tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84930938098043882502024-03-12T15:21:53.780+00:00Musings of an elusive beer geektabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-83509939602966873732020-03-09T21:45:00.001+00:002020-03-10T08:09:44.767+00:00Announcing SIBA1000<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been a while since I've posted here and logging into blogger for the first time in forever, I was amazed to see that the <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2016/01/so-you-wanna-open-brewery-part-i.html">So you wanna open a brewery?</a> series of posts has accumulated almost 30K views. I still get emails from folk asking follow up questions and, no, I never did get a chance to write Part IV!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The brewery landscape has changed a lot since we started <a href="https://www.elusivebrewing.com/">Elusive Brewing</a> in 2016, even within the small county of Berkshire. There doesn't seem to be a single, authoritative source telling us how many breweries are now active in the UK (i.e. the number of non-null Beer Duty Returns HMRC receive each month) but the number is commonly believed to be over 2,000. <a href="https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2019/04/is-the-craft-beer-gold-rush-over-uk-brewery-openings-plummet-in-2018/">This report by by Edith Hancock</a>, citing UHY Hacker Young’s data in early 2019, had it over 2,200 - an increase of over 400 since 2016.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">More significant than that number, however, is the acquisitions we've seen since we opened - also discussed in Edith's article and more recently, Matt Curtis, <a href="https://www.totalales.co.uk/blog/2019/12/1/in-order-to-build-a-strong-proposition-for-independence-the-uk-beer-industry-needs-to-stop-comparing-itself-to-the-usa">writing about Sam McMeekin’s (Gypsy Hill Brewing Co.) talk at Brewers Congress</a>, noted that "since 2015 the production volume of what you would ostensibly define as “craft beer” within London has gone from 100% independent to being just 27%. This is due to the sale, in full or in part, of Meantime, Camden Town, London Fields, Brixton, Beavertown, Fourpure, Fuller’s and Hop Stuff to Asahi, AB-InBev, Carlsberg, Heineken, Lion and Molson Coors, respectively.".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That's worth repeating. McMeekin's data showed that London's beer production was 100% independently owned in 2015, but only 27% in 2019. It's a damning statistic and once we should all take notice of. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Small breweries need <a href="https://www.siba.co.uk/">SIBA</a>, The Society of Independent Brewers (our trade body), now more than ever to help fight our corner - in lobbying government on policy issues, especially. And we need it to be representing an undisputed majority of independent breweries to give it the gravitas and weight to be even more effective in doing so. SIBA's membership is, at time of writing, around 770 breweries. This number simply has not climbed inline with the growth described above. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elusive Brewing joined SIBA in late 2019. Although we'd inquired about joining a couple of times before that, an undercurrent of member dissatisfaction with SIBA's direction put us off biting the bullet. I believe that SIBA ideally needs to operate entirely in the interests of its members, with no commercial interests, and some decisions it took (for example the acquisition of beer wholesaler Flying Firkin) seemed take it further away from that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SIBA recognises the need for change and under its new Chief Executive James Calder, has started to re-engage and rebuild relations with its members. SIBA is listening and 2020 is the year we as independent breweries need to get behind them. It can only operate outwith any commercial interests if it has more members, as those interests are needed to cover its operating costs at current levels of membership.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SIBA1000 is an unaffiliated initiative aimed at increasing membership to 1000 members in 2020. In the coming weeks, Elusive and other SIBA members will be reaching out to our peers to encourage them to join and get involved in their regional meetings. SIBA isn't perfect but it's ours. We need to be shaping it from within rather than bemoaning its shortcomings. The current SIBA leadership is energised and demonstrably ready to engage. We've been helped directly twice since we joined, including a short notice visit from Barry Watts (SIBA's Head of Public Affairs & Policy)</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> to support a meeting with our MP to discuss the importance of protecting Small Brewers Duty Relief. Our feedback has been listened to and acted upon. Phone calls have been answered and support has been offered without hesitation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let's work together to give more power to our trade body's elbow this year!</span>tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-16012425376029771462018-07-09T20:11:00.002+01:002018-07-09T20:14:25.333+01:00On acquisitions<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">[This was written in October 2017 but previously unpublished] </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We’re flying home to London having spent ten days in Southern California. It’s been a pretty eventful day so far. We arrived early for our flight, stood in line at check-in and got to the front a few moments later. Just as we were called forward, we saw the police move in to our left - alerted to a suspicious package. They assessed the risk as our check-in agent processed us and decided to evacuate the terminal. We left calmly and walked outside, the decision to shove a couple of beers we had no checked baggage room for into our hand luggage delivered immediate pay off as we enjoyed more of the endless Los Angeles sunshine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Half an hour or so later, we were air-side. Suspect package dispatched with impressive efficiency and TSA in uncharacteristically good spirits as they checked our bags.
We rock up the the first bar we find, scan the small beer list and order pints of Golden Road IPA with a side of nachos.
The beer is fresh, crisp and delicious with a resinous finish that keeps on delivering. The nachos fill a hungry hole. A second round follows soon after. And there's time for a third before our flight is called. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I recalled reading how Golden Road sold out to AB-InBev a couple of years ago but at that point I couldn’t care less. I could be facing Bud as my only choice and this is a decent IPA given the context of an airport lounge. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A few days earlier, I was sat at the bar at Ballast Point. Sculpin was tasting the best I’d ever tasted it in five visits to the brewery in as many years. Their new tap room is positioned to the side of their (huge) new brew house a mile or two away from the original site. Service is efficient and polite. The beer is of exceptional quality, so far showing no signs of billion dollar big business moving in to throw their craft to the wind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I cast my mind back to the can of Camden Pale I’d had the night before we departed on this trip - I’ve never tasted it better. It had the same bright freshness as the Golden Road IPA. An incredibly accomplished brew that delivers remarkable consistency these days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Around the same time Golden Road were acquired, I decided to invest a few pounds in Camden Town Brewery as they were crowd funding. I had to overcome some internal conflict to make that decision. I had friends who worked there (and still do) and a lot of admiration for what they’d achieved in a few short years but their fierce protection of the "Camden" trademark in one case had come across as over-zealous. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Despite that initial internal conflict, I was engaged with their brand and even had my Dad trying Hells over his preferred macro lager.
A few weeks after deciding to invest, I was handed my money back, with a sizeable percentage return, as Camden Town ditched the crowd funding in favour of being acquired by AB-InBev. In effect, they'd been made an offer they couldn't refuse which made their crowd funding target look like pocket money. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Your stake just got a HELLS of a lot bigger!" read the snappy e-mail which was soon followed by legal documents talking about drag along notices - the legalese telling me that Camden had sold my tiny share on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I should’ve been happy right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But it felt like being unfriended on Facebook. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’ve no issue with small breweries (or any business) getting bigger through investment. That's the right of their owners to do what they believe is the best thing for their business and its long-term objectives.
I’ve no issue with the staff at Golden Road, Ballast Point or Camden Town Brewery - they’re clearly doing great things as they always have. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">However, what are the intentions of AB-InBev and the other big beer corporations acquiring smaller breweries? Did they purchase these brands as as side-project? Can they be like, "keep on brewing the fantastic beer you’re brewing and let’s see how far we can support you (and maybe distribute it) as we fuel your independent growth with you in full control” whilst they simultaneously continue to aggressively acquire lines and stifle all competition at the volume end of the market? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’m not so sure about that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They're diversifying their portfolio in an increasingly competitive market. When one global brand in that portfolio starts to decline, another will be thrust forward ready to take its place. That's just business. </span></div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-41928264458744018372016-08-16T09:01:00.001+01:002016-08-18T10:21:51.694+01:00On splitting KeyKegs<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had a few 30L slimline KeyKegs split on me after filling which, especially for our first kegged gyle, cost us a lot in lost revenue just when we needed it least. After tweeting about the problem I had a whole heap of helpful advice from other brewers who had been through the same, and on seeing these tweets, further advice directly from the manufacturer. This post captures that advice for the benefit of others as it helped me to (so far, at least!) eliminate the problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First, to be clear on 'the problem', the photo below shows a KeyKeg where beer has leaked into the space between the bag containing the beer and the plastic outer. KeyKegs are dispensed by pushing gas into this space to force the pre-conditioned beer out of the bag. Technically the keg is still useable in the state shown but you'll probably struggle to get all of the beer our and of course, they can't be sold to trade looking like that. The problem seems specific to the newer slimline kegs. The old round ones don't seem to exhibit the same, at least based on feedback I've had.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Q1DzbgBfj_o8O3EW1HrMVsHKGd6ktXcUOkG4j-J6TW94It88da7-8zk9GSMdFYWGKabCI2keIa4ZFr-tYr5rblrwqFq8-J23bX2dWkgIaPk9vmFN2unD9oica6-xckQ2OLj_E5UrW5pI/s1600/IMG_20160614_113743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Q1DzbgBfj_o8O3EW1HrMVsHKGd6ktXcUOkG4j-J6TW94It88da7-8zk9GSMdFYWGKabCI2keIa4ZFr-tYr5rblrwqFq8-J23bX2dWkgIaPk9vmFN2unD9oica6-xckQ2OLj_E5UrW5pI/s320/IMG_20160614_113743.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One cause of this problem is reported to be under-filling although apparently there are other causes too (not covered here). KeyKegs are filled upside down then turned the right way up once full. The theory is that if even slightly under-filled, once turned the right way up, the beer in the keg will pull down on the top of the bag as the beer fills the space that was at the top of the keg when it was upside down. I found that the ones I had split did so a day or two after filling whilst sat on a pallet undisturbed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm filling the kegs by gravity. I'm doing that as we have open fermenters with lids rather than cylindro-conical models which can deal with pressurised gas in the headspace to 'push' the beer out of the tank. My method is to pump the finished chilled beer into an IBC sat at around 2 metres above the floor, then batch prime it to the desired carbonation level before filling the kegs. The advice I got was as follows:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ideally fill under pressure to ensure some force behind the beer as its pushed into the keg. That's KeyKeg's recommendation from the outset. Not an option for us without buying another tank, though.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ensure the filling head is fully engaged into the keg shaft before opening the fill valve and apply the head carefully being sure not to 'tug' at the head to engage it as the top of the bag can move within the keg. Food grade lube was suggested to assist this but I think as long as the head is fully 'open' before rotating it, it usually goes into place with almost no resistance. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">I was still getting splits after confirming good head engagement, however (although reduced)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ensure the keg really is full after filling. I played around with this a bit and found that I could get a few more grammes (or ml) by re-applying the head after turning the keg the right way up. <b>They should weigh 31.4Kg when full,</b> or thereabouts. The bag should be visibly 'full' with no gaps (other than small creases, this is expected) visible from outside the keg. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Use a pump to assist when filling by gravity, to help ensure the keg really is full. Again, I played around with this by filling through a small pump (that was off) until the bag stopped visibly and audibly expanding then turning the pump on. This really helped get more beer into the keg and on turning the pump on I saw the bag visibly expand further to fill any remaining space. <b>Since doing this, kegs are filled reliably to 31.4Kg and I've experienced no further issues with splitting.</b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A photo of my filler setup is shown below. It uses a small DC mag pump (<a href="http://www.angelhomebrew.co.uk/en/pumps/129-6v-24v-homebrew-pump-type-4.html">this one</a>) in-line before the filling head. I turn the pump on after opening the filler valve and turn it off again after closing the valve after filling. This has the added bonus of filling the kegs about 2-3 times faster than by gravity alone.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjRHvd9g5SVPzV3YIjqK-vH07kSr1ZQqkCXV8TE9I6bqdUhY18VCXR_az6jMnFN894wzuB0x2xiA7FWupKcrEDV9YIdlr19Gfy59OdqVX5WzexnzIXaMcGXuco3Gdiqvq-LaK6MJUL068/s1600/IMG_20160816_082949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjRHvd9g5SVPzV3YIjqK-vH07kSr1ZQqkCXV8TE9I6bqdUhY18VCXR_az6jMnFN894wzuB0x2xiA7FWupKcrEDV9YIdlr19Gfy59OdqVX5WzexnzIXaMcGXuco3Gdiqvq-LaK6MJUL068/s320/IMG_20160816_082949.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If anyone has any other tips or findings, feel free to share them in the comments below. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I should note that some breweries have reported occasional failures both when filling under pressure or by gravity, even if the keg is entirely full. This should of course be referred to your supplier or the manufacturer directly. I'm only writing about my own experiences here which appeared to be caused by under-filling.</i></span></div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-22062821274150211932016-06-05T11:01:00.000+01:002016-06-05T11:18:39.308+01:00So you wanna open a brewery? Part III<div class="p1" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2016/01/so-you-wanna-open-brewery-part-i.html">first</a> <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2016/01/so-you-wanna-open-brewery-part-ii.html">two</a> instalments of this series of posts covered investment, products, branding, premises and the various permissions and registrations required to set up a brewery in the UK. This third and penultimate post will cover the build out with the final post of the series covering pricing, sales and administration along with a few things I've learned along the way so far.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The long gap between those first posts and this one are perhaps an indication of how busy we've been for the past three or so months. Having finally got the keys to the unit on 18th February, we set a target of having the first brew fermenting on or around April 20th (it was actually the 27th, so not a bad result). The unit we have is tiny at approximately 10x6 metres and at the point we took occupancy was a pretty much a blank canvas, so we had lots to do. In terms of the 'big ticket' items, the list looked something like this:</span></span></div>
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<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="s3"></span><span class="s1">Deep clean (unit had been empty for quite some time) and painting of exposed surfaces </span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Removal of old domestic electrical runs (unit used to be a set of small offices - the false ceilings and partition walls were thankfully removed before we got the keys)</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fitting of hygienic wall cladding in wet area</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Plumbing in of water connections and filtration system for filling CLT, HLT for top-up and connection for hose/pressure wash</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Installation of electrical system throughout unit and connection to kettle and HLT</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Installation of additional lighting</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cutting and laying drainage channel and connection to foul waste egress point</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Installation of hygienic resin flooring</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Installation of pallet shelving and wooden shelving as required</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Installation of work area to include stainless sink and tables</span></span></li>
<li class="li3" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cutting of hole for steam egress and installation of and connection to chimney</span></span></li>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Having spent a lot of time visiting other breweries and discussing the various pros and cons of their set ups across most or all of these items, it became clear that while there may be some 'best practices' such as having drainage points close to brewing vessels and using IP65+ rated electrical connections as high up as possible, the design and layout is ultimately dependent on the unit you'll be building into and how the vessels will be laid out within that. One of the best tips we received was to make life-sized paper templates of the brewing vessels and lay those out on the floor, moving them around until the layout worked best within the space. While I had done this electronically before we got the keys, being able to visualise up close was invaluable and ultimately led to the layout being changed. The vessel location really does govern everything else, so spend time getting that exactly right.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once the vessel location was decided, the drainage and floor layout came into focus. We got quotes for different options from a specialist brewery flooring firm but in the end it worked out a lot cheaper (less than half the price) to using a local builder/drainage firm to cut and install the channel we wanted, then a specialist resin flooring company to lay the resin. Once those items were completed, we were in a position to move the vessels out of storage and start on the electrical work. The photo below shows the unit just after the resin flooring was laid. Note the two drainage points running in different directions.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;">Resin flooring laid up to two drainage channels, one in the centre of the 'wet area' and the other to the edge of the packaging area. The channel runs down to the front of the unit and connects to the foul waste egress point by going under the wall into the WC. You can also see the HLT and cleaning point connections to the right. </td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With the flooring down, it was the turn of the electrical contractor. The paper templates were laid down again and connection points drawn in marker pen on the film that was covering the wall cladding. We had a separate breaker box installed that could be accessed easily between the HLT and mash tun. Two days later, work was complete bar wiring up the elements.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We installed the pallet shelving whilst the electricians were working. Next was moving the vessels into place, which was a fun day logistically. This involved using a local transport firm to drive the kit from where it was stored to the brewery. It was loaded and unloaded using a forklift (with me looking on nervously) then moved into place based on the design we'd set out with the paper templates. I had lots of help from friends that day, including Siren kindly lending us their forklift! The photo below shows the vessels in place.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The following week we set about completing the brew house installation and running in the final water connections. This shot was taken on a Friday evening and I think it was about 10am Monday morning when we decided the layout wasn't quite right, with hindsight. The reason being that connecting up to the heat exchanger (in the very far left corner, left of the kettle you can just about see) would've required a lot more copper and plumbing and from where it was located, tricky plumbing at that. So, we decided to swap the location of the CLT and FVs so the CLT was adjacent to the heat exchanger. We were lucky in that at 5BBL, FVs are light enough to be carried, dragged and persuaded into location and the pallet truck was able to get under the heavier CLT. The photo below shows the brewery at the end of that phase. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The final week of the build out saw us installing the work area, cutting the chimney hole, installing and connecting up the chiller and temperature controls, frantically ordering chemicals and ingredients and generally fretting about the upcoming first brew and various couplers and connectors we were still missing. The photo below shows the completed installation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On reflection, the installation went fairly smoothly. If I could pass on any tips, I think the key things are probably these:</span></div>
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<li class="li9" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Visit lots of breweries and observe. The question to ask is: "If you could start from scratch with the design and layout, what would you do differently?" - I guarantee you any brewer will merrily talk for hours on this topic!</span></span></li>
<li class="li9" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Start with the vessel layout as everything really is dependent on that</span></span></li>
<li class="li9" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From there, plan how the rest of the space will be used and mark that out on the floor</span></span></li>
<li class="li9" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Don't be afraid to change things around if they're not right as you progress with the build. Once everything is in place, it's nigh on impossible to change it and will involve down time.</span></span></li>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Part IV, the final piece in this series, should be up later this week. If you have any questions or comments, please do post them below!</span></span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-89419734391040394662016-03-23T20:56:00.004+00:002016-03-23T20:56:48.597+00:00Announcing Open It! on 16th April<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Open It was originally a joint effort between <a href="http://twitter.com/markdredge">Mark Dredge</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/beerreviewsandy">Andy Mogg</a>, with the first one being held sometime in 2010. The idea was a simple one - to create an 'occasion' for opening one or more of those special bottles we all stash away for a rainy day, then either join in the chat on twitter or blog about it if you fancied. A fairly relaxed and casual affair, all told. The idea evolved over time and there were even live gatherings including one very memorable night in Leeds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A few of us will be getting together at Burslem's <a href="http://twitter.com/otterstears">Otter's Tears</a> on <b>Saturday April 16th</b> to share some beers and we figured it'd be a great opportunity to bring back Open It for the night so others could join in and crack open something special to enjoy at home, or wherever they may be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Coincidentally, Mark will be running the London Marathon the following weekend and has organised a couple of <a href="http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2016/02/charity-beer-night-8-april.html">events</a> in London to help raise funds for his chosen charity, <a href="http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/our-services/childrens/patients/welcome-to-evelina-london.aspx">Evalina Children's Hospital</a>. It would be great if we could raise a few quid to help him in his fundraising efforts, so if you feel like donating on the evening you can do that <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=markdredge&pageUrl=4">HERE</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, to recap, on <b>Saturday April 16th</b>, have a rummage in the beer cupboard for one of those bottles you've been saving for a special occasion, crack it open, tweet about it and join in the chat using #openit and if you're able, stick a few pennies in Mark's charity fund. What could be simpler?</span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-31230945874016261512016-01-26T11:27:00.000+00:002016-01-26T20:33:24.672+00:00All-grain brewing at home<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In a slight diversion from the <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/search/label/NewBrewery">So you wanna open a brewery?</a> series of posts (returning with Part III next week), I thought it might be helpful to potential home brewers out there to document the fairly simple process I use for all-grain brewing at home. It's possible to spend many hundreds or even thousands of pounds on equipment when you really don't need to do that in order to make good beer. That's not to say you won't do that once you've caught the bug, of course!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have two separate setups at home - my original 20L setup which has a cool box mash tun and plastic HLT/kettle (shown below, total cost about £200) and a 100L gas-fired stainless setup which I use for larger brews. This will become my pilot kit at Elusive combined with a 0.5BBL conical fermentor. It's fair to say most of my home brewing is done in the kitchen on the smaller rig and that's the one I'll cover here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The mash tun was purchased from The Home Brew Shop in Aldershot. It's the one shown <a href="http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ethe-home-brew-shop%2eco%2euk%2f&WD=mash%20tun&PN=Deluxe_Insulated_Mash_Tun%2ehtml%23a100113#a100113">here</a>. It has probably cost me about £1 per brew by this stage and is still going strong. I use a Peco Electrim boiler as a combined HLT and Kettle. The one shown <a href="http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ethe-home-brew-shop%2eco%2euk%2fcgi-bin%2fss000001%2epl%3fpage%3dsearch%26SS%3dkettle%26search%2ex%3d0%26search%2ey%3d0%26search%3dACTION%26PR%3d-1%26TB%3dA&WD=bin%20mashing&PN=Peco-Electric-Digital-Mashing-Bin--Boiler%2ehtml%23a5378#a5378">here</a> is a bit more fancy than mine which doesn't have the external digital control, although I did add a hop filter and ball valve with barb to mine as shown <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi01-4lfvNqrpC4R74-ccsi39d9J68y-C6DvkivRyYhgsQn3HW89U8suL8Ad9f0tKvrbjaCg4UU9WWnj9wXK4OvATjpWLovL9ty13ZYnx0FxVnc2o3O2GS99DxlPjsq5TzlZCHQ-5Q-gLc/s1600/Photo1.jpg">here</a>.</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Heat the strike liquor in the kettle while cleaning the mash tun and weighing out the grains and any liquor treatment salts. I'll usually give the MT a rinse through with boiling water and check the outlet and false bottom are free of grain debris. I'll also prepare a bucket of StarSan by mixing 7ml of concentrated solution with 5L of the Tesco bottled water (about £1.20) in a small plastic <a href="http://www.diy.com/departments/strata-mini-blue-flexitub/1143829_BQ.prd">flexi-tub</a>. I'll use this throughout the day - if in doubt, dunk it in!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once the liquor is up to temperature, I'll mash in and measure and adjust the temperature as needed using cold or very hot water until I'm at the desired mash temperature - usually around 65-66C. I use a kitchen thermometer for this which has an external probe I can safely leave in the mash as I stir. Something like <a href="http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Black_Waterproof_Thermometer.html">this</a> (you can get them cheaper). With practice, you'll probably be able to avoid the need to adjust the temperature by getting the liquor just right for your setup and the ambient grain temperature.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll then re-fill the kettle and leave the sparge liquor to warm while the mash is left to rest. This usually works out well time-wise so it'll be up to temperature by the time you start sparging.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After the desired mash rest time, I'll use a 2L plastic jug to recirculate until the wort runs clear. Basically opening the tap (initially only partially) and filling the jug with wort then slowly and carefully pouring the jug contents back over the mash being careful to not disturb the mash bed.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once the wort is running clear, I'll run off into a plastic fermentation bucket, which I'll have cleaned thoroughly then rinsed with boiling water before rinsing with StarSan. From this point on (and especially post boil), sanitation is key and something I pay a lot of attention to!</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jPzjzkjcBoCiL3pJCFiTSe0tbed3uKPqoEUPFPLuukW_YnLKwkjqc1G88zKXBbDji_HYgzyj5pfu-dy_57TSpuZrMXkbrT8xJ3U4eLeb4NQv07L_w2iPz07emYhqPS2Q3awRuns0ul-9/s1600/IMG_20160126_100524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jPzjzkjcBoCiL3pJCFiTSe0tbed3uKPqoEUPFPLuukW_YnLKwkjqc1G88zKXBbDji_HYgzyj5pfu-dy_57TSpuZrMXkbrT8xJ3U4eLeb4NQv07L_w2iPz07emYhqPS2Q3awRuns0ul-9/s640/IMG_20160126_100524.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bagels - nom!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As the wort runs off, I'll slowly add sparge water using the same 2L plastic jug and gentle pouring method over the entire mash, again taking care not to disturb it too much. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once I've run off the right amount of wort, I'll empty the remainder of the sparge liquor from the kettle and use my trusty (cleaned, again!) jug to move the first few litres of wort into the kettle until I'm able to safely lift and pour the remainder in.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The wort will then be boiled as per the recipe and then allowed to cool slightly. I'll manually create a whirlpool with my mash paddle to encourage trub to drop below the tap and hop filter while the first few degrees are lost.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once the trub has dropped and the wort looks clear in the kettle I'll run the hot wort off into the same plastic FV, which will have been fully sanitised for a second time, then stick the lid on with the airlock hole bunged up. Sanitisation is now hugely important!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The FV will then be sat in a cold bath until the wort has reached the desired pitching temperature, which usually takes a couple of hours depending on the water temperature. As it initially cools, you'll need to let the steam out of the FV or the lid will pop off. In summer I'll add ice to the bath to bring the ambient mains water temperature down. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A sample for gravity measurement will be taken using a sanitised turkey baster and the yeast will then be pitched into the aerated wort and left to work its magic, after putting the airlock in place. These days I have a temperature controlled fridge (a fairly recent addition) but as long as you have a room that sits at a reasonably steady temperature and you're using a yeast which works well at that temperature you'll be fine. My first 30 odd fermentations were done in the dining room. In winter I used to wrap the FV in a blanket to help keep the warmth in and would use an external temperature strip stuck to the outside of the FV to be able to keep an eye on it without disturbing the fermentation</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In summary, most of the beer I've produced at home has been made using only a mash tun, a combined HLT/kettle, a plastic bucket and a plastic jug. Learning and refining the overall process (and of course your recipes!) is far more important than spending lots of money on expensive kit. I would ideally use a wort chiller (my bigger kit has a plate chiller) but I've got an annoying tap in the kitchen which would mean having to run hoses about the place from the garden. I've managed fine without one though and they aren't especially cheap.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you're really on a budget, have a look into the BIAB approach. You can achieve great results using that method and it won't cost as much as the kit shown here. Also, if you're the hands-on type, you can certainly save money by making or modifying your own kit, for example converting an existing cool box rather than buying a pre-converted one.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-21200401913915222522016-01-18T21:23:00.002+00:002016-01-19T10:30:12.799+00:00So you wanna open a brewery? Part II<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2016/01/so-you-wanna-open-brewery-part-i.html">first part</a> of this series of blog posts I covered a fairly broad range of subjects and ended with a question about addressing different markets. The response to that and other points raised in the post drew some incredibly helpful comments from the owners of a number of fantastically successful breweries, so I would recommend revisiting that post and having a read before continuing on here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In wrapping up that post, I suggested this second part would cover premises build-out, layout, pricing and sales. However, I'm going to stray slightly from that and focus instead on the administrative/permission side of setting up a brewery in the UK first. I received a number of emails from others in a similar position (or considering starting a brewery) that suggested to me that this might prove a useful area to drill down further into and also received some advice offline that I'd like to share as part of that. I'll cover premises build-out, layout, pricing and sales in Part III.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Before we get into the detail of how to go about obtaining them, here are the things you'll need to cover as a minimum before you can operate a commercial brewery:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Obtaining planning permission, or obtaining premises that already have B1C or B2. I'm not going to re-cover this below - contact the local authority to see what they expect and go from there!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Setting up a limited company (or registering as a sole trader)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Opening a business banking account</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Registering for VAT</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Registering with HMRC for beer duty</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Registering for Corporation Tax </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Informing the local Environmental Health department</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">O</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">btaining permission to discharge effluent</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Registering under the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Obtaining Insurance</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Limited Company</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The process of registering is actually pretty straightforward and is completed entirely online. You'll need to provide the registered address of the company, names and address of directors and the number of shares each has etc. The process may be simple but in following it, you're signing up to some legal obligations so would do well to read up on those (e.g. requirement to submit accounts by certain dates or face fines). The place to go is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/overview">here</a>. I received my company number by email a couple of days after applying followed by lots of bumph in the post. If you use your home address as the registered company address expect to receive your first junk mail a few days later! Also, be alert to spam callers from that point - I had one who sounded very convincing and timed it perfectly to try to deceptively obtain my electricity supply contract, no doubt with a nice commission for them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The other option is to register as a sole trader. There are pros and cons to each, certainly, and it may depend on your personal circumstances as to which is best. This </span><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.rossmartin.co.uk/starting-in-business-77750/140-sole-trader-v-limited-company-key-tax-a-legal-differences">article</a> </b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">outlines some of the differences. Consider consulting with an accountant if you're not sure which is the best path</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Business Banking</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now, you'd think trying to give a bank some money would be easy but you can end up jumping through a few hoops to open a business account including being credit checked and providing a good amount of personal information, especially if you'd like an overdraft facility etc. I started out by reading through the information available on Martin Lewis' excellent <a href="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/small-business">Money Saving Expert</a> site which listed a few deals for free business banking for a certain period etc. I ended up going with my own bank and it just happened to be offering free banking to new business for a period of 18 months. Do read through the charges you can expect after that period - nothing is really 'free' in business! It took me about five days to open an account and this included an interview with an advisor who asked me a few questions about the cashflow forecast I'd submitted and also pointed out that I'd used Andy as my name with Companies House and Andrew in my banking application. Changing it on the application would have meant resubmitting the whole thing (yep!) but fortunately changing the director details with Companies House can be done online.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>VAT</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For details of how and when (and if!) to register go <a href="https://www.gov.uk/vat-registration/overview">here</a>. You can elect to register voluntarily before you're required to but be aware that if you do, you're then automatically on the hook for the legal obligations as if you were required to register. I registered voluntarily once I'd paid for my brewery kit because VAT was charged and I'd like to claim it back along with any VAT paid out on during the build-out process. You'll be asked for the business bank account, company number, directors details and offered a number of options/schemes as part of the application process. Once you start, you can save your progress and come back so don't worry about reading up on something you're not sure about. Once the application was completed, I received my VAT number the next day. As part of applying you set up an account on a portal that you'll return to in order to submit returns etc. Tip: the login username is only shown once (a long number) so screenshot it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Beer Duty</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All breweries must be registered with HMRC by law and are required to pay duty on what's produced. The notice that covers this is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/excise-notice-226-beer-duty">Excise Notice 226: Beer Duty</a> and reading that from top to bottom is a good place to start! The document covers the application process towards the end. You'll need to copy the questions into a new document and provide answers as required, attaching the required supporting information which includes a plan of the premises where duty suspended produce will be stored. I've had a few tips from others here including something relatively new whereby HMRC will visit you and interview you as a matter of course (this used to be at their discretion). They'll ask to see your brewery premises, the equipment and details of how you're planning to monitor and track the amount of duty you should be paying once you're up and running. I actually submitted my application today so can't write about my personal experience yet. The application also asks for your VAT number and company number so you should look to complete those processes first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Corporation Tax</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All limited companies must register for corporation tax. This is the tax you pay on profits of the company and requires you to submit audited accounts according to a schedule set based on your first accounting period (determined based on when you register). Everything you need to know is covered <a href="https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/set-up-your-company-for-corporation-tax">here</a>. Again, there are legal obligations here. If you're not comfortable with them it's probably best to speak to a small business accountant.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Environmental Health</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Breweries are now assessed under the same guidelines as food producers and you can expect to receive a visit from an Environmental Health Officer once you notify them that you're producing beer. When and how to do with this will vary depending on the local authority so contact the local council to discuss it with them. Most will assess under the Food Hygiene Rating scheme and you'll receive a rating like any food production facility might.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Effluent Discharge</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You'll need to contact your water supplier to discuss their requirements here. Since breweries produce waste that requires treatment you'll need to register with your supplier and they'll charge you based on the volume you expect to discharge and the type of effluent you're discharging. Some breweries I've spoken to are visited periodically to have samples taken for analysis. The permit application process for Thames Water is covered <a href="http://www.thameswater.co.uk/business/9995.htm">here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>AWRS</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme introduces a requirement for anyone who sells, offers or exposes for sale or arranges to sell alcohol to other businesses on or after the point at which excise duty is payable, to be approved by HMRC. This is a new scheme which is covered by <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/excise-notice-2002-alcohol-wholesaler-registration-scheme/excise-notice-2002-alcohol-wholesaler-registration-scheme">Excise Notice 2002</a>. I plan to register for this once I've completed my duty registration. Note that in future, you'll be required to check that anyone you sell alcohol to is also registered, if they'll be selling on to others (e.g. distributors).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Insurance</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All small businesses should have insurance to protect them against theft, loss/damage and public liability. This isn't something I have in place yet but will look to do so before I start trading. It's also likely your building lease will be issued on a repairing basis - that is, you're liable for repairs to any damage that occurs during your tenancy. This may be worth considering as part of insurance coverage too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So that's the end of Part II of this series of posts - perhaps duller than Part I but hopefully interesting and useful to some! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">B</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">reweries - is there anything you can add to the above? Please do pitch in and share your experiences of the above processes and any tips you can offer!</span></div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-48611661207600836562016-01-04T15:34:00.000+00:002016-01-23T16:23:23.060+00:00So you wanna open a brewery? Part I<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Back in August of last year, I finally bit the bullet and decided quit my job to focus on opening Elusive Brewing. As I <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2015/08/the-story-of-elusive-brewing.html">wrote back then</a>, the decision was partly driven by being at breaking point with my job but deep down I knew that unless I took this positive step, it was too easy to keep putting things off and watch the weeks trickle past. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Since leaving that job in September, I've been doing many things including relentlessly chasing and ultimately having to give up (again) on the premises we were so close to securing in Basingstoke, finding and agreeing terms on new premises in Finchampstead, visiting as many breweries as possible to gather ideas and learn from others' experiences of starting a brewery, gaining further work experience at Weird Beard, brewing three collaboration beers, completing a BrewLab training course at Wimbledon Brewery, developing and honing recipes to work within the parameters of the ingredients we can access, developing a marketing strategy (of sorts) and finally, setting up the business side of the limited company we'll operate under including planning budgets, drawing up cashflow forecasts and sorting out business banking and the various registrations.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Over the past year or two, I've taken on board lots of advice from those whose footsteps I'm following in, from the very big to the very small. I've also learned a few things along the way but consider myself very much still at the bottom of the learning curve when it comes to owning and operating a brewery or indeed any small business. This series of blog posts really has three aims:</span></div>
<br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Document Elusive Brewing from inception through to (hopefully!) the first pint being pulled in a pub</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Share lessons learned along the way, both directly and indirectly</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Provide a means by which I can solicit advice and input on particular subjects as we progress towards launch</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This first post is going to cover three areas: Investment (and budgeting more generally), Premises (identifying) and Products & Branding. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Investment</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A brewery is a very capital-heavy business in the first year. That is, you'll need lots of cash to reach the start line. A lot of this expenditure can be written down (accounted for) over a long period but that doesn't help you pay for it in the first place. One of the first things I did was make a list of everything I'd need in order to get the first brew out of the door. I'm pretty sure it's still not complete and I'll be cursing all the little things I've forgotten as we progress but the bigger ticket items include:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Brewing vessels - CLT, HLT, Mash Tun, Kettle and Fermenters plus chillers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Casks, kegs and bottles and the means by which to clean, fill and ship them</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Storage (cold room, shelving, ladders, pallet truck/lifter)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Office items including any IT you'll need (at least desk, laptop and printer)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ingredients and chemicals</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cleaning equipment (pressure wash, wet vac, squeegees, brushes, sundries etc.)</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The highest cost above is probably going to be the brewery itself but the rest of it will soon add up. Without revealing my (and more specifically my suppliers') hand(s) fully, I've actually budgeted 3x the cost of the brewery as a total startup budget. This budget includes the work required on the premises and, well, everything else. That figure wasn't plucked out of thin air by the way - it's what I've worked out I'll need with a reasonable buffer added in. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Others I've since discussed this with had done it for (in some cases much) less and of course there were breweries who'd spent more.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The first challenge, of course, is to raise those funds. The brewing equipment manufacturer will likely require a deposit up front and the rest on shipment. The rest of the spend will come later but it won't be particularly spread out either, so be prepared for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elusive will be tiny initially, with a maximum throughput of 5BBL or 800L per week (that's 18x9G casks, 26x30L KeyKegs or 2400x330ml bottles). That hard-limits potential revenue and therefore fixed costs need to be kept in check in order to attain cashflow positivity within a reasonable period and, more importantly, maintain it. Actually, that's kind of a balance and one I pondered for a while. The main fixed costs are rent (plus any associated maintenance/service fees) and business rates - oh, and wages of course! Other costs are variable based on throughput and can be turned down if sales are slow but the bottom line is some large costs are fixed and you'll need to pay them no matter how little or much you're selling. The balance, or maybe 'trick' is a better word, is to maximise potential throughput (and therefore revenue) for the fixed cost but a third dimension is labour capacity, because it's all well and good being able to double brewing capacity within your current space but you'll need more man hours to do it and Elusive will be starting as a one-man operation - although I'll have some part-time support from friends and family, thankfully!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So with a view of your fixed costs, variable costs and brewing throughput (potential revenue) you should start to model cash flow for various levels of sales. What happens if sales are only half of what's forecasted? Can you still meet your fixed costs? Certainly, if you're looking to take on external investment or loans, you'll need to have that modelled carefully and be prepared to talk through it in great detail. Conversely, this model will also drive pricing (and to an extent, vice-versa) but that's something I'll cover in a future post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Premises</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is something I feel I could write a book on already and yet, at time of writing, I still don't have keys to an industrial unit. For most breweries I've visited, premises was the single biggest headache in getting started and it'll take at least double the length of time you thought it would. It's a crucial aspect to get right, of course. Size, cost, location, ease of access and suitable utility connections are all very important. The first concern, however, should be the use class. This governs what the premises can and can't be used for. A small brewery would generally fall under B2 (industrial) but may also be covered under B1c (light industrial) depending on the local authority. Before putting an offer on any premises, it's imperative to check the current use class and consult with the local authority to confirm this covers your use. They may ask some questions about what you'll be up to and there's a good chance they won't know anything about brewing, so be prepared for that. Use classes can be changed but that usually requires going through the local authority's planning process and can be very time consuming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next considerations are rent and rates. A private landlord or local authority will likely want to enter into a fixed-term lease - 3 years is typical although you'd be wise to negotiate a break clause so you can get out if things go really well or indeed, if they don't! They'll have a rental price in mind they want to achieve over that period and you'll need to find out what that is by negotiating. They'll also want a deposit (3 months is typical) and most likely, the first quarter's rent in advance, although everything is negotiable of course. Ask if they'll be charging you VAT too. The advice I got was that this can sometimes be hard to claim back depending on the rental structure, so bear that in mind. Rates are set by the local authority and you can check the VOA <a href="http://www.2010.voa.gov.uk/rli/en/basic/find">website</a> to see the rateable value of any premises you're considering and based on that, what you'll be paying to the council and when.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Finally, you'll need to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf during the lease process. They may advise you to conduct land searches etc. which will add to their labour costs. You may also be liable for the legal fees of your landlord and their agency fees - be sure to ask about all of this when negotiating!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll cover premises build-out in a future post. Unless you're taking occupation of a former brewery site, you'll likely have a good amount of work to complete before the equipment can be moved into place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Products (beer!) and Branding</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Brewing is very much a growth sector in the UK at the moment with the number of breweries having grown significantly over the past 2-3 years. Conversely, the number of pubs is decreasing, so more breweries are competing for fewer overall customers. As a small brewery, your costs per barrel will be significantly higher than the big brewery in the area (and especially the regionals/nationals) so you'll certainly have to work hard to establish a customer base. Of course, demand for 'artisanal' products with more flavour and a story behind them is partly what's driven the 'craft' brewing boom in the UK, so it's not all bad news. The best advice I got here was to absolutely focus on making the beer the best it can be. If your product is going to be more expensive than the brewery down the road it needs to be simply better, or more interesting, or have a local connection - something to make pubs want to buy it and drinkers want to drink it. If quality isn't great, you might sell the first few batches but you can be certain those customers won't come back for more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is something I've been very conscious of when setting up Elusive. Frankly, the thought of getting it wrong it terrifies me. During the recent boom I've come across many breweries who've learned at their customer's expense - shipping beer that wasn't quite right, apologising (or not) and working to improve things with the next batch. Some have certainly improved and gone on to succeed but in an increasingly crowded market, if anyone's going to be squeezed it'll be a brewery shipping bad beer. Any successful small business needs a good product to build a market with and a brewery is no different. There's no longer 'build it and they will come' route to market for small breweries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A secondary consideration for me is that with Elusive, I'll be aiming at two markets and they're a bit different. The first is the local cask market and the second is a wider 'craft' keg and bottle market. With that in mind, I've been putting a lot of thought into which beers might work best in each of those markets, especially the local one. One thing I did was brew prototypes and circulate them locally for feedback - some was positive and some less so, but it was all valuable input. The main point here is I'm making no assumptions as I can't afford to just make something and hope it works. Yes, I'm doing this to brew beers I want to brew but ultimately if I want a local market, I need to find something that works for me and my potential customers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On branding, from the outset I've wanted something fun and vibrant. I think we've got that aspect of it right but again, I won't be afraid to take feedback on board if it we find bits of it don't work in practice. The beers I hope to sell locally will have a local connection in the name and pump clips but we don't want to the brand to be the limiting factor to wider appeal, so balance is required. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll end Part I of this series with a question for existing small breweries (input from all welcome, of course!):</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have you had to take into account addressing different markets and did you produce different beers for each or find something that works in both/all? 'Market' here could mean cask versus keg/bottle or anything you like, really - I'm curious to know if other breweries used similar approaches or just put beer out and went with the flow!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In Part II, I'll cover our premises build-out, layout, pricing and sales. I might even include some photos of our progress to help break the monotony of my rambling!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">EDIT: To read Part II, click <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2016/01/so-you-wanna-open-brewery-part-ii.html">here</a></span>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-5560189434661470872015-12-20T10:16:00.002+00:002015-12-20T10:38:49.780+00:0012 Beers of Christmas 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As the festive season pulls sharply into focus, thoughts turn once again to Beer O'Clock show's twelve beers of Christmas. This simple idea is all about drinking some decent beer over the Christmas period and using whichever is your preferred social media channel to talk about it, should you wish to. For me, it's as good a reason as any open a few things that have been acquired throughout the year rather than wait for a really special occasion - not that Christmas isn't special of course!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In previous incarnations, I've made the mistake of biting off more than I could chew by picking which beers will be drunk on which days in advance, only to find that I either didn't fancy that day's beer or it was a big boozy bottle with nobody around to share it with. This year, I'm going to go with the flow. I've got some lower ABV beers there to ease in with. Some will be shared and others will be sipped and supped selfishly while pondering Christmas' great question - what else can I eat without leaving this chair? I might even have more than one on a given day then have a (gasp!) day off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to get involved, head on over to Beer O'Clock show's <a href="http://twitter.com/beeroclockshow">twitter</a> feed for details. It starts today, 20th December, but is a pretty relaxed affair so go with whatever works for you. Without further ado, here are the beers I've picked out:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>St. Bernadus Abt 12 (Oak Aged)</b>: This was a gift from my good friend Phil Hardy, who came down to visit en-route to a family wedding a few months ago. Phil's had a tough year but one that closes out with him having fulfilled his dream of opening his own beer shop, <a href="http://twitter.com/otterstears">Otter's Tears</a>. All up, 2015 has been a good year for seeing friends either make the leap into working in beer/brewing full time or make excellent progress towards the same. We'll be raising a glass to Phil and his lovely wife Rachel when this one's cracked open. Congratulations, guys!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Fantôme Boo (2012)</b>: Dany Prignon's beers are known for being a little bit left of centre. You never quite know what you're going to get. This is a Saison brewed with pumpkin spice, the back story of which is covered <a href="http://www.belgianbeerboard.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=88888993&topic=1780.msg8881#msg8881">here</a>. Indeed, that forum post was right in that I was able to this up at Beer Boutique in Putney, I think at the back end of 2012 but it may have been 2013. The cork looks somewhat 'stressed' so I'll be opening this one outside!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin (Reisling BA)</b>: This one got a shout out in my Golden Pints as the best overseas bottled beer. BrewDog were selling these online for about £20 if I recall. The EFP discount softened the blow but, no matter, the moment I opened one of these earlier this year, I went online and bought a few more in a decadent splurge that I only slightly regretted the next day. Is it beer? I don't care. It's a sublime creation, the aroma of which leaps out of the glass to fill the nostrils with gooseberry and melon. The wine barrel adds a depth of complexity - just enough to make this one to contemplate rather than gulp down, which is entirely possible despite its 9% ABV. I'm looking forward to this immensely!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Magic Rock, Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady (No. 2)</b>: Sadly my last bottle of this release (which is a couple of years old now) but all good things must come to an end. This year marked the end of the Huddersfield-based brewery's first home, as they moved to a much larger site closer to the centre of town. Magic Rock have experienced phenomenal growth and richly deserved success since their opening in 2011 - a sentiment I tried to capture both <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2013/08/on-magic-rock-and-bombers.html">here</a> when I first sampled this release and <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2015/07/magic-rock-tapping-into-future.html">here</a> when we went up to the launch of their new tap room earlier this year. A transitional year leaves them in a position to grow even more in 2016 and that's certainly worth celebrating. Cheers Rich, Stu, Scott, Joe, Nick, Becky, Dunc+Team and anyone else I've missed - hope you enjoy your well earned Christmas break!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>The Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi (2014)</b>: This was a year in which I went back in time to rediscover some of the Belgian classics I'd enjoyed when first expanding my beery horizons in the late 90s. This beer was one of the first really good modern takes on the golden strong ale style, in my view. It's a beer I've had a few times but one I love to revisit - definitely in the decadent sipper category!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Wild Beer Co Put it in Your Pipe</b>: Wild may be better known for their sour, farm house and hoppy beers but they certainly brew some very impressive dark beers too. I picked this one up on release but since then it has, rather shamefully, lurked at the back of the beer shelf gathering dust. I'm sure it'll be no worse for it, however. At 5.5% this is one of the lower ABV beers in this selection but from the description, it sounds like it won't be lacking in flavour. Will 2016 be the year the new-wave of British breweries fall back on beers such as this in order to preserve precious hop stocks?</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Jester King Black Metal</b>: I first encountered the wild yeast fermented creations of this Texas-based brewery at De Molen's Borefts festival back in 2012. I recall vividly being wowed by a sour stout - perhaps even the first one I'd tried in that style. The <a href="http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/dev/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Festivalboekje-2012.pdf">programme</a> suggests that was probably Funk Metal rather than this, which I'm guessing may be its bigger sibling given the higher ABV. I'm not sure where I'll fit this one in - you need to be in the mood to tackle 750ml of 10% anything. Perhaps I'll do well to share this one!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Moa Sour Blanc (2013)</b>: This was picked up from South London's excellent Hop, Burns and Black - Moa being one of several New Zealand breweries they stock. I had the good fortune to visit Moa during our amazing pre-wedding adventure in 2012 and it was one of the few things I actually <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2012/08/a-visit-to-moa-brewing-company.html">blogged</a> about on that trip. This beer is brewed in the traditional Belgian Lambic style and fermented with wild yeast in oak barrels. My palate may well need to call upon this one at some point.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>BrewDog Dog D</b>: The 4th release of the Abstrakt series was much celebrated and we were such huge fans of that beer, to the point we actually crowned our wedding breakfast with a snifter or two. It was a chilli infused stout with such incredible depth. BrewDog eventually saw sense and re-brewed it, opting to use the recipe as a base for an anniversary release (Dog A). This is the fourth incarnation of that (fifth if you count AB:04 itself) but the first to be barrel aged. I've yet to sample it so this bottle will be much enjoyed, I'm sure. I might even share it with my lovely wife. Might.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Fuller's Vintage Ale (2010)</b>: The last of six bottles I purchased from Waitrose in Wokingham five years ago, on the say-so of Mark Dredge. I recall Mark tweeting about it and first bringing this beer to my attention as until then, I wasn't even aware it existed as an annual release. At the time I was looking for some beers to stash away to see how they changed over time, and this proved to be the perfect one to start the collection with. I drunk the first fresh and have sampled a bottle each year since, so this is another good thing coming to an end. If there's anyone out there thinking of starting a beer 'cellar', you'd do well to grab a few bottles of this year's!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Firestone Walker 18th Anniversary Ale</b>: These annual releases are, without fail, exceptional beers. I recall taking the very first one I got my hands on (14th) up to Rick Furzer's <i>Open It Live</i> event in Leeds - I think that was in 2011. It was good enough to silence a whole table of fellow beer geeks (we had a lot of great beer that night, to be fair!) so I've sought it out each year since and have yet to be disappointed. This is last year's release and one I've had previously, so I know I'm in for an absolute treat.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>De Ranke Père Noël</b>: This is a Christmas favourite that will probably see light of day on the 25th itself. Belgium loves a good Christmas beer. Breweries there seem to mostly find the right balance between too little and too much spice, usually relying on one of their well-honed base beers, building the flavours atop until it just seems to work. I'm also a huge fan of St Bernadus' festive release so that may well get an airing too - after all, t'is the season to be jolly!</span></li>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-7879160268099587022015-12-11T17:50:00.000+00:002015-12-16T19:21:45.098+00:00Golden Pints 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvjKocO-b6KivlyE8i-4fGqDs1cBAker2git7siCIMMJfRZpSlGlT6rkdq6QZ5s467TFHFvTMPZjYnc0ObgarC0PnPOrx9W96yzsLq09aXjyXLnZFD8kb230hJjPiRLx8ES691sF-e8Xj/s1600/Lamplightnewsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvjKocO-b6KivlyE8i-4fGqDs1cBAker2git7siCIMMJfRZpSlGlT6rkdq6QZ5s467TFHFvTMPZjYnc0ObgarC0PnPOrx9W96yzsLq09aXjyXLnZFD8kb230hJjPiRLx8ES691sF-e8Xj/s200/Lamplightnewsmall.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best UK Cask Beer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm going local here with <b>Longdog's Lamplight Porter</b>, although (local-ish) Vibrant Forest's Simcoe Pale might've edged it had I managed to find more! Beyond those, Hammerton's N1, Surrey Hills' Collusion and Siren's Love of Work all hit the spot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best UK Keg Beer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I can't pick one but here's a list of things I've REALLY enjoyed on keg this year:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Alpha State - Sorachi IPA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Brew By Numbers - Black IPA Enigma </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cloudwater - IPA (Autumn) & DIPA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Retribution Brewing - Double IPA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Siren - Life's a Peach</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Summer Wine - Surfing Monk & Sucker Punch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thornbridge - Halcyon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Weird Beard - Defacer & Decadence</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best UK Bottled Beer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Siren/B.Nektar Uncle Zester</b> with a honourable mentions to M&S/Adnams Mosaic Pale (a train beer favourite), BrewDog's Born To Die and Weird Beard Sadako Jack Daniel's BA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best UK Canned Beer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not going to name a specific one but the <b>Moor</b> and <b>Vocation</b> ranges are both fantastic. It was also great to see Magic Rock's Cannonball arrive in the shiny format. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Overseas Draught</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Funky Buddha beers that Craft Beer Co brought over were pretty special but I'm going with <b>Cellarmaker's Coffee and Cigarettes</b>, which was a highlight in Copenhagen this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Overseas Bottled Beer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Mikkeller - Nelson Sauvignon (Reisling BA)</b>. Enough to reduce a grown man to tears, but is it beer? I don't care. The moment I tasted it, I went online and bought more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Overseas Canned Beer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The <b>Modern Times </b>beers were all fantastic. Hope to see more of them on these shores next year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Collaboration Brew</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Really loved the <b>Hawkshead/Crooked Stave Key Lime Tau</b>, one of this year's Rainbow Project collaborations - all of which I enjoyed, actually. Next year's is shaping up nicely, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Overall Beer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Siren/B.Nektar Uncle Zester</b>. This was a beer that really grabbed me from the first sip - the sweetness of the honey is married wonderfully to the gentle sourness of the Berliner style base (presumably related to Calypso). Despite being north of 8% ABV, I could easily drink more than one bottle at a sitting - don't try that at home, kids. Part of me is sad there's not much of this masterful creation left but another part (the part which suffers hangovers) will be glad to see the back of it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Branding</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The rise in popularity of cans saw some great designs being used but there's a new (as yet, not canning) brewery who just completely nailed capturing everything their brewery is about in their design. That was <b>Kew Brewery</b>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5aM1o2IKGygLDraQeTmq7DANV-9ZeWU_y765Yg68WR8ukScfhZye8vn8Vp2P6c-OLe7LWrU7nXZ6m1JYAQiXTJoY4N7qBunoX47Y3Z6sZHxzV9M3AeRsD-oTJDFleYc1rbSHAB-EZDQX/s1600/Kew-701x357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5aM1o2IKGygLDraQeTmq7DANV-9ZeWU_y765Yg68WR8ukScfhZye8vn8Vp2P6c-OLe7LWrU7nXZ6m1JYAQiXTJoY4N7qBunoX47Y3Z6sZHxzV9M3AeRsD-oTJDFleYc1rbSHAB-EZDQX/s640/Kew-701x357.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Best Pump Clip</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Weird Beard's Defacer </b>(Keg) - the first to feature their fantastic new foil branding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Bottle Label</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Absolutely loved the <b>Mikkeller/Lindemans Spontanbasil</b> screen-printed bottles. It suits the beer perfectly. The beer itself was a fascinating creation that really seemed to polarise opinion!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3LP43MEB93fmqGSP_BpdZtJFSXXYmbl_sc05UDP8oHTPPi0OcizrlpbTGZWqo7qLL24_WgUDZPElbta-a6W6sOvPTyqLmGoZ3vqfvob8gq1h330Rk87yPTly6y5TieRh4U-Z1UfEObJ1/s1600/Buxton_logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3LP43MEB93fmqGSP_BpdZtJFSXXYmbl_sc05UDP8oHTPPi0OcizrlpbTGZWqo7qLL24_WgUDZPElbta-a6W6sOvPTyqLmGoZ3vqfvob8gq1h330Rk87yPTly6y5TieRh4U-Z1UfEObJ1/s200/Buxton_logo.gif" width="182" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best UK Brewery</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Buxton</b> have been consistently fantastic all year and seem to be able to work their magic across many different styles. A visit to the tap room in September cemented that and I certainly hope to visit again in 2016.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Best Overseas Brewery</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well I reckon Buxton's good buddies <b>Omnipollo</b> are pretty much brewing some of the most interesting and creative beers in the world right now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best New Brewery Opening 2015</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It already feels like <b>Cloudwater</b> have been around a while but they only launched this year (and I'm looking forward to sampling their winter range) - keep up the good work! </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Vocation</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">'s beers have been flawlessly good. Up until recently I'd only tried the cans but a recent sample on cask confirmed those cans are no fluke. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Pub/Bar of the Year</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ooh, this is a tough one but I'm going to plump for the <b>Magic Rock Tap</b>. Transport me there right away, please! I wrote about it <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2015/07/magic-rock-tapping-into-future.html">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best New Pub/Bar Opening 2015</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I suppose that must go to <b>Magic Rock Tap</b>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Festival of the Year</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>IMBC</b> - just seems to get better and better each year. Long may it continue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Supermarket of the Year</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Marks and Spencer</b> - great expansion of their range this year and their own-labeled beers have been very well selected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Independent Retailer of the Year</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwapDryCnJNDxJ9hVZkRKOErO3WXj3wbHcpI6Ol5a-kxW0TYJoGILntrhqc-dxgCejyYnKR0KxFp7gBn4PkGgzbR35XtlC0-IrdqpGYHY6fqAARHVzuYeSbJPFFj8yrga_7bUFPMuS0G0k/s1600/Hop-Burns-and-Black-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwapDryCnJNDxJ9hVZkRKOErO3WXj3wbHcpI6Ol5a-kxW0TYJoGILntrhqc-dxgCejyYnKR0KxFp7gBn4PkGgzbR35XtlC0-IrdqpGYHY6fqAARHVzuYeSbJPFFj8yrga_7bUFPMuS0G0k/s200/Hop-Burns-and-Black-logo.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Spent many a fun Saturday at Bottle Shop, Bermondsey and its been great to watch them grow and grow but I'm giving the nod to the now award-winning (not so) newcomers <b>Hop, Burns & Black</b>. I'm not sure what it is about that place that makes you feel right at home whenever you walk in but whatever it is, the place has it in abundance. Just wish I lived nearer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Online Retailer of the Year</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yet again, <b>BrewDog</b> got the most of my hard earned in terms of online spend. Their guest beer range and stream of interesting new releases keeps me coming back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Beer Blog or Website</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Ed's Beer Blog</b> (very regular posts with fantastic, diverse content) with honourable mentions to Total Ales and Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There can only be one winner here for me and that's <b>@twattybeer </b>(<a href="http://twitter.com/twattybeer">twitter</a>) - David's doodles are always on point and very funny (one of my favourites features below, with permission).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Brewery Website/Social Media</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That would be <b>BrewDog</b>, again. Great engagement and solid, fresh content. Honourable mention to Leith's Pilot Beer (<a href="http://twitter.com/pilotbeeruk">twitter</a>) - their sense of humour is second to none.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlKvLvxLUWVncmhjV_eP7kGSEdLx8Ji4_7pwH7GcgJTe3QyWNZIDPGf9OkUmLORd1i3TojcfPtUAYMu93KX1Xe_pX5fZhBiCwAGpVQEWDkcztlJ7GxBIL2N5hqSnR_U1Rc53KVLt-fMj6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-12-11+at+17.11.28.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlKvLvxLUWVncmhjV_eP7kGSEdLx8Ji4_7pwH7GcgJTe3QyWNZIDPGf9OkUmLORd1i3TojcfPtUAYMu93KX1Xe_pX5fZhBiCwAGpVQEWDkcztlJ7GxBIL2N5hqSnR_U1Rc53KVLt-fMj6/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-12-11+at+17.11.28.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image copyright <a href="https://twitter.com/twattybeer/status/671744841005559809">@twattybeer</a></td></tr>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-80296328537909147412015-12-08T16:03:00.001+00:002015-12-08T18:49:30.314+00:00Using beer ratings as market research<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've been working a lot lately on firming up the first 10 beers I plan to brew at Elusive, drawing from what is quite a large collection of recipes. This got me thinking about market research and ascertaining how well these beers might be received. Although that's not necessarily an indicator of potential sales, I figured it might provide useful input into developing an overall strategy. In an increasingly crowded market, simply starting up and hoping for the best is a risky approach. There's no longer a 'build it and they will come' road to market. Whilst you might shift your first few batches out of curiosity, if they aren't well received at point of sale, it'll get tougher from there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Like many beer drinkers, I use <a href="https://untappd.com/">Untappd</a> (when I remember!) to record the beers I've drunk and give a rating. Personally, it's mostly used as an aide memoire but others like the gamification aspect of collecting badges and the other social features it provides. Untappd is a great source of data, although compared to sites such as <a href="http://www.ratebeer.com/">ratebeer</a>, the data is perhaps less 'clean' given the comparative lack of moderation - for example, if the first drinker of a specific new beer adds it in the wrong style category, it may never get changed. With that in mind, the analysis here should not be considered useful for anything more than satisfying my curiosity! There were some other boundaries I set when analysing this data:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A style would be discounted if there were fewer than five beers listed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Data would not be 'cleaned' at all</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Since Untappd breaks down by country, I'd focus just on England</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Overseas rates of English beers would be included (don't know how to exclude them)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Before we get into the data and findings, it's useful to have a read of Untappd's explanation <a href="http://help.untappd.com/kb/beer-guidelines/how-are-ratings-determined-on-untappd">how scores are determined</a>. The first thing I looked at was the top rated breweries. This is readily available in the user interface:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are a couple of standouts (for me) here - the first being Hanlons and the second being Samuel Smith's. Hanlons used to brew the much sought after Thomas Hardy's ale. A quick look at their ratings shows this is a common and inevitably highly rated check in, mostly from overseas. Is this driven by scarcity? Possibly. Sam Smith's stands out because of the huge number of ratings. Again, this appears to be due to a strong overseas influence. On to the top 15 rated beers overall, we see a pattern starting to emerge:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If we discount our Sam Smith's outlier, these are mostly strong beers. There's not a huge delta in the number of ratings (relative to the outlier) but the average ABV is just under 10%. This got me thinking about skew by style. That is, if you look at the top rated beers by style, how much variance is there in the average. The graph below (click to expand) shows that skew. It was created by taking the top 5 beers in each style and averaging the scores, then comparing that to the overall average across them all, which was a score of 3.70.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here we can see a very positive skew towards the 'big' Stouts and IPAs, as reflected in the overall highest rated beers. In analysing the data to create the above graph, I noticed that in some cases there was also a large(r) delta within the styles too. That is, the top rated beer by style was varying degrees higher than the average of the top 5. Those were often the least popular styles (e.g. Cream Ale) but in some cases were also popular, suggesting an 'opportunity' to score relatively well (because of the positive skew) compared to brewing a beer with a lower overall average across the top beers in style. I can't think of a way to show this graphically but these styles stand out as 'opportunity' styles:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Imperial Stout</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Milk Stout</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Strong Ale (English)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Porter (English)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mild (English)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Red Ale (American Amber/Red/Imperial)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At the other end of the scale, these styles could be considered 'opportunity' styles for other reasons, because they skew lower but have variance within the style, suggesting that attaining a high score relative to other beers in the style might be easier compared to the other end of the scale:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Chilli Beer</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bock</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">California Common</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Finally, looking at all of the included styles and counting which breweries had the most number of top rated beers, we see that London's Kernel Brewery stands out by having the top rated beer across 9 different styles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Does this make for useful market research to a would be brewery? Possibly not, but at least it satisfied my aim of dragging this blog back to where it started - with pretty graphs!</span></div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-30177252428665955222015-12-06T13:22:00.000+00:002015-12-06T14:24:12.138+00:00Hereford Beer House<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Herefordshire is perhaps a county better known for hop farms and cider than beer. If anything, attempting to redress that balance by opening a destination bar in Hereford itself seems to have spurred partners Jonny Bright and Amélie Varin on to doing something beyond the norm. They've spared no expense in creating what they believe to be the UK's first bar-based glass fronted cold room, enabling them to store and display all stock at a freshness-preserving 4 degrees celcius. This kind of setup is commonplace in the USA, where even most supermarkets store all beer on chilled display shelves, but the UK is a long way off being able to support getting beer from conditioning tank to glass at optimal temperatures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hereford Beer House is more than just a beer bar, however. The beer offering is supported by plenty of local cider, cheese & charcuterie, coffee & tea and even home brewing ingredients - aiming to create a welcoming and accommodating choice rather than all-out hard sell on beer. In addition to the bar itself, Bright (formerly of BrewDog, Brodie's and Weird Beard) and Varin have created After The Harvest, a cuckoo brewing company aimed at bringing both fresh and wild beer directly to their customers. The connection of the bar to their beers has proved popular, with the first batch being the biggest seller so far on the taps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Selling a diverse, high-end beer selection to those just discovering 'craft' beer is not without its challenges of course, and in order to inspire that discovery, the bottles are very keenly priced and sharing is encouraged. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the hour or so I was there, custom ranged from those very familiar with the offering to curious passers-by. The couple certainly have a challenge on their hands in the months ahead but its one they're relishing, and their offering is perfectly poised to help them in their aim of bringing great beer to Bright's home town.</span></div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-79825043957262108982015-11-04T17:37:00.001+00:002015-11-05T11:42:17.442+00:00Pallet Watch - Cloudwater Brew Co<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The first in this new series of blog posts comes to you live from The Free Trade Inn, Newcastle upon Tyne. Manchester's Cloudwater Brew Co, very much a new kid on the block in the skilled art of pallet assembly, sent this effort up to the north east in advance of their much anticipated Double IPA launch this coming Saturday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We're not sure which route it took but suspect it might've travelled east along the M62 before taking the A1 northbound.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shockingly dry day in Newcastle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Its assembly, to the layman at least, appears to be tight. A tricky mix of e-casks, slimline key kegs and boxes has been handled well with the choice of a standard pallet proving a wise one. The pallet is strapped, wrapped and clearly marked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pallet building expert Denis Johnstone (Brewery Manager, Buxton Brewery) was called in to cast his critical eye over proceedings. After an amount of chin scratching and sucking of air through teeth, he surmised: "<i>decent skills, let down by clear stretch wrap and not banding both ways. <b>7/10</b></i>"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A solid score, it must be said. Can anyone score better? Will Cloudwater take this feedback on board and up their game? Stay tuned to find out!</span></div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-73013371656490841812015-10-19T19:35:00.001+01:002015-10-19T21:41:44.968+01:00A peek inside Keighley's Wishbone Brewery<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wishbone was a project a long time in planning but what felt like, to an outside observer at least, an astonishingly short time in execution considering the amount of work involved. Adrian (Ade) and Emma Chapman worked many evenings and weekends turning a former and mostly derelict textile mill in Keighley, Yorkshire into the makings of a modern 10BBL brewhouse and tap room. It's a huge space at some 9000 square feet split over two floors but that, perhaps, is a statement of intent as the couple look to make their mark on Yorkshire's already vibrant brewing scene.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sYrbT-75-y10IbSx66l4W-g0UVzop7ufl1_RAcC4If73IsWJAWNye76WioE7PkS_V4QtlIVU_pdYIrQ9VK4zhLgPGyWlc1iV_TYImWet495JrW_cQTzS41g6V1slUY2wiWKNQAff4SyD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-24+at+09.04.48.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sYrbT-75-y10IbSx66l4W-g0UVzop7ufl1_RAcC4If73IsWJAWNye76WioE7PkS_V4QtlIVU_pdYIrQ9VK4zhLgPGyWlc1iV_TYImWet495JrW_cQTzS41g6V1slUY2wiWKNQAff4SyD/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-09-24+at+09.04.48.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ade is no stranger to that scene having worked for over five years as a brewer at the nearby Saltaire brewery. He left with the full blessing and support of his former employer and is already making his own strides into the market with casks of the first gyle having left the new brewery in mid-September. His former boss, Tony, made sure he was among the first to sample that inaugural brew when the very first cask hit the taps at local micro-pub the <i>Cap and Collar</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From the outside the building, you'd never guess what lies within, to the point I'd driven round the block twice before trusting google maps enough to park up and walk in. The building has an old brick front and a large shared entrance - wide enough to reverse a lorry or two into. Walking through into the main section of the ground floor and down past the newly installed cold room, a work-in-progress bar and the enclosed office space, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I arrived at the brew house to the rear to find Emma preparing orders for delivery that afternoon and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ade racking the third gyle into some very colourful plastic casks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The brew house itself is bright and spacious, with a row of conical fermenters running perpendicular to the liquor tanks, mash tun and kettle. As Ade walked me round the building, we chatted about about many things, from the trials and tribulations of obtaining the conicals from China to some of the minor tweaks he's had to apply to the brew house to address niggles unearthed during the few first brews. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ade's home brewing blog <a href="https://pdtnc.wordpress.com/">Probably Due to Network Congestion</a> documents well over 100 recipes, from the very simple to <i>extreme craft!</i> I've referred to this blog on many occasions when first attempting a new style or tweaking an existing recipe. In his own words, however, Wishbone's <a href="http://www.wishbonebrewery.co.uk/beer/fined/">core range</a> "is mostly made to have wide appeal without offending anyone’s tastes". That said, the beers I sampled at the brewery were all very flavoursome and, as you'd expect given their brewing pedigree, well made. My personal highlight was the 3.8% American Pale Ale, <i>Bandit</i>, which very much reminded me of Dark Star's Hop Head in flavour and aroma. I'm sure, in time, some of the recipes from those extensive home brewing archives will be put to use either as seasonal brews or as part of a future adjustment of the core range. In the mean time, their initial offering is certain to do well given the quality and diversity of styles covered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wishbone will soon have a tap room onsite, initially on the ground floor next to the brew house before, perhaps, expanding upstairs to take advantage of the extensive space available. Being close to the train station and several large businesses, I suspect this might be a popular destination for post-work refreshment once open.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As Ade showed me out, he told me the story of how his Dad used to have a small workshop in that very same large entrance area many years ago. The family connection to the site helped cement the decision to take the ambitious project on and I'm sure that call will pay dividends as Wishbone continues to establish itself both locally and further afield.</span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-12116908038692071362015-09-22T18:30:00.000+01:002015-09-22T19:16:24.492+01:00The Rise of the Rock Star Brewer<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm not sure where I first heard the term "Rock Star" used in reference to a brewer but the phrase has certainly been around a while, as this seven year old post over on <a href="http://www.stonch.co.uk/2008/04/rock-stars-of-craft-brewing-world.html">Stonch</a> confirms. It was almost certainly conjured up by an over-zealous marketing department, even if the example referenced above wasn't the first occurrence. </div>
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Recent events got me thinking about the increasing popularity of 'craft' beer and the evolution of beer culture in here in the UK. In the US, people queuing for hours on end or paying many hundreds of dollars to join exclusive clubs in order to obtain the latest limited releases from revered brewers or breweries is not uncommon. In most cases, the demand for such beers is driven not by the brewery selling them but by consumers who've rated and raved about them online. I'm sure there are exceptions, however.</div>
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This becomes self fuelling - in order to meet this demand as fairly as possible, breweries resort to ticketed events or online-only sales, the latter of which seems to have naturally extended into online 'clubs' where you an pay an annual fee up front to secure the loot. The club approach is the one I find hardest to reconcile personally. In some cases, you're agreeing to buy beer which may not have even been brewed yet. Beer which could be mediocre or worse. Are we as 'craft' beer consumers at the point where we buy into the idea of a beer, or splash out blindly based solely on "Rock Star" reputations or because we simply must have this new release in case it's as good as that much heralded and coveted batch from 3 years ago - the one that's impossible to find now but was basically the Best. Beer. Ever?</div>
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I don't think we're at that point yet here in the UK. Yes, there have been instances where demand for beer has far outstripped supply, leading to online scrambles, imploding websites and the inevitability that many therefore miss out. However, I can't recall any examples where that has been down to a brewery over-marketing a product. </div>
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I recently had the opportunity to discuss this with two brewers who've experienced online scrambles for their own brews. I'll share their thoughts in a future post but it quickly became clear to me that the concept of being a "Rock Star" was not one they were comfortable with or could even comprehend. In both cases their only concern was that the beer meets the expectations of those who'd joined the rush to secure those coveted bottles.</div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-63543218045544579302015-09-12T20:13:00.001+01:002015-09-13T10:15:22.515+01:00Little Beer, Big Heart<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Earlier this year I found myself at a local beer festival, one very cold Friday night in January. The organisers had done an excellent job buying in mostly local ale with a flirtatious sprinkling of exotic ales that weren't from round 'ere. For what it's worth, I consider 'local' to be breweries broadly within the scalene triangle that you could draw on a map to join Basingstoke, Reading and Guildford. There is actually a good number of breweries within this triangle, ranging in size from positively micro up to those with their own hop farm. I haven't counted them but I'd guess at more than 10, yet probably a lot less than 20.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, with only somethingteen breweries in our modest triangle, when a new brewery appears on the scene I'm always keen to sample their beers. I'll also try to pop along if I can to say hello and have a nose around the brewery, trying (and usually failing) to avoid making a nuisance of myself.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5xiTE0bEu247Wf7lB6Hcl8XPmkVOwffPWG0j8BUgO8UQ1xU1Yym6YJJYiGR0qofrmrzS0wmBmb-yYY4Wicb6e3kUQ_2pO0EMnoyLk3JWE6VATL9K5mg6mwEwZuhVgmAl_JjlWW-1pFvM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-12+at+17.39.38.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5xiTE0bEu247Wf7lB6Hcl8XPmkVOwffPWG0j8BUgO8UQ1xU1Yym6YJJYiGR0qofrmrzS0wmBmb-yYY4Wicb6e3kUQ_2pO0EMnoyLk3JWE6VATL9K5mg6mwEwZuhVgmAl_JjlWW-1pFvM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-12+at+17.39.38.png" style="cursor: move;" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Little Beer Co was born in 2013. I recall reading in the local press about how they were actively involving the local community in what they were doing, probably around the time they were moving to new, bigger premises with bigger kit in mid-2014. I also had a look at their rather lovely <a href="http://littlebeer.co.uk/">website</a> and sighed wistfully as I read their <a href="http://littlebeer.co.uk/about-us/manifesto">manifesto</a>, which struck a bit of a chord with me, as did their list of beers which is certainly more diverse than the local on-trade typically goes for, with several of them designed for keg only.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first time I saw their beer in the wild was at a different local festival in late 2014. It was Little Rosy, their Raspberry Wheat beer. Now, wheat beer for me is a something I like to drink in the summer, preferably cold and enjoyed in a pub garden (I'm a sucker for a chunky pint glass of Hoegaarden, which I find pairs wonderfully with warm summer evenings). However, this was a strip-lit sports hall and the beer was poured from gravity, probably a good bit warmer than cellar temperature let alone anything near that of chilled keg dispense. I noted it was slightly sulphuric and astringent. I didn't enjoy it but made a mental note to try it again, hopefully from a cold bottle or keg line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The festival in January afforded me my second nibble of Little Beer Co's range. This time it was Little Vienna, described as a <i>biscuit-coloured Vienna lager that breaks the style rulebook by using Nelson Sauvin hops</i>. Mmmm, Nelson. A hop I pretty much obsess over. Anything mentioning Nelson in a festival program usually has me sampling it at some point during proceedings. I ordered a half (gravity again in this case) and poked my nose in, hoping for a whiff of that gooseberry-like aroma I so love. However, green apple was all I got. A reluctant taste found mostly the same and my tasting notes say only "Green apples from nose to finish". Acetaldehyde is sometimes intentionally present at a low level in lagers, with Budweiser being an example of that - but in this case, I wondered if</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> it was maybe just my palate being shot and playing tricks on me - it was pretty late on. Or perhaps this just wasn't the best way to serve this beer and it had suffered miserably as a result. The only point of reference I could recall for the style was Sam Adams and that's generally served from keg too.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I typed my notes into Untappd (noting when and where I'd had the beer, as I always do if I'm not happy with it in case the brewery is reading comments), and moved on to something else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next morning I was surprised to find a DM from <a href="https://twitter.com/littlebeerco">@LittleBeerCo</a> in my inbox. A connection I have on Untappd (Richard Newberry) works part-time for the brewery and had pointed the owner and brewer, Jim Taylor, to my comments and twitter account. Shortly afterwards I had a chat with Jim on the phone. It was a straightforward and honest exchange. I described what I'd experienced and he explained what the beer is intended to taste and smell like, stating that Nelson is used late on and that he too is a fan of the distinctive aroma it delivers - one that he also uses elsewhere in more hop-forward styles in their range. He invited me to pop along to the brewery to give Little Vienna a second chance and offered to show me round. Jim seemed to genuinely care that I'd not enjoyed his beer at its best and wanted to put that right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I took me far too long to eventually visit the brewery in Guildford, but a Saturday afternoon drive back from Gatwick via the A3 presented an ideal opportunity to drop in. Jim was busy transferring a beer when I arrived but pointed me towards the brewery shop at the far end of the building. On the shelf I found both Little Rosy and Little Vienna (£2.80 each) so I grabbed those and browsed through the rest of the range. By the time Jim appeared again to take payment, I'd grabbed another four (different) bottles and a delicious looking loaf of bread, baked locally using Little Beer Co beer in place of water in the dough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The card reader was one of those fancy iPad connected ones and my details popping up on the screen saved me from an awkward introduction. True to his word, Jim took time out to show me round the operation. It's a 10BBL setup in pretty spacious surroundings. The beer being transferred was destined to be kegged the following day, so we got talking about their approach to cleaning and filling kegs and particularly the conditioning process. Little Beer Co packages in cask, keg and bottle onsite with cask or keg generally being selected based on what suits the style best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On arriving home, I cut some doorstep slices off the lovely fresh loaf and swapped the last of the Cornish Cruncher in the fridge with the two bottles I was so curious to try again. The strong bite of extra-mature cheddar was the perfect match for the slightly sweet, crusty bread and the sandwich was polished off long before the bottles had chilled down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A couple of hours later, Little Rosy was opened with a satisfying hiss and a wisp of smoke. It poured a light copper colour with a soft red hue and delivered a fluffy white pillow of foam as the glass filled. The nose is nuanced with sweet malts being nudged politely aside by wild raspberries as the aroma develops. The mouth feel is champagne spritz, which washes the crisp flavours around satisfyingly before the gentle, tart finish cleans everything up leaving you wanting for more. I enjoyed this beer in the garden and found the experience refreshing and rewarding - a far cry from that delivered by the beer festival at which I'd first tried it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Little Vienna poured a similar pale copper colour with a thin off-white head. There was no sign of the green apple I'd experienced last time around. The aroma is a mix of brown bread as it's being toasted and a distant fruitiness that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Not the full on Nelson gooseberry and white wine grape you'd expect if this had been hopped like an IPA, but of course it isn't an IPA, it's a Vienna Lager which is primarily a malt-led style. The flavour has a lovely toasty malt character with just a hint of that Nelson hop profile, which combined deliver supreme drinkability. As the glass emptied I found myself wishing I'd drunk it alongside my hastily assembled cheese sandwich earlier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'd learned something here as both a drinker and wannabe brewer. As a drinker, don't be afraid to give beers or breweries a second chance, especially if you suspect the first experience was of a beer served far from its best. I've been guilty in the past of hastily writing things off, quite possibly to my loss with hindsight. Do give honest feedback however, but be constructive rather than dismissive. As a brewer, don't be afraid to engage customers who perhaps had a bad experience. A couple of minutes spent here or there can go a long way towards connecting you with those who buy your products and what could be more satisfying than having a previously unhappy customer not only vowing to come back for more but wholeheartedly recommending others do the same?</span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-88021484165463979702015-08-31T09:43:00.000+01:002015-08-31T09:43:08.315+01:00The Influence of Michael Jackson<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In his forward to the sixth edition of <i>Great Beers of Belgium</i>, Charlie Papazian says that Michael Jackson "helped transform every beer drinker's perspective" and goes on to say that "his passion and self professed love affair with Belgian beers succeeded in inspiring unparalleled innovation among American brewers". </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jackson may have inspired many American brewers but it was made very clear during this year's European Beer Blogger's conference how much he inspired and helped drive the success of Belgian brewers too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Albert De Brabandere told the story of how their Petrus Aged Pale came to be - as a result of Jackson demanding, when sampling it directly from the foudre, that consumers be given the chance to try a beer that was originally only brewed for blending. The brewery eventually conceded and packaged a third of a foudre for sale in the United States as part of Jackson's internet beer club in 2001. So well was it received, that it eventually became a core beer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Armand Debelder talked fondly of Jackson as he passionately recalled the backstory of 3 Fonteinen, highlighting how Jackson's promotion of the traditional Lambic style around the world helped create the demand that drove his business forward to success. Debelder has a picture of them together on the side of the brewery shop and holds Jackson in such high regard that he joked that the town of Beersel should erect a statue of him in the town square.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our visit to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3 Fonteinen on 30th August 2015 coincided with the 8th anniversary of Jackson's passing. His influence on the success of Belgian beer clearly remains strong and his writing continues to inspire professional beer writers and amateur bloggers alike.</span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-11815388634987247502015-08-06T18:56:00.000+01:002015-08-07T10:55:27.848+01:00The Story of Elusive Brewing<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I almost don't know where to start with this but I'll have a stab at it. Let's go with 1990, being with a group of mates in the former Fox & Horn in Mortimer, near Reading, and ordering a pint of Flower's Best Bitter - having to face a grilling about being old enough before being handed that first, delicious pint. We used to chase them with the occasional Whisky Mac but that's not the point here. The point is, it was a long time ago that I first discovered beer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Down the years I've been through phases of drinking mass-produced lager and even developed a mild obsession with French wine, but ale has always been my main concern. Around the same time, we discovered £1 ferry crossings and the delights of Calais. Amidst the trollies full of £9 cases of Foster's, we'd throw the odd bottle of crazy Belgian beer such as Duvel. At 9% ABV, it was a novelty. We'd challenge each other to chug bottles. I had no idea that this was one of the world's finest examples of a style I'd yet to appreciate. I had no idea of style at all, to be honest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I moved to California in 1998 and I recall discovering Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (WHOA, BITTER!!) in our local bar and starting to find my feet by learning the difference between a lager and an ale during a tour of Anchor Brewery. Missing British beer also led to my first home brewing exploits - a couple of ex-pats trying to reproduce Best Bitter in a Californian garage that averaged around 28 degrees, even in winter. We cracked it open on Superbowl Sunday in 1999 - it was bloody terrible, but we suffered through a few pints before resigning ourselves to cans of Coors Light and Bud.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Moving back to the UK, my interest in beer switched to Belgian styles and continued to develop. Discovering the Dovetail in Clerkenwell in the early 2000s really opened my eyes and inspired many trips to Belgium to hunt down the beers I was enjoying at the source. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fast forward a few years - I think my real 'craft' beer epiphany came when I joined twitter in 2009 and started to network with and learn from others. I soon discovered Beer Merchants and they were tweeting about beers from a brewer called Mikkeller. It would be easy to write that the rest, as they say, is history - but it wasn't as straightforward as that. I had a love-hate thing with the entire case that I'd eagerly ordered, but it had roused my interest in a way that I'd never thought possible. Jane, my girlfriend (now wife) had gone travelling and I had far too much time on my hands. I set about exploring beer and developing the love side of those first interactions with Mikkeller's and others' beers. It went from there to watching the UK scene develop. The endless variety on offer at the Cask in Pimlico, being rained upon outside the new Kernel Brewery while dissecting the flavours that this hop and that hop brought to each beer - this was slowly developing into an obsession.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't know what brought me back to home brewing. I was certainly inspired by <a href="https://broadfordbrewer.wordpress.com/">David Bishop's</a> blog amongst others, such as <a href="https://pdtnc.wordpress.com/">Adrian Chapman's</a>. Kenny Hannah (<a href="http://twitter.com/ObadiahPoundage">@ObadiahPoundage</a>) introduced me to Gregg Irwin (<a href="http://twitter.com/dredpenguin">@dredpenguin</a>) in August 2011. It was the pre-GBBF Kernel tap takeover at Cask Pimlico (Kenny writes about the event <a href="http://thebeermonkey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/kernel-at-cask-pub-and-kitchen.html">here</a>), a night on which I'd also affirm my love of Saison. We'd go on to become good friends, but let's come back to that. That night, Gregg certainly planted some seeds as he talked about the beers he'd created at home and his aspirations to brew commercially. I don't think I've ever said this to him in person, but Gregg was, and remains, a huge inspiration to me personally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Jane returned from her travels, I proposed, and she accepted! In early 2012, I'd finally assembled enough kit to brew a beer at home. The first brew day took me about 12 hours from end to end and was supposed to be a clone of Green Flash's West Coast IPA. The <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2012/05/adventures-in-all-grain-brewing-1.html">blog post</a> I wrote on that brew day details a series of very amateur errors but I recall being spurred on by all the comments and feedback offering advice on how to avoid those errors and improve my process. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The day after the beer was bottled, Jane and me boarded a plane for Singapore. Our jobs in IT, while enabling us financially to afford a few months off, were a source of stress and long hours. In the year we were to marry, we'd decided to blow some of our savings on a big trip before blowing the rest on our wedding. My obsession with beer had reached borderline insanity. I had all the breweries and bars of note in New Zealand plotted on a map and had every intention of visiting them all. Thankfully common sense prevailed and we managed to balance the beauty of NZ with the beer - just about. Our time in San Diego towards the end of the trip however was pretty much entirely spent in breweries!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On our return, Gregg (after we'd met up again to share some home brews) encouraged me to enter a competition that London Amateur Brewers were organising - it would be a great way to receive feedback and guidance on my first brews. The West Coast IPA was duly entered along with a Saison I'd created with some hops I'd picked up in New Zealand - Nelson Sauvin. The Saison scored well but was apparently entered into the wrong category (I found the BJCP style guidelines confusing so just guessed, incorrectly figuring they'd sort it out for me) but the IPA, despite being around five months old by this point, scooped a bronze medal. That rosette sits proudly on our mantelpiece to this day. I think that evening was a turning point for me, arriving home to open the last bottle of that first brew in celebration. Other people had enjoyed beers that I'd produced on the electric hob in the kitchen and fermented in the dining room. How could that be?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My obsession with home brewing snapped into overdrive on joining the fantastic London Amateur Brewers club soon afterwards. I wanted to drink and learn about everything I could lay my hands on. I wanted to brew every style I read about and tasted yet also kept going back to old recipes to refine and improve them. By the time The Craft Beer Co launched their <a href="http://www.nationalhomebrewingawards.co.uk/">National Home Brewing Awards</a> in late 2013, I'd produced a few beers I was happy with and was growing in confidence. I certainly had my eye on that prize and spent about 3 months brewing most weekends to produce a range of beers to enter. Fast forward to February 2014 and what remains one of the proudest nights of my life thus far - "<a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2014/02/momentum.html">And the winner is...</a>". The first person to congratulate me was Gregg, whom by now had partnered up with fellow home brewing obsessive Bryan Spooner to create Weird Beard Brewing - a brewery that was named amongst Ratebeer's best new breweries in the world after a phenomenal first year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In terms of my own learning, it wasn't just about home brewing. I could list many UK breweries who'd generously indulged me in answering question after question during visits, or when I'd cornered them at meet the brewer events - helping to satisfy my growing curiosity around commercial brewing. Visiting Magic Rock for the first time in 2012 during the Beer Bloggers Conference in Leeds, the same weekend I'd first visited Summer Wine, was memorable. Seeing James Farran's home brew kit still stashed away in the brewery and hearing the story of how he, with Andy Baker, had started Summer Wine was fascinating to me, as was hearing Richard Burhouse talk about his own discovery of US beer and the story behind how he came to start Magic Rock, hiring Stuart Ross as head brewer to recreate those hoppy styles he enjoyed drinking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was starting to detect a cross-over between commercial and home brewing. At the risk of over generalising, commercial brewers were just like the home brewers I'd met but with bigger kit, and much more at stake of course! - just as eager to learn and passionate about what they did. I don't think you ever stop learning as a brewer, commercial or otherwise, which is perhaps why I've never met a commercial brewer who sees what they do as just 'a job'. I wanted to be part of it like nothing else. As I'd learn later, it's a tough, physically demanding job so you certainly need to have a passion for it to power you through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gregg was a fan of the Nelson Saison and when I decided to start down the long path of setting up my own brewery, Weird Beard gave me a leg up by releasing it commercially as a collaboration. My friend <a href="http://twitter.com/cerijones">Ceri Jones</a> created some branding based on the 8-bit video games I enjoyed playing as a kid, as a logo was required for the packaging and having no idea where to take it, reverted back to my misspent youth. We launched Nelson Saison at Phil Hardy's <a href="https://beersay.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/isosceles-macclesfield-twissup-in-pictures/">Twissup in Macclesfield</a> in 2013 - another proud moment for me but not as proud as, on my 40th birthday, having a barman tell me the story of that beer as he filled my glass - "this was originally a home brew, you know, but Weird Beard liked it so much they decided to brew it". The recipe would later be totally redesigned and released as Lord Nelson at the second <a href="http://birminghambeerbash.co.uk/">Birmingham Beer Bash</a> in July 2014. Weird Beard and me were both pretty proud of that beer. Further commercial brews would follow with Dark Star releasing American Red - the recipe that won the Craft Beer Co competition, Hogs Back inviting me to collaborate on a beer for GBBF 2014 and Siren Craft Brew giving me a huge leg up by inviting me to collaborate on <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2015/01/dinner-for-one.html">Dinner For One</a>, which developed into a series of releases each bearing the Elusive Brewing name.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Starting a brewery can certainly be frustrating. My personal 'adventure' would see me fail to secure three separate premises over the period of a year before finally agreeing terms on a unit in Basingstoke. The last of the premises that fell through happened very late in the process, meaning the 5BBL kit I'd ordered to coincide with it had to be moth-balled for a few months. The suppliers, <a href="http://esfabrications.co.uk/">Elite Stainless Fabrications</a> in Swindon, have been fantastic in that regard, allowing me to take up valuable warehouse space by storing it. The day I'm finally able to take delivery can't come soon enough. To that end, with lease signing imminent and in light of previous delays, plus my day job giving me increasingly less free time, I've decided to focus full time on working towards that day and gave notice to my employer this morning. Being naturally risk-averse has definitely held me back but I have to do this now, or I'll forever regret it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What happens to Elusive Brewing next is anyone's guess but I'm ready to find out. In years of supporting the brewing scene in the UK I've made plenty of friends and been offered lots of reciprocal support and advice in getting started, both technical and operational - underlining what a helpful and collaborative industry this is at its core. It might be clichéd to say I'll be aiming to make the best beer I possibly can but that really is my only focus, and I'm not afraid to take up some of those offers of help in order to do so! I'm also very mindful of the incredible growth seen in the past few years and am taking this as both a warning and encouragement - there's no room for mediocrity and there's definitely a squeeze coming, if it hasn't started already.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'll be documenting the process of getting started, as much as time allows, so stay tuned for more posts on this subject. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Despite the first brew day probably still being a couple of months away, I'm already nervous about it - but also ridiculously excited about what lies ahead.</span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-85388525554552082262015-07-05T20:58:00.001+01:002015-07-05T21:12:27.161+01:00Magic Rock - tapping into the future<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On 1st July 2015, a couple of weeks after the doors were opened, Magic Rock Brewery held the official launch party for their new <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicRockTap">tap room</a> and this was an invitation I simply could not pass up. The impressive venue adjoins their vastly expanded new brew house in Birkby, Huddersfield. The brewery itself is entering the final stages of build out, with brewing operations expected to commence in the next few weeks. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The tap however is already in full swing and provides a literal window into what will mark a huge step up in capacity once fully operational. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was the hottest July day on record and having endured a marathon drive up thanks to the M1 being partially closed, all I could think about on arrival was liquid refreshment of the coldest kind. I just about managed to resist the immediate lure of Andy Annat's fantastic </span><a href="http://crackerjackbbq.co.uk/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cracker Jack BBQ</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and make my way inside to the bar. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscsOXLuwsWcLQMzQuJJI_Kel9tkrQG7aw8AJ8QJc0gXUqzV1xk3fST4_NaHZsN9p75DCHx0DIcRE9nTXZg85Ebiwyu6-nH33DM9_Vbe0jdWqkMAnCbCQ_JFLKJWNtRYILFl_S2Af1h30q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-05+at+20.41.17.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscsOXLuwsWcLQMzQuJJI_Kel9tkrQG7aw8AJ8QJc0gXUqzV1xk3fST4_NaHZsN9p75DCHx0DIcRE9nTXZg85Ebiwyu6-nH33DM9_Vbe0jdWqkMAnCbCQ_JFLKJWNtRYILFl_S2Af1h30q/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-07-05+at+20.41.17.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For more photos see The Examiner's <a href="http://www.examiner.co.uk/whats-on/restaurants-bars/magic-rock-brewing-opens-tap-9509071">article</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Moments later, with a cold glass of Cannonball helping to cool my addled brain, a wave of familiarity washed over me - and this was not induced by the sight of the many familiar faces. The feeling of walking from searing heat into a cool bar, the delicious aromas of smoked meat wafting in on the breeze and the hop flavours washing over my palate transported me to somewhere I love to visit and a place that's the source of my most memorable and inspirational beery adventures - San Diego, California. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even taking away the uncharacteristic California-like heat of that summer's evening, the bar itself takes a lot from the visual traits of brewery taps of craft beer giants such as Stone and Green Flash and lesser known names such as Societe and Saint Archer. Beyond the industrial feel, the artwork adorning the walls, the sparkle of keg taps under the bright lights, the giant glass windows exposing the source of the beers or the laid back blues music, the Magic Rock Tap just has that certain something - and it obviously runs much deeper than just copycat design and a desire to mimic those arguably seen as craft brewing's finest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Magic Rock was born out of MD Richard Burhouse's love of the brewing and tap room culture of the west coast and of course inspired by the beer styles those breweries are seen to represent. Sitting in a quiet corner and reflecting later in the evening, I wondered if every day of the four years since their launch at The Grove in June 2011 had somehow been building up to this second, more significant launch - was this the day Magic Rock moved beyond being inspired by that culture and into fully living and breathing it? Into being the source of such inspiration for future breweries? </span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-89190564807652016912015-05-24T18:11:00.000+01:002015-05-24T18:41:44.531+01:00BrewDog Born To Die 04.07.2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2015/05/the-ipadipa-conundrum.html">last post</a> covered something I called the IPA/DIPA "conundrum" - the challenge of brewing those styles consistently, year round, in light of the increasingly hard to come by hops. While Stone and Lagunitas are in a position to overcome that challenge, there a few breweries this side of the pond who can afford that luxury. The one obvious exception is BrewDog, who are rumoured to have very substantial contracts for Simcoe and Nelson Sauvin - hops that feature heavily in their core range, which is being brewed in increasingly larger volumes as they continue expand at an astounding rate.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCkBUebqpVdLeQE4eBsXOSHD6F8FZuOiRspk5MD087aDdJqUQYw8AZn-u9QtzFab7qUFu1_w2fqsS2G2kCPi6C11r2zbi1kRk2NqPw2kS3R3z1KmuFkpU2qNiHfycrJirnA5UYiwELcx0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-24+at+17.50.29.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCkBUebqpVdLeQE4eBsXOSHD6F8FZuOiRspk5MD087aDdJqUQYw8AZn-u9QtzFab7qUFu1_w2fqsS2G2kCPi6C11r2zbi1kRk2NqPw2kS3R3z1KmuFkpU2qNiHfycrJirnA5UYiwELcx0/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-05-24+at+17.50.29.png" width="226" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BrewDog of course already brew a number of IPAs, with flagship brew <i>Punk IPA </i>forming part of their "headliner" core range and the delicious (and personal go-to) <i>Jackhammer</i> being joined by <i>Hardcore IPA</i> in their "amplified" range. They also have an annual series called <i>IPA is Dead</i> that explores hops from around the world by taking the same base beer and using a different single variety in each brew. More recently, their <i>Restorative Beverage for Invalids and Convalescents</i> tackled the pale and dry end of the DIPA spectrum - the opposite end to where I'd put Hardcore IPA, which has a substantial malt body to counter the hops. Restorative was a fantastic brew and perhaps a pre-cursor, or the brewing equivalent of a beta release for their latest take on this style, <i>Born To Die</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Born To Die takes an idea pioneered by Stone's Enjoy By, in that it is labelled and marketed to be enjoyed immediately - as fresh as possible - with a marked date indicating when it will turn into a beery pumpkin, or at least when it will start to decline in terms of freshness. The short shelf-life date is a statement and I believe the first such release in Europe. While it might pose a risk for retailers, that's more than likely offset by demand for such releases being high. Indeed, this is already one of BrewDog's fastest selling beers ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, what's it like? As it pours into the glass, the first observation is it's super pale with a colour similar to a lager. The grist is made up of Extra Pale, Pale and Maris Otter - no specialty malts. That's where the similarity to lager ends, though. On the nose I find the melon and citrus notes of Mosaic dominating with some mango and 'cattiness' lurking behind. On the palate, it's all about the hop flavour. With no discernible malt body to counter, the bitterness has been kept relatively low (or at least that was my perception) which allows the flavours to shine through. More melon and tropical fruits come to the fore before the rasping dry finish kicks in, the effect of which makes this a beer that's hard to put down despite its weighty 8.5% ABV. This release is hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra and Mosaic, which play together very well even though the Mosaic and Citra perhaps shine through the most. I'm not sure if BrewDog will rotate the hops with each release - as Stone does with Enjoy By - but even if they don't, the recipe as it stands makes for a fantastic beer and one I will certainly go back to again and again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Disclosure: This bottle (and glass) were sent to me by BrewDog but I don't think that affected my opinion of the beer. I'm also an EFP shareholder.</b></span></div>
<br />tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-55155078232848931812015-05-04T11:47:00.000+01:002015-05-04T13:57:39.706+01:00The IPA/DIPA Conundrum<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In <a href="http://www.graphedbeer.com/2014/04/rule-britannia.html">the past</a> I've written about the perils of coveting those wonderful US hop bomb IPAs/DIPAs, only to be disappointed when the product arrives here 3 months old, already on the decline in terms of quality. Since that post around a year ago, we've seen changes in the industry. Changes that perhaps both cement and counter some of the points I made in that previous post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What happens when a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/03/31/yuengling-boston-beer-top-craft-brewery/70736540/">top U.S. Craft Brewery</a> teams up with a European counterpart to bring that 3 months down to 10 days, with a product that remains chilled from conditioning tank to tap, arriving here in consistently good condition? It becomes disruptive, that's what. Why? That word: <i>consistency</i>.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/epicbeer/15301738192/in/photolist-pjapEh-8kDH8M-q8jWyX-591RvR-6NWnB8-7atgnB-daNWhG-7XX6C-oZa3X-5sdHjq-5jibiX-nrzwx5-2Q1WzP-5UxbzM-fmtQX5-dYaicc-7XY6g-a5UPuM-eSL45W-7dw36Q-5J3PkV-5ooYcc-535bKF-u4MMU-5a5WHi-41MgJ-9rnkc-cot65d-9AGANK-6Xw6va-7XY6i-fryt3J-a6nAQ7-5UvkDu-2cpJY-o4PcwN-4PeTKz-5qVzSD-dABxhj-73nrYn-fx76cL-73jvZP-tGK7-7WhTM-5NByHi-bBTBB9-bH5Gee-5w1PXY-x2dvw-2Q6h49">epicbeer on flickr</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What happens when a second top US Craft Brewery (partly) crowd-funds* the opening of a European operation ~1/9th of the distance from these shores than their current base </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">with that same buying power and brewing prowess? </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We'll </span><a href="http://berlin.stonebrewing.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">find out next year</a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> but my guess is it'll be equally as disruptive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Compared to the likes of Lagunitas and Stone, most UK brewers are probably fighting for scraps when it comes to US hop selection. Fighting not just on volume and variety but far more importantly on quality. Imagine what the brewers in that 'top' list spend on hops each year. Enough to hand-pick their most contracted varieties on a farm by farm basis every harvest? Yes, I'd wager but you can be sure they are at least purchasing at the very top end in terms of quality and at the quantities they need to maintain production. That's what their buying power brings them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's not to say brewers here can't make superb US hopped IPAs/DIPAs - we've already seen some - just that it's going to be relatively harder to achieve that year round with a consistently good product brewed at a scale to rival what their US counterparts can supply to the UK. That's why Lagunitas are gaining such traction through imports in my view. Their IPA gets here fresh, is consistently good and available all the time, plus at the volumes they're bringing in they can price it competitively. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is not a level playing field. It's an open market and money talks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">* A <a href="http://tandlemanbeerblog.blogspot.co.uk/">tandleman</a> style footnote here to add that, in my view, the crowd funding had nothing to do with money and everything to do with ensuring that venture will be nothing short of a resounding success in terms of marketing. Well played, Stone.</span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-12122800833946747592015-04-19T11:49:00.001+01:002015-10-30T13:35:16.952+00:00Cherry Cola Imperial Milk Stout<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFbdxYbv_X3YRbqenfCS2NVVCzzWXC6ouP-Eh0ZXr5D5MPBTd-CgYesvEf_8e_pgsFa4R-oU4DxOduzLVZQpN2mZsyglUnEsdQM1KW_zPTEG8jtaSGFSLmO1LIbu6sPmUKjoGowIsYOUI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+11.22.05.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFbdxYbv_X3YRbqenfCS2NVVCzzWXC6ouP-Eh0ZXr5D5MPBTd-CgYesvEf_8e_pgsFa4R-oU4DxOduzLVZQpN2mZsyglUnEsdQM1KW_zPTEG8jtaSGFSLmO1LIbu6sPmUKjoGowIsYOUI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+11.22.05.png" width="115" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The idea for this recipe came about during my last trip stateside. We were browsing in the Ballast Point home brew shop in San Diego when I spotted these little bottles of concentrated flavour extracts. They're supposed to be used a bit like Soda Stream concentrates but you can also make alcoholic drinks with them. I grabbed a few - Cherry, Root Beer and Cola - with designs on making separate Cherry Cola and Root Beer brews, incorporating those bold flavours into sweet, dark beers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An opportunity to brew the former arose when friend, fellow home brewer and jolly nice chap <a href="https://twitter.com/hobbstacle">Andrew Hobbs</a> came to stay over on the weekend of the Siren Maiden launch party. We'd decided on brewing something together on the Sunday morning and having put this idea to Andrew in advance, we exchanged a few thoughts on it and settled on a recipe. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLdFvZf8N_wT1FyjR1GFLt5pnZDUanAaHUTAbH6LXGdhNf9fAXxtmFMLbrq19mugigD0n9CSjWNLAndCCRnL6TyBKyEy8ylXHQCebkbsJn7s20FRIG5B6EA5TmqTUyxb4fpT35s_RfKAx/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+11.19.41.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLdFvZf8N_wT1FyjR1GFLt5pnZDUanAaHUTAbH6LXGdhNf9fAXxtmFMLbrq19mugigD0n9CSjWNLAndCCRnL6TyBKyEy8ylXHQCebkbsJn7s20FRIG5B6EA5TmqTUyxb4fpT35s_RfKAx/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+11.19.41.png" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The aim was to brew something big but sweet - it needed to be part of the overall makeup of the finished beer but not overpower the cherry and cola flavours. A lactose-laden milk stout seemed an obvious way to go so a grist was designed around that with the aim of keeping the colour on the very dark brown rather than black side to reflect the colour of cola. Brown and lactose sugars were added towards the end of the boil, bringing the OG up to a respectable 1.098. We wanted to keep the FG on the high side and the generous lactose addition helped achieve a final gravity of 1.030, making this around 8.9% ABV. The beer before flavouring tasted nice and sweet as intended, with just a subtle hint of roast and chocolate flavours. The colour was also pleasingly cola-like. The photo here shows the beer once the flavourings were dosed in and the cherry one has contributed a slightly reddish-brown hue. The finished article has the almost almond-like aroma of the real thing with the flavours being cherry up front before the cola and lactose sweetness washes through, all against a backdrop of subdued roasted malt and chocolate - a decent outcome overall and a brew that's dangerously drinkable for something with such a high ABV.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was fun collaborating with a fellow home brewer, exchanging ideas and techniques and of course sampling a few previous brews along the way. Andrew also brought along the most vital of brew day ingredients - fabulous smoked bacon he'd picked up from Borough Market. He's welcome back anytime!</span></div>
tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-63185054340490075922015-01-07T20:18:00.000+00:002015-09-23T13:59:28.744+01:00Dinner for One<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLvC4gO2bBKAm8uBqQIrmySJJr80K4BtYeZoqd3BUMTuh6IPraTC0fHM42TmaIPUelllP5wTJ1LwiiptsuoAaAKY1vl5b13eKFcuJLlSNkEE2Lh-ISIxC_1RWvbks_yxL2A_YvbeE8OJc/s1600/siren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLvC4gO2bBKAm8uBqQIrmySJJr80K4BtYeZoqd3BUMTuh6IPraTC0fHM42TmaIPUelllP5wTJ1LwiiptsuoAaAKY1vl5b13eKFcuJLlSNkEE2Lh-ISIxC_1RWvbks_yxL2A_YvbeE8OJc/s1600/siren.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New year, new beginnings as the saying goes. For <a href="http://www.sirencraftbrew.com/">Siren</a>, the start of 2015 sees them coming up on their second birthday. They have quite the party planned on Saturday March 7th which will mark the release of their second anniversary brew - Maiden 2014 - the name indicating the year this batch was brewed before being aged for a year in various different barrels. Anticipation is starting to build and the release even has an artistic <a href="http://vimeo.com/116051069">teaser trailer</a>, produced by Third Lens Films. I remember writing something similar about Magic Rock a while back but to me it seems odd to think that Siren are still less than two years old. They've certainly established themselves very quickly and have expanded rapidly, turning out batch after batch of their great core lineup alongside some fantastic specials and notable collaborations with big names such as Mikkeller, Hill Farmstead and Prairie Artisinal Ales among others. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As they prepare to enter their third year of operation, I'm personally excited to see where things go next for Siren.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for my own new beginnings, I'm pleased to report that potential premises for Elusive Brewing - my own soon-to-be micro brewery - have been identified (in Farnborough, Hampshire) and I'm currently working with the local council to ensure my plans fall within the current use class before signing the lease. Anyone who has set up a brewery, no matter how large or small, will be able to relate to the length of time it has taken to get things off the ground and while that has been disappointing, that disappointment was more than offset with the success of Lord Nelson - last summer's collaboration with Weird Beard - and in 2015, I hope to build on that to produce brews of the same quality on my own kit. In the mean time, look out for more collaboration brews and also the upcoming release of American Red, the beer that won last year's <a href="http://www.nationalhomebrewingawards.co.uk/">National Home Brewing Awards</a> competition. That's being brewed this coming Monday and will debut at this year's award ceremony on Saturday 31st January.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I'm on the subject of collaboration brews, what of the title of this post!? Well that's the name of a beer I collaborated with Siren on recently, which is due to hit the pumps in the next few weeks. This will be the third beer to be released bearing the Elusive Brewing name and it came about in short order as <a href="http://twitter.com/Ryan_Witter">Head Brewer Ryan</a> spotted a gap in their brewing schedule between Christmas and New Year and got in touch to see if I fancied collaborating on something new ("let me think for a second... OH HELL YEAH!"). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The recipe was constructed after visiting the brewery - literally about an hour later - to look at the ingredients they had to hand. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The aim was to brew something around the 4% ABV mark and we'd be brewing it the very next day, New Year's Eve. Ryan noted they had a lot of Vienna malt in stock and fancied brewing something with a high percentage of the grist made up from that. Vienna malt gives a lovely toasty biscuit-like flavour and aroma when used in high quantities. The hop store was full of various American hops but it was the newly arrived German hops that caught my eye - and nose! After some discussion, we settled on a recipe - a Vienna Pale Ale with all German hops - which are known for being more subtle than their American relatives. The beer has fermented out and is being dry hopped with a lot more of those same hops. The varieties used are 'new breed' rather than traditional and are bursting with lovely fruity aromas. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The beer is being racked next week and will be available soon afterwards in cask and a very limited amount of keg. Please <a href="http://www.sirencraftbrew.com/contact/">contact Siren</a> if you're interested in stocking it, but be quick as there's not much to go round.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, why the name? Well there's a prize* at stake for the first person to post a comment below with the correct guess as to its origin. The clues are above so get thinking (or googling)! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">* This won't be beer, at least not this beer since none is being bottled. Must be over 18. Judge's decision is final!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">NOTE: Competition is now closed so comments have been disabled. </span></span></div>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-8470154638432767282015-01-03T10:37:00.000+00:002015-01-03T13:57:52.099+00:00Can you taste the contract?<div style="text-align: justify;">
An <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-belgium-battle-builds-between-1420153585#livefyre-comment">article</a> published in the Wall Street Journal yesterday re-ignited an ongoing debate in Belgium about the legitimacy of contract brewing, which had previously come to a head when Brasserie de la Senne's Yvan de Baetes penned <a href="http://www.belgianbeerandfood.com/news/belgiums-craft-brewers-sound-the-alarm">this open letter</a> on behalf of a number of Belgian breweries. The letter raises concerns that "Belgian beer, supposedly one of the last of our national treasures, is in great danger. A number of businesses, which seem to have purely commercial interests, are placing its reputation in serious jeopardy". It expands by highlighting the rise in "fake brewers" who "sell beers they have not themselves produced". </div>
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The concerns of this group seem to be two fold. Firstly, contract brewing is not a legitimate form of brewing and its very existence is threatening their business and secondly, consumers are being misled about the origins of these contract brewed beers.</div>
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On the second point, I share that concern. We've seen it here in the UK too, with new 'breweries' popping up offering the market the latest and greatest thing in beer against a back drop of occasionally misleading shiny marketing. For me, transparency is key here and I would support any legislation that means the origins of these products must be displayed on the packaging and marketing material. In most cases, I don't see any intent to deceive however and savvy consumers will always ask those difficult questions when there's a suspected lack of transparency.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_Jbq6Oe_FQhOdxRi3V5tacB-8zJtSsFAz-3zq3Ya2-1U7mB_pt_KsgLAzcB2q_TSck5cjRqDxf6JDCrtwTYGhM2ZLtPHgS-sXqSNUsOLP4ogw1LwrAlEyFdNWO5j6uS6-JUI15kSiKFp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-03+at+10.07.28.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_Jbq6Oe_FQhOdxRi3V5tacB-8zJtSsFAz-3zq3Ya2-1U7mB_pt_KsgLAzcB2q_TSck5cjRqDxf6JDCrtwTYGhM2ZLtPHgS-sXqSNUsOLP4ogw1LwrAlEyFdNWO5j6uS6-JUI15kSiKFp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-03+at+10.07.28.png" height="246" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/twattybeerdoodle?src=hash">#twattybeerdoodle</a> copyright <a href="https://twitter.com/broadfordbrewer">@broadfordbrewer</a></td></tr>
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The first point is one I think they'll have to get over. Contract brewing isn't going away. If someone comes along with a great recipe and pays a brewery to produce the beer (completely transparently) and that product ends up being better and selling more than a 'legitimate' beer, well, good luck to them. As long as they're not deceiving the consumer as to the origin, I've no issue with that. Contract brewers have issues of their own to think about, not least logistics, product margins and pricing.</div>
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It's a free market and the consumer will ultimately decide what they want to drink, hopefully when presented with a transparent, fairly packaged product. Beyond that, resting on centuries of tradition or kicking up a fuss to call the legitimacy of contract brewing into question isn't going to maintain your market share; innovation is. Whether that's innovation in the product or marketing of that product, it's up to you to protect your business against this threat.</div>
<br />tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8493093809804388250.post-29363519409244723762014-12-19T19:18:00.002+00:002014-12-19T19:18:49.625+00:0012 Beers of Christmas<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Those good folks Mark and Steve of the <a href="https://twitter.com/beeroclockshow">Beer O'Clock Show</a> are bringing back their much celebrated, often copied but never surpassed <a href="http://www.beeroclockshow.co.uk/12beers/">12 beers of Christmas</a> for another turn this year. Christmas is a great time for drinking beer. Well, all year round is a great time for drinking beer but Christmas always feels a bit special. A chance to reflect on the year that's been and look forward to the coming new year, or perhaps just an excuse to open a special bottle you've been saving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The concept of 12 Beers of Christmas is a simple one - open a beer every day from the 20th December to New Year's Eve and drink it. What could be simpler? If you like, you can tweet, blog, instagram or whatever the cool kids are doing these days (see the post linked about for details) but the main thing is to enjoy that beer - you've earned it! So, on to the beers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For whatever reason, I missed out on all the excitement of this year's Rainbow Project, an initiative that sees some of the best breweries out there come together and get creative. This year was the second running of this great idea, organised by Ryan Witter of Siren Craft Brew. The kind folks are Siren put a mixed case of theses sought after beers aside for me and I reckon it makes perfect sense to drink all seven one day after the next, to give them the full attention they deserve, so:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 1 – Saturday 20 December – <b>Siren and De Molen (Violet): Empress Stout 8.5% - Imperial Stout</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 2 – Sunday 21 December – <b>Buxton and Omnipollo (Yellow): Yellow Belly - Peanut Butter and Biscuit Imperial Stout</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 3 – Monday 22 December – <b>Magic Rock and Evil Twin (Red): Pogonophobia - Dry Hopped Flanders Red</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 4 – Tuesday 23 December – <b>Partizan and Mikkeller (Blue): Cognac BA Quadrupel </b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 5 – Christmas Eve – <b>Beavertown and Naparbier (Orange): The Sun Also Rises - Sherry BA Saison</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 6 – Christmas Day – <b>Wild Beer and Toccalmatto (Indigo): Indigo Child - Sour</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 7 – Boxing Day – <b>Hawkshead and Lervig (Green): Green Juniper and Hemp DIPA</b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From here, I'm going to pick off some bottles I've been saving for a rainy day:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 8 – Saturday 27 December – <b>AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 9 – Sunday 28 December – <b>Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 10 – Monday 29 December – <b>Russian River/Sierra Nevada Brux</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 11 – Tuesday 30 December – <b>Magic Rock Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 12 – New Year’s Eve – <b>BrewDog AB:04: Cacao/Chilli Imperial Stout</b></span></li>
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tabamatuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469158622971717889noreply@blogger.com1