Butcombe, the West Country’s fastest growing Brewery, has more than doubled its volume of bottled beer sales over the past twelve months.   Recognising the importance and potential for growth in this key sector of the business, the Brewery has launched a dedicated bottled beer website.  The new site provides much more than product and availability details.   Browsers can view independent reports, guides and trends on the bottled ale business as a whole.  Butcombe is also launching a new initiative via the website, to encourage independent retailers to sell more bottled ales with its ‘Recommended Retailer Award’. 

The scheme will support and reward the best retailers and aims to encourage best practise.  The new initiative is supported by Booker Wholesale – Butcombe’s exclusive wholesale partner.  Interested retailers can obtain an entry form by visiting the website:  http://www.butcombebottles.com

Those that receive accreditation will receive a number of benefits; promotion on the Butcombe bottled ale website, exclusive promotional deals via Booker Wholesale, a potential year end Butcombe brewery visit for staff, a prize presentation as well as a ‘Butcombe Recommended Retailer’ plaque to be displayed in the outlet.

 The criteria includes the retailer offering a dedicated range of bottled ales with a minimum of ten different choices, a minimum of five local or regional products and to permanently stock at least two Butcombe ales.

Guy Newell, managing director of Butcombe Brewery explains: “The off-trade sector has grown phenomenally for us over the past year and launching a dedicated site pays tribute to that growth.  Whilst we hope to sell more of our own ales through this new initiative, it also supports the bottled ale category as a whole, as we are encouraging retailers to stock a wider range”.  

For further information on all Butcombe Brewery’s beers, visit http://www.butcombe.com or follow Butcombe Brewery on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Butcombe-Brewery

An independent Bristol brewery has won one of the UK’s top food and drink awards, recognising not just its beers but its role in regenerating South Bristol.

The Bristol Beer Factory in Southville has won the ‘Best Drinks Producer’ in the BBC Food and Farming Awards, the ‘Oscars’ of the industry.

The award was presented at a ceremony last night and the brewery will be included in a special awards programme to be aired on BBC Radio Four at 12 noon on Friday (25^th November).

The shortlisted entrants were decided on votes from the public and the winners by an expert panel of judges chaired by chef and restauranteur Richard Corrigan.

The judges liked the fact that the Bristol Beer Factory is at the heart of the community in Southville and Ashton and central to the regeneration of the area. They also loved the Brewery’s ‘Twelve Stouts of Christmas’ idea of a dozen beers specially-created to celebrate the festive season, including one made with fresh raspberries, which are being launched this Saturday (26^th November).

George Ferguson, founder of the Bristol Beer Factory says: “We see this as an accolade for Bristol and the craft beer industry as a whole and feel very lucky to be representing independent brewers up and down the country who put so much care and attention into producing high quality craft beers.”

“We strongly believe that independent local businesses, whatever they are, are capable of producing higher quality products and services than national mass-producers and they make a vital contribution to the local economy supporting local suppliers and investing proceeds into the area.”

Chair of judges Richard Corrigan said about the winners: “They are working hard to save some of our greatest craft skills and artisinal traditions and reflect where Britiain is today and give us optimism for our future.”

Bristol Beer Factory was founded six years ago after a chance conversation in the Tobacco Factory, when George Ferguson decided to buy the building which now houses the brewery, which was then under threat. Originally known as the Ashton Gate Brewery, which boasted 120 pubs in the area, it was closed after Georges Brewery took it over in 1933 and the building stood empty since then. Initially unsure about what to do with it, George came up with the idea of returning it to brewing over a drink in the bar of the Tobacco Factory over the road.

The BBF started out as a traditional brewer but in the past couple of years has moved to the forefront of the craft brewing industry.

George continues: “As an architect interested in place-making, I believe that beer-making, along with great good, can play an important role in regenerating an area. Pubs have always been the heart of any community and we feel there should be local beers to go in them. But it’s not just about the ales we create, it’s also about being part of the local community and local economy. Like other independent brewers, we’re not aiming to be the biggest, but strive to be the best we can.”

The Bristol Beer Factory is having an Open Day at the brewery this Saturday to launch their ‘Twelve Stouts of Christmas’, with beers to sample, specially made ‘beery’ food, brewery tours and goodies to buy for Christmas.

Chris Minter, Local Marketing Manager - South, Tesco, Adam Henson and Butcombe’s Retail Director, Martin Holland outside Tesco Cheltenham

Butcombe, the West Country’s fastest growing Brewery, has more than doubled its volume of bottled beer sales over the past twelve months.   The Brewery’s latest initiative has seen them join forces with famous television presenter and partner of The Cotswold Farm Park, Adam Henson.  Together, they have used the finest local ingredients: Maris Otter malting barley, aromatic Herefordshire hops and Mendip spring water, to create this distinctive refreshing and clean tasting golden ale – Adam Henson’s Rare Breed.

Adam Henson’s Rare Breed will be launching in bottle within the fifty largest Tesco stores in the South West as well as within all Booker’s 150 England and Wales Depots from mid-November 2011.  It will be available on draught from the 1^st January 2012  through Butcombe’s own retail estate and the local Free Trade. Heineken will be promoting Adam Henson’s Rare Breed nationally throughout the month of February.

Chris Minter, Local Marketing Manager – South, Tesco says; “We are delighted to be able to offer another Butcombe product in the form of Adam Henson’s Rare Breed ale, it’s great to be working with such an enthusiastic team and with Adam’s pedigree we have very high hopes for the success of this launch.”

Guy Newell, Managing Director, Butcombe Brewery says; “Having Adam’s name on the beer will appeal to the millions of people who watch him regularly on the television and his endorsement is likely to introduce many new consumers not only to Rare Breed but also the rest of the Butcombe range.”

For further information on all Butcombe Brewery’s beers, visit http://www.butcombe.com

Throughout November East Devon based Otter Brewery will be donating a percentage from every pint of its winter beer that is sold.

Poppy Otter is one of several slightly darker seasonal specials made each year by the family owned brewery and is available to the trade as a cask ale up until early December.

For every pint of Poppy Otter that is sold in pubs across the South West, 10p from every pint (or £6.80 from every firkin) will be donated straight to the Poppy Appeal.

Patrick McCaig comments: “Our drinkers really are a great bunch and we were hoping for a great response from them in the run up to Christmas. As a brewery, we couldn’t think of a better way to help those who support our Armed Forces at a time when they could do with a little extra help. The Legion’s own target is to raise £40 million this year so we’ll be doing all that we can to help.”

Bath Ales has announced an ambitious investment plan to see volumes double in the next two years and then be four times its current size in five years time.

The first steps to enable this growth have started with a new bigger facility opened in the last few weeks to house the transport and logistics team.

Other functions will be transferred in the next few weeks and months enabling capacity to be expanded, creating further employment, whilst maintaining service and quality to customers and consumers.

Roger Jones, managing director of Bath Ales said: “This is tremendously exciting for us and presents an opportunity to really kick on and have our beers enjoyed by more people and further afield.

“But what is really important is that we get this right and that we absolutely preserve, even enhance, our reputation for producing great beers of consistent quality.

“Hence in terms of the brewing kit, we will use our existing facility until a new brewhouse is established to our exacting specification – and that might take up to 18 months.”

The new site is less than a mile from the existing premises in Warmley on the outskirts of Bristol. At around 38,000 sq ft it is more than four times the size of the present base at Caxton Business Park.

Roger Jones added: “We are delighted with where we are now and we have the brewery working a treat, however, our success means that we need a bigger site to give us the scale to develop.

“Doing it this way means no disruption to our customers and everyone who loves a pint of Gem. It also enables us to configure a new operation that delivers greater efficiency and means we can integrate more environmental features like renewable energy.

“And – for us as brewers – we will have the flexibility and scope to create different and interesting beers that tempt new drinkers as well as excite those that already enjoy cask ale.

“The investment in new brewing equipment alone will exceed a million, so we are serious about the bright future we see for Bath Ales.”

As the business ramps up operations it is already looking to add another six full-time members of staff to bring the brewery-based personnel to just shy of 60. Across an estate of seven pubs another 110 people are employed.

The market for quality cask and bottled beer has been the one growth area in an otherwise hard-pressed brewing sector in recent years.

Bath Ales is one of a number of quality producers that are driving this resurgent interest in quality beer in both the pub trade and take home sector.

This combined with previous fore-sighted investment in their own bottling facility – which also serves other producers – places Bath Ales in a prime position to exploit the opportunities for growth.

Roger Jones again: “Product quality is vital to us. Delivering on that has enabled the growth we have enjoyed. We must retain that focus as we look to build availability in new areas as well as keeping our product offering fresh and interesting.

“We have the options to be able to commit the right level of investment to sustain what we have achieved to date and to support the potential we clearly have.

“Moving into the new location is a great start, but just the start of what Bath Ales can achieve.”

LYME Regis based micro-brewery, The Mighty Hop, has harvested its first crop of locally grown hops.

The family-run brewery usually gets its hops from Worcester or Kent, the traditional growing areas of England, and some hops come from even further afield. However, this autumn, proprietor Mark Jenkin has been harvesting his own Dorset hops.

The hops were grown in a vineyard in Wootton Fitzpaine, with the space being offered by a friend of Mr Jenkin. They usually take about a year to become established so a crop in the first season was unexpected.

Mr Jenkin said: “Conditions must have been perfect for them, as a couple of weeks ago I was told I had hops and that I’d better come and harvest them quick!”

Hops are usually gathered, dried, pressed and then vacuum-packed. They can then be stored and transported at will. However, these hops were harvested in the morning, and were in a brew by the afternoon. They have been made into The Mighty Hop’s Golden Autumn beer which will soon be available in pubs, restaurants and off-licences in Lyme Regis and across the country, alongside The Mighty Hop’s six other brews.

“We have always tried to source our goods from within England where we can, but to be able to have our hops grown just seven miles away is fantastic,” Mr Jenkin added.

Mr Jenkin is now planning to increase the area of the hopyard to give a wider range of hops and a longer season of locally-hopped beer.

Article taken from View Online

Few would dispute that they “broke the mould” when Skinners Brewery decided to spawn an icon from their best-selling Betty Stogs beer five years ago.

The real-life Betty – Fred Thomas of Sticker in drag – has raised over £23,000 for charity since the character was created to spearhead the Truro-based brewery’s tenth anniversary.  Her cartoon version also appears on many a Skinners bottle, beer mat, poster and website among other manifestations.

But now the hunt is on for someone to work with that mould, literally, to make Betty an even more familiar figure – or rather figurine – in pubs across Cornwall.

A 12-inch sculpture of Betty, complete with her crown as “Queen of Cornish Ales” and clutching a pasty and pint mug – has been created by artist and sculptor Joani Miller at The Old Bakery Studios on Blewetts Wharf in Truro.

A mould has been taken from this by St Ives mould-maker Phil Reed – and the hunt is on for a Cornish potter able and willing to make an initial run of up to 50 replica figurines to adorn bars in the county.

“Skinners would love to keep all the work in Cornwall if possible,” explains Joani,  “so if there is any potter out there who is up for the task of reproducing so many Betties, then I am ready and waiting to help get them started!”

Joani, who can be contacted on 07875 009884, spent almost a month making the original sculpture with a type of modelling clay that is especially suitable for the delicate task of mould-making.

“She’s done a great job and we’re all the more impressed for the fact that Joani has only recently taken up sculpting,” said brewery chief executive Steve Skinner.

“She worked closely with Nick Berringer, of Baldhu, our original artist for Betty, and has certainly captured the cartoon character’s trade-mark befuddled smile!”

Betty Stogs has been Skinners’ best-selling beer throughout the brewery’s history and in 2008 was judged Champion Best Bitter of Great Britain at the Great British Beer Festival.   

The original west Cornwall folklore character of the same name was unkempt and lazy, could never mend her stockings, couldn’t knit or cook – and definitely liked her ale!  Her child was taken from her by the “small people,” washed in the morning dew and returned.  The shock of it is said to have turned Betty into a reformed character.

Princetown based Dartmoor Brewery has launched a campaign to safeguard the future of beers brewed on Dartmoor to stamp out confusion for real ale drinkers.

Dartmoor Brewery is to apply for special status from the EU Commission for Dartmoor beers and is initiating an application for PGI (protected geographical indication) status. The Brewery believes this action will help shield the Dartmoor name from misuse or imitation and ensure that a beer can only be called a Dartmoor beer if it is brewed on Dartmoor.

Mike Lunney, head brewer

Mike Lunney, head brewer at Dartmoor Brewery said: “We’re keen to raise the profile of this issue to ensure that Dartmoor beer is brewed exclusively on Dartmoor and nowhere else. This PGI application is important because it aims to protect and promote regional food and drink products and this is precisely what needs to happen with beers on Dartmoor.

“There is significant confusion for real ale drinkers and the licensee trade surrounding Dartmoor branded beers currently, there are beers such as our own Dartmoor IPA which is brewed in the heart of Dartmoor using Dartmoor spring water and there are other beers available which are also Dartmoor branded which are not brewed on Dartmoor or even in Devon. This is confusing for both drinkers and the trade; we want to remove this confusion and assure real ale drinkers that if it’s branded a Dartmoor beer, it’s been brewed on Dartmoor – it’s that simple. If PGI is good enough for Cornish pasties it must be good enough for Dartmoor ale!” added Mike.

Dartmoor Brewery, reportedly the highest brewery in England, has been brewing Dartmoor IPA (ABV 4.0%) since 1994 from the heart of Dartmoor National Park. The award winning brewery also produces the famous Jail Ale and the highly successful Legend brands. All their beers are produced using traditional brewing techniques, pure Dartmoor water, the finest Devon malted barley and the best English hops.

“We are appealing to real ale drinkers to support our PGI campaign to protect and promote the Dartmoor name and we’ve set up an online Facebook petition page called ‘Petition To Safeguard The Future Of Beers Brewed On Dartmoor’ so real ale drinkers can pledge their support.” concluded Mike.