Hugh Rowberry, manager of The Sporting Page, now sourcing local beers through SIBA DDS.

London gastropub operator Food & Fuel is now using SIBA’s Direct Delivery Service (DDS) for local beer provision in five of its pubs.

The pubs initially signed up to DDS earlier this year to support a beer festival held across the pub estate, but all are now using the service on a regular basis. Hugh Rowberry, manager of The Sporting Page in Chelsea, said, “Provenance is king these days when it comes to food and drink and our customers expect to see local beer on the bar. Sourcing from DDS enables me to offer a quality, diverse range that keeps my customers not just happy, but entertained, as they look out for new ales coming on tap.” Most importantly, Rowberry adds, using DDS means “minimal admin” for him and his busy team.

The Sporting Page has five handpulls, one dispensing a permanent ale and the others a rotating range of SIBA beers. Rowberry says, “I’m ordering around eight nine-gallon casks of local ale every week. It’s pretty easy; I do my research into beers either on line or by visiting beer festivals, then order the ones I think will sell. So far, it’s been straightforward and the longest I’ve had to wait is five days, for a particular beer I was after.” The choice of beers available is “fantastic”, he adds, “there are about 140 on offer to us, so whatever style of beer you’re looking for, you’ll find it on the list.”

SIBA DDS effectively acts as an agent between brewery and multiple operator. Prices are negotiated centrally, but individual licensees can choose their own beers, which are delivered direct by the brewer to the pub. SIBA DDS then provides one consolidated invoice to the operator.

Nick Stafford, SIBA commercial director, said, “It’s always good to welcome a new pub group to DDS. It means that our members’ beers are getting out to more pubs and to more customers, which has always been the aim of DDS. In addition, as Food & Fuel pubs occupy prime London locations, this listing hopefully gives the beers some valuable exposure that will help to build their profile and that of local ales as a category.”

SIBA DDS was launched in 2002 as part of SIBA’s ongoing efforts to help its members bring their beers to market. It now provides local beers to some 2,100 pubs and achieved sales of £10.75 million in the year to September 2010.

The five Food & Fuel sites using DDS are: The Sporting Page, Chelsea; Lots Road Pub & Dining Room, Chelsea; The Queens, Crouch End; The Roebuck, Chiswick and The Queens Arms, Pimlico. The company operates a total of 10 pubs and cafe bars in London.

The new code of practice for pubcos will be available in full by the time of the Business and Innovation Select Committee hearing on 8 December, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has promised.

In response to a challenge from the Fair Pint campaign to publish its new Framework Code on the Granting of Tenancies and Leases within 24 hours, the BBPA insisted it was right to take its time to ensure the detail is correct.

It also believes that the BISC (formerly BEC) is the right place to reveal the full details of its new code because it is a “direct response to the shortcomings in our sector highlighted by the Committee”.

The code will be mandatory for all BBPA members from 1 January 2010.

For the full article go to:  Morning Advertiser

(l-r) Nigel Wright, chief operating officer of TCG with Nick Stafford, SIBA DDS managing director

Managed pub operator TCG is to start sourcing local beers through SIBA’s Direct Delivery Scheme (DDS).  From mid-November, 41 pubs –  60% of the TCG Pubs estate – will sell local beers supplied by DDS.

TCG is moving to DDS as a way of expanding the local beer offer in its pubs while keeping to a minimum the administration involved in buying from a growing number of smaller brewers.  Nigel Wright, TCG’s chief operating officer, says, “We have been increasing both the number of pubs stocking cask ales and the range available over recent years but by sourcing through DDS, we can help more of our pubs to offer the local beers that their customers now expect to see on the bar.”   Pubs supplied through DDS are offered beers from an average of 10 local brewers, typically producing four or five beers each.

Nick Stafford,  SIBA DDS managing director, adds, “We are delighted to welcome TCG as a new DDS customer. With the addition of these pubs, SIBA DDS will be supplying over 1,900 pubs across the UK with a diverse range of locally-produced beers.  Sales of local cask ales are in growth and pubs that keep them well and promote them effectively are less likely to become casualties of the current trading downturn.”

Freedom Brewery has become the first lager brewer to get involved in the Direct Delivery Scheme (DDS), which gives local brewers access to pubco estates.

Lagers from the Staffordshire producer are to be available in Admiral Taverns pubs via DDS, which is run by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA). Previously only ales have been available through DDS.

Freedom co-owner Ed Mayman said Admiral pubs near the brewer have already requested its lagers.

Mayman said Freedom aims to get its lagers in other pubco estates via DDS and is in the process of recruiting a national sales manager to help make that possible.

“We seem to be gathering some momentum,” Mayman said.

Freedom Brewery’s capacity is 400,000 liters and Mayman said “we are selling everything we can brew at the moment”.

“We’re seeing a massive increase in inquiries about British and English lagers.”

DDS managing director Nick Stafford said: “We are very happy to get involved in lagers through the Direct Delivery Scheme.”

But he said pubcos have “not been that interested” in lagers in the past.

Taken from:  Morning Advertiser

By John Harrington

Punch Taverns is running a trial allowing a greater number of its pubs to buy locally produced beer direct from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

The body’s Direct Delivery Scheme (DDS) organises distribution on behalf of its micro-brewing members.

Around 170 pubs in Punch’s recently-renamed Partnerships tenanted division are involved in the trial, which is being run in the Midlands and North East. Individual licensees can choose to buy beer from SIBA, although the conditions of their beer tie will otherwise apply.

The trial began on Monday and is set to run for three months. At its conclusion, Punch will assess the results in conjunction with SIBA and decide whether to make the service permanently available.

Around 50 Punch sites had previously been allowed to buy beer through the DDS. These were some of the former tenants of Avebury Taverns, the group acquired in 2005 by Punch, which was understood to be disapproving of the inherited business practice at the time of the deal.

However the move could be seen as a change in direction by Punch since Roger Whiteside took over the tenanted and leased division a year ago.

SIBA commercial director Nick Stafford said: “SIBA brewers are delighted to be able to help Punch Taverns take advantage of the only growing sector in the brewing industry. Local brewers are very keen to continue their growth, in partnership with Punch, by providing consumers with what they want – quality cask beer.”

Punch’s trial is more good news for brewers of cask beer during a week in which The Cask Report: Britain’s National Drink pointed to distribution growing and pubs profiting through the product.

Taken from:  The Publican

By Matt Eley

SIBA DDS first promoted Cyclops at Conference in March 2008. Since then we have had over 80 brewers Cyclops Accredited which gives a total of over 400 ales. All accredited brewers are very happy with the results of their accreditation and very happy with their completed artwork, which has come in handy for their bottle labels and not to forget the most important  aspect the consumer.  

As a reminder…

“SIBA DDS are offering to pay £150.00 of the £250.00 (for the accreditation of 5 ales), leaving just £100.00 to pay (£20 per ale after the first 5). open only to SIBA DDS members.

But like everything this offer will not last forever.”

DDS, also have available to purchase, 5 Litre Mini Kegs at £2.38 each should you not have the correct containers to send your ale in. No money is to be sent as all costs will be debited from your account with us.

Enterprise Inns are the biggest customer of SIBA DDS, and they have recently announced that by February 2010 all ales that Brewers wish to be listed with them must be Cyclops accredited. Should an ale be listed that is not accredited they may wish to remove this ale at their own discretion.

There are still a high number of SIBA brewers yet to have ales accredited via the DDS Scheme considering that this is a fantastic opportunity being presented.

To prevent missing out on this offer, and having your ale de-listed, contact atm3@sibaatm.co.uk  for a booking form.

For more information on Cyclops and to view the Brewers who have successfully been accredited please visit http://www.cyclopsbeer.co.uk/ . On here, you can find the benefits of having your ales accredited and also find out how to be accredited and the process of the accreditation.

Increasing numbers of small brewers can provide pubs they are supplying with reliable cellar services thanks to a new service launched by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

The service – a tie-up between SIBA and technical services company Innserve – means that licensees ordering beer through SIBA can get experts out to fix problems free of charge. According to SIBA, 60 installation or maintenance jobs have to date been carried out under the ‘Technical Services’ scheme, which was launched in March, and 40 per cent of SIBA’s members responded to a survey that they would start using the service.

The ability of smaller brewers to provide technical services following delivery of their beer had been notoriously unreliable, but SIBA has claimed that this problem has now been resolved.

SIBA’s Nick Stafford said: “This is an encouraging response to technical services, just three months after its launch. As most of our brewers supply on average several hundred pubs, the widespread adoption of this service should result in improved dispense of local beers in thousands of pubs.”

Written by Nick Yates

http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=64127&c=1