ISSUE 106 A UT U M N 2 0 1 7
COOL MARBLE THE MAKING OF A MANCHESTER BREWERY
THE BIG INTERVIEW
BEER GROUP BOSS MIKE WOOD MP
THE SIBA DEBATE
THE FUTURE OF THE GBBF
MEET THE BREWER
GEORGINA YOUNG FROM FULLER’S
GUEST COLUMNIST AWARD WINNER JACOPO MAZZEO
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EDITOR'S COMMENT CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE WORDS JACOPO MAZZEO & MARTYN CORNELL PHOTOGRAPHY DOUGLAS BARCLAY
WELCOME
TO THE AUTUMN 2017 ISSUE OF THE SIBA JOURNAL!
I’ve got that ‘back to school’ feeling as I sit writing this on a chilly October morning with the hint of frost in the air. But far from being sad to see the end of (what there was of) this year’s summer, we are heading into what is my favourite season of the year – not least because it is also, in my view, the best beer-drinking time of the year. Oktoberfest planted Autumn firmly in the beer calendar and richer smokier darker ales were just made for this time of year. So while you prepare for the seasonal influx of fireside ale connoisseurs to boost your sales, why not take some time to do a bit of a ‘back to school’ check on your business? The SIBA Journal is here to help with that. We aim to bring you advice, case studies and interviews with fellow brewers who can inspire you to grow your business and give you all the information, updates and news you need about the UK brewing sector to ensure you keep up with the latest trends and can be ahead of the game when it comes to what your customers want next. In this issue we bring you updates on the progress SIBA itself is making with its Four Pillar strategy via our CEO on page 7 and also a new regular page within the SIBA News section on page 15, so you can see what SIBA is doing for you as members and what initiatives it is currently working on. We try to feature a diverse range of brewers within each issue of the Journal and this issue is no exception, with interviews with Society of Independent Brewers PO Box 136, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 5WW Tel: 01765 640 441 www.siba.co.uk Email: ripponoffice@siba.co.uk
Georgina Young, the new Head Brewer at Fuller’s (see pages 21-27), one of our larger family brewer associate members, alongside the owner Jan Rogers and Head Brewer James Kemp at Manchester-based Marble Brewery which is a small brewer born out of one woman’s love for her local pub (read more about Jan’s story on pages 44-51). Both women have stories to tell and are making waves in the current market in very different businesses. Elsewhere in these pages we travel to Westminster to hear from Mike Wood MP, the newly elected Chairman of the All-party Parliamentary Beer Group, in one of his first trade interviews (see pages 30-35). We also hear from you, the brewers, on this issue’s SIBA Debate topic, the future of CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival, a subject which provoked some heartfelt discussion across our membership (see the highlights on pages 38-43). I hope you find the magazine engaging, and that something in this issue grabs your attention and makes you think about your own business. I am always on the look out for topics, debates and features for future editions and you can email me direct at caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk with all your news, views and ideas for the Journal at any time. Happy reading!
Caroline
CAROLINE NODDER EDITOR, SIBA JOURNAL caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk
Editor: Caroline Nodder (caroline.nodder@siba.co.uk) Published by: Media Alive Limited Produced on behalf of SIBA by: Media Alive Limited, 2nd Floor, The Red House, 119 Fore Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG14 1AX. T: 01992 505 810 Creative Director: Darren Kefford (darren@media-alive.co.uk) Studio Manager: Jon Hardy (jon@media-alive.co.uk) Printed by: Advertising Manager: Claire Rooney (claire@media-alive.co.uk) Printwize, 9 Stepfield, Witham, Managing Director: Dan Rooney (dan@media-alive.co.uk) Essex CM8 3BN
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3
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AUT U M N
CONTENTS
2017 ISSUE 106
FOUR PILLARS AN UPDATE ON SIBA’S STRATEGY
THE CHAIRMAN’S VIEW ON THE MEMBERSHIP VOTE
SIBA BALLOT
CROWDED MARKET
PAGE 15
PAGES 16-19
PAGES 60-61
NEWS 9-15 16-19 64-69 85-89 91-101
HOW CROWDFUNDING IS BEING USED BY BREWERS
FEATURES
SIBA NEWS
All the latest from SIBA HQ including a Four Pillars update
MEMBERSHIP BALLOT
The Chairman’s view of the ballot results
REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS
The winning beers from the latest round of SIBA competitions
SIBA REGIONAL NEWS
21-27
MEET THE BREWER
30-35
THE BIG INTERVIEW
37 44-51
This issue we focus on the East
SUPPLIER NEWS
News and views from SIBA’s Supplier Associate Members
COMMENT
53-59 60-61
Get to know Fuller’s Head Brewer, Georgina Young
We meet new Beer Group Chair Mike Wood MP
THERE’S A BEER FOR THAT
The national campaign to grow the beer sector
BUSINESS PROFILE
The story of how a local pub inspired the launch of Marble Brewery in Manchester
BUSINESS BACK OFFICE
Advice on law, marketing, digital and finance
BUSINESS FEATURE
Author and beer writer Martyn Cornell looks at crowdfunding
7
CEO’S UPDATE
71-75
FOCUS: POS & MARKETING
8
CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE
77-79
FOCUS: CONTAINERS & DISPENSE
80-83
GOLD MEMBERS
29
Mike Benner on a crucial time for beer
Buster Grant on what makes a SIBA Member
GUEST COLUMNIST
This issue we feature award-winning beer writer Jacopo Mazzeo
Updates and advice from suppliers
Updates and advice from suppliers
Close Brothers and Thomas Fawcett
38-43
THE SIBA DEBATE
102
SILVER MEMBERS
63
TECHNICAL FOCUS
105
MEET THE SIBA TEAM
The future of the Great British Beer Festival
Brewlab’s Dr Keith Thomas on sours
WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
Listing of our key sponsors
Introducing three more members of our team
SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
5
CEO’S UPDATE
BE A PART OF THE BIGGEST THING TO HAPPEN IN THE BEER WORLD IN A LIFETIME
Whether you’re a fan of the term or not, the fact remains that the growth of craft beer is the biggest thing to happen to the beer industry this century.
Standard. We’ve seen hundreds of SIBA brewers actively support the new logo and the response in general, not only from SIBA members but from the brewing industry as a whole, has been hugely positive.
Unfortunately this huge growth has not gone unnoticed by the The Brewers Association in America have now also launched their global beer giants, who are losing market share to beers from own Independent Craft Brewer seal, meaning beer drinkers on small independent craft breweries and are both sides of the pond can be sure the determined not to go down without a fight. beer they are buying is a genuine craft As such they began to do two things to try brewed beer. and get their own piece of this important, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS What I would like to see is all SIBA and growing, marketplace which you as members adding the logo to your ALL SIBA MEMBERS ADDING independent brewers created: buyout bottles, cans and pumpclips in order to previously independent craft breweries; THE LOGO TO YOUR BOTTLES, further raise the profile of the seal with launch their own beers marketed as consumers - in fact the overall impact of CANS AND PUMPCLIPS IN craft products. the campaign on the marketplace really ORDER TO FURTHER RAISE THE An example of the former could be Sharp’s depends on a high level of buy-in from in Cornwall or Camden Town in London, members to build profile with retailers PROFILE OF THE SEAL WITH and the latter would be most recently a beer and consumers. CONSUMERS like Hop House 13, which is very much Differentiating ourselves from Global marketed as a craft lager and doesn’t give brewers is hugely important as a much if any indication of the brewing giant consumer trying a beer marketed as craft that is behind it (Guinness/Diageo). from a Global brewer, and perhaps being disappointed, could The issue with this is not that the global beer companies now have a negative effect on that beer drinker opting for your truly have beers in their portfolio that a wider range of consumers are independent craft beers in the future. more likely to want to drink, but that consumers are confused or The beers brewed by you as SIBA members are clearly of the at worst being misled into buying beers which they would likely highest quality and are generally the beers which take the top assume are brewed by a relatively small, genuinely independent consumer beer awards across the UK within CAMRA, so let's craft brewer. make sure we are setting ourselves apart from the pack and This ambiguity at the point of sale is dangerous for independent being proud of our independence - as increasingly it is that craft breweries and is one of the driving forces behind SIBA’s independence which is important. move to launch the Assured Independent British Craft Brewers Be proud of being an Assured Independent British Craft Brewer campaign. and start displaying the logo today. Only full brewing members of SIBA can use the logo i.e. those breweries who are producing under 200,000HL of beer per year, MIKE BENNER Mike are fully independent of any larger brewing company, and are CEO mike.benner@siba.co.uk brewing quality beer as guided by SIBA’s Food Safety & Quality
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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SIBA CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN
WHAT MAKES A SIBA MEMBER? The last few months have been exceptionally busy - not just in the brewery but also with SIBA. In amongst the festivals and shows (the Green Man Festival at Glanusk being a high spot this year!) there has been a lot of work on Small Breweries' Relief and we had the results of the Membership Criteria Ballot. The ballot was carried out on behalf of SIBA by Electoral Reform Services (ERS), and later in this Journal you can read my analysis of the opinion results from this (see pages 16-19). These comments made fascinating reading, and got me thinking - what makes a SIBA member? My mind went back to an old SIBA document “So you want to be a MicroBrewer?”, where the first question was “Are you mad?”! I’m sure this is a question we’ve all asked ourselves a number of times, probably to a spectacular array of answers! But what else?
Passionate - the one over-riding
similarity between all the brewers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting (other than their madness!) is their passion. The passion for beer, for brewing, for creating something that gives pleasure to others. A passion for hops, a passion for flavour, a passion for doing something that no one else has ever done. This passion is evident in all brewers, from the very smallest to the very largest. A long time ago, I nearly got into trouble for suggesting that a lager produced by a multi-national Scottish brewer wasn’t very good, and the trouble was going to
8
SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
come from one of its brewers who I was sharing a table with! Lesson learned all brewers are passionate about what they do… Another example of passion comes in the form of raising money for charity. Many breweries excel at this but one that has impressed me most is St Austell I first met the team down there in 2000, before I became a brewer, with an invite to their Celtic Beer Festival, and I’ve had the great pleasure to have been involved with this event for over 10 years now, co-ordinating the Welsh beer supply. Absolutely everyone in the brewery is involved in the set-up and operation of this event, as volunteers, from brewing one-off beers to serving on the bars, to clearing the site and so on... And all of the proceeds of this sell-out, one day event go to charity.
Ethical - recently, there’s been a lot of
press and correspondence around the court case that involved HMRC and Molson Coors, over the declared and actual abv of Carling. I’m certain we haven’t heard the last of this… Whilst we’re all under a lot of commercial pressure, and there is a huge amount of competition in the marketplace, I’d like to think that SIBA brewers would not resort to a tactic which could easily be construed as wilfully misleading the public. I’m confident that the claims made about our beers: provenance, ingredients, allergens, etc, are backed by evidence and truth, so that our customers can be absolutely confident in these claims. The FSQ will be a tool in our armoury for this as well.
Fair - that passion and commitment
that we all share occasionally has to be countered by commercialism - we are
all in business, and a business needs to be sustainable. Therefore I’d like to think that all SIBA brewers would treat each other as they’d like to be treated - acting in a fair and reasonable manner. That could be by promoting our beers only in a positive way, and not taking the easy route of denigrating a competitor, or ensuring that credit terms are honoured. I’d also like to believe that where disputes arise, both parties would seek to achieve a swift, reasonable and moral compromise to avoid prolonging the dispute.
Professional - what does this mean? To my mind, this is a simple one to answer - to be professional is to exceed the expectations of the people we deal with - to provide great service and great, consistent beers to our customer, to interact positively with those brewers around us, to act fairly to our suppliers and always seek to enhance our reputation. How can SIBA help with this? I’d like to see SIBA be able to provide tools and information that will allow our members to grow their businesses, to expand their markets, to achieve greater levels of consistency and quality, to create a perception that the beers that consumers want to drink are the beers created by SIBA members beers that imply quality, authenticity and innovation, and allow drinkers to celebrate their support of professional independent British brewers. Cheers!
Buster
BUSTER GRANT CHAIRMAN buster.grant@siba.co.uk
SIBA NEWS
SIBA appoints new Head of Public Affairs & Communications SIBA is bolstering its public affairs function with the appointment of James Calder in the newly created role of Head of Public Affairs & Communications. James joined SIBA in September and will initially focus on ‘crafting’ new ways to communicate independent beer industry priorities to Government. James brings both in-house and consultancy experience, joining from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) where he has worked with accountancy firms on taxation, exports and financial services policy issues. Prior to this, he held consultancy roles in Cavendish
Communications and Citigate Dewe Rogerson working for financial services, transport and third sector clients. SIBA’s CEO Mike Benner said: “James’ arrival further deepens our ability to represent the independent brewing industry and SIBA’s Four Pillars strategy of market access, taxation, our Assured Independent British Craft Brewer campaign and product excellence at the highest levels of Government. We'll also be better able to support breweries across the UK in forming relationships with their local MPs. James is a proven campaigner on tax issues and is a legislative and parliamentary expert. He’s going to bring valuable new insight to SIBA’s growing team.”
Find out more about James in our Meet the SIBA Team section on page 105.
The SIBA Business & Industry Awards 2018 open for entries in November The categories remain unchanged for 2018
The SIBA Business & Industry Awards 2018, celebrating the best brewing industry businesses in the UK, will open for entries on the 1st of November and be presented at BeerX in March 2018. The awards have gone from strength to strength in recent years, with the number of entries growing by 20% between 2016 and 2017.
• Marketing Implementation • Green Business • Best Individual Design • Best Total Concept Design • Supplier Associate of the Year • Business Innovation • Commercial Achievement •U K’s Best Independent Craft Beer Retailer – Multiple •U K’s Best Independent Craft Beer Retailer – Single
•U K’s Best Independent Craft Beer Bar or Pub – City •U K’s Best Independent Craft Beer Bar or Pub – Rural •U K’s Best Independent Craft Beer Restaurant • B est Independent Craft Beer Promotion – On-trade • B est Independent Craft Beer Promotion – Off-trade • Lifetime Achievement Award • SIBA Brewery Business of the Year
Watch out for updates on how to enter in our Brewing in Brief SIBA weekly e-news or email Neil.Walker@siba.co.uk
All SIBA breweries trading on BeerFlex are now ‘SIBA Food Safety & Quality Scheme of Improvement’ (FSQ) enrolled. All SIBA brewing members trading on SIBA BeerFlex now hold a valid SIBA FSQ certificate or other professional accreditation commissioned themselves such as SALSA, NSF, STS or BRC. This is a total of 494 independent craft breweries and is a huge step forward for SIBA’s BeerFlex members who can now provide the necessary food safety and quality assurance demanded by many retailers. This also give consumers confidence they are drinking beer from the very best professional craft breweries in the UK. The SIBA FSQ is a scheme of improvement and was launched in 2015. It provides members with a practical means of access to an independent quality-driven audit and
delivers genuine benefits to the brewery. SIBA recognised that not all members were ready to step up to schemes such as SALSA or BRC and it was right that SIBA, as the leading trade association for British craft brewers, created a first step towards the likes of SALSA. Nick Stafford, SIBA’s Operations Director, said: “Modern consumer culture and many retailers demand food safety and quality assurance from professional brewing businesses. Retailers wish to identify professional brewing businesses who are seen to have an ongoing process of raising food safety and quality standards. Any brewing business aspiring to be a professional concern should be able to provide independent evidence of standards achieved. The FSQ does just that and has been created as a cost-effective way of
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achieving this for those brewers not ready for the likes of SALSA or BRC.” The FSQ scheme of standard includes HACCP, Raw Materials, Brewing Processes and Record Keeping, Packaging Process and Record Keeping, Cleaning Regime, Premises Maintenance, Testing Procedures, Beer Quality and launch just this month, Health & Safety At Work (a legal requirement). This additional of Health & Safety At Work now sees the standard named as FSQII. The compulsory FSQ enrolment (or other accreditations mentioned above) for those trading on BeerFlex is the first step towards SIBA making the FSQ audit a requirement of SIBA full brewing membership by 2020.
For more information on any BeerFlex issue call SIBA HQ on 01765 640441. SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
9
SIBA NEWS
Discerning Drinkers: Consumers demand clarity on who is brewing their craft beer The research showed a large majority (60%) of beer drinkers cared who brewed their beer and more than two-thirds (69%) thought it would be useful to see the logo on beer pump clips, bottles and cans, in order to identify the beer as being brewed by a truly independent craft brewer, rather than a Global beer company. More than half (54%) went even further and said that they would be more likely to drink a beer which carried the logo.
New research published by SIBA during the Great British Beer Festival shows the majority of beer drinkers want greater clarity over who is brewing the beer they drink, following an increase in the popularity of craft beer and a number of buyouts of independent craft breweries by global brewers. The independent YouGov survey of more than 1,000 beer drinkers was commissioned by SIBA as part of its campaign to inform consumers of which beers are brewed by their members as truly independent British craft brewers. The ‘Assured Independent British Craft Brewer’ initiative allows SIBA member brewers who are relatively small, fully independent, and brewing quality beer to use an ‘Assured’ seal on their beer products and point of sale marketing material to help them stand out from beers from other brewers.
The logo has been met with huge support from brewers, with SIBA’s membership growing 6% in the last eight months and 50 new breweries signing up to the organisation.
If your brewery is using the logo on packaging or pumpclips let us know by emailing images to Neil.Walker@siba.co.uk and we will help you with publicity.
Loch Lomond sweeps the board at SIBA Scotland Independent Beer Awards Loch Lomond Brewery has swept the board at the SIBA Scotland Independent Beer Awards, taking home overall Gold in both the cask and small pack (bottle and can) competitions – the first time ever in the competition’s history. The prestigious awards, run by SIBA, were held at the Drygate Brewery and Taproom in Glasgow, and are judged by brewers and beer experts and seen very much as the ‘brewers choice’ awards in the industry.
SIBA Competitions Committee Chair Guy Sheppard, who presented the awards, said: “Scottish beer continues to go from strength to strength and these awards really were a representation of the very best independent craft beers the country has to offer – the standard was especially high. Massive congratulations to all of the winners and particularly Loch Lomond Brewery who should be very proud of being named the best of the best at these prestigious awards – it’s the first time ever a Scottish brewer has taken home Overall Gold in both categories.”
Loch Lomond Brewery’s Outlander took home the overall Gold in the cask competition and their Silkie Stout was named overall small pack (bottle and can) winner, but the prizes didn’t stop there, with Loch Lomond winning a total of 10 awards across the competition, including seven Golds!
Collecting the award was Fiona MacEachern of Loch Lomond who said: “This means the absolute world to us, this rewards everything we do and we couldn’t be more proud to win not only with one of long-running beers, Silkie Stout, but also a brand-new one too with Outlander.”
Purity Brewing Company named 2018’s Brewery of the Year by The Good Pub Guide
SIBA member Purity Brewing Company is celebrating after being named Brewery of the Year for 2018 by The Good Pub Guide.
The highly-regarded annual travel guide, which has been listing and rating pubs up and down the country since 1982, has recently started including breweries and has named Purity as the best in the business.
The accolade comes hot on the heels of Purity’s director of brewing Flo Vialan having been named Brewer of the Year at the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group Beer Awards this summer.
The brewery has been recognised for its dedication to consistent quality and its ‘Pure Eco’ values, brewing world class beers such as Pure Gold, Mad Goose, Pure UBU, Lawless Lager and Longhorn IPA on a working farm in the stunning Warwickshire countryside.
Purity MD Paul Halsey said: “This is fantastic news. The Good Pub Guide is a very well renowned and respected part of British pub culture so we’re thrilled to be named best brewery. A huge thanks to the team behind the guide and to everyone at Purity who works hard to ensure we always deliver pure quality. And as always, the biggest thanks go to our customers, the people who make it all worthwhile. Cheers.”
Purity’s commitment to the perfect pint also includes expert training at the pubs which store and serve its award-winning beers, many of which feature in this year’s Good Pub Guide.
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SIBA NEWS
Brew York and Rooster’s named best independent craft brewers in the North East Brew York and Rooster’s Brewery have won the two top awards in the SIBA North East Independent Beer Awards. Their win makes it a one-two for North Yorkshire brewers in a competition entered by breweries from the whole of Yorkshire, as well as Humberside, Cleveland, Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. Brew York Brewery from York took home the overall Gold in the cask competition with their ‘Keras’ American Pale Ale, whereas Rooster’s Brewery in Knareborough was named overall small pack (bottle and can) winner for their Twenty-Four-Seven Session IPA. Brew York’s owner and brewer Wayne Smith said: “We’re over the moon, the beer festival is in our hometown so we only have to walk five
minutes from our brewery to get here, so we hoped we would be in with a chance! Keras is our one off pale ale so to win gold overall is amazing, the cask that we sent in for the competition is our last cask that we had of it – so we might have to brew some more! It’s a classic pale ale with two American hops, Cascade and Chinook, and obviously it’s a crowd pleaser so we’re quite excited to brew it again.” Ian Fozard, Owner of Rooster’s brewery, said: “This win is a real tribute to the brewery team and all the hard work they put in perfecting the beers. This is a beer that is growing in popularity with our customers and it’s great to see it a hit with judges too!”
Independent brewer Church End takes the UK’s top consumer beer award
A beer brewed by independent British craft brewer Church End has been named the best beer in Britain by consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) – the seventh year in a row a SIBA member has won the award. Goat’s Milk by Church End brewery in Warwickshire was named Supreme Champion Beer of Britain at the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Great British Beer Festival in August.
SIBA’s CEO Mike Benner said: “It is wonderful to see a SIBA member brewery once again winning the Champion Beer of Britain top prize. This comes as proof that the best beers in the UK are being made by independent craft brewers such as Church End, who should be hugely proud of their achievement. It was obviously a hit with judges and I’m very much looking forward to trying it very soon.” Across the awards SIBA members raked in the top prizes, with a total of 22 independent craft brewers winning a Gold, Silver or Bronze award.
Wayne Smith receiving the overall gold in the cask competition
Ian Fozard receiving overall small pack award from Jenna Barningham
Langham and Gun breweries named best in the South East Langham Brewery and Gun Brewery have won the top awards in the SIBA South East Independent Beer Awards. The awards were run by SIBA at the Tonbridge Juddians Beer Festival in Kent this summer. Langham Brewery took home the overall Gold in the cask competition with their ‘Triple XXX’, whereas Gun Brewery was named overall small pack (bottle and can) winner for their Imperial Whisky Stout. SIBA Chairman Buster Grant of Brecon Brewing, who presented the awards, said: “The South East is a fast growing and vibrant beer scene and the beers in the competition reflected exactly that, with some fantastic beers entered across a diverse range of categories. These two beers have fought off tough competition to take the overall Golds and should certainly be considered the best of the best.” Triple XXX by Langham is described as a traditional dark mild, collecting the award was Martyn Constable from Langham who had this to say on their win, “It’s fantastic to win. It’s my personal favourite of our beers, a stunning dark mild that is very well rounded in flavour and it’s also great to see a very traditional British style beer winning this competition against the huge range of styles entered – including some very modern heavily hopped styles.”
The awards were judged as part of CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival.
Make the most of your SIBA Membership: Press & Social Our Comms team are always on the lookout for case studies, articles, and photos of SIBA member breweries to use on the SIBA website, social media channels and in SIBA press activity.
We also get regular enquiries from the National and Trade Press so keeping us up to date on your brewery news can even turn into some national exposure.
If you've got a new exciting beer launching, are expanding the brewery, or perhaps have raised money for charity, why not drop us an email to let us know? We'll do whatever we can to help you promote the news and make the most of your membership.
If you've got any news, no matter how big or small send it through to our PR & Marketing Manager Neil Walker at neil.walker@siba.co.uk
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SIBA NEWS
SIBA’s ‘Four Pillars of Activity’ Update
SIBA’s ‘Four Pillars of Activity’ were launched at BeerX in April 2017 and are at the core of everything SIBA is currently focusing on.
Please find below a brief update on each Pillar but note that although this information was correct when going to print, due to the importance of the Four Pillars the outputs are every changing so keep up to date on the progression of our plans through your weekly e-newsletter Brewing in Brief, the quarterly Board Progress Update (which can be found on the home page of your members’ Toolbox), the regular Toolbox alerts, attending regional meetings and our social media.
A Reminder of the Four Pillars: Increasing access to market – building routes to market and ethical pricing Taxation – beer and pubs – focus on retention and sustainability of SBR Promotion – The Assured Independent British Craft Brewer campaign Product excellence – led by the SIBA FSQ Certificate.
ACCESS TO MARKET • The Policy Committee has set terms of reference for a review of access to market for craft brewers. • Industry research company CGA has been carrying out aspects of the review. The review will: 1 Establish what the situation is compared to the past and what the opportunities might be for SIBA members. 2 Produce targeted, credible and consistent insight for members to help make informed individual business decisions. 3 Provide policy guidance for SIBA to enable us to demonstrate that problems with access, including restrictions due to low price paid to brewers, still exist. • Commercial hospitality strategy day. This focussed on breaking into hospitality markets beyond pubs and into the off-trade. • We are building our profile as a craft beer partner at external events/trade shows to enable us to build profile and access into hospitality markets and this will be trialled at the Pizza & Pasta Show at London Olympia in November.
TAXATION • This pillar focuses on excise duty on beer & defence and enhancement of Small Brewers’ Relief (SBR). • We have been participating in the BBPA/ SBDRC (Small Brewers Duty Reform Coalition) review of SBR, but we are not a commissioning stakeholder. We have facilitated the project by sending Europe Economics questionnaires to a sample of 50 members and via the Toolbox to all members • We are continuing our own work on SBR via the Policy Committee as instructed by the Board. This includes testing, analysing and consulting on agreed models for reform. • Committed to campaigning for fairer treatment
of beer via excise duty and to working with other parties (BBPA, CAMRA, APPBG) towards securing at least a freeze in beer duty during this parliament. • We have signed up to the ‘One Voice’ coalition campaign working with other trade and industry organisations to present a united voice on various issues, such as beer tax and business rates to promote pubs and to present pubs as a ‘force for good’.
Festival. This arrangement allowed us to promote the campaign to 45,000 consumers and 5,000 trade representatives. SIBA members beers were differentiated from the rest as Assured Independent British Craft Brewers in the festival programme and on the bar banners as AIBCB. There was also a double page spread featuring the initiative.
How to get the Assured logo….
Download from the SIBA Toolbox Filing Cabinet toolbox.siba.co.uk Filed as: Assured Independent British Craft Brewer Logos Email SIBA PR & Marketing Manager Neil Walker via neil.walker@siba.co.uk
• SIBA has appointed a new Head of Public Affairs & Communications - James Calder (james. calder@siba.co.uk). ‘Campaigning as a trade association’ dominated the top three reasons for being a member of SIBA according to the Members’ Survey and James has been employed to enhance SIBA’s influence.
Going forward….
PROMOTION OF MEMBERS BEERS ASSURED INDEPENDENT BRITISH CRAFT BREWER (AIBCB) CAMPAIGN
• SIBA Assured Strategy Day – took place in October where brewers, retailers, consumer groups and SIBA representatives discussed the strategy for the campaign.
The ‘Assured’ campaign was launched because: • Of the Growing interest in craft beer brewed by independent brewers • Of the increasing use of ‘Craft Beer’ term without clear definition • Of the confusion of what ‘craft’ really means • Global brewers are buying out smaller brewers • Global brewers are releasing their own beers and marketing as ‘craft’ The aim is to: Differentiate SIBA members as ‘Independent Craft Brewers’ Independent Craft Brewers are SIBA members who are: • Fully independent of any larger brewery • Brewing under 200,000HL per year • Brewing quality beer as per SIBA’s Food Safety & Quality Standard Only brewers which meet this criteria can use the ‘Assured Independent British Craft Brewer’ logo
Positive Industry Response…. • Excellent trade media response • SIBA member engagement • Brewers Association in America have now followed suit with their own seal
GBBF Sponsorship
• SIBA were a sponsor of the Great British Beer
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•E ncourage all SIBA members to use the logo in their sales & marketing to help educate consumers & differentiate beers in a crowded, confusing market • I ncrease engagement with public via retailers and other organisations e.g. CAMRA, consider apps • Increase prominence in pubs • ‘ Assurance’ will be improved by 2020 when all SIBA members will be enrolled on to SIBA’s Food Safety & Quality (FSQ) scheme (or alternatives such as SALSA)
PRODUCT EXCELLENCE • All SIBA members selling beer through Beerflex are now FSQ enrolled (or have other reconsied accreditation such as SALSA). •T he Board adopted FSQ Standard Edition II and this has been communicated to members via the Toolbox. (Health & Safety) •W e will combine the FSQ with the Assured campaign by 2020, so that members are ‘assured’ by their enrolment in the FSQ. •W e have partnered with the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) to deliver a training programme on the FSQ with a discount for SIBA members. •W e are working with other stakeholders including the IBD to deliver a brewing apprenticeship standard via the Trailblazer programme and an initial declaration of interest has been submitted to Government, with a follow-up meeting of brewers having taken place.
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THE SIBA MEMBERSHIP BALLOT
THE SIBA MEMBERSHIP BALLOT THE CHAIRMAN’S VIEW I took up the role of SIBA’s National Chairman officially at the AGM in March this year, and one of the first tasks was to chair that AGM meeting, a not undaunting task! One of the results of that meeting was the ballot on membership, proposed by Dave Bailey of Hardknott Brewery.
However, these numbers are not the only story, hence our desire to dig a little deeper and ask members to explain what they were happy or unhappy about.
Just as a reminder this is the wording of the motion: SIBA will carry out a ballot of all members to ensure that the membership is happy with the current membership criteria.
1) SIBA members should be British companies.
Should the results of the membership ballot show that the majority of the membership is unhappy with the current criteria SIBA must fully, demonstrably and transparently consult the membership to determine a new membership criteria.
3) Whether SIBA should have a size limit for membership, with many suggesting the current limit is too restrictive, whilst others called for a lowering of the cap.
Hopefully you’ve all seen the numerical results of the ballot, which were published via the Toolbox once ERS had submitted them to us. However, I’d like to use this space to look a little closer at the votes and at the text responses that came with the simple Yes/No votes. I’ll then elaborate more on what the next steps will be.
- The existing approach to membership is working perfectly well; Not Yet Brewing members are able to benefit from attending regional meetings and gaining important information to the set up of their business. The bands of production ensure that Brewing Members pay based on the level of hectolitre production, which seems perfectly fair. The Supplier Associates offer membership subscription fees in return for an opportunity to promote their businesses on the SIBA websites or through offering discounts. The Associate Brewing member category allows input from large brewers, not eligible for standard membership, to national debates relating to the brewing industry.
The headline figures were 161 members cast a vote, with 60 members saying they were happy with the current membership criteria, and 101 saying they were not. I felt that the turnout for this vote would be significantly higher, given the passion of the speakers at the AGM and Regional Meetings, but I’m assured by ERS that this is actually slightly higher than expected for this type of ballot.
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I’ve done an analysis, albeit a subjective one, of the written responses. There were 3 factors that came up repeatedly:
2) SIBA needs a better definition of ‘Independent’.
The Yes votes contained many comments, some of which are listed below:
- SIBA is a broad church and SIBA Associate brewing members make a positive contribution to SIBA by willingly sharing resource and information. They have no voting rights so are no threat to other SIBA members by remaining as associate brewing members. The brewing industry needs unity not division. - SIBA has always been a collaborative and co-operative organisation. The current membership criteria emphasise how much breweries at all levels of the industry have in common - I feel this motion is analogous to the Brexit referendum, where the result was in part a reflection of people's dissatisfaction with their lot, but not necessarily about Britain's membership of the EU. In this instance, many small brewers are finding life difficult because the market is over crowded with fewer and fewer pubs yet more and more start up breweries. Excluding a few members from SIBA isn't going to fix this. We are the society of independent brewers: one member, one vote. Isn't it better to be inclusive rather than exclusive? - Whilst I'm happy with the current criteria, I can see room for improvement, for example increasing the size cap to 500k Hlpa, and reviewing the definition of Independent to be more meaningful. - SIBA needs to represent the whole brewing spectrum from small to large if we are to be taken seriously in the political arena; to disenfranchise part of the brewing industry would be disastrous. Brewers continually learn
THE SIBA MEMBERSHIP BALLOT
SIBA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A COLLABORATIVE AND CO-OPERATIVE ORGANISATION. THE CURRENT MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA EMPHASISE HOW MUCH BREWERIES AT ALL LEVELS OF THE INDUSTRY HAVE IN COMMON
from each other irrespective of size, larger brewers have the resources to help smaller and most are very happy to do just that. We are proud of being part of an all welcoming organisation which SIBA currently is and are not sure if we want to be part of a selective society The No votes break down based on the responses to the tickboxes for the four categories of membership, Full Members, Associate Brewing Members, Supplier Members and Not Yet Brewing Members. The ‘unhappy’ votes broke down as: - All four categories: 2 - Full Brewing Membership: 9 - Full and Associate Brewing Membership: 18 - Associate Brewing, Supplier and Not Yet Brewing Membership: 2 - Associate and Supplier Membership: 3 - Associate and Not Yet Brewing Membership: 6 - Associate Brewing Membership: 57 - Supplier and Not Yet Brewing Membership: 1 - Not Yet Brewing Membership: 1 - No boxes ticked: 2 However, as alluded to before, some of the unhappiness is because the criteria are too restrictive, whilst others feel the rules should be tighter. So I looked for trends in what was being said. - 19 members specifically named global brewers being members as a problem.
-8 members highlighted their support of Associate Brewing Members, (with Fullers and St Austell being praised for their support), whilst 14 members specifically declared their unhappiness with these members generally. - 8 members specifically gave their support to the concept of Associate Brewing Membership, whilst 21 members noted their opposition to this class of membership. -2 3 brewers stated their opposition to the concept of “Big Brewers” being members of SIBA [no clear definition or consensus on what “Big” actually means], whist 2 members stated they were in favour. -W hilst only 1 member singled out their support for Supplier members, 4 specifically named Supplier membership as a source of discontent, often citing a conflict of interest, or too much marketing. -A gain, only 1 member specifically praised the Not Yet Brewing category, 5 complained about this, with a common threads being the provisional status of these members even once they had started brewing, and the fact that many NYBs never actually start to brew. -1 1 Members positively commented on the Inclusivity of the Membership criteria. -5 Members also recorded their support for the current range of Membership categories. -7 Members came out in favour of a midsize limit for membership (usually stated
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at 60,000Hl per year), but 5 members specifically said they were against this. - 17 Members proposed that SIBA needs to improve its definition of Independent. There were also a small number of complaints about lack of sales via BeerFlex, suggesting that some members still feel that BeerFlex is a membership right, and sales should be theirs, whatever effort they are willing to expend. I would encourage these members to contact Rachel or Nick and seek advice on how to best work within the rules of BeerFlex and thus maximise their sales. There were also a worrying high number of members who appear to believe that the S in SIBA stands for Small, something that was changed (by AGM motion) a long time ago. Below are a selection of the comments : - I believe the primary interest of SIBA should be to represent "small" independent brewers. By "small", I mean brewers with an annual output of under 60,000 hl p.a. I believe therefore that the membership criteria should be changed to exclude those in Level 5 Membership band and Associate Brewing Members. - My belief is that the Associate brewing members do not have the interests of the majority of SIBA members at heart or even as a secondary consideration. If the huge majority of the membership view the 50% discount of the PBD as critical to the future of their business why would we allow associate members to campaign
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THE SIBA MEMBERSHIP BALLOT
for changes to this while openly inviting them into our society. Their complaint on 50% PBD is that it allows discounting by small brewers, and while there might be a few examples of silly pricing by small businesses, in our experience a huge amount of the discounting, i.e. the very low prices and buy x get one free are done by the squeezed middle and the large brewers in an attempt to shut out the small independent brewers. The Small Independent Brewers are the very thing that we should be promoting. - Associate Brewing members must be included as full brewing members. We need to grow with the times and recognise that our members grow as well. It is right that we review the upper cap periodically, and I recommend we raise the upper limit of full brewing membership to 1m HL. We must champion aspiration and reward success, not penalise it. The board should review and redefine all tiers, and levy larger fees on the larger members. We should also consider a lowest tier from homebrewer through nano brewer, as many of our smallest members would not be considered viable businesses (more like sole operators who should aspire to learn from the larger, more professional and experienced members). We cannot be small minded in our thinking or SIBA will lose our ability to make positive, meaningful impact on the industry. We must champion independence over size. - The combination of requirements to qualify for being a SIBA member are not sufficient as: 1) the production
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SHOULD THERE BE A NEW DEFINITION FOR INDEPENDENT, THAT TRULY IDENTIFIES AN INDEPENDENT BRITISH BREWING COMPANY? THIS COULD BE LINKED TO THE ASSURED INDEPENDENT BRITISH CRAFT BREWER CAMPAIGN, AND GIVE REAL PRESENCE AND VALUE TO SIBA MEMBERS
limit excludes some breweries who I feel should be included (Fullers, St Austell...) 2) the definition of an "independent brewery" is too open to exclude those who should be (Heineken, Molson Coors...) To address this I propose the following: a) the production limit should be increased to allow successful independent UK breweries to remain members; b) the definition of "independent brewer" should be tightened to ensure that only independent breweries may join; c) associate memberships should be abandoned. They seem to be nothing more than a back-door to allow anyone to join (this would solve the mentioned breweries' membership in (2) above) -W ith the move towards completion of FSQ, is should now the time to include this as a criteria for becoming a full brewing member. See member's handbook appendix 2, part 2, also part 9 I don't understand the need for associate brewing membership. SIBA is for independent and generally smaller brewers. Therefore why allow larger national/international members? (Heineken, Marston..) e think full brewing membership -W criteria should be increased to cover any small independent brewer whose market share is below 1% of the total UK beer market - this is approximately 350,000 hl. The American definition of small brewer is anyone below 3% market share and includes important brewers like Sierra Nevada - by excluding companies with a similar market share
in the UK SIBA loses thought leadership, valuable support and respected allies, and SIBA cannot credibly speak for the whole small brewer sector. The 200,000 hl was chosen due to the EU setting that as the upper limit for SBR, which is an unrelated matter, and may not be relevant anyway when we leave the EU. - Associates have a different agenda. Not yets may never actually start. - As a level 2 Brewer, with 11 years of SIBA membership I am disappointed with the direction that SIBA has taken. SIBA appears to want to be all things to all men and solve the entire world's problems and it clearly cannot. Associating ourselves with global businesses that undertake restrictive practices is detrimental to our movement. SIBA needs to shine a very bright light on itself and how it serves its membership. I am hugely disappointed that SIBA DDS / FLEX has fundamentally failed on so many levels to achieve fair trade and is marginalised. SIBA could and should adopt the EEBRIA concept of Brewers tendering their selling price. SIBA has the power of a collective cohort and is remiss in its representation of the needs of modern small independent Brewers. SIBA cannot effectively represent the majority of its membership and continue to include Associate brewing members. - We should NOT allow multinationals to be members. We SHOULD allow regionals. - 1) I can see no reason why large multinational brewers such as Heineken and
THE SIBA MEMBERSHIP BALLOT
Molson Coors should have any form of membership or association with SIBA. These companies and their products are a total anathema to what SIBA brewers stand for, especially now with the advent of the "craft" beer description. There is perhaps a case for large UK only independents such as Fullers being full SIBA brewing members, but I think this should be decided by open member debate and full member consultation (perhaps with a vote at the next AGM). 2) In addition to the above, there should be NO associate membership for brewers. Brewers should be either full brewing members or they should not be members of any sort. - The position of the associate members is undoubtedly a bone of contention among the "average" smaller members, who question the motivation of the associate members in wanting to be involved with SIBA, perhaps leading to suspicions regarding their role within and influence over, the organisation generally, when their business concerns are vastly different to those of the "average" member. A frank, open debate on this and allied subjects can only be beneficial. - SIBA by definition is an 'association' and for an association to be effective there has to be a common cause. Unfortunately the interests of larger breweries are often at odds with the majority of SIBA members. For larger breweries to be members it should be on the basis of working with smaller breweries - some level of commitment to supporting them - probably in the form of access to market - More thought should be put into, who SIBA is there to represent, it can't represent ALL breweries as their requirements are different.
In summary: Full Brewing Membership - Members are broadly satisfied with this category, although there were calls for both removing the production cap and decreasing it. Associate Brewing Membership This category is the greatest source of dissatisfaction amongst members. There is clear disagreement over the global brewers having an access to SIBA membership, albeit with a lot of confusion as to how this happened, or what influence these companies might have - just to be clear, currently, Associate Brewing Members have no Vote within SIBA. However, there was both praise for and complaints about the larger UK brewers who are members. There were also the most mixed suggestions about this category. Supplier Membership - Whilst there were one or two adverse comments, on the whole, members seem to be pretty satisfied with our Supplier Membership category. Not Yet Brewing Membership - Much the same conclusion, although there was a trend for expressing dissatisfaction over the provisional status of NYB members once they’ve started brewing. So, what are the next steps? Whilst the numbers of votes did not trigger the second action from the Motion, the Board is determined that Membership categories will be updated, and the debates and this Ballot have provided some excellent guidance from the Membership. Very shortly after ERS sent us the full results, Mike Benner, Tony Jerome, Justin Hawke and I met up in Bristol to discuss these and the proposals resulting from the Membership Review Group. We discussed many options and ideas, (not always in agreement!), but have achieved some concepts which are aligned with our Four Pillars. The Senior Management Team have been tasked with costing and impact assessing these, and then bringing them forward to the Board for the next full Board
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meeting in early October. Some of these concepts include: - Who should SIBA represent? I’ve elaborated on my thoughts on this topic in my Chairman’s Column at the front of this Journal, but it can best be summed up as Professional British Brewing Businesses. - Should there be a new definition for Independent, that truly identifies an Independent British Brewing company? This could be linked to the Assured Independent British Craft Brewer campaign, and give real presence and value to SIBA members. This definition could then become the pivotal factor in determining Full Brewing Membership or not, thus potentially removing the need for the contentious Associate Brewing Membership category. - Aim to build ‘aspirational professionalism’ into the membership values - if SIBA becomes the Trade Association to represent brewing businesses that want to act professionally, want to build on quality and consistency and want to grow and succeed, and can help brewers achieve this, then other Brewers will want to join SIBA to be a part of what we’re achieving. I’m certain the Board will have much to say on this, and I expect there to be a lot more correspondence before the proposals are finalised. To me, this opportunity represents an exciting step forward for SIBA, with potential to clearly define who we are, create building blocks for us brewers to grow our businesses on the basis of informing consumers as to who we are, what we do, what makes us more authentic, and therefore enthusing them to pick our beers for preference, either in the pub, at the bar or in the shops. I’d welcome any comments on this - please feel free to email me at buster.grant@siba.co.uk. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those members who took the time to participate in this ballot.
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MEET THE BREWER
MEET THE
BREWER GEORGINA YOUNG, FULLER, SMITH & TURNER
BREWER'S CV: Having a Young working north of the River Thames at Fuller’s would probably have seemed like anathema in times gone by, but Georgina Young (no relation to that other London brewing dynasty she assures me!) is now running the show at the iconic Chiswick brewery following the semi-retirement of long-time Head Brewer John Keeling. Georgina has taken the helm at an incredibly exciting time for Fuller’s, with more experimental brews on the cards thanks to a new pilot brewery being installed next year, and collaborations with a selection of smaller SIBA member breweries enabling the larger family operator to play around with beer styles and ingredients like never before. Having worked under John Keeling, and returned to Fuller’s following a career break as a school teacher, Georgina knows the ins and outs of the Fuller’s brewing processes off by heart, but is looking forward to pushing the boundaries while always maintaining the quality and balance that have become the Fuller’s trademark. Caroline Nodder, SIBA Journal’s Editor, caught up with Georgina to find out more…
Georgina Young, Head Brewer, Fuller’s, London
1988 – 1991 – Degree, Biotec hnology, Kings College, London 1992 – 1993 – Masters, Brewin g & Distilling, Heriot-Watt Uni versity, Edinburgh 1993 – 1994 – Lab and brewin g assistant, Smiles Brewery, Bristol 1994 – 1999 – Brewer, Pilot Brewery, Campden BRI 1999 – 2006 – Shift Brewer then Brewing Manager, Fuller’s, London 2006 – 2013 – Career break, School science teacher 2013 – present – Brewer the n Head Brewer, Fuller’s, London
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MEET THE BREWER
I WAS REALLY LUCKY THERE TO MEET LOTS OF BREWERS, NOT JUST IN THE UK BUT INTERNATIONALLY, AND I GOT TO MAKE LOTS OF DIFFERENT BEERS, DIFFERENT BEER STYLES.
When I catch up with Georgina Young she is less than six months into the Head Brewer’s role at Fuller’s and fresh from an exciting collaboration project with some smaller UK brewers – the first of what she would like to be a series of similar projects. The six different collaborative beers were produced for an exclusive deal with Waitrose, and are a taste of what is to come from Georgina who is visibly excited at the prospect of a new pilot brewery being installed at the Chiswick site in 2018. But before we come on to her future plans for her new role, I want to get a feel for how it all started for her. A keen eye for science was what really launched Georgina on the path to brewing back in her school days in Bristol. “I was obviously keen on science at school and then I came to London and studied biotechnology at King's College London. And it was while I was here, living in West London, that I actually started drinking a lot of beer and really enjoyed drinking beer,” she tells me. “In hindsight we now know that that was probably London Pride because I was drinking in places like the Dove, the Elephant & Castle and the Churchill Arms.” So combining her new passion for beer with her technical skills, Georgina headed up to Edinburgh. “Obviously biotechnology is all about yeasts, and using yeast commercially and things like that, so I went up to Heriot-Watt and did a Masters in brewing in distilling. I got my Masters back in 1992/93 and then got my first job which was actually back in my home town of Bristol working for a small brewing company called Smiles.” Georgina started off in the Smiles lab but before long had persuaded the team to let her brew, and was there for a year in what she describes as an extremely physical role, digging out the mash tuns and lugging sacks around the brewery yard. “I think I probably wasn't doing the business any good because I was very slow digging out a mash tun and things like that! So there was then an opportunity at a place called Campden BRI. Back then they were known as the brewing research organisation, so I ran their pilot brewery for six years. I was really lucky there to meet lots of brewers, not just in the UK but internationally, and I got to make lots of different beers, different beer styles. I did all the new barley variety trials, the hop development work and just every day it was a different beer.” She was approached several times while at Campden BRI with job opportunities but nothing seemed quite right until in 1999 the chance came up for her to apply to become a production brewer at Fuller’s, when Reg Drury, the then Head Brewer, was retiring and John Keeling was moving up to the top job. “I was lucky enough to get that job,” says Georgina. “So I started off shift brewing and then I ran the large pack lines. I then went off and had these things called children which rather put a spanner in the works! One child was fine, I came straight back after that, and I was Brewing Manager so I was responsible for all the brewing. We did a big tank farm development in 2004, which is our latest fermentation and maturation block. And then after my second child we went our separate ways.” Georgina left Fuller’s in 2006, became a school teacher and taught her first love, school science, for four years. But the lure of Fuller’s was too great, and in 2013 she returned to the brewing team once more, subsequently taking on the Head Brewer role when John Keeling stepped down earlier this year. So what of her priorities in her new role? As well as taking the time to recruit and build her new team at the brewery, she feels a big responsibility to carry on the Fuller’s legacy of quality, consistency and balance across the whole range of beers she produces. “I think it is obviously all about maintaining quality,” she says. “There are so many new beers out there at the moment. Some brewer’s strategies are to make two new beers a week, but with Fuller’s we're all about quality and consistency. There are such a core group of drinkers for whom London Pride is their be all and end all but we've also been doing lots of exciting projects working with other brewers.”
Continued on page 25
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MEET THE BREWER
I ask if it has been daunting taking on the mantle of Head Brewer from such a well-known industry figure as John Keeling, but she seems relaxed at the prospect having grown up under his tutelage. “I've worked with John for many years and I think the reason I got the job is because I am a Fuller’s brewer and I understand the way we brew and know how to look after our yeast and how to control our fermentations - so I'm just carrying on that legacy really. And John's still here! He’s really enjoying his global ambassadorial role.”
I THINK THIS TIME AROUND WITH THE EXPLOSION IN SMALL BREWERIES, A LOT OF THEM ARE FOCUSING ON KEGGED BEERS, CANNED BEERS. THEY HAVEN'T GOT FILTRATION DEVICES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT SO THEY ARE KEEPING IT QUITE SIMPLE.
But there is certainly change afoot with the pilot brewery on its way. Georgina explains: “I like to think once we’ve got the pilot brewery up and running we’ll be making more beers. We have made a lot of new beers this year actually but you always play it safe a little bit because our smallest batch is 160 barrels. That’s 45,000 pints of beers! So I think the pilot brewery will facilitate us trying some more novel brewing ingredients, trying different styles of beer. We will be able to trial hop varieties and see how they work. I think the maltsters now are also producing some really interesting malts – coloured malts and roasted malts that we can try and work with. We have already this year done a black IPA, a gueuze, a saison, an unfiltered lager – but it's still all about quality and balance. You will never have a Fuller’s beer that is unbalanced.” On that front, Georgina points to London Pride, still Fuller’s best seller and loved around the globe, for its perfectly round flavour profile. “Pride is one of the hardest beers to describe because its flavour profile, its spider diagram, is almost round. You've got sweetness and bitterness there that just create the perfect balance, which is why you can drink so much Pride. The ethos is always to keep the quality and the balance within our beers.” The ethos might have stayed the same at Fuller’s but the market now, as compared to when she first started out in the 1990's is a very different place. Georgina has now worked through two boom eras within brewing, but sees them as being quite distinct: “In 1992 there was a huge boom in micro breweries but everyone was doing cask beer, which is very difficult to make. There's nowhere to hide your mistakes, your beer has to drop bright, and if you haven't processed your beer correctly you are not going to get a good cask beer. I think this time around with the explosion in small breweries, a lot of them are focusing on kegged beers, canned beers. They haven't got filtration devices or anything like that so they are keeping it quite simple. And by having a higher alcohol and higher hop level you can mask some fermentation flavours you might not want to have. There's been a huge change in the market really, mainly from cask through to keg, bottle and can.” She does add that cask remains a passion of hers, adding: “I would love to see a resurgence in cask again because I really do think technically that is the hardest beer to make.”
Continued on page 27
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MEET THE BREWER But it is this latest boom in small breweries that first inspired the idea of a collaboration project – Fuller’s & Friends. This saw six small brewers come down to London to the Chiswick site to be paired with members of the brewing team at Fuller’s to design from scratch a new beer. The end product is an exclusive six pack of different beers that will go on sale in Waitrose. Georgina explains: “To give him credit, it was John’s idea. So we just contacted a few of our mates – John phoned some and I phoned some – and said ‘Hey would you like to come and work with us?’. And Waitrose heard about it and said ‘Hey that sounds amazing, we’ll take it!’. So it is exclusive with Waitrose and that's great for the guys that we're working with because it gives them shelf space and exposure. We have six brewers and there are six breweries so they were paired up, and we created the list of beer styles that we wanted to do and then the breweries and the brewer went away and worked up a recipe.” This partnership between a larger family brewer and six small breweries is an interesting one in a sector where there can sometimes be animosity between businesses operating at different scales in the market. But Georgina feels both her own team and also the brewers from the small breweries who were involved all learnt an enormous amount from the project and have developed their skills as a result. So much so, she is keen to take on more projects of this kind. “For the Fuller’s brewers it's been a great learning curve for them. A lot of them have gone and visited their partner brewery too. One of the breweries was Marble from Manchester (see Business Profile in this issue on pages 44-51) and James (Kemp), Head Brewer at Marble, also used to work at Fuller’s so we knew James quite well, and it was great to have him back. He was paired up with a young brewer Hayley, and they created a saison. We were also using different yeasts, so our lab team were involved to help grow up the new yeasts. I think we’d really like to do it again, so if anyone out there would like to work with us then get in touch!” Although larger than SIBA member breweries, Georgina also sees more similarities than divisions with the small brewers in the market when it comes to the love and care that goes in to the beers they produces.
WE ARE A BREWERY NOT A FACTORY. EVERY BATCH IS STARTED WITH A HANDWRITTEN RECIPE. ALL MATERIALS ARE SELECTED AND CHECKED BY HAND SO FROM THAT POINT OF VIEW I WOULD SAY CRAFT IS REALLY JUST A MARKETING TERM, WE DON'T HAVE A DEFINITION OF IT IN THIS COUNTRY, BUT IF YOU ARE MAKING BEERS WITH LOVE IN SMALL BATCHES THAT'S DEFINITELY CRAFT.
“All our beer is crafted,” she says. “We are a brewery not a factory. Every batch is started with a hand-written recipe. All materials are selected and checked by hand so from that point of view I would say craft is really just a marketing term, we don't have a definition of it in this country, but if you are making beers with love in small batches that's definitely craft. What the new brewers have allowed us to do is to experiment. We now have a beer that's not bright. We have spent the last 30 years educating the nation not to accept a hazy pint of beer because something is not right!” There are, of course, some advantages to the size and scale of Fuller’s and Georgina is not blind to these either. She adds: “We've never cut corners here. Sometimes we might be a bit slow to get things to market because there are so many hoops to go through. But from a brewing point of view we are buying the best materials out there. Never cutting corners by buying cheap malt, we choose the best hops, and it’s ok for the brewers here not to worry about money too much. We're not looking to penny pinch the whole time.” To that end, the brewery is constantly investing in equipment and maintenance to ensure that quality and consistency is guaranteed. Of recent investments Georgina says: “We have just put some investment in our bottling line, we have put in a new palletiser. That has enabled us to speed the line up. On the cask line we've just put in a couple of robots to take away the manual handling element of removing the shive and the keystone. So that's improved health and safety. The big investments over the last two years have been in filtration, the bottling line and cask line.” As our interview draws to a close I ask Georgina which breweries she really respects in the current marketplace.
“We’ve got huge respect for the Friends of Fuller’s we have been working with recently but we’ve also got huge respect for loads of people in the market. Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker, Little Creatures - there are lots of people doing great things out there. I think it's great as long as quality is being maintained.” And finally, as she heads off for yet another interview, I ask what her personal favourite beer is and where she would most like to drink it. “I will say London Pride,” she smiles. “And I was thinking where would I want to be, and I have another interview coming up where they have asked me what would my one moment in time be. And my one moment in time would be Super Saturday, at the 2012 London Olympics. So I would like to drink my pint of London Pride in the Olympic Stadium on that day, with my family of course.”
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
27
BEERS
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CLOSURES
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FOODS
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SOFT DRINKS
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SPIRITS
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WINES
SUPPORTING BREWERS, ROUND AFTER ROUND
COLLABORATION
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DESIGN
CONTAINER
CLOSURES
DECORATION
LOGISTICS
GUEST COLUMNIST
BEER AND FOOD MATCHING – ARE YOU MISSING A TRICK? In this issue, sommelier and former Young Beer Writer of the Year award winner Jacopo Mazzeo looks at why the art of beer and food matching is still not widespread in today’s market… I went to a restaurant recently. They sat me at the table and gave me the food menu and beer list. There were about seventy beers to choose from, ranging from crisp German pilsners, to hoppy American IPAs and warming Belgian ales. The waiter approached the table and offered advice on beer and food matching. I ended up having four small bottles, which I shared with my guest and paired each with a different dish. An unforgettable experience. Unfortunately the restaurant doesn’t actually exist; I never went there, I simply dreamt of it. Unlike wine, beer drinking culture is not traditionally associated with food and gastronomy. In the UK, beer has a wellestablished thirst-quenching function, with little space left for the appreciation of its food-friendly qualities. Yet, in our rapidly changing market, consumers seem to be developing an understanding of beer’s potential as a quality product to match with fine food. It’s up to the brewers to take the first step. The UK beer market is becoming increasingly competitive for breweries; restaurants could represent a real opportunity to secure consistent sales.
London alone has one of the highest ‘restaurant-per capita’ ratios in the Western world – why not make the most of it? Unfortunately, not all beers brewed today are food friendly. For instance, those designed to impress, like one-off experiments characterised by one single component or ingredient, are unlikely to make a good match to food. Brewers should be aware that ‘focus’ and ‘balance’ are paramount to make a food-friendly beer range, and ‘harmony’ is another crucial element. By expertly using all beer ingredients, brewers may achieve a wide array of flavours, aromas and textures. The second step to take is to promote a beer and food culture by educating the public as well as restaurateurs. After all, any dish one could think of could easily be paired with one beer style - at least. Quite remarkable, given that the same can be said of no other alcoholic drink. Beer and food matching is not a perfect science, it’s an art that can be mastered only by experience. However, it’s not a matter of random choices either. When pairing beer and food one must account for all flavour components involved. A Chinese duck in orange sauce does not necessarily pair well with an orange IPA just because both mention a citrus fruit. The same thing goes for curries and IPAs, which don’t normally pair well, despite both having some connection to India. In fact, bitterness tends to make spicy food taste even spicier. If you really want to go
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ahead with such a pairing, then look for a balanced IPA, with good hoppy nose but pronounced malt component on the palate. Desserts in which chocolate is the dominant flavour are normally matched with something in the stout range. Yet, there are lots of different stouts out there, so ask yourself: what’s the dessert’s dominant texture (dry/creamy)? What are the ingredients involved in its preparation? How has the chef achieved contrast in the dish? Then collate the answers; the chosen beer should balance all elements. Last but not least, a further step to take is to train staff. There’s no point in having an extensive beer list if the staff is not able to store, talk about and serve beer adequately. All parts involved in the beer sector, including communicators, influencers, brewers, and restaurateurs need to play a role. That restaurant I dreamt of is not that far from becoming a reality, it just needs a little push.
Jacopo Mazzeo is the Head Sommelier at THE PIG Hotel & Restaurant in Brockenhurst, New Forest. He is also a beverage consultant, writer and international wine and beer judge. He won the Young Beer Writer of the Year 2016 award. Find out more at www.beerwithoutfrontiers.com
SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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THE BIG INTERVIEW
THE
BIG
INTERVIEW MIKE WOOD MP, CHAIRMAN OF THE ALL-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY BEER GROUP Mike Wood MP was elected Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group in July at the inaugural meeting of the group following the General Election. Mike originally joined the Beer Group after he was elected as MP for Dudley South in the West Midlands in the 2015 General Election. The Beer Group brings together MPs from across the House of Commons to hear from representatives of the beer and pub sector about the challenges and issues they face in the current political and economic climate. The Beer Group has been instrumental in enabling the sector to effectively lobby MPs about some key recent issues such as beer duty and licensing reform and, taking the helm in July, Mike said: “The Beer Group is the largest All-Party Group and this reflects the enormous importance of beer and pubs to the UK economy and our communities. There is tremendous goodwill for the sector amongst MPs and I want to harness this to ensure that it is allowed to flourish. UK beer duty is too high and pubs pay a disproportionately high level of business rates. This is bad for brewers, pub operators and beer lovers. But it is also bad for Government, as the industry employs a million people and is a vast contributor to Treasury tax receipts. There is a real danger that by imposing such high levels of tax they risk killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Over the next few months I am looking forward to meeting as many people from the sector to explore how we can work together to get a fair deal for Britain’s beer lovers and pub-goers.” The SIBA Journal’s Editor Caroline Nodder caught up with Mike to find out more about his views on how the group can support small brewers…
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
THE BIG INTERVIEW
UK BEER IS HUGELY MORE INTERESTING NOW THAN IT WAS JUST A DECADE AGO. WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THIS IS A LONGLASTING RENAISSANCE FOR BEER AND NOT JUST A FLASH IN THE PAN.
Mike brewing with Bathams in his constituency
Tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be Chairman of the Beer Group.
understands this and that it provides a regulatory and tax regime that allows the sector not just to survive – but thrive.
I have been MP for Dudley South since 2015. In my constituency, there are 75 pubs and four breweries, Bathams, Black Country Ales, Ma Pardoes, and the Pig Iron Brewery. Because I am so passionate about beer and brewing, after settling in to Westminster I decided to join the Parliamentary Beer group and was elected as Vice Chairman. Since then we have had a General Election, where the former chairman, Graham Evans, did not return to Parliament. I am proud to have been elected to succeed Graham and will continue with the dedication and hard work brought to the table by my predecessors.
Could the brewing sector be more proactive when it comes to influencing Westminster?
How do you see your new role and what are your priorities? What do you hope to achieve in your role as Chairman? The Beer Group is not only the largest but also one of the most active All-Party Groups in Parliament. It was set up 24 years ago and has done a fantastic job highlighting the enormous importance of beer and pubs to the UK economy, our communities and to our way of life. My aim is to ensure that Government
Brewers already do a lot. You have some very effective trade bodies and the Beer Group is very influential in Parliament. But any sector can be even more proactive – and yours is no exception. Since I became Chair of the Group in July, I have been hearing first-hand about the serious pressures you are facing such as increasing beer duty and large increases in business rates on pubs. I would encourage every brewer in the country (large and small) to get to know their MP. Explain why beer is so important to the UK and highlight the opportunities to Government if your sector is allowed to flourish – more jobs, increased tax incomes, more exports and tourists. What is the best way for brewers to get to know their own MPs? It may sound daunting but it’s actually not difficult. Simple things like inviting your MP to visit the brewery work extremely well. You might suggest they brew a beer
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with you. Ask them to request that one of your beers is served as a guest beer in the Strangers Bar. Joining the Beer Group and attending some of their events in Westminster is a great way to meet lots of MPs. Do MPs understand the difference between large and small brewers and their beers? MPs vary enormously in how much they know about beer and brewing. Some are enormously knowledgeable (mainly members of the Beer Group) whereas others know very little. This highlights the critical importance of meeting MPs and bringing them up to speed on the sector and some of the issues you face. Most MPs love beer and pubs so you will be pushing at an open door. What is your view on the growth in craft beer in the UK market? The explosion of breweries in the last 10 years has been stunning. UK beer is hugely more interesting now than it was just a decade ago. We need to ensure that this is a long-lasting renaissance for beer and not just a flash in the pan.
Continued on page 33 SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
31
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THE BIG INTERVIEW
Mike presenting the Beer Group’s “Brewer of the Year” award to Florent Vialan, Director of Brewing at the Purity Brewing Company, at the this year’s Beer Group Dinner in Westminster.
BRITISH BEER AND PUBS ARE FAMOUS AROUND THE WORLD AND YOU SHOULD GRAB THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP THESE NEW MARKETS - TO GROW BEER EXPORTS AND ATTRACT MORE FOREIGN TOURISTS.
Have you always been a beer drinker? Yes. Well, since I turned 18 he says trying to keep a straight face! What role do you think small brewers play in their local communities? I heard someone say recently that he thought that we have reached “peak globalisation”. I think people have an increasing desire to buy their food from smaller businesses using locally sourced ingredients and that they can get to know personally. Hence the explosion of interest in artisan products. Microbrewers are a great example. You employ local people and pay all your taxes in the UK. Politicians like that! Are you in touch with any breweries in your constituency? Yes, as mentioned I have four breweries in my constituency and have enjoyed the chance to visit them enormously. A few months ago, I achieved an ambition of a lifetime when I spent a wonderful morning brewing with Bathams in Brierley Hill just around the corner from my office. Are there any current political opportunities the brewing sector should be focusing on? Brexit is the biggest political issue of our generation and I see it as a great opportunity. As we leave the EU we need to establish strong trading relationships not only with the EU but with the rest of the world. British beer and pubs are famous around the world and you should grab the opportunity to develop these new markets - to grow beer exports and attract more foreign tourists.
Continued on page 35 WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
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THE BIG INTERVIEW
Mike with James Calder, SIBA’s Head of Public Affairs and Communications, with the BBPA’s Public Affairs Director David Wilson and Tim Page, Chief Executive of CAMRA. This was taken at the event to lobby MPs to call for a freeze in beer duty and a business rate relief for pubs that Mike hosted in Parliament in September. 55 MPs signed up.
What challenges do you think brewers are facing and how can the Beer Group help? There is huge goodwill for beer and pubs amongst MPs, as demonstrated by the fact that the Beer Group has nearly 400 members. The challenge is to convert this into concrete support for the sector. You need to equip MPs with the ammunition to make your case to ministers. I am hearing that beer duty and business rates are probably the most pressing problems. We saw from the campaign to kill the beer duty escalator that the industry can be hugely effective when you all work together. What is your view on the beer duty system?
THERE IS HUGE GOODWILL FOR BEER AND PUBS AMONGST MPS, AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE FACT THAT THE BEER GROUP HAS NEARLY 400 MEMBERS.
The current duty system is laid down by Brussels and is very unfairly weighted in favour of wine over beer. For instance, EU rules dictate that Governments must charge a minimum rate of duty on beer of about 4p per pint. The minimum duty rate for wine is zero! Brexit will provide an opportunity to level the playing field. I am very keen to make the case that draught beer sold in pubs should pay lower duty than beer sold in supermarkets. What is your view on beer exports and the opportunities they present? As not only the Beer Group Chairman but also a PPS (Parliamentary Private Secretary) in the Department of International Trade, I am very optimistic that we can grow beer exports. Beer is already the UK’s third largest food and drink export and I am confident that we can grow this yet further. I would like to see our embassies around the world serving British beer at their events so that people around the world can see what they are missing. Who within the brewing sector has the ear of Westminster currently? Not surprisingly, the trade bodies and CAMRA have a high profile with politicians – but that is their job. What is heartening is that many brewers, even some quite small ones, have built strong relationships with MPs and it does bear fruit. SIBA’s successful campaign for Small Brewers Relief being a great example. Do you have a favourite beer/brewery? I love all beer but having had the great privilege of growing up in the Black Country I had some great brewers in my backyard. Bathams, Bank’s, Holden’s and Ma Pardoes were a great introduction to the delights of beer!
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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THERE'S A BEER FOR THAT
connecting with your customers for business growth It’s our mission to reignite Britain’s love of beer and we want to draw on your expertise and support to reach every part of the country whilst helping to boost your business. You’re already brewing great beer which is the best possible start. You’re likely to have a loyal fan-base who can’t wait to hear what you’re doing next and, most importantly, tell their friends about their latest beer discovery. We want to harness all that positivity you’ve generated to help spread the word, near and far, to stimulate a greater understanding and appreciation of beer in the UK. In recent research that we conducted, 45% of respondents named Lager as their favourite style of beer and the average number of different styles that people had tried was just five. With more than 150 styles to choose from worldwide, it seems that the beer drinkers of the UK are still in need of some education and inspiration to spread their beer-wings a little wider. The research proved just as surprising when 38% of the people we questioned admitted they hadn’t tried a new style for three years or more. Assuming you don’t have just one style in your beer portfolio, this provides an opportunity to encourage people to try something they haven’t thought about before – especially when 39% are more likely to try something new if it’s a local beer. Recommendation from bar staff or a
friend also rank highly in encouraging trial as does the opportunity to try before they buy (37.45%), all of which are worth considering if you have a brewery tap or retail outlet. So, how else can you connect with your customers and encourage them to discover more about your beer to turn their enthusiasm into authority and loyalty? Education is key and the more informed beer drinkers are the better advocates they become for the category and for your brands. Over the last three years we’ve worked with brewers, pub companies, retailers and others associated with the industry (including many SIBA members) to devise a series of programmes and educational materials to add to the fantastic work that you’re already doing. Whether it’s a guide to beer styles or a beer festival kit, beer and food pairing for a tasting event, beer mats, bunting or use of the online #beermatch tool there’s plenty of resources to draw from. And, even better, it’s all available for you to use free of charge. What does this mean for you? Simply get in touch with us and we can take you through all the options and send you the materials that you think will be most helpful in your communication with customers. If you send out cases of beer, for example, you could add a style guide into each parcel to highlight the quality and diversity of beer. Or if you’re running a tap room event, let us supply
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some beer mats and bunting, a style wheel or work with you on some beer and food matching suggestions. They all add value to the customer experience and strengthen your relationship with them as they discover more about your beer. And our materials stimulate conversation and debate that raises awareness of the nation’s favourite alcoholic drink and encourages discovery and trial. We’re also here to support you in other, practical ways. Sign up to join Britain’s Beer Alliance which is the body behind There’s A Beer For That – your brewery and beers will be listed on our website and beer match tool, you’ll receive our regular newsletter with industry insight and have access to additional resources and beer and food pairing support. And it doesn’t cost you a penny. You can also list your events on our bespoke web page and join our thriving social media community which has over 200,000 followers and an annual reach of 40 million people. To find out more about how we can work together and help communicate the positive messages around beer to help grow your business, please contact us hello@beerforthat.com www.beerforthat.com
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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THE SIBA DEBATE - GBBF
THE
DEBATE
DOES THE GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL NEED TO CHANGE? August 2017 represented the 40th anniversary of the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) being run by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and for many it still remains the UK’s biggest and best beer festival. But this year’s GBBF sparked some intense debate over whether the event truly represents the very best in British beer right now. Not least there was a very public spat between CAMRA and Marble Brewery over GBBF’s failure to stock their beers, and beer writer Pete Brown, probably the best known commentator on the sector today, wrote a piece questioning the future of the event. This is an important debate for all brewers to be involved in, so we asked you, SIBA’s brewing members, for your views on whether the UK’s best beers are currently represented at the GBBF. Whether it is still the most important consumer festival in your view, and what positive changes could be made to improve it. Here’s what you had to say…
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
THE SIBA DEBATE - GBBF I have attended the last three GBBF events and as a showcase for beer it probably has the biggest profile for CAMRA. I think two changes are required: • The beers chosen to be offered do not represent the cross section of producers - witness the stampede for US craft beer, maybe a UK craft bar would be equally popular? • In my opinion there is a darker unknown element surrounding GBBF and the champion beer competition. How do beers get on that judged list at GBBF? …they have won at a regional competition? …Do all regions have a competition? CAMRA would be wise to partner with SIBA to take a more formalised approach to the competition.
Andrew Murray, The Twisted Brewing Co.
THE BEERS CHOSEN TO BE OFFERED DO NOT REPRESENT THE CROSS SECTION OF PRODUCERS Pete Brown's article is very timely and I, along with many forward thinking brewers and others in the trade, will echo his views regarding the GBBF experience. Certainly, the GBBF beer selection process does not result in the best beer in Britain being represented. It rarely presents the best beer from a given brewery! It is possible though that GBBF is not really intended to showcase only the very best beer, preferring to demonstrate the wide variety of beers and breweries producing “real ale” throughout the UK, much like regional CAMRA festivals. Many other festivals choose to be more selective/meritocratic in their approach to what they showcase. Ultimately attendees will decide which model they would rather attend.
Mark Seaman, Revolutions Brewing Company Ltd/Beer Exchange Bars Ltd The foreign beer selection is the highlight of the show, which is ironic for the Great 'British' Beer Festival. UK breweries seem to be selected at random, with a token nod to the craft beer scene which represents the best that the country has to offer at the moment. Not much innovation on show.
Simon Brooks, Red Cat Brewing.
NOT MUCH INNOVATION ON SHOW
I stopped going to GBBF two years ago after a series of visits where I was thoroughly disappointed with the quality of beer on offer. CAMRA appears obsessed with giving a platform to "the new" or "the different" without regard to the quality of what is being poured. My colleagues who have beer there complain that "they only want our weird stuff, never the beers people actually drink". I used to bring my export partners over to GBBF but no longer do this because it is not a good advert for the quality of British beer when the best drink you can get is nice and cold at the foreign keg bar.....and don't get me started on CAMRA's perverse approach that foreign kegs are ok but British kegs are evil! In short, it's a shambles.
Peter Scholey, Ridgeway Brewing. WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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Established almost five years ago focusing on all English beers and British hops, and having won 12 SIBA awards (10 Regional and two National for cask and bottle conditioned beers) we have never been put forward to GBBF. Our local branch took the hump when we (quite reasonably) asked to be on the bar at Newcastle beer festival five months after we opened, only to be told 'no, we like to get beer from further afield'. As CAMRA members setting up a new business in their area, we lobbied hard to change their minds and support our venture, asking regional reps to intervene but to no avail. Relations have been 'strained' ever since. Cronyism and patronage is the name of the game. We don't play so we focus our energy on SIBA.
THE SIBA DEBATE - GBBF
DEBATE
Bill and Anna Scantlebury, Cullercoats Brewery.
Keg beer needs to be represented more. The majority of beer I sell is in keg format. The omittance of people like Beavertown, the Kernel, Pressure Drop etc.. who are some of the best brewers in the world, let alone the country, is a disservice to the festival. Also there needs to be more clarity on how you get your beer into GBBF. We have been going for five years, have never had beer in GBBF and to be honest wouldn't know where to begin.
Jaega Wise, Wild Card Brewery.
KEG BEER NEEDS TO BE REPRESENTED MORE The Great British Beer Festival is a celebration of all that was, and very little of what is. As a national festival held in London’s heartland, it is glaringly lacking in representation from its progressive host city. Whilst cask sales decline, modern craft brewers who are driving growth and innovation and sparking the imagination of a new wave of beer drinkers are nowhere to be seen. From the food vendors on hand to the naming of the stands, 40 years in, the festival has done very little to further its image and this year was no different. There is a commonly shared perception that GBBF is a platform for CAMRA to further its agenda rather than support a greater cause to represent British beer as the name would imply. With a global reputation, the festival is a misrepresentation of British brewing and bad for British beer. Outspoken volunteers do nothing to further the cause of education and the UK appears to be falling further behind the rest of the world, lacking the cutting edge ideas and innovation to make us competitive in a global market place.
Daniel Lowe, Fourpure.
IT IS GLARINGLY LACKING IN REPRESENTATION FROM ITS PROGRESSIVE HOST CITY WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
41
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THE SIBA DEBATE - GBBF
DEBATE It is all too easy to have a knock at CAMRA. Let’s remember that the GBBF is run by volunteers, many who give up two weeks to work at the festival. It is a great celebration of British brewing and it is a pleasure to see long established breweries such as Harveys and Palmers at the event. The venue is superb and I would struggle to suggest a better layout. The catering is very suited to a beer festival and if anyone is looking for something more adventurous then step outside……….you are in London!! I spoke to many people who miss the Skinners band. They used to create a great atmosphere. I understand a minority of keyboard warriors put a stop to this on social media. I feel that a similar minority are now lining up to knock GBBF. If you don’t like it then stay away and let the ones that love it have a great time.
Phil Greenway, Great Oakley Brewery.
IT IS A GREAT CELEBRATION OF BRITISH BREWING Tony Jerome, SIBA’s own Membership & Marketing Director, is a former Head of Marketing who worked on the GBBF team while at CAMRA. Here he shares his own thoughts on an event he has been very close to throughout his career: “Now in it’s 40th year, the Great British Beer Festival has set the benchmark for beer festivals in the UK and at it’s inception was groundbreaking in bringing consumers a diverse range of beers from across the length and breadth of the UK. However, in recent years CAMRA has come under fire for failing to adapt Britain’s biggest beer festival to attract a new generation of beer lovers, or fully represent the hugely diverse range of homegrown beers now being brewed across a variety of formats - including cask, keg, bottle and can. For many the Great British Beer Festival will be their first experience of real ale and the event has always had a talent for pulling in those looking for a great night out with friends, rather than just real ale aficionados. But that platform comes with a responsibility and for many it seems like the opportunity is not being fully embraced to champion the huge quality of British beers in diverse and exciting styles. This
year we saw English wine and Gin bars added to the GBBF, but where were the key-keg beers being served at other CAMRA beer festivals so successfully. One positive development for the bars this year was certainly the London Brewers’ Alliance bar, which demonstrated that a
THIS YEAR WE SAW ENGLISH WINE AND GIN BARS ADDED TO THE GBBF, BUT WHERE WERE THE KEY-KEG BEERS BEING SERVED AT OTHER CAMRA BEER FESTIVALS SO SUCCESSFULLY? handful of brewers who may not otherwise be able to afford their own large brewery bar could come together to get their pitch at the festival. It’s something that if properly supported could allow SIBA members of all sizes to get involved with the event, meaning independent brewers could be represented behind their very own hand pumps or taps, something that would add value to the visitors' experience. It was also fantastic to see the event
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embracing SIBA’s Assured Independent British Craft Brewer logo, albeit through a sponsorship arrangement, which was added next to SIBA members on every one of the festival bars, and featured prominently in the programme. The campaign is aimed squarely at making it simple for consumers to identify true independent craft brewers and the Great British Beer Festival, which attracts around 50,000 beer drinkers over the course of 5 days, was the perfect way to promote the logo to the public. Whilst GBBF remains the biggest consumer beer event in the UK, some recent criticism in the press, most notably Pete Brown’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek piece in the Morning Advertiser, has suggested that perhaps the festival needs to change in order to remain relevant to modern beer drinkers. Look at the great way the like of Craft Beer Rising have changed beer festival recently. Could CAMRA learn from these? But is some of this criticism fair? It is very important to remember what a fantastic job the volunteers do to run this event alongside some of my old work colleagues at CAMRA, but perhaps working closer with brewers could see this established event become more relevant to reflect today's exciting beer market."
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BUSINESS PROFILE
Marble’s owner Jan Rogers was a teacher and welfare worker at a family centre in Manchester, with no previous pub experience, when she fell in love in the early 1990s with a run-down local boozer called the Marble Arch. After initially helping out part-time with the accounts, by around 1994 she was full time at the pub. But making the business work during the financial downturn at that time was not just a matter of sprucing up the interior, Jan set about completely revamping the revenue stream at the site and in 1997 she installed a brewery at the back of the pub, and Marble Brewery was born. The brewery now has two other retail sites, 57 Thomas Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and Marble Beerhouse in Chorlton, but although the brewery has since outgrown its first home, the Marble Arch pub is still at the heart of what Jan and the team do at the Marble Brewery which took its name. SIBA Journal’s Editor Caroline Nodder spoke to Jan and her current Head Brewer James Kemp to find out more about her story and the business she still runs today…
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BUSINESS PROFILE
BREWERY BASICS NAME: Marble Brewery FOUNDED: 1997 (at the Marble Arch pub) LOCATION: Manchester OWNER: Jan Rogers CAPACITY: 22hl brewhouse, brewing to 5,000hl pa BREWING TEAM: 5 (inc. head brewer James Kemp) STAFF: 50 (inc. the 3 retail sites) KEY BEERS: Pint (3.9%), Manchester Bitter (4.2%) and Lagonda IPA (5%) PRODUCTION: 56% cask, 32% keg 12% small pack EXPORT MARKETS: Italy, New Zealand and France
Tell me a bit about the background to the business and how it was founded.
JK: “A quality brewer or a quality brewery should be able to brew every beer style competently, so that’s what we do. It’s about quality and professionalism.”
JR: “Everything we have ever done and developed has been done organically. There has been no business plan. I became involved in the Marble Arch pub in 1990 and all of this is based around the love of a pub basically. The Marble Arch was in a very run-down area, taking very little money when I became involved with it. We were one of five real ale pubs in Manchester that were independently owned at that time. There was the Queen’s Arms on Red Bank which is now closed, the Beerhouse now called the Angel, the Kings Arms which has now been revitalised in Salford and the Crescent which has recently closed. It became obvious through the recession that we had to do something to the Marble Arch in order to sustain it through the downturn. That is when the brewery was put in in 1997, to safeguard the pub. We had a young family at the time and there weren’t the schools near the pub so we moved to Chorlton and opened a bottle shop and lived above the bottle shop. Then there was nowhere I wanted to drink in Chorlton at that time so I opened a bar there too. Everything was done organically. We had Mark Beard who operated the brewery and the pub for us as Head Brewer back when it opened. Then he moved on and we had James Campbell for about 12 years with us, who moved on to Cloudwater, and then Matt Howgate came in as a production brewer to sort out some problems with the brewery and did a couple of years with us and went on to Legitimate Industries in Leeds. JK (James Kemp) was a family friend who’d helped me interview Matt Howgate for the job, and although we’d never talked about it specifically, when Matt left we were both in the perfect place to work together and he joined in January 2016. We moved to the new site in 2009/2010 because the 4.5bl plant was physically ruining the structure of the Marble Arch. We had damp everywhere, leaks everywhere, floors beginning to rot – we had to move. But a member of staff actually bought that 4.5bl plant and still brews across the road from us now so it’s still in use!”
How is Marble different to other brewers in the sector?
How would you describe your brewing ethos?
JR: “The big thing is that we have a lot of history. We have 20 years of doing this. And we are neither craft nor traditional, we just make good beer. Good beer is good beer, no matter what the style is. So we feel there are a lot of brewers out there maybe only noticing one style, and we think that is very dangerous for the industry. We are also able to bring out a batch of 600 330ml bottles of a beer that will never be replicated. We are able to do very small batches of stuff and are in a position to afford to do that where a bigger brewery might not be able to. If you are looking to sum us up I’d say that we don’t like to be pigeonholed. We try to avoid labels, we try to avoid clubs, it’s all about the beer.”
How have you got your brand message out there? JR: “No-one is going to like this, but both me and JK agree that if your beer’s good enough it will sell. And I have worked with two really good designers on this over the years, but right from the start of working with designers I said to them, please will you let the beer sell itself! We went for names like ‘Pint’, written in great big letters, because I don’t understand how you have a brand message about beer. Maybe that is because I am really proud that I own the Marble Arch and it is a really beautiful pub, but I feel like we don’t need to say anything else about what we do except that its good beer, served by brilliant staff in a nice pub. I do have real problems understanding what a brand message is. We have a wide range of customers at the Arch – it goes from the posties from across the road to all walks of life and all classes of people – so again I find it very difficult when people talk about beer being in a certain market. That doesn’t mean it’s not changed – we are certainly seeing younger people coming in now – but it’s not like we are aiming for that particularly now. We are just saying our beer is good, drink it if you want to!”
JR: “It’s quality over quantity. What we are looking for is elegance and consistency.”
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BUSINESS PROFILE
THE BIG THING IS THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF HISTORY. WE HAVE 20 YEARS OF DOING THIS. AND WE ARE NEITHER CRAFT NOR TRADITIONAL, WE JUST MAKE GOOD BEER.
Can you describe how your business has grown over the last few years? JR: “I am maybe making things sound very easy, but in fact we have had an interesting time. We did go through a period where within 12 months we had two yeast infections in the brewery and it nearly bankrupted us. But in the last five years we have brought that back to profitable, education based, science based brewing. Our business growth has been to professionalise us, to educate people, to make sure all our brewers know what they’re doing and also to say that maybe making money is not the biggest interest for us, but if you can’t make money you can’t reinvest.”
Do you see any barriers to your growth and if so how are you approaching these? JR: “The barrier is that neither me nor JK want to go over the small brewers’ duty barrier. We are keeping it small, family. We think that you can make enough money just below that duty limit to be successful – this is about how we judge ourselves.” JK: “We are not ego brewing. You might get to a certain size, get a bit popular, and you might say ‘we want a massive brewery’ but then you have to try and find a market for that massive brewery! I like fresh beer. Brew it, sell it, people drink it.” JR: “We also have a thing that we won’t go in to supermarkets. I don’t believe in it. So having come from the countryside in Ireland it is about what people do to milk producers and so on ethical grounds I am not very in to supermarkets. But people that are good have left us and gone on to other bigger breweries and I am proud of that. Staff have developed on to bigger things, and we don’t know what will happen with this. Tiny Rebel are now the size of a regional, Magic Rock have expanded, Cloudwater have come in big. With all of that we will obviously have to look at what we are doing and see if we can stay small. It is very hard not to sound like we are calling out other people and we are really not. Everyone makes their own way. I think because I went through the recession in the 90’s, banks, investment and money makes me very nervous. So at the moment we’re doing things on our own terms.”
In an increasingly crowded market, how do you stay ahead of your competitors? JR: “I’d say we compliment, we don’t compete. And we’re not in a position where we feel we need to compete.” JK: “I’d say we use science, biochemistry, to stay ahead. If you know what you’re doing then you produce quality product that is consistent, and I think that’s how I like to stay ahead of the competitors.” JR: “We treat it as a science rather than an art. We believe in educating the people we work with, and we believe we are small and flexible enough to react. That was what we did with canning for profile. We looked at what was out there. Saw that canning was getting people profile. Found canners, and put beer in the can.”
How are you seeing consumer attitudes to beer change and how has this affected your range? JR: “Many more people are into beer now so it is a much bigger market, and it is also a much bigger market for independents. We obviously sit within that independent market – AB InBev are irrelevant to us, practically! – so there are many more people drinking and producing in the market we are part of.
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BUSINESS PROFILE
The beer-drinking market has changed in that with the new wave of breweries that have come through, younger people are more interested in buying their beer but they have less disposable income so they are choosing wisely where they spend their money. There is a greater focus on local, artisanal products as well across food and drink. And the beer market has become more inclusive – in the States now beer has become the number one drink of choice for young women – and that is the direction the industry is going in. American style IPAs are working brilliantly to bring people into the market, and the next stage of that may well be seeing if we can widen that interest out to more forgotten styles.” JK: “Because the market has changed I am now able to do some of the stuff that I like to do. So I like playing around with Brettanomyces, and you couldn’t do that 10 years ago. But due to American imports and Belgian imports, people understand what that is now and I can play with it a little bit and get it into some of our beers. Ten years ago they would have said ‘this beer tastes terrible’ but people are understanding that now and they can see what we are trying to do. Today we tried a cognac barrel-aged stout, a blended bretted old ale and Count de Villeforte a 10.8% rum barrel-aged ale with vanilla which tastes like crème brulee!” JR: “If I have one worry in all this it is probably the perception of cask beer long term. I do think there is a danger that people are being negative about it, it is almost like people are forgetting to praise it and for the younger generation coming in, the market may ruin cask beer for them going forward. So we need to change that and be promoting it alongside keg beer.”
What challenges do you see for small brewers entering the current market? JK: “You’ve got to find your own niche somehow.” JR: “I always say to people entering the market go and get the basic IBD qualifications. It is money well spent. Get a bit of education, meet people, network, have people on the end of a phone you can talk to about what you’re doing. We come across people with no business plans, and I know we are saying we grew organically, but we have three pubs, that’s where we came from, so you need to know who you are selling your beer to before you start. People who have launched will tell you it is very hard work for very little reward.” JK: “If you want to become a millionaire by opening a brewery you need to be a multi-millionaire to start with!”
How do you see the structure of the brewing sector changing over the next few years? JR: “I think there are a new wave of brewers now making extremely good beer at higher capacity. People like Fourpure, Cloudwater, Tiny Rebel – that to me is the weirdest thing I have seen happen is people coming in at entry level at that capacity and expanding and expanding. But it does look like better quality beer will be more available because of that. It is about how we will react to that with us staying small. I think there will be too many little breweries. There are people coming into the market thinking it’s wonderful and maybe they will leave again because the work is so hard if you’re a one-person band, and it is about finding places to sell to. But then the other side of that is that although people go on about pubs shutting down all the time, for every pub that closes down now another unit opens up as a bottle bar.”
Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from? JK: “Food. I like eating interesting food. And flavour combinations are interesting – so earlier on I took a beer, bretted it, and then added purple figs, pecans and vanilla. That kind of stuff is really interesting to me. It is also our 20th year this year so it is the year of the collaboration. I like doing collabs with friends, I don’t like marketing collabs when they just turn up for a photo op. These are all old friends and colleagues and people we respect. So we did one with Marble Brewery in Alberquerque – Bretted Old Ale and Against the Grain in Louisville – Manchester Tart. Those were the two in the US in March/April. Then we did a beer with Yeastie Boys who are old friends of mine - Liquid Cuddle NZ Maibock 6.5% - and Brouwerij Kees & Brouwerij De Molen a couple of weeks ago. Beer writer Melissa Cole – we did Prime Time 5% Kolsch style beer with Lime Zest – and fellow beer writer Matt Curtis brought Dobber IPA 6.5% back from retirement.” JR: “We have just done a range of saisons, so we have bought a saison yeast in and when we buy a new yeast we have to propagate that and we have to use it three times to be able to balance the books. So we did a saison with The Cellar bar in Chester - Saison du Pint 3.9% - with Fuller's we did Matariki - NZ Saison 5.5% - and then with Ladies that Beer, who are a social organisation in Liverpool, they came in and brewed Tenenet, a 7% Saison. We also have a three way split for our 20th going on between Burning Sky, Hawkshead and us.”
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KEEP CALM AND
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BUSINESS PROFILE
JK: “I like doing really old ales because brewing tradition is amazing. So we are making a Three Threads Porter. Each brewery is producing one beer - Marble are brewing a mild, Hawskhead a bitter, and Burning Sky have brewed a strong dark beer. Later, parts of these three individual beers will be blended together to create a single beer, known as a Three Threads Porter. We have some other collabs coming through in the next few months in the lead up to our big birthday weekend, Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd December.”
You have recently been working with much larger brewer Fuller’s. Tell us a bit about that collaboration. JK: “I used to work at Fuller’s and I like old ales and they have Gale’s Old Prize Ale which isn’t brewed any more, which is one of my favourite beers. And last year when John Keeling was still Head Brewer there, I asked if he could brew Prize Ale again and he couldn’t do it down there so I said ‘why don’t you come and brew it at mine?’ So he got the recipe, and he still had some of the last brew brewed in 2006 in a tank so he sent some of that brew to inoculate the brew we did here and we brewed it and that was the first part of our collaboration. Then he called me up and said he wanted to do a six pack, with six collabs and we all got together and were paired up with one of their brewers. Their brewers brew the same thing day in day out so this was really a chance for them to develop a new beer which smaller breweries do a lot. I was paired with Hayley, one of their brewers, and we came up with a beer that would go into a 330ml bottle as part of the six pack to be sold in Waitrose. We decided we’d do Fuller’s first saison - Matariki NZ Saison 5.5%.”
Where do you see Marble being in five years time? JR: “We are going to have new premises and we are going to have our own canning line. We are working with the developers in the area, which is being redeveloped, and we’re working with them to move to somewhere suitable as things change in the area.”
You recently hit the headlines regarding the Great British Beer Festival. What happened and is the issue now resolved? JR: “CAMRA have maintained for many years that they promote the best of British beer, both at their festivals and in the wider beer scene. Considering this, how could we not feel that being overlooked for the beer festival was a direct comment on the quality of our beers? Here at Marble we are committed to producing high quality beers in cask, keg, bottle and can and supporting a progressive, inclusive industry. CAMRA appears to be only making a token effort to promote these values. At Marble, though we have supported and promoted CAMRA in the past, we feel that over the last 20 years we have grown and adapted to the changing beer scene, embracing the rise in a younger, inclusive, beer drinking audience who enjoy beer in all forms; something that CAMRA, despite the discussion of revitalisation, are falling behind on. Having said this, I honestly hope that the discussion we have had helps with the on-going evolution of CAMRA.”
Who do you most admire in the sector and why? JK: “I admire Jay Goodwin who founded and I think is head brewer at The Rare Barrel in the US, because he only does sours and it takes a lot of guts to do that. Amazing beers and really gutsy.” JR: “And for the same reason, but in this country, I would say Mark Tranter at Burning Sky. For me it is all about integrity and Mark has integrity. One other one for me is Richard Burhouse from Magic Rock who has integrity and also business sense.”
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SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE
LEGAL
GIVE DATA PROPER RESPECT: WHAT THE GDPR MEANS FOR BREWERIES You may have heard about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into force in the UK on 25 May next year. It’s an evolution of existing data protection legislation and is causing quite a stir with the potential for fines of up to €20 million grabbing the headlines.
Leigh Child, Senior Associate in Construction at Napthens
In this article Phil Brown, commercial lawyer and a specialist in GDPR at Napthens, highlights the key issues your business faces when GDPR comes in to force and how to ensure you are compliant. Who does it affect?
Will it affect my e-commerce site?
Firstly, the GDPR affects all businesses and organisations, so you do need to be aware of your obligations under it. In essence, if you are handling personal data you need to take appropriate steps to keep it secure. There are no exclusions for small businesses, and by and large it won’t be affected by Brexit. The good news is that if you are compliant with the current legislation (and you should be, it’s been around for some 20 years or so) then you are a long way towards being compliant. Whilst the GDPR needs to be taken seriously, there is no need to panic.
If you operate an e-commerce site, then you should consider the security provisions that you have in place. The Information Commissioner’s Office have indicated that where you are collecting financial information from customers online, then you should be conducting annual security reviews and possible penetration testing. If you have outsourced this work to developers, then you need to ensure that they are acting in a compliant manner, as the responsibility lies predominantly with you.
How can you ensure that you are compliant?
What personal data do you hold? The second stage is simply looking at your business and what personal data you hold which will be covered by the regulation. Like most businesses, the data will be focussed in two areas: information concerning your employees and information concerning your customers and potential customers. By simply carrying out an audit exercise we find that most businesses are able to spot potential risks, and adopt new (or tweak existing) policies to minimise the risk of data protection breaches.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, and nor is there a magic bullet that will guarantee compliance as all businesses are different. IT systems and documentation will help, but your frontline defence for data privacy will always be your people. Engage with them, train them, support them and there’s a good chance that it won’t be you making the headlines as the latest business to breach data protection law.
What actions do I need to take? The actions that follow will be dependent on the personal data held, how you use it, and potential risks. For most businesses it will mean reviewing policies and procedures (both internal and external), staff training, and amendments to contractual documents. It is worth noting that there is an element of proportionality in what needs to be done to secure personal data – the key thing is to spot the risk, assess it, and then make an informed decision as to what (if anything) to do with it and document the process.
How will it affect my mailing list? Where you operate a marketing mailing list, you will need to ensure that you have consent of the recipients to send them your mailshots. The new rules tighten up the concept of consent, and if you can’t demonstrate how you got consent, then you cannot rely on that consent. You should consider whether you need to re-seek consent to continue sending out mailshots, and whether the database needs to be reviewed and if necessary thinned out.
For advice on this topic or on legal issues affecting your business please contact SIBA Legal Helpline: 0845 6710277 North West law firm Napthens LLP is a SIBA supplier associate and gold standard sponsor. The firm has a team of specialists looking after the legal requirements of clients in the leisure and licensed trade sector, with clients including Daniel Thwaites plc and Sceptre Leisure Ltd. Napthens manages the SIBA Legal Helpline which offers legal advice and guidance on a wide range of legal issues affecting your business including: general commercial, intellectual property, corporate finance, dispute resolution and litigation, commercial property, licensing, debt recovery and employment law. Any enquiry through the helpline will receive up to 1 hour of free legal expertise (if further work is require, you’ll be advised of the appropriate charging structure.) Full details of the helpline can be found on the SIBA Members Toolbox.
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SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE
DIGITAL
DEALING WITH ONLINE COMPLAINTS Mark McCulloch, Founder & CEO of creative agency WE ARE Spectacular, offers his own take on how to effectively deal with complaints in the digital world… If you're in charge of running a community for a successful client on social media, here's the truth – you're only ever one bad tweet away from losing your job. One drunken, late night, last-train-from-Waterloo tweet to an angry customer telling him exactly where to stick his cold takeaway will land you in all sorts of bother.
Mark McCulloch is the Founder & Group CEO of WE ARE Spectacular
So, what does it take to deal with the customer interaction on social media? First up – Discipline. Lots of discipline. So here's a story. I once received four tweets in a 10 minute period from four different people, all complaining about their dining experience. It didn't take long for me to piece together the story (from their photos, location and who they followed) and realise this was four friends at the SAME table. They've all jumped on Twitter at the same time to complain about their food being cold. This is when running social media responses gets tricky. The human in you is like 'Wait, you're ALL complaining on Twitter?! CAN ONE OF YOU PLEASE JUST LET THE STAFF KNOW?' but that's not going to cut it in social media. So you need the discipline to stay calm and deal with the situation. You've got to realise that they're not picking on you, they're just unhappy with what's happening in the restaurant. Plus you've gotta have the copy chops to handle the situation. So on the back of that? Here are some tips on how to deal with those complaints online.
1 Apologise once. 2 Use their name in any reply, as this personalises the response. We all like being called by our name, so use the same tactic here. 3 Get the conversation off social media as soon as you can by getting them to DM/email you the details of what happened. Don't try to solve all the problems in multiple tweets or replies, as some users on social media love the attention and can be empowered by a brand trying to win them over. Keep it professional and get it offline.
Secondly – An off switch.
If you run a twitter account for a railways network, or a pizza chain, or a nationwide athletics brand, you're going to get a lot of incoming enquiries, complaints and general tweets. So set some parameters on when you'll respond. Your 'working hours' per se. Make sure your clients understand when those hours are, and stick with it. This has a threefold effect.
1 It keeps you fresh. Knowing that you don't reply to tweets after 8pm on a Friday gives your mind time to relax and enjoy that time at the pub without constantly reaching for your phone. In the old days I was constantly plugged in, would excuse myself from tables to respond to tweets and was just a general annoyance to go dining with. Don't be that guy! Set those parameters up. 2 If a local brand responds to me at 11.02pm about my garlic bread being cold, it feels wrong. Overly responsive. For a brand to be checking their twitter feed at this time of night? That's crazy!' Unless you're running Twitter for the police OR a worldwide brand, most of those late night responses can wait until the following morning. 3 An awareness of escalation – Some responses and complaints can be handled in your usual manner. Some need escalating asap. Your social media person has to have a feel for this, for the severity of the issue and the ability to escalate things to the marketing team/CEO. This takes time to learn. You'll quickly understand when something is a small bushfire, and when it's a raging out of control tyre fire. So there it is. If you've got bags of discipline, a suitable off switch, and the requisite copy chops to reply to any conversation, you'll be fine. Just don't go on Twitter after that 4th pint. Trust me.
Your social media person needs an off switch, parameters in which to work in. Being plugged into this world 24/7 isn't the healthiest option, Neo. Mark McCulloch, Founder & Group CEO of WE ARE Spectacular Mark has 15 years experience in brand, marketing, digital, social and PR. WE ARE Spectacular have worked with many leading pub, food, beer & wine clients including Long Arm Brewery and Harviestoun Brewery. www.wearespectacular.com @spectacularmark
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SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE
MARKETING
MARKETING IS STILL MARKETING, WHATEVER CHANNELS YOU USE
Barrie Poulter
Just because most of your marketing goes out through digital channels doesn’t mean you can forget the old school basic principles of marketing, says Barrie Poulter, CEO of Inapub. Here he offers a reminder of how to get those basics right… At Inapub we work with a wide range of breweries, pub companies and pubs on social media strategy and implementation and eventually we always get round to the discussion about marketing still being marketing whatever channels you use. In a time where social media is so influential with a multitude of platforms from Facebook to Instagram to Snapchat, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that they are channels to market your brewery, beers (and pubs) and in many ways no different to the older channels of print, radio, tv etc. Essentially a good marketing idea is still a good marketing idea whichever methods you are using to share it. So given we can’t ignore the world of social media what does make a good marketing idea? We think there are three key elements:
1 Easy to understand It must be easy to understand. Businesses often term this as the “elevator pitch”. Can you explain it simply in a couple of minutes so that you audience gets what you are talking about. In the world of social media two minutes is more like ten seconds so its even more important to get this right. The use of video and images will really help you here when people are short on time and its difficult to get their attention for very long for anything. You must remember your audience and put yourself in their shoes so when they receive your message they haven’t got to work out any background, context, technical or industry language. Consumers want to understand it quickly and move on, so if you have a great video and its three minutes long maybe you should break it up into six thirty second videos instead.
2 Easy to value This isn’t just about money. People value many different things from knowledge, privileged access, humour, kindness and even pets! Its always amazing to see what Youtube videos are trending when I last checked it ranged from “Lethal Bizzle Teaches Dame Judi Dench How To Rap” to “Apple iPhone X first look”. Consumers will invest time in something they value. A number of breweries have shown this by offering people opportunities to brew and/ or name beers, competitions to win a ticket to a VIP event or exclusive launch the list is endless. Ask your customers what they value and that will help you with your ideas.
3 Easy to share When people understand and value ideas they share them. That’s when you can really make the most of social media. A good post on Facebook with an image or video with a question or competition about something that a consumer understands and values will always lead to more likes and shares and increase the reach and engagement. One of the great things about Facebook is that you can use the insights area to work out which of your posts people are engaging with and how many people it has reached. It’s a marketeer’s dream and it’s available for free! Inapub is the leading supplier of digital marketing solutions for Britain’s pub and beer trade, offering news, advice, training and website services. If you’d like to know more about how Inapub can help grow your business, email sales@inapub.co.uk or visit www.inapub.co.uk.
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SIBA BUSINESS - BACK OFFICE
FINANCIAL PLANNING
CASHFLOW IS KING In previous articles, we’ve looked at ways to grow your business and also at different methods of funding. Within both of those articles, we briefly discussed cashflow, and how it can be managed successfully for a healthy business. Most businesses, in every sector, can struggle or even fail as a direct result of cashflow problems. Simply put, it’s the difference between the money coming in to your bank account and the payments flowing out of it each month. If you have consistently more money going out than coming in, you’ll have a cashflow problem. Often the issue is where you pay suppliers, e.g. for raw materials such as hops, plus pay staff, rent and other bills, but you’re not getting paid quickly enough by your customers. So what can you do to improve your cashflow situation? Here are a few quick tips: Have a look at your payment terms with customers. Can you change them so you’re paid in a shorter amount of time, perhaps 14 days, instead of the UK average of 30 days. Ideally you want the funds in before you have to pay them out. Also, look at late payment penalties, which could help to encourage quicker payment. Make sure your payment terms are clear, and fully understood, accepted by your clients, and are on every invoice you send. Another way to encourage payment is to offer early payment or prepayment discounts. These can be effective, but be careful not to offer too much as it will eat into your profit margins. You didn’t start your brewery business to get bogged down in paperwork, but your clients can’t pay you until they receive an invoice form you. Consider the use of templates from an accounting software package such as Xero or Sage to help you send out bills quickly - you can even send them from your phone. Accounting software can also help you chase up late payments by letting you set automated reminders. You can send automatic e-mails to late payers or it can prompt you to pick up the phone; some people need a nudge every time so make it easy to remember who owes you what. Recent figures from the payment processor BACS report that almost half of the UK’s small-to-medium sized businesses experience late payment, with £26.3 billion owed to them in total. If you’re uncomfortable with chasing clients for payment, you could outsource this role to an external firm, either your accountant or a specialist credit control company. Essentially, the firm undertakes the credit control function on your behalf and in your name, which allows you to have
access to skilled credit management without the permanent overhead of staff and training. The Credit Services Association is the trade organisation for the credit control industry and will help you find a reputable firm.
Alan McRae, Geoffrey Martin & Co
If efforts to secure payments have been unsuccessful, either by yourself or an outsourced credit control function, don’t offer further credit to the customer. It’s tempting to continue supplying the customer as you don’t want to ruin your relationship with them, but you run the risk of not being paid twice. Consider using cash flow finance products, sometimes known as invoice discounting facilities. In essence, these firms pay you a percentage of your outstanding invoices and they chase your customers for the whole amount, keeping the difference. This is great for immediate cashflow relief but can be expensive to do regularly. There are many lenders offering this type of facility who you can either approach directly or through your local finance broker. In addition there are now available on-line platforms for funding that will help you find the best deal for your type of business. One such platform, who we work in partnership with, is capitalise.com who have access to over 80 institutional investors to assist with your cash flow needs. Finally, improve your stock control, so you haven’t got large amounts of money sat in the warehouse. A common method is to acquire stock ‘just in time’ for use, rather than having excess stock ‘just in case’. Improved stock level efficiency will enable you to keep more of your money in your bank account, which will help with cashflow. You will need to build an efficient stock ordering system as you wouldn’t want to run out of hops before a brew. Whilst the above tips won't guarantee that your cashflow issues will disappear, they will at least put you in the driving seat and enable you to manage your cash and your capital more effectively. If you need help with managing your cash flow requirements or looking for ideas on how to improve your business efficiency please do not hesitate to call us for some friendly practical advice. Alan McRae is an Associate at Geoffrey Martin & Co, a Supplier Associate Member of SIBA. Geoffrey Martin & Co provides practical advice concerning growth, financial issues, exit and contingency planning, to a business’s directors, owners, investors and financiers at all stages of its life cycle. We work with companies, individuals, partnerships, and lenders across the whole of the UK, with experience in many sectors including Bars, Restaurants, Media & Marketing, and Technology. For a free, informal chat about any aspects of your business including financing, please call our Leeds team on 0113 244 5141.
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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BUSINESS FEATURE
CROWD
FUNDING FOR SMALL BREWERS
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
BUSINESS FEATURE In the first of a series of features looking at different aspects of running a small brewery business, award-winning journalist Martyn Cornell looks at the phenomenon of brewers using crowdfunding to speed up their expansion plans… In September, Wild Card Brewery, a four-year-old SIBA member based in Walthamstow, North East London, announced it had raised more than £250,000 through Crowdcube in only a week – just the latest in a host of craft brewers financing their expansion via crowdfunding. Research by the investment comparison company OFF3R has found that more than 40 breweries in the UK, and half a dozen craft beer retail operators, have taken the crowdfunding route to raise cash for their expansion over the past four years, bringing in a total of £50 million. At least six brewing companies have raised sums in excess of £1.7m at a time, and brewing ventures made up four of the top 20 biggest crowdfunding efforts in 2016
However, he said, the exercise was worth more than just extra cash to pay for expansion: "We liked the additional benefit that the investors we would be appealing to would include our drinkers, who by investing with us could then feel part of the team, and be even more our brand advocates than perhaps they already were. They'll be pushing Derby Brewing within their friendship groups, urging people to come into our venues. That's a real plus. It's also good to get that vote of confidence from people. We've got 560 people who are buying into what we are trying to do. That's quite humbling, and quite exciting." One criticism of equity crowdfunding is that it gives away equity in a company, at a time when the potential future value of that equity is very hard to calculate. Critics say entrepreneurs may be valuing themselves too cheaply, and missing out on future wealth. They also need to explore other avenues of funding to be certain that crowdfunding is the right one for their business.
While more than half the money raised through crowdfunding Another problem is that inexperienced company owners may efforts by brewers in the UK, £27 million, has gone to just one sign deals with crowdfunding platforms that are not in their best firm, BrewDog, the Scottish brewer, other big beneficiaries of long-term interests. One brewery finance director who launched crowdfunding include Innis & Gunn of Edinburgh, which raised a successful crowdfunding through a major site, and who asked £2.2 million from almost 1,800 investors, and the Wild Beer to remain anonymous, as "I might have to go back to these Company of Somerset, which brought in £1.8m from just over guys one day," criticised what he said was 2,000 backers, both via the crowdfunding the greed of the crowdfunding platforms: platform Crowdcube; West Berkshire "When you shake hands with them, Brewery of Newbury, which tapped 650 count all your fingers afterwards." He also investors for £1.76m via another platform, complained about their tactics, alleging that WHILE MORE THAN HALF THE Seedr; and Derby Brewing, which also the crowdfunding platform he was dealing used Crowdcube earlier this year to find MONEY RAISED THROUGH with tried to get him to sign an agreement £604,000 from 560 backers, in exchange that would have meant he and his fellow CROWDFUNDING EFFORTS for 11 per cent of its equity. directors accepting unlimited liability. "They BY BREWERS IN THE UK, £27 said if we did not sign the agreement, we Paul Harris, a director at Derby Brewing, wouldn't get our money. I told them that in MILLION, HAS GONE TO JUST said for anyone contemplating raising that case they could keep the money, and money through crowdfunding, marketing ONE FIRM, BREWDOG they relented. But inexperienced operators the fundraising even before the official may not be aware of what they are signing opening was vital. "We had marketed up to." the offer initially to our own crowd, the databases of customers we already had One way of avoiding such problems and still through being a pub owner, and to our followers on social media," tapping the enthusiasm of your brewery's supporters is through he said. "That was the advice Crowdcube gave us. We also put "rewards" crowdfunding, where backers pledge sums typically literature in our venues, and around Derby, making people aware ranging from £25 to £2,000 in return for everything from brewery of what was happening, so that we had a lot of people pledge T-shirts to "be a brewer for a day" experiences. Around a dozen support even before the crowdfunding went live. We also worked brewers have raised a total of more than £100,000 through with various more high-net-worth individuals we knew, to try to the rewards-based Crowdfunder website in the past two years. get them involved. There was a huge amount of work went in to However, bringing in the cash still requires plenty of effort. Paddy ensuring that our crowd, if you like, got on board. O'Riordan of the Crossed Anchors brewery in Exmouth, Devon, which raised almost £38,000 last year from 350 backers, said: "The key thing is to get the guys on board and pledged, and to "We considered equity crowdfunding, but we didn't think it was build that momentum: it's all about building momentum in the necessary for what we were trying to do. I'd definitely raise money campaign. On the last day of fundraising we had £65,000 come this way again. But you cannot overestimate the number of in, the day before that, £50,000. When you bear in mind the people you need to have a discussion with. percentage of what we raised that represents, it shows you how much people get on board once you're over-funded. " "If you haven't got the profile, and the ability to have numerous conversations with people, you're going to struggle. They reckon Harris also recommended talking to other companies that had 5 per cent of all the people you have a conversation with will raised money through crowdfunding, not just in the craft beer actually put some money up – I would say it's actually more like sector but outside, saying that had been very helpful for Derby 3 per cent. Don't under-estimate the fees – and if you're doing Brewing. And he warned would-be seekers of funds through a rewards-based funding, make sure you factor in the costs of the crowdfunding platform that the process was likely to take a lot rewards!" longer than they might anticipate, in his company's case more than six months. "We had to go through quite substantial due Martyn Cornell is a beer historian, beer consultant and author diligence with Crowdcube. When you're running a small business, of books including Amber Gold and Black, the story of Britain’s you've got to factor in the time that will go into the preparations for the fundraising." beer styles. He blogs at zythophile.co.uk
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SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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TECHNICAL FOCUS
A SOUR FUTURE By Dr Keith Thomas of Brewlab, Sunderland
Figure 1. Time profile of traditional Lambic fermentation showing yeast, bacteria and flavour developments. From Van Oevelen et al, 1977, J Inst Brew, 83:356-360.
Until recently a common joke between brewers was that a spoilt brew could be passed off as a Lambic ale. Now that sour beers are intentionally produced this joke has become an ironic statement of brewing evolution. Sour beers are another diversification of brewing styles, roughly based on traditional Belgium Lambic beers but, one suspects, a more basic fermentation of wort with bacteria rather than a careful management of different yeast species. Or in some cases, perhaps, with no inoculation as in wild beers. Of course this does reflect the increasing interest in natural and archaic fermentations in general ranging from fruit to fish and incorporating possible probiotics culturing. Leaving aside the question of why you would wish to culture major contaminants in your fermenters lets focus on the how. How to make your wort go sour, how to produce acceptable flavours rather than vinegar and how to prevent hazards developing – to your other beers and to your customers. A true sour beer, as in the character of a Lambic is not just a beer with acid but a complex and prolonged maturation of both yeast and bacterial fermentations under controlled conditions. Studies have shown that there is a succession of microbes throughout the fermentation whereby a range of yeast and bacteria species contribute progressively to the final flavour. As in cider making, rapidly growing wild yeasts such as Hanseniaspora initially multiply utilizing the glucose in the wort and producing lipids and esters. Hanseniaspora are less able to ferment maltose and Saccharomyces species proceed to dominate producing ethanol as their by product. When maltose and maltotriose run out Brettanomyces species grow as
they are able to digest and ferment some residual dextrins and contribute the mature flavours of a true Lambic. Yeast are not the only microbes in this pot with Pediococci and other lactic acid bacteria appearing alongside the predominant yeasts. These are tolerant to acid and alcohol and convert sugars to lactic acid so lowering the pH and contributing the major acidic feature to sour beer flavour. Many lactic acid bacteria have a complex nutrition so additional ingredients or addition of yeast extract would enhance their growth. Other bacteria are also present, albeit in low numbers. Enteric bacteria for example may grow initially when acids and alcohols are low and produce a range of flavours from farmyard to fetid. The full flavour spectrum of a traditional Lambic results from the different flavour products of these microbes and takes up to two years to develop as profiled in the figure. As can be imagined a very different profile will be obtained if a shorter time is used and if the wort is inoculated with a single strain of yeast or bacteria. Not, of course, that this may be unpalatable but a mixed culture would certainly be a more attractive option. Interestingly a brief survey of commercial cultures promoted as sour beer bacteria also include yeast! Two issues arise as further quality concerns. One is the potential for developing vinegar from your wellintended brew. The main cause of vinegar is acetic acid bacteria growing and producing their namesake flavour. Some do this from glucose, others from ethanol. Fortunately, these bacteria require oxygen to metabolise. In most active fermentations oxygen levels will be negligible but in a slow growing fermentation with limited carbon dioxide production contact with air may occur. Wild yeast such as Brettanomyces will
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Figure 2. Lactic acid bacteria including Lactobacilli (rods) and cocci (spheres).
also produce acid if in contact with air. Ensuring fermentation in closed vessels with no air ingress is not just desirable to minimise acetic acid but also to limit dispersion of potentially contaminating microbes into your other brews. A sterilizing bubble trap for evolving gases would help minimise contaminating the brewery atmosphere. One sour beer may be acceptable but a portfolio of sourness is likely to limit sales. Our second issue is the potential for developing toxic beverages. Enteric bacteria are one issue here as they include E. coli, Salmonella and similar, none of which should grow in beer but might at the start of a slowly fermenting wild brew. Our typical hurdles of acid, alcohol and hops should keep these in check but slow growing yeast and novel recipes with low or no hops may allow their survival particularly if the pH is high (say above 4.5). Even more hazardous is the potential for more toxic microbes such as food poisoning bacillus species or Clostridium botulinum neither of which would be good news for anyone. Conducting uninoculated wild fermentations are most likely to generate this hazard. Wild beers are an uncontrolled version of sour beers and a reflection of the natural environment of the brewery and its hygiene. Beers fermented with whatever microorganisms exist in the air and surfaces in contact with wort will certainly produce novel characters but also a wide variation in microbes and flavour. Of course, we do this in traditional cider and wine making but there a high acidity is a good protection. With beer there may be more opportunity for potential pathogens to survive. Taking care that production is well managed and checked before sale is a desirable addition to your due diligence and, of course, those important HACCP documents.
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Scotland Region Cask Winners
REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS
SIBA Scotland Region
Drygate Brewery, 85 Drygate, Glasgow. 7 September 2017
Overall Champion of the Cask Beer Competition Sponsored by
Brewers Select Ltd
Cask Standard Mild & Brown Ales Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons
Jenna Barningham, SIBA presents Fiona MacEachern with the gold award
Tony Jerome, SIBA Director presents Mark Hazell with the gold award
GOLD Loch Lomond Brewery Outlander 6.5 SILVER Swannay Brewery Pale Ale 4.7 BRONZE Loch Lomond Brewery Out of Range 5.9
GOLD Jaw Brew Fathom 4.0 SILVER Williams Bros Brewing Co Williams Black 4.2 BRONZE Orkney Brewery Dragonhead 4.0
Cask Standard Bitters & Pale Ales Sponsored by
Cask Best Bitters & Pale Ales Sponsored by
Cask Premium Bitters & Pale Ales Sponsored by Bulk
Cask Strong Bitters & Pale Ales
Nick Brading, Murphy & Son Ltd, presents Malcolm Downie with the gold award
Stuart Cail, SIBA Trustee presents James Kidd with the gold award
Gerald Michaluk, SIBA Trustee presents Lewis with the gold award
Derek Curtin, Kemtile Limited, presents Merlin Sandbach with the gold award
GOLD Fyne Ales Jarl 3.8 SILVER Orkney Brewery Raven Ale 3.8 BRONZE Jaw Brew Hardtack 2.2
GOLD Strathaven Ales Old Mortality 4.2 SILVER Williams Bros Brewing Co Pavlov's Dog 4.3 BRONZE Born in the Borders Brewery Gold Dust 4.3
GOLD Swannay Brewery Pale Ale 4.7 SILVER Cairngorm Brewery Cairngorm Gold 4.5 BRONZE Spey Valley Brewery Stillman's IPA 4.6
GOLD Cairngorm Brewery Wildcat 5.1 SILVER Arran Brewery Arran Blonde 5.0 BRONZE Swannay Brewery Duke IPA 5.2
Cask Premium Strong Beers
Cask Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales
Cask Speciality Light Beers
Cask Speciality Mid to Dark Beers
Neil Walker, SIBA PR Manager presents Fiona MacEachern with the gold award
Stuart Cail, SIBA Trustee presents Al Read with the gold award
Gerald Michaluk, SIBA Trustee presents Fiona MacEachern with the gold award
Tony Jerome, SIBA Director presents Norman Sinclair with the gold award
Murphy & Son Ltd
Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons
GOLD Loch Lomond Brewery Outlander 6.5 SILVER Orkney Brewery Skull Splitter 8.5 BRONZE Fyne Ales Superior IPA 7.1
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Charles Faram & Co Ltd
GOLD Windswept Brewing Co Wolf 6.0 SILVER Spey Valley Brewery Spey Stout 5.4 BRONZE Drygate Brewing Company Dark Skies Stout 5.0
Storage and Process Systems Ltd
GOLD Loch Lomond Brewery Out of Range 5.9 SILVER Harviestoun Schiehallion 4.8 BRONZE Jaw Brew Wave 4.6
Sponsored by Kemtile Limited
GOLD Orkney Brewery Dark Island Reserve 10.0 SILVER Strathaven Ales Usquebae 7.0 BRONZE Windswept Brewing Co Werewolf 6.0
Scotland Region Bottle & Small Pack Winners Overall Champion of the Small Pack Competition
REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS Small Pack Premium Bitters & Pale Ales
Small Pack Standard Mild & Brown Ales
Small Pack Standard Bitters & Pale Ales
Jenna Barningham of SIBA presents Fiona MacEachern with the gold award
Stuart Cail, SIBA Trustee presents Kate Russell with the gold award
Stuart Cail, SIBA Trustee presents Fiona MacEachern with the gold award
Chris Palmer, Beatson Clark Ltd, presents James Kidd with the gold award
GOLD Loch Lomond Brewery SilkieStout 5.0 SILVER Loch Lomond Brewery Bravehop Amber 6.0 BRONZE Windswept Brewing Co Bear 10.5
GOLD Inner Bay Brewery Jasper 3.9 SILVER Jaw Brew Fathom 4.0 BRONZE Orkney Brewery Dragonhead 3.8
GOLD Loch Lomond Brewery Southern Summit 4.0 SILVER Williams Bros Brewing Co Pavlovs Dog 4.3 BRONZE Born in the Borders Brewery Rebel Yell 3.5
GOLD Strathaven Ales Claverhouse 4.5 SILVER Orkney Brewery St Magnus 900 4.5 BRONZE Cairngorm Brewery Cairngorm Gold 4.5
Small Pack Strong Bitters & Pale Ales
Small Pack Premium Strong Beers
Small Pack Standard Lager & Pilsners
Small Pack Premium Lager & Pilsners
Gerald Michaluk, SIBA Trustee presents Fiona MacEachern with the gold award
Stephen Anderson, Label Apeel Ltd, presents Tom with the gold award
Stuart Cail, SIBA Trustee presents Craig Frood with the gold award
Tony Jerome, SIBA Director presents Stuart Cail with the gold award
GOLD Loch Lomond Brewery Bravehop Amber 6.0 SILVER Orkney Brewery Nimbus 5.0 BRONZE Stewart Brewing Radical Road 6.4
GOLD Knops Beer Company Black Cork 6.5 SILVER Windswept Brewing Co Tornado 6.7 BRONZE Orkney Brewery Skull Splitter 8.5
GOLD Stewart Brewing Franz 4.0 SILVER Williams Bros Brewing Co Caesar Augustus 4.1 BRONZE Orkney Brewery Latitude 3.9
GOLD Harviestoun Schiehallion 4.8 SILVER Jaw Brew Spinnaker 4.7 BRONZE Edinburgh Beer Factory Paolozzi 5.2
Small Pack Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales
Small Pack Speciality Light Beers
Small Pack Speciality Mid to Dark Beers
Neil Walker, SIBA PR Manager presents Fiona MacEachern with the gold award
Stuart Cail, SIBA Trustee presents James Kidd with the gold award
Gerald Michaluk, SIBA Trustee presents Al Read with the gold award
GOLD Loch Lomond Brewery SilkieStout 5.0 SILVER Cairngorm Brewery Black Gold 4.4 BRONZE Barney's Beer Ltd Capital Porter 5.0
GOLD Strathaven Ales Duchess Anne 3.9 SILVER Knops Beer Company 1505 3.9 BRONZE Loch Lomond Brewery Out of Range 5.9
GOLD Windswept Brewing Co Bear 10.5 SILVER Orkney Brewery Dark Island Reserve 10.0 BRONZE Williams Bros Brewing Co Midnight Sun 5.6
Sponsored by Croxsons
Sponsored by Rastal GmbH & Co KG
Sponsored by Label Apeel Ltd
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Sponsored by
Beatson Clark Ltd
SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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North East Region Cask Winners
REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS
SIBA North East Region York Barbican, Paragon Street, York. 18 August 2017
Overall Champion of the Cask Beer Competition Sponsored by SPASoft Ltd
Nigel Hoppitt, SPASoft Ltd presents Wayne Smith with the gold award
Cask Standard Mild & Brown Ales
Dave Shaw presents Craig Lee with the gold award
GOLD Brew York Ltd Keras 4.1 SILVER Revolutions Brewing Co Ltd Swoon Chocolate Fudge Milk Stout 4.5 BRONZE Settle Brewing Company Ltd Nine Standards No.3 Porter 4.7
GOLD Rudgate Brewery Ltd Ruby Mild 4.4 SILVER Ilkley Brewery Ruby Jane 4.0 BRONZE Ainsty Ales Ltd Moloko Mild 3.9
Cask Standard Bitters & Pale Ales
Cask Best Bitters & Pale Ales
Cask Premium Bitters & Pale Ales
Cask Strong Bitters & Pale Ales
Nicholas Brading, Murphy & Sons Ltd, presents Mark Evans with the gold award
Jason Little, Charles Faram & Co Ltd presents Wayne Smith with the gold award
Jake Mortiboys, Muntons presents Jason Lukehurst with the gold award
Barry Jones, Rankin Brothers & Sons presents Ian Fozard with the gold award
GOLD Settle Brewing Company Ltd Mainline Bitter 3.8 SILVER Cullercoats Brewery Ltd Shuggy Boat Blonde 3.8 BRONZE York Brewery Ltd Hansom Blonde 3.9
GOLD Brew York Ltd Keras 4.1 SILVER Ilkley Brewery Pale 4.2 BRONZE Bradfield Brewery Ltd Farmers Blonde 4.0
GOLD Wold Top Brewery Wold Gold 4.8 SILVER York Brewery Ltd Otherside IPA 4.5 BRONZE Cullercoats Brewery Ltd Dry Hop Project #23 Ernest 4.8
GOLD Rooster's Brewery Ltd Baby-Faced Assassin 6.1 SILVER Firebrick Brewery Wey-Aye P.A. 5.8 BRONZE Cullercoats Brewery Ltd Rocket Brigade IPA 5.5
Cask Premium Strong Beers
Sponsored by Rastal GmbH & Co KG
Cask Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales
Cask Speciality Light Beers
Cask Speciality Mid to Dark Beers
Ian Fozard, Regional Director presents Bill Scantlebury with the gold award
Mark Anderson, Regional Director presents Mark Evans with the gold award
Ian Fozard, Regional Director presents Graeme Andrews the silver award
Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Mark Seaman with the gold award
Sponsored by Murphy & Son Ltd
GOLD Cullercoats Brewery Ltd Fortification 7.3 SILVER Great Heck Brewing Co Ltd Black Jesus 6.5 BRONZE North Brewing Co Transmission 6.9
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Sponsored by Charles Faram & Co Ltd
GOLD Settle Brewing Company Ltd Nine Standards No.3 Porter 4.7 SILVER Ossett Brewery Rat Brewery Mother Rat 5.5 BRONZE Acorn Brewery Old Moor Porter 4.4
Sponsored by Muntons
GOLD Mordue Brewery Blood Orange IPA 4.9 SILVER The Bosun's Brewery Razamataz 3.7 BRONZE Daleside Brewery ThaiPA 4.0
Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons
GOLD Revolutions Brewing Co Ltd Swoon Chocolate Fudge Milk Stout 4.5 SILVER Eyes Brewing Limited Lecker Weisse 4.7 BRONZE Sonnet 43 Brew House The Raven Bourbon Milk Stout 4.3
North East Region Bottle & Small Pack Winners Small Pack Standard Bitters & Pale Ales
Small Pack Premium Bitters & Pale Ales
Sponsored by Beatson Clark Ltd
REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS
Small Pack Strong Bitters & Pale Ales
Small Pack Premium Strong Beers
Ian Fozard presents Helen Crannage & Debbie Clayton with the silver award
Charlotte, Beatson Clark Ltd, presents Ian Fozard with the gold award
Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Mark Anderson with the gold award
Mark Anderson, Regional Director presents Ben Harrison with the gold award
GOLD Black Sheep Brewery Velo 4.2 SILVER Pennine Brewing Co Natural Gold 4.2 BRONZE Brass Castle Brewery Hoptical Illusion 4.3
GOLD Rooster's Brewery Ltd Twenty-Four Seven (24/7) 4.7 SILVER Rooster's Brewery Ltd Jorvik Blonde 4.6 BRONZE Firebrick Brewery Stella Spark 4.5
GOLD Maxim Brewery Maximus 6.0 SILVER Saltaire Brewery Ltd Kala Black IPA 6.2 BRONZE Rooster's Brewery Ltd Baby-Faced Assassin 6.1
GOLD Hambleton Ales Nightmare Legend 6.5 SILVER York Brewery Ltd Legion IX 6.5 BRONZE Sonnet 43 Brew House Fierce Panther India Pale Ale 6.9
Small Pack Standard Lager & Pilsners
Small Pack Premium Lager & Pilsners
Small Pack Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales
Small Pack Speciality Light Beers
Ian Fozard, Regional Director presents Craig Witty with the gold award
Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Tim Spakouskas with the gold award
GOLD Daleside Brewery Daleside Lager 4.3 SILVER Sonnet 43 Brew House Yellow Cab Lager 4.1 BRONZE Brass Castle Brewery Helles 4.4
Dave Shaw, Regional Director presents Ben Harrison with the silver award
GOLD Yorkshire Heart Brewery Liberty Lager 5.0
GOLD Black Sheep Brewery Glug M'Glug 6.2 SILVER Hambleton Ales Nightmare Porter 5.0 BRONZE York Brewery Ltd Britania Milk Stout 4.2
Small Pack Standard Mild & Brown Ales
Small Pack Speciality Mid to Dark Beers
Jenna Barningham (Proxy) presents Ian Fozard with the gold award
Ian Fozard, Regional Director, presents Nick Law with the gold award
Ian Fozard, Regional Director presents Wayne Smith with the gold award
GOLD Rooster's Brewery Ltd Twenty-Four Seven (24/7) 4.7 SILVER Brew York Ltd Tonkoko 4.3 BRONZE Three Brothers Brewing Co Ltd Honeysuckle Smash 4.0
GOLD The Sheffield Brewery Company Brunswick Black 3.5
GOLD Brew York Ltd Tonkoko 4.3 SILVER Yorkshire Heart Brewery Rhubarbeer 3.7 BRONZE Eyes Brewing Limited Milch Weisse Nitro 5.0
Overall Champion of the Small Pack Competition
Sponsored by Saxon Packaging Ltd
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Mark Anderson, Regional Director presents Alex Millhouse‑Smith with the silver award
GOLD Three Brothers Brewing Co Ltd Honeysuckle Smash 4.0 SILVER North Brewing Co Volta 4.1 BRONZE Yorkshire Heart Brewery Get Pithed 4.2
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South East Region Cask Winners
REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS
SIBA South East Region Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club, Tonbridge. 7 July 2017
Overall Champion of the Cask Beer Competition Sponsored by SPAsoft Ltd
Nigel Hoppit, SPAsoft Ltd, presents James Berrow with the gold award
Cask Standard Bitters & Pale Ales Sponsored by QCL Scientific
Lee Walsh, QCL, presents Andrew Cooper with the gold award
GOLD White's Franklins English Garden 3.8 SILVER Twickenham Fine Ales Grandstand 3.8 BRONZE Old Dairy Brewery Uber Brew 3.8
Cask Premium Strong Beers
Sponsored by Murphy & Son Ltd
Nicholas Brading, Murphy & Son Ltd presents Richad Craig with the gold award
GOLD Big Smoke Brew Co The Judge DIPA 8.5
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Cask Standard Mild & Brown Ales
Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons
Barry Jones, Rankin Brothers & Sons presents James Berrow with the gold award
GOLD Langham Brewery Triple XXX 4.4 SILVER Dark Star Brewing Co Ltd American Pale Ale 4.7 BRONZE Truman's Brewery Lazarus 4.2
GOLD Langham Brewery Triple XXX 4.4 SILVER Whitstable Brewery Co Ltd Renaissance Ruby Mild 3.9 BRONZE Arundel Brewery Black Stallion 3.7
Cask Premium Bitters & Pale Ales Sponsored by Bulk
Cask Strong Bitters & Pale Ales
Robbie Harrigan, Charles Farams& Co Ltd, presents James Rabagliati with the gold award
Bill Egerton, BSPS, presents Vanessa Mason-Hill with the gold award
Gerald Daniels presents Will Calvert (proxy) with the gold award
GOLD Dark Star Brewing Co Ltd American Pale Ale 4.7 SILVER Goddards Brewery Fuggle Dee Dum 4.8 BRONZE Redemption Brewing Company Hopspur 4.5
GOLD Hammerton Brewery N7 5.2 SILVER Red Cat Brewing NEW IPA 6.0 BRONZE London Brewing Co Skyline American Pale 5.3
Cask Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales Sponsored by Brewers Select
Cask Speciality Light Beers
Cask Speciality Mid to Dark Beers
Cask Best Bitters & Pale Ales
Sponsored by Charles Farams & Co Ltd
GOLD Truman's Brewery Lazarus 4.2 SILVER Long Man Brewery Best Bitter 4.0 BRONZE Surrey Hills Brewery Shere Drop 4.2
John Gray, Brewers Select, presents Ricky Dixon with the gold award
GOLD Bedlam Brewery Ltd Porter 5.0 SILVER Long Man Brewery Old Man 4.3 BRONZE Big Smoke Brew Co Underworld Milk Stout 5.0
Storage and Process Systems Ltd
Sponsored by
Crisp Malting Group
Nigel Gibbons, Crisp Malting Group, presents Iain McIntosh with the gold award
GOLD Red Cat Brewing Tellicherry Wit 5.4 SILVER Enfield Raspberry Pale Ale 3.9 BRONZE Bowman Ales Trebuchet 4.5
Sponsored by Crookham Travel
Sponsored by Muntons PLC
Katie Richardson, Muntons PLC, presents Richad Craig with the gold award
GOLD Big Smoke Brew Co Underworld Vanilla Milk Stout 5.0 SILVER Canterbury Brewers & Distillers (Stoneset Inns Ltd) Itzamna 9.6 BRONZE Binghams Brewery Macchiato Stout 5.0
South East Region Bottle & Small Pack Winners Small Pack Standard Mild & Brown Ales
Ed Mason, Regional Director presents Simon Sandy‑Hindmarch with the gold award
Small Pack Standard Bitters & Pale Ales
Small Pack Premium Bitters & Pale Ales Sponsored by
Ed Mason, Regional Director presents Luke Herman with the gold award
Nick Crossley, Rastal GmbH & Co Ltd presents Ian Stewart with the gold award
Sponsored by Zoedale Ltd
Rastal GmbH & Co. Ltd
REGIONAL BEER COMPETITIONS Small Pack Strong Bitters & Pale Ales
Iain McIntosh, Regional Director presents Will Calvert with the gold award
GOLD Wantsum Brewery Black Prince 3.9 SILVER West Berkshire Brewery Maggs' Magnificent Mild 3.7 BRONZE Hammerpot Brewery Red Hunter 4.3
GOLD The Crafty Brewing Company Hop Tipple 4.2 SILVER Westerham Brewery Scotney Bitter 4.3 BRONZE Binghams Brewery Twyford Tipple 3.7
GOLD Brick Brewery Peckham Pale 4.5 SILVER Three Sods Brewery Trade Union Pale Ale 4.5 BRONZE Hammerpot Brewery Brighton Belle 4.6
GOLD Windsor and Eton Uprising's Treason 5.8 SILVER Brixton Brewery Atlantic APA 5.4 BRONZE Canopy Beer Co Brockwell iPA 5.6
Small Pack Premium Strong Beers
Small Pack Standard Lager & Pilsners
Small Pack Premium Lager & Pilsners
Small Pack Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales
Sponsored by CFB Steam Boilers
Nicholas Brading presents Sean Calnan with the gold award
Dave Parish presents Tim Abbott with the gold award
Dave Parish presents Tim Abbott with the gold award
Tom Bott, Regional Director presents Richad Craig with the gold award
GOLD Old Dairy Brewery Dark Side of the Moo 7.0 SILVER Signature Brew Stagediver 7.2 BRONZE Red Cat Brewing Imperial 15 9.1
GOLD Whitstable Brewery Co Ltd Kentish Lager 4.1
GOLD Whitstable Brewery Co Ltd Whitstable Pilsner 4.9 SILVER Westerham Brewery Bohemian Rhapsody 5.0 BRONZE Wantsum Brewery Preussen Pilsner 4.5
GOLD Big Smoke Brew Co Underworld Milk Stout 5.2 SILVER West Berkshire Brewery Tamesis Extra Stout 4.9 BRONZE Old Dairy Brewery Snow Top 6.0
Overall Champion of the Small Pack Competition
Small Pack Speciality Light Beers
Justin Giddings, Croxson & Son Ltd, presents Ed Mason (Proxy) with the gold award
Ed Mason, Regional Director presents Nigel Welsh with the gold award
Sponsored by Croxson & Son Ltd
GOLD Gun Brewery Imperial Whisky Stout 7.4 SILVER Brick Brewery Peckham Pale 4.5 BRONZE Big Smoke Brew Co Underworld Milk Stout 5.2
Sponsored by Beatson Clark Ltd
GOLD Flack Manor Brewery Ltd Romsey Gold 4.5 SILVER Signature Brew Nice Time 3.9 BRONZE Red Cat Brewing Tellicherry Wit 5.4
Small Pack Speciality Mid to Dark Beers
Buster Grant, SIBA Chairman presents Ed Mason (Proxy) with the gold award
GOLD Gun Brewery Imperial Whisky Stout 7.4 SILVER Whitstable Brewery Co Ltd Raspberry Wheat Beer 5.2 BRONZE Red Cat Brewing Smoggy 4.7
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ut o h t w i rand !! e l o t t l is a b n t i t y b A be i de a n l a ut a ho t i w
At OPM (Labels & Packaging) Group weʻre experts in delivering innovative, agile printed packaging solutions to for ward-thinking organisations. An intelligent brand owner uses print and packaging to inform and inspire the user, with a balance of decoration and functionality creating an identity that is as emotional, colourful and multi-layered as the consumer.
L abe ls b c re a t e a y OP M se nse & wh at o f wh o brand s my t ands f or
OPM work in partnership to deliver qualit y print that protects your brand equit y ensuring our clients are positioned in the market to achieve positive consumer experience for their brand and its products. Ge t in touch to discuss your print needs today
sales@opmgroup.co.uk
0113 2311000
OPM offer ser vices for customers of all sizes, across the beverage sector From long runs to convenience quantities with short lead times. At OPM we take great pride in the superior qualit y of our printed products across our portfolio. Our technical team are always looking for ways to improve pack decoration without impairing product function by providing innovative packaging solutions.
Certified to PS9000 : 2011, ISO 9001 : 2008 • BRC/ IoP Global Standard Food Packaging Standards Grade AA • • Zero Labels 2 Landfill Scheme Certification Awarded • Full low migration ink site
OPM (Labels & Packaging) Group Limited, The Colour Box, Gelderd Road, Leeds, LS12 6TG
FOCUS
POS & MARKETING
Willis Publicity produces new tap handle for Tiny Rebel Willis Publicity is the leading UK producer of premium pump clips and tap handles for the drinks industry. The company works with a large range of brands from big name traditional brewers to cutting edge craft beer companies and specialises in enhancing brand visibility with eye catching point of sale material. Willis recently began working with Newport-based Tiny Rebel Brewing Co. Tiny Rebel asked Willis Publicity to produce a tap handle to increase their visibility on bars and carry their striking branding. The design team produced a range of concept sketches to act both as a launch pad for TR’s design team and an indicator of our manufacturing capabilities. The final design concept features the iconic Tiny Rebel bear sat on top of an industrial concrete pillar daubed with their graffiti style logo.
For more information go to www.willispublicity.co.uk.
OPM Group announce Zero Labels 2 Rudd Macnamara introduces Landfill Scheme Certification Awarded a range of signage products
OPM Group, the label specialist, has recently been awarded their Zero Labels 2 Landfill Certification. The certificate was issued by BPIF Labels following Prismm Environmental confirming that OPM’s waste was being treated according to the scheme compliance requirements. Prismm, who offer a total waste management solution to businesses on a national scale, commenced with an initial audit of the system, processes and waste streams they implemented various equipment to accommodate the waste being produced, as well as maximise efficiencies. The aim was to reduce the impact on the environment by utilising the latest technologies to divert waste from landfill sites. A baler and an on-site compactor, and various bins were introduced to encourage waste stream segregation. The OPM teams received training as to the benefits to the environment of recycling as well as from a health and safety perspective in the correct usage of equipment. Chris Ellison, OPM’s MD, said: “OPM takes its environmental responsibility seriously, we are proud to assure our customers that their label products are being produced with as little impact on the environment as possible.”
For more information go to www.opmgroup.co.uk.
New to the English lexicon, Wall Tackers are popular signs used mainly for decorative and promotional purposes by breweries, drink brands, restaurants and pub chains. The signage is popular in the USA in the craft ale community and becoming more popular here in the UK and Ireland. In the spirit of good relations with our future trading partners across the Atlantic Rudd Macnamara has now started making them here in the UK. The Wall Tackers have already proved to be very popular within the craft ale community, as a way of getting the brands out there. Highly visible in bars and restaurants they are a great way for brewers to gain some brand visibility without having to compete in that more traditional space on bar. They also make great collectables for beer enthusiasts. For an embossed sign they can be any shape and print up to A3 size. Rudd Macnamara are very experienced in printing and forming metal so are ideally placed to produce a high quality sign.
For more information contact Val Smith on 0121 523 8437 or email your enquiry to enquiries@ruddmacnamara.com.
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SEE YOU AT THE
TEMPERED GLASSWARE Extended range of tempered glassware New standards in glass and decoration design Innovative solutions for the UK beer market Powerful logistical services
TOKYO ½ PINT / 1 Pint brimful / tempered
BREWHOUSE ½ PINT / 1 Pint brimful / tempered
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FOCUS
POS & MARKETING
New product from Purple Mustard Introducing the brand new Photographic PVC Bar Rail from Purple Mustard! This latest product from the team has been a hit with brewers and venues since it was unveiled at the most recent SIBA BeerX event in March. The new, phthalate free PVC Bar Rails are available in two sizes, both with a large branding area to the centre for breweries to include their own full colour designs. These custom printed Bar Rails are available from only 20 units and available for delivery, printed with your design, in under 10 days*! Andrew Wheeler, Sales & Marketing Director at Purple Mustard, said: “The Photographic Bar Rail has made a great addition to the range of POS that we offer our customers. Previously, high order quantities and long lead times have kept moulded PVC Bar Rails out of reach for smaller brewers but this product offers them a fantastic alternative solution with flexible ordering volumes to suit their needs.”
For more information contact the Purple Mustard Team on enquiries@purplemustard.co.uk *subject to production capacity at time of order.
LemonTop Creative works on Quantock Flying Hopsman Quantock Brewery, home to many of Somerset’s finest craft beers, have added a very special drink to their range. Flying Hopsman, produced in conjunction with West Somerset Railway, is a Special Edition Ale and has been brewed as a limited edition collector’s item. The brewing of this malty ale prompted Quantock Brewery Director Cheryl Ford to ask LemonTop Creative, experts in brewery and bottle branding, to produce a very special label for this extremely exclusive beer. Cheryl wanted the label and accompanying promotional literature to be in the Quantock style but to be themed around the sights, sounds and emotions of the West Somerset Railway. The creative team at LemonTop produced a series of beautiful and emotive train illustrations that would immediately appeal to anyone associated with the railway industry. Cheryl chose the illustration she liked so LemonTop went to work and created a distinctive label along with a full series of promotional items. Quantock Director Cheryl said: “We’ve worked with our friends at West Somerset Railway on a series of promotional and PR events this year so we thought, as a special thank you, we would brew a beer that would appeal directly to them. The beer itself is a full bodied and malty ale with a dry finish and a fruity aroma. At 3.8% ABV it’s a beer that can be enjoyed on it’s own or with a variety of different foods without leaving too much of an aftertaste. LemonTop Creative have helped us with the design. The team at the brewery are always impressed with their creativity and I think they have surpassed our expectations with this one. It’s a beautiful and fitting design for a very special beer.”
For more information go to www.lemontopcreative.com. WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
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PUMP CLIPS YOUR ONE STOP SHOP
“Specialising in the Manufacture and Supply of Keystone’s For Beer Barrels“
With over 125 years of manufacturing experience, Rudd Macnamara is your perfect choice for pump clips. Available in any design and finish!
Our industry standard T.P.E. Rubber Keystones have been tried and tested by brewery’s na�onwide for over 15 Years. “Food Contact Compliant Material” We manufacture both so� and hard variants packaged in 'Poly-lined Polypropylene Sacks'.
Benefits of Rudd Macnamara: n Bespoke solutions for all types of pump clips from foam board through to premium metal n Electro plated, paint sprayed, woodgrain, slate, and any other finish you can think of
Our Keystone’s are supplied in quan��es of 1000 and are all individually marked for 'End of Life Recycling'.
n Concept to reality service n Experienced manufacturing and print company
Price Per 1000 Delivered Only £60 + Vat
n Produced here in the UK to the highest quality
PALLET QUANTITY PRICES
n Competitive tooling costs n Unparalleled print options for outstanding quality
Price Per 10,000 Delivered £50 / 1000 + Vat Price Per 40,000 Delivered £47.50 / 1000 + Vat So please visit our online shop at WWW.POLY-TEK.CO.UK Or alterna�vely you can contact the sales team directly on 01795 439222 E M A IL N A COM OW FOR P E T IT IV E Q
UOT
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0121 523 8437 beerbranding.co.uk enquiries@ruddmacnamara.com
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30 day accounts available upon request Unit 8, Fairway Business Park Castle Road, Eurolink Sittingbourne Kent ME10 3FB
Tel +44(0) 1795 439222 Fax: +44(0) 1795 439444 Email: info@poly-tek.co.uk Www.poly-tek.co.uk
FOCUS
POS & MARKETING
SUPPLIER viewpoint
Beer ‘Point of Sale’ Design Blunders to Avoid Whether you are selling your beer on tap or in small pack, it’s essential you avoid the following design boo boos if you are to grab the attention of your discerning beer drinker. 1. Tiny Text
I’ll start with one that is particularly close to my heart! Every time I go to look at a pump clip sign at the bar or pick up a can of beer in a bottle store, I have an immediate sense of irritation if the ABV % or beer type information is too small to read. Either I go rooting around in my bag for my spectacles or I simply move on to another beer. No prizes for guessing what I am likely to do. Did you know that just under 60% of people in the UK wear prescriptive glasses or contact lenses? So why not make it easier for us speccies and ensure the key information about your beer is a doddle to read.
2. Shiny Text
This one definitely runs a close second to tiny text. If you happen to use a reflective silver or gold text on your clip or bottle design, you immediately run into legibility issues as soon as you’re not looking at the design face on. The light starts to catch the lettering and it just gets harder to read. This issue is doubled up when your bottle is sitting in an ill lit fridge at the back of
the bar. It’s getting impossible for your customer to see what’s on the bottle, so why bother. They will simply move on and give your fine beverage a miss.
up all your beer designs beside each other, would you recognize that they all come from the same brand family? If not, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
3. Low Visual Appeal
5. Lack of Context
Even if your beer information is all nicely clear and legible, you’ll still stumble at the blocks if your artwork doesn’t make a visual impact. You don’t need an all singing, all dancing glow in the dark sign necessarily. Sometimes subtle, cool and muted does the job. It may even be deliberately low-fi. The main thing is that your design looks like some thought has gone into it. It’s got to have a clear visual appeal to your targeted drinker.
4. Inconsistent
When your customer gets to the bar, they already have a million and one things running through the old grey matter. ‘What am I having for dinner’, ‘Does My Girlfriend still love me’ etc, etc. Don’t make the job of selecting a beer even harder by confusing the poor loves about your brand. If every point of sale design you produce looks unlike whatever you’ve done before, it’s going to make brand recognition so much harder for Mr or Ms Drinker. You can improve consistency by using key design elements in the same position, size, font or framing across all your pump clip or packaging designs. Basically, if you line
Lastly, make sure you include some indicators within your design that let the customer know that you are offering a ‘craft’, ‘local’, ‘independent’ or ‘small batch’ beer. If you are able to use a SIBA Assured Craft Beer logo on your artwork that will certainly help. With so many beers to choose from, it’s getting harder for drinkers to discern what’s ‘craft’ or local and what’s not. For example, when your beer is sitting alongside another local beer that doesn’t major on having craft credentials, how can you make it clear to the drinker that you offer something different? It’s important that you make sure you get that message across in some way so that your drinker can immediately recognize what makes you different. I’ve seen lots of breweries trip up on this point, not realizing how unobvious their USPs are to the average customer. Branding initiatives beyond ‘point of sale’ will also help to make your beers stand out. But on many occasions, the purchase decision is literally made on the spot. Rooting out the above issues will ensure you make your mark and get those allimportant sales more often.
Susanne Currid is marketing advisor at The Business of Drinks. The Business of Drinks helps independent breweries to grow and develop their business, by providing 1-2-1 advice from our team of expert and experienced business advisors For more information visit www.businessofdrinks.co.uk
SUPPLIER
Market Turbulence “The British beer market is going through a state of flux. We are probably heading for an oversupply and there are also signs of ‘craft’ fatigue amongst consumers. The ‘craft’ revolution has changed many people’s approach to beer, for the better, and there are still growth opportunities in key markets, however, it’s getting very crowded out there and brewers are having to think smarter. The large brewers are realigning their strategies, volume is no longer king, for them, thinking macro acting micro seems to be the order of the day, as variety and provenance have become key drivers for the consumer. Whilst the established
viewpoint
micro-brewers are having to push for growth, it has become very busy in the middle ground and expansion seems to be the prevailing option. Even nano-brewers are sharing some of the pain, there will always be a steady demand for local, as long as it is quality, but the ease of setting up a brewery is attracting more and more new start-ups. In market conditions like these, brewers need to sharpen their focus and act smarter – whilst quality is key, price (one of the big four Ps of marketing) is becoming increasingly critical. To survive and flourish, brewers need to be clear about their brand positioning and value proposition – and invest in innovation to support growth. Innovation is not simply about following the
trend, although there will always be a place for the ‘rock star’ brewers (such as Beavertown, Cloudwater and Magic Rock, to name but a few…) - you need to think about your unique place in the market and the spaces where there are still growth opportunities. The sector has premiumised and fragmented at the same time, we are probably due a market correction and consolidation. Both value ‘craft’ and superpremium are two areas that will possibly see a lot more focus over the next twelve months. Brand building has never been more important to those who want to survive and thrive.”
Myles Pinfold is founder and creative director at WPA pinfold. www.wpa-pinfold.co.uk.
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You Can...
Meet our newest innovation– the mACS
To date, we have installed over 825 canning lines in 46 different countries throughout the world
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• Compact Footprint - 7’ x 2-1/2’ = 17.5 ft • 15 Cans per minutes, 37 Cases per hour • Electric Cam Driven Seamer Revolutionary new seamer design • 3 Head Fill Station • CO2 Pre-purge • Multiple Can Sizes • Lid Dispenser • Touchscreen HMI • Polycarbonate Enclosure
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cask.com
1-403-640-4677
Official supplier of Ball Corporation for the supply of printed aluminum cans to our customers
FOCUS
CONTAINERS & DISPENSE
TTO works with Pilot Beer Ltd Moving from cask to keg has traditionally required conditioning tanks which allow the beer to be conditioned and carbonated before going to cask. This can be a major stumbling block given the costs and space required for equipment. However, a solution currently being used by Pilot Beer Ltd in Leith shows what is possible with current technologies available in process equipment.
Pilot asked TTO to design and build a keg filling system that would fill beer into kegs directly from their fermenters. A skid mounted unit was built and tested and is now in operation in their Leith brewery. The unit connects directly to a fermenter and the chilled beer is strained for
particulates, filtered (or not), carbonated by a mass-stream carbonator, and filled into kegs. The system uses bottled CO2 and CO2 consumption is minimised by recovery of CO2 displaced during filling. The system can process and fill up to 1,000 litres per hour. Matt Johnson of Pilot said: “Our initial concerns about the complexity of the unit are behind us now, in operation it is very simple. However, cleaning and preparation for a run are critical to product life and quality. The system has made a huge difference to the capacity of our brewery as we only had one conditioning tank, now we fill directly from fermenter.”
With the first unit installed and working TTO is working on ways to make this technology easier to use and enable more small brewers to make the move to kegging and the advantages of using this package.
For more information go to www.ttousedbottlingmachinery.com
Cask unveils new small-footprint, multi-feature canning line
Cask Global Canning Solutions - the company that invented micro-canning equipment for craft brewers - is offering a new canning line with a small size and a large range of advanced features.
Cask’s new Micro-Automated Canning System (mACS) features industry leading fill technology, the seaming reliability of Cask’s ACS X2, and the compact footprint and simple maneuverability of Cask’s mobileready SAMS machine. “The mACS,” says Cask founder Peter Love, “combines the best automated features of our various machines and new packagesize flexibility into one compact, mobile and affordable machine. It’s a game changer.” The mACS has electric cam-driven seamers, three CO2 pre-purge heads, three fill heads and a post-fill rinser and dryer. It measures
just 7’ by 2.5’ and has a very small footprint of 17.5 square feet. The mACS fills 15+ cans per minute and 37 cases per hour with just one operator. For brewers looking to expand their packaged offerings, the mACS can be converted to fill and seam cans of varying heights and widths. Since it features a conveyor belt can feeder (as found on Cask’s larger ACS machine), the mACS can also be equipped with preand post-packaging automated components such as an inline date coder, nitrogen doser, labeler and other components. “Our goal at Cask,” Love says, “has always been to give craft beverage makers an affordable, small-scale way to put their products in the ultimate package: the aluminum can. The mACS takes our efforts to a new level.”
Get more details on the mACS and the other machines from Cask Global Canning Solutions at www.cask.com
MPS Microbiological Joins Morrow Brothers Packaging
Morrow Brothers Packaging has recently added to its state of the art contract bottling plant based in the North West by joining forces with MPS Microbiological.
taken immediately and analysed. Effective decisions regarding packaging can then be taken in order to avoid beer with high levels of wild yeast and bacteria being filled into bottle or keg.
Marilyn Seedhouse, the founder of MPS Microbiological, set up the business early in 2017 to provide complete microbiological support for the brewing industry.
With there being so much competition between breweries it is not worth taking the risk and allowing a potentially infected product in to the marketplace. Where issues are found within a beer arriving to be packaged, Marilyn is at hand to visit the brewery concerned in order to provide advice and source the potential cause of infection. This area of expertise is something that Marilyn has gained a vast experience in over her time within the industry.
The move is the first of its kind within the micro-brewing industry, the majority of micro breweries and contract packagers looking to serve them rely on third party contractors. The difference with this move is the fact that MPS Microbiological is based permanently on site and as a result samples of beer arriving for packaging are
Gerard Crompton, Managing Director
WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
of Morrow Brothers Packaging, said: “It’s a fantastic development and opportunity for our businesses to further service breweries of all sizes. We have seen a rise in product recalls recently from producers attempting to reach the marketplace by undertaking packaging themselves with no real checks or balances. With the addition of Marilyn to our team we are now able to ensure a guaranteed high standard of packaged product to our customers and it allows our business to move on to the next level.”
For more information go to www.morrow-brothers.co.uk. SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
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BR
Introducing the new Gutsherren Pint Brimful Tankard!
IMFUL
PINT ET
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Rastal is proud to launch a new brimful pint Gutsherren tankard, created especially for the UK market! · Modern, practical and very robust · Flat sides allow multiple decoration options · Bespoke nucleation available · Packed in boxes of 6 pcs · 196mm high, 116mm diameter (including handle) · Glasswasher proof Rastal, as SIBA’s glassware Silver Sponsor offers all SIBA members free artwork origination and first decorated sample subject to receiving a confirmed order.
R RT HE UK MA
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For all enquiries: Nick Crossley, UK agent for Rastal GmbH & Co. KG nick.crossley@rastal.com Telephone: 07758 648660 Winter Journal_128x182mm.pdf
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13/12/2016
11:00
www.rastal.co.uk
FOCUS The theatre of beer: putting your beer in the best light
The impact of a really decent glass on your brand cannot be underestimated. People drink with their eyes, yes: but also with their noses and tongues. Touch can add or dilute the experience as well, with the hand holding sensation capable of enhancing the pleasure if it feels ‘right’. Glass thickness, rim feel, proportion, shape, and weight: all these contribute. Rastal’s design mantra has always been to embrace these influencing factors in designing and decorating glassware. The range of glassware designs introduced to meet the unique characteristics of quality craft ales manifests itself in the Teku goblet, which, along with Craft Master One, Craft Master Two and Craft Master Bowl offer a variety of practical and eyecatching options. Craft Master One, for example, is a modern glass with a distinctive elegant bend in its profile incorporates a conical
CONTAINERS & DISPENSE
chimney-shaped upper bowl designed to concentrate aroma. The lower part welcomes the hand. The fluting rim influences the flow of liquid onto the tongue as the liquid fans out as it crosses the upper curve, covering more of the tongue and enhancing flavour delivery. It is available as a pint brimful, 47cl (US 16oz) and 1/3rd pint brimful size. Teku, available as a 42.5cl and 33cl brimful size enhances any fine dining experience, and is a superb tasting goblet used most recently at the London Craft Beer Festival as the exclusive glass. Most recently, Rastal has introduced, for the UK market, a pint brimful version of the Gutsherren tankard whose clean vertical lines allow for excellent decoration whilst at the same time offering a modern proposition for today’s consumers.
For more information go to www.rastal.com.
Speedy Keg customisable kegs With Speedy Kegs, Thielmann UK now offers customisable kegs from blank stock with reduced lead-time on keg orders up to 1,000 units. Customised at our Thielmann UK plant in Dewsbury, Speedy Kegs encompass all of the quality standards that define Thielmann kegs, but with one major benefit: reduced lead-time. Your kegs can be ready for delivery within 10 working days. When you place your order, all that’s left to do is customise your kegs before shipping them to your brewery. The Speedy Kegs configurator will request a couple of simple details: Select your desired type of unit, number of units and type of customisation. Customisation includes embossing, paint banding, tagging, logo printing and laser marking.
For more information go to www.thielmann.com.
Online Ordering brings Brewfitt Products direct to Customers. Lindr mobile dispense units have always been a popular product, appealing to pub and bar owners as well as events companies, wedding planners and catering businesses. The unit allows for drink dispense of beer, cider, lager and fizzy wines away from a traditional pub setting, and is great for venues that may not have a permanent bar available. With a product so flexible, it makes sense for this to be available to buy at any time from any location. This is why the Lindr mobile dispense units are a featured product, alongside a number of other innovative dispense equipment, on the newly launched Brewfitt online store. Customers can browse through the entire Brewfitt catalogue with ease, and place an order at a time and place that is most convenient to them. If a problem emerges with a drip tray on a Saturday afternoon, pub owners can place the order instantly instead of waiting to call during the week when the sales offices are open. They can then get back to serving their customers, safe in the knowledge that the order will be processed first thing on Monday morning. A superb summer season has seen an increase in the number of Lindr units sold, which can now be purchased almost as quickly as the units themselves are able to pour ice cold pints.
For more information go to www.brewfitt.com.
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GOLD SPONSORS
Cost effective Cost effective keg rental keg rental Flexible • Simple • High Quality Flexible • Simple • High Quality We offer a fixed monthly rental over an agreed term. Kegs can be branded to your We offer a fixed rental overbrewery. specification andmonthly delivered to your an agreed term. Kegs can be branded to your specification and delivered to your brewery. Why choose keg rental? •Why Flexible rental periods of 18, 36 or 60 choose keg rental? months available as standard
• Kegs available with short lead times from stocks held in the UK
• Cost effective entry to of the18, emerging Flexible rental periods 36 or 60 craft keg market without capital months available as standard investment • Cost effective entry to the emerging • craft Simple single monthly rental charges keg market without capital with ‘no extras’ allowing cost to be investment covered from sales revenue • Simple single monthly rental charges with ‘no extras’ allowing cost to be covered from sales revenue
• 30 and 50 litre with Euro short kegs lead available Kegs available timesas standard with your choice of extractor from stocks held in the UK Other keg types may be available • 30 and 50 litre Euro kegs available as on request standard with your choice of extractor • Other Your own bandbe identification keg colour types may available or simple branding added by our world on request class factory in Yorkshire. • Your own colour band identification or simple branding added by our world class factory in Yorkshire.
Contact us today to find out how we could help Call 01425 Contact us 485421 today to find out how we could help Email enquiries@closebreweryrentals.co.uk Call 485421 Visit 01425 www.closebreweryrentals.co.uk Email enquiries@closebreweryrentals.co.uk Visit www.closebreweryrentals.co.uk
Close Brothers Brewery Rentals is a trading style of Close Brewery Rentals Limited, which is a subsidiary of Close Brothers Limited. Close Brewery Rentals Limited is registered in England and Wales (Company number 5826492) and its registered office is Unit 1, Kingfisher Park, Headlands Business Park, Blashford, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 3NX. Close Brothers Brewery Rentals is a trading style of Close Brewery Rentals Limited, which is a subsidiary of Close Brothers Limited. Close Brewery Rentals Limited is registered in EnglandAUTUMN and Wales2017 (Company number 5826492) and its registered office is Unit 1, Kingfisher Park, Headlands Business Park, Blashford, Ringwood, SIBA JOURNAL Hampshire CBBR A4 BBM A4 DoubleBH24 04-173NX. v2.indd All Pages
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Fawcett’s -The One Stop Malt Shop Quality, Variety, Flavour.
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GOLD SPONSORS
We are proud that our malts have contributed to 13 Supreme Champion Beers of Britain since 1997, including this year’s Champion “Goats Milk” from Church End Brewery.
Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd
is a seventh generation family business that has been manufacturing speciality quality malts for over 200 years on its original site in Castleford, West Yorkshire. The Company has always operated on this site in Yorkshire for the simple reason that it is close to one of the best barley growing areas in the UK and The Company’s own bore holes provide excellent and consistent quality water for the manufacture of malt. The Company is unique in that it operates 6 different production units from the same site; two floor maltings, a Saladin box maltings, a more modern Germinating Kilning Vessel maltings, and two bespoke roasting houses for the production of Crystal and Roasted products. Our production times are quite lengthy by modern standards, but we believe it leads to greater consistency in mash tun performance and more intense malty flavours. Batch sizes are small which allows for tight control of blending in order to achieve any customer specification. We manufacture over 30 different standard malts; a full range of Pale Ale malts from different barley varieties, together with all the other malted cereals of Wheat, Rye and Oats. Whilst barley malts comprise the majority of the brewers’ grist, our other cereal malts are fully modified and can be used at relatively high addition rates without the need for step-temperature mashing or separate cereal cookers. Oat malt has a
higher husk:endosperm ratio and is useful in keeping the mash bed open / porous as well as for its unique flavour and mouth feel contribution. Crystal malts are made from fully modified grains where the starch has been broken down into sugars and then caramelised at high temperatures in the roasting drum. The Crystal malt range is from light coloured, honey flavoured Caramalt, through toffee / caramel flavours of standard Crystal, to very dark Red Crystal which gives an intense, rich, rubyred colour to the beer. Conversely, Roasted malts are made from partially germinated, kiln-dried grain that is then roasted at high temperatures resulting in a toasting of the starch. This gives a range of flavours and colour from slightly biscuity-flavoured Amber Malt, to coffee / chocolate flavours of the mid-range products, and the intense roast character and colour of Black malt. We also include Wheat and Rye in the crystal and roasted range which gives any Brewer the complete spectrum of raw materials with which to create unique, top quality beers. The finest barleys make the finest malts and the Company strives to procure the best barley samples from each season. Pale Ale malts are largely made from the iconic barley varieties Maris Otter and Golden Promise, though not exclusively. Proven winter varieties such as Halcyon and Pearl are still available and the current main spring barley variety is Propino. This year the harvest has been prolonged and difficult. It started early with some
excellent quality Maris Otter from the south of the country, but later, more modern winter barleys were thin with high levels of screenings. There was then a considerable delay due to poor weather before the spring crop was cut. This proved to be a generally high nitrogen crop due to very dry growing conditions in the spring. This has the potential to affect Brewhouse performance and the resulting risk of haze in beer for the brewer in 2018. As a result, prices have increased due to the shortage of supply of quality malting barley. Thankfully, because of our size and specialist nature, we have been able to procure all our requirement of top quality low nitrogen barley (below 1.65 %) from this harvest by buying small parcels at the right time. As we saw last year, the best of the crop were the heritage varieties such as Maris Otter, Halcyon, and Pearl which have withstood the impact of the weather much better than the more modern varieties. The Company prides itself on quality and service. The Company offers the complete range of products, packaging and delivery options – a “one stop malt shop” for all Brewers. Malt is supplied in 25kg sacks (either whole or pre-milled) shrink wrapped on pallets or in larger tote bags (350kg, 500kg, or 1,000kg) and in up to 25 tonne bulk loads. The Company provides a dedicated delivery service via its own transport fleet inclusive of drivers willing to help off-load.
We are customer driven to help brewers of all traditions and sizes. For further information or for a bespoke quotation to reflect your malt variety preference, volume, packaging and delivery requirements please email: sales@fawcett-maltsters.co.uk or call us on 01977 552490.
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Brewman : software you can rely on. Premier’s Brewery Management System, Brewman, has been designed and written to allow your brewery to manage business in a more efficient manner and make the most of your best resource - your customers.
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SIBA
REGIONAL NEWS ROUNDUP EAST REGION
Woodforde’s Brewery Rebrands Woodforde’s Brewery, the award-winning Norfolk-based brewery, has rebranded by linking with the legacy of Norfolk’s favourite son, and one of Britain’s greatest military heroes, Admiral Lord Nelson. In the year and a half since directors James Hughes and Nick Dolan took on the business, they have widened the reach, distribution and profile of Woodforde’s and its brands, including reviewing its corporate identity. The new identify incorporates a Nelson silhouette which represents Norfolk, known as ‘Nelson’s county’. Nelson is one of Britain’s most heroic and recognisable figureheads and noted for brave and inspirational leadership, most famously at the Battle of Trafalgar. For Woodforde’s, Nelson represents its heritage, provenance, great character and one that delivers and expects the best. James Hughes, Woodforde’s Chief Executive, sayid: “We wanted to develop a strong identity for the vibrant beer market. We have built a loyal following across the region and this new contemporary look which includes the Nelson silhouette has
WE WANTED TO DEVELOP A STRONG IDENTITY FOR THE VIBRANT BEER MARKET. WE HAVE BUILT A LOYAL FOLLOWING ACROSS THE REGION AND THIS NEW CONTEMPORARY LOOK WHICH INCLUDES THE NELSON SILHOUETTE HAS ITS ROOTS IN NORFOLK. its roots in Norfolk. The rebrand is integral to our strategy to build an even stronger national profile and replaces the Norfolk boat.” James Hughes and Nick Dolan, Chief Operating Officer, have increased the Woodforde’s team by fifteen per cent as well as acquiring the pub adjoining the brewery, ‘The Fur and Feather’. There has also been substantial investment in expanding Woodforde’s range and beer styles including keg, can and the development of a new lager.
For more information go to www.woodfordes.co.uk.
Newby Wyke Brewery visits Brno in the Czech Republic Newby Wyke Brewery has brewed twice this year in Brno in the Czech Republic, once in April to brew Dragon and again in August to brew Marie Celeste in union with a brew pub and hotel called Pegas. The exchange started back in 2014 when Rob March, the head brewer from Newby Wyke, went to the Czech Republic for the MotoGP and met and became friendly with the then brewer at Brno. He had brewed his version of an English IPA (which wasn’t!) so Rob invited him over here so they could brew the IPA Distant Grounds together. The team from Newby Wyke went back the following year and brewed one of their beers in the Czech Republic and it is now a regular exchange. The team is planning on going back next year for two more brews. In June, Rob also completed a charity motorcycle ride from Holyhead in Wales to Skegness in Lincolnshire overnight for Macmillan. It’s called Sunset 2 Sunrise Riders for Macmillan and raised £1,122 for the charity.
For more information go to www.newbywyke.co.uk.
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REGIONAL NEWS ROUNDUP EAST REGION
Celebrations as national chain expands Oakham Ales range
Lincolnshire Brewing Company expands brewery
Award-winning brewery Oakham has signed a deal with a major supermarket chain to expand its range and make more excellent craft beer available for discerning customers.
The Lincolnshire Brewing Company has expanded to an 8 barrel system this year following the acquisition of The George at Langworth.
Asda is now stocking Oakham Ales’ Citra and Scarlet Macaw brands in 32 stores while JHB will be spreading its popularity from an existing 11 stores to 49.
The brewery is now up and running in full and brewing to full capacity already due to the success of its bespoke ale Cheeky Imp, which is brewed for Lincoln City Football Club, Youth Academy.
The Peterborough-based brewery, founded in 1993, has won a batch of industry awards and has an international reputation for its innovative approach. Oakham Ales is a pioneer of using American-grown hops in the UK and production director John Bryan makes regular trips across the Atlantic to select the hops which are used to make Oakham’s beers.
Brewery Tours are also available at the site by appointment with brewery weddings and wedding receptions planned for launch in 2018.
“Our customers are always at the heart of what we do, and increasing the Oakham Ales range at Asda will give them a great choice. Beers produced by independent breweries such as ours are becoming more popular and we work hard to ensure our beers are meeting increasingly high expectations,” said Nick Jones, off-trade and export manager. Asda buying manager Alan Jackson said: “I am really proud of our bottled ale range and bringing more beers on board from Oakham Ales will only enhance our range.” The news comes on the heels of an exclusive deal with Marks and Spencer for a canned version of Citra IPA; Wetherspoon increasing its range of Oakham Ales with Green Devil IPA and a tie-in with national chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Citra.
For more information go to www.oakhamales.com.
Following the success of the beer Medicinal Purposes the brewery has now added two new beers with similar branding, ‘Mouthwash’, a mint porter, and ‘Lactose Intolerant’, a milk chocolate stout. All will be packaged in black stubby bottles and labelled as vintage medicine bottles. The brewery has also created a Lincolnshire Brewing Co Survival Kit which is a First Aid Box comprising of the three beers.
For more information go to www.lincolnshirebrewingco.co.uk.
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SIBA
REGIONAL NEWS ROUNDUP EAST REGION
20 years of Humpty Dumpty Brewery Norfolk Broads based Humpty Dumpty Brewery is fast approaching 20 years in the industry, with the current partners Lesley and Stephen George - over 10 years at the helm. Lesley, who now provides day to day sales, marketing, accounts and general management support to the business, reflects on how they grew from a two-man DIY team (brew, sell, deliver, empty, reload) to a now very well established and respected East Anglian micro-brewery, with an enthusiastic team of - very importantly - local employees. "When we took the business over in 2006, Humpty Dumpty was struggling to sell beer anywhere. With a quirky name (which relates to local railway folklore rather than cannons or eggs), we concentrated on improving the quality and consistency of our core brands, and talking to the local/Norfolk pubs to see
what they wanted from their "on the doorstep" brewery.” Over the years, Humpty Dumpty has gained massive respect and grown to be one of the biggest micro-breweries in East Anglia. Consequently, Humpty Dumpty beers reflect the development and maturity of a range of railway and Broads themes that have local significance but also attract the wider regional and national eye. Most recently, Broadland Sunrise was awarded 2017 Overall (& Bitter) Gold CAMRA Norfolk & Norwich Champion Beer of Norfolk. Their Swallowtail also picked up Silver in the same (Bitter) category (2017).
For more information go to www.humptydumptybrewery.co.uk.
An exciting year for Lacons Brewery So far this year, Lacons have had a great deal of award success, with 10 awards added to the growing list in August alone.
Their 3.8% flagship ale Encore won the ‘Overall Cask Champion’ at the International Brewing Awards and was crowned Overall Beer Festival Champion at Peterborough Beer Festival, and Legacy was named UK Overall Winner in the Pale Beer Category at the World Beer Awards. To add to these achievements, Lacons Affinity won Gold in CAMRA’s Golden Ale Category and heritage ales Audit and Old Nogg were both Gold medallists at the World Beer Awards. This brings Lacons award total to 40 since their revival four years ago. Lacons actively tries to provide variety in their beer offering. Most months, the brewery releases a seasonal ale available for one month only, including favourites Saint Nick’s Ale at Christmas and Jack Valentine, plus heritage recipes Old Nogg and Audit Ale. The ‘Heritage Collection’ of ales are inspired by Lacons recipes found in the archive and a celebrated throughout the year. Community remains a key focus for Lacons and the brewery regularly tries to return the support that the community have offered them by sponsoring local charities who depend on public donation as well as exciting events that bring people together. As well as supporting local charities such as
Caister and Hemsby Lifeboats with donations towards their annual fundraising days, Lacons sponsored two large community events, Gorleston Clifftop Festival and VW Whitenoise Festival this summer. Lacons has also teamed up with local TV station Mustard TV to film a show called ‘The Great Norfolk Pub Guide’. In this series, the team regularly visit pubs across the county that offer great customer service, delicious food and a great drinks offering to support the local community. Since returning to brewing in 2013, there has been a strong demand for Lacons ales thanks to their great quality and taste as well as the support of the local community. Lacons beer is now available in pubs and outlets across East Anglia and beyond. Working alongside train operator Greater Anglia, Lacons have also made their canned 5.4% IPA, Quell, available to enjoy for those traveling on the London to Norwich mainline. Lacons ‘Falcon Brewery’ which sits on the Great Yarmouth seafront is in the middle of an exciting expansion project. To meet the growing demand for their beer, the expansion will increase the size of the brewery 10,000 square foot and will allow them to brew six times their current output. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2017.
For more information go to www.lacons.co.uk. WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
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SUPPLIER NEWS
SUPPLIER viewpoint
Meeting the new normal of the beverage market For decades, the thirst for beer seemed unquenchable. Now that consumption has stalled, breweries must come up with new strategies for growth. Drink-IT, the IT business management expert, has produced a breweries casebook looking at how technology can help… “The global beer industry faces its greatest challenge in 50 years. All at once, there is falling consumer demand, increasing competitive products, heightened requirements by retailers and consumers, and tougher market access. This mix of challenging developments is not only creating temporary roadblocks for beer manufacturers, it also marks the beginning of a difficult era for the entire industry – a new normal.
The need to change After decades of volume decline, breweries need to prepare for these challenges. Companies must recognise that their infrastructures and operational processes may no longer correspond to current market conditions. Product teams, for instance, that are used to stable portfolios may have a hard time keeping up with the swift and steady product launches of more agile manufacturers. Purchasing practices geared toward locking in a certain price rather than creating product availability are not likely to be flexible enough to react quickly to unexpected surges in consumer demand. Manufacturing sites designed for the production of large volumes at low cost are unsuited for niche products that require small batches and fast retooling processes. Furthermore, the logistics departments of legacy breweries may struggle with the increased requirements of serving both the highly fragmented trade channel and the evolving spread of convenience stores. In addition to these operational issues, breweries also face organizational challenges. The global expansion and M&A activities of the past years have often resulted in structures that resemble loose confederations of local businesses rather than genuine multinationals.
case study
Where to go? What to do? To overcome these structural, operational and organisational challenges, some breweries are searching for cost savings in procurement, manufacturing and marketing, and are striving to find new ways of meeting the challenge of catering to consumers in a highly dynamic and demanding multichannel environment. Another and highly efficient way to overcome the challenges of the new normal is to take a close look at the design of the operational processes of the value chain and evaluate whether they are sufficiently streamlined and effective.
Striving for operational excellence with technology A brewery’s ability to streamline, simplify and automate business processes – from receiving raw materials to delivering products to customers – is vital. Lean processes help create the best-performing players in the industry. Around the globe, breweries are working to improve customer acquisition, revenue growth, and efficiency – but it’s the ones that embrace technology that succeed. With technology in the form of a brewery management solution (an ERP system specifically designed to support and empower the processes of breweries), breweries can support and automate their business processes, and boost their ability to carry out their processes in a fast and efficient way. With a state-of-the-art brewery management solution the entire value chain can be tied into one seamless, simple and efficient workflow and provide new, valuable real-time business insight that will increase speed and accuracy in the decision-making. In this casebook we will explore how breweries have benefited from embracing technology. It is our hope that you will find inspiration for your own business and for ways to face the new normal of the brewery industry.”
Download the full casebook at: www.drink-it.com/breweries-casebook
Kilfrost ALV Plus and Pillars Brewery With energy costs spiralling, the brewing industry has long been seeking a cost-effective, efficient, and safe alternative to current heat transfer fluids.
But for decades breweries have had one hand tied behind their backs as they are forced to choose a fluid that is either non-toxic or one that offers enhanced performance. Now scientists at Kilfrost, global leaders in safety critical chemistry and rheology, have answered that dilemma and launched a firstof-its-kind heat transfer fluid which for the first time provides a commercial solution to the long-standing efficiency-versustoxicity challenge. Operators of Pillars Brewery, craft lager producers based in
Walthamstow, London, were looking for the most efficient glycol product for use in cooling the Brewery’s fermentation tanks. But the brewery also needed a less viscous product than that which is generally used in brewing in order to crash cool their beer more quickly. Doing this means not only a reduction in electricity costs but means the brewery can stay true to its values by having a smaller carbon footprint, keeping innovation and quality at the heart of what they stand for. Pillars turned to Kilfrost’s new ALV Plus fluid, not only certified as safe for incidental contact with food and drink, but a fluid that offers premium performance over alternatives. Brewer and Pillars Founder, Gavin Litton, said: “Thanks to Kilfrost ALV Plus, our pumps are working less hard, using less energy to circulate liquids around the plant. We’ve been so impressed with the performance of the fluid, as it not only saves us money, but means we’re as energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly as possible. That’s at the heart of what we stand for as a brewery.”
For more information go to www.kilfrost.com.
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InnCellar Equipment
Cask Beer Solutions InnCellar Equipment is totally Committed to working with customers to provide quality products & Services. Rack your Ale with ease with our Occasional beer festival Racking©. The racking are fully linkable with each other making your options limitless. All our Occasional Racking© can be flat packed making this easier to store if space is limited. To see our full range of Cask Racking please visit our website. Since the launch of the new Multi-Purpose Jacket©, this has become popular with it been able to cater for the multiple applications needed to cover the new influx of CASK/KEG variations. To see our full range of Cask & Keg Jackets please visit our website.
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The InnCellar Equipment Dual Purpose Cask Tap© is ideal for functions & festivals, with been able to dispense directly from the cask eliminating the need for a beer engine or any further dispense equipment.
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SUPPLIER NEWS
case study
Siemens and Alphabet Brewing
Alphabet Brewing Company in Manchester is only in its third year of operation, but growing fast.
With rapid growth and limited resources, computer science graduate and founder Joe Fearnhead needed to improve some of the automation tasks at the brewery and a chance meeting with Siemens at a beer festival last year proved just the ticket. Joe said: “Far from offering complex and expensive solutions, the Siemens team showed me a really simple automation option that would bring lasting benefits and improve the consistency of our fermentation processes. I was pleasantly surprised by the solution and it helped take us up a stage in our development.“ Founder, has seen this young brewery go from strength to strength, helped in part by a growing fanbase, fully owned retail outlets and pubs, and a regular food festival combined with tasting experiences at the Brew Yard.” LOGO is an intelligent logic module ideal for smaller scale automation tasks, like controlling the fermentation temperatures at Alphabet Brewing. It provided a lowcost solution for Joe’s team, giving them accurate temperature monitoring and control, and data logging facilities that they previously did not have. Simple to install and easy to programme, with minimal wiring, LOGO replaces time
I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY THE SOLUTION AND IT HELPED TAKE US UP A STAGE IN OUR DEVELOPMENT.
switches, counters and relays, and has a large display (with HMI screen) and full communications options via Ethernet. Joe had already invested in an in-house canning line, through which he is getting the brand recognised by an increasing number of retail outlets. This line has made a big difference to the more rapid expansion of the business as well as the affordable ‘app‘ support from the Siemens LOGO system. Future plans include implementing flow measurement using a Siemens flow meter mounted on a skid to accurately measure amounts of liquids being moved around the brewery.
For more information go to www.siemens.com.
Maris Otter barley grand slam at the GBBF! Invincible Maris Otter barley is, yet again, the malt of choice for the Champion Beer of Britain 2017.
Co. from Newport, South Wales scooped Bronze with Cwtch Red Ale (4.6%ABV), the latter formerly winning the outright championship in 2015.
Goats Milk Bitter (3.8%ABV) brewed by Church End brewery in Warwickshire, scooped the most prestigious UK beer trophy judged at the annual Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) at London Olympia in August.
Now entering its 53rd year of commercial production, Maris Otter barley remains unchallenged by any new variety added to the farming industry’s annually published Recommended List. Until maltsters, brewers and distillers become the drivers of barley breeding in the UK, it is unlikely this position will change, except by chance. So there is every reason to expect Maris Otter barley to remain the largely unsung, but no lesser hero of the GBBF for many more years to come!
This is the 12th Championship win in 18 years (since 2000) brewed from Maris Otter pale malt, and is again testimony to the outstanding brewing traits of this venerable variety, not least its renowned flavour profile. As well as the championship brewery, Maris Otter pale malt is also the malt of choice for the two runners up. Bishop Nick brewery from Braintree, Essex scooped the Silver Medal with their Ridley’s Rite Pale Ale (3.6%ABV), and Tiny Rebel Brewing
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More information about grain supply from Robin Appel Ltd, based at Bishops Waltham in Hampshire, can be found at www.robin-appel.com.
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make your packaged beer taste even better
BOTTLING, KEGGING AND CANNING SYSTEMS Moravek International Limited, Pure Offices, Kestrel Court, Harbour Rd, Portishead, Bristol BS20 7AN Tel: (44) (0)1427 890098 Fax: (44) (0)1427 890939 E-mail: Info@moravekinternational.com
brewery automation made easy
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Brewology are the UK's leading supplier of brewery automation equipment. From complete brew-houses, CIP Sets, tanks, cask and keg cleaning and packaging equipment to service and spares and state of the art automation. Based in Leeds, West Yorkshire our highly skilled team of engineers offer in-house design, manufacturing and software development as well as a complete after-sales service team. From a complete turnkey solution to a spare seal call us today.
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SUPPLIER NEWS
Thirst for craft beer leads to spike in demand for specialist brewery insurance more than 20 breweries signing up for Masterbrew insurance in the last 10 months. Sales and Marketing Director at Russell Scanlan Mike Dickinson said this unique industry-specific product was proving to be so popular because it provides cost effective solutions in an increasingly complex and mature market. Sales and Marketing Director at Russell Scanlan Mike Dickinson
Specialist brewery insurer Russell Scanlan has recorded a significant spike in demand for its bespoke insurance solutions, as the nation’s thirst for craft beers and gins continues to grow. Russell Scanlan launched its specialist brewery insurance, Masterbrew, a decade ago – an innovative service which responded to a demand from small brewers and who couldn’t find appropriate insurance for their needs. Over recent years the product has been adapted to cater for the boom in craft gin distilleries too. Since 2007 when it launched, the service has been in ever increasing demand, with
He said: “Since the start of this financial year last August, we’ve seen higher numbers than ever before of brewers coming to us who are seeking tailored insurance packages to suit their specific operation. The thing about micro brewing is that no two breweries are the same and all are unique like the product they produce, which means ‘off the shelf’ insurance does not tick the box.” Masterbrew incorporates innovative and sector related additions to insurance for operators of all sizes across the sector, including liability cover for specialist events such as beer festivals, extra cover for legal expenses with access to a legal helpline, loss of licence, commercial vehicle cover and enhanced protection of business income.
Leeds based Northern Monk Brewery, a Masterbrew client, has maximised this growth in demand for craft beer since opening in 2013, resulting in the businesses growing 10 times over in terms of volumes and profits in just two years. Director Russell Bisset said: “Russell Scanlan has been continuously accommodating and understanding of our growth trajectory since we began and have been able to provide us with a bespoke package that has been able to develop at the same rate. Being an independent broker makes them nimble and fast to respond to any changes in cover we may need at any point.” Aimed at brewers of all sizes as well as gin distilleries and bar and pub operators, Masterbrew insurance services start from as little as £250 plus Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) with an option to pay by instalments throughout the year. Russell Scanlan is also an Associate Member of The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).
To find out more about Masterbrew go to www.russellscanlan.com.
Simpson McCreath Trust award local projects with much-needed grants Berwick-upon-Tweed's Simpson McCreath Trust, the charitable arm of family-owned maltster Simpsons Malt, has awarded over £10k to four local projects. Reflecting the interests of the trustees, the trust has awarded the grants to local projects doing great things in the areas of culture and sport. The Northern Soul Kitchen, a community project that takes donations of unsold, edible food from local shops and suppliers and turns them into healthy, affordable meals for everyone, has received a £3,900 grant. This will be used to start up workshops for young people in the community with additional support needs and will teach them about reducing food waste, healthy eating and basic kitchen and cooking skills. A donation of £5,100 has also been made to Inspired!, a music project aimed at young
people in Berwick and Northumberland and £2,500 will go to the Chirnside Chasers, a not for profit charity that aims to promote and advance athletics as a competitive sport. A further £1,100 has been donated to the Cornhill Village Christmas Lights project for 2017, and will be spent on new lights for the area for the festive period. Speaking about the latest donations Trust Board Member David McCreath OBE said: "As a trust we pride ourselves on supporting projects, activities and causes in the local area that benefit all parts of the community - from sport to culture and learning for young people. Our donations go a long way to improving facilities and increasing resources, and we hope to continue giving to many more worthwhile causes.”
Find out more about Simpsons Malt at www.simpsonsmalt.co.uk.
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Richard Simpson, Vice Chairman of Simpsons Malt, presents a cheque to Iain Petrie from the Inspired! music programme
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SUPPLIER NEWS
Your Brand is Your Business …Your Business is Your Brand Ken Sewell, Head of business development at Nucleus IP, traces the origins of Trade Marks and explains why they are still important today…
SUPPLIER viewpoint
red triangle logo design. In fact, Bass also owned the second Trade Mark as well, for their diamond logo.
How did Bass end up in this interesting and historical position?
“Imagine the scene: Your beautifully developed product is a hit. It sells well, tastes good, looks good and the brand is popular. Your brand is the most significant asset your business will ever own. So, what could possibly go wrong? Someone beats you to register the name or design as a Trade Mark, and not just in your existing markets but in your next big target market too. All that hard work and expense developing and promoting your brand is suddenly redundant and someone else will reap the gains you have made. What can you do? Well without being subjected to the “I told you so, you should have protected your brand via a Trade Mark”, there’s possibly not a lot at this stage other than learn a costly lesson for next time.
So what exactly is a Trade Mark and where did the concept originate?
Most of the earliest known Trade Marks on goods are associated with the makers' or owners' identities. Identifiable ‘marks’ were reportedly found on Transylvanian pottery pieces dated circa 5000 BC and marking continued throughout the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations. By the late 19th Century, coinciding with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, there was a marked shift towards mass production, which is when the Trade Mark consequently acquired the commercial importance we recognise today. The first registered UK Trade Mark, is Bass Pale Ale’s recognisable
The ale company was a pioneer in marketing and branding for the better part of two centuries. Obtaining the protection offered by a Trade Mark for its red triangle was so important that Bass raced to be the first registrant on 1 January 1876, when the 1875 UK Trade Mark Registration Act came into effect. In fact, the company forced one employee to spend his New Year’s Eve waiting in the cold outside the registration office to claim the first two Trade Marks for their ‘red triangle’ and ‘diamond’ logos. These logos are instantly recognised as relating to Bass beers because they have always been associated with it. No other brand has a logo similar to these; their simplicity avoids confusion with any other design. Notwithstanding the brand has been sold several times in recent years, the branding ensures the consumer always knows what product he is buying. So, if you value your name or design then you need to protect it against someone else liking it so much that they want to copy it or steal it all-together. The process is straight forward and advice is available to help you understand what can and cannot be protected. One of the most remarkable things about the Bass logo is the fact that it has remained unchanged over time—over 140 years, in fact, and is still on the Trade Mark register today. Will your logo design last this long?”
Nucleus IP, a specialist and dedicated firm of Trade Mark attorneys with a 130 year history offering peace of mind by protecting brands through Trade Mark registration worldwide. www.nucleus-ip.com
Rent a pressure vessel through Hygiena International and Langham Brewery Langham Brewery is a successful small independent steamIGC and you can powered microbrewery situated between the West Sussex case towns of Midhurst and Petworth in the beautiful South Downs choose your own study National Park. Lesley Foulkes and James Berrow, Langham Brewery’s partners, gas supplier attribute much of the brewery’s success in producing quality and consistent Why commit to a rigid, and potentially costly, one company rental agreement when IGC can offer you a flexible and cost effective alternative? The traditional way most other industrial gas companies operate is that they install their own pressure vessel and then the customer receives gas through them throughout the contract. This ties your company into your gas supplier for the term of your contract and should the price of gas increase, you have no ability to get a competitive quote. This is where IGC Engineering is different. IGC provides the pressure vessel, the instillation and inspection but under the IGC contract you have the flexibility to choose your third party company to supply the gas, giving you a more competitive edge.
For more information go to www.igc-pressure-vessels.co.uk.
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beer to maintaining high sanitation processes and keeping the busy brewery operations spic and span. A core part of these processes is achieved using the SystemSURE Plus products from Hygiena International for the quick and accurate ATP testing of surface areas. Langham have been using Hygiena International’s cleaning systems since 2008. ATP testing is a simple and affordable test method which verifies cleaning effectiveness in seconds. The science is based on the detection of organic residues on surfaces and in water samples using a bioluminescent reaction. Pen-shaped test devices contain a modified firefly enzyme that reacts with organic material to produce light, which is then measured in a handheld meter (called a luminometer) about the size of a TV remote control. The brewery relies on quick turnaround. As soon as a tank is emptied it is immediately deep cleaned ready for the next beer. The brewing team all are trained how to use the ATP meter to instantly validate their cleaning procedure. The ATP meter indicates what is clean and what is not clean. If occasionally a higher ATP level is indicated then another caustic cleaning cycle is undertaken, until the score gives confidence that the vessel is clean enough to ensure the quality and consistency of the next brew.
For more information go to www.hygiena.com/beer.
01283 565912 www.ubplastics.co.uk UB Plastics Ltd, situated in Burton on Trent, are the primary UK manufacturers of a complete range of 2 piece plastic shives in 6 different sizes to suit all cask bush variants. We also manufacture thermoplastic keystones, hard pegs, keystone re-sealing bungs - which are a far cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to cork - and a complete range of keg caps. Shives, keystones and keg caps can be customised to our customers requirements. We manufacture in a large range of colours and can also offer printing on the shives. UB Plastics are now manufacturing an in mould labelled Plastic 1 Pint Cup offering up to 5 colour branding. The cups are reusable therefore environmentally friendly, fantastic quality and are an excellent advertising tool for festivals / events.
Please contact Steve Brown on 07885 866777 or stevebrown@ubplastics.co.uk for any quotations or information regarding Stainless Steel Kegs or Casks and we will be happy to discuss your exact requirements. brewingbusiness.co.uk WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
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SUPPLIER NEWS
Why is beer getting more expensive? The 2018 Good Pub Guide has revealed the cheapest and most expensive places in the UK to buy a pint, with a big increase in the average cost this year of almost 4% (or 13p per pint). Bollington Insurance looks at some of the costs involved in production and asks if there are ways to offer better value to brewers and cut costs… “The average cost of a pint in the UK is now £3.60. Surrey tops the list at an average £4.40 a pint – dislodging London from the top of the list for the first time – with the average pint in Yorkshire and Herefordshire coming in cheapest at £3.31. What is driving the cost of beer upwards? Can anything be done about it? A global rise in demand for craft beers has been driving up the price of hops. The likes of Spain and Italy have joined the UK and USA in witnessing rapid growth in craft brewing. This has inevitably driven up prices. Likewise, Brexit is having an impact on the cost of importing hops from such countries, due to the relative weakness of sterling. While this might make exports cheaper, this is scant consolation for the domestic market. Another factor has been the rise in national living wage driving up the cost of salaries, which is often reflected in the 3.7% increase in the average price of a pint. High government duties and taxes are also cited as one of the reasons for increasing costs. With VAT currently at 20%, the government now takes 72p from the average pint. Additionally, another 12% (or 43p) is taken in the form of beer duty, meaning roughly one-third of the price paid goes to government coffers.
Accounting for all of this – and the potential costs of wastage and line cleaning – anything up to 85% of the price of the average pint is swallowed up before any profit can be realised.
‘Hidden’ costs for brewers Obvious costs include property rent, gas, electric and water charges, buildings maintenance, security, glassware and bottling facilities. The cost of equipment alone for start-ups or those upgrading their facilities can take a considerable time to recoup. There are also transportation costs to the point of sale to consider, too. In addition to these essential costs – all of which can eat into profits – there is the need to develop new and interesting products on an ongoing basis, advertising and marketing, exhibiting at events, and IT costs including website and social media presence, to name but a few possible outgoings.
Does it matter? Perhaps where craft beer is concerned, the market is less sensitive to price. The quality of the product is key for microbreweries, with consumers more conditioned to paying a premium for some of the best beers available. This allows some slack for microbreweries in terms of pricing, particularly as there is a bespoke element to the product offering rather than the ‘session drinking’ beers available from the largest breweries. Nonetheless, there are various reasons why creeping costs in the industry will cause concern for those running a profitable business – not least because so-called austerity still means consumers are tightening their belts, so won’t necessarily be enamored with paying an ever-increasing amount for recreational purposes.
SUPPLIER viewpoint
Tips to reduce costs Some simple ways of reining in costs and maximising profit include: • Reduce wastage to a minimum by applying the latest technology and production methodologies wherever possible • Lower energy costs by negotiating with business energy suppliers to find the best deals • Select the right distribution channels and markets to reduce costs and attract a premium price for your product • Economies of scale. Produce more of your popular products, and don’t overstretch yourself by producing too many niche beers - this can make budgeting and accounting much more of a headache! • Plan event attendance well in advance to take advantage of early booking fees • If you have a range of vehicles which are used for business purposes, consider motor fleet insurance to reduce premiums and assist with administration • Work with like-minded brewers and individuals to share production, distribution and administration costs where appropriate Ultimately, it’s about offering value to the customer. If the cost of a pint can be justified, then your customers will most often be happy to pay the price for it!”
Bollington’s specialist insurance scheme for SIBA members can also help to keep your costs down by offering enhanced insurance cover at a very reasonable price. Call 01625 384733 or visit www. bollington.com/brewers to find out more.
No Space? No Problem! Two Offers for You! Packaging for Retail has launched two new offers to address issues raised by its customers. The first issue is storage space, or rather the lack of it. Every spare inch in most breweries seems to be taken up with equipment and stock. The second issue, understandably, was cost. Packaging does create value – but for smaller producers it creates a higher cost per unit, and on low volumes this can be difficult to manage.
In response, Packaging for Retail has come up with these offers: 1. A mixed case of 100 gift packs – both 330ml and 500ml, bottles carriers and can packaging, Christmas packs, both bottles and cans and – well whatever you want really! (Excludes print). 2. A special discount on the 24 Bottle (or 48 Can/mix of both) Transit Packs. These normally sell for £2.95. They are now at £2.35 between now and Christmas!
Contact David or Bernie for more information or for any other packaging enquiry. Quote SIBA, call 01729 860171 or 07496 506 483 or email: david@packagingforretail.co.uk.
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viewpoint
Uncovering the mysteries of un-malted cereal ingredients! Un-malted cereal ingredients have been used in brewing for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and there is, according to Carl Heron of Crisp Malt, a renewed interest in them... “This has perhaps been a reaction to the way international players have set their store by inclusions of maize or rice at the rate of over 20%,” he says. “However, brewers in the craft sector are increasingly adventurous. They’re experimenting extensively with the rich range of malts, but also visiting some of the excellent un-malted cereals on offer.” Torrefied and micronized wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize and rice all offer the opportunity to play tunes on the flavour notes of beer. They impact on colour, head retention, body, smoothness and mouthfeel, and can therefore offer significant help in orchestrating the overall characters of beers. Clearly brewers can’t use raw grains. In the past, those that weren’t malted might be passed through a stream of hot sand by grain merchants or had to be put through
a cereal mash by brewers (using up precious space in the mash tun). The processes of torrefication and micronization have provided much more satisfactory answers. They involve rapid cooking of cereals at high temperatures to gelatinise the starchy endosperm. Torrefication, rather like the sand-based methods of the past, involves passing the grains through a fluidised bed of very hot air at 750 - 780F. The cell walls of the grains are disrupted. The grains expand, their density changes, they’re aspirated to remove dust and chaff, then sized and cooled in the ambient air. Micronization involves using infrared waves to rapidly heat grains until they ‘pop’. The molecules within the grains vibrate and the molecular friction causes the fast increase in temperature and rise in water vapour pressure. Once the cellular structure has been disrupted, the starch gelatinises. Torrefied whole or crushed wheat Torrefied wheat improves head retention, especially in wheat beers. It’s great for use as a nitrogen diluent as it adds very little
soluble nitrogen to wort. It also adds subtle depth of flavour and body. Torrefied flaked barley Torrefied flaked barley has similar benefits to torrefied wheat, but with a stronger and slightly harsher flavour. Micronized flaked maize Micronized flaked maize adds up to 20% of grist to the tun with normal malt, and even more with high diastatic power malt. On top of this, it improves body and mouthfeel, and is gluten and nitrogen free, allowing it to be used as a diluent in coeliac-friendly beers. Micronized flaked rice Micronized flaked rice also adds grist to the tun, and adds a greater perception of refreshment. It also accentuates hop aromas, without adding taste. Micronized flaked oats Micronized flaked oats improves mouthfeel and increased body, but also imparts a smoothness and a pleasant oaty flavour on the beer.
To find out more about un-malted cereals, contact sales@crispmalt.com.
How can craft brewers grow while maintaining quality? economies of scale. But if you’re going to grow fast, how can you do it while maintaining quality and consistency? Small brewers often manage with simple lab record management systems using Excel and paper log sheets for sensory data. But as your operations grow, this starts to become untenable. Your customers (whether retail or supply chain) start demanding higher levels of quality and consistency. Combined with the greater scale, you now have a whole new set of challenges: • As your customers demand greater quality and consistency you need to collect more datapoints – not just endof-line, but in-process checks such as pH, bitterness, gravity, CO2 and O2. How can you manage this increase in data and make sense of it all? • When you’re small, it’s probably the same person doing the same check each time. As you grow, you'll add more people. How do you maintain consistency of checks? • Craft beer doesn’t have the shelf-life of other beers and so you can’t use inventory as a way of evening out production problems. As a result, the cost of producing a bad batch isn’t just in the lost sales value for that batch – it’s also in the delays from replacing it,
SUPPLIER viewpoint
David Gurr from InfinityQS looks at the issue of how to ensure your quality remains high while your business is going through growth… “We all know that craft brewing is growing at an astonishing rate. For successful UK craft breweries such as BrewDog, Cloudwater and Hop Stuff, posting turnover growth of 50-100% is regarded as business as usual. SIBA’s annual survey reports 64% of respondents expecting to grow turnover in 2017. Here in the UK, there’s also an incentive to grow fast. Progressive Beer Duty means a brewer pays less in duty if they’re producing less beer. Break the 5,000hl/ yr barrier and you have to grow fast, since beer duty increases at a faster rate than
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potentially restricting availability and losing out to a competitor. So how can you minimise the risk? • Traditional Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) or ERP systems don’t address the entirety of these issues. So you need a new system. But how can you implement a system covering all of this without huge IT costs? • Many craft brewers are focusing on retail packaging rather than casks or kegs, as there’s better profits. As your production volume increases, the cost of overfill for retail packaging starts to become significant. You can’t underfill without running the risk of breaching net content control or weights and measures legislation – so how can you minimise overfill and maximise profits? • The beer drinker’s experience of your product isn’t just down to your brewery processes. For craft beer more so than others, it’s also affected by handling processes in the downstream supply chain. But how can you effectively record and analyse quality checks at the point of sale?”
InfinityQS has been a leader in providing quality management solutions for the past 28 years. For more information contact DavidGurr at dgurr@infinityqs.com.
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GOLD AND SILVER MEMBERS
Gold Members BREWERS SELECT
CHARLES FARAM & CO LTD
CLOSE BREWERY RENTALS
MURPHY & SONS LTD
NAPTHENS
PREMIER SYSTEMS LTD
John Gray jgray@brewersselect.co.uk
Frances Maud Frances.Maud@ murphyandson.co.uk
Paul Corbett paulcorbett@ charlesfaram.co.uk
Malcolm Ireland Malcolm.Ireland@ napthens.co.uk
Emily Plowman eplowman@ closebreweryrentals.co.uk
Jackie Smith Jackie@ premiersystems.ltd.uk
CROXSONS
Tim Croxson Tim.croxson@ croxsons.com
THOMAS FAWCETT & SONS LTD James Fawcett JFawcett@ fawcett-maltsters.co.uk
Quality, Consistency & Support
Silver Members ZOEDALE PLC
SAXON PACKAGING LTD
FESTIVAL GLASS LTD
WILLIS PUBLICITY
RANKIN BROTHERS & SONS
PAKTECH OPI
SPASOFT LTD
BREWFITT LTD
ANTON PAAR LTD
RUSSELL SCANLAN
BEATSON CLARK
Charlotte Taylor charlotte.taylor@beatsonclark.co.uk
RASTAL GMBH & CO KG
Mike Dickinson mike.dickinson@russellscanlan.com
CRISP MALTING GROUP
SCHAFER CONTAINER SYSTEMS
CASK BREWING SYSTEMS INC.
Tim Guest tim@zoedale.co.uk Carl Andrews carl@willispublicity.co.uk Nigel Hoppit nigel@spasoft.ltd.uk
Nigel Gibbons nigel.gibbons@crispmalt.com
PENTAIR FOOD & BEVERAGE SOLUTIONS
Mike Impson mikeimpson@saxonpackaging.co.uk Jim Rankin jim@rankincork.co.uk
James Paxman jamespaxman@brewfitt.com
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MOESCHLE (UK) LTD
Debbie Larkin debbie.larkin@pentair.com
Andrew Wall joanne@moeschle.co.uk
MUNTONS PLC
KEGSTAR
Joanna Perry joanna.perry@muntons.com
Christian Barden Christian@kegstar.com
BFBI
NFU MUTUAL
Ruth Evans ruthevans@bfbi.org.uk
Paul Shattock paul_shattock@nfumutual.co.uk
NORRIQ LTD
VALE LABELS LTD
David Ashmore david.ashmore@norriq.com
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John Riches john@valelabels.co.uk
Kelsey Cheesbrough sales@festivalglass.co.uk Jamie Christopher jamie.christopher@paktech-opi.com Angela Meringolo angela.meringolo@anton-paar.com Nick Crossley ncrssly@aol.com Peter Love peter@cask.com
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Independent Family Maltsters since 1809 Manufacturers of the finest Pale Ale, Crystal and Roasted Malts All Malts delivered ON TIME to your specification, crushed or whole. Main products include: Maris Otter, Pearl, Propino and Golden Promise Ale Malts together with the complete range of Speciality Crystal and Roasted Malts including Wheat, Oat and Rye products. Thomas Fawcett & Sons Limited Eastfield Lane, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF10 4LE Tel: 01977 552490/552460 Fax: 01977 519076 E-mail: sales@fawcett-maltsters.co.uk
Bring your material handling process into the 21st Century, automate your system with a Collinson silo and conveyor and eliminate heavy bag handling. • Silos: - Storage from 1-30t - Fully Galvanised - Choice of 6 Plasteel™ colours - Any discharge height • Conveyors: - To suit various lengths or speed - Pick up from existing store • Material weighing facilities • Solutions for all business sizes
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MEET THE SIBA TEAM
MEET thE SIbA tEam
NAME: Nick Stafford JOB TITLE: Operations Director CONTACT DETAILS: 07803 933 142
NAME: Tony Jerome JOB TITLE: Membership & Marketing Director CONTACT DETAILS: tony.jerome@siba.co.uk Describe your role at SIBA. As SIBA's Membership & Marketing Director I am responsible for SIBA's membership recruitment and retention, the majority of communications (excluding SIBA's Public Affairs work) and the marketing of the trade association. I am also responsible for delivering the 'Promotion of our members' beers' pillar and developing new advertising and sponsorship opportunities for our Supplier Associate members. How long have your worked at SIBA and what did you do before? I have worked at SIBA for two and a half years now. I previously worked for CAMRA for 14 years as their Head of Marketing. How do you support SIBA Members? I support the SIBA members as a member of the SIBA Board, Executive Board and Senior Management Team. I, along with my colleagues, are responsible for delivering the trade association's Strategic Plan. What issues will you be tackling in your role this year? The key issues are to complete the Membership Review now the Membership Criteria Ballot has been conducted. I will be spending a lot of time on raising the profile of the 'Assured Independent British Craft Brewer' campaign both internally and externally, marketing BeerX and its move to its new home in Liverpool and investigating additional streams of advertising and sponsorship income. We also hope to launch a new fresh, user-friendly Toolbox by the end of the year. What’s new in your area of SIBA this year? I will be looking to develop the advertising and sponsorship opportunities for our Supplier Associate members to market their products and services. This will enhance the benefits of Supplier Associate membership and raise additional funds for the trade association activities. Tell us something SIBA Members might not know about what SIBA does. In association with our partner Napthens, SIBA offers members a Free Legal Helpline. In my opinion this gets under used and is a great benefit of joining the trade association. I also think our Beer Mat offer with Katz is a great membership benefit. 10,000 beer mats can help the smallest brewer market his beers to 80 pubs (80 x packs of 125 mats) and by buying these through SIBA/Katz a member will save £239. If you could drink any beer anywhere in the world what would it be and where? I love to visit Portugal but always struggle to find good beer out there. It would be great to enjoy a cool pint of Five Inch Drop brewed by New River, a new-ish local brewery of mine, whilst sitting in a beach bar overlooking the Atlantic. Alternatively a pint of Tiny Rebel's Cwtch watching Arsenal at the Emirates stadium - it would help calm my nerves!
NAME: James Calder JOB TITLE: Head of Public Affairs CONTACT DETAILS: james.calder@siba.co.uk 07934 850259 Describe your role at SIBA. My role is to raise and develop SIBA’s voice across all levels of Government. That includes with Ministers, devolved institutions and civil servants. It also means helping local breweries form relationships with their backbench MP. How long have your worked at SIBA and what did you do before? I’m a recent addition to the team, and will only have been in post a few weeks by the time this comes out. Before, I was the man on the ground for the accountancy profession in Westminster, specialising in tax lobbying, particularly around the Government’s ‘Making Tax Digital for Business’ initiative. I’ve also spent time in public affairs and PR agencies working on financial services, transport and consumer campaigns. How do you support SIBA Members? I’ll be making sure policymakers know that brewers make vital contributions to local and national economies. I’ll be helping the team campaign and speak with a united voice to ensure brewing is respected, protected and supported by Government. What issues will you be tackling in your role this year? Crikey – it feels like a lot! The four pillars are the backbone of SIBA’s campaigning and that is what I will be primarily working to. I’m particularly keen to be getting my teeth into that most complex and sensitive issue; taxation of beer. Coming from the accountancy sector that’s what I know best, but I’m happy to be leaving the grey suits behind! Personal politics aside, I think Brexit also provides
Describe your role at SIBA. I head the membership administration and commercial services of the trade association. If it needs doing, I am the one who is meant to make it happen. How long have your worked at SIBA and what did you do before? I have worked for SIBA for nearly 27 years, three months after I started my own brewery. I was originally trained as a teacher but I hated being employed, so I ended up running my own business. For 17 years I reconciled this with working for SIBA because I was not paid (as were a few other SIBA Officers), but then I was coerced into being paid so that the Chairman could sack me if he wished. How do you support SIBA Members? My driving motive has always been that what is good for my brewery is more than likely to be for the good of all brewers. I have always preoccupied myself with commercial and not political matters, as I do not see why legislation should be the route to commercial success. What issues will you be tackling in your role this year? I am particularly frustrated with the inability of small, resource-poor brewing companies to achieve meaningful export success. The competitive domestic market is making this more and more attractive a solution for our current commercial challenges. What’s new in your area of SIBA this year? BeerX is moving to a new venue, but we have done this before. This time our ambition has never been as professionally demanding and members rightly want something new and better every year. Tell us something SIBA Members might not know about what SIBA does. Over three decades I have witnessed SIBA listen, learn and adapt according to the changing economic climate. Frankly, having started my brewery with several others during the recession of 1991 - 1994, leaving the EU will be child’s play. SIBA is all about providing direction, hope and aspiration to do well in cooperation with your nearest and dearest competitors! If you could drink any beer anywhere in the world what would it be and where? Wadworth’s 6X on top of Norway’s highest mountain, because it reminds me of being aged 17, having no worries other than working out how to get back to civilisation without running out of beer.
massive opportunities for beer. To find and export to new markets means I’ll be working with members and the Department for International Trade. I’ve never known such a unstable and unpredictable time in British politics so ensuring we are not just heard, but listened to by the right people has never been more important. What’s new in your area of SIBA this year? I suppose I am! My appointment was a direct result of SIBA members’ feedback. One of the things members value is being represented in Westminster. Tell us something SIBA Members might not know about what SIBA does. With 870 members across the UK SIBA are an important trade association and partner with the Parliamentary Beer Group and other Parliamentary groups to ensure independent breweries are being supported by legislation and action in Westminster. If you could drink any beer anywhere in the world what would it be and where? That’s tough. Can I have two? My local, the Pelton Arms in Greenwich, is a proper old South East London boozer and I try and support it as much as I can so I’ll normally have the mild or the porter they have on that week. There’s also a really nice little brewery in Southern Spain called Destraperlo. They do a cracking Andalusi Pale Ale that is fantastic. A plastic cup of that in Cadiz fish market (with something deep fried to accompany it) is a real treat.
WWW.SIBA.CO.UK
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contacts SIBA Head Office: 01765 640441 Cellar Services: 01765 641099
DIRECTORS
OFFICE TEAM
Mike Benner Chief Executive mike.benner@siba.co.uk Nick Stafford Operations Director nick.stafford@siba.co.uk Tony Jerome Membership & Marketing Director tony.jerome@siba.co.uk John Hart Finance Director john.hart@siba.co.uk Sara Knox Directors Assistant sara.knox@siba.co.uk
Rachel Harriott Head of Operations rachel.harriott@siba.co.uk James Calder Head of Public Affairs & Communications james.calder@siba.co.uk Neil Walker PR & Marketing Manager neil.walker@siba.co.uk Rebecca Kirby Financial Controller rebecca.kirby@siba.co.uk
Louise Gosney Commercial Administrator louise.gosney@siba.co.uk Jenna Barningham Regional Executive – North East, North West & Scotland jenna.barningham@siba.co.uk Siobhan McGonigle Regional Executive – East, Midlands, Wales & West siobhan.mcgonigle@siba.co.uk Cheryl Ford Regional Executive – South West & South East cheryl.ford@siba.co.uk
BOARD OF ELECTED DIRECTORS Existing members wishing to contact your regional representatives can use the relevant regional e-mail addresses listed below. For individuals, just type firstname.lastname@siba.co.uk Chairman of SIBA Buster Grant
EAST east@siba.co.uk Sam Abbott Stuart Bateman Marcus Beecher
Lincolnshire Brewing Co George Bateman & Son Ltd Elgood & Sons Ltd
MIDLANDS midlands@siba.co.uk Greg Maskalick Draycott Brewing Company John Allcroft Grafton Brewing Co Lincoln Green Brewing Co Ltd Anthony Hughes
SOUTH EAST southeast@siba.co.uk Tom Bott Signature Brew Ed Mason The Five Points Brewing Company Red Cat Brewing Iain McIntosh
NORTH EAST northeast@siba.co.uk Roosters Brewery Ian Fozard Maxim Brewery Mark Anderson Hop Studio Ltd Dave Shaw
SOUTH WEST southwest@siba.co.uk Moor Beer Company Ltd Justin Hawke Exe Valley Brewery Guy Sheppard
NORTH WEST northwest@siba.co.uk Shane Swindells Cheshire Brewhouse Bank Top Brewery Dave Sweeney Prospect Brewery Patsy Slevin
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SCOTLAND scotland@siba.co.uk Andrew Richardson Black Wolf Brewery Isle of Arran Brewery Gerald Michaluk Harviestoun Brewery Stuart Cail
SIBA JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017
WALES & WEST west@siba.co.uk Buster Grant Brecon Brewing Norman Pearce Corvedale Brewery Teme Valley Brewery Chris Gooch Salopian Brewing Co Ltd Wilf Nelson
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