How To Spot A Drunk...

Well. The Home Office have just issued guidelines (to the police) on how to spot a drunk. And so, being interested in folk being able to go to the pub without being breathed on/chatted up by/leered at/generally bothered by the local alcoholic ne'er do well, we present some of the 'evidence to look for'. In reality of course this is to enable Police identify anyone who is drunk, and therefore committing an offence. Can we also look forward to guidelines on how to spot someone in the act of applying graffiti, actively burglarising, or dare I say it, wasting money on the bleeding obvious?

Bear in mind it is illegal to serve a drunk in a pub (and has been for a while), so publicans & bar staff will also find this of use, so that they can evict the drunk before they get arrested/fined as well. The drunk of course will now get very aggressive, and smash things up because he can't get served, and then go down the supermarket where they don't care. Which is probably where most of the alcohol he has imbibed came from in the first place.

So How Do You Spot A Drunk?

• Bad tempered, aggressive;
• Offensive language;
• Becoming loud, boisterous or disorderly;
• Becoming physically violent;
• Becoming incoherent;
• Slurring, or making mistakes in speech; and
• becoming argumentative.
• Being careless with money;
• Annoying other persons, employees etc;
• Exhibiting inappropriate sexual behaviour;
• Drinking quickly or competitively (‘down in one’)
• Swaying;
• Staggering;
• Difficulty with walking;
• Falling down;
• Bumping into furniture;
• Spilling drinks;
• Difficulty in picking up change; and
• Fumbling for cigarettes, or other items
• Drowsiness, dozing or sleeping;
• Rambling conversation;
• Loss of train of thought;
• Difficulty in paying attention;
• Not understanding what is said;
• Glassy eyes and
• Lack of focus.
• Unkempt
• Dishevelled

Source: Home Office guidelines / The Publican

One has to feel sorry for the police. I mean, they are intelligent human beings with an important and often difficult job to do. Those they deal with are either victims (and so already angry, upset & frustrated), or the guilty (who therefore will not be their biggest friend). So they can't win. When a smart arsed lawyer gets the guilty set free, the police take the flack. If the guilty don't get caught, they get flack. If a speeding motorist kills someone, they get flack. If they catch a speeding motorist, they get flack. And know they are being told how to spot a drunk, by some bureaucrat who has never had a drop (yeah yeah yeah). And expected, via targets no doubt, to go into pubs and make themselves even more popular!

It's all quite sad really. And what's the betting most (if any) fined for being drunk, will be those who only get a bit Brahms once a year? The old pros will be able to hide it. But then I suspect the Police already know this as well.

What's In The Tanks Then Chaps?

When we first started this blog, it was just to discuss what we were doing on a day to day basis. That seems to have got a bit derailed since then. But don't worry, we have found someone very junior to blame - they will be thoroughly retrained, demoted, sacked, publicly humiliated and then hung out to dry. Meanwhile those responsible for overseeing the junior and giving them the chance to screw it up spectacularly will be praised for how they dealt with the miscreant, and given a big bonus.

Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, the brewery:

Well in one fermenter (FV) we have the second batch of Silent Night - that's the Christmas beer in case you haven't been paying attention (don't why I try to pretend anyone really reads this nonsense). In another we have the last batch of Britannia for some time - this beer of course suffering from no suitable hops syndrome for most of 2008, one special brew aside, until the 2008 harvest is in.

Wildlife wise, I have been stormed by a Buzzard this week - they look a bit ugly in the face at close range (just 2 feet or so in this case), although to be fair the poor thing was being chased by pigeons - whom no doubt he'd tried attacking first from upon high - so he may have been wearing a worried look. He could have got a nasty disease from them (probably Man Flu, if there is a bird equivalent of the Daily Mail).

There is a Robin (aah, bless, look at his red bits, aah, how sweet) who takes a lot of interest in us, and what we are doing (aah, look at him watching us, aah, isn't he cute). He especially likes the office. Someone really needs to tell him we pay the rent, it's our building, and not his territory. Trouble is, being a Robin, he is a vicious bastard who will fight anyone, or anything, to the death. Not so aah when you think about it. Still, he is welcome to the Hares. There can't be many breweries whose outside space is used by large numbers of Hares as a night-time hang out.

Although of course it could be badgers in disguise - it like's a joke, does your badger. This is a problem, because we are trying to set up (with government funding of course) a sanctuary for the large numbers of migrating walrus we keep finding on the pond each morning. And the Government expert tells us that we can't run the Walrus sanctuary if we have a badger infestation, because of the risk of spreading Enid Blytonosis, or something. But that's good, because without sound advice like that from the Ministry Of Spending Taxes, we could have made a big error.

Maybe It's Not So Bad....

After the initial scares / concerns etc, the hop situation for the next 12 months is starting to become clearer. Yes, some varieties are in very short supply, some are effectively non-existent. And sure, the cost of what is available has doubled or even tripled. But you know what? I think maybe we'll manage. We might go a bit greyer, and maybe the truck will get one less a wash each year, and perhaps we'll have to sell off our collection of Royal Mail rubber bands to help fund hop purchases. But yes, we'll probably manage.

Britannia of course will remain a casualty until the 2008 hop harvest is in, but that just means we will be offering a different beer instead. And who knows, that too may receive the odd gong & a bit of praise. Ironically, Britannia has yet another moment of glory coming it's way in 2008, but we have a plan, as cunning as a sack full spin doctors, that means there will be a special batch of Britannia on sale to mark the occasion (just within the life of the last of the Bramling Cross, with our storage facilities). But more on this in a few months.

"Ahh", I hear you cry (I think). "You said that malt was a problem as well". Well, it probably is. Maybe. Our nice malting chaps at Warminster are reservedly confident that we (as a customer of some years) will be OK. But they aren't sure. But then neither are any other maltsters. Again, prices have risen considerably, and will quite likely do so again before Spring, but I guess we'll probably manage. Of course with malt, there are all sorts of cheap alternative options, such as using sugars (we currently get all our sugar from the malt) to replace some of the malt. We could use extracts instead, or even bulk the malt out with unmalted grains such as maize or rice (yes, fans of a certain American 'beer', rice is used to cut costs, not improve the product....). But we won't, so don't worry about us cheapening the product and so reduce the quality in order to save money. We'll leave that to others, and believe me many will resort to cost cutting.

Even CAMRA have taken notice of the situation, and in the latest edition of their members newspaper 'What's Brewing', they discuss the subject, and even ask that brewers don't turn to cheaper, inferior ingredients. This request is made on the very sound basis that if we don't support the farmers growing the the hops / grain, they won't offer the same quality ingredients next year. This is very true - half the problem now is that acreages of malting barley & hops are falling because the big brewing groups (who take by far the greatest majority of the relevant crop harvest) are demanding lower & lower prices. The result is that many growers have turned to more profitable crops (such a oilseed for bio-fuels). So well done CAMRA, for supporting the farmers, and encouraging us to encourage them by accepting we have to pay for quality. No, really. Any decent micro brewer / businessman will agree that a fair price ensures continued supply. Trouble is, someone has to pay the higher price, and just as farmer shouldn't be expected to work hard for a poor return, neither should the brewer. So does the CAMRA article implore CAMRA members to happily pay more for their beer, and avoid cheap beer sources? Does it implore landlords to just accept they will have to pay more for the beer they stock?

Does it heck. Someone has to pay for the increases, because they won't go away. Unlike the small, decent breweries and the small, decent village pubs that look like having to swallow it or die. And I've not even touched on the massive increases in fuel & energy costs. So, no. Maybe we won't all probably manage....?

Here's to 2008. And to saying the same for 2009.

A Little Statistical Relief...

Just some basic figures on Beer Duty for you:

Beer Duty has increased 27% since the late nineties (although in return many smaller breweries have been given 50% relief on beer duty.

Beer consumption has fallen by 11% in the same period. It has been said that as a result, the net income to the treasury from beer duty has fallen when inflation is taken into account.

Duty on spirits, in the same period, has risen by all of 3%, whilst consumption has gone up by 20%.

Duty on wine has risen by 16%, consumption by 46%.

Of course figures can be made to prove anything you want, but the immediate reaction for many is why is beer picked on so much, when in reality higher duty rates haven't actually benefited the treasury, when higher rates on wine or spirits would have done? Anyone would have thought the treasury/country was being run by folks from a nation of distilleries.

Oh, one more statistic. Those brewers eligible for duty relief are not reporting a sales decline. They, and this includes us of course, all report a rise in sales. Officially this is an annual growth of 7.5%, but for many small breweries, who aren't included in the figures because we are too small (or something...) are seeing much higher growth rates - again, including us. And what might that say? Lower duty means we have more to invest in growing? I wonder.

And what, while we are at it, is the apparent drink of choice of the high street hooligan? Spirit based mixers & premium global lagers. So that is one category with a very low duty increase, and another that pays top whack beer duty. Two things can be drawn from this. Firstly, if the Nannies want to hike up duty to discourage binge drinking, then pick on spirits. Secondly, before they do hike up spirit duty, look at second point - the most heavily taxed beers are the global ones, and they are the other drink of choice. So maybe tax isn't they answer? Maybe finding out why youngsters are getting drunk is the answer. But of course that would mean spending money, not collecting it. And that, dear reader, seems to be what it is all about.

One last dose of figures.

According to OECD data, the UK is a comfortable third in terms of alcohol consumption, behind France (2nd) and Ireland (1st, just). And of those three, who has the highest duty rates? Ireland (highest globally for beer, spirits/wine amongst the highest as well), followed closely by us (amongst the highest for all sectors). France is a long way down. See the data in full here. So again, I suggest that duty hikes are not the answer to the problem. And again I suggest maybe there is no interest in the problem, beyond as a means to screw more money out of us.

Now I am not saying that alcohol ABUSE doesn't make people ill, and therefore a drain on scarce NHS resources - it does (although endless sodding seminars and acres of management are also a drain on the NHS - I used to work for an NHS supplier, so I have some experience of this). But a cheeky drink as & when is not something to penalise folk for, especially when globally we are almost unique in the way we behave at night, and we are already one of the most expensive places for a drink globally. Perhaps we just need to ask why our 'young people' want to vomit outside Woolworths, yet those in, say, Belgium, don't?

You Couldn't Make It Up....

Just a quick thought for today - or any day, in fact:

What professions could you live without? I mean, for example, if there were no brewers, we'd have no beer. But the world will still turn, we'd all be able to breathe etc etc. Same for lawyers, salesmen, website designers, PR folk, marketing guys, Girls Aloud, Steve Maclaren etc etc.

But what about nurses, fireman, butchers, bakers, food growers (but not food manufacturers - we'd all live just fine without ready made omelette's/mashed potato/tortoise vindaloo etc). But look in the papers - it's just these folks who are always being stuffed / underpaid / walked over and heavily legislated in one way other. And who is doing this? Mostly the people who, at the end (or indeed start) of the day, have no real use in terms of helping us live & breathe without dying of some disease / lack of rescue / starvation.

If you read a fantasy novel set in such a world, it'd never be believed....

All of this might help explain why there must be some relieved faces in the Govt Treasury Department (or whatever they are called this week). Just 24 hours after what has to be the biggest cock up in government terms since someone thought 45 minutes sounded a good time span, England United lose at football. And so media attention switches to the far more important subject of several men kicking a ball around (for 45 minutes at a time - is there a connection?). Or indeed patently not kicking a ball. So now the Gubbinsment can get back to whatever it is they were doing, whilst the media talks balls.

Given the enthusiasm these days for burying bad news, there is another twist. Is there, as I write this, a collection of PR folk (collective noun: A Spin) crying into their fizzy wine about how if only they had waited (another) 24 hours before breaking the news. Or did England actually lose a day earlier, in which case did the TV broadcast get held off deliberately to help cover up the story once it had broken? Oh, apparently the game was broadcast live, and we know the TV folks never cover anything up, don't we children....

I have an answer, of course. Put the footballers in charge of the country, and the politicians in charge of playing football. Result: We'd always win at football, because whatever the score it'd be made to look like we have won, or got the defeat we needed to suceed in the future. And the ex-football players? Well they'd all be so busy ordering their next Porsche Carbon-Emitters and womanising over barrels of champagne that in truth, there would be no-one running the country. So the rest of us can then get on with our lives in peace, and the world might just become a better place (although we'd have to watch out for the council wanting to adopt 6 monthly rubbish collections)...

I'd better mention beer quickly, just in case the revenue take offence and decide that this blog isn't a business tool. Knowing my luck though this blog will have a limit on how many words I can wri

Grab Yer Beer, It's Christmas...

It's no good. I've got to mention Christmas before December. We are after all a commercial venture, and any opportunity to make money has to be grabbed with both hands, and quite possibly the right foot as well.

So Christmas. Well, we know how everyone just loves to celebrate Christmas to excess. You know, you have enough food in the house to feed an African village for 6 months, despite the fact you'll be with friends or relatives for some of the time.

This year, we want you to be different. Don't stock up on excess food (although feel free to buy it and give some to charity). Buy less, but buy better from local producers. And that is where we come in. Don't fill the fridge with cheap cans of beer (although obviously you'll need some for Uncle Norm), buy less, drink less. But buy better, drink better. Why dribble your way through Christmas in a alcoholic stupor (Aunt Edna excepted of course) when it's far better to drink something more enjoyable but in reduced quantities?

With this public service in mind, we are obtaining a licence to sell direct to the public over two weekends in December:

On Friday 7th 2-8pm & Saturday 8th 11am - 4pm we will be open for sales of bottled beer (an ideal gift of course), and for the taking of orders for bright beer over Christmas. Samples will be available to help you decide.

On Sat 22nd December 11am - 4pm; Sun 23rd December 11am - 4pm & Mon 24th December 11am - 3pm we will be open once again, for the collection of bright beer, and of course for further sales of bottled beer.

It is planned that we will also be able to offer a small selection of bottled beers from other breweries.

For more information, a list of beers available, and most importantly prices, please visit our website via this otherwise pointless bit text you are know reading.

But before you naff off, remember this little motto: Quality Not Quantity. And as ever, please don't drink and drive.

Oh, and Happy Bleeding Christmas. Enjoy it while you can, it'll be banned soon for being offensive/too much fun/non-inclusive/distressing to frogs/carbon inefficient*

*Please highlight as applicable, and post to:

The Department For Public Misery & Molly-Coddling
The What? There's Something We Haven't Taxed, Banned Or Marked As Harmful Yet Team
Skyhigh Expenses Floor
Waste Of Tax Towers
Londonland

Oh Look, Another New Brewery...

According the mighty font all knowledge brewery wise, www.quaffale.org.uk, 58 new breweries have opened so far this year, while just 7 have closed - so that's an increase of 51. In 2006 82 opened, with 27 closing - an increase of 55. Go further back and it's the late 90's before the opening/closing figures balance. Now of course at first glance this all suggests a very healthy, buoyant & expanding marketplace, and to a point this is the case. Except that the market is not actually expanding - there are less pubs each year, and the good free houses are slowly snapped up by pub chains with tied supply agreements. Of course some pubs become free, and more and more tied pubs are being allowed to by from a vastly expanded range of breweries, often local. But the crucial thing is that the market is not expanding - it's changing, yes, but in terms of cask beer outlets, there is no actual growth. That said, the sales volume of cask beer is growing each year, but that is partly through the fact that for years most small breweries sales weren't included in these figures, whereas increasingly they now are. So yes there is room for some new players - but 50 each year?

Now of course the most important part of starting any business is the advanced planning. Do I have a market place? Can I get raw materials? Will I make money? And so on. And such information is processed by the financial backers and used in the decision of whether to stump up the cash. Trouble is, most new breweries don't start with any financial help - the money comes from savings, redundancy payouts etc. Indeed this is how we started as well. So there is no need to do a full business plan, and research the market, because no-one is actually asking you to. Some new breweries are pub based, so obviously they have their marketplace, others are very small and are never intended to be commercial concerns. But the rest, well they have to play in the real world.

And herein lies a problem. We can't get guarantees on raw material supplies from our hop merchants & maltsters. And those that have got some guarantee have had to buy up front. We know that some maltsters are not accepting new customers, because they don't have enough malt to go round. This is a result of a bad harvest of both malt & hops globally, compounding the growing problem of the ever decreasing acreages grown each year. So would start up a business under these conditions? One new brewer I have spoken to recently buys all his malt & hops from the bloke who sold him the brew plant in the first place, so knew nothing of any potential shortages. And it seems he is not alone.

This industry has traditionally been very friendly - OK there has always been the odd unfriendly character, but mostly we all get on very well as we share common problems & worries, and we all look out for each other. This stems from the days of yore when a yeast infection was a greater risk, and you needed to know that you neighbouring competitor would be happy to offer some of theirs - so naturally you made sure you were happy to help them. Yeast, while still very important, is either used from a packet, or obtained from a bigger brewery with a lab to keep it clean, and hold a reserve for emergencies. So whilst the need for good relations may have diminished, the philosophy still holds true. And new entrants have always held to that. Until now. It's not only us noticing that increasingly relations are straining within the industry, all quite probably through the fact that we are all competing for an effectively shrinking share of the market,

And then we have the matter of quality. You can't learn brewing in three days. You just can't. Using a proper yeast beer can take 7 days to ferment & finish, and indeed an old brewers saying goes 'Every Brew Should See A Sabbath', which backs up the 7 day cycle. So how can three days work for training? Theory is great, but practice is the key. Now of course you don't have to have any training - I certainly never did any brewing course. But at the very least you need to work for another small brewery. I learnt this the hard way, but my time helping someone else (unpaid I might add) for nearly 2 years was invaluable. Indeed without it I wouldn't be able to be here know on my high horse, as those who have followed us from our first days will testify. But not many new brewers go this route, as they have done home brew. Oh yes. This is like comparing changing tyres at Kwik-Fit with being able to work in the Maclaren F1 pit crew.

So how do you set up a new brewery? Well, you go to the back pages of any beer-related journal, find an add for a brew plant, and buy it. Put it in a building, and let the guys who sold you the plant tell you how to use it in less than three days. Hey presto, you are a brewery. Did I say packet yeast will ferment beer in two days? No? Well it often does. But then you can also by white wine for £1.99, if you want.

Alternatively, you shop around amongst the specialist plant manufacturers, realise that purpose-built brew plant isn't cheap, but used nonetheless by all those breweries that do well, win awards, and are well known. You then look for advice, and realise that the names behind the big, successful breweries, the well known beers, the big award winners, and the the breweries that have grown over the last 15-20 years, are not the names offering to help you. And if you can't answer why, then maybe you should open a kennels instead. But first there is a simple, but very important thing to do. Make sure you can get enough dogs.

Charge(s) Of The Commerce Brigade....

Why oh why do we have to pay charges to pay bills? If we want to pay Business Post online (for example), they charge us extra. Why? Is it cheaper then to pay someone (or a machine) to open envelopes, and process cheques. I don't think so. Some suit has figured it may be cheaper for most companies to pay online, even with the charge (£1 for a Debit Card...), than post cheques. So the charge can only be another way of screwing extra dosh out of us. Well not us matey. You can damn well pay someone to open our bloody envelopes.

BT though want to charge us extra for not being on Direct Debit - but have trouble understanding that maybe we want a bill first (a little battle we have had with them, which may now be over). So we pay them extra for the privilege for not allowing them carte-blance to take what they like, when they like, from our account. Perhaps not surprisingly the latest bill tells us that the line rental is increasing from November 1st. The bill was dated November 9th, so thanks for the advanced notification. If we pulled a price rise on our customers, but only told them a week after invoicing, they would, quite rightly, be a little peeved. Even BT.

Now we supply a product - we make it (which is rare enough these days), sell it, and distribute it. We then take payment for it, and stick it in the bank. We make a charge for the product - we are after all a business, and so here to make money. The charge we make for the product covers all the above. And that is how businesses have run since Ugg & Prescott first stepped out of their caves and did an honest days work (well, Ugg anyway). Now though we have this increasing trend, as highlighted above, of adding additional charges. Why? Do Business Post charge visitors to their head office for 'wear & tear' on the carpets. Don't smirk, it's only a matter of time - in the 1950's the thought of having to pay to pay an invoice would have met the same derision. Unless of course you a bean counter, in which case you'll be nodding sagely at my idea - consultancy fees apply, and of course a payment processing fee, as will Keyboard Wear Expenses & A Chair Fabric Abrasion Surcharge.


Of course when it comes to charging, the banks are the masters. You'd need the time travelling skills of Dr Who just to work out what may or may not be charged for - that quick phone call, the review meeting demanded by the otherwise elusive 'Business Manager'. And I suspect not even the Daleks have the power to force the banks to actual fully itemise their charges (although it might be worth trying to enter the bank with a sink plunger on my head, and see if it works).

So the bank charges us to deposit our money, then charges us to take it out again. Now of course this is, at the end of the day, a service, and of course it costs money, and I won't pretend that we have a huge bank balance that earns the bank huge sums in investment returns. This is because we don't have a huge cash surplus, and if we did, I'd like to think we would have a better use for it than propping the fat cat shareholders who run our financial institutions. I'm no communist, but I think a fair days hard graft is not too much to expect, and nowhere can I see the words 'hard' & 'graft' connected with wearing a suit, having meetings or taking caviar with your Cornflakes. I do know an almost communist though - but he has a holiday home, so probably doesn't count.

Now to be fair to banks, we have recently switched to Barclays (Royston branch), where there is a Business Manager (who knows everyone it seems), with an assistant, who has a working mobile and an open door policy. And he has (so far) been very happy to help us in any way. True, he likes our beer - but then an understanding of your customers is important. Our previous manager (who has yet to notice we have hardly touched our account with him in three months) once commented, on seeing the brewery "I like Stella. Is that what you do?". Well, bully for Stella, whoever she may be....

Squadron Cleared For Take-Off!

Back in August we entered the bottled version of 92 Squadron into the 2008 Tesco Beer Awards. Not sure why, but we did. Previous entries into award schemes fell flat because (we have since heard) we took the decision to to filter the beer, rather than providing each bottle with a debatable sediment. You'd think we were manufacturing a pastuerised chemical substance from the reaction such a move draws from certain quarters, but we know what is best. And that is a well brewed beer, using only natural raw materials. We then filter out any protein, and bottle it (via our bottlers). There is still some yeast in the beer (albeit a very tiny amount), and the beer still ages as it should. What it doesn't have is a sediment formed of processed yeast (which may or may not be from a traditional brewers yeast...) that does little beyond add some fizz if you are lucky, bugger up the flavour, and quite likely end up in your pint. Which is nice.

Anyway, we entered, just for fun. And would you know it, we've won. So now 92 Squadron is the winner of the 2008 Tesco Drinks Award - Regonal Beer (East). Which means that we have a listing with Tesco across 120-ish stores around East Anglia. And that is no small thing. This all starts in March 2008, and so we are now deep into expansion plans, including our own bottling line, and as investigations progress, it becomes more and more obvious that we will not be placing all our Eggs into one basket - the Tesco business, whilst important, will not be our major source of business. So, if it all comes together, we may well have lift-all round - and not just with the high-flying 92 Squadron.

And no, we won't be putting bits in the bottom. Real ale is about the the whole brewing process, not just bits in a bottle. Anyone can put bits in - it's the natural, traditional, quality & honesty of the brewing and the beer that matters.

I may even shave the beard off as well....

Hops Away...!

It would be nice to say I've been on holiday since the last posting. It would also be a lie, sadly. What's needed is more hours in the day, but I guess we'd only have to pay tax on them, so maybe we don't need any more.

Anyway, back to the real world. Today, we're going to talk about hops.

Hops are rather important to us - they might not add the alcohol or the colour to the beer, but they do have an important role in the flavour of each beer we produce. As you may of noticed, we had a pretty dismal summer, and one of the many crops affected was the UK hop harvest. Hops are a declining crop globally, mostly as a result of the big breweries ever-present drive to keep their costs down making hops an uneconomic proposition for farmers across the world. So harvests reduce each year. Throw in a bad UK harvest due to the weather, and things get a bit sticky. Add storms in the USA, damaging their hop yards, and even harder storms in Eastern Europe, and we have the makings of a problem.

And so, as I write this I am awaiting the prices for this seasons hops. At the moment it's looking like most varieties will double in price (if not more), and some varieties won't be available at all, others varying from plentiful to reduced in volume.

At the present time, only one of our beers is badly affected. Trouble is, it's Britannia - one of our top sellers. Now whilst we could change the hops, it willl either completely change the distinctive spicy blackberry character of the beer, or if we choose to get as close as possible, we'll be using imported hops - not a good thing in a beer called Britannia (the name's origins are in our long-lost industrial power). So we are trawling our archives for a suitable alternative, for inclusion in the range in January.

Other beers may well be OK, we hope....

The other problem is of course the cost. The sort of increases we are seeing will be impossible for us contain without passing them on. Add the large rise in malt prices (again, related to harvest conditions), and the frankly ridiculous increases in fuel costs, and all the other side costs that we have, and it gets a bit much. If we were to pass it all on, we'd lose sales. Now of course all breweries are in the same boat, so from a point of view of competitiveness maybe it's not a big problem. But will you, the drinker, want to pay another 30p overnight for your beer? So we'll end up having to 'swallow' some of the cost, like most breweries.

...Well, until March anyway. Then we have the risk of the Nanny State Health Lobby, bored now that they have waved their sticks at the smoker, having their alcohol duty demands met. And I'm darned if we'll pay anymore to this Wasteful Gubbinsment out of our own pockets....

Naive Knee Jerking Nonsense....

Is a the most apt phrase I can think to describe the recent outpourings of Cheshire's Police Constable, Peter Fahy. Why? Well let us look at his comments (taken from here):

(These comments were made to Channel 4 News, as part of a piece on the charging of three teenagers for the murder of a 47 year old).

Mr Fahy called for the legal drinking age to be raised from 18 to 21.

"Alcohol is too cheap and too readily available and is too strong. Young people cannot handle it," he added.

Firstly, if someone under age is going drink alcohol, does it matter then what that minimum age is - they are still going to drink. This is about education and respect for the law, just raising the age will increase under age drinking, apart from in those responsible 19 year old's who will follow the law. As with most laws, they are only followed by the responsible. So no, raising the age would not stop the problem, indeed it would only increase it.

Is Alcohol too cheap? Well maybe in the big supermarkets (and one or two smaller ones), plus in certain high street chain pubs (you can I am sure work out who). So yes raise the tax on alcohol, double it's price. But hang on, that would hit the pockets of the responsible drinkers, so they would cut back. Responsible pubs would shut, small breweries/wineries/distilleries etc would lose their outlets and then they would shut. What production that is left would be in the hands of big producers - you know, the ones that can cut their production costs and produce cheap alcohol. Meanwhile, the only drinkers unaffected would be those with a lot of disposable income. Which, funnily enough, includes the idiots Mr Fahy is trying to control. So once again, only the well behaved are affected.

Is alcohol too strong? And can young people handle it? Well I can't speak for wine or spirits, but it is historical fact that beer and cider have reduced in strength over the years, partly through cost saving by producers (less alcohol means more output in very simple terms), but mostly through taxation of beer & cider being based on alcoholic strength (less alcohol = less tax to pay). So historically you would that alcohol related 'crime' would be reducing as well. Over the last 50 years the evidence would suggest otherwise. Indeed over the same 50 years alcohol consumption has fallen dramatically, which would suggest that maybe there are factors alongside alcohol in these crimes. As for young people handling alcohol, well yes they can, if they are used to it. Wine is commonly drunk by young children in France (in small, watered down amounts), and elsewhere in the world. In the UK alcohol is demonised by the media and the authorities, which seems to only increase the enthusiasm of the young to try it asap. When they do, unlike the kids of France, it is behind closed doors, without adult supervision. Could this be a factor here? More importantly, the quantity of alcohol consumed by the irresponsible young would floor anyone. So it's not a question of not handling it, is a question of not drinking so much in the first place - and stopping demonising alcohol may well go some way to reducing it's apparent charm.


Everyday, large numbers of people enjoy alcohol in all its forms without feeling the need to put in windows, murder folk, fight in the street or rob old ladies. Much as they don't have those urges when sober. Why? Because they know it's wrong to do those things, morally first and legally second. These are the folk that suffer from these knee jerk remarks and the resulting actions. The people who know how to behave in the first place. And I bet many of these responsible people also had a drink long before they turned 18.

So Mr Fahy, here are some ideas from the real world:

1. Stop this knee-jerk stuff, it helps no-one but the Daily Mail doom merchants.
2. Arrest people, build bigger cells, and put your efforts into arranging a court system that doesn't let everyone off all the time - punishment should scare people, not pamper them.
3. Ask yourself why a minority of young people feel the need to get drunk all the time. If you just stop them getting drunk, they'll fill that hole with worse substances. Sort out the illness, not the symptoms.
4. Sure, focus your anti-alcohol feelings on those who put out cheap drink - but remember that not all outlets sell cheap drink. So raising tax won't work.
5. Have a look at work these hooligans are drinking. It might surprise you. And you might even realise that in fact, most producers and suppliers of drink don't actually benefit from the hooligan bingers, indeed their antics probably scare away potential trade.
6. No, alcohol is not exactly a healthy option, even in moderation, but for the majority it is nor more a source of harm than fast food - it is treated sensibly. So don't penalise the sensible majority.
7. Don't start to attack the industry. We are not breaking the law - if folk behave irresponsibly it is NOT our fault, anymore that Ford is responsible for killer drivers, or that rope makers are responsible for folk who hang themselves. Or maybe we all should be - indeed why not extend this thought and make the police responsible for all the crimes they don't stop. We all have a social responsibility, but lines have to be drawn. And individuals have to responsible for what they do, not pass it on to others.


I accept that the media may twist your words, and maybe your comments have been shown out of context - but you should be aware of that before your speak. So less knee jerk, and more targeted, well thought action. We all want these incidents stopped, as much we all want to be able to continue our own morally responsible lives without paying for the antics of the minority. Please, drop the soundbites - they help only to promote the speaker, and demonise young people (the majority of whom are decent folk). Also, they needlessly increase fear -unless of course you are suggesting that the streets are now an out of control lawless area...?

Back With A, Err, Ermm, Well, Errr, Something Mildy Interesting. Probably....

Ooh, would you look at that. It's been a month since the last blog, or whatever it's called. And I'm still not sure what to post.

I could say the previously discussed Hobby we have sighted may have been a juvenile Peregrine, according to some observers. I could mention a couple of new beers we have put out - 'Western Harrier', 'Blink Bonny' & the originally titled 'Dark' (hang on, that's three isn't it - sorry). I could even talk at length about various insects observed by the pond. But to be honest, I won't.

What I will say is that we now have the casks to sustain a more regular and intensive brewing schedule, which is keeping us busy, and as a result, and not before time, we are now three. We have been joined by our first employee, Basil. Basil has brewing experience, and is also a fully qualified herbalist - which I suspect may be another unique point in our favour. So I really must get about updating, nay including, a section on the website about the faces behind the beer. It may even make interesting reading...

Since the last post, a few more areas of the country have been flooded, although thankfully for us not round here (it remains to be seen what effects there will be on the hop & barley harvest, but fingers crossed all will be OK). But summer seems to be with us at the moment, and beer sales are for us still on an upwards trend. It seems to be the same for many of the other breweries we have contact with, despite some very downbeat feelings from publicans. The truth I guess is that many smokers are still spending less time drinking, which is affecting pub figures. Statistically though, smokers are more likely (so we are told) to be lager drinkers, so cask sales haven't been hit too hard - indeed it seems that what new trade there is in pubs is mostly folks who have a taste for 'bitters', and are keener to try something new. Again, this is good news for the small producers, and bad news for the big, over-hyped mass produced 'brands'. Which might explain why, as ever, small brewers are always 'bucking the trend' of national sales figures (small brewers sales aren't included in industry statistics...).

The downside of increasing sales is of course that in the short term the cash flow gets screwed up a bit, but hey-ho, this is part of business life. Of course it does hurt to see the cheques to the revenue increasing massively, but that is just relative - it's all based on money coming in, so in many ways it is a good sign.

The current bit of good news is that we have had a meeting with the local licencing officer, and any fears re high costs of getting a full alcohol/entertainment licence are seemingly unfounded. So a couple of hours of form filling (umpteen copies of which are to be sent to the world, his dog, and the dog's two mates), and 28 days of notices & adverts later, we might at last be able to sell to the public from the brewery door. All of which we were allowed to do under the old licencing rules...

One of the main concerns of the licence application revolves around protecting society from the harms of alcohol, and how we plan to do this. Well, it's simple really. For a start we won't be selling anything at a ridiculously low below cost price, and therefore encouraging folk to get cheaply drunk before going out. What's that, someone suggesting large supermarket chains are behaving irresponsibly, with impunity? Surely not. Whatever next...

Brewery News....

Well, nothing untoward to report, yet...

We've just taken delivery of 100 new firkins, courtesy of close brewery rentals, so production should soon be in a position keep up with demand.

Silence, Royston Red & Highwayman have been the main brewing activities so far this month, with a batch of 'Western Harrier' currently in one of the FV's. This is a one off pale beer, brewed mainly just to use some English trial hops('Irene') we purchased a little while back. Next week will see Challenger (in the tank already), and Highwayman going through, and as soon as space allows 'Blink Bonny', a darkish beer, again brewed just to use some stray hops whilst we have some space in the schedules.

Looking much further ahead we have been asked to re-create a mild, once brewed in the East Midlands - we already use the required yeast, so it will be a good chance to see just how close we can match the original, at the first attempt, without the use of dozens of men in white coats.

We have also installed a new PC. Coming from the IT world I had some trepidation about moving over to Windows Vista, especially as at it would have to talk to two XP machines (desktop & laptop), plus a shared printer. Quite frankly, I was amazed. It just worked it all out for itself. Maybe Microshaft have got it right at last. No complaints, no battles to get Vista to see the printer, the network or the internet. I might even end up actually really liking Windows at last....

But in order to balance things somewhat, we have just broken one of our brewery pumps. And it would be the last of the 'odd' ones. Which means plenty of kerfuffle in changing fittings etc to make it fully interchangeable (like the other pumps) or getting adaptors and make existing piping fit it. Much like I expected when I switched Vista on for the first time....

It's Not Rain, It's Next Years Beer...

You must have noticed it's been a bit wet in parts of late - the recent footage of flooding in Sheffield was, err, well, something else. Indeed we would like to extend our best wishes to the Kelham Island Brewery (and others of course, plus the pubs) who were quite heavily affected, indeed washed out entirely. May they all be back in full operation soon, though I suspect many already are.

Of course up here on the hill, with chalk soil, flooding really isn't a big worry - after all, by the time we get flooded, most of our customers will be several fathoms under water - so we have brushed the rain off as just future beer (after all, it does top up the aquifers tapped by our borehole). Trouble is, if it doesn't stop soon, and by stop I mean get warm & dry for a week or three, then this years barley harvest will be in trouble, which means malting barley will go up in price, and possibly suffer a degree of scarcity - and that is not what we want.

On the other side though, I suspect just three dry days will result in hose pipe bans across the country. You can't win, can you. Maybe someone should build a few reservoirs to trap the flood waters - but no, that would mean spending money, and we can't do that. So we'll just carry on building on the flood plains, and constructing local flood relief schemes that just speed the waters on to someone else instead.

Don't you just love joined-up thinking and long term planning.

One Of Our Dragonflies Is Missing...

...Well, several actually. Last year our little pond was alive with dragonflies, all performing the aerial dogfights much to our entertainment (and possibly theirs of course). This year, just as their numbers start to rise, they disappear. Then after a few days they come back, and start disappearing again - and so the cycle goes on. I'm no dragonfly expert, but I doubt they are going off on long weekends, indeed I suspect it's new ones appearing each time.

So out came our Miss Marple & Columbo outfits. We wanted to get to the bottom of this. Were we being visited by hordes of stealth-equipped bug collectors? Did we have have some kind of lake monster hiding in the reedbed - it would be a good visitor attraction after all. No, nothing of the sort. What we seem to have is a Hobby...

No, we aren't talking stamp collecters, but falcons. The Hobby is a sort of small Peregrine Falcon, just a bit bigger than a kestrel it seems (see the RSPB page here), and it has a taste for dragonflies. To see it in action was quite impressive - it swoops down to the targeted dragonfly, grabs it in its talons, and flies upwards again, transferring the victim to its mouth & eating it whilst doing so. The latin name for the Hobby is Falco subbuteo - and it is from this bird that the table football game got its name apparently. Now there's a useful fact.

So mystery solved, and do you know what? We are rather pleased to have a Hobby amongst us - now all we need is an Osprey for a full set (and that is not so impossible, they do pass through Herts we are told).

It's Been A Quiet Week...

No, really, I think it has. Sure we've filled a few firkins, washed many more, and (by Friday), done two brews. Plus delivering, empty collecting, getting guest beers arranged, employed someone, looked long & hard at future plans, read the recent Licensing Act throughout, deep cleaned some of the more hidden corners of the brewery, sorted through the foreign (ie not ours) cask pile that is locked away elsewhere on site, and hosted 2 large brewery visits. But apart from that, it has been a quiet week.

Why? Well, we could have delivered, indeed just sold, a lot more beer. But we didn't have it, because we are scratching around for casks to put it in. Still. But good news cometh. Well, a load of new, albeit French-made, casks cometh early next week, and just to help out, a local wandering landlord, well know to many as Steve Nye (soon to be settled down though, courtesy of local boys McMullens), has kindly allowed us use of his cask fleet, bought in the days he was brewing beer under the 'Millennium Brewery tag. So things should get a bit more hectic again in a week or so. "Never Mind", folk say, "Think of all the money you must be making". Oh dear. Trouble is, we could throw it all into our pockets, but growth needs money, and it becomes a vicious circle. One that no doubt is familiar to any that have started their own business, and got into their third year of trading. But not familiar to those that haven't been here, which is often those you see daily. Busy does not mean rich. But then why be rich if you are too busy to enjoy it?

But it has been a good week. We've had the Royston Chamber Of Commerce round for tea. Well, round for beer, and a barbecue courtesy of the local Italian Restaurant, Palazzo (01763 226225), with some food donated by the local Tesco store, all added to the spread freshly crafted by hand for the evening. I tell you what, with food like that for tea, we'll invite them all back next week. It's a shame it rained on the night, but then it is Wimbledon week. And then today I have had the pleasure of a ride on the Reedham Ferry, in the dray, at the behest of the SatNav (which even showed a picture of a boat, just to inform me that I was floating across a river - aren't these things just so clever...?). The sun was out, the local warblers were active, and it almost felt like summer.

Next week though, I think it is back to normal. Whatever that is.

A Sad Loss To Common Sense - & Drinkers

Like any industry containing true family firms, the brewery industry has it's share of characters. Slightly eccentric in many ways maybe, but they all have the kind of passion you just don't get from accountants, lawyers & marketing men. John Young, of the once Wandsworth based brewery Youngs, passed away last year, on the day that the last beer was brewed on the site that Youngs started at hundreds of years back. John Young fought through the 1960's & early 1970's to keep the family firm brewing real ale, against all advice. But time proved him right, although external forces eventually forced a move to Bedford, partly through the threat of a compulsory purchase order. After all, flats & shops are a better thing than jobs, heritage, pride and tradition.

But this month, June 2007, saw the loss of two more, maybe the last two, genuine characters. I have never met either, but I can't help but admire them for their strong, passionate, and finally correct, convictions.

The first, Claude Arkell, died in early June. Claude ran the Donnington Brewery in Gloucestershire, where water power is the main driving source of the brewery. Traditional is probably therefore a weak word to describe Donnington (especially given its misuse by the marketing cowboys of today). Claude was renowned for many things, most notably his refusal to allow women into the brewery (it was 'No Place For A Woman'), and his apparent insistence on visiting any landlord that wanted to sell his beer. The latter is understandable, the former perhaps not. But nonetheless Donnington remained a distinctive, and often highly regarded brewery. The brewery is now passing into the hands of another branch of the Arkells family, the owners of the Swindon based Arkells Brewery. And Donningtons future independence is apparently assured. And too right - it should be no other way.

The second loss is George Bateman, of the better known , but otherwise equally renowned, Batemans Brewery in Lincolnshire. George Bateman is renowned for his stance in the 1980's when, almost single-handedly he stood against his siblings by refusing to sell the family brewery. In the end he (and common sense) won the day, and the brewery remained a family firm. At numerous times since, so it is said, 'Mr George' was advised by various 'experts' that it was all over, and he should sell up quick. His response was to find new experts, time after time, until he found some that agreed with him, and accepted his determination to carry on. The firm is now run by his son, Stuart Bateman, and long may it continue.

In both cases they are traditional family firms, who put the product, and why they are brewing it, above the whims of a few 'experts'. Experts, who, no doubt have got their knowledge through a few books, and not through being at the sharp end. Experts who see pound signs, and continued high growth as the only indicators of success. Experts who have no doubt helped play a part in the continued loss of the soul & values of this nation.

Sometimes we need to realise that staying still is a good thing, and that business is not always just about staying ahead of the competition. Sometimes it involves standing up for what you believe, honouring the companies founding principals - and accepting that we can't all be the size of General Motors.

God rest you both, Claude Arkell & George Bateman. And God help us all if you were the last of your kind.

Your Turn WILL Come

So in just 10 days from when I write this, smoking in public places will become illegal. Well, that's good isn't. After all, we've all read the sound science behind passive smoking, and even if you doubt that is an issue, cigarette smoke still gets into your clothes, hair, and of course smoke gets in your eyes. And so from July 1st, pubs, shops & restaurants etc will be much nicer places to be in the view of the majority of us.

And maybe more people will now go to the pub, because before they didn't like the smokey atmosphere. But will they have got too used to their comfortable chair, cheap supermarket 'chemical' drinks, and the mind-numbing pap on the goggle-box? I think maybe they might have. But still, we are upbeat about it, and view the whole thing as a move in the right direction. And so live in hope that more people will now support their local pubs.

But hey, just wait a minute tobacco-picking minute. We aren't smokers, so of course we don't have a problem with the ban. So we sit back and listen to the smokers whine, and make no effort to see their rights. But no, that's fine, they don't have any do they. Until.... What will be banned next - the smart money is on further controls on alcohol, even perhaps a ban by the back door through other means (ie massive tax hikes). Then of course we will be jumping up and down, just like many smokers are now. Will they be keen to support our fight, or as keen as we were to support them?

And what about other folks? The non-drinkers, the folks who never want to visit their local (you know, the ones who'll moan when, as the last in the village, it has to shut through no trade and so drives down the value of their house). Will they defend our right to have a drink - sensibly and in moderation of course, as we failed to defend the smokers right to have a smoke in the warm?

No, I doubt they would. Their world won't be overly affected, it is after all someone elses problem. And then, in time, something they enjoy - say the right to operate dangerous machinery like a lawn mower or strimmer in their own garden - will be picked on by the State Nannies. And it will be their turn - indeed maybe YOUR turn - to get hot under the collar. Trouble is, there'll be no-one left willing to fight for you.

It's worth a thought, isn't it?

Sticking your head in the sand should carry a Govt Health Warning...

Beer Range Varies...

Now any of you who are devotees of The Ale, and readers of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, will now what I mean when I say the holy grails of all those listed pubs are the ones where it states 'Beer Range Varies'. So in a pub this is a good thing. In a brewery though it is a bad thing. Now some breweries never seem to do the same beer twice, and that is fine. But when all is said and done, most drinkers like to be conservative in their tipple, so to get anywhere as a brewery you must offer a core range. Now ours was simple - Challenger, Britannia, Pargeter, plus the likes of Night Owl, Silence & Royston Red to be rotated through as allowed. Come Highwayman though, this has all changed.

So now Night Owl & Pargeter have been relegated to the back of the cupboard, the recipe to be dusted off just occasionally. Britannia has been relegated as well, through no fault of it's own - it just wasn't as big a seller as Challenger or Highwayman are. Royston Red has come forward somewhat, but that has meant Silence has had to go backwards a bit. And now, to cap it all, some muppet has not only recently allowed 92 Squadron to reappear, but also Royston Pale Ale as well. The 92 went very quickly, and we are now seeing cries for more, and I suspect the Pale Ale will go equally well, when it is released in about 10 days time. And God alone knows how we will fit those two in.

So this weeks challenge is to come up with a flyer that is relevant for more than 36 hours, but shows more than one beer. And once that is done, it will be time to have words with the aforementioned muppet responsible for this mess. Well, that muppet is me, and I will, rest assured dear reader, give myself a stern talking to over a pint of something that we can't guarantee to keep available permanently, if at all. I think our graphic designer is probably going to want words as well. No sooner has he done a new design for these dusted off beers, than it's too late because we've sold it all, and we find him something else to draw. It'll probably drive him to drink.

And In This Tank...

After 3 - 4 hectic weeks trying to keep up, we have again run out of empty barrels. So it's a quiet week this week, with just a fresh brew of Royston Pale Ale (RPA to it's friends) gently fermenting away. We have a good stock of Challenger & Highwayman in the cellar, but both are getting alarmingly low - but then that is good, we don't brew it to keep it sat in the cellar! Next week will be a double brew week, but only if we get enough empties back. Or we get the 100 new ones we are waiting for. And at the moment 100 firkins is just enough for a double brew week.

Such fluctuations in our brewing volumes marks out the increasing number of 'tour groupies' we seem to be getting. We have noticed for a while that some faces in tour parties were familiar, but this has now been confirmed when someone asked why we had full tanks a few weeks ago, but now had empty ones. When he was answered, he sagely agreed that we had mentioned cask shortages in the past. He then had to admit he was on his fourth visit this year. So far. So it's not just rock bands that have groupies, breweries have them too. And do you know what, I think it's great. I am sure that some Rolling Stones groupies offer more services than ours do (thankfully), but ours certainly do us great benefit in raising our profile in the local pub trade. And whilst I don't want to sound ungrateful, the more I thinka bout it, a few screaming females would certainly add a bit of extra cheer that middle-aged men just can't provide.

Mother Nature's Update

One of the things that we were intending to do with this blog was to provide a record of all that is going on around the brewery, in respect of the copious amount of wildlife we have round here. Of course this means more regular posting than we have achieved so far, so here is a catch-up & update on things, in the hope that we'll be more regular in the future....

So far we have seen the Pheasants produce their first clutch, and the Partridges (red & grey) should by now have done likewise, although as yet we have not seen any chicks ourselves. We have had the honour though of seeing a group of Lapwing chicks being herded around by a lone parent. Apparently lapwings have an informal creche arrangement, whereby the adults take it in turns to look after a group of chicks. No doubt the off duty adults then go off shopping, dry skiing or suchlike. The local pair of barn owls seem to have young to feed judging by their hunting efforts, often starting around lunchtime, as well as their more usual nocturnal activities (when at least one Tawny Owl can be heard). Indeed the Barn Owls have no fear of us it seems, often flying, and hunting, very close by - which gives a fantastic opportunity to witness these beautiful creatures close at hand. Their lack of noise whilst in flight offers stark contrast to their haunting night-time calls.

At least one pair of kestrels has a full nest nearby (in a box placed for barn owls...), and no doubt the local buzzards have some young to deal with. One of last years highlights was visits by a female Marsh Harrier (a rare bird in the UK, especially away from the Suffolk coast). This year she has returned to us, and a male has apparently been spotted as well (but not at the brewery, yet). We don't where they are nesting, but we suspect it is a few miles away at Fowlmere, where Marsh Harriers have nested before. Our own reed bed is too small for them, but must at least help in attracting them out this way on hunting duties. It is however adequate for the sandpipers and snipe that stop by on passage elsewhere. The resident moorhens have raised chicks this year, and most recently they have been seen chasing mice. No doubt it passes the time...

Other birds include the ever-active swallows, blackbirds, sparrows, greenfinchs, yellow-hammers, goldcrests, corn buntings, spotted flycatchers, starlings, jackdaws, jays, crows, rooks, pigeons a-plenty, wagtails & robins - to name but a few. At the moment though, the Skylark(s) are highly active, their long high altitude singing and tumbling stunt flight antics being an almost constant accompaniment to most days.

The local hares are as active as ever, and in seemingly plentiful supply. One or two of them are even happy to come within a short distance of us, especially in the evenings - but they soon scarper if we do more than watch. Toads & frogs seem to be exiting the pond in large numbers, and some seem to be able to escape the clutches of the many flying predators to come and sit under empty barrels, and so cause much delay on barrel washing days as we endeavour to ensure we don't squash them, or leave them exposed to the drying sun with no escape.

It is amazing how little we are plagued with flies. Of course I suspect that the various small birds (and others) round here that eat them are the reason for this. And this is just how it should be - nature is a very good pest controller when allowed to get on with things. And the same goes with slugs. Any gardener knows that a little drop of beer makes for a good slug trap, so just how good must hundreds of gallons of the stuff be. Whilst we can of course keep the brewery slug proof (by shutting the doors - it's that simple), outside is another matter. Last year they were queuing up to in on damp days, but this year, there are but a few sliming around. And why? Well, the hordes of toads must be thanked I guess. And none of them show any interest in coming inside. Our pest controller finds only a small amount of rodent evidence around the outside of the building, and nothing inside. And again, the answer lies in the predators outside. In fact, last year the rodent population was believed to too low to sustain the barn owls (who never nested last year), and so the farm has factored in mice friendly-planting into the conservation areas. Rats of course are another matter, and thankfully in short supply round here. Just as well, as my suggesting of introducing pythons to control them has so far met a great deal of resistance.

I am ever hopeful though that my thoughts on increasing the local giraffe population will meet with support. There is bound to be some good PR in offering brewery tours against a back drop of giraffes browsing amongst the trees, thistles & grasses....

PS I am just finishing this at 1445, and outside the office I can see the male barn owl hunting. On the down side though, distant thunder seems to be drowning out the skylark... Oh well.

Buntingford - The Beer From The Real Real Country.

Beer On Track

Devotees of our output may well have come across our '92 Squadron', either in cask or more likely in bottle. Well, it's just been brewed and bottled again, and on Saturday 16 June we took some along to be served on a train hauled by 92 Squadron herself, along the North Norfolk Railway. The train was an evening real ale train (ie no lager, a concept lost on some passengers who have now seen the light), with a hogroast & live music at a station along the line. A good time was had by all, and much beer (and wine) was sensibly consumed - no shouting, screaming, fighting or any of the other activities seemingly blamed on alcohol (could it be the people, not the alcohol, that forms such behaviour?).

Only one point of concern - one of us was working the bar (on the train, in a 1930's buffet car), the other went up front to go on the footplate of 92. As the train started to leave, one of us was still working the bar, the other had not re-appeared. Where were they? Had they got on? Would there be trouble later? A glance out the window by the one left working the bar soon answered all questions, as a hairy head wearing a beaming grin appeared, waving, from the cab of the locomotive as we steamed along the Norfolk coastline. Later complaints about hair full of ash fell on some very deaf ears I can tell you....

The whole event was designed to help raise funds to keep the engine in working order, which as might be imagined is not a cheap activity. Much like hurriedly scribbling something on a piece of paper, at the last minute, the night before you had promised to present a logo to the folks running, say, a major sporting event....

We're Still Here - Just Not Blogging...

EIGHT WEEKS! That's what I call a regular update. I know we've been busy, but frankly, 'Must Try Harder' is probably to be found in red letters somewhere round here.... Well, we'll see! To be honest, a few posts have been written, but not published (yet).

The Highwayman is behind much of our labours at the moment - it is steadily attracting a number of new, and often regular, customers. Crucially though, not at the expense of sales of our other beers. But, (isn't there always a but...) it's popularity is affecting our ability offer the usual range of beers, and at the moment we are struggling to offer a full range. So new casks are due by early July, and space has been cleared in the brewery for another fermenter. Now of course all this costs money, and wouldn't you just know it, stainless prices are rocketing. Indeed all prices seem to be rocketing these days - all that is except the ex-brewery price of beer. Thankfully the rise in sales means more money coming in, and so investment is still possible, but it won't of course always be like this.

So next time you're in a pub, moaning about the rising price of your pint, don't believe the hype about it being the brewers fault. Sadly, price is now more important than quality - especially with the new wave of gastro pubs with high food prices, and I do at times wonder if their beer purchasing policy also applies to their food. Still, I guess it's always been that the small business is expected to be cheap. Now many landlords do put quality, and customer preference, way above price - but should we then charge them more than we would charge the bargain-hunters? Of course not, so we don't. By the same token of course, we don't give ground very much, and so often lose out on a sale. Other breweries will though, and just recently one of the heaviest discounters has gone into administration.

You don't have to be a money grabbing git to run a business - but we can certainly see why for some it helps.

Twelve Days Of Easter

Whoah, twelves days since the last post? Good heavens and all that. Of course we have been really busy, although I have to say there is an element of 'I'll write a another blog later' behind the twelve day hiatus!

So what have we been doing? Well, brewing obviously, and all that goes with it. A few days off over Easter as well, which was nice, and the chance to show members of the Huntingdonshire branch of CAMRA round our premises. Of course most breweries offer tours, and as we mostly do much the same thing, it can no doubt get a bit tedious. But we try and offer a relaxed, informal visit, with no big sell or time constraints. And on a nice day it all ends in a chance to sit outside and drink. Which is I guess the most important part.

Easter is traditionally the time when the pub trade awakes from it's post Christmas winter slumber, and so is when we see beer sales climb. Oddly, we hadn't really seen a fall after Christmas, partly due to a few large beer festival supply gigs, but mostly through the hard work of our new(ish) sales rep, Nick - helped of course though by the beer! So we are now looking at ways of keeping up with increased sales, and so the spectre of expansion & investment hovers around our thoughts at present. We are very lucky in that we have a kindly, and keen, landlord, who has a spare barn or three - so space is not an issue - and indeed we can expand without moving the brewplant, which of course avoids breaks in production. So a bigger cellar beckons, along with more casks, and some conditioning tanks - and even a couple of lagering tanks.

Growth is part and parcel of any business, but even so it can be a nerve wracking issue. Do we just do enough do meet expected demand over the next couple of years - it will be cheaper, but a short-term fix, or do we play a long game - go for plenty of spare capacity to grow into, but at a higher initial cost. It's a tough call to make, and we think we have found a middle ground that will provide the space at the start, but without plenty of tanks & casks from the start.

Looking even further ahead, thoughts are turning towards pub ownership. But for now, it's all a plan, worked over and over to get the figures right. And all done whilst looking out on this green & pleasant location we work in. Sometimes life really is great.

Of New Arrivals, Travel & Other Stuff

We started April in fine style - a trip to Carmarthenshire to collect beer for some Easter Beer Festivals, and a chance to spend some time talking to the small breweries in the area that we have been dealing with for a while. By extending the trip over two days (Sunday & Monday), we had a bit of time to relax and enjoy the scenery as well. Wales is great - nice countryside, loads of nice pubs, empty (at this time of year at least) roads, and plenty to go and do. Carmarthenshire goes one better - it gives good Castle. Of course they are mostly, if not all, derelict, but therein is the charm. And I defy anyone to find a castle in these isles as dramatic as Castell Carreg Cennen, near Llandeilo. It's well worth a look.

One thing we nearly decided not to do was a visit to the Red Kite Feeding Centre, near Llangadog. Red Kites are a common site in certain parts of the UK, and indeed we occasionally, and increasingly, see them up here on Therfield Heath, so the attraction was diminished. But we decided to go, and boy was it worth it. Over 30, possibly way over, Red Kites descend to feed on 20lbs of Beef at 3pm every afternoon, and the hides are but a few feet from the action - the chance to see these large birds in action at close range was an impressive sight. Indeed we want one up here now. Just need to see how 40-odd Red Kites would dovetail into the Partridge Rearing programme which is ongoing around the brewery.

Alas, it was soon back to work with a bang - or rather a dash up the M6 to Preston early on Tuesday, a few short hours after getting back late on the Monday. But the beer must be delivered! A cock-up on the malt ordering front meant we haven't brewed this week, but we have valued the chance to catch up on the seemingly endless paperwork. On Wednesday we took delivery of a new arrival, in the form of fairly new, but battered (and therefore cheap) ex-Royal Mail van. Even now we are looking out for a suitable black & white cat to nail onto the dashboard. Whilst the van has a fairly low capacity, it will mean we can now be in two places at once - which is what most small businesses have to strive to do...

On the beer front, Isaac's Flying Coach (3.9%, brown, malty and hoppy) has made a return by popular demand, and indeed death threats. Brambles in Buntingford will be one regular stockist, for those of you wishing to seek it out. In other news, we hope to start offering the much mooted range of clothing in the next few weeks - the embroidered logo has been finalised, and no doubt will be the talk of the London, Paris & Milan catwalks this season.

And to finish with for now, an update for those following the wildlife tales of the brewery. The Swallows have arrived! Well, 2 of them at any rate. They've been around for a couple of days, so the rest can't be far away. In the meantime though we are enjoying the hunting of the Barn Owls of an evening, and as I type this, the air is thick with the call of a Skylark or two, and the incessant chirping of the resident Wagtails & Sparrows. Noisy buggers the lot of 'em.

Right. It's Easter weekend, the sun is out, and there's a Beer Duty Return to do amongst all the admin in the office. Oh joy.

Just Three Little Letters....

When a pub phones on a Saturday, wanting beer, and being willing to come & collect it, you know they are keen. The pub in question has a fairly slow beer trade, but recently had a firkin of our new beer, Highwayman IPA. Needless to say it sold very well - and whilst I'd like to think it was our beer that caused this, it seems the magic use of those 'Three Little Letters' - IPA - made the difference. Of course we knew they have that effect, which is why we used them. Once upon a time we were steadfast in not using IPA to describe any of our beers, but after much suggesting from the trade that we do, we gave in.

And so now we have attracted a wider audience it seems. The punter that will only drink an IPA. It matters not who brewed it, just that it calls itself an IPA. No doubt even a stout badged as IPA would sell. Of course, certain big brewers have known for years of this phenomena, and traded very well by using the letters instead of flavour to sell their beer. But the first bit of feedback we get first hand from a drinker? "I really liked all your beers that I have tried, but I don't like IPA, so I'm not going to drink this one". You really can't make it up, can you.


In other news, the annual battle amongst the Buzzards vs All The Other Birds has started. No doubt nesting season creates this seemingly staggering bravery in little birds, but every time one of the Buzzards comes down low, it is attacked. Now a crow I can see is a fair opponent - they are big with a beak that can no doubt remove an eyeball at 50 paces. But a sparrow? Perhaps the Sparrows don't understand odds? Either way, the sight of a Buzzard trying to flee a sparrow - or perhaps even more embarrassingly a pigeon - is quite a shameful sight.

The Buzzard is a large, if graceful, bird, that does not have the turn of speed or cornering ability of your average sparrow. And the sparrow knows it is probably safe. But when the buzzards have got high in the sky, the sparrow buggers off sharpish. And when you see the Buzzard swoop down from upon high, you see why. Suddenly, the speed and agility is all theirs, and very impressive it is to watch, not that you see much as it is done so quickly. High up is where the buzzards rule, gliding the air currents with ease & perfection, gracefully wheeling around all the long day. They do look daft when walking about on the ground looking for a snack though. But I won't tell them that. I'll leave that to those sparrows.

Much more down to earth are the lapwings, who spend their summer on the farm, walking around with their antennae proudly raised on their heads. When they are in flight, they do have a touch of the penguin about them (yes, I know penguins can't fly) in respect of their markings. And now, as I write this, a gaggle of them is picking on, yes, that's right, a buzzard. Still, if the buzzards do for the barn owls again I might just join in. At the least the pied wagtails in the barn opposite seem to getting with nesting, albeit somewhat noisily.

Of course whilst all this happening around us, beer is being brewed, fermented and sold on. Now that is what I call 'Beer From The Real Country'. What say you, my good marketing folk of Greene King Ruddles?

Err, Hello & Welcome...

Well, this seems like a good idea - a blog to record the goings on in & around a small English micro brewery. Of course, in reality, who can say....

So, we plan to record here what is happening (of note), along with what we are thinking and doing. As I write this it is early afternoon on a Friday, that time when it is probably pointless starting a new task, but the enthusiasm to tidy up those last few things is waning somewhat. I ought to do some cask washing later, but I think that will a job for Saturday AM. So what is happening then in the brewery?

One beer is fermenting - a re-brew of 'Isaac's Flying Coach', a special beer originally done for the Ely CAMRA Beer Festival. This morning was taken up with a bit of cleaning round, then a brewery tour from a local school. It seemed odd doing the talk, then not offering round samples. I rather think some of the students found it a little boring, and to be fair it probably is - most of the tour parties we get here are really only interested in the sampling. Once a few samples have imbibed, the tongues loosen and the questions flow. It was even a bit too wet to have a gander at the reed bed & pond. But I hope that they have come away at least knowing what is in beer, and that these days it's not all made in big factories by computers. I just worry that they now think it's also made in small barns by odd folk who need to get out more....

Last year we were free of fruit flies. Such critters plague breweries large and small, and much time & money is spent on fighting them. But not here. Our weaponry sat idle all spring, right through until November, when one last warm spell woke them up. Why? Because the farm is inundated with insect eating birds, and they keep the flies in check. When they all miked off back to Africa/Ibiza/wherever for the winter, the late surging flies had no predators bar us. And now we await their return. At the moment, the flies might be getting the upper hand (slightly), although the cold spell at the mo has seen them off again for now. We are watching the skies for the invasion of Swallows - when they arrive, we know we'll be sorted. And brewery visitors will be amazed at how closely a Swallow can fly to your head without crashing.