The Ripon-based Direct Delivery Scheme, operated by SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers, has been recognised for the best national retail initiative in BBC Radio 4′s Food and Farming Awards 2007.

The accolade was awarded to the scheme, known as DDS, which allows over 400 local brewers around the country to sell their distinctive beers to pubs, supermarkets and off-licences belonging to national and regional chains.

DDS is centrally administered from the village of Melmerby, just outside Ripon, where all orders are taken and invoices dispatched, but the breweries deliver their beers directly, cutting down on food miles.

The scheme also ensures that the beer is fresh when it reaches its destination, instead of having been stored in a wholesaler’s warehouse or pub chain depot for weeks.

The scheme, launched four years ago, has helped small brewers, who previously found difficulty in selling their ales individually to pubs owned by chains.

Taken from: Yorkshire evening post