be allowed to disappear, it would be an embarrassment to British beer drinking culture and our national reputation more widely. Can you imagine the Germans ‘losing’ authentic Pilsner lager? Or France declaring it could no longer be bothered to do champagne properly? The country would be seen as careless at best with an icon that defines its global appeal.

Yes, cask is doing badly and is beset by problems. Its sales decline is now so dramatic that wide scale intervention is required. The issues break down into three: cask’s variable quality; its low margin compared to other beers; and a lack of salience and

relevance, particularly among young drinkers. It’s up to the industry to sort out the first two issues internally, and it would be brilliant if they got on with it. In a perfect world, these would both be sorted before the consumer-facing issues are addressed, so we could be sure that if we did encourage new people to try cask, they wouldn’t be disappointed.

But last year, CAMRA and SIBA decided they couldn’t wait any longer. Cask was doing pretty badly in 2019, before the pandemic. And it’s still 20 per cent down on its pre-pandemic volumes, faring far worse than any other segment of the beer market.

Market research consistently shows that drinkers don’t regard cask as a drink for old men with bellies, beards and sandals. Only people within the industry repeat that tried trope to each other.

In some ways the truth is worse: cask simply stands for nothing it all.

Look at this from a glass half-full perspective though, and it means cask has a blank canvas. There are no negative stereotypes to break down. We just need to create an argument as to why it might be relevant to beer drinkers who currently shun it.

This is what the Drink Cask Fresh campaign has set out to explore. People who currently favour world lager want their beer to be fresh, and believe bottle lager is way fresher than a beer that’s probably been brewed locally a few weeks ago and only spends three or four days on the bar. Will telling them that cask is actually the freshest beer change their attitudes towards it? We don’t know. We hope so. But we’re also talking to them about sustainability, flavour and craft, to see if those messages have more appeal.

As I write this, the trial of the Drink Cask Fresh campaign is complete, but it’s still too early to see any results. For 10 weeks, 30 pubs have been running the campaign, each one paired with a very similar pub that has had no campaign materials. Now we have to crunch the numbers to see if the campaign made a difference.

Early indications are that saying anything at all about cask, simply raising its profile relative to other beers that have vastly bigger marketing budgets and immensely larger fonts on the bar, stirs the interest of the curious drinker. Perhaps they don’t want to know about secondary conditioning in the cellar. But they do want to know more about what they see as a premium quality product, one that hasn’t spoken directly to them before now.

Does the millennial or Gen-Z drinker need cask ale? They seem to be getting on fine without it. But reason not the need! When someone discovers the right cask beer for them, it becomes more than just another drink in their ever-expanding repertoire. Cask is only alive today because it inspires drinkers, publicans and brewers to regard it as something far greater than what’s in the glass. Can beer more broadly really afford to lose that magic?

Comment: Pete Brown

Pete Brown is a multi-award winning British author, journalist, broadcaster and consultant specialising in food and drink, especially the fun parts like beer, pubs, cider, bacon rolls and fish and chips. He lives in London with his wife Liz, and dog Mildred.

The SIBA Craft Beer Report 2023: Highlights

SIBA’s latest Craft Beer Report was launched at BeerX in Liverpool in March and remains the most definitive and comprehensive report of its kind in the UK market.

This year’s report reveals a post-Covid world in which small independent brewers are battling the rapid onset of the financial crisis while they have yet to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic. However, it also shows a sector that is innovating and has broadened its routes to market, becoming less reliant on sales to pubs and investing in growing sales through direct routes to the consumer such as taprooms and web shops.

This year’s SIBA Craft Beer Report showed the hugely positive effect independent breweries have on their communities

Eight out of 10 people in the UK believe that a well-run independent brewery has a positive effect on its local community, according to this year’s SIBA Craft Beer Report.

The report, which features SIBA member survey data, industry analysis and commentary, as well specially commissioned consumer research via YouGov – shows more people than ever are discovering their local brewery bar or taproom, or buying direct from the source via a webshop.

This community spirit is a sentiment shared by brewers themselves, with a whopping 98% of SIBA brewers saying they consider their local community to be important to them.

“Our members’ sales footprint has transformed over recent years as brewers look to meet the growing local demand for quality independent craft beer. Over a quarter of independent brewery sales are now direct to consumers, with over 40% now running their own bar or taproom as well as seeing an increased trend in online sales,” said Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive.

The SIBA Craft Beer Report also highlights some of the challenges the industry is facing, providing a post-Covid health check for a struggling on-trade, with beer sales via pubs yet to recover to previous levels.

“Beer sales are still well short of pre-pandemic levels, thanks to the stuttering recovery of the Nation’s pubs and the pressures on people’s spending from the cost-of-living crisis,” Andy said.

The report shows pub visits fell sharply in the last 12 months, with 20% of the population not visiting a pub at all – traditionally a critical outlet for local beers and independent breweries. Access to pubs is also a challenge for small brewers, with Global companies continuing to control the Nation’s beer taps.

“Small independent breweries lead the way in innovation – producing the UK’s most flavoursome, interesting and high quality beers – yet we only account for 6% of the UK beer market, which is still dominated by globally-owned, main stream brands.

“It’s vital that small independent breweries are able to deliver the beers the research clearly shows are in-demand, whether that’s via their own taprooms and shops or via the vital pub trade,” added Andy.

5 CAUSES FOR CONCERN

SIBA member breweries saw average production recover further in 2022, after the devastating impact of the pandemic in 2020, but it still remains -11% below 2019 levels. Brewers were only able to increase their prices by 2%, which represents a real term fall in prices in an environment of double digit inflation.

There has been a significant fall in the overall number of consumers ever drinking beer, especially among women, and more than a fifth of consumers say they no longer drink any alcohol.

Pub visits fell sharply with more than a fifth of all consumers not visiting a pub in the last 12 months. This means broadening routes to market is essential for brewery survival.

The craft beer sector is still failing to make in-roads on the issue of inclusion and diversity, with a continued and very significant overrepresentation of white males in the workforce.

5 CAUSES FOR OPTIMISM

A sale direct to consumers, whether by pub, bar, website or taproom, is the most profitable route for most brewers. These sales seem to be growing fastest with over a quarter of all output now sold through these channels.

Cask beer is a fresh, hand-crafted product, sold in reusable containers, often in local communities. SIBA members appear to be leading cask beer recovery.

A growing number of consumers believe that genuine craft beer should be produced by an independent brewery. Only 3% believe it can be made by a global brewer.

Nine out of 10 SIBA members would recommend SIBA membership to a friend, which presents SIBA with a huge opportunity given we still represent less than half of all registered independent brewers.

Independent brewers are local heroes. Eight out of 10 consumers say a well-run independent brewery has a positive effect on its local community, and 98% of SIBA brewers consider their local community to be important to them. Two-thirds of SIBA brewers are planning to grow this year.

+5%

INCREASE IN AVERAGE BEER VOLUMES IN 2022

SIBA MEMBERS’ PRODUCTION INCREASED LAST YEAR BUT WAS STILL -11% DOWN ON 2019

*Production data from SIBA’s membership returns

+7% GROWTH IN CASK PRODUCTION

FROM 46% OF SIBA MEMBERS’ PRODUCTION IN 2021 TO 53% IN 2022

-4% FALL IN CAN VOLUMES

CANS NOW ACCOUNT FOR 9% OF SIBA MEMBERS’ PRODUCTION IN 2022 DOWN FROM 13% IN 2022

OF SIBA BREWERS ARE NOW USING THE ASSURED INDEPENDENT BRITISH CRAFT BREWER SEAL

684

SIBA BREWERIES AT THE START OF 2023

MEMBERSHIP DOWN JUST OVER -2.5% FROM 702 IN JANUARY 2022

57%

43% USE THE SEAL ON THEIR BOTTLED BEERS

Rizzolio’s automatic and economic Compactblock filler and capper added to our bottling range.

The Rizzolio Range - For carbonated & still drinks

Having sold Rizzolio’s semi-automatic counter pressure fillers to brewers and cidermakers for over 4 years, we’re pleased to now offer Rizzolio’s Automatic Compactblock Counter Pressure Filler and Capper. With an output of 700 to 900 bottles per hour, you can fill and cap carbonated and non-carbonated products, including beer, hop water, kombucha, and soft drinks. The Compactblock is a great stepping stone between Rizzolio’s semi-auto fillers and CIMEC bottling lines. Options are available for single/double pre-evacuation of oxygen for low DO pickup values. As with all the lines we supply, these machines are installed, commissioned and supported by our team of engineers.

fittings made to order

We’re aware that some fittings are difficult to source - we have the solution

We can make fittings to order in our fabrication workshop. Whether hosetails, valves or adaptors - RJT, tri-clamp, BSP, and/or DIN - we can help. Coded welding is no problem. We can also provide bespoke pipework assemblies for CIP, steam, flow plates, products and services. If you’re struggling to source, please call us.

Vigo installation

energy efficient chillers

With energy saving features to help reduce power consumption & operational costs.

Quantor chillers include features to save energy and reduce CO2 footprints by means of higher efficiency and optional heat-recovery features (reversible via heat-pump for producing hot water). Our engineers install complete systems with bespoke ringmains for controlling product and/or air temperature.

ongoing support

6 ways we support you and your Vigo equipment before, during & after sale

We wouldn’t be here today, 39 years on, without the level of support we offer our customers. Our Engineering Team of 9 install, make technical adaptations, service, repair, manufacture and UKCA mark where necessary. Read the Case Studies online for what our customers say about the support and backup we give.

We’ll find the best bottles for your brand. Call us at Rawlings Bristol on 0117 960 4141, email hello@rawlingsbristol.co.uk or visit www.rawlingsbristol.co.uk

15%

OF SIBA MEMBERS PRODUCED LOW AND NO BEERS IN 2022

68%

OF SIBA MEMBERS PRODUCED A GLUTEN-FREE BEER IN 2022

A RISE OF +11% ON 2021

84%

26% OF SIBA MEMBERS PRODUCED A PORTER/ STOUT IN 2022

A RISE OF +25% ON 2021

OF SIBA MEMBER BREWERIES NOW HAVE A WEBSHOP OVER HALF (54%) NOW HAVE A BREWERY SHOP AND 40% HAVE A TAPROOM

SIBA MEMBERS ACHIEVED AN AVERAGE

+2% PRICE INCREASE ON THEIR BEERS OVER ALL CHANNELS IN 2022

DUE TO RISING COSTS THIS EQUATES TO A REAL TERM LOSS

98%

OF SIBA MEMBERS SAY THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT +8% UP ON 2022

Revolutionize Low Alcohol Beer

LalBrew® LoNa™ is a hybrid Saccharomyces cerevisiae able to create a variety of clean tasting Low and No alcohol beers simply and e ciently.

learn more at lallemandbrewing.com/lona

ONLY 1% OF SIBA MEMBERS’ BEER PRODUCTION WAS EXPORTED IN 2022

ONLY 15% OF SIBA BREWERIES DO ANY EXPORT

30%

BUT...

ONLY 3%

OF SIBA BREWERY EMPLOYEES ARE NOW FEMALE,ROUGHLY THE SAME PROPORTION AS IN 2022

OF FEMALE WORKERS ARE BREWERS, ALTHOUGH 24% WORK IN BREWERY MANAGEMENT

594*

91% OF SIBA MEMBERS WOULD RECOMMEND SIBA MEMBERSHIP TO OTHER BREWERS

75% OF SIBA MEMBERS CONSIDER SIBA MEMBERSHIP TO BE VALUABLE OR VERY VALUABLE

NEW JOBS WILL BE CREATED BY SIBA MEMBER BREWERIES IN 2023*

THIS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT DROP FROM THE 732 IN OUR 2022 SURVEY *Number estimated from SIBA survey results

Thank you to all of our Members who took the time to fill out the members’ survey which forms the basis for the SIBA Craft Beer Report, and a big thank you also to our Official Industry Partner Croxsons for their support again this year. Download your free copy of the SIBA Craft Beer Report via the link on the homepage at www.siba.co.uk or scan the QR code

Brew York: Katy BerryPastry Sour

The British Guild of Beer Writers’ Brewer of the Year Andy Parker, from Elusive Brewing, gives us an insight into Berlinerstyle beers with a look at the recipe and process used by Brew York in their Katy Berry beer…

Homebrew in Focus columnist Andy Parker

Katy BerryPastry Sour

Berliner Weisse is a Northern German variation on the classic Wheat Beer and both styles are absolutely delicious in the summer sun. Whilst the more common German Wheat Beer (or Hefeweizen) relies on yeast esters (typically banana and clove) for the base of its flavour and aroma profile, the historic recipes of Berlin are known for their natural sourness, typically introduced by Lactobacillus – a naturally occurring bacteria that is characterized by its ability to produce lactic acid as a by-product of glucose metabolism. As this acid is produced, the pH of the wort or fermented beer will drop, creating a natural sour ‘tang’. The history and production methods of the Berliner Weisse style is a fascinating subject and well worth investigating!

ABV 5.5%

Volume 20L

Boil Volume 22L

ABV 5.5

Target FG 1.063 (pre-fruit)

Target OG 1.031

IBU 8

Colour Purple!

Mash 69C for 60mins

Fermentation 20C

Malt Qty

Pale 1500g

Malted Oats 500g

Malted Wheat 400g

Flaked Oats 400g

Torrefied Oats 400g

Carapils/Dextrin 250g

Rice Hulls 400g

Kettle Additions

Lactose - Qty 1000g - Added 15 mins from end of boil

Maltodextrin - Qty 380g - Added 15 mins from end of boil

Hops

Brewers Gold - Qty 50g - Added

Whirlpool at 90C

Bacteria

Wildbrew Sourpitch - Qty 10g

Yeast

US-05 - Qty 11g

Adjuncts

Blueberry Concentrate - Qty

750g

Vanilla Extract - Qty 25ml

The modern Berliner-style beers are often served with a choice of flavoured syrups - from fruit such as raspberry, to curious herbs such as woodruff. It was perhaps these additions, especially various fruits, that inspired the evolution of the style to where it is today in the world of modern craft brewing. Some modern takes even use lactose or maltodextrin to back sweeten the sour beer - along with various fruit and spice additions - and these have come to commonly be referred to as ‘pastry sours’, acknowledging their likeness to cakes and pastries! Whilst these modern brews are quite far removed from historic counterparts, they do still rely on lactobacillus or specially cultured lactic acid producing yeasts to create their sourness.

Founded in 2016 by good friends Lee Grabham and Wayne Smith, Brew York have built a reputation for producing fabulous sour beer as part of their playful and incredibly diverse range, with their pastry sour recipes being inspired by such creations as Polish Plum Cake and Cherry Bakes. The two met at a mutual friend's stag do and began home-brewing together after sharing their love and passion for craft beer. Brew York was born not long after, starting out in a modest warehouse and former maltings in Walmgate in York city centre before expanding into 13,000 sq. ft unit at Handley Park in Osbaldwick as part of a £1.5M investment in 2021. It’s safe to say that Brew York is a brewery on the up but Lee and Wayne certainly haven’t lost that creativity and just plain good fun aspect to what they brew.

Brew York’s Katy Berry is a 5.5% Blueberry Pastry Sour which appears regularly in their line-up. Like many of their beers, the name pays homage to a famous celebrity, although it is not known if the similarly named American pop star has had the opportunity to sample her beery namesake! The recipe starts out with a high protein grist to give it plenty of body, to

The modern Berliner-style beers are often served with a choice of flavoured syrupsfrom fruit such as raspberry, to curious herbs such as woodruff.

which lactose and maltodextrin are later added for an overall sweet base. The wort is soured naturally using Lallemand Wild Brew Sour Pitch, which is an isolated plantarum variant of lactobacillus known for its lemony citrus notes.

When souring with this method, we mash as normal and transfer to our kettle, then bring the wort to a quick boil to pasteurise it. The wort is then cooled to around 38-40C before pitching our lactobacillus. After pitching the Wild Brew Sour Pitch, it’s important to keep the kettle at around this temperature so wrap it up in something warm and ideally flush it with CO2 to remove as much oxygen as possible. These two things will help prevent the formation of butyric acid (an off flavour often compared to the smell of baby sick or blue cheese) and isovaleric acid which also presents as a cheesy note.

Keep an eye on the pH in the kettle through regular sampling and after 24-36 hours, it should have dropped to around 3.3-3.4pH. Pre-souring the wort to around 4.4pH before pitching Wild Brew Sour Pitch can give it a helping hand as the lower pH presents a happy breeding ground and helps to prevent undesirable bacteria forming. Lallemand has a best practices document for using this strain which you can download from their website. This is recommended reading and will help you get the best out of it.

Once we’ve reached our desired pH, we bring the wort back to the boil to kill the bacteria and complete the remainder of our brew - in this case adding the lactose, maltodextrin and hops as per the recipe before cooling again, this time to around 19C, to pitch the US-05 yeast. This is a reliable workhorse of a yeast strain that won’t be phased by the low pH. Once primary fermentation slows and before the temperature drops, add the blueberry concentrate and allow a few more days for the sugar in the fruit to ferment out to a stable gravity. The vanilla extract is added before packaging.

The resultant beer should have a lovely purple colour from the fruit concentrate and a delicious balance of sour and tart blueberry and sweet lactose and vanilla. As our pop star might’ve sang, “I drank a sour and I liked it!”

Taproom Focus: Thornbridge Brewery

Taproom focus with Charlie Docherty

SIBA’s Business Development Officer highlights some of the best taprooms from across the UK…

Name: Thornbridge Brewery

Founded: 2005

Location: Bakewell, Derbyshire

Taproom Hours: Open every day, 12-9pm (Open until 11pm Fridays and Saturdays)

Thornbridge’s story has been told so many times, and by people more knowledgeable than me on the subject (and I say that having worked for them for two years), but few would argue that over the last 18 years there has been another brewer that has produced a wider range of styles to such a consistently high quality. The brewery is located on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Bakewell in Derbyshire, having relocated from an outbuilding on the grounds of nearby Thornbridge Hall in 2009.

Thornbridge’s taproom is in its third iteration, each bigger than the last, matching Thornbridge’s growth since its foundation in 2005. During the pandemic, the taproom moved into a new unit adjacent to the unit housing their main 50Hl Brewkit, and it is a cavernous space that it shares with the brewery’s smaller, original brewkit, that is still brewed on regularly. The taproom itself does a great job of making an industrial space a nice place to have a drink, with a full array of pub chairs, sofas, high stools, church pews and barrels, all bathed in the orange glow of a huge ‘Home of Jaipur’ neon sign. The branding of Jaipur, Thornbridge’s flagship 5.9% ABV IPA is elsewhere on the wallsincluding the (slightly dented) door of a Jaipur branded rally car.

The taproom opens at midday, seven days a week, and is always busy. It’s been successful at attracting customers from outside of the beer bubble, which is essential given its relatively rural location. At midday during the week, you might find hikers rewarding themselves with a pint (the hugely popular Monsal Trail, which follows the path of a disused railway line through the Peak District’s Limestone Dales, is nearby). In the summer months, holidaymakers to Bakewell can be seen taking part in ‘The Thornbridge Experience’, a short film on the history of Thornbridge, followed by a tutored tasting. On Friday afternoons, you’ll probably spot a sizable number of the brewery’s production team, as well as locals swinging by to pick up a 12 pack of Jaipur or Lukas for the weekend. If you’re coming from Sheffield, which is the nearest train station, there’s an hourly bus that drops you off a five minute walk from the brewery. Thornbridge’s venues are developing a reputation for their pizzas - they’re an excellent accompaniment to a couple of pints, and the taproom is no differentan oven in the corner is near-constantly churning out pizzas. Off to one side, there is a shop which offers cases of Thornbridge’s full range at the same price as their (SIBA Business Awards 2023 nominated) webshop. Along with their taproom, Thornbridge have five pubs in and around Sheffield, as well as outposts in Leeds, York and Birmingham, which are also well worth a visit.

My recommendation for a first pint? Brother Rabbit is a 4% ABV Golden Ale that benefits from a lemony hit of Mount Hood Hops, an unfashionable American hop that is descended from Hallertau Mittelfrüher.

Circular economy

Newcastle-based Full Circle Brew Co launched just as the pandemic hit in 2020, which you might think would have put founder Ben Cleary slightly off his start-up stride. However, unencumbered by unsellable kegs and casks, the fledgling operation was able to quickly pivot to small pack and ecommerce – an environment not alien to Ben, who had previously run webshop and bottle shop business The Pip Stop. What the pandemic did do, was slow Ben’s ambitious plans to become a national brand and to fulfil the ‘Full Circle’ ethos of becoming a fully sustainable business. Nevertheless, the business weathered the impact of Covid well, and this year growth is back on track. So much so, that production volumes are predicted to more than double in 2023, and investment in sustainable technologies and an offsetting programme mean that Full Circle is

going to be well on its way to hitting an ambitious target to become a net zero business by 2033. Ben and the team took home the Community Engagement award again this year at the SIBA Business Awards at BeerX in March, the second year in a row they lifted the trophy, which is a reflection of the emphasis Ben places on Full Circle’s role as a force for good within the community of Northumberland, and now on a wider stage with national projects such as a recent partnership with the Marine Conservation Trust. There are also plans for two new standalone bars – a strategy tried and tested by North Brewing, a company Ben very much looks up to. Caroline Nodder, Independent Brewer’s Editor, spoke to Ben in early May to hear more about his plans for world domination…

Business Basics

Business profile: Full Circle Brew Co

How did you come to found Full Circle and how has the business developed since then?

Name: Full Circle Brew Co

Founded: 2020

Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Owners: Family-owned, led by Ben Cleary

Annual production: 3,000hl (2022), 7,000hl (predicted 2023)

Production split: 75% keg, 25% can (recently started doing cask)

Brewing team: 4 (plus one part time)

Total Staff: 20

Flagship beers: Looper (6.4% ABV IPA) and Repeater (4.2% ABV Session IPA)

Key export markets: France and Denmark

“I was in the wine trade for eight years prior, and I used to have a bottle shop and national ecommerce business under the name The Pip Stop. We started selling a lot more craft beer, and it became more of an interest to me. It was something that I wanted to pursue and move away from the wine world. I find it much more creative, and a little less snooty! The beer scene is much more collaborative and friendly than the wine is in some ways, and very forward thinking which is nice. So me and my head brewer Alex, he was actually studying at Brewlab because he wanted to change his career. And he was winning every homebrew competition going at the Newcastle BrewDog homebrew competitions. We met through The Pip Stop, he lived nearby and he'd come in and bring his beers in, and they were arguably better than anything I had on the shelves. So me and him set out to grow something bigger. We had a little 100 litre kit, and he was brewing in a little cold warehouse up in Stanley in County Durham. We were creating the core recipes at that point, so we were doing different iterations and sampling them through The Pip Stop. The way I saw this was, it's not about what we think, it's about what the customer thinks. So we would try and meet with customers every week, and we ended up going through six iterations of each beer until we found the core range. Once we'd done that, we were happy to go ahead, and we went big. We went from 100 litres to a 3,000 litre SSV kit overnight. We were looking for a property for about a year and a half. We actually were originally looking in Durham, but then we decided to go to the big craft beer scene within our area which is Newcastle. And we found a building that was perfect for us in a place called Hoults Yard. It

was the oldest pottery, I believe, in the world, but now it's a design district. And there was an old rail yard building that was split level. So a third of it was raised by about a metre, which was ideal because today that’s our customer zone. It’s the taproom, and then we've got an all-glass front looking out on the entire brewery operation. We just went in all guns blazing with grand plans and just hoped to get to where we needed to be. The first three years hampered the sales growth because of what we've had to deal with, with Covid and Brexit then essentially the Great Depression with the issues with Russia. So this year has really been huge. Things are just growing worryingly, but in a very positive way. And we've got our foundations now. And we're really looking to strive and move forward to become a big national brand.”

So you launched almost exactly as Covid hit. How did that affect you?

“Neither of us have ever worked commercially in the brewing scene before. So we were learning as we went. And the fortunate thing for us is that we were very agile. We didn't have any preconceptions and we didn't actually have any casks, or kegs packaged, which obviously was a huge problem for many other brewers who had hundreds and hundreds of kegs just sitting in a warehouse, which couldn't get used. We basically turned everything to online. So we launched something called FCBC Now, which was similar to the Amazon Prime offering that was going around. We did it locally through our webshop. Order by 11, and you will have it on the same day. That became a big help for us. We didn’t actually have our first pub account for the first year of trading, which is just crazy. But a lot of the volume was actually going to export. And then we picked up a few things with Beer52, and then we did a lot through the webshop.”

What is the ethos behind the business?

“Full Circle has two meanings. The first one is, my family are in the wine business. I worked in the wine business and their parents both ran pubs. So we've gone ‘full circle’. So that was the nice family link. But then the other thing was a promise to become fully sustainable. So as an independent family business, we are super sustainable on a wine side. But we couldn't claim that in a rented building in Newcastle. So over the three years, we've not really pushed anything through on that, because it's been very difficult to do that. We've just been trying to survive and grow. And now this year, we've got big plans to really work towards sustainability. So we've linked up with a decarbonisation software company called Zero. They've linked up with maybe five or six breweries, but they're getting more and more on board. It basically allows us to measure our carbon usage.

My plan in the next month or two is to increase our bar offering in two places, one in the city centre of Newcastle and one on the coast. That's something that we should be doing.

And it's very impressive, it integrates with all of our systems, and it gives you a true carbon usage report, monthly and yearly. So that then gives us the knowledge to know where we can move forward and how we can essentially either reduce our carbon footprint, but also offset it. So we've been in talks with offsetting companies where we can then start looking at lots of different things to invest into to offset. And we're also looking at the reduction strategies. We've just bought a nitrogen generator, that's going to reduce our CO2 usage considerably. And especially with the CO2 prices rising so high in December last year, it's a cost saving. The goal is to become net zero in 10 years. So 2033 is our target.”

So sustainability is moving back in to focus for you?

“We couldn't really invest back at the start in things like nitrogen generators because we were just focusing on surviving and growing. It was really difficult for us. But now we're in that big growth phase, we really want to push that forward. My big plan this year is all around sustainability, health and well-being and then trying to broaden community engagement. We've done a lot locally. But we've never done anything nationally, and we want to continue doing it locally, but we were thinking about who can we partner with to really make an impact on a national level, and we're about to partner with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

Full Circle has two meanings. The first one is, my family are in the wine business. I worked in the wine business and their parents both ran pubs. So we've gone ‘full circle’. So that was the nice family link. But then the other thing was a promise to become fully sustainable.

The aim is that we can ideally seal bigger deals by doing collaboration with the MCS, and then hopefully it'll benefit them and us. It’s really important to me because the sea is in such a bad place. And we can do something on a local level with beach cleanups, and because we're Northumberland, there's a huge amount of those near us. But we also want to put money towards other projects around wildlife. And the MCS has the best initiatives for us from a national perspective over anyone else. So there’s that, coupled with the sustainability initiatives that we're really pushing for this year, and we'll be releasing an impact report in the next month about where we want to be. One of the things that we've been working really hard on, is our efficiencies, and how to reduce energy costs. And to get more beer out on the same batch without affecting quality.

We're also looking at smart plugs, which use AI to understand where you're using energy, where you're losing energy, and how it can be best utilised. Grid Imp is one of them, for example, and they use AI and bring in all these plugs that work on big three phase systems, and then say, for example, the hot liquor tank is on all night. But if you turn it off for four hours, you'll only lose two degrees. And it will be back up to normal as of 7am when you need it.”

How do you ensure Full Circle stands out in such a crowded market?

“When people ask us, ‘what's your USP?’, it's really difficult to give them that when there's 1000s of breweries often doing the same things. I think now we have those USPS in what I've just talked about, but the thing that I've always said is, you're only as good as your last beer. Ultimately, we release four new beers every month. And they always have to be great. If they're not up to scratch, you just can't put them out there. It's all about brand building. Brand comes first, over profits, as far as I'm concerned, because if you can build a solid brand, you'll stand the test of time. I think we've got a wonderful brewing team. I've got a cracking team on my side with everything else. And everyone's very busy, but very happy at the same time, which is really important to me.”

Continued on page 41

You recently won the Community Engagement award at the SIBA Business Awards for the second year in a row, tell us a bit more about the way you work with local people.

“One thing that we did last year, which I believe the reason why we won, was that we started looking at the design departments in Universities. We do produce, essentially, one new design every week. And it's quite hard for us to always be doing that whilst we're growing. So we figured, why don't we look at building someone's portfolio who's just about to come out of University, we'll pay whoever wins, and it's a really fun project for students to do. And the benefit is the beers go around the world. We've linked up with Northumbria University to do that. And then we've just been put on Sunderland University’s syllabus. We review them in house. And if there's 100 designs and we like all 100, we'll take them all and pay them for it. If we only like five, then they're the ones who get through. That has worked out really nicely for us. Some of the other projects we've done include the Golden Dooper launch. We create Dooper once a year on our birthday, it’s a double Looper, which gets really good hype. And we decided two years ago to do 20 golden cans, and whoever finds the Golden Dooper, gets invited down here in January to the brewery for a big Dooper day where they get lots of prizes. Another thing we did last year was that there were issues in Newcastle City Centre, and they created something called Newcastle Street Watch for women to feel safer. Unfortunately, there were a lot of predators out of the streets at the time. So we did a huge fundraiser and we generated about £10,000, which was wonderful. So we put a huge portion of that towards Newcastle Street Watch, which allowed them to get the vital things they needed to really bolster that up.”

As well as your taproom do you have any plans to expand your direct retail side?

“Yes I do. My plan in the next month or two is to increase our bar offering in two places, one in the city centre of Newcastle and one on the coast. That's something that we should be doing. We need to get a better presence in certain areas and stop big beer from taking all the sales. North Brewing has always been the brewery that we want it to be. We've always wanted to strive to be more like North. And ultimately, they started with bars. And it's obviously a very good idea, as long as you can run them properly.”

You have done quite a lot to support the relief efforts in Ukraine, how did that come about?

“We actually were speaking to Varvar [Ukranian brewery] well before the issues with Russia. We'd already organised the date for them to come, which was the day they actually came. Luckily, they still managed to come. So that was already pre-booked in. And we've met them at another event, and go on and then we organised the collaboration. And that obviously makes some money for them. So we donated quite a lot of money from all the proceeds of that beer. And then oddly enough on Hoults Yard where we are there's a charity that was working closely with Ukraine. One of the ladies there was Ukrainian, and her brother was killed in battle the week before. So the sad thing was, that we invested our money into tourniquetes. That was the thing that they desperately needed. Two of our team, not that far back, actually have Ukrainian blood. So that was very important to them.”

We need to get a better presence in certain areas and stop big beer from taking all the sales.

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What investments are you making in the business this year?

“Zero is quite an expensive software to use, the decarbonisation software, so that is a big element of the tech side for us. Because until you can see your true usage, you can't do anything about this. There's lots of companies claiming to be carbon neutral, and they're not, they don't do offsetting. So they'll never be carbon neutral. And it's a big thing. I want to be the poster child for our parent company, because they have electric cars, solar panels, turbines, all this stuff. But these are all reduction plans. So whilst they're doing great things, from a reduction standpoint, they're not doing any offsetting. This is a big problem at the minute, people can claim carbon neutrality, because no one has any structured idea of what that means. We're hopefully going to start working with a company called Klimate in Denmark. They basically build a portfolio for offsetting – so it might be $30 a tonne if you want to invest in forestation, or $900 a tonne to invest in natural air technology. In Iceland, which means this can be powered by renewable energy, there are huge warehouses with open rooms with huge fans, which basically pull all the natural air in from the atmosphere, decarbonise it on site, and then pump it back – so that's the opposite end of the cost scale. And what Klimate do is build a portfolio of things that you're offsetting with. So, we probably can't afford the natural air solutions right now. But there's lots of other things in between.”

What do you see as the main challenges for the UK’s independent craft beer sector?

“Our main challenge is making sure we can facilitate our customers at the minute. The

Our main challenge is making sure we can facilitate our customers at the minute. The biggest challenge is keeping costs down. Because with our growth this year, we may need to look at costs at the end of the year, only because duty prices will be going much higher.

biggest challenge is keeping costs down. Because with our growth this year, we may need to look at costs at the end of the year, only because duty prices will be going much higher. So for us, currently, it's great. But in 12 months’ time, we could be I don't know, it could be it could be an extra £3 or £4 per litre on duty. So we're trying to find ways in which we can reduce prices without affecting any beer quality. It's been our vision from the start. A lot of breweries as they grow, just always reduce the price every year by X amount, and make it slightly less flavoursome. Some people won't notice this, because it's a gradual process. The tricky thing was for us not to do that. Yeah. So I think it's the price hikes that are the biggest thing for us - across everything from fuel to gas to electric to grain to hops. We're looking at starting to re-pitch our own yeasts, which is going to make a big cost saving for us, which we didn't do before. Also maybe another issue for us is the lack of off-trade at the moment. It's reduced quite considerably. For us anyway. We're selling a lot more to on-trade. And that's partly because of our routes to market and our

branding now. The off-trade has taken a hit in the last year and I do believe that's due to all of the global issues and the fact that people don't have as much money, and supermarkets have more beer at better prices.”

Who do you most admire in the craft beer sector and why?

“I think Moonwake is one, we've just done a collab with them, and they have a videographer and they came back to us with this video and it was just incredible. And their beers are great. Their brand looks a little bit like ours, which is concerning, but I think Moonwake is the one to watch for sure. I think they're wonderful. And then I would look to the local scene in Newcastle. There's 70-odd breweries in Northumberland and it's a relatively small population for that many breweries. And the likes of Almasty and Two by Two are doing such good beers. I really rave about them. I think one from London, Ansbach & Hobday, they’re really doing great things, but I think everyone knows that anyway. But it does make me sad. When I spoke to them, they said, ‘Oh we can do full van runs of cask within two square miles of us’. That would be for us about 100 square miles! Then one that I really rate that isn't in the UK is Prism - they're from Montpellier, France. We did a collab with them a year ago at the Montpellier Beer Festival, and they're coming back tomorrow to do one with us. Their beers are just great.”

Positive steps towards a carbon neutral future.

While glass has always been infinitely recyclable, in the sustainable world we now live in, that’s not enough. We’ve made achieving carbon neutrality our aim, which demands a lot from us.

In turn, we are demanding more from our supply chain, one that is already ahead of the pack, achieving some of the lowest carbon emissions and with plans for further ultra-low carbon initiatives and investigating the use of hydrogen-powered furnaces.

We are now a climate positive workforce, offsetting the carbon footprint – and more besides – of our entire team, and we will shortly be a carbon neutral business.

As a business, we can’t do everything, but we must do something.

Smart brewers use planned maintenance to keep their business flowing

Dominic Smith, Director at brewery equipment specialist Collective Motion Brewing, explains the long-term value of planned preventative maintenance in keeping brewery revenue flowing…

At a time when manufacturers are carrying the burden of soaring energy costs, downtime is a headache they can ill afford.

The bottom line takes a hit when production shuts down and the problem often arises unexpectedly: research in the US in 2017 found that over 80% of companies experienced at least one unplanned downtime incident in the preceding three years, with most suffering two or more. In the same year, a study concluded that the impact of machine downtime was costing Britain’s manufacturers over £180bn every year.

The impact has intensified in recent years. The True Cost Of Downtime 2022 Report carried out by Senseye revealed that unplanned downtime costs manufacturers at least 50% more than it did in the period 2019-20, due to spiralling inflation and production lines running at higher capacity. Most breweries fear downtime as much as any other business, but many cross their fingers and hope for the best without considering pre-emptive steps to remove the possibility of an unexpected breakdown in production.

That decision is understandable, but misguided. Brewers operating within tight margins see a programme of planned preventative maintenance as a non-essential overhead, but the investment invariably pays off in the long-term. Given the probability of unplanned downtime, reactive maintenance is likely to be a much greater drain on finances.

The vast majority of manufacturing downtime is caused by process or equipment failures. Performing repairs after equipment has broken down can be a time-consuming, labour-intensive process. The diagnostics, sourcing of replacement parts and remediation work usually add up to an extended period and a substantial invoice. Most maintenance contractors charge a premium for providing their services at short notice to deal with urgent problems. In addition to the immediate expense of services and materials to rectify the problem, brewers can often find themselves waiting weeks to resume production, creating a huge drag on profits.

Unplanned downtime can lead to missed opportunities. Breweries often have tight production schedules, with orders and events planned months in advance. If production is halted, the brewery may be unable to fulfil these commitments, potentially losing out on significant opportunities.

The complex process of brewing requires precise timing and temperature control. The failure of a critical piece of equipment could spoil the beer or make it unusable. That means lost time and wasted ingredients. Unplanned stoppages and the interruption to brewing processes can affect fermentation times, the freshness of ingredients, and quality control checks. Those circumstances are likely to result in batches that fail to meet a brewery's high standards, leading to potential product recalls.

Brewers need to consider the risk to reputational damage. If a brewery is unable to fulfil its volume of orders or expected quality due to production downtime, it could compromise relationships with key customers and retailers. That’s another setback which could do untold damage to the health of a business.

In addition to hitting revenue, unplanned downtime can compromise safety. Reluctant to call out expensive contractors, brewery staff often attempt their own troubleshooting and find themselves confronted with unfamiliar operation environments.

Having a well-run, efficient preventative maintenance programme identifies and rectifies equipment problems before they occur. Any necessary measure can be planned weeks or months in advance to minimise impact on production schedules. If an ageing part is seen as a future failure risk, a replacement can be ordered and shipped in preparation. Services are scheduled for mutually convenient times, enabling brewers to avoid the higher rates for urgent call-outs which are common in reactive maintenance. Periodic health checks are not only valuable in preventing downtime. For breweries, they are also highly effective in increasing the ongoing efficiency of production, maintaining more reliable quality control and minimising dayto-day running costs. Steps like descaling equipment and eliminating air/water leaks can significantly reduce energy bills while improving accuracy and consistency.

Collective Motion Brewing have worked with brewing businesses of all sizes. We’ve found that, without exception, companies that opt for planned preventative maintenance are quick to appreciate the structure, certainty and control that it brings. They understand its value in ensuring their production flows as smoothly as their beer. Many look back and wonder why they managed without it for so long

For more information

email Dominic Smith at dominic@cmbrewery.co.uk or go to www.cmbrewery.co.uk

Justin Hawke, Founder, Moor Beer

Growing up in California in the 1970s, Justin Hawke developed a taste for beer at a very young age when his father, a fan of the emerging craft brewing scene on the West Coast at the time, allowed him an occasional sip or two at the tender age of five. Honing his leadership skills at the elite US military academy West Point, a subsequent four year stint in the American army took him to Europe, where he immersed himself in the beer culture of Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Britain and the idea of founding his own brewery really took hold. In 2007 he did just that, after buying the assets of shuttered micro-brewery Moor Beer and reinventing it as an industry-leading operation that would go on to change the face of craft brewing in the UK market. Hawke’s idealistic view of what beer and brewing should be led him to directly challenge

the establishment, namely CAMRA and SIBA, and he successfully campaigned for rule changes to allow his new brand of hazy, hoppy beer to take its rightful place on the UK’s stage. This was a pivotal moment for the sector, paving the way for the craft beer revolution that followed, and one that not only won Hawke a reputation as a visionary and pioneer, but also led to a flurry of top industry accolades. Under Hawke’s leadership, Moor Beer has continued to blaze a trail, most recently expanding into the London market with a retail site ‘The Vaults’ on the ‘Beer Mile’ in Bermondsey. Caroline Nodder, Independent Brewer’s Editor, caught up with him in early May to find out more about his personal journey, and ask him what his view is of the UK’s independent beer sector 16 years on…

What is your background and how did you get into brewing?

“So I got into beer at a very, very early age, probably around five years old, when my dad gave me my first sip of beer and said, ‘One day you'll drink this stuff, so you may as well know what the good stuff tastes like’. I was born in 71, and he was basically going around bottle shops back then, and was interested in foreign beers. Whatever German, British, Belgian imports he could get. And at the time, also, the likes of Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada were starting to get some distribution. So he would let me just have little slips of his beer. And oddly, for a young child, I enjoyed the bitter taste. So that kind of kicked it off. He got the Michael Jackson books and would read those and he would travel over to England a lot for business, so that gave me my passion for England and for beer. Then when I was in the army I got stationed in Germany and had an opportunity to experience first hand, for an extended period of time, that German beer culture and tradition, and then that extended to spending lots of times in Belgium, the Czech Republic and in Britain, and really immersing myself in the culture and beer and I decided that ultimately, that's what I wanted to do with my life. I left the army after about four years and went back to California for a couple of years, which was perfect timing because the craft brewing explosion was happening at that time. In the mid 90s the IPA craze kicked off, all the micro breweries started popping up. Homebrewing was a huge thing, so I started out as a homebrewer, and got really involved in the local homebrew club. I always knew that I wanted to become a brewer professionally, so I was going to start doing that in California when a friend of mine offered me a job. And he said: ‘Look, you're making money as a consultant. Save up some money. You want to move back to England? Move back to England, and then buy your own brewery.’ So that's basically what I did.”

When did you found Moor Beer and what is the strategy behind it?

“Moor Beer was actually originally founded in 1996, but then it shut down. So I read about it in 2006, that the assets were for sale. I bought it in 2006, and restarted it at the beginning of 2007. It was an interesting time to get into craft brewing, I mean, that term didn't really exist at the time. But it's the same year that the likes of BrewDog started. So it was very, very early days. And I will say that I had a very idealistic view of what I wanted the brewing market to be and what I wanted to bring to it. Doing it at a very small scale, brewing on a farm in old dairy tanks in the middle of cider country in Somerset. That was incredibly challenging, especially with the financial crisis right around the corner. So yeah, it was really, really difficult to start during that period. And I was making some

fundamental changes to the British brewing scene by bringing in unfined beer and having to go and campaign to SIBA to get the rules changed so that we could actually enter hazy beer into competitions and sell hazy beer and get it to be accepted. So I literally, with a foreign accent, had to go and stand up in front of 500 brewers at a SIBA AGM and say, ‘Look, guys, you know, brewing is changing, we need to change’. Thankfully, I got that pushed through and paved the way for beer styles that back in 2007 you just couldn't brew here in the UK. We absolutely are recognised as pioneers in that, and it also helped to create the vegan beer movement. That wasn’t the original intent behind it, but it's created a completely new sector for people who otherwise wouldn't want to drink beer with isinglass added to it. And we've done other either evolutionary or revolutionary changes in the industry, such as being the first to do can conditioning, which we had to get approved with CAMRA over a period of about a year and a half. And we were awarded a certificate for that, as the first in the world to pioneer that, and then consequently off the back of those pieces of work we were awarded Brewery of the Year in 2017 by the Guild [British Guild of Beer Writers]. At that time, I was also Vice Chairman of SIBA, and then CAMRA awarded us a Golden Award on their 50th anniversary, which was quite an honour because we were by far the smallest and youngest brewery on the list.”

How have you seen the British craft beer sector evolve since you launched Moor?

“That's been a really interesting journey. And it's quite ironic, given that I was the person who arguably brought hazy beer to the UK, a lot of the beer styles and things that have come along since are things that I'm personally not really a fan of. So I find it quite ironic at times that whilst I was the pioneer for hazy beer, what's now considered hazy beer isn't necessarily the kind of beer that I enjoy drinking or the kind of beer that we brew. But it was great to be able to pave a path for people to express their creativity in whatever way they wanted to. The industry has changed massively in the last 16 years, but we've always had a very firm view and a philosophy behind the brewery and the types of beers that we brew and the way we market and position ourselves, and they're based on my idealistic view of what I want out of a beer and beer experience. Whether that's going to pubs or beer halls, or events or concerts and how I want to interact and bring beer into that. It's important to have that philosophy and identity. The market that we sell into now is considerably different to what we sold into at the beginning. Before it was very much just local pubs. Now we have dedicated craft beer bars, we have people that order cans of beer at home. Nearly every restaurant, venue, or leisure activity place, you can at least get a decent beer to drink, which is great. And that's a huge change to what it was before.”

Donkey parade and festival in Reggio Emilia organised to celebrate the launch of the Moor cans by Italian publican Alessandro Belli in 2015.

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It's great to see beer festivals and events starting back up again, it's absolutely critical that we have got back into pubs. And we have just got to start having fun in the industry again.

What was the thinking behind expanding to a second city and do you have any plans to expand further?

“We opened the London Vaults at the start of 2018. Initially, it was designed to have three purposes. One purpose was to act as a London distribution hub for us, because it was really hard getting access to the London market. We couldn't really justify sending the van down to London to do direct deliveries, but wholesale distribution was challenging. So we felt if we had our local hub set up that we could distribute out of there, and off the back of it, we could open the taproom to get some brand presence and also use some of the space to extend our barrel-ageing programme, which we had run out of space to do in Bristol. But over the course of the last five years, the world has changed quite considerably. And from a functional point of view the only thing that we've really kept there's the retail and tap side of it, and we do a lot more events out of the space. It was an ill planned folly of mine to do the barrel-ageing programme. It was just a very expensive use of real estate. We very much could look at doing that in other locations as well in the future. But I want the situation to settle down first with the world before we start doing that level of investment again.”

What is the secret to continuing to compete in a crowded market?

“That's a fantastic question. And when I have a good answer, I'll let you know. Because, I don't think we've figured it out yet, but this is really the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. I like to talk to other people to get their opinions, but to me, again, it's about having a philosophy. So, what sort of beers are you brewing? Why do they exist? They have to have a purpose. And as a brewery, you have to have a recognisable brand. And I think Moor absolutely has that with the fabulous work that my best friend Ben does for us. We've won an award for the best beer branding, I think it was back in 2009, when he first started doing the branding for us, and we just won another award with it last year, which is fantastic. We try and have a timeless look and feel to what we do. And much like our beers, it has very much a nod to history and tradition, but with a modern edge. We incorporate that into our brewing and into our branding, under a philosophy and a purpose for all the beers that we brew, and we work with an ecosystem of collaborators - whether that's bands, publications, importers in other countries, distributors around the UK, pubs, clubs, etc. So that's really important to have that brand and philosophy together. And of course, at the end of the day, it is a business. So you have to have an eye on the numbers and how you're structured. We're still 100% independent, and 100% self-funded. We've had an opportunity, lots of times, to get outside investment. But we've turned those opportunities down. Sometimes I kick myself. Sometimes I'm grateful for it. But basically, the buck stops with me for everything, every decision that gets made in the brewery. It's done with the rest of the management team’s input, but at the end of the day, I'm the one paying for it. I've got a fabulous team that's been with me for many years. My brewery manager actually started as my apprentice. He's been with me for over 13 years now. A lot of our brewers and other staff members have been with us for a long time. We're a fantastic company to work for. We've got a lot of like-minded people. And we've had our challenges, like everyone else has, especially during the pandemic. But I think it's important to have a company structured in the way that you want and also have people on board who share that passion and vision.”

Continued on page 51

Winning the CAMRA Golden Award in 2021

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What is your view on the current review of SBR?

“I always try as much as possible to take an objective and balanced view on things and look for the upsides and downsides. So I think for SBR, absolutely it needed to be reviewed. I mean, we existed where the 5,000hl limit was absolutely a barrier to growth, there were a couple of years that I intentionally curtailed sales. And I felt that that was foolish. So in the end, we added more capacity, and we made a real push for it. And we pushed through it, but not far enough. So then we got massively penalised the following year, to the point where it was unsustainable. And then also the pandemic kicked in. So we really took a pretty solid beating to our profitability, just because we went over that 5,000hl line at the wrong time. So that definitely needed to be changed. But we now find ourselves at the opposite end of the spectrum. We’re going to be in the cohort of breweries that are going to get penalised in the change, but it gives us an opportunity to push past it again, without being penalised to the level we were the first time around. I think for the market as a whole, it's a positive change from what I understand of it, although we're still waiting to see the detailed calculations. But there's also some unintended consequences that are coming out of this review - there's going to be the push to beers that are 3.4% ABV and below, which I think is a great thing. That's on a positive side, and balancing that on the negative side I think that with the high strength duty, there's a lot of businesses that are geared around brewing nothing but high strength beers, and they're not going to be affordable anymore.”

We're going back to the way that it might have been historically with a lot of local breweries, very small local breweries, satisfying the needs in a small local area.

What do you think can be done to address the challenge independent brewers have in getting their beer into mainstream venues?

“There's never going to be a perfect system in place to solve these issues. In my younger days, and I would say still from a lot of breweries’ perspectives, it is almost like we feel we have a right to be everywhere. But we don't. And we also don't have the capability to do that. So I think we have to look hard at ourselves, as an industry, but also as individual businesses and say, why do I want that access? And can I even deliver on it? Because if I was a big pub company, with hundreds or 1,000s of pubs, I want a supplier that I know is going to consistently deliver the quantity and the quality and the consistency that I expect out of a supplier. And I think we have to be really honest and look at ourselves and say, most breweries, especially those of us on the smaller end of the scale, probably don't have the capability to do that. Yelling and shouting that you don't have access to venues, when you actually don't have the ability to deliver into those venues, in a consistent, quality, sustainable way? You're wasting your time. Go focus on something that's more relevant to your business.”

Do you think the pandemic has had a positive or negative effect on the sector in the longer term?

“I can try to find some balance out of it. But it's hard to find balance out of the pandemic. Because by and large, it was, and remains, an incredibly awful period, and if we combine the pandemic with Brexit, that compounded the problems, especially for those of us who did a lot of exporting. Then you throw in the financial crisis and the global instability geopolitically and we're in a pretty awful time to try and be operating. But what are some of the positives? I think quality of service absolutely went up, both in retail sites and from producers. There was just too much supply. And a lot of it was quite good. So in order to go and get those customers, you have to have great service as well as a great product. It's also made people buy local again, which I think is fantastic. We're going back to the way that it might have been historically with a lot of local breweries, very small local breweries, satisfying the needs in a small local area. I see that when I travel back to the US or over to the Continent, everyone is selling a lot more in their local area, which is great. And I think it's made people reassess if they were able to survive because they had a viable business model. That's precipitated the popping of the craft beer bubble a little bit, and it needed a bit of deflating because it was getting overheated prior to the pandemic. None of us wanted something like a pandemic or Brexit or the financial crisis to come along and do it in the way that it did. But absolutely, we altered the way we are operating, we used to do a lot more self-indulgent beers, a lot less planned

Continued on page 53

and thoughtful approaches to the market. Our service levels have increased, and we've had to focus on the things that are absolutely essential for us to do as a business.”

What does good leadership look like to you?

“Leadership is super important, it's intrinsic to everything that I was brought up with, and especially going through West Point, which is arguably one of the world's premier leadership institutes. We studied it a lot, and there's a lot of tenets that we have to memorise, and we're meant to aspire to and live by. So things like, seeking responsibility and taking responsibility for your actions. You’ve got to be willing to take that step up. I think one of the most important things as a leader is being willing to challenge things. In our little microcosm, we're trying to progress beer, but we're also trying to see the bigger picture, you know, progress the world and humanity and look at how we grow and improve. You can only do that by evolving things or having some revolution in some way. So you have got to be willing, as a leader, to step up and do that. I think we've demonstrated a lot of that really well. I think it's also important to have a level of maturity and experience behind you. And it's great when you're young and idealistic about things. But try and take that step back as well and have a balanced view. There are things I did 16 years ago, or even a few years ago, that I look back and say, ‘Oh, I wish I could go back and change a few of those things’. But we all make mistakes. You’ve got to be able to pick yourself back up, look in the mirror and say, ‘Okay, I'll learn from that one. I'll try not to do that again. And I'll try and do better in the future’.”

What makes an outstanding craft beer?

“The main word that I always go back to is ‘drinkability’. So the perfect craft beer, for me, isn't a style. It's a beer that I just want to keep

drinking. And we always joke about the ‘10 pint rule’, every beer we brew, you’ve got to be able to drink 10 pints a day - not that we sit there and drink 10 pints - but flavour-wise, you've got to want to just be able to sit there all day long and go, ‘Yep, I'm not bored of this beer’. And alongside that, of course, comes quality, flavour and consistency. Those kind of go without saying. I think that's why I go back much more to classic styles and breweries that I have loved and respected for long periods of time, because they brew beers that are just infinitely drinkable. Whether that's a fabulous German lager, a great Belgian gueuze, a fantastic British bitter or a great American Pale Ale or IPA, they all have to have that element of drinkability. And unfortunately, I think in the craft brewing industry, like any industry that's growing and going through his teenage years, and it gets a little bit rebellious, thinks it knows everything, tries to push all the boundaries. I think there's been a lot of beers that to my personal taste are not very drinkable. They're fantastic for one sip, and you can say, ‘Well, that was a really creative idea’. But can you drink 10 pints, let alone one pint of it?”

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

“The best piece of advice, which I try to remember even though it's been really, really tough these last few years, is that you’ve got to have fun along the way. And I don't think any of us have had much fun in the last few years. Those of us that have survived and gotten to this point, need to remember why we got into this. Yes, we have survived. And we want to continue to survive a lot longer. But along the way, we’ve got to get back to the point of having fun. So it's great to see beer festivals and events starting back up again, it's absolutely critical that we have got back into pubs. And we have just got to start having fun in the industry again.”

What inspires you?

“To me, it's the human connection. Beer connects people. Beer is arguably one of the foundations of why society was settled and formed. And it still is to this day. I can meet people from all walks of life, and if we sit down over a beer in a pub, then we can all talk to each other as people and share an experience in a way that doesn't seem to exist in any other context. Whether that's meeting just random people, or people who are in the industry and are as passionate about it as I am, we're able to talk about industry-related subjects. We're meeting musicians and getting passionate about their music, they're passionate about our beer. It's great to just have that human connection.”

Who do you most admire in the craft beer arena and why?

“It's always tough to limit it to just one person. I always tend to point first to the industry to the real revolutionaries and pioneers, which would be Fritz Maytag and Michael Jackson. If it wasn't for them, doing what they did firstFritz Maytag by actually starting the craft beer movement in the 60s, and then Michael Jackson for going and getting people excited about beer in the 70s - we wouldn't be where we are today. Then I've got some of my, I wouldn't call them peers, because they were people who pre-dated my entrance in to brewing, but that I’ll always have a huge amount of respect and admiration for, and that’s Roger Ryman and John Keeling. I have found them to be incredibly amazing people to talk to and work with. Roger was a fabulous person and is a huge loss, but I learned a lot from both of them and shared a lot of fantastic experiences and brewing opportunities with both of them. And then I would just say, a huge range of people in other countries, brewers that I love to hang out with and drink and learn from - German brewers, Italian brewers and publicans, people who are super, super passionate about their work. Those are the people that keep me going.”

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When fruit equals loot!

Lotte Peplow, Brewers Association

American craft beer Ambassador for Europe, looks at the growing global trend among brewers for using fruit in beer in increasingly experimental ways…

The use of fruit in beer is nothing new, just think of the fruited lambics of Belgium or tart Berliner Weisse of Germany, but in today’s ‘anything goes’ brewing landscape, the use of beer in fruit is seeing a resurgence as brewers around the world experiment with styles and flavours, both ancient and experimental.

Over in the States, American craft brewers, renowned for their innovation and creativity, are pushing the boundaries of brewing with fruit to develop ground-breaking new styles, tastes and flavours. According to the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers, fruited beers, in their many different guises, are growing with the category up 8% in 2022*. They appeal to today’s newest legal drinking age consumers who are seeking less bitterness in their beer choices and exploring light, fruity, tart, refreshing styles with a soft mouthfeel or heavily fruited bold and complex fruit-forward beers. Fruited beers also appeal to the aging craft beer drinker who is tiring of intensely bitter beers and seeking something light or fruity.

903 Brewing Co from Sherman, Texas, releases four new heavily fruited sour beers per month based on fruits that are in season. Jeremy Roberts, co-owner/founder of the brewery, claims that the trend towards fruited beers is growing and explains: “We’re seeing more and

more consumers getting burned out on beer. Ready-to-drink cocktails are a growing trend that people are increasingly drinking instead of beer. Getting people excited about beer again is not easy but heavily fruited sours and sours that taste like cocktails appeal to the non-beer drinkers and to those who are looking for more flavour.”

And it’s not only the youth of today who are enjoying such beers. Roberts continues: “We guessed that our heavily fruited sours would be just for the young drinkers, but that’s not the case. While hanging out in the taproom you will find people both in their 20's and 70's enjoying our heavily fruited sours!”

Technical challenges

Brewing with fruit has its challenges. Using real fruit can risk the chance of infection by wild yeasts on the fruit skins. Some brewers may boil the fruit first to reduce potential infection, but it can also burn off subtle flavours and aromas. Brewing with fresh fruit is expensive and availability of certain fruits is never certain. Yields and quality can be inconsistent because fruit contains large concentrations of water and will dilute the beer, but for any brewer getting it right, the rewards can be well worth it.

Fruit purees are easier to work with but should be 100% fruit and aseptically packaged. They are pasteurised, thus eliminating the risk of infection while maintaining the flavour integrity of the fruit, and they contain no added flavouring, preservatives or colourings. Extracts also have a part to play, and many are derived from natural sources.

Extracts can do wonders for boosting natural fruit flavours post-fermentation. Frozen fruit, dehydrated fruit, fruit powder, concentrate and freeze-dried fruits are other products available to brewers for use in beer.

Fruit can be added to almost any style of beer but is most commonly used in low-hopped wheat or blonde ales, Berliner Weisse and sour beers, hazy/juicy IPAs, barrel-aged beers and even pastry stouts. Fruit can work with a broad spectrum of alcohol strengths and provides sweetness that can be balanced by a high level of acidity. Where and when fruit is added in the brewing process will impact the character of the finished beer, i.e., before fermentation to allow the yeast to convert sugars into alcohol and biotransform unique fruity esters and flavours, or after fermentation to prevent the sugars from fermenting out. The latter will leave the final product sweeter by maintaining the subtle fresh fruit flavours.

Continued on page 57

Getting people excited about beer again is not easy but heavily fruited sours and sours that taste like cocktails appeal to the non-beer drinkers and to those who are looking for more flavour.

Channeling creativity

Brewing with fruit opens up a world of creativity. Urban Artifact, a brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the USA’s largest ‘sour’ only brewery and uses more fruit than any other brewery in the country, i.e., over a million pounds of puree per year! Bret Kollmann Baker, COO & Brewmaster of Urban Artifact explains: “We were established in 2015, and the first couple of years were rough. We knew that tart and fruited beers were going to be a major thing but didn’t know it would take a couple of years to break down wrong perceptions about fruit beer being for ‘women’ or tart beer being ‘spoiled’.”

“Now the stigma associated with fruit beer in general is fading, and people are craving flavour and choice. We tend to skew to a slightly younger audience and have found great success with those that are open to new experiences, ideas, flavours and great tasting liquids which are attributes usually associated with younger people. We’re extremely proud of how our drinking demo skews almost 50:50 male female where the ‘normal’ US craft brewery sees a customer base that is closer to 70:30 male female.”

Kollmann Baker has every right to be proud claiming a long list of awards for Urban Artifact beers but ironically, not from the biggest international competitions where feedback tends to be that it ‘doesn’t taste enough like beer!’. Kollmann Baker says this is

exactly their point as fruit is the main star in all their beverages.

Many flavour compounds that exist in fruit also exist in hops, for example citrus. An IPA brewed with citrussy Centennial hops may benefit from the addition of lemon zest to the finished beer to emphasise the Centennial hop characteristics. Alternatively, a small addition of passion fruit puree to a beer brewed with tropical flavoured hops such as Mosaic or Simcoe may help to amplify the tropical notes of the beer.

A US brewery producing both award-winning IPAs (without the addition of fruit) and sour fruited beers is DESTIHL® Brewery located in Normal, Illinois.

Matt Potts, Founder/CEO of DESTIHL, says: “We launched our Wild Sour Series in 2014 following increased interest from our original barrel-aged Saint Dekkera® Reserve Sour Series but have pivoted from more traditional, nonfruited styles (such as traditional Gose, Flanders Red, Berliner Weisse, etc.) to now releasing almost all of our sours with fruit because that’s what the consumer wants.”

DESTIHL was one of the first breweries in the US to package sours in cans, which was industry-changing since most sours before then were bottled, often with cork & cage, and expensive.

One of their best-selling single beers is a blonde ale, Hawaii Five Ale, that uses five different fruit purees – coconut, mango, peach, pineapple and pink guava!

DESTIHL’s fruited sours appeal to both men and women, old and young, but Potts thinks that younger drinkers especially like sours because, as he speculates: “Younger generations grew up hooked on tart and sour candy, so their palates are well-trained and accustomed to the ‘pucker’ factor.”

But can the audience for IPAs and fruited sours ever mix? You bet they can! Potts continues:

“I would say the biggest crossover with our DeadHead® Hazy IPAs and our fruited Wild Sour Series or Saint Dekkera sours is due to the low bitterness and natural fruitiness from either the hops in our IPAs or the fruits in our sours, whereas our DeadHead® IPA (west-coast style) appeals to the more traditional IPA consumer.” As consumer tastes evolve and brewers continue to innovate, we can expect even greater experimentation in future years to keep American craft brewing firmly at the forefront of global brewing creativity.

*The Harris Poll, consumer data

The Brewers Association publishes a wealth of resources downloadable free of charge from www.brewersassociation.org

All images used are copyright of The Brewers Association.

Lager than life

One of the holy grails in terms of routes to market for small independent breweries is the restaurant sector. Notoriously wine-centric, restaurant sommeliers spend hours dissecting the qualities of a bottle of wine, and matching it to their menus, but many barely spare a thought for their beer offering. This was a gap in the market that perfectly suited Nick Trower and his former colleague from the wine industry Luke Wilson, who, along with business partner and chef Cameron Emirali, launched Braybrooke Beer Co five years ago to fulfil exactly this need. Nick’s background in wine and, more latterly, beer supply to the restaurant trade meant he was perfectly placed to transfer his knowledge to creating a beer portfolio that not only went perfectly with food, but had the provenance, high quality production methods and hand-crafted nature that restaurants were already demanding in their wine suppliers. Braybrooke specialises in lager, and not just any lager. The beers are brewed in the style

of traditional German lagers, with the same exacting standards, time-consuming processes and German ingredients that you might expect to find somewhere like Bamberg in Germany, the home of Mahr’s Bräu, a brewery Nick looks up to and indeed has sent his brewing team to visit in order to perfect their craft. Just as Nick envisaged, much of Braybrooke’s output is sold in restaurants through his own Biercraft wholesale distribution operation, and the beers have pride of place on tap in 10 Greek Street, the restaurant owned and run by Luke Wilson which has become Braybrooke’s unofficial London taproom, shortly to be joined by an official taproom on the Wilson farm site near Market Harborough which is the brewery’s HQ. Independent Brewer’s Editor Caroline Nodder spoke to Nick back in May to find out how he’s succeeded in cracking the restaurant market, when so many before him have failed…

Business Basics

Name: Braybrooke Beer Co

Founded: 2018

Location: Braybrooke, Northamptonshire

Owners: Nick Trower, Luke Wilson & Cameron Emirali

Annual production: 2,500hl (2022)

Production split: 60% bottles & 40% keg

Brewing team: 5

Total Staff: 10

Flagship beers: Keller Lager (4.8% ABV lager), Helles Lager (4.2% ABV lager) & Pilsner Lager (4.5% ABV lager)

Key export markets: Italy

Business Profile: Braybrooke Beer Co

How did you come to found Braybrooke and how has the business developed since then?

“To rewind a long time ago, 12 years ago Luke [Luke Wilson, co-founder] and I worked for a wine importer called Liberty Wines, who did national distribution, but we were both based in London doing sales to the on-trade. So that's how Luke and I met. Then he left and set up a restaurant called 10 Greek Street in Soho with Cameron [Cameron Emirali, co-founder]. So Cameron is the chef and Luke’s the wine guy and front-of-house. Then I left liberty and went to run a restaurant for a bit and then set up a beer distribution and wholesale company called Biercraft. That was 10 years ago. So Luke had a restaurant. I had the beer distribution business. And I essentially changed from selling wine into restaurants to selling beer. This was around the time that Camden and The Kernel and Five Points were starting out. And they were quite ok with selling into pubs in kegs, but not so used to selling into restaurants. Obviously I had experience of both, working for Liberty and then buying the drinks for the restaurant. And it seemed to me there wasn't anyone really doing it with beer in the way that the wine industry works. So that was my big business idea. Luke and I obviously stayed friends and his family have got a farm up in Market Harborough, and they had upgraded their drying shed, so there was basically a big empty farm building. And we always talked about going into business together, so we settled on a brewery. And that was five years ago, when we started it. We recognised that lager was the thing for Biercraft that we sell lots of, to lots of restaurants. And also from Liberty, we were used to working with fifth or sixth generation families, making the same wine in the same place. So when I started the beer distribution, I thought it would be lots of German and Czech and Belgian breweries that I'd be importing. And I did. And we still do work with Mahr’s Bräu in Bamberg. We could see similarities between those traditional Bamberger breweries and the wine companies. So rather than maybe following trends too much, we thought we'd pick lager, and try and do that traditionally, and really well.”

Did you have to buy in specialist kit to go down the German-style lager route?

“We got our kit from Mondo Brewing Co in Battersea – at Biercraft they were one of our producers so we've been quite good friends with Tom and Todd - and they were going for an expansion. So they were upgrading their 10hl kit to a 20. And we knew we wanted to do lager properly so we needed a proper German style brewhouse. And they had this kit from Zip, it's a Hungarian manufacturer, but it’s a German spec. So it was quite fortuitous. Then it took

I wanted to make a beer that was maybe not your classic, pale, crisp lager, but something with a bit more of a malt body to be a food beer, and a beer you can drink by itself.

about six months to sort out the building on the farm to get it all rigged up. It's a nice 10hl kit that can do decoction. And it's quite automated so hence not a huge brewing team.”

What is the ethos behind the business?

“I’d done a few trips out to Bamberg. And I really liked that they are quite traditional breweries out there, but making a different type of beer from British traditional brewing, so lager rather than ale. But I could see with our customer base in London with the restaurants that provenance is really key. When it comes to food, they'll be trying to work with certain farms to get their vegetables and meat and certain fishermen for their fish. And it seemed to me that we could do something similar with the beer, have a real provenance and just do everything without cutting corners. Lagering properly, decoction mash, not speeding up any processes, not pasteurizing, not filtering. The beer that I really liked drinking from Mahr’s is the 'U' beer, which is their keller beer. So I wanted to make a beer that was maybe not your classic, pale, crisp lager, but something with a bit more of a malt body to be a food beer, and a beer you can drink by itself.”

How do you stay true to German brewing techniques in the production of your beers?

“We were very lucky. We basically had this relationship with Mahr’s. And Mario, who was our first head brewer, he had previously been the head brewer at Orbit Beers in South London. And he went out there for a couple of weeks, brewing alongside all that Mahr’s brewers. And he'd always had a deep interest in Bavarian beer and brewing. So he brought that passion with him. And then Alexis, who is now our head brewer, he came over from Italy, but he applied to Braybrook when we didn't really have a job for him, because he just loved lager so much. And I don't want to nationally stereotype too much, but it does feel like with the Italian slow food movement there's a real link with lager brewing as well. They just really get the idea of perfecting something and not cutting corners and making it as good as it can possibly be.”

Do you have any plans to expand your direct retail side?

“We have a sort of unofficial home at the restaurant in Soho. Which is kind of unusual, because it's a food restaurant, but it's also where we've got Braybrooke on tap. But we have just put in a planning application to do an expansion, to grow the kit from 10hl to 20, but also to put in a proper taproom. So if it all goes to plan, maybe next summer, 2024 in early summer we'd be open.”

What are your key goals for the business in 2023 and beyond?

“So the planning application for the expansion has just gone in and I think we're pretty much there with who we want to do the kit. It'd be moving from 10hl to 20hl, we've got quite a few 20hl fermenters. So those will stay as our single batch fermenters. And then we'll be getting some 40s to replace the 10s that we've currently got. It's going to be quite a big chunk of capital expenditure. But the good thing is we've spent five years in building up the brewery and the reputation and there's definitely the demand to do that. The new brewhouse we're looking at is going to be a four vessel system, which means we'll be only twice the size, but potentially can brew four times as much beer. And then this month, we've just brought a Pilsner on as our third core beer. So we started with Keller Lager, then 18 months to two years ago did Helles and now we've settled on a house Pilsner style, which is 4.5% ABV. So that's our big focus this year is to really shout about our Pilsner.”

What do you see as your main challenges as a small brewer in the UK market?

“I think that there's definitely lots of challenges. We're kind of lucky in that we're quite small and can be quite nimble and adaptable to the market. And also, we’re out in the countryside on a farm, so perhaps some of the rising costs in rents and utilities are not so bad for us. The utilities we share with the farm, so probably we don't have to pay the top rates you would if you were a brewery in London. So that's certainly helped us. But I think the challenge has been just riding everything out. We got through the pandemic. And obviously with the other business Biercraft being a distributer to hospitality that was tricky, but we got through. But actually, I feel really this year has probably been when a lot of places have been really struggling. There were things like furlough payments and bounce-back loans which got everyone through, but now we're seeing everyone having to survive in this new landscape. So we're quite lucky, we've got a really broad and large customer base. We've got lots of people buying small amounts, rather than putting all our eggs in one basket with a few places buying lots of our stuff. That would definitely be a concern if we were reliant on just one or two customers.”

The

we're looking at is going to be a four vessel system, which means we'll be only twice the size, but potentially can brew four times as much beer. And then this month, we've just brought a Pilsner on as our third core beer.

Do you think there's an increasing demand for craft beers with provenance within the restaurant market?

“I think there's always been a bit of a disconnect. When I started the wholesale company, typically the beer would be bought alongside the Coke and the water and the soft drinks. The sommelier would only deal with wine. And now I feel a lot of those sommelier or bar manager positions, they actually look at everything much more closely and want to buy the best spirits and the best soft drinks and the best beer. So it's not the afterthought that it used to be. If you've got a wine list that's full of interesting small family producers, then why wouldn't you have the same on your beer list? Why would you go for some big, mega-brewery? With us, three-quarters of the brewery’s production is sold through Biercraft, which is also another thing that's really helpful. We've got a couple of sales guys in London, and selling beer is different from selling wine. So when I used to work in the wine trade all the wine companies have a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but it would be from a specific producer for each distributor, so there was no crossover on producers. Whereas beer, in wholesaling distribution, everyone sells everything. So to have Braybrooke as something that they know they can go out and be the only person offering has been a good door-opener for them.”

Continued on page 63

new brewhouse

What was the market for craft lager like when you launched?

“There was obviously Camden doing lager when we launched but then their trajectory was to go for volume. And we've worked with Lost and Grounded and I know Alex quite well. So they were maybe a couple of years before we started. But I think we're an unusual brewery in that we weren't focused on getting big draught accounts. It was bottles into nice food establishments, and that could be fancy Michelin starred restaurants or just good casual dining, but places where they really care about what they're serving. So it didn't feel like too hard a conversation to have with people, because I think everyone just wants to have something really delicious. We're not like hipster brewers or whatever. So we weren't ever going to be very good at chasing trends. We're much more keen to nail our core beers and make sure they're really consistent and really good. When we started it was a point in time when Camden was the default lager for lots of restaurants. But then as soon as it goes into the supermarkets, and it's in all the pubs? That’s a problem. I think the ambition with the brewery is not to become some huge mega brewery, it's to just be the quality lager choice for lots of places.”

Would you ever consider expanding outside of lager?

“I think we're pretty adamant we'd only ever do lager, but obviously, lagers are pretty wide. For example in November, Bonfire Night, we do a smoked lager every year - we've got quite a few specials that are annual specials. So we definitely within the world of lager try all the styles. But I think specialising in something and doing it really well. It's not easy to do. So suddenly jumping ship and saying what we're going to do IPAs or fruited sour beers - I think it would just complicate things.”

What is the best piece of business advice anyone has ever given you?

“I think one big one was, make sure you invest in hardwearing floor! I think that was about three of the London breweries we work with had had to sort out their rotting floor. That was a very practical bit of advice we got. And then I think just general business advice has always been to try and be quite nimble. So having lots of customers buying small amounts, rather than one or two buying all of it. That worked well for us during the pandemic as well. We had, obviously, customers that really struggled. But then we had some, especially little local

restaurants that then turned into bottle shops for the pandemic, that were suddenly doing more business than they'd ever done. It was tough. But we definitely, looking across all our customer base, we had some people that did quite well out of it.”

Who do you most admire in the craft beer sector and why?

“I suppose the obvious one would be The Kernel. And it's because they stick to their guns and the things they do, they do really well. They do bring out different types of beers, but genuinely, it’s about the ethos of the company and the fact that the staff don't change very often - it's obviously a good place to work - and Evan has always been a good person to talk to about stuff. Then currently, with Biercraft, you can see the breweries that are doing well, and one of the ones that's doing pretty well this year is Deya. I think that they've got the right mix of being the trendy brewery but also if you actually go and visit it is quite a polished operation - I always feel like you can tell when you go into a brewery how good it is by how tidy it is. And I was quite impressed when I went there last year. It was definitely a well-run ship.”

The ambition with the brewery is not to become some huge mega brewery, it's to just be the quality lager choice for lots of places.

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Whether you’re a global beer behemoth like BrewDog, a fledgling brewery just taking on your first member of staff or even a bottleshop/online retailer, the law sets out that if you employ staff then you must provide them with a contract.

However, the benefits of a well-drafted employment contract go much further than simply ensuring you achieve bare minimum legal compliance. It should also safeguard your business secrets in the event of former employees joining competitors or setting up on their own.

Legal obligations

Firstly, employers are required by law to give certain information, in writing, to their employees when their employment starts. This “statement of initial employment particulars” should summarise the main terms of employment and include information such as: job title, start date, pay, hours of work, holiday entitlement and notice periods. Most employers will provide this information as part of a contract of employment.

Employment contracts usually set out additional information over and above the “statement of initial employment particulars”. For instance, they will often set the tone for the employment relationship and contain both parties’ obligations and expectations of each other. Ensuring there is common understanding from the outset is fundamental, especially when businesses are just starting out, as the future of the business is best-shaped by everyone working in the same direction.

Whilst employer/employee relationships usually start amicably, disputes can sometimes arise down the line. Having employment contracts in place that set out clear standards and refer to relevant procedures and policies can help ensure that disputes are resolved efficiently, so that more time can be focused on building a successful business, and

Casks, kegs and contracts: the importance of a welldrafted employment agreement

likewise, if a dispute cannot be resolved then each party has a clear mechanism for terminating the contract without significant financial repercussions.

Protecting your business

In the hugely diverse and saturated (excuse the pun!) craft beer market, staying ahead of the curve and being innovative is fundamental to survival and success. In the last five to ten years, we have seen the UK “craft beer” market that was largely centred upon easydrinking pale ales, US-styled India Pale Ales (IPAs) and traditional Belgian beers diversify, with consumers becoming much more adventurous and trying out, or even starting to favour, stouts and porters, sour beers and of course, the ubiquitous New England IPA. Ultimately, a craft breweries’ main assets are the beer it produces and its brand identity –developing a brewing style and a brand that consumers trust is a cornerstone to driving repeat sales. The recipes and techniques used to brew trademark beers and similarly the logos and can designs that adorn the products are valuable items of intellectual property and adequately protecting these, along with customer relationships of course, is a key factor in safeguarding the goodwill of your business. Most businesses are very rightly concerned about what will happen to their confidential information and customer relationships when staff members leave the company. Departing employees could potentially disclose strategic business plans, customer details, recipes or brewing techniques, after the termination of their employment and equally, may attempt to use this information for the benefit of their new employer, or to set up in competition. Contrary to popular belief, once an employee’s employment has ended, there is generally nothing to stop them using or disclosing their employer’s confidential information (except where it amounts to

a “trade secret”) or competing with their ex-employer, unless there are express restrictions in their contract of employment that are drafted in such a manner to ensure enforceability i.e., stand up in a court of law. Including carefully drafted confidentiality clauses and reasonable post-termination restrictive covenants within employment contracts provides important protection for the goodwill of your business when staff move on.

However, post-termination restrictive covenants need to be drafted carefully in order to be enforceable; this is because they call into question the concept of ‘restraint of trade’. The default position is that any contractual term which seeks to restrict an employee’s activities after their employment ends is void, unless the employer can show it is protecting a legitimate business interest and the restriction is reasonable in the circumstances. A balance has to be drawn between the employer’s right to protect its business and an employee’s right to earn a living, even where they are planning to set up in competition.

For this reason, it is advisable to have a legal professional with expertise in your business area drafting your employment contracts and paying careful thought to the scope of any such restrictive covenants.

Brabners are a full-service law firm, and B-Corp, with offices across the North-West and Yorkshire and an extensive track record acting for breweries, pubs and drinks businesses.

Should you wish to discuss this topic or other legal matters, please do not hesitate to contact Dan by email at daniel.finn@brabners.com.

Dan Finn, a Senior Associate in the corporate team at Brabners, takes a look at why the wording of your employment agreements is so important to your business...

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The cost of doing business has undoubtedly taken its toll on independent brewers in the UK and beyond, particularly in the face of persistently high energy prices and the increasing costs of raw materials. Sadly, it’s seen too many forced to close their doors for good amid such difficult trading conditions.

With the industry now facing an increasingly competitive sales environment, it is more important than ever to have a brand that stands out in the crowd. Many breweries get this spot on, with products that can be picked from a line-up at 20 yards so distinctive are the trade marks and branding.

Breweries have been wise to the need to develop eye-catching brands for some time. From 2009 to 2019, the number of UK trade mark applications filed seeking protection in the UK for “beer” (in class 32) increased by around 530%. This huge leap is indicative of the growing market and increased importance of ringfencing intellectual property rights. One result of this surge, however, is that any new brand entering the market, even under the supervision of an experienced brewery or marketing team, stands a greater risk than ever of infringing or being infringed by a third party.

Even longstanding high street brands are falling victim to the increasingly crowded IP landscape. In April this year, London pub chain, the Craft Beer Co., tweeted that Marks & Spencer should be paying them royalties for a new T-shirt displaying the words “Craft Beer Co”. It’s not the first time we’ve seen brands turn Twitter into a trade mark battleground, but it seems to have had the desired effect and Marks & Spencer have subsequently withdrawn the T-shirt from sale. Unfortunately, not all trade mark disputes are so easily solved and it’s important to have strategies in place to ensure your brand launch doesn’t result in a legal challenge.

Battle of the brands –protection and enforcement strategies

Thankfully, there are cost-effective steps which may be taken to manage risks and ensure that branding may be rolled out without hindrance.

1. Do your homework before fully committing to a brand

It is difficult not to immediately commit mentally to a new brand idea, especially the good ones. After all, what is craft beer if not an endeavour of passion? Taking a moment to check the risk position on the trade mark register and in the market can mean the life or death of the brand, and result in enormous cost savings down the road.

2. Keep a cool head if you receive a cease and desist letter

A letter of this kind will likely detail the claimant’s best-case scenario, which is unlikely to be your only option of settlement. Legal advice is advisable but the first step is to consider a) how seriously you would take the matter in their position, and b) what a reasonable resolution could look like to both sides. Bear in mind, however, that the risk of injunction is higher than in some other industries, so serious threats do need to be addressed.

As we’ve seen in the public spat between Marks & Spencer and the Craft Beer Co. a challenge may not come in the form of traditional correspondence. It’s important to consider the intention behind a seemingly light-hearted social media post and respond accordingly. On the other side, also, a legitimate concern over branding may be best saved for formal correspondence, rather than light hearted jibes over social media (as enjoyable as these often are to read).

3. Monitor new brands entering the market

Registering trade marks provides you a reliable basis to enforce your brand, but that is just the beginning. To enforce your

rights requires monitoring and, where necessary, action. Trade mark watching is a service whereby you are notified of parties filing trade mark applications for marks identical and similar to yours. Without this information, a similar trade mark could reach the shelves because you weren’t in a position to object. A combination of a registered trade mark and watch is a powerful tool.

4. Keep a commercial perspective if conflicts arise

Don’t let the grass grow if you find yourself embroiled in a dispute – if it reaches court, a judge will take a dim view of simply burying your head in the sand. Many disputes are resolved through discussions between breweries, as ought to be the case. That said, your brands deserve more than an informal understanding, and putting any resolution in writing may alleviate further conflicts down the line.

Protecting your brands and enforcing when necessary needn’t be expensive nor taxing. A brief legal opinion can be inexpensive and pay dividends down the line, easing the stress of competing in this now crowded marketplace.

Potter Clarkson helps companies, organisations and individuals across all sectors of business to understand, create, protect and defend the commercial value of their innovations anywhere in the world through intellectual property rights.

As a full-service intellectual property law firm with expertise in patents, trade marks, designs, litigation, licensing and consultancy, the firm can provide specialist support in all areas of IP. Find out more at www.potterclarkson.com

Cameron Malone-Brown, a trade mark attorney at Potter Clarkson and a member of the firm’s specialist food and drink team, takes a look at how to properly protect your brand…

Shipping

Walk down the aisle of any supermarket and you’re likely to encounter a collection of orange and yellow boxes covered in colourful skull illustrations. I’m sure those five descriptive words alone, rightly, conjured up images of Beavertown’s Neck Oil.

When Heineken acquired a sizable "minority" stake in the Tottenham brewery, they not only gained a loyal following but, more notably, a unique and recognisable brand, brought to life by the talented illustrator Nick Deywer.

Would the global beverage monolith have even taken notice of Beavertown, irrespective of the quality of their beer, had it not been for the artistic contribution of Deywer and the cult following their brand produced?

Given the importance of brand identity in driving sales and customer loyalty, it begs the question: why do so many brewers adopt a DIY approach to branding when the brand is their biggest asset?

From a monetary perspective, I understand why. Who wants to pay a figure with multiple zeros at the end of it for a logo, a label template or bespoke illustrations? Surely Adobe or Canva’s new AI tools can remove the need for a graphic designer altogether?!

But if the brewery van had an electrical fault, chances are you’d reach out to a qualified motor electrician to resolve the issue rather than getting out the wire strippers and hoping for the best.

What many breweries and businesses fail to recognise is attached to those zeros aren’t just the designs in and of themselves, but the following:

Years of investment

Individuals or companies that create art, literature, photography, videos or any other type of medium typically invest years honing

You’re not just paying for a designer…

their skills. Although I am not opposed to fair exchange agreements, such as a hobbyist friend receiving a few cases of beer in exchange for designing a beer label every now and again, once someone starts earning a living from their creative work, the payment received compensates for the hard work that the client does not have to put in themselves.

Sound Advice

Over the years, I’ve been asked to use all kinds of fonts, colours and graphic elements that should never belong in the same universe together, let alone on the same piece of paper.

While skilled designers will bring a client's vision to life, they also have a responsibility to professionally push back and steer the brand away from potential design disasters. While this can wound egos in the short term, it can save a brand from losing face in the long run.

Taking the pain out of print

Design and print are siblings. When the relationship is harmonious, they get on like a house on fire; if not, they can burn down the house. Working with printers can be challenging even under the best circumstances. One of the undervalued services designers provide is preparing illustrations for printing on a variety of applications and printers, which requires a unique skill set. This is a crucial aspect of the design process that clients pay for.

Consistency and Harmony

Brand consistency is highly valued by breweries, but often businesses are reluctant to invest in it. It is crucial that every design element, from social media posts to printed beer labels, aligns with the brand's overall aesthetic to maintain consistency throughout all touchpoints.

Each design should be viewed as a piece of music, with the brand as the album; the

designer acts as the producer, guiding these elements into a unified whole and ensuring that everything is in the right place.

Detail

My former boss was adamant that "the devil's in the detail," a value instilled in me by my dad, who believed that ‘if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly!’.

Unfortunately, many clients overlook the importance of proofreading and checking the finer details, which can be surprisingly common.

This is where the value of a skilled designer comes in; they ensure that all details, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, are correct, not just the design elements.

In Conclusion

Branding is a crucial aspect of any business, and breweries are no exception. While many breweries take a DIY approach to branding to save money, it's important to recognise the true value that skilled designers bring to the table.

By partnering with a skilled designer, breweries can create a visually appealing and recognizable brand that resonates with customers, drives sales, and builds loyalty. So, if you're a brewer looking to create a brand that stands out on the shelves, it's time to put down the wire strippers and reach out to a qualified designer.

Nick Law is the Creative Director of Hop Forward: a branding, marketing and business consultancy for the brewing industry. He works with a variety of beer businesses both in the UK and overseas and also runs a weekly podcast with a variety of guests from across the world of beer. Find out more at www.hopforward.beer or email nick@hopforward.beer

Brand and marketing guru and recent SIBA Business Award winner Nick Law looks at why saving money by producing your designs yourself is a false economy…

Any of you who have seen KAM present recently will have likely seen the stat that 88% of us want pubs/bars to provide an experience we can’t get at home. Customers are increasingly looking to spend their evertightening disposable income on memorable experiences as opposed to physical goods, particularly within the younger generations. We’ve seen a boom in Competitive Socialising venues where you can throw axes or have a round of crazy golf while you socialise (sounds exhausting!) but at the most simplistic level, a quality experience can of course be achieved through providing a quality F&B offering that can’t be replicated in our kitchen or an atmosphere you simply can’t get from hosting at home. Which brings me on to our latest research, carried out in partnership with Budvar UK, which identified that perhaps our beer customers in particular aren’t getting quite the experience we’d hope for in the UK ontrade. The fact that 93% of beer drinkers had been served a “bad pint” suggests that a substandard experience for many beer drinkers is currently costing the on-trade significantly. In a time when ‘experience is everything’ but also ‘every penny counts’ the research exposes a pressing need for our industry to address this issue fast.

Serving a top-quality pint plays a vital role in delivering customers an experience that they can’t easily replicate at home. The theatre, the serve and the taste are just things which makes the British Pub so special. However, not everyone is getting it right. Steve Alton, CEO BII, put it well when he said that “beer served through dirty lines is like food served on a dirty plate”, and yet around 1 in 4 beer lines in the UK are currently deemed to be unclean.

So, what is the reality for beer drinkers at the moment?

The vast majority of beer drinkers have been served a bad pint (93%) and 7% say this happens “often”. That may not seem like a huge figure but that equates to a LOT of bad pints and poor customers experiences. The cost of not getting ‘beer quality’ right is significant, especially to the venues which

A quest for quality

serve it. The majority of customers told us that one bad pint (and a max of 2) is all it takes for them to leave the venue and not return. So, it’s 2 strikes and you’re out. Furthermore, if we have a bad pint, we blame the venue (not the brand) and it gets worse; 82% of customers will tell friends and family if they are served a bad pint meaning there’s a risk of losing future customers too. As part of the research, we also spoke to publicans to gauge their current understanding of beer quality and what their priorities are. Most acknowledge the issue of quality in the wider industry, however, many have a blind spot to their own business, with nearly all of them believing that they don’t have any issues with bad quality beer. Something just isn’t adding up.

I recently chatted to Hance McGhie, Global Sales Director at Chemisphere UK on this very issue: “you might get the cash in the till from the 1st pint, but if the quality is not there then you won’t get the cash from the 2nd, 3rd or 4th.” This is crucial and might go some way to explaining this blind spot, for a pub’s sales will only show what they’re currently making, they won’t show what they’re missing out on.

Customers see the venue as responsible for the “quality” of the drink served with 88% thinking the overall quality of a pint they are served resting on the treatment of the beer in the pub/cellar/bar. It’s absolutely vital therefore that brewers continue to raise the importance of ‘a quality beer experience’ from cellar management to pour and serve. What is “a quality pint” to customers? No surprise that taste is absolutely king. The research showed that critical factors which customers actively notice are cleanliness of glassware and temperature of beer. Other important factors to them are the smell, colour and cloudiness of the beer as well as overall cleanliness of the bar area. A beer being served in the correct of branded glassware is a ‘nice to have.’ (Publicans tend to feel this is much more important than customers do- it may well help with overall experience but it won’t make up for getting the other factors wrong!)

As a valued member of SIBA I’d expect you to know your way around a quality pint, but feedback from publicans suggested there was significant room for further knowledge sharing and training which informs as well as inspires on this topic. For example, when asked what the ideal temperature was to serve lager, there was a 17℃ difference in answers with 36% refusing to answer. And remember we only spoke to the managers and licensees- ensuring skills, knowledge and passion filters all the way through to the bar staff is another challenge for the industry. The good news is that publicans do actively want additional knowledge and training, overwhelmingly in cellar management (70%) but also how to master the ‘correct pour’ (21%) and correct serve (18%). There is a significant opportunity for brewers to continually raise the profile of this issue and offer ongoing support to operators.

According to Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive Officer at British Beer & Pub Association, “We all love a sexy pint!’ She’s not wrong, and this recent research, in partnership with Budvar UK, certainly backs this up.

As an industry, the challenge is to make sure that we’re not taking beer for granted. Being ‘drinkable’ shouldn’t be the benchmark. We shouldn’t be aiming for acceptable; we should be aiming for amazing. This is critical in continuing to attract customers to venues and away from their sofas. We should be telling our friends about the amazing pints we’ve had, not about the bad ones- spreading the love, supping quality beer, and supporting the Great British Pub.

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.

Read the full KAM report on quality using this QR code

Katie Jenkins, Marketing & Partnerships Director at KAM, looks at why beer quality in your brewery is not always translating across the bar and what can be done to address the issue…

Bottling and Packaging

Machinery for the Beer Industry

Dial up the diacetyl

How many brewers relish a taint of diacetyl in their beers? Few if any, but diacetyl is a ubiquitous feature of many fermentations as, for example, being an intrinsic feature of yoghurt. Diacetyl is even added as a flavouring to a range of foods yet in beer we have a strong aversion to its appearance with, in many cases, a rejection level of 0.2 mg per litre imposed in QA standards.

To some extent this may arise from variation in sensitivity to diacetyl’s flavour of butterscotch with some drinkers highly sensitive compared to others and making an outspoken expression of distaste. In addition, there may be an historic legacy to address from US prohibition brewing.

Detection may depend on other flavours present. A strong matrix effect is well recognised in the wine trade with flavour detection levels varying for wine in one analysis by fifteen fold between Chardonnay at 0.18 mg per litre and Cabernet Sauvignon at 2.68 mg per litre. The same applies to beer with diacetyl much less acceptable in lagers than in ales –again due to the presence or absence of other flavours.

Levels in other foods can reach much higher amounts particularly in milk products with up to 4mg per kg in cheese, 17 mg per kg in yoghurt and a pungent 27 mg per litre in margarine. Even coffee can reach 2.8 mg per litre. All foods which have no reputation or outcry of diacetyl taint.

Diacetyl is well recognised in biochemical understanding but is not an essential metabolite. Rather it is a by-product of amino acid synthesis produced in the wort not in the yeast cell. All cells need amino acids to survive and obtain most from the nutrients provided but if absent may be synthesised through a metabolic pathway. Valine is one of the standard 20 amino acids and may be synthesised by yeast.

α-acetolactate (AAL) is an intermediate in this synthesis and may leak from yeast cells into the wort where it decomposes into diacetyl and carbon dioxide.

Heat speeds up the decomposition of AAL and the production of diacetyl as do copper,

ferric and ammonium ions as well as acidic conditions. The character and handling of your wort can thus enhance the appearance and persistence of diacetyl.

A warm conditioning phase is a wellpracticed approach to reducing diacetyl after fermentation. This reduction occurs in the yeast cell which assimilates the diacetyl from the wort and is temperature dependent. By raising the wort temperature, say above 12oC or even as high as 16-20oC for 48 hours, diacetyl will be decomposed to acetoin and eventually 2,3-butanediol, a compound with a much higher flavour threshold and negligible impact on the beer.

Alternative approaches have been developed and include the addition of a bacterial enzyme, α-acetolactate decarboxylase, to convert acetolactate directly to acetoin in the wort so by passing diacetyl. Alternatively, the enzyme may be entrapped in a column through which beer flows. The gene for this enzyme has also been introduced into yeast cells so allowing direct action.

Of course, an alternative origin of diacetyl is bacterial contamination, particularly pediococci and other lactic acid bacteria. These will be the source for diacetyl in milk fermentations and if present as contaminants in wort will be able to synthesise high levels. That said their presence will be associated with other contributions, not least acidity so making diacetyl’s origin identifiable.

While acknowledging the extensive efforts made to manage diacetyl levels in beer it is still pertinent to return to the question of why it is

so undesirable in beer but acceptable in other foods? Moreover, let’s put diacetyl hazards into context and consider the impact of it in cigarette smoke, vaping mixtures and its contribution to “popcorn lung” otherwise known, worryingly, as obliterative bronchiolitis - an irreversible degradation of lung tubules causing constrictions and blocking your breathing.

Offensive as diacetyl might be proclaimed in brewing it has been used extensively as a positive flavour in other indulgencies. This includes providing a buttery character such as in popcorn, crisps and crackers. It is also used to add brown flavour sweetening in chocolate, ice cream, soft drinks, sauces and many other foods. Until 2007 it was a major addition to popcorn, until, that is, a study associated it with the development of obliterative bronchiolitis in production workers breathing in diacetyl all day. Affected workers, along with a consumer who consumed two bags of popcorn a day, won $20 million damages for their exposure. Shortly after which its addition ceased. A similar scenario of concern was repeated more recently with the inclusion of diacetyl in vaping mixtures until, again, medical alarm generated controls. A comparison with levels in cigarette smoke is informative – between 250 and 361 mg per kg for tobacco products - but it seems that the exposure mechanism is most relevant. As would be expected vapour rather than ingestion is associated with obliterative bronchiolitis. Breathing diacetyl will damage sensitive lung tissue. Diacetyl in food and beverages will have a much lower impact on more resistant digestive tissue and diacetyl is generally regarded as a safe, food additive. Unless you spend all day breathing in steam from boiling beer I doubt that beer diacetyl can be viewed as a hazard. Instead, diacetyl may be more of an indicator of uncontrolled brewing, as would be practiced during American prohibition and denounced by the established industry. Traditional beers of past centuries would have had more elevated levels and possibly suitably balanced for beer styles with a more robust range of flavours. Denying diacetyl at low levels may not be as essential as we may have once thought.

Long Rods

FRESH NEW BRANDING BRINGING THE NEW TO YOU HOP CROP

Would you like to know what the harvest will look like this year? Yes, so would we. Predicting now how a crop will perform in late Summer is impossible. However, signs are encouraging with some good rainfall so far and now we are approaching some warmer days growth will start at a pace. The plants are already showing strong clean growth and our team of farmers here in the UK are optimistic. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for high yields,

Many of you have been keen to brew beers with the newer Charles Faram hop varieties only to be disappointed by the lack of availability. Sorry about that but this is very encouraging. So much so that we are planting more of them this year so more brewers can get their hands on beautiful varieties such as Godiva™ and Harlequin®. Have you included them on your 2023 contract to try yet?

strong alphas and beautiful aromas!

In Germany, significant rainfall has helped reduce concerns about another drought. Cool temperatures in April have contributed to the slow development of plants. At the moment plants are roughly 14 days behind expectation, but they are expected to catch up with better weather.

In the US, growers are stringing. Concerns regarding a repeat of the cold spring experienced last year which delayed growth significantly have not come to fruition and development looks normal. Snow was sufficient to replenish irrigation supplies and so far, the outlook is good.

Back at the office, the team have been extremely busy! We’ve had a brand refresh, revamped our website and gone online with our brewing supplies with an easy-to-use store for your convenience. You will need to register to use it and we hope you find it a useful resource, saving you time in your busy schedules. There’s more interactive and hop business functionality to follow in the next few weeks. Ben, Charlie and Ash are continuously improving the digital offering, so get in touch if there’s anything that you need to be loaded online.

HOP HYPE

Do you know that we offer our everpopular variety Jester® in Type 45 hop pellets? The 2022 crop batch is now in stock and the quality is stunning with bright, crisp and tropical aromas complementing the trademark grapefruit and blackcurrant. And grown right here in the UK!

Check out the Faram website or get in touch with the sales team for an up to date picture of all the products available. Whether its hops, malt, dried yeast, finings, sensory training kits, bottle tops or closures they are very keen to hear from you.

We thought now would be a good time to let you know what’s happening here at Newland and on the hop farms.

For those looking forward to trying new hop products, we partner with Totally Natural Solutions and we have some exciting new products.

HopGain® Floe is a flowable liquid hop extract, suitable for addition in the whirlpool or as a dry hop. It allows high hopping rates, giving you impactful beers whilst not contributing to bitterness and reducing losses normally associated with heavy dry hop loads.

We are very happy to confirm our close relationship with NZ Hops, the grower cooperative famous for bringing varieties such as Nelson Sauvin®, Riwaka™, and Motueka™ to the world. This close relationship allowed us to be the first to bring you the punchy pineapple, peach and grapefruit Nectaron® and now the exciting variety Superdelic® is about to land on our shores. Described as red fruit, candy, citrus and tropical, we are certain this will be a hit with brewers. Please speak to your contact at Charles Faram for more information and to discuss availability.

Talking of new and exciting hop varieties, we have some exciting new varieties from the US to share with you. Zappa® (passionfruit, spice and mint) is grown by

our good friend Eric Desmarais and has wild Mexican roots! Vista is a new public variety (peach, papaya and pear), high impact and cost-effective. YQH-1320 is an exciting new variety discovered as a wild hop and now tamed, it promises a mouth-watering blend of pineapple, peach, guava and lime! From our own breeding program in the USA, we now have CF298 and CF299 available as Type 90 hop pellets to complement the hop cones of these exciting new varieties. CF298 brings warm, rounded blueberry, tropical and pine whilst CF299 brings lemon, peach and lime.

Hopefully lots of you had the chance to come and see us at BeerX. We enjoyed two fantastic days and nights of getting to catch up with lots of our friends. We held an interactive session with a panel of esteemed brewers from Utopian, Emmanuales, Attic and Buxton to talk about how you can utilise locally grown varieties in both new and existing highly flavoured, bold and modern beer and lager styles. It was great to see so many curious and interested brewers getting enthusiastic and motivated about using our hops from our Hop Development Program. So much so that our hop session had the highest attendance, and we were the most favourited exhibitor.

We’d like to thank everyone for their attendance and support, we really hope that you enjoyed visiting us and benefi tted from our content.

British hops are a cost-effective and environmentally favourable move for all UK breweries, and this doesn’t come at the expense of high-impact flavour and aromas. The brewers on the BeerX panel also demonstrated how British hops can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with notorious big hitters from other countries to complement each other.

By creating fruity, flavoursome, and aromatic new varieties that can be grown on

local farms by our local growers we hope to reverse the recent reduction in the UK acreage whilst at the same time helping to reduce the carbon footprint created by shipping containers of hops around the world. By examining our farming methods and looking at ways to reduce our environmental impact we’re also reducing our reliance on fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides whilst also reducing C02 and food miles!

Lager, Lager, Lager

When some very enterprising German brewers decided to store their beer in the frozen Bavarian Alps through the summer time in the early nineteenth century, little did they know of the impact there new “Lager” creation would have on the world of beer. Some of these brewers were so moved by the potential of this wonderous brew that they started to leave their Bavarian breweries to spread the word around Europe and refine this new brewing art. Many on the continent were so moved by the potential of Lager and the Lagering technique that many brewing enterprises started making related products of their own giving rise to styles like the Red Lagers of Vienna. Much credit also needs to be given to Bavarian brewer Josef Groll who, in 1842, took the brave step of heading to a little-known brewing town called Pilsen in the Czech Republic to try out his new lager recipe. Following on from this original Pilsner (Pilsner Urquell), innovations and developments in the likes of glass bottle manufacture and refrigeration coupled with a good helping of migration meant lager quickly became a worldwide success.

Lager is as popular as ever and whether its Pilsner, Helles, Vienna Lager or Schwarzbier you are considering brewing, Murphy and Son is the place for everything you need for a flavoursome quality lager.

LIQUOR TREATMENT

Our much treasured, annual free of charge liquor analysis now includes a suggested liquor treatment for Lager style beers as standard. If you have not had you liquor checked for a while and you are a Murphys customer please send 50ml of untreated water to our lab for us to check out for you. Our suggested lager treatment aims for a brewing liquor with adequate calcium for good brewing enzyme activity, yeast flocculation and oxalate and protein precipitation whilst mimicking the low sulphate and chloride levels of Munich and Pilsen for a crisp, light flavour. This is best achieved with suitable additions of lactic acid to reduce alkalinity with low levels of calcium sulphate and calcium chloride to increase calcium ions.

MALT

Our new closer ties with Simpsons Malt means that we now have in stock ready for dispatch Finest Lager Malt (crushed). This highest quality malt is slightly higher in Total Nitrogen and slightly under-modified so head / foam and mouthfeel will survive the lagering process. To add to this quality base malt, we can also supply a range of crystal malts, caramalt, wheat malt and Vienna malt (all crushed) direct from our warehouse.

HOPS

Whether you are looking for traditional varieties of Noble Czech Saaz and German Hallertau hops, or looking to add a dry hop twist to your brew with new world hop pellets, we are very proud of our close relationship with Charles Faram which means we can supply the best hops around to suit your requirements.

YEAST

On the dried yeast front we are pleased to hold stock of Lallemand Diamond Lager and Novalager yeast as well as three different Fermentis Lager yeasts. We also supply wet yeast cultures from the National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC) which houses a vast range of lager strains originating from all over the world which can add the precise character you are looking for.

FLAVOUR CONTROL

Diacetyl and Sulphur flavours can be problematic in lagers to help keep things under control we have the perfect products to help.

When added to wort at the start of fermentation, the enzyme Alpha Acetolactate Decarboxylate (ALDC) acts on the diacetyl precursor alpha acetolactate converting it to acetoin. If alpha acetolactate is not present diacetyl can’t be formed so no buttery off flavours in your beer and conditioning time can be reduced.

To help keep sulphur off flavours out of your beer, Murphys have developed two zetolite products for the job. When added to wort at the start of fermentation,

Zetolite 65 will prevent the formation of sulphur off flavours whilst if you notice the undesirable sulphurous aromas in your fermented product, the addition of Zetolite 63 will stimulate your yeast to reduce H2S and DMS aromas during maturation.

Don’t forget…

An exuberant bright appearance is important with lagers and at Murphys we carry a huge range of finings and stabilisers to help achieve the desirable crisp look from brewers clarex to Super F, Silica and PVPP products, the Murphys Technical team is on hand to get this just right for you. PGA is also a handy product to help achieve a perfect looking head on dispense.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

If you would like to know more about what we do, head to our website murphyandson.co.uk. To speak to our technical support team, or for general advice and trouble-shooting with lager brewing, please email techsupport@murphyandson.co.uk

The SIBA Business Awards 2023

The winners of the SIBA Business Awards 2023 were unveiled at BeerX in Liverpool in March this year at a ceremony hosted by beer writing legend Pete Brown.

The annual awards celebrate the very best beer businesses across the UK – with categories recognising successful breweries, pubs, taprooms and bottle shops, as well as the people behind them.

A Wild night

Wildcard in Walthamstow, London, took home the award’s biggest accolade, winning Brewery Business of the Year 2023 in what was a big night for the beer and brewing industry.

Wildcard’s owners Will Harris and Jaega Wise were on hand to accept the award.

“Delighted to win the award – it’s just huge recognition for everyone at Wildcard and we’re just really proud of what we have achieved as a team,” said Will Harris.

Jaega Wise added: “We have been going for eleven years now and to get recognition on a national level is unbelievable for the team –we’re going to go out tonight and celebrate! At Wildcard we operate a skinny team that

works hard, so for us this is the ultimate validation. Sometimes things have got tough over the last couple of years and so an award like this really does mean everything.”

The SIBA Business Awards are judged by a panel of independent beer industry experts, and organised by SIBA. The awards cover everything from brewery marketing, design and innovation, to efforts to make businesses more sustainable or impactful.

Awards host Pete Brown had this to say on Wildcard’s win: “Wildcard were hugely impressive across the board, taking home the top prize in two categories and carve a niche for themselves with unique design, top quality beers and keen business instincts. Their influence on the industry has been huge for what is a relatively small brewery and judges were blown away by just how much they doing to progress the brewery on all fronts.”

New for 2023

The 2023 awards also for the first time included a new “Empowering People” Award, which seeks to highlight the best breweries in the UK to work for by empowering and supporting their teams and

championing inclusivity and diversity. The new award places a spotlight on independent craft breweries who go above and beyond for the members of their team; empowering people to achieve more in their professional career, introducing initiatives and incentives which create a positive working environment, making efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity, or providing benefits or support mechanisms which encourage a happier healthier life for employees.

On the panel

Joining the expert judging panel for 2023 were Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive; Caroline Nodder, Editor of Independent Brewer and the SIBA British Craft Beer Report; Alex Metcalfe, lead on CAMRA

Learn & Discover; Jo Hunter, Interior & Architectural Design expert and founder of Hunter’s Daughter; Charlie Docherty, SIBA Business Development Officer; and Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms & Marketing, who chaired the panel.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists in this year’s awards from everyone in the SIBA team!

Wild Card Brewery - SIBA Brewery Business of the Year winners.

Presented to Ellie, Jaega & William by Konvoy UK's Chris Beardlow

SIBA business awards winners 2023

WINNERS

Marketing Implementation

Black Sheep Brewery - WINNER

Sponsor - Festival Glass

Presented to Alex Balchin by Kelsey Cheesbrough

Sustainable Business

Bluestone Brewing Co & Ramsgate BreweryJOINT WINNERS

Sponsor - Charles Faram & Co Ltd

Presented to Tom Dunn & Eddie Gadd by Will Rogers & Charlie Gorham

Individual Design

Anspach & Hobday - WINNER

Sponsor - Evolution Cooling Ltd

Presented to Daniel, Paul, Jack & Jacob by David Rock

Concept Design

Wild Card Brewery - WINNER

Sponsor - Rankin Brothers & Sons

Presented to Ellie, Jaega & William by Andy Cox

Supplier Associate of the Year

Festival Glass - WINNER

Sponsor - SIBA

Presented to Kelsey Cheesbrough by Andy Slee

Business Innovation

Lincoln Green Brewing - WINNER

Sponsor - Close Brothers Brewery Rentals

Presented to Anthony Hughes by Mark Banks

Commercial Achievement

Hobsons Brewery - WINNER

Sponsor - Saxon Packaging Ltd

Presented to Charlie by Mike Impson

Community Engagement

Full Circle Brew Co - WINNER

Sponsor - Napthens

Presented to Full Circle Brewery by Jamie Allison

Empowering People

Brewhouse & Kitchen - WINNER

Sponsor - Konvoy UK

Presented to Brewhouse & Kitchen by Tom Meakin

Craft Beer Retailer - Single Brewery Market, Twickenham - WINNER

Sponsor - Beer Box Shop

Presented to Denis & Linda by Heather Hulse

Craft Beer Retailer - Multiple A Hoppy Place - WINNER

Sponsor - Beer Box Shop

Presented to Dave & Naomi by Nick Birchall

Craft Beer Retailer - Online

A Hoppy Place - WINNER

Sponsor - Certruss

Presented to Dave & Naomi by Wesley Thompson

SIBA business awards winners 2023

Craft Beer Promotion Hop Forward - WINNER

Sponsor - Willis Publicity

Presented to Nick Law by Rachel Harriott, SIBA

Craft Brewery Tap Room

Hackney Church Brew Co. - WINNER

Sponsor - Deep Water Blue Limited

Presented to Jacob & Hamish by Ken O'Brien

Craft Beer Pub or Bar - City

Bullhouse East, Belfast - WINNER

Sponsor - Sure Purity

Presented to Bullhouse Brewery by Gary Robson

Craft Beer Pub or Bar - Rural Elephant & Castle, Wheathampstead - WINNER

Sponsor - Enexus Energy Ltd

Presented to Jason & Nick by Richard Powell

Craft Brewery Webshop Wild Card Brewery - WINNER

Sponsor - Saxon Packaging Ltd

Presented to Ellie, Jaega & William by Mike Impson

SIBA national beer competition winners 2023

National Beer Competitions Cask

SIBA's Independent Beer Awards are the UK's biggest independent craft beer competitionfeaturing cask, craft keg, bottle and canned beers.

Having won their regional competitions, the breweries featured here are the winners of our National competition which took place at BeerX UK, where beers from across the UK go head to head to be crowned the overall Champion across a wide variety of styles.

Overall Champion of the Cask Competition

Sponsored by: Close Brothers Brewery Rentals

G GOLD: Grainstore Brewery Nip 7.3%

S SILVER: Disruption Is Brewing Chaos More Chaos 5.0%

B BRONZE: Only With Love Firecracker ESB 5.2%

Cask Session Dark Beer (up to 4.4%)

Sponsored by: Pentair Food & Beverage Solutions

G GOLD: Sulwath Brewers Ltd The Black Galloway 4.4%

S SILVER: The Flower Pots Brewery Cheriton Porter 4.2%

B BRONZE: Three Tuns Brewery Stout 4.4%

Cask British Dark Beers (4.5-6.4%)

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Loch Lomond Brewery Silkie Stout 5.0%

S SILVER: Grainstore Brewery Rutland Beast 5.3%

B BRONZE: Brentwood Brewing Company TA Elephant School Brewing Co My Milk Stout Brings All The Boys To The Yard 4.5%

Cask British Bitter (up to 4.4%)

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: Blackedge Brewing Co Ltd West Coast 4.1%

S SILVER: The Wimbledon Brewery Ltd. Common Pale Ale 3.7%

B BRONZE: Cairngorm Brewery Company stag 4.1%

Cask British Best Bitter (4.5 to 6.4%)

Sponsored by: Murphy & Son Ltd

G GOLD: Only With Love Firecracker ESB 5.2%

S SILVER: Cairngorm Brewery Company Wildcat 5.1%

B BRONZE: Blackedge Brewing Co Ltd Blonde 4.5%

SIBA national beer competition winners 2023

Cask Session Pale Ale (up to 4.4%)

Sponsored by: Close Brothers Brewery Rentals

G GOLD: Moorhouse's Moonbeam 4.3%

S SILVER: By The Horns Brewing Co. Hopadelic 4.3%

B BRONZE: White Horse Brewery Pacific Pale 4.0%

Cask Pale Ale (4.5 to 5.5%)

Sponsored by: Murphy & Son Ltd

G GOLD: Disruption Is Brewing Chaos More Chaos 5.0%

S SILVER: Hophurst Brewery Ltd APA 5.2%

B BRONZE: White Horse Brewery West Coast IPA 4.6%

Cask IPA (5.6% and over)

Sponsored by: Bulk Storage & Process Systems

G GOLD: Windswept Brewing Co Coastal Haze 8.0%

S SILVER: Blackedge Brewing Co Ltd India 5.8%

B BRONZE: Blue Monkey Brewery Infinity Plus 1 5.6%

Cask Speciality Light Beer

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Rooster's Brewing Co. Roots. Rock. Reggae. 6.4%

S SILVER: Purple Moose Brewery Ltd High Hops 5.4%

B BRONZE: Bowland Brewery Bowland Bumble 4.0%

Cask Speciality Amber to Dark Beer

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Loch Lomond Brewery Long Road Home 12.0%

S SILVER: Green Jack Red herring 5.0%

B BRONZE: 4T's Brewery Chocolate & Fudge Stout Detectives 5.0%

Cask Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Grainstore Brewery Nip 7.3%

S SILVER: Loch Lomond Brewery Lost Monster 10.0%

B BRONZE: Yorkshire Heart Hearten 7.0%

SIBA national beer competition winners 2023

National Beer Competitions

Bottle & Can

Overall Champion of the Bottle & Can Competition

Sponsored by: Cottage Delight

G GOLD: Abbeydale Brewery Black Mass 6.6%

S SILVER: Powderkeg Beer 6ixes & 7evens 5.0%

B BRONZE: New Bristol Brewery Coffee & Biscotti Stout 5.0%

Bottle & Can Non-Alcoholic & Low ABV (up to 2.8%) Sponsored by: Muntons

G GOLD: Hammerton Brewery ZED 0.5%

S SILVER: Burnside Brewery Right to Roam 0.5%

Bottle & Can Lager

Sponsored by: Framax UK Limited

G GOLD: DEYA Brewing Company ltd Tappy Pils 4.4%

S SILVER: Lakes Brew Co NZ Pilsner 4.5%

B BRONZE: Abyss Brewing Gonzo 4.6%

Bottle & Can Amber & Dark Lager

Sponsored by: Vale Labels

G GOLD: Twice Brewed Brew Co. Juno Black 4.7%

S SILVER: Utopian Brewing Cerne Specialni 5.9%

B BRONZE: Inveralmond Brewery Ossian Golden Ale 4.1%

Bottle & Can Wheat Beer

G GOLD: Wander Beyond Brewing Wah Donka 10.5%

S SILVER: Moonwake Beer Co. Weissbier 5.0%

B BRONZE: Brew Monster Drude 5.2%

SIBA national beer competition winners 2023

Bottle & Can Bitter

Sponsored by: Saxon Packaging Ltd

G GOLD: Long Man Brewery Old Man 4.3%

S SILVER: Lacons Brewery Affinity 4.8%

B BRONZE: Ramsbury Brewery Farmer's Best 3.6%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale (up to 5.5%)

Sponsored by: Premier Systems Ltd

G GOLD: Amity Brew Co Waterpistol 4.6%

S SILVER: DEYA Brewing Company ltd Steady Rolling Man 5.2%

B BRONZE: Chapter Brewing Company Limited Teeter 4.4%

Bottle & Can IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

Sponsored by: Croxsons

G GOLD: Quantock Brewery We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat 6.3%

S SILVER: Triple Point Brewing Flux 6.8%

B BRONZE: Dog Falls Brewing Co Split the Tree 7.2%

Bottle & Can Double & Triple IPA (7.5% and over)

Sponsored by: Loughran Brewers Select

G GOLD: Alter Ego Brewing Co Disappear Completely 8.0%

S SILVER: Brew Monster Behemoth 8.0%

B BRONZE: Windswept Brewing Co Ltd Coastal Haze 8.0%

Bottle & Can Speciality IPA

Sponsored by: Beer Box Shop

G GOLD: Abbeydale Brewery Black Mass 6.6%

S SILVER: Williams Bros Brewing Co Juicy Joker NEIPA 5.0%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale

Sponsored by: Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd

G GOLD: Powderkeg Beer 6ixes & 7evens 5.0%

S SILVER: Artefact Brewing Ltd Heritage Ruby Ale 4.5%

B BRONZE: Welbeck Abbey Brewery Red Feather 3.9%

SIBA national beer competition winners 2023

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%) Sponsored by: SEB Brewing & Packaging

G GOLD: New Bristol Brewery Coffee & Biscotti Stout 5.0%

S SILVER: Mumbles Brewery Oystermouth Stout 4.4%

B BRONZE: Hybrid Brewing ltd KONGO 6.0%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over) Sponsored by: Beatson Clark Plc

G GOLD: Harrogate Brewing Company Kursaal 9.0%

S SILVER: Adnams Tally Ho 7.2%

B BRONZE: Padstow Brewing Co. Cold Desert 8.0%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

G GOLD: Belschnickel Brewery Limited Pfaffendorf 4.1%

S SILVER: Orbit Beers Tzatziki Sour 4.3%

B BRONZE: CBL - Lithic Brewing Lemon, Lime & Sea Salt Sour 3.9%

Bottle & Can Belgian, French & Abbey Ale

Sponsored by: Fermentis

G GOLD: Castle Brewery New Season 5.5%

S SILVER: Wylde Sky Brewing Saison 4.8%

Bottle & Can Speciality & Flavoured Beer

Sponsored by: Beer Box Shop

G GOLD: Hammerton Brewery City Of Cake 5.5%

S SILVER: Inner Bay Brewery Ltd Ruby 10.7%

B BRONZE: Thornbridge Brewery Necessary Evil 13.0%

National Beer Competitions

Overall Champion of the Keg Competition

Sponsored by: Kegstar

G GOLD: North Brewing Co Triple Fruited Gose: Mango, Guava, Guava 4.5%

S SILVER: Neckstamper Brewing Swakey Swipes 2.8%

B BRONZE: Loch Lomond Brewery Silkie Stout 5.0%

Keg Non-Alcoholic & Low ABV (up to 2.8%)

Sponsored by: LemonTop Creative

G GOLD: Neckstamper Brewing Swakey Swipes 2.8%

S SILVER: Butcombe Brewing Co. Goram IPA Zero 0.5%

B BRONZE: Geipel Brewing Zeppelin 2.8%

Keg Lager

Sponsored by: Konvoy UK

G GOLD: Geipel Brewing Pilsner 4.6%

S SILVER: Zerodegrees Bristol The Bohemian 4.8%

B BRONZE: Lakes Brew Co NZ Pilsner 4.5%

Keg Amber & Dark Lager

Sponsored by: IGC Engineering

G GOLD: Triple Point Brewing Vienna 4.9%

S SILVER: Zerodegrees Cardiff The Beast Black Lager 4.6%

B BRONZE: Zerodegrees Bristol Cloud Waltz 4.4%

Keg Wheat Beer

Sponsored by: Alfa Laval

G GOLD: Geipel Brewing Hefeweizen 5.2%

S SILVER: Adnams Bierre Blanche 5.0%

B BRONZE: Blackedge Brewing Company Ltd Schwarze Kante 5.0%

SIBA national beer competition winners 2023

Keg Bitter

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: Stonehouse Brewery Ltd Station Bitter 3.9%

S SILVER: Hophurst Brewery Ltd Winter Warmer 5.5%

B BRONZE: Adnams Ghost Ship 4.5%

Keg Pale Ale (up to 5.5%)

Sponsored by: Close Brothers Brewery Rentals

G GOLD: Brew Monster Basilisk 5.0%

S SILVER: Baker's Dozen Brewing Co. Undertow 4.8%

B BRONZE: Hammerton Brewery RAM 5.3%

Keg IPA (5.6% to 7.4%)

Sponsored by: Anton Paar Ltd

G GOLD: Neckstamper Brewing Mizzle 6.0%

S SILVER: Hophurst Brewery Ltd Arlo 5.6%

B BRONZE: Quantock Brewery We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat 6.3%

Keg Double & Triple IPA (7.5% and over)

Sponsored by: Breww Ltd

G GOLD: SALT Ikat 8.0%

S SILVER: Hackney Church Brew Co The Last DIPA 8.0%

B BRONZE: Hophurst Brewery Ltd Love Is Noise 8.0%

Keg Speciality IPA

Sponsored by: Evolution Cooling

G GOLD: Hop Union Brewery & Taproom Bloody Nora 4.7%

S SILVER: Lakes Brew Co Idaho ho ho 7 6.0%

B BRONZE: Vocation Brewery Big Squeeze 4.0%

Keg Amber, Brown & Red Ale

G GOLD: Neptune Brewery Hells Canyon 5.8%

S SILVER: Leigh on Sea Brewery Two Tree Island 4.5%

B BRONZE: Dog Falls Brewing Co Red Hook 4.8%

SIBA national beer competition winners 2023

Keg Stout & Porter (up to 6.4%)

Sponsored by: Crisp Malting Group

G GOLD: Loch Lomond Brewery Silkie Stout 5.0%

S SILVER: Wye Valley Brewery Nightjar 4.6%

B BRONZE: The Cronx Brewery Entire 5.2%

Keg Imperial & Strong Ale (6.5% and over)

Sponsored by: Kegstar

G GOLD: LIVERPOOL Brewing Company Imperial Russian Stout 8.5%

S SILVER: Hammerton Brewery Dont Quit 9.1%

B BRONZE: Fownes Brewing Company Korvak's Downfall 9.0%

Keg Sour & Wild Ale

Sponsored by: Vigo Ltd

G GOLD: North Brewing Co Triple Fruited Gose: Mango, Guava, Guava 4.5%

S SILVER: Holy Goat Brewing Sunsmasher 5.8%

B BRONZE: Firebrand Brewing Pink Lemon 6.0%

Keg Belgian, French & Abbey Ale

G GOLD: Navigation Brewery Blonde 5.0%

S SILVER: Fyne Ales Whisper 5.3%

B BRONZE: Windsor and Eton Brewery Diablo Rojo 8.4%

Keg Speciality & Flavoured Beer

G GOLD: Rooster's Brewing Co. Hello, Dimitri? 10.4%

S SILVER: Windsor and Eton Brewery Uprising Caught By The Fuzz 5.0%

B BRONZE: Navigation Brewery Key Lime Pale 4.0%

SIBA South West competition winners 2023

Overall Champion of the Cask Beer Competition

Sponsored by: Crisp Malting Group

Presented to: Steve Farrell

Presented by: Nigel Gibbons

G GOLD: Eight Arch Brewing Co.

Square Logic 4.2%

S SILVER: St Austell Brewery Big Job 7.2%

B BRONZE: Quantock Brewery Radicle 4.5%

Regional Beer Competitions South West

Cask Session Dark Beer (up

to 4.4%)

G GOLD: Padstow Brewing Co

Padstow Pilot 4.0%

S SILVER: Branscombe Vale Brewery

Mild 3.7%

B BRONZE: Southbourne Ales

Sunbather 4.0%

Cask British Dark Beer

G GOLD: Twisted Oak Brewery Ltd

Ghost Town` 5.7%

S SILVER: Palmers Brewery

Tally Ho! 5.5%

S SILVER: South Hams Brewery Ltd

Devon porter 5.2%

S SILVER: Hop Kettle Brewery

Space Cowboy 4.7%

Cask British Bitter

Sponsored by: Crisp Malting Group

G GOLD: Utopian Brewing

British Pale Ale 4.4%

S SILVER: Cheddar Ales Ltd

Gorge Best 4.0%

S SILVER: Dartmoor Brewery Legend 4.4%

B BRONZE: Branscombe Vale Brewery

Branoc 3.8%

B BRONZE: Driftwood Spars Brewery

Blue Hills 4.0%

B BRONZE: OTTER BREWERY LTD

Bright 4.3%

Cask British Best Bitter

G GOLD: Branscombe Vale Brewery

SummaThat 5.0%

S SILVER: Nuttycombe Brewery

Snow Leopard 4.9%

B BRONZE: Bays Brewery

Devon Dumpling 5.1%

B BRONZE: Dartmoor Brewery

JAIL ALE 4.8%

B BRONZE: Stonehenge Ales

Great Bustard 4.8%

Cask Session Pale Ale

Sponsored by: Crisp Malting Group

G GOLD: Eight Arch Brewing Co.

Square Logic 4.2%

S SILVER: Tintagel Brewery

Sir Lancelot 4.2%

S SILVER: Quantock Brewery QPA 4.0%

B BRONZE: Moor Beer Company

Resonance 4.1%

B BRONZE: St Austell Brewery

Anthem 3.8%

B BRONZE: Branscombe Vale Brewery

Golden Fiddle 4.0%

Cask Pale Ale

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: Quantock Brewery Radicle 4.5%

S SILVER: Exmoor Ales

Hopchomper 4.6%

B BRONZE: Cheddar Ales Ltd

Ebboriginal 4.5%

B BRONZE: Tintagel Brewery

Pendragon IPA 4.5%

B BRONZE: Hop Kettle Brewery

Starburst 5.0%

B BRONZE: Stonehenge Ales

Danish Dynamite 5.0%

Cask IPA

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: St Austell Brewery Big Job 7.2%

S SILVER: Cheddar Ales Ltd

Goats Leap 5.6%

Cask Speciality Light Beer

G GOLD: Nuttycombe Brewery

Doonicans 4.2%

S SILVER: Exmoor Ales

Exmoor Wicked Wolf 4.2%

B BRONZE: Salcombe Brewery Co.

Belgica 5.0%

Cask Speciality Amber to Dark Beer

G GOLD: Hanlons Brewery Port Stout 4.8%

S SILVER: Keltek Cornish Brewery Pilot Gig 5.2%

B BRONZE: Brewhouse & Kitchen Poole

Whiskey Stout 4.5%

B BRONZE: Driftwood Spars Brewery Ore 5.0%

Cask Imperial & Strong Beer

G GOLD: Moor Beer Company

Old Freddy Walker 7.3%

S SILVER: Exmoor Ales

Exmoor Beast 6.6%

Overall Champion of the Keg Beer Competition

Sponsored by: Konvoy Keg

Presented to: Daisy

Presented by: Chris Beardow

SIBA South West competition winners 2023

SIBA South West competition winners 2022

G GOLD: Yonder Brewing Raspberry Gose 4.0%

S SILVER: Padstow Brewing Co

Shallow End 2.8%

B BRONZE: Padstow Brewing Co

Definitely Maple 4.1%

Keg Non-Alcoholic & Low ABV

G GOLD: Padstow Brewing Co

Shallow End 2.8%

S SILVER: Liberation Brewery

Zero IPA 0.5%

B BRONZE: Powderkeg Brewery

Green Light 1.2%

B BRONZE: Driftwood Spars Brewery

Petite Saison 2.8%

Keg Session Lager

Sponsored by: Konvoy Keg

G GOLD: Exeter Brewery

IPL It's Proper Lager 3.9%

S SILVER: Yonder Brewing Helles 4.0%

S SILVER: Powderkeg Brewery

Harmony 4.2%

B BRONZE: Utopian Brewing

Bohemian British Lager 4.2%

B BRONZE: OTTER BREWERY LTD

Tarka 4 4.0%

Keg Premium Lager

G GOLD: Padstow Brewing Co

Oktoberfest 6.0%

S SILVER: City Pub Group-Turk's Head

Waterbeer Street 4.8%

S SILVER: OTTER BREWERY LTD

Tarka Premium 4.8%

B BRONZE: Salcombe Brewery Co.

Salcombe Pilsner 5.4%

B BRONZE: Stannary Brewing Co & Pig & Pickle MicroPub (colab' beer)

It's A Bit Piggy 5.8%

B BRONZE: Quantock Brewery

Lager Than Life 4.8%

Keg Session Pale Ale

G GOLD: Electric Bear Brewing Co

Werrrd! 4.2%

S SILVER: Quantock Brewery QPA 4.0%

B BRONZE: St Austell Brewery

Monterey 3.8%

Keg Pale Ale

Sponsored by: Konvoy Keg

G GOLD: Moor Beer Company

Distortion 4.7%

S SILVER: South Hams Brewery Ltd

Sundown 4.5%

S SILVER: Red Rock Brewery Ltd

Tasty Waves NEIPA 5.5%

B BRONZE: Zerodegrees Bristol Downtown 4.6%

B BRONZE: Stannary Brewing Co

Winnemucca 5.4%

Keg IPA

G GOLD: Quantock Brewery

We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat 6.3%

S SILVER: City Pub Group-King Street

Brew House White Trash 5.8%

B BRONZE: Goodh Brewing Co

Little Fish 6.8%

Keg Double & Triple IPA

G GOLD: TQ Beerworks

Old School West Coast DIPA 8.0%

Keg Speciality IPA

G GOLD: Padstow Brewing Co

Midnight Pete 5.5%

Keg Stout & Porter

G GOLD: Moor Beer Company

Stout 5.0%

S SILVER: Gritchie Brewing Company

Winter Lore 4.8%

B BRONZE: Driftwood Spars Brewery

Midnight Skinny Dipper 6.0%

Keg Imperial & Strong Ale

G GOLD: Utopian Brewing Rainbock 7.0%

S SILVER: Eight Arch Brewing Co.

Hiding Behind Shadows 8.9%

B BRONZE: TQ Beerworks

Export Stout 7.0%

Keg Sour & Wild Ale

G GOLD: Yonder Brewing

Raspberry Gose 4.0%

S SILVER: City Pub Group-King Street

Brew House Pinky and the Grain 4.1%

Keg Continental Style Beer

G GOLD: Castle Brewery Ltd

A New Season 5.5%

S SILVER: Zerodegrees Bristol

The Beast 4.6%

S SILVER: Utopian Brewing

Frankisches Rotbier 5.4%

Keg Speciality & Flavoured Beer

G GOLD: Padstow Brewing Co

Definitely Maple 4.1%

S SILVER: Hop Union Brewery

Bloody Nora 4.7%

B BRONZE: City Pub Group-Bath Brew

House Mint Choc Chip 6.3%

SIBA North East competition winners 2023

Regional Beer Competitions

North East

Cask Session Dark Beer

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

Presented to: Joe Joyce Presented by: Andy Cox

G GOLD: Harrogate Brewing Co Nidd Mild 3.7%

S SILVER: Timothy Taylor's Landlord Dark 4.3%

B BRONZE: Rooster's Brewing Co. London Thunder 4.2%

B BRONZE: Acorn Brewery of Barnsley Ltd Old Moor Porter 4.4%

Cask British Dark Beer

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

Presented to: Charlie Docherty, SIBA Presented by: Andy Cox

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY: Magic Rock Brewing Company

Dark Arts 6.0%

G GOLD: Maxim Brewery Maximus 6.0%

S SILVER: Chantry Brewery Diamond Black 4.5%

S SILVER: Twice Brewed Brew Co. Steel Rigg 4.9%

S SILVER: Hambleton Brewery Nightmare Porter 5.0%

B BRONZE: Bradfield Brewery Ltd Farmers Stout 4.5%

B BRONZE: Ainsty Ales Brewery & Taproom Ainsty Assassin 4.9%

B BRONZE: YORKSHIRE HEART BREWERY Ghost Porter 5.4%

Cask British Bitter

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

Presented to: Steve Bunting Presented by: Andy Cox

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY: Acorn Brewery of Barnsley Ltd

Barnsley Bitter 3.8%

G GOLD: Saltaire Brewery Ltd Titus 3.9%

G GOLD: Wensleydale Brewery (2013 ltd) Gamekeeper 4.3%

S SILVER: Pennine brewing Heartland 3.9%

S SILVER: Hadrian Border Brewery As You Were 4.1%

B BRONZE: GNEB North Sea Bitter 3.8%

B BRONZE: Harrogate Brewing Co Harlow Blonde 3.9%

B BRONZE: Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker 4.0%

Cask British Best Bitter

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

Presented to: Adam Cox Presented by: Andy Cox

G GOLD: DALESIDE BREWERY Monkey Wrench 5.3%

S SILVER: Alnwick Brewery Alnwick IPA 4.5%

B BRONZE: First & Last Brewery Brothers in Arms 4.9%

B BRONZE: Chantry Brewery Special Reserve 6.3%

Cask Imperial & Strong Beer

Presented to: Ian Fozard Presented by: Alex Balchin

G GOLD: Rooster's Brewing Co. The Garden Of Earthly Delights 10.1%

S SILVER: Harrogate Brewing Co Kursaal 11.0%

SIBA North East competition winners 2023

Overall Champion of the Cask Beer Competition

Sponsored by: Sure Purity

Presented to: Steve Bunting

Presented by: Gary Robson

G GOLD: Acorn Brewery of Barnsley Ltd

Barnsley Bitter 3.8%

S SILVER: Magic Rock Brewing Company

Ringmaster 3.9%

S SILVER: Ossett Brewing Company Limited

MonVoodoo 5.0%

Cask Session Pale Ale

Sponsored

G GOLD: Magic Rock Brewing Company Ringmaster 3.9%

S SILVER: Chantry Brewery New York Pale 3.9%

S SILVER: Wensleydale Brewery (2013 ltd) Semer Water 4.1%

B BRONZE: Rudgate Brewery Jorvik Blonde 3.8%

B BRONZE: Bradfield Brewery Ltd Farmers Blonde 4.0%

B BRONZE: Ainsty Ales Brewery & Taproom Ainsty Angel 3.6%

Cask Speciality Amber to Dark Beer

G GOLD: Ossett Brewing Company Limited Voodoo 5.0%

S SILVER: Saltaire Brewery Ltd Triple Choc Hot Cross Bun 4.8%

S SILVER: Thirsty Moose Brewing Co. Canny Canuck 4.5%

B BRONZE: Maxim Brewery Sour Cherry and Chocolate Stout. 4.8%

B BRONZE: YORKSHIRE HEART BREWERY Rhubarbeer 3.7%

B BRONZE: Ilkley Brewery Co Ltd THE MAYAN 6.5%

Cask IPA

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

Presented to: Lydia Presented by: Beth Eaton

G GOLD: Metalhead Brewery Ozzy - Crazy Train 5.0%

S SILVER: Triple Point Brewing InBruges 4.5%

S SILVER: Wold Top Brewery Wold Gold 4.8%

S SILVER: Saltaire Brewery Ltd Aquila 4.5%

B BRONZE: Rudgate Brewery Valkyrie APA 5.0%

B BRONZE: Full Circle Brew Co Hoop 4.8%

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

Presented to: Bec Cowling Presented by: Beth Eaton

G GOLD: Saltaire Brewery Ltd Rattlesnake Ridge 6.5%

S SILVER: Wold Top Brewery Scarborough Fair IPA 6.0%

B BRONZE: Twice Brewed Brew Co. Neptune 5.7%

B BRONZE: Rooster's Brewing Co. Baby-Faced Assassin 6.1%

Cask Pale Ale

by: Sure Purity

Presented to: Charlie Docherty, SIBA Presented by: Gary Robson

Sponsored by: Sure Purity

Presented to: Mark Lonsdale Presented by: Gary Robson

SIBA Wales & West competition winners 2023

Regional Beer Competitions Wales & West

Overall Champion of the Cask Beer Competition

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

Presented to: Rich Tidy

Presented by: Andy Cox

G GOLD: Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Jedi Order 8.4%

S SILVER: NORTH COTSWOLD BREWERY

HUNG, DRAWN 'N' DOUBLE PORT 6.1%

B BRONZE: Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Cheers Butt 6.2%

Cask Session Dark Beer

(up to 4.4%)

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Three Tuns Brewery Stout 4.4%

G GOLD: Gower Brewery Company

Limited Black Diamond 4.2%

S SILVER: Mumbles Brewery

Oystermouth Stout 4.4%

B BRONZE: Core of the Poodle

Dark Coast 3.5%

B BRONZE: Ludlow Brewery Best 3.7%

Cask British Dark Beer

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Purple Moose Brewery Ltd

Dark Side of the Moose 4.6%

S SILVER: Wye Valley Brewery

Wholesome Stout 4.6%

S SILVER: Cotswold Lion Brewery

Drovers Return 5.0%

S SILVER: Glamorgan Brewing Company

Thunderbird 4.5%

B BRONZE: Ludlow Brewery

Red Dawn 4.5%

Cask British Bitter

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

NORTH COTSWOLD BREWERY

FALSTAFF'S FOLLY 4.0%

G GOLD: Salopian Brewery

Darwins Origin 4.3%

S SILVER: Wye Valley Brewery

Wye Valley Bitter 3.7%

S SILVER: Teme Valley Brewery

Talbot Blonde 4.4%

S SILVER: Brewhouse & Kitchen

Gloucester Stevedore 4.0%

S SILVER: Glamorgan Brewing Company

Cwrw Gorslas 4.0%

B BRONZE: Purple Moose Brewery Ltd

Whakahari 4.3%

B BRONZE: Three Tuns Brewery Best 3.8%

Cask British Best Bitter

Sponsored by: Murphy & Son Ltd

G GOLD: Salopian Brewery

Golden Thread 5.0%

S SILVER: Mumbles Brewery

Lifesaver 4.9%

B BRONZE: Goffs Brewery

White Knight 4.7%

B BRONZE: North Cotswold Brewery

Shakespeare India Pale Ale 6.0%

Cask Session Pale Ale

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Bewdley Brewery Sunshine 3.8%

G GOLD: Rowton Brewery

Ironbridge Gold 4.4%

G GOLD: Stonehouse Brewery Limited

Pig Iron 4.3%

S SILVER: Hobsons Brewery

Twisted Spire 3.5%

S SILVER: Magic Dragon Brewing

Green One 4.2%

S SILVER: Mumbles Brewery

Mumbles Gold 4.3%

S SILVER: Woodcote Brewing Co Ltd

XPA 3.9%

B BRONZE: Ludlow Brewery

Blonde 4.0%

B BRONZE: Wye Valley Brewery

Hopfather 3.9%

B BRONZE: Bragdy Twt Lol ~ The

Trefforest Brewery Tŵti Ffrŵti 4.0%

Cask Pale Ale

Sponsored by: Murphy & Son Ltd

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Salopian Brewery Paper Planes 4.6%

G GOLD: Stroud Brewery Budding 4.5%

S SILVER: Gloucester Brewery

Session IPA 4.5%

S SILVER: NORTH COTSWOLD BREWERY

CAMEO IPA 5.5%

S SILVER: Rowton Brewery Area 51 5.1%

B BRONZE: Bewdley Brewery

Worcestershire Sway 5.0%

B BRONZE: Woodcote Brewing Co Ltd

Crusade 4.5%

Cask IPA

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Cheers Butt 6.2%

Cask Speciality Light Beer

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Goffs Brewery Jester Brew 6 - Mango

IPA 5.0%

G GOLD: Tomos & Lilford

Tropic Of Jones 4.5%

B BRONZE: Purple Moose Brewery Ltd

High Hops 5.4%

Cask Speciality Amber to Dark Beer

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: NORTH COTSWOLD BREWERY

HUNG, DRAWN 'N' DOUBLE PORT 6.1%

S SILVER: Ludlow Brewery

Derailed Brewing Co. Silent Knight 4.5%

S SILVER: Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Sith Order 8.4%

Cask Imperial & Strong Beer

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Jedi Order 8.4%

Bottle & Can Non Alcoholic and Low ABV

G GOLD: Geipel Brewing

Zeppelin 2.8%

S SILVER: Gloucester Brewery

Zero Gravity 0.5%

Overall Winner of the Bottle & Can Beer Competition

S

SIBA Wales & West competition winners 2023

SIBA South West competition winners 2022

B

Bottle & Can Session Lager

G GOLD: Stroud Brewery Light

Organic Lager 4.0%

S SILVER: Stonehouse Brewery Limited

Shark Beach 4.0%

Bottle & Can Premium Lager

G GOLD: Geipel Brewing Pilsner 4.6%

S SILVER: Gower Brewery Company

Limited Lighthouse 4.5%

B BRONZE: Wye Valley Brewery 1985 4.5%

B BRONZE: Zerodegrees Cardiff

The Bohemian Czech Pilsner 4.8%

Bottle & Can British Ale

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Gower Brewery Company Limited

Gower Gold 4.5%

S SILVER: Salopian Brewery

Darwins Origin 4.3%

S SILVER: Teme Valley Brewery That 4.1%

S SILVER: Woodcote Brewing Co Ltd

Crusade 4.5%

B BRONZE: Bewdley Brewery Old School

Bitter 3.8%

Bottle & Can Session Pale Ale

Sponsored by: Murphy & Son Ltd

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Bewdley Brewery Wild River Brew Co

Sabrina Not-England IPA 4.0%

G GOLD: Brew 61 Greenfields Gold 3.8%

S SILVER: Hobsons Brewery

Mad As Hops 4.1%

S SILVER: Old Farmhouse Brewery

Bwdi Bay 3.9%

S SILVER: Stonehouse Brewery Limited

Into The Wild 4.0%

S SILVER: Woodcote Brewing Co Ltd

SPA 4.2%

B BRONZE: Salopian Brewery

Oracle 4.0%

B BRONZE: Teme Valley Brewery

Hop Nouvelle 4.1%

Bottle & Can Pale Ale

Sponsored by: Murphy & Son Ltd

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Gloucester Brewery NEIPA 5.2%

G GOLD: Stroud Brewery Hop Drop 4.5%

S SILVER: Ludlow Brewery Stairway 5.0%

S SILVER: Wild Horse Brewing Co

Fatlamp 5.4%

B BRONZE: Wye Valley Brewery

Fandango 4.8%

B BRONZE: Bewdley Brewery

Sir Keith Park 4.5%

B BRONZE: Copper Beech Brewing

Company Family Tree 5.5%

Bottle & Can IPA

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: Wild Horse Brewing Co

Tramcar 6.5%

S SILVER: Dog's Window Brewery

Send the NEIPA 5.7%

S SILVER: Gloucester Brewery

American Pale 6.4%

S SILVER: Stroud Brewery IPA 5.6%

B BRONZE: Zerodegrees Cardiff

Clone Wars IPA 5.6%

B BRONZE: Clun Brewery Citadel 5.9%

B BRONZE: Copper Beech Brewing

Company I Left My Heart in NYC 6.4%

B BRONZE: Mumbles Brewery Albina 5.7%

Bottle & Can Speciality IPA

Sponsored by: Charles Faram & Co Ltd

G GOLD: Purple Moose Brewery Ltd High Hops 5.4%

Bottle & Can Amber, Brown & Red Ale

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Geipel Brewing Golden Gate 5.0%

S SILVER: Brew 61 BDA (Bromsgrove Dark Ale) 4.0%

S SILVER: The Hop Shed Redcap 4.2%

B BRONZE: Ludlow Brewery Red Dawn 4.5%

Bottle & Can Stout & Porter

Sponsored by: Rankin Brothers & Sons

G GOLD: Dog's Window Brewery

Old Dog, New Tricks 6.0%

S SILVER: Brew Monster Black Widow 5.4%

S SILVER: Purple Moose Brewery Ltd

Black Rock Stout 4.2%

S SILVER: Three Tuns Brewery Stout 4.4%

B BRONZE: Bragdy Twt Lol ~ The Trefforest Brewery Glo in the Dark 4.5%

Bottle & Can Imperial & Strong Ale

G GOLD - BEST IN CATEGORY:

Geipel Brewing Bock 6.5%

G GOLD: Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Jedi Order 8.4%

S SILVER: Gower Brewery Company

Limited Super Gold 7.0%

Bottle & Can Sour & Wild Ale

G GOLD: Brew Monster Draugr 6.0%

S SILVER: Zerodegrees Cardiff

Taste Elevator Gose 4.9%

Bottle & Can Continental Style Beer

G GOLD: Wild Horse Brewing Co

The Serpent & The Worm 5.0%

S SILVER: Brew Monster Drude 5.2%

S SILVER: Geipel Brewing Hefeweizen 5.2%

S SILVER: Purple Moose Brewery Ltd

Mwsh 4.7%

S SILVER: Zerodegrees Cardiff

The Beast Black Lager 4.6%

Bottle & Can Continental Style Beer

G GOLD: Montys Brewery

Imperial Stout 9.0%

S SILVER: Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Sith Order 8.4%

S SILVER: Brew Monster Kakamora 4.3%

B BRONZE: Dog's Window Brewery

IUt's a Crossbreed 6.0%

Hogs Back sees uplift in cask ale demand from pubs

Demand for cask ales from Surrey-based Hogs Back Brewery is nudging close to pre-Covid levels, as the brewer secures listings with a number of pub operators for its established cask brands and new additions.

The brewer estimates it will have increased its on-trade outlets by around 250 by this summer, compared to the same period last year.

Hogs Back's flagship cask ale Tongham TEA is being listed in all Mitchells & Butlers' cask pubs in London. The traditional, award-winning amber ale will also be poured within the Star Pubs & Bars estate, and in Greene King pubs for three months over the summer.

Newly-launched Big Squeezy IPA is being listed by Stonegate, who are making it available for five weeks to most of their 3,000 cask ale pubs. It will also be on sale until July in around 50 Youngs pubs in Surrey and Greater London. Big Squeezy is an aromatic 3.4% IPA, brewed with real lemons.

At the same time, Surrey Nirvana, Hogs Back's 4.0% session IPA, brewed with Cascade hops from the brewer's own hop garden, will be served in selected Youngs pubs and as a guest ale in 200 Fuller, Smith & Turner pubs.

B Corp Month: Stroud Brewery celebrates that change is brewing

“I’m so delighted that our way of doing business isn’t considered weird any more!” said Greg Pilley, founder & MD of Stroud Brewery, welcoming the start of international BCorp Month in March. He’s watched attitudes within the business community towards mixing business with social responsibility switch 180 degrees compared to when he first started the brewery in 2006.

During B Corp Month, the growing global movement of companies that are embedding sustainable and responsible practices within their ethos and using their business as a force for good were celebrated. Called B Corporations, there are now over 6,000 of them around the world and 1,534 in the UK, covering 58 industries and employing 55,000+ people. Examples of B Corporations in the SW include Stroud Brewery, Pro-Cook, Ku Fu Accounting, Invivo natural pharmacy and the business support organisation, Business West.

Hogs Back Brewery managing director Rupert Thompson said: "We're delighted with this renewed interest in our cask ales from pubs across the south east. Covid of course dented our cask business with pubs and it's taken some time to bounce back, but we're certainly seeing demand on the rise again and are feeling optimistic about our cask portfolio.

"We're particularly pleased that operators are not just stocking our bestseller Tongham TEA, but are prepared to try other cask ales including our seasonals, like Big Squeezy.”

Find out more at www.hogsback.co.uk

Many B Corporations started out in the conventional way but then changed their mindset to consider how their operations, decision-making and activities can have a positive impact on all stakeholders – customers, workers, communities, shareholders and the planet. There’s a rigorous assessment process, and companies have to meet tough criteria before receiving B Corp certification. They also have to apply every three years to renew their certification and be re-assessed. It’s the ethical business equivalent of the organic certification process. When Stroud Brewery opened in 2006, its founder and MD, Greg Pilley, was determined to show how it’s possible for a business to be both successful and environmentally and ethically responsible even though examples of such companies were extremely rare at that time, especially in the brewing industry. His determination paid off and Stroud Brewery is now a successful, award-winning business serving organic beer, becoming a B Corporation in March 2018.

“I’m delighted to see the B Corp movement growing so fast,” continued Greg. “In the UK in the past year, the number of companies gaining this certificate has doubled and the whole idea is being taken more seriously in the corporate world. It’s nice to have my original belief vindicated, and that running a business in this way isn’t considered weird any more! I think one day all companies will operate as B Corps and we’ll think it strange that we didn’t sooner.”

The B Corporation standards include how well businesses treat their staff and, in October last year, the brewery won the Gloucestershire Inclusive Employer Award from the charity, Inclusivity Works. This was in recognition of its work to ensure everyone, whatever their background, is welcome to work there and for providing a high quality supportive work experience. Details of all the many ways it operates sustainability can be found in its latest B Corporation Impact Report. Find out more at www.stroudbrewery.co.uk

Rooster's Brewing Co announces full ‘Suds With Buds’ line-up

Over 20 breweries have been confirmed for Rooster’s Brewing Co’s inaugural invitational beer festival, Suds With Buds, taking place at the brewery’s home in Harrogate on July 1st.

Tickets for the event are now available, with the full line-up of breweries, live music and street food traders having been confirmed. The festival will be taking place on July 1st and will span the entirety of the brewery and yard, taproom, beer garden and The Sample Room (a private event bar) upstairs.

The event will feature a unique combined line-up of over 100 beers, poured by some of the UK's most respected and talked-about breweries, including Burning Sky, Elusive, Brew York, North and Siren. A handful of breweries from the USA complete the line-up, along with Finland’s Brinkhall Cider, which has never been served in the UK before. Odell Brewing Co. and Crooked Stave, both from Colorado and with a strong reputation in the UK, will be showcased alongside beers from Californian breweries Green Cheek and Everywhere, as well as Bale Breaker from Yakima in Washington State.

All five of the US breweries will also be brewing with Rooster’s to produce a collection of beers to form an American Celebration of releases throughout the summer as part of Rooster’s 30th Anniversary Collaboration Project.

An unmissable event for beer lovers, Suds With Buds includes a quality mix of street food traders, with stuffed Greek pittas, stone-baked sourdough pizza, speciality burgers and Mexican tacos on the menu. A live music stage is being built in the taproom's beer garden and will play host to a high calibre mix of musicians and artists.

Speaking about the event, Tom Fozard, Rooster’s Commercial Director said: “We’ve wanted to host Suds With Buds ever since we up scaled the brewery and opened the taproom in 2019, so I’m excited that we’re finally in a position to make it happen. The list of brewers joining us and the beers they’ll be pouring is, quite frankly, ridiculous, but the quality of the street food traders and calibre of the live music on the day is equally impressive. Hopefully the weather will play its part and the sun will be shining for everyone who joins to enjoy a few suds with their buds on July 1st.”

Sheffield’s Hot Soles are confirmed as the festival headliners, having previously supported The Zutons on tour, with Ralph Pelleymounter also taking to the stage ahead of touring with Bastille later in July. 2022 Girls I Rate #GETHEARD Future Hitmaker winner, Ramona Rose is also among the other acts announced so far. Find out more at www.roosters.co.uk

71 Brewing relaunches popular beer based on classic British dessert

Independent craft brewery, 71 Brewing, has tweaked the recipe and re-launched its award-winning Blackcurrant Apple Crumble beer, part of its Fruition Seasonal Sours summer range, and winner of the Best Fruited Sour Beer category at the Scottish Beer awards 2022.

Inspired by a popular, comforting dessert, Blackcurrant Apple Crumble has been packed with locally sourced blackcurrants, apple juice, spices, and a touch of vanilla. Available in 440ml can (6.5% ABV), it pours a deep purple colour with a frothy white head revealing a strong fruity aroma with blackcurrants as its most prominent scent. For the relaunch the recipe has been tweaked slightly to include premium apples which has made the vanilla flavour more pronounced, with additional oats for a better mouthfeel.

In addition to its Scottish Beer Awards accolade, The Independent newspaper recognised Blackcurrant Apple Crumble as “Best Pastry Sour”, which reflects the beer’s unique flavour profile, combining the tartness of sour beer with the sweetness of a pastry.

Duncan Alexander, founder of 71 Brewing, commented: “Blackcurrant Apple Crumble’s awards to date and popularity reflect is exceptional taste and quality. It’s a beer that’s captured the hearts of beer lovers across the country and beyond, and its re-brew is sure to delight fans both old and new.

“It’s a beer that combines the best of both worlds – the fruity tang of a sour beer and the comforting sweetness of a dessert. The locally sourced ingredients add an extra layer of authenticity and quality to the beer, making it a must-try for anyone who enjoys flavourful and unique brews.”

Find out more at www.71brewing.com

T:

2 Cameron Court, Winwick Quay Warrington, Cheshire WA2 8RE

Catch and Docks

Grimsby brewery Docks Beers has created a low carbon beer in collaboration with Catch UK, to bring wider attention to the Humber’s efforts to lead the way in Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS), and help deliver net zero to the UK by 2040.

The beer entitled Carbon Crush is a 5% Low Carbon IPA. It has been made with low carbon ingredients and was released in can and on draft in the brewery’s King Edward street taproom and shop.

Catch UK, the industry led partnership supporting the process, energy, engineering and renewable industries in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Humber, is spearheading the region’s ambition to decarbonise the Humber region alongside its members and wider stakeholders. The Humber-bank industries support thousands of jobs and supply chain/ contractor businesses, but they are also some of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the country Mike Richards, Head Brewer Docks Beers, explained: “We were delighted to collaborate

With compost toilets, wildflower roofs and community hop projects, Bluestone Brewing Company is always trying to keep its footprint as low as possible. Its most ambitious project to date, and the one that caught the judges’ eyes, is a CO2 capture project in collaboration with Swansea University. Over the past year, the brewery has been using Microalgae to reduce its CO2 emissions by capturing CO2 naturally produced by the action of yeast in the brewing process and converting it into valuable biomass with the help of Microalgae. The brewery is well known locally for some of its sustainable initiatives, but these efforts are now being recognised on a far bigger scale. Bluestone is quickly becoming one of the leading sustainable breweries in the UK.

with Catch on this brewing project. We made this beer as low carbon as possible. We picked low carbon hops from Brookhouse, who've pioneered a way to produce hops using 10 times less carbon dioxide. Lincolnshire malt keeps the carbon footprint down. We've ended up with a finely tuned English style IPA with a full bodied malt canvas allowing the low carbon Chinook hops to shine. Juicy fruit flavours are tempered by a fine restrained bitterness with a clean finish.”

The beer can label and keg badge, designed by Docks Beers’ creative agency of choice, Source 4, features an illustrated comic book story starring a superhero, Carbon Catcher, who is responsible for protecting the environment from carbon creatures.

Will Douglas, Docks Beers Director said:

“You can’t miss the 6ft cardboard cut-out of the superhero Carbon Catcher in our taproom, plus you can scan the beer can to find out more about Carbon Capture and Storage and Catch. We hope this helps start more conversation about CCS.”

Find out more at www.docksbeers.com

Moor Beer celebrates Oktoberfest and the return of a hero

Pembrokeshire-based Bluestone was awarded Best Sustainable Business at this year’s SIBA Business Awards at BeerX in Liverpool.

The Sustainable Business award recognises breweries who are taking the ethics of environmental awareness and sustainable business operations way beyond the norm, with either a single innovative initiative or a holistic strategy for sustainability.

Marketing Director Emily Hutchinson said: “We have been runners up in this category a couple of times, so to be announced as winners was amazing. Our hard work is paying off and to receive recognition on a national stage for our sustainable efforts was a great feeling. We believe that there is a social responsibility, on all businesses, to reduce their footprints for the benefit of everybody. We want to ensure that our business has a positive impact on the welfare of the next generation. We may be a small business in the grand scheme of things, but we hope that our way of working may influence others and that we can have a big impact on our local community and the wider brewing community!”

Find out more at www.bluestonebrewing.co.uk

Moor Beer Co has been selected as the exclusive brewer for Top Chef Season 20: World All-Stars.

The 20th season of the TV cooking competition, which is set in London, features 16 Top Chef winners and finalists from around the world, and premiered in the UK on March 10th on Bravo.

Moor Beers is being featured throughout the season, both in the competition, as well as being part of the drinks selection for the judges during deliberations. The move is an incredible opportunity for Moor to reach a global audience. Find out more at www.moorbeer.co.uk

Beers collaborate to crush carbon

Photo credit: Top Chef

Bluestone Brewing Company takes top prize for sustainability at SIBA Business

Utopian Brewing releases first scope 1,2 and 3 carbon audit and longer term plans for sustainability and net zero

Devon’s Utopian Brewing has used its 4th anniversary to release its first full carbon audit, covering all of its Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions, using BIER[1] and GHG[2] protocol guidelines. The company has also announced that it has applied to join the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi)[3] for Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction.

Releasing the report, co-founder and Managing Director Richard Archer said: “Creating a sustainable business was in our core values right from the very start but today marks a very important landmark in the development of our longer term goal of reducing our Green House Gas emissions and ultimately becoming a net zero brewery. We now have a benchmark to measure ourselves against and have a number

New Cornish session beer, Sea Shanty, receives a rousing reception

Sea Shanty is vegan-friendly, and like all other beers in brewery’s range is tested gluten free.

The official launch took place on St Piran’s Day, when Stunsl’s Sea Shanty Group performed in characteristically rousing fashion at The Driftwood Spars brewpub.

Sea Shanty was also thoroughly put through its paces over the weekend of A Barrel of Laughs; the pub’s inaugural comedy and beer festival earlier this month saw “wicked laughter, silly dancing, awesome beer and tasty food” enjoyed by an appreciative crowd.

The Driftwood Spars Brewery in Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes, is celebrating the successful launch of its first new core cask beer in five years.

Sea Shanty – a golden pale ale – is refreshingly light with a low ABV (4%) and subtle tropical, fruity notes; it joins the coastal microbrewery’s award-winning range of permanent brews available in bottle and cask.

Head Brewer, Mike Mason, said: “Sea Shanty is light and supremely drinkable, but with a unique house character. We used a special signature yeast – something which is fairly unusual these days. The nature of the yeast, and the method of reusing it over several batches, means that it takes on the character of the surrounding environment and imparts that into the beer – in our case the fresh, salty sea air!”

He added: “We used some of our favourite English-grown, New World-style hops, and experimented for over a year on our pilot brew kit to get the balance of flavours just right. Sea Shanty is tropical and fresh but not too ‘in your face,’ fitting nicely into our range as a low ABV pale ale.”

Louise Treseder, Owner of the famous coastal brewpub and microbrewery, said: “Sea Shanty enjoyed a rip-roaring reception at the festival, going down a treat with both our regulars and visitors from further afield. It’s a fantastic addition to the range – a real Cornish session ale for all seasons.”

For Louise, the new release is a timely nod to the brewery’s Founding Brewer, Pete Martin, who would have been 60 years old this month but sadly passed away suddenly in 2020. Louise said: “Pete loved a beer festival, and a shanty, and would’ve enjoyed many a pint of Sea Shanty, I’m sure. Mike is doing a great job of maintaining his legacy while also looking to the future with contemporary releases like this. We’ve an exciting few years ahead here in Trevaunance Cove - our reputation as a bastion of handcrafted beer appreciation is growing!” Plans were recently submitted to modestly enlarge the microbrewery, which is across the road from the brewpub, improving production facilities and allowing more tastings and tours to take place.

Find out more at

www.driftwoodspars.co.uk

of major investments in progress that will deliver significant reduction in our emissions in the short term. These first initiatives are predicted to make annual reductions of over 40 tonnes CO2e per year more than 10% of our total in 2022.

“The application to join SBTi, subject to approval, will provide the company with a clearly defined path to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. Being a part of the initiative will also provide an essential auditable framework to track progress against targets and to continuously announce and report on our progress to stakeholders.”

Find out more and download the full report at www.utopianbrewing.com

Deviant & Dandy Brewery partners up with Street Sounds for a series of limited edition beers

Deviant & Dandy Brewery has announced a series of limited edition beers in collaboration with the legendary Street Sounds record label.

‘ELECTRO 1’ will be the first in a range of beers which will be released throughout the year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the iconic Electro/Hip Hop album series which was started in 1983.

About the partnership, Ben Taub, founder of Deviant & Dandy said: “Having grown up listening to hip-hop and dance music, the opportunity to start a range of beers celebrating the 40 years of the legendary Street Sounds label was a no-brainer and a really exciting project to be involved in.”

’ELECTRO 1’ is a punchy 8.1% ABV old school Double IPA available in 440ml cans featuring original artwork picked up straight from the iconic compilation albums with peelable labels revealing liner notes about each release.

Find out more at www.deviantanddandy.com

Ossett Brewing Company marks silver milestone birthday with anniversary ales

Leading independent Yorkshire brewery Ossett is toasting 25 successful years with a series of innovative special cask ales, as sales continue to grow despite market challenges.

Brewer of nationally renowned brands such as Yorkshire Blonde, White Rat, Silver King and Excelsius, the progressive Ossett Brewing Co began life in 1998 on a five-barrel-brew-length kit behind the Brewer’s Pride pub in Ossett, West Yorkshire. Within three years brewing capacity was 40 barrels a week. Winning many national and international

Abbeydale Brewery scoops top national prize

awards, today’s modern brewery stands only a short distance from the original site in Low Mill Road producing an eclectic range of cask ale and lager. The company now produces 440 brewers-barrels a week serving a pub estate of 35 outlets, freetrade customers and national customers all over the UK. The company has received various CAMRA, Publican and SIBA national awards over the years including supreme national champion with Excelsius.

Silver King won its first national award in 2001 and two decades later in 2021 won another national gold medal.

Launching the celebrations, the first of a creative four strong Silver Series of anniversary ales is Premium Golden Ale, Dazzler (4.5% ABV). First brewed in the Summer of 1998, Dazzler was one of the very first Ossett beers. Twenty five years later, this is an updated version of an old favourite, but with more hops.

The second roll out will be Easy Does It (3.4% ABV) an easy drinking session summer bitter.

A third brew for the autumn is Alter Ego (5.5%

ABV) exploring the NEIPA (New England India Pale Ale) style and proclaimed as a ‘souped up’ dry hopped mutation of Ossett’s highly popular White Rat (4% ABV). And a vanilla stout concludes the celebrations. Irish stout style, Jet (4.2% ABV) is black with vanilla, chocolate and coffee notes on the aroma and a dry and bitter finish.

Ossett owner Jamie Lawson said: “These post pandemic times have been particularly challenging for the brewing and pub industry. However, the past two years have seen us enjoy steady growth and we are now delighted to be celebrating our milestone 25th year with our Silver Series. We believe in the future of cask ale and are determined to build on our deep roots to sustain Ossett for the future through broadening the appeal of cask with inventive and exciting brands - as seen with our Silver Series, Synergy Series, Collaboration Ales and our Single Hopped programme as well as the all-time favourites that sit within our core range.”

Find out more at www.ossett-brewery.co.uk

Abbeydale Brewery’s popular beer “Black Mass”, a 6.66% Black IPA, took home the top prize at the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2023.

Sheffield-based Abbeydale, most famous for its Moonshine pale ale, received the accolade of Overall Champion of the bottle and can competition for its Black IPA at the beer trade association’s national finals, held at BeerX in Liverpool in March.

Abbeydale Brewer Christie Mcintosh said: “Black Mass is a joyous, strong, bitter, fruity dark ale. Winning the National as a Black IPA is pretty wild - we won the Speciality IPA which we were really pleased about, but to then go up again and win the Overall Gold is just amazing."

SIBA Chairman Richard Naisby congratulated the winners on their huge achievement and said: “Judges had a tough job separating the pack as the standard was extremely high once again. The winners from the SIBA competition are officially the best independent craft beers in the UK, something brewers should be extremely proud of.”

Black Mass has been part of Abbeydale Brewery’s permanently available beers since the business was founded in 1996, and the team believe it to be one of the world’s first and longest standing beers of this style in existence. Sales Director Dan Baxter says of the award: “Black Mass has been with us since our very beginnings as a brewery, and we’re absolutely thrilled that it’s being recognised as being at the very top of its game. It’s classic and familiar, yet simultaneously unique and boundary defying, and a true favourite of many of the team here!”

Find out more at www.abbeydalebrewery.co.uk

& Company launches Sussex range of canned beers

Sussex-based craft brewer Hepworth & Company is launching a new range of canned beers, named after its home county. The Sussex range will be available in pubs, retail and through the Hepworth's brewery shop and web store. The new range marks a new direction for Hepworth's. Creating a more contemporary image for the brewery and its beers will better communicate its status as an innovative, forward-looking business, which is blazing a trail for sustainable brewing.

All four beers in the range: Sussex Premium Lager, Sussex Premium Pale Ale, Sussex Premium APA and Sussex Low Alcohol Lager, are packaged in black 330ml cans with single-colour graphics that ensure strong standout on-shelf. They are all gluten-free and vegan-friendly and brewed from

local ingredients where possible.

The beers are the first new brews from Hepworth's to roll off the brewer's canning line, installed last summer. The 3,000 cans/ hour capacity line is already used for contract canning, for a range of customers including M&S, Hiver, Coalition and Prime Time. Hepworth's has secured listings for the Sussex range in Abel and Cole and a number of independent free trade customers in Sussex. Driving forward the new direction for Hepworth's is a new team, led by managing director Leo Murphy, who was appointed to the role last autumn. Dave Paterson joined at the start of 2023 as head of sales and marketing, working with Murphy to update the Hepworth's image while retaining its core ethos of sustainable brewing and quality ingredients.

Murphy said: "The launch of the Sussex range marks a step change for Hepworth's. We have always had a reputation for brewing top-quality beers and for leading the way on sustainable brewing - we installed the world's first beer source heat pump, among other measures.

"However, the way we presented our beers to the world, in terms of branding and pack design, didn't always communicate that combination of brewing excellence and innovation. We're seeking to do that now with the launch of the Sussex range, which places Hepworth's firmly in the craft beer space, while keeping the brewing tradition that has been at the core of the brewery since it was founded by Andy Hepworth in 2001."

Find out more at www.hepworthbrewery.co.uk

Hepworth

Castle Rock celebrates summer with its annual Yard Party

Castle Rock Brewery welcomed summer early this year, tempting the sun and beer lovers from near and far to the brewery HQ for its annual Yard Party.

The set up included a lorry for a stage featuring some of Nottingham’s best local talent, no less than five bars, five street food vendors, and an

Iron Maiden and Robinsons Brewery’s Trooper beer celebrate 10th birthday

all-important beer line up boasting over 40 keg beers and more than 20 on cask.

Four of Castle Rock’s “Beer Gin” variations poured from the Franklins & Sons gin bar, all of which were made from distilled beer over lockdown, saving gallons of beer from the drain.

The lovingly curated beer list featured local and national favourites, including breweries such as Brass Castle, Vault City, North Brewing Co. and Deya. Alongside the multitude of beers, Castle Rock collabs featured on the bar, including a mild brewed with Black Iris; a pilsner brewed with Freedom Brewery and a juicy IPA brewed with Ossett. Attic Brew Co., Heist and Abbeydale are all next on their list.

The brewery also showcased two of its latest Pilot Project beers (Apricot Saison and Musson’s Boom, a peanut butter porter brewed with Lock 15 all the way from Ohio). The Pilot Project is Castle Rock’s 160 litre brew kit, which they have been tinkering with for past two years. Used primarily for R&D, it allows the brewery to experiment and innovate on a small scale, providing freedom to explore with new processes, ingredients and styles.

Castle Rock’s marketing manager Jess Collins said: “For the last few years the whole company has pulled together to make the Yard Party happen. It’s a celebration of everything we love about the industry: the beer, the breweries, and the chance to enjoy it all with friends. Mostly it’s a thank you to all our loyal customers that make it possible for us to carry on doing what we love.”

Find out more at www.castlerockbrewery.co.uk

Trooper Beer, the hugely successful and award-winning beer produced in collaboration between British music icons Iron Maiden and Stockport-based Robinsons Brewery, celebrated its 10th birthday in May this year.

To celebrate the milestone, and the achievement of over 35 million pints being sold worldwide, a brand new 10% ABV Trooper X Imperial Stout has been created by Bruce Dickinson and the Robinsons team. Each 660ml bottle of Trooper X comes in a presentation box and is available to order online from IronMaiden. com and Drinks Aisle.

The new brew has again been created by Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce, alongside Robinsons’ Head Brewer Martyn Weeks. Martyn said: “Trooper X is packed full of roasted malt flavours which perfectly balance the complex and delicious aromas. This is the ultimate super smooth sharing beer which, if you can resist drinking straight away, will mature in the bottle and get even better with age.“

In further celebrations, the original Trooper Beer, which kickstarted Iron Maiden’s foray into the brewing world 10 years ago, will feature a special anniversary label to mark the occasion.

Launched in 2013, the 4.7% ABV Premium Ale has proved a runaway success around the world and is now firmly established as one of the leading British ales globally, being exported to 68 countries worldwide.

Bruce Dickinson said: “I’m immensely proud that Trooper has reached this milestone. To get to 10 years is a brilliant achievement, and I’m having a great time working with Robinsons and our partners around the world coming up with some fantastic beers! Thanks to our fans, Trooper has become a permanent feature with beer lovers around the world, and it’s still growing.

“We are delighted to add ‘Trooper X’ to the roster and there’ll be more beers to come as our Trooper family continues to expand and provide new beers and choices to our fans everywhere.”

Find out more at www.robinsonsbrewery.com

Croxsons welcomes new team members

the glass packaging industry. As an area sales manager, he will be responsible for managing Croxsons’ northern accounts and working closely with brewers and distillers in particular, to supply various styles of glass containers.

Commenting on his new role, Martin said: “I’m really looking forward to growing and expanding the territory, ensuring market share is increased within the portfolio, and working closely with the team to bring existing and new customers further into the Croxsons’ family.”

Leading glass packaging firm, Croxsons, has bolstered its sales and marketing team with the recruitment of Martin Boyle as area sales manager for the North of England, and Josh Webster who joins as a marketing executive. Martin trained as an aircraft engineer and a technical product manager, before moving into

In addition, and starting in the new role of marketing executive, Josh Webster joins Croxsons from an events industry background. Bringing a focus on social media and email marketing to the role, he will be responsible for building the marketing function at Croxsons, providing internal communications as well as developing content to support the

company’s ongoing promotional requirements.

“I see Croxsons as a great opportunity to join a company that really cares about its customers. There are so many exciting projects to work on, alongside a great team of people,” said Josh. “I think there is lots of potential at Croxsons to go from strength to strength. I’ve not worked in the industry before so clearly there is a lot for me to learn, but I’m excited to meet some of our customers and work with them to help build lasting relationships.”

Croxsons, which will shortly be making the exciting move to a purpose-built workspace in Sutton, Surrey, celebrated its 150th-anniversary last year. The significant milestone, saw the company fund the planting of 150,000 new trees - part of a strategy aimed at reducing and offsetting the company’s carbon emissions. Find out more at www.croxsons.com

Labelnet offers sustainable labels for eco-conscious breweries

Essex-based Labelnet, which has been printing labels since 1999, is addressing the growing trend for drinks brands opting for sustainable packaging by offering a sustainable solution to help reduce waste, increase recycling and lower pollution. Finding a solution for fully recyclable packaging has always, and still remains, a difficult task, but by opting for recycled materials you can instantly help to reduce carbon footprint and save our forests.

More and more consumers are opting for eco packaging and are happy to pay a premium for it, with 57% of consumers less likely to buy products in packaging they consider harmful to

the environment, according to new studies. So, why opt for sustainable labels? What are the benefits?

• Reduced environmental impacts from reduced waste and increased recycling - an obvious choice for switching to sustainable labels is to help our environment and save our forests.

• Increased awareness of environmentally responsible activities - the more people who are made aware of the benefits to your packaging, the more people you will inspire.

• Customer recognition with eco-conscious end users - It is proven that a lot of customers will recognise brands opting for eco-friendly packaging and sticking by their company values, and the company will gain more loyalty and brand recognition from their customers because of it.

• Clean Labelling – a term recognised by brands who are looking at ways to offer healthier products with simplified ingredients as well as sustainable packaging which has an impact on saving our environment.

• ISO 14001 Accreditation – using ecofriendly labels can help businesses looking to gain its ISO 14001 accreditation. It helps organisations to improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.

If your brewery is looking for eco-friendly packaging Labelnet can send out some sustainable samples and further information about the benefits of each to help get you started.

Find out more at wwwlabelnet.co.uk

KHS launches space-saving Innokeg X washing and filling module

The new Innokeg X module, newly launched by KHS, is designed to save craft breweries time and money and takes up less space.

Six years ago the compact Innokeg module was successfully launched for the low-capacity range, supplied as either a filler (Innokeg AF) or a washer (Innokeg AC). KHS is now once again proactively approaching the ever-growing microbrewery segment: in its semi-automatic Innokeg X washing and filling module the Dortmund systems supplier combines both functions on a single station that can process up to 25 returnable kegs an hour holding up to 58 litres.

This provides smaller fillers of craft beer and medium-sized and large breweries who offer special seasonal or event-related beverages in small batches with a space-saving and efficient system.

“We’ve optimised the ergonomics of our new module right down to the last detail,” said Roger Daum, keg product manager. “To further increase the ease of operation, we also offer a number of bookable extras. These include, for instance, a preparation platform for the next kegs, a keg slide that enables the full barrels weighing more than 60 kilos to easily slide onto the pallet and customisable media preparation packages.

“We’ll initially focus on those markets where small batches are especially relevant. We’re planning on offering the new Innokeg X online. After all, this is a plug-and-produce system that can be used immediately on delivery, with little effort needed for installation. And the delivery time of about four weeks is also reasonably short.”

For more information go to www.khs.com/en

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Hop Forward podcast wins a SIBA Business Award

Popular brewing industry podcast, Hop Forward: Getting Ahead In The Brewing and Beer Business, picked up the UK Best Craft Beer Promotion award at this year’s SIBA Business Awards, marking a significant milestone for the show as it turns five this November.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said host and founder, Nick Law. “Since launching in November 2018, the Hop Forward Podcast has been widely listened to by beer professionals and drinkers alike in the United Kingdom, Europe, USA and across the world.

“The podcast has afforded us the opportunity to visit a wide variety of

breweries and craft beer businesses, as well as meet a diverse range of individuals ranging from entrepreneurs, leading brewers and individuals and groups seeking to make the beer scene a more wholesome, diverse and inclusive space.”

The SIBA judging panel commented: “The judges were hugely impressed by the breadth of information and knowledge being shared on this podcast and thought the execution was professional, engaging and entertaining. Particularly liked how brewery businesses themselves would benefit from listening –with some great insight on offer.”

This also comes at the same time that Hop Forward has launched a new website. Not only can listeners search the entire back

Vigo adds CIMEC rotary canning lines to range

Vigo, part of the Rawlings Group, has announced the addition of CIMEC counter pressure rotary canning lines to their canning line range to offer high speed canning under counter pressure fill conditions.

Commercial Director, Andy Pegman, comments: “Having supplied and supported CIMEC bottling lines for 19 years, the inclusion of CIMEC's counter pressure filling rotary canning lines is a natural transition. Our Engineering Team (9 engineers in all) have extensive experience of working with CIMEC machines. We're really pleased now to be able to offer customers wanting to increase their canning output the benefits of CIMEC's high build quality coupled with UK support from our renowned engineers. CIMEC machines are robust and reliable - the oldest CIMEC filler we service is 22 years, which really speaks for itself.”

CIMEC counter pressure rotary canning lines have throughputs up to 6,000 cans per hour and can be supplied with an optional can rinse unit and ink jet printing.

As with all filling lines supplied by Vigo, ABE lines and CIMEC lines, they are installed commissioned and backed up by Vigo Engineers. Service contracts are also available.

For more information go to www.vigoltd.com

catalogue of shows but the site showcases the branding, marketing and consultancy work Nick Law and Sean Robertson do for a variety of clients, including businesses such as Lincoln Green Brewing Company, Broadtown Brewery, award-winning bottle shop Brewery Market and Nigeria’s first craft brewery, Bature Brewery.

“As a company that often works on other brands, sometimes it’s hard to pay as much attention to your own. We didn’t feel that the previous website accurately showcased what we offer to breweries and businesses to help improve their branding, messaging, marketing or commercial strategies; now you can see and judge for yourself,” added Nick Law.

Find out more at www.hopforward.beer

Tech Talk

Max Andrew, co-founder of Breww, offers some advice on launching your first webshop…

“The most recent SIBA report demonstrated how the pandemic changed consumer buying habits. 33% of brewers have introduced e-commerce in the last 2 years, but still 21% of breweries are not using e-commerce to sell their products directly to consumers.

Broadening your sales channels to include an ecommerce platform will hugely benefit your business; expand your reach, maximise sales growth, increase profitability and utilise the full capacity of your brewery.

Speaking to breweries at BeerX, a number sighted a lack of time and expertise in the reason why they haven’t launched their e-commerce channel. Choosing the right platform can seem daunting, but all make it quick and easy to set up and start selling with very little experience.

We found the most commonly used B2C e-commerce platforms by breweries are Shopify, WooCommerce, Shop Wired and BigCommerce. All have slightly different pricing models, some operating on a fixed month fee, and others taking a transaction fee.

It is not essential to hire a web designer to build your first webshop. All the platforms offer templates and guide you through the process to set up products and prices. It's worth investing in a good quality photographer to aid online conversion.

One crucial consideration is to ensure the ecommerce platform integrates with other software you already use. It's vital to have a single source of your sales stock, saving unnecessary admin tasks and ensuring you don’t sell a product online that you cannot ship. With so much choice online, disappointing customers is not a route to repeat business.”

Find out more at www.breww.com

Sustainable brewing b egins with Muntons

We supply ultra-low carbon malt and can prove it. With our extensive data we can help you map your carbon impact for raw materials and tell your sustainability story.

At Muntons we are:

• Proud to manufacture malt that comes from 100% sustainable barley*

• Charting an ambitious plan to be carbon neutral before 2050

The first maltster to set a science-based target to reduce Green House Gas emissions by 45% from 2010 to 2025

• Thinking full circle. We convert our waste into products that are reusable within our supply chain

Konvoy hits the road with its IoT keg tracking technology

Pioneering keg rental firm Konvoy has vowed to solve the brewing industry’s key problems with technology since expanding to the UK & Europe at the beginning of this year.

The UK’s newest addition to the keg solutions market has already become the leading supplier in Australia and New Zealand despite launching only as recently as 2019.

Konvoy has been quick to set out its stall in the UK, Europe and beyond by showcasing its ‘game-changing’ solution to common industry problems like inefficient re-use of kegs, inconsistent beer quality, keg thefts and low sustainability.

The company, founded by Adam Trippe-Smith and headed in the UK & Europe by Christian Barden, has been making waves already this year by taking large stands at some of major trade brewing events, such as SIBA’s BeerX in Liverpool and the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville, USA.

Konvoy and its proprietary IoT (Internet of Things) keg tracking and data-collection device, will also be highly visible at UK industry

events this summer, including Brew//LDN, Manchester and London Craft Beer Festivals.

Christian Barden, Konvoy’s CEO for UK & Europe, said: “The brewing industry has keg problems – and we are unashamedly here to help solve them. And we want to achieve that quickly, to give brewing and hospitality a chance to not only survive today’s challenges but to actually thrive.

“We’re offering a way for brewers to become more efficient, more effective, more circular, more sustainable and more economical with their keg fleets and requirements. But first, we all need to ‘hug the monster’ and accept that whatever we’ve been doing for centuries with traditional keg tracking hasn’t worked.

“Konvoy is confident its technology is gamechanging – and can assure the industry that we’re here for your beer!”

Konvoy offers one of the world’s most sustainable keg fleets, spearheaded by a small tracking and data capture device fitted to each keg. It is capable of sharing a multitude of realtime data with a central cloud network using a combination of Bluetooth, satellite, cellular and

Kammac Beverage Division here to stay and growing

“Kammac has been involved in the brewing and beverage industry for almost as long as we’ve been around. One of the first diversifications of our business was moving into producing kegs for the industry, and though we left that part many years ago, we’ve been at the centre of Molson Coors and previously Bass Beer’s logistic operations in Burton-on-Trent for 32 years, providing on-site support.

We’re always looking to the future though and we’ve reached the Times Hundred Fastest Growing Companies for the last two years off the back of never resting but always looking for new opportunities. It’s an obvious development for us to expand further in an area we have in our blood. We have years of expertise within the sector and

an institutional knowledge and understanding hard won over decades. That’s why we are now looking for additional partners to work with, whether it’s on-site logistics, warehousing, transport, fulfilment, or valueadded services.

We’re not just getting bigger though, we’re becoming more diverse. We already operate many of our sites under excise bond for customers, but in future our sites will be custom bonded as well. We’re always looking for new ways to support and service our customers, whether it’s bonded warehousing or our latest partnership enables us to source 30L and 50L kegs as well bringing us full circle back to where we left so many years ago.

We’re always looking to the future though and for us that takes two forms. Firstly, we

wireless technology.

The device measures the temperature, location and motion of each keg as well as its precise orientation – all without the need for manual scanning or logging.

The end result is real-time information to speed up the re-use of kegs through the supply chain, improved condition management, reduced labour and resource requirement and a significant removal of keg thefts and losses, which costs the global industry an estimated $300m-$500m per year.

Konvoy has also launched a partnership with climate action platform Net Zero Now, in order to help brewery clients get a head start towards meeting the UK Government’s 2050 Net Zero target.

The company is already underway with its own global sustainability audit through Australian carbon and energy management specialists Pangolin Associates, in an effort to set the benchmark in sustainability for a logistics business.

To find out more visit www.konvoykegs.com

have two new sites in Burton-on-Trent, one of the homes of British brewing. It will take us to 191,000 sq. ft. in the area, and allow us to continue to support all of our customers in the surrounding area, not just for warehousing and transport, but for ecommerce and efulfilment too. Investing in the future means more than just bricks and mortar though, it means ensuring we’re being responsible for ourselves and the planet. That’s why our new site will be a HVO transport hub, reducing our carbon by up to 95%.

Names and fashions are always changing in this industry, but Kammac is proud to be a part of the ever-changing tradition, and continuing to serve our customers large and small.”

Find out more at www.kammac.com

Supplier Viewpoint

Gold members Silver members

Loughran Brewers

Select Ltd

Will Avery sales@brewersselect.co.uk

Charles Faram & Co Ltd

Any of the Team sales@charlesfaram.co.uk

Close Brothers

Brewery Rentals

Becki Mason

Rebecca.Mason@closebrothers.com

Croxsons

Tim Croxson

Tim.croxson@croxsons.com

Murphy & Son Ltd

Frances Maud frances.maud@murphyandson.co.uk

BrewMan

Sam Williams Sam@premiersystems.com

Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd

James Fawcett james@fawcett-maltsters.co.uk

Vigo ltd

Sales Team sales@vigoltd.com

Alfa Laval

Rebecca Halpin rebecca.halpin@alfalaval.com

Anton Paar Ltd

Tertia Rimell tertia.rimell@anton-paar.com

Beatson Clark

Lynn Sidebottom Lynn.sidebottom@beatsonclark.co.uk

Beer Box Shop

Simon Hulse sales@beerboxshop.co.uk

Breww Ltd

Max Andrew max@breww.co.uk

Crisp Malting Group

Rob Moody rob.moody@crispmalt.com

Festival Glass

Kelsey Cheesbrough sales@festivalglass.co.uk

Framax UK Limited

Elizabeth Smith esmith@framax.co.uk

IGC Engineering Ltd

Chris Hamlett chrishamlettigc@onetel.com

Kegstar

James Bleakley jamesb@kegstar.com

Konvoy UK

Christian Barden christian@konvoykegs.com

Lemon Top

Creative

Andy Mogg hello@lemontopcreative.com

Muntons Plc

Vanessa Makings vanessa.makings@muntons.com

Napthens

James Allison James.Allison@napthens.co.uk

Pentair Food & Beverage Solutions

Debbie Larkin debbie.larkin@pentair.com

Rankin Brothers & Sons

Jim Rankin sales@rankincork.co.uk

Saxon Packaging Ltd

Mike Impson mike.impson@smurfitkappa.co.uk

Sure Purity Ltd

Gary Robson gary.robson@surepurity.com

Vale Labels Ltd

John Riches john@valelabels.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

Jenna Barningham

Membership Services Administrator jenna.barningham@siba.co.uk

Louise Henley

Membership Services Administrator louise.henley@siba.co.uk

Elle Spencer-Blanchard

Membership Services Assistant elle.spencerblanchard@siba.co.uk

Charlie Docherty

Business Development Officer charlie.docherty@siba.co.uk

All General Enquiries contact office@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)

Tom Fownes Fownes Brewing Co

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

Scotland scotland@siba.co.uk

Chair Christie Slater Consolidated Craft Brewers

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

Darren Batten Palmers Brewery

Alan Collyer The Exeter Brewery

Wales & West west@siba.co.uk

Chair Glenn White Brew Monster

Rich Tidy Vale of Glamorgan Brewery Ltd

Rob Lilford Tomos & Lilford Brewery