Author: lycee23

The Nicholson’s Pub Collection, which comprises an estate across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

The group is known for serving a range of cask ales in its venues, including its own Nicholson’s Pale Ale, brewed by St Austell Brewery.

Founder William Nicholson opened his first pub in 1873. The anniversary will see the group, now part of Mitchells and Butlers (M&B), hosting special events across its estate.

Among the first of these has been a roll-out of Kingmaker beer, in time for the Coronation. Brewed in partnership with Signal Brewery, in Croydon, the limited edition beer has citrus, mandarin, and grapefruit notes. There’s just one cask available at each pub.

With an eye on the next 150 years, the group is also sharing its focus on sustainability, renewable energy, and reducing waste consumption.

Today, the pubs are powered with 100% renewable electricity, with 96% of all operational waste diverted from landfill. M&B is a founding member of the Zero Carbon Forum, with a clear roadmap to net zero by 2040 and achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030.

“Reaching 150 years as a collection of pubs is a monumental milestone,” said Nicholson’s operations director, Will Prideaux. “Nicholson’s pubs and those that visit them have witnessed so many key moments and challenges in history. We’ve seen new monarchs, global conflicts, social change, and amazing feats of engineering and construction.

“The pubs themselves, all around the country, still provide today what they provided back in 1873 – a welcoming setting for people to come together, no matter what the occasion. And it is very much our team within the business that stand out and continue to ensure that our pubs remain true to the ethos and values of our founder, William Nicholson.

“We are lucky enough to run some of the most iconic pubs in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and we want to continue to run them for pub-goers of the future for the next 150 years and beyond.”

Plans for a new brewery at a community run Staffordshire pub have won planning approval. The Rural Brewing Co is setting up home at the White Hart Hotel, Alton.

The Rural Brewing Co, run by Alton resident Rob Goodley, has struck an agreement with the White Hart Community Interest Company (CIC) which will see outbuildings at the historic inn transformed into a brewery. There will be capacity to produce up to 2,000 litres of beer every three weeks.

The White Hart CIC will invest in the fabric of the building, while Rural Brewing will kit out the brewery, which will have around 90 square metres of indoor space. The plan involves development of a glass-fronted brewhouse, allowing visitors to the White Hart to see the brewing process.

Tom Wilkinson, chair of the White Hart CIC, said: “We can’t wait to welcome Rural Brewing to its new home. We already have a fantastic relationship with Rob and sell his beers in the pub.

“Rob’s business needs space to grow and, as a community-run pub, we are keen to support an enterprising Alton business owner. His beers are excellent and go down well with customers at the White Hart.”

The White Hart inn was bought by villagers after being put up for sale by pub chain Marston’s in 2014. A community interest company was established to run the pub and neighbouring allotments.

Lotte Peplow, Brewers Association American craft beer ambassador for Europe, looks ahead to the launch of three American craft breweries in the UK this month.

I’m very excited this month because three American craft breweries (two new to the UK) will be available nationally in up to 400 Home Bargains (extra large and superstores) in a three-week, genuine USA imported craft beer promotion, starting on 14th December.

The three breweries are:

• DC Brau Brewing Co, from Washington DC, who entered the UK market earlier this year;
• Paradox Brewing Co, from North Hudson, New York;
• and Upslope Brewing Co from Boulder, Colorado, the latter two making their UK debuts.

This is a superb opportunity to find high-quality, innovative, and sought-after American craft beers that are normally unavailable in the UK. But be quick — the promotion will last three weeks and when they’re gone, they’re gone!

The beers

DC Brau Brewing Co

• In Session IPA (4.5% ABV) A crisp and refreshing IPA that’s packed with flavour, has a smooth mouthfeel, and is brewed with 100% Centennial hops. Bitter enough to know you’re drinking an IPA, but light enough to be sessionable.
• Penn Quarter Porter (5.5%ABV) A robust porter that sits on the line between a porter and a stout, with chocolate notes and a dry, roasted finish.

Paradox Brewing Co

• Para Helles (4.5% ABV) A balanced, German-style Helles that’s super-light and refreshing and leads with a nice bready character that gets easier to drink as you go.
• Sonder Bräu (5.99%ABV) A Dortmunder export-style lager with a modest hop profile, a soft bready flavour, and rich mouthfeel. Crisp and clean to awaken your senses.

Upslope Brewing Co

• Craft Lager (4.8% ABV) A premium American lager brewed entirely with malted barley. This Colorado-style session beer is a clean, easy, light-bodied lager for the ages.
• Citra Pale Ale (5.8%ABV) Prominently features Citra hops to deliver pungent grapefruit and tropical fruit aromas on the nose, with a semi-dry finish. Juicy notes imparted by the hops pair with the light caramel malt character to balance this drinkable, ‘go-to’ American pale ale.

Beers are only available through Home Bargains stores and not online. Beers will be priced at parity with other UK grocers, making them highly accessible. This is a unique opportunity to sample new, high-quality American craft beers that have been shipped to the UK specifically for this occasion.

The promotion is being managed and overseen by importer Heathwick, with help from the Brewers Association Export Development Programme

Britain’s on-trade drinks sales have exceeded 2021 levels for the ninth successive week, CGA by NielsenIQ’s latest Drinks Recovery Tracker shows.

Average sales by value in the seven days to last Saturday (19th November) were 3% ahead of the same week last year, despite the mounting pressure on consumers’ disposable incomes. However, after adjustments for inflation — which hit a 40-year high of 11% in October — sales are still significantly below last year’s levels.

Six of the week’s seven days were in year-on-year growth, peaking at 9% on Sunday — though trading dipped 2% on Saturday in a lull ahead of the first games for England and Wales in the football World Cup.

Following the pattern of recent weeks, there was strong trading in the beer (up 8%) and cider (up 11%) categories, both of which should continue to perform well as the World Cup progresses. Soft drinks (up 5%) and wine (up 6%) were in solid growth, too, but spirits (down 11%) continue to suffer against the tough comparatives of late 2021.

“Nine weeks of year-on-year growth give on-premise operators and suppliers a great springboard into festive and World Cup trading,” said Jonathan Jones, CGA’s managing director, UK and Ireland.

“While inflation is impacting growth and profit margins are under strain, these figures show that consumers remain very keen to drink out in pubs and bars.”

There’s international recognition for Black Sheep Brewery, which has picked up five medals at the World Beer Awards, including a gold.

Multi-award winning Milk Stout, a creamy stout packing notes of chocolate, vanilla and coffee, was named country winner in the milk stout category. Milk Stout is one of the brewery’s most accomplished beers and collected the same award in 2019, as well as a gold medal at the International Brewing Awards in the same year.

Other highlights at this year’s World Beer Awards included a silver for Shapeless Malice, part of Black Sheep’s 5 Barrel Project programme. The brewery’s flagship cask beer, Black Sheep Best Bitter, and its Yorkshire lager, 54 Lager, both picked up a bronze in their respective categories. There was bronze, too, for Riggwelter.

Charlene Lyons, chief executive at Black Sheep Brewery, said: “This year’s big win at the World Beer Awards affirms what we all believe here at the brewery — that Black Sheep’s beers are among the best in the world across multiple beer categories.

“We’re incredibly proud of our brewing team here in Masham and we’re always so grateful to everyone who has supported Black Sheep Brewery over the last 30 years by simply enjoying a pint of Yorkshire’s finest.”

This is not the first year Black Sheep has won big at the World Beer Awards. In 2021, it collected nine medals, including a gold for its limited-edition Peanut Brittle Stout.

Chairman Tim Martin said pubs faced a “momentous challenge” to attract back customers who had “filled their fridges” with cheaper supermarket beer during lockdown.

He said recovery from the pandemic had been “painstakingly slow” alongside a “great inflation” of costs.

Like-for-like sales during the period were down 4.7% but have risen 10.1% in the nine weeks to 2 October. The company reported a £102.5m pre-tax profit in 2019.

The chain, which operates around 800 pubs in the UK and Ireland, previously said losses would be higher than expected this year after raising staff wages and investing in site repairs.

Martin said predictions on the future of the company were hard to make but that he was “cautiously optimistic” and warned the biggest threat to the hospitality industry was the possibility of further lockdowns and restrictions being imposed.

He added that the lower levels of tax paid by supermarkets was also a threat to the future of the pub sector.

Martin said: “The hospitality industry pays far higher levels of VAT and business rates than supermarkets. This competitive disadvantage has had an increasingly debilitating impact on the hospitality industry and will undoubtedly result in long-term financial weakness vis a vis supermarkets, which will also be harmful to employees, the Treasury and the overall economy.”

During the 53-week period, Wetherspoon sold, closed or terminated the leases of 15 pubs, giving rise to a cash inflow of £5.9m.

The company recently put 32 pubs up for sale which are largely within a close radius to other Wetherspoon sites. It said this was part of a long-term strategy rather than a reaction to difficulties arising from the pandemic.

The Campaign for Pubs has written to the Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee, urging it to investigate the endemic use of hostile Section 25 eviction notices by regulated pub-owning companies.

The letter, from campaign chair Paul Crossman, details the way in which the notices are now regularly used in order to take pubs back from good-quality, long-term tenants, and to remove their pubs from the scope of Pubs Code protection in the process.

It makes reference to the high-profile current case of The Britons Protection pub in Manchester, where the long-standing tenant is fighting eviction from his unique and iconic pub by owners Star Pubs and Bars, pub operating arm of brewing giants Heineken.

It warns that the regulated pub companies have been given the time to restructure their operations in such a way as to game and avoid the spirit and intent of the Pubs Code regulations, which came into effect in 2016. The code was intended to address the chronic imbalance of risk and reward that had come to characterise the tied tenanted model of pub operation.

Four successive business committees flagged the failings of the tied model since 2008, says the campaign, and their critical reports were instrumental in securing the statutory regulation that eventually came into effect.

The Campaign for Pubs is now urging the current BEIS committee to consider how that legislation is now being openly gamed and avoided by the cynical (mis)use of Section 25 notices. It condemns the way that these companies can so easily abuse the spirit of one Act — The Landlords and Tenant (L&T) Act — to negate their own legal responsibilities and the rights of their tenants under another — The Pubs Code regulations of the Small Business and Enterprise Act.

Mr Crossman is highly critical of the Pubs Code adjudicator’s (PCA) office for failing to address the growing problem of hostile Section 25 notices, as well as the fact that the regulated companies were openly developing new business models which were clearly designed to allow them to evade the Pubs Code regulations that the PCA is supposed to uphold and enforce.

The letter points out that certain pub companies have developed a new ‘quasi-managed’ form of tenancy which they are attempting to pass off as a management scenario in order to justify a claim for occupation. However, the new ‘manager’ is not directly employed by the pub company and receives none of the benefits and securities to which a genuine employee would be entitled. Instead, they are a self-employed person with their own tax liability, and responsibility for employing their own team.

The letter questions the validity of this new type of tenancy when it comes to justifying a hostile Section 25 notice. It argues that these models may fail to meet the legal criteria that would reasonably enable a pub-owning company to claim that a pub is being taken back under Grounds G of Section 25 of the L&T Act because it is the “landlord’s intention to occupy the holding for his own business or as a residence”.

The letter likens these quasi-managed agreements to ‘Uber’ pubs. It urges the committee to scrutinise such deals and to press for their efficacy to be assessed. It points out that these quasi-managed deals have been openly developed over time, under the very nose of the PCA and BEIS Dept.

The PCA has a duty to report problems and issues with the Pubs Code back to the Secretary of State at BEIS, yet the letter points out that no apparent action has been taken regarding either hostile Section 25 notices or code-avoiding quasi-management models, despite repeated efforts by campaigners to raise the alarm.

Mr Crossman states that the use of hostile Section 25 notices has become commonplace in the industry since the introduction of the Pubs Code, and cites his own experience of having to contest such a notice from Punch Taverns in 2017.

Meanwhile, in Manchester, a campaign is currently building around The Britons Protection since it was served a hostile Section 25 notice by Star Pubs and Bars. There is outrage locally that the long-serving tenant should now face eviction through no fault of his own from the successful, unspoilt and highly idiosyncratic pub of which he has been a careful steward for ten years. The tenant, Mark West, is preparing to take the matter to court in a legal test case.

Kelham Island Brewery — Sheffield’s oldest independent brewery — has been saved from closure by a group from the city.

The rescue is a collaboration between Tramlines co-founder and Sheffield venue owner, James O’Hara, his brother and financial analyst, Tom O’Hara, Simon Webster and Jim Harrison, of Thornbridge Brewery, Peter Donohoe, founder of Sheffield based creative studio Peter and Paul, and Ben Rymer, marketing manager of beer festival organiser We Are Beer.

James, who put the group together after hearing about the brewery’s closure, said: “Kelham Island Brewery, and its flagship beer Pale Rider, are known and revered beyond Sheffield. It’s heritage that we, as a city, should be really proud of. 

“We couldn’t let that just disappear. It means too much within the city and to the UK’s beer culture for it to become another Wikipedia entry.”

A pioneer of the UK’s craft beer scene, Kelham Island Brewery has played a significant role in Sheffield’s brewing history and heritage. The brewery was founded in 1990 by Dave Wickett and was the first new independent brewery in Sheffield for over 100 years.

From humble beginnings in the garden of the Fat Cat pub in Kelham Island, it flourished, with many of its brewing talent going on to set up and work for the likes of Abbeydale, Thornbridge, Magic Rock, Bradfield, and Brewdog.

Simon Webster said: “Kelham Island Brewery has always been linked with Thornbridge. They were the reason we started the business. Theirs were the first beers we brewed and Dave Wickett was a guiding hand in the early days of Thornbridge.

“When I first heard about the closure, I immediately thought: how can we help? How can we save the heritage that the Wickett Family had built? I chatted passionately about what we could do with James and we formulated a plan to try to save those great beers.

“I’m so pleased we have been successful. We’re looking forward to brewing the beers and keeping Kelham Island Brewery alive in Sheffield and beyond.”

Pale Rider, the brewery’s flagship beer, won CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain in 2004. It was the first winner to use hops from the USA and is still the only beer in South Yorkshire to have ever received the accolade.

Ben Rymer said: “American hops form the backbone of the modern craft beer scene, but what Dave was doing was really revolutionary. He really went out on a limb at the time and was a true visionary. 

“No-one was setting up breweries back then and the craft beer industry as we know it now simply didn’t exist. The fact that Dave had to sell the beer he made in his own pub wasn’t about creating a scene, it was a necessity. Most pubs at the time were all owned by big pub companies.”

Jim Harrison added: “Dave was a good friend and really understood beer and its regional variations. He understood that to be successful you needed to get your beer to people outside of the area. He was years ahead of his time and I’m so proud that we have been able to save these beers from being lost forever.”

Ed Wickett, former Kelham Island Brewery owner and son of founder Dave Wickett, said: “I’m really pleased the brewery is in such safe hands. It’ll be great to serve Pale Rider in the Fat Cat again.”

The first pour of Pale Rider will be at the Fat Cat at lunchtime on 19th October. It will then also be pouring at CAMRA’s Steel City Beer Festival, taking place, fittingly, at Kelham Island Museum. It starts on the evening of 19th October and runs for four days. The beer will then be delivered to the wider on-trade from the week commencing 24th October.

MPs will today debate the future for small breweries, as a tax system that defined the modern craft beer industry in the UK comes to its end and the sector comes under increasing pressure from the energy crisis.

Twenty years ago, the government introduced Small Breweries’ Relief (SBR). It allows smaller brewers to pay a proportionate amount of beer duty to the Treasury. Since its introduction, SBR has led to a huge growth in the number of British breweries.

Ahead of the Parliamentary debate, and in recognition of SBR’s 20-year milestone, a special one-off collaboration beer is being brewed today at Five Points Brewing Co, in London, with brewers and supporters who have been instrumental in its introduction.

The beer will feature all-British-grown malt and carefully selected hops, the names of which — Sovereign, Bullion, and Relentless — form the letters SBR. The latter is a new experimental British hop.

Today, small brewers face uncertainty about the future of SBR and the tax system, which has been under review by the government. Brewers are also facing energy and cost of living crises, putting their businesses under severe strain.

The Parliamentary debate, titled Impact of Small Brewers Relief on Independent Brewers, is being led by Scottish Nationalist MP Owen Thompson, who will challenge the government on the future of SBR as well as the wider cost of living issues threatening the sector.

Last year, the Treasury set out ambitious changes to the alcohol duty system and SBR which many independent brewers have already factored into their business plans. Final details were expected to be announced this summer, but have now been pushed back to at least the autumn, leaving brewers in limbo and putting the delivery of these changes at risk. This includes a new draught duty rate, offering a duty discount on beer sold in pubs — a gamechanger for the sector.

Small independent brewers were badly hit by the pandemic. There was a 40% reduction in production with some 160 brewers closing. They are now facing an energy crisis, with bills increasing by 400%, as well as price increases for CO2, kegs, and hops. Around 60 small brewers have already closed this year, with more on the brink.

SIBA (the Society of Independent Brewers) is calling for urgent action on energy and support for the sector, including an energy cap for businesses. It is also seeking grants and incentives to move to green energy.

Roy Allkin, chair of SIBA, said: “Small Breweries’ Relief has shaped the UK’s craft beer sector, allowing small and independent brewers to set up and compete against the global brewers that continue to dominate the industry.

“It’s a privilege to join the founders of SBR to brew a special beer today, but this comes at a fragile time for the sector that is facing spikes in energy prices and shortages which are putting businesses at risk. We also face an uncertain future as the government continues to review SBR without any certainty.

“I hope that the government will finally provide the clarity and support we need, and finally tell us in the debate tonight what they plan to do.”

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) is predicting that 10m pints worth £40m will be poured and enjoyed this Sunday as the Lionesses face Germany in the UEFA Women’s Euros

With momentum and support growing ahead of the game, and the country getting behind the so far unbeaten team, the trade association is hoping people will head to their local pub to cheer England on to victory.

The event is hoped to boost trade by up to one-third, with 10 million pints to be sold, compared to just over seven million on a typical Sunday in July.

BBPA chief executive, Emma McClarkin, said: “It has been fantastic to see so much passion and excitement building for our Lionesses. This tournament has inspired many and shown that anyone can and should be able to play and enjoy football.

“We’re optimistic that the final will give a boost to pubs, and hoping it may be even more than predicted, as the widespread interest in this year’s women’s tournament so far has been unprecedented.

“We’re looking forward to fans making the most of Sunday’s final by heading to their favourite pub to cheer England on to victory, because there really is no better way to enjoy a game than with a pint in hand at your local.”