Over £1,000 was raised for Licensed Trade Support & Care (the support arm of work of the Licensed Trade Charity) at their Annual Dinner last Friday, 5th March.

The amount was raised through a raffle which included prizes donated by Wye Valley Brewery and The Katz Group.

Licensed Trade Support & Care helps around 1200 people every year, who are working or retired from pubs and breweries across the country and are facing a crisis in their life.

Julian Grocock, Chief Executive of SIBA said, “I am very proud that members and guests at our dinner were able to recognise the work of the Licensed Trade Charity in the brewing and pub sector, and have supported them in this way. ”

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SIBA chief executive Julian Grocock has slammed the “health nannies” he claims are targeting alcohol as the new tobacco.

On the second day of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, Grocock criticised the health lobbyists who blame the trade for binge drinking.

“I contend that we (the brewing industry) are better organised around people and their health and welfare than any lobby prohibitionists who want to haul us over the coals towards complete oblivion.”

He added: “I confess that I view the health nannies with the same kind of mistrust and suspicion that I sued to view those people in my village who I never got to know simply because they didn’t go to the pub.”

This year’s conference focuses on people power and the vital importance of people in the industry.

Stratford-upon-Avon mayor Jenny Fradgley gave a rousing introduction, praising the role that real ale plays in combating binge drinking.

“Beer is a delight and should be drunk in company in traditional pubs,” she said.

Taken from: Morning Advertiser

By Gemma McKenna

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The Society of Independent Brewers closed its annual conference in Stratford-in-Avon with the announcement of a new Design Award, which will reward the best designs for bottle labels, pump clips and POS. The new Award will sit within the SIBA Brewing Business Awards 2010, which are now open for entries from member brewers.

This year’s conference was attended by some 350 SIBA members, suppliers and associates. The theme of ‘The People Factor’ was taken up by all the speakers, starting with motivational guru Nigel Risner, who talked about the importance for breweries of understanding the different types of people who work for them and who buy and drink their beers.

Speakers from the industry included: Nick Bish, ALMR chief executive; Chris Holmes, chief executive and chairman of Castle Rock Brewery; Steve Benton, commercial manager, Marston’s and Simon Townsend, chief operating officer, Enterprise Inns. The common message emerging from all speakers was that, despite the challenging trading environment faced by brewers and publicans, those that understand ‘the people factor’ in their business, and who build relationships with their employees, customers and suppliers, will succeed.

Closing the conference, SIBA’s new chairman Keith Bott said, “This has been a fantastic conference. What has really shone through over these last two days is the passion for beer shared by everyone in the room. We must hold onto that passion, for it enables us to produce wonderful, innovative beers that engage and excite our customers and, ultimately, mean that the quality independent brewing sector will continue to grow.”

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Tim Croxson presents to Tony Gartland of Saltaire Brewery

West Yorkshire brewery Saltaire scooped three Awards in the SIBA National Beer Competition 2010, announced at the close of the organisation’s annual conference in Stratford-on-Avon.

Shipley-based Saltaire took the top title of Supreme Champion Beer 2010 for its Triple Chocoholic, a 4.8% chocolate stout. The same beer won the Gold Award in the Champion Speciality Beer category, while the brewery’s Cascade Pale Ale scooped the Champion Premium Bitters prize.

All 10 winning beers were chosen last month at The Canalhouse pub in Nottingham, where some 50 judges gathered to pick the winners from the 56 cask and seven bottled finalist beers. A Gold, Silver and Bronze Award were given in each of the nine categories, and the Supreme Champion title was then selected from the eight draught Gold winners.

Tony Gartland, owner and head brewer at Saltaire Brewery, said, “Winning three Awards is a great thrill. I thought we stood a good chance in the Speciality Beer category, but to win the overall title was a real surprise and shows that the UK’s beer drinkers are ready for new, different tastes.”

SIBA’s outgoing chairman, Peter Amor, said, “Attending SIBA Regional and National Beer Competitions has been one of the duties I’ve enjoyed most as Chairman. In my three years in post, I’ve seen the competitions grow in stature, both in the quantity and standard of entries from brewers, which this year exceeded 1,400 at regional heat stage, and in the number of judges wanting to be part of the selection process.

“The success of the competition reflects that of the local brewing sector. Our beers offer the quality, taste, individuality and provenance that consumers are looking for. It is no surprise that smaller breweries are bucking the overall UK beer trend and growing volumes.”

Caption to attached image: (l-r) Tim Croxson of sponsors Croxsons presents the trophy to Tony Gartland, owner and head brewer at Saltaire Brewery, winners of this year’s SIBA Supreme Champion Beer Award

And the winners were …

Supreme Champion Beer 2010 Triple Chocoholic
Saltaire Brewery, Shipley, Yorkshire

Champion Milds (up to 4% ABV) Dark Mild
Bank Top Brewery, Bolton

Champion Bitters & Pale Ales (up to 4% ABV) Lord Marples
Thornbridge Brewery, Derbyshire

Champion Best Bitters (4.1 – 4.5% ABV) Darwins Origin
Salopian Brewing, Shrewsbury

Champion Premium Bitters (4.6 – 4.9%) Cascade Pale Ale Supreme Speciality Beer Saltaire Brewery, Shipley, Yorkshire

Champion Strong Bitters (5.1 – 5.5% ABV) Big Chief Bitter
Greenmill Brewery, Rochdale

Champion Strong Ales (over 5.6%) Dorothy Goodbody’s Country Ale
Wye Valley Brewery

Champion Porters, Strong Milds, Old Ales & Stouts Guerilla
Blue Monkey Brewery, Derbyshire

Champion Speciality Beers Triple Chocoholic
Saltaire Brewery, Shipley, Yorkshire

Champion Bottled Beers Proper Job
St Austell Brewery

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The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has elected Keith Bott as its new Chairman. Bott takes up the position following the organisation’s AGM in Stratford-on-Avon today, at which current Chairman Peter Amor stood down from the role he had held for three years.

Bott, the MD of Stoke-on-Trent’s Titanic Brewery, was elected by SIBA’s board of trustees. He served four years as SIBA Chairman from 2003 – 2007, a period of rapid growth for the organisation , following the introduction of Progressive Beer Duty (PBD) in 2002.

Bott comments, “SIBA today is a very different organisation to the one I chaired three years ago.  Since then, we have appointed our first chief executive, Julian Grocock, who has steered SIBA through a period of change and enhanced our standing with Government,  trade bodies, the media and other stakeholders.

“This is an exciting time to be taking on the Chairman’s role, and I look forward to working with Julian, as well as SIBA’s trustees and directors, to ensure the continued success of the UK’s thriving quality beer sector.”  

Bott will stand down as from his current position as SIBA President and will include the role’s political lobbying elements within the Chairman’s remit. 

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Romford, UK. On Saturday 20th February 2010, beer lovers across the UK took part in the first ever beer festival to be held solely on Twitter, the microblogging website. The event was hosted by Romford-based company Ales By Mail (www.alesbymail.com), distributors of fine bottled real ale and gourmet sausages.

A Virtual Beer Festival is an interactive beer event carried out using Twitter. Participants ordered a special case of beer from Ales By Mail in the weeks leading up to the event, and then used the social media network to discuss the beers with all the other participants wherever they happened to be.

Real ale fans around the UK took the opportunity to join in and taste some fantastic real ales produced by micro breweries. Also featured was an imported Belgian beer exclusive to Ales By Mail. Des De Moor, who reviewed some of the beers selected for the festival in BEER, the quarterly magazine of the Campaign for Real Ale, joined the participants online to sample the beer and share his thoughts.

The real ales tasted during the event were:

La Rulles JeanChris No 1 - http://www.larulles.be/

Elmtree Nightlight Mild - http://www.elmtreebeers.co.uk/

Calvors Suffolk Lager - http://www.calvors.co.uk/

Sambrooks Wandle - http://www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk/

Hoggleys Solstice Stout - http://www.hoggleys.co.uk/

Red Squirrel IPA in the USA- http://www.redsquirrelbrewery.co.uk/

Paul Kruzycki, one of the organisers of the festival, said; “We were delighted by the response to the first Virtual Beer Festival. People have really embraced the concept and with the recession meaning people are going out less, the Virtual Beer Festival allows real ale drinkers to indulge their passion in the comfort of their living rooms. We look forward to making this event a regular, celebrated part of the real ale calendar for many years to come. Ales by Mail is proud to be providing the best in real ale to our customers.

“We want our online festival to attract drinkers who typically don’t drink real ale or are reluctant to attend the many beer festivals that take place each year. Twitter is the perfect place for people to meet in a non-threatening, friendly environment and try something new.”

More information about Ales By Mail can be found on its website at http://www.alesbymail.com. The next virtual beer festival is being held in early April 2010.

About Ales By Mail

Ales By Mail is run by Paul & Karen Kruzycki, who have been supplying customers with bottle conditioned real ale for over six years. Their aim is simple - great British real ale and produce, delivered with ease, direct to your door.

When Terry Pratchett allowed them to create real ales themed around his best selling Discworld novels in 2003, little did they know that it would expose them to some of the finest beers produced in some of the best breweries in the world.

Ales By Mail offers its customers the chance to purchase bottled real ale and produce they might never find, or which just isn’t available in the local area, with fast delivery direct to their door.

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BREWERY equipment worth almost £25,000 has been recovered by Camborne police in an operation which has led to four people being arrested.

The problem now is finding the owners of 60 empty beer barrels currently being stored at Camborne police station.

Keltek Brewery, on Redruth’s Cardrew Industrial Estate, alerted police because items of equipment were going missing.

Factory manager James Wills-Jose said specialist brewing equipment had gone missing over a period of a couple of months.

Arrested

PC Matt Trevivian executed a search warrant at an address in Goonhavern, near Truro, recovering a large quantity of suspected stolen property.

PC Ian Cocklin then executed another search warrant in the Truro area and recovered further items, as well as a quantity of drugs.

Two men were arrested and are presently on bail while officers continue their enquiries.

PC Cocklin said that, working with officers at Gatwick Airport, a man and a woman were arrested when they returned to the UK from holiday.

Officers from Camborne went to London to interview them. They are on police bail pending further investigation.

The empty beer barrels are each worth about £70 and police are anxious to track down their owners. Like cars, the items each have a unique registration number which should help in finding their rightful owners.

PC Cocklin added: “We are asking for help because up to now we have been able to identify the owners of only nine barrels.”

Keltek, which produces up to 9,000 gallons of beer a week, moved to the Redruth site a couple of years ago from Lostwithiel.

● Anyone missing any beer barrels is asked to contact the police, quoting incident number AC/10/402.

Taken from:  thisiscornwall.co.uk

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Over the coming weeks each of the following finalists will be profiled in The Publican before the winners are announced at The Publican Awards on Wednesday, April 21, at Grosvenor House, London.

Go to:  The Publican

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Over a million hectolitres brewed for the first time, sales growth of nearly 4% in a year of deep recession, increased on-trade listings despite record pub closures, and investment in the equipment, staff and technology for brewery expansion, are highlighted in the annual Local Brewing Industry Report, published today by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

While the overall UK beer market declined by 4.2% last year1, the local brewing sector achieved an impressive 3.75% increase in volume sales. Three-quarters of all local brewers recorded volume growth in 2009 and on average, they achieved a 17% increase in turnover. And the number of pubs sourcing local beers through SIBA’s direct delivery scheme (DDS) grew by 12% – a reflection of local cask ale’s unique ability to help pubs weather the recessionary storm.

SIBA’s chief executive Julian Grocock said, “Over 60% of our members were founded after 2000, so the current recession is the most severe they have traded through. That the vast majority managed a sales uplift last year and are anticipating the same in 2010 speaks volumes about the resilience and resourcefulness of the UK’s quality independent brewers.”

This year’s report from SIBA contains the organisation’s pre-Election manifesto, which highlights the current Government’s ‘schizophrenic’ approach to the local brewing industry. The list leads with a commitment to retaining Progressive Beer Duty (PBD), introduced in 2002, and is followed by a series of other fiscal strategies such as cancelling the beer duty escalator, freezing beer duty and considering lower duty rates for lower strength beers.

Grocock explains, “The Government’s support for PBD is welcomed and has helped the formation and growth of many smaller brewers, whom it claims to support. Yet, with its punitive taxation policies, which have meant a 20% rise in beer duty over the last two years2, it appears set on destroying them.

“We urge whoever is elected in May to take a fresh look at the local brewing industry. Cask ale – which accounts for over 80% of our output – is a relatively low alcohol drink, served in the controlled environment of a pub where drinking is part of a social occasion, rather than an end in itself. As such, we deserve to be treated as part of the solution to alcohol-related harm, rather than part of the problem.”

Elsewhere, the Local Brewing Industry Report contains much worth raising a glass to. Local brewers continue to use PBD to build their businesses, by adding capacity, buying new equipment and marketing their beers, while a sizeable minority also state an ambition to buy a pub during 2010. Much of the investment planned by SIBA brewers is directed at the communities where they are based and which in turn support them, creating a virtuous circle of local sustainability.

Regardless of the political colour of the next Government, SIBA members demonstrate exceptional green credentials. Some 80% are committed to reducing their energy usage, more than half are looking at ways to reduce their packaging and ‘food miles’, and a similar number source ingredients locally. Sixteen per cent either already brew organic beers or plan to do so.

Grocock comments, “The UK’s local brewing industry, though rooted in tradition, is a relatively young one. Most of our members are younger than SIBA itself, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Our success through the past few, exceptionally tough years, however, surely demonstrates that local ales are no passing fad, but a permanent asset that can offer a much-needed boost to the nation’s troubled pub trade.”

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