SIBA Midlands Region

Counties:
Buckinghamshire
Derbyshire
Leicestershire
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
West Midlands

Representatives to the Midlands

Alex Buchanan

Alex Buchanan

Alex Buchanan
Alex, born in Dunfermline raised in the North East. A career in management and business development has taken him across the UK and the world with organisations ranging from   the Prison Service to Barclays Bank as well as running his own consultancy. In 2005 he joined the fledgling Thornbridge Brewery and has enjoyed every minute of being part of the team that has taken the brewery forward, through the highs and lows, of running a successful brewery.

Keith Bott

Keith Bott

Keith Bott
Born in Stafford in 1967 and educated locally, Keith Bott left school at the age of 18 and began learning how to brew beer by visiting the new wave of local brewers in and around the Midlands, before becoming the assistant brewer at Titanic Brewery in late 1985. When Titanic Brewery went out of business in 1988 Keith joined forces with his brother David to buy the company out of receivership. Titanic Brewery has gone from brewing 14 barrels a week to producing in excess of 2.3 million pints of beer to date this year. In 1996 Staffordshire County Council appointed Keith as the head brewer at Shugborough Estate, home to Lord Lichfield, to demonstrate the art of brewing, using a two and a half barrel log fired Victorian brewery, to the general public - a busman’s holiday he still enjoys today. Keith is also a Director of White Horse Brewery in Oxfordshire.

Keith Bott joined the ruling Council of The Society of Independent Brewers in 1994 and has had an active role in helping to run the society since then, in particular he had a leading role in convincing the government to introduce Progressive Beer Duty in 2002. Keith also took over as Chairman of the Society in the same year. After a four year stint in the Chair, Keith became President of SIBA in 2006 and continues to lead SIBA’s political campaigning.

Paul Halsey

Paul Halsey
Paul Halsey is the Managing Director of Purity Brewing co and has spent 20 years in the brewing industry.

Paul first joined the Bass Graduate Scheme in 1988, winning Bass Sales Manager of the Year just two years later. He quickly established himself as one of the leading sales individuals within the Bass empire. During his time at Bass, Paul worked within different segments of the sales operation as Sales Development Manager, Sales Training Manager and Sales Manager.

In 1994, he became Sales Director for a regional brewer that was part of a management buy out from Bass. Paul continued to develop a very proactive sales operation that was nationally recognised.

In 1998, Paul then diversified into pubs and restaurants. Conceiving, designing, project managing and operating two successful and award winning restaurants in Yorkshire, with track records of operational excellence and critical acclaim over five years.

However, Paul’s real passion has always been for brewing and in 2005 he formed Purity Brewing co. He recognised an opportunity to develop a brand in a seemingly saturated market, that is innovative and fresh. Paul’s passion for Purity is evident in all that the company does, from premium products to their strong environmental policy. It is this enthusiasm and commitment to the industry that has seen Purity Brewing Co go from strength to strength over recent years.

News articles from the Midlands Region: