Yup. After ages of doing nothing, the Brewers Blog is moving to new home, where it will no doubt be equally ignored. That said I am getting death threats now for my lack of posting, so I will try harder in the new home:
brewersblog.buntingford-brewery.co.uk
The decorators are still in by the way....
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Thursday, 4 December 2008
I'm Going To Write A Book....
...and here is the plot synopsis.
There is a country, which has a government. This government is seemingly made up of people from one nation in this country - a nation which also has it's own government (unlike the other 3 nations that make up this fictitious country). The public at large don't seem to find this strange, but then they are more interested in people who are famous for no obvious reason, and voting them out of jungles and into dancing competitions. As a result, the government is allowed to get away with all sorts of things, like recording who you have phoned, and arresting MP's who try and stop bad things from being covered up. A small, but growing proportion of the residents of the country are very naughty, but because the police have caught both Administration-Overloaditis and Healthandsafety Syndrome, nothing can be done to stop them. This scares everyone else, and helps sell newspapers. As a result, the government explain how they will sort it out by Tuesday, forcing the bad news into places no-one ever looks anymore. And so the people get ever-more taxed, regulated and controlled.
Against the background of this wars are being fought at great expense against an enemy that might not even exist, for a cause that has it roots in the bad feelings that the wars create.
And then, just when everyone though they knew who win Strictly I'm Famous In The Jungle Acadamy, the banks (who have been ripping everyone with impunity) realise they have given all their money away. As a result, the government have to replace all the missing cash, with money from the pockets of the people who gave the missing money to the banks in the first place. But because someone who really was famous won Celebrity Tea Picking, this wasn't figured out.
In the meantime, as a result of oil company greed and spiralling taxation reducing the money in the pockets of the people, and the banks venting their frustration at their own bad management by squeezing their customers, recession arrived.
At this point I gave up on writing the book, as it became obvious that no-one would find the above even vaguely feasible....
There is a country, which has a government. This government is seemingly made up of people from one nation in this country - a nation which also has it's own government (unlike the other 3 nations that make up this fictitious country). The public at large don't seem to find this strange, but then they are more interested in people who are famous for no obvious reason, and voting them out of jungles and into dancing competitions. As a result, the government is allowed to get away with all sorts of things, like recording who you have phoned, and arresting MP's who try and stop bad things from being covered up. A small, but growing proportion of the residents of the country are very naughty, but because the police have caught both Administration-Overloaditis and Healthandsafety Syndrome, nothing can be done to stop them. This scares everyone else, and helps sell newspapers. As a result, the government explain how they will sort it out by Tuesday, forcing the bad news into places no-one ever looks anymore. And so the people get ever-more taxed, regulated and controlled.
Against the background of this wars are being fought at great expense against an enemy that might not even exist, for a cause that has it roots in the bad feelings that the wars create.
And then, just when everyone though they knew who win Strictly I'm Famous In The Jungle Acadamy, the banks (who have been ripping everyone with impunity) realise they have given all their money away. As a result, the government have to replace all the missing cash, with money from the pockets of the people who gave the missing money to the banks in the first place. But because someone who really was famous won Celebrity Tea Picking, this wasn't figured out.
In the meantime, as a result of oil company greed and spiralling taxation reducing the money in the pockets of the people, and the banks venting their frustration at their own bad management by squeezing their customers, recession arrived.
At this point I gave up on writing the book, as it became obvious that no-one would find the above even vaguely feasible....
Would The Last Publican To Leave 'Great' Britain Please Switch The Lights Out....
Sometimes you have to wonder why people do what they do - like, for example, take on a pub tenancy. For they are entering into the shadowy world of the 'Pubco', and, admittedly with their eyes open (but temporarily blinded by 'promises'), a very weird business world indeed. A world where you are forced to buy product (ie beer, cider, etc) at very high prices, a world where if you do well your rent is put up accordingly, and now seemingly a world where falling beer sales mean your rent must go up to cover the shortfall in income to the pubco. You don't need to be Carol Vorderman to see that if your income goes down, a rent rise, sorry hike, is the last thing you need...
But if you run a pub in Islington, it might just get even worse... Now I beleive the pub should be a major part of the community - of EVERY community, and pubs do more than just sell alcohol (I don't recall ever seeing a pub that offered more beers than soft drinks, for example). So they should do everything they can to play this role, and avoid being a thorn in side of their community. But if they are a problem, it's only when they have customers behaving badly. These customer will invariably be part of that community as well. Do they too then not have the same obligation? Apparently not. Probably against their 'human rights' to behave in an orderly & respectful fashion. But in Islington, one of the many things pubs will be forced to do is remind their customers that urinating in the street is an offence. On the face of it, no civilised member of society would condone on or off-street pissing in built up areas (although it is OK for dogs to do it...). But look deeper - if the pub is responsible for passing this message on, then it is possible they could then be blamed if it doesn't get through. Looking further in, the guilty individuals are more likely to be younger than older (unless of course it's Bournemouth, Gateway To The Incontinent), so therefore it is reasonable to assume they were educated in Islington. In which case, it begs the question, why the hell Islington council doesn't teach basic manners at school?
Or is that too against Human Rights....
But if you run a pub in Islington, it might just get even worse... Now I beleive the pub should be a major part of the community - of EVERY community, and pubs do more than just sell alcohol (I don't recall ever seeing a pub that offered more beers than soft drinks, for example). So they should do everything they can to play this role, and avoid being a thorn in side of their community. But if they are a problem, it's only when they have customers behaving badly. These customer will invariably be part of that community as well. Do they too then not have the same obligation? Apparently not. Probably against their 'human rights' to behave in an orderly & respectful fashion. But in Islington, one of the many things pubs will be forced to do is remind their customers that urinating in the street is an offence. On the face of it, no civilised member of society would condone on or off-street pissing in built up areas (although it is OK for dogs to do it...). But look deeper - if the pub is responsible for passing this message on, then it is possible they could then be blamed if it doesn't get through. Looking further in, the guilty individuals are more likely to be younger than older (unless of course it's Bournemouth, Gateway To The Incontinent), so therefore it is reasonable to assume they were educated in Islington. In which case, it begs the question, why the hell Islington council doesn't teach basic manners at school?
Or is that too against Human Rights....
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Please Mr Darling, Give Us A Break...
It can't have escaped your notice that Alistair Darling has decreased VAT to 15% in order to save all our lives, and it can't therefore escaped your notice that has been a massive rush of folks saying 'Well done, Darling. That's just the ticket'. What? You hadn't noticed that second bit? No, well neither have we, mostly because no-one in the business world feels it will make a big difference. Trouble is there is worse news - the duty rates on tobacco, fuel and alcohol are all rising to offset the VAT decrease. And that is very bad indeed, and here's why:
The Bluffers Guide To VAT, Duty and Prices
(you may want to make a drink before reading this...)
1. How VAT Works
VAT is a purchase tax, designed to hit hardest those who buy the most, who must therefore be the richest. That's great, but as it doesn't just get applied to Armani Suits, Cristal Champagne and Jimmy Who Shoes, it is paid by all us, not just rich Hip-Hop folks like Piff Diddly and 20 Pence or whatever his name is. Companies are allowed to 'Register' for VAT, so that they can claim back the VAT on anything they buy - but by registering they then have to charge VAT on anything they sell. The upshot is that companies claim back the VAT they pay out, and hand in the VAT they collect from customers. This means that some items have gone through the VAT process 2 or 3 times before the shops get hold of them. When Mr Joe Public buys his goods, the price includes the VAT element, which is calculated as a perecntage of the basic price charged. At all times the value of VAT handled by any company belongs to Her Majesties Revenue & Customs (HMRC). If it sounds complicated it is - there is a big list of what can and can't be claimed back, and many items are exempt from VAT unless something is done with them to make them eligible. Other things (like energy for example) are charged at a lower rate.
2. How This Works In A Brewery
Anything deemed an 'ingredient' is generally exempt from VAT ('Zero-Rated'), so for us we don't pay VAT on most of our purchases in terms of beer producution, so compared to many maunfacturing industries, we don't have as much VAT to claim back - this is good because we don't have to spend as much in the first place, but also bad because we have to hand over more pro-rata at the of each VAT period ('VAT quarter'). On balance of course it is better not to pay it, but you see how difficult it becomes to glibly say how changing the rate VAT is a good or bad thing in business terms.
3. How VAT Works When Selling
If you are a shop, you collect the VAT form your customers, and pass it on to HMRC at the end of each quarter. If you don't, then you get shouted at until you do, or they take your house/car/business away (but then it was never your money, so fairs fair). You will of course have paid VAT on the stock you bought, so you take the amount you paid of the amount you collected, and pay the reulting amount. You keep records, but is generally built on trust that you do it correctly, on the basis that at somep point you will under investigation, which can be unpleasant I am told (our turn will come one day, but that is what makes it work, the knowledge that checks are made, often without much notice). What this does mean is that this collected VAT revenue is effectively in your possession for up to 3 months before it is handed over - and so many smaller companies have to use this extra money to keep their overdrafts lower, or generally help cash flow. So already, we have another issue - by dropping the rate of VAT, cashflow can be impacted in a negative way - and don't forget that any business needs to charge more than it pays, so there is in relative terms less benefit in terms of paying less VAT. And of course, if, like a brewery or many other food producers you don't pay much, if any, VAT on your raw materials, there really is little benefit, only the reduction in cashflow. And of course, on Monday 1st December every business, large or small, will have to redo their prices. In most cases, it is just a setting in some software, and a bit of checking. For a shop, it can mean new shelf labels, or worse, every item with an idividual price ticket. My guess is that in many cases you will pay less at the till than the value shown on the items in your basket, but it will vary. And of course items bought at the old rate, sold at the new one won't make any difference to the annual profitability of a business, but is an impact on cashflow, which can seriously damage a companies health. Importantly though, the general opinion in the real world is that that 2.5% reduction will, for the majority, make bugger all difference - unless of course it makes us feel more confident in spending money, and that after all is what it is about - if people don't spend, we'll get further into a recession, and if everyone offers lower prices, we get deflation, which really is a lot worse.
4. What About The Price Of A Pint Then?
At last, the bit you are interested in. Well, we don't keep the VAT anymore than the pub landlord, so between us we don't get extra cash, and whilst this won't affect us the brewery (beyond cash flow issues as above), it does mean the landlord could, if he chose, to reduce his prices. This would mean 5p off a pint currently sold at 2.70. I doubt that would make anyone drink more, but again if it makes folk happier about going down the pub, it is a good thing, as then the landlord gets more trade without losing his income, and of course we sell more beer. Trouble is, Mr Darling (bless him), really has got it in for alcohol (except spirits it seems), and so to stop alcohol (except spirits) getting cheaper, he has raised alcohol duty by 8%. This has, on the whole, been kept very quiet - and it's not just alcohol, tobacco and fuel (2p per litre) - are going up as well.
On the face of it, the figures on beer do about match - the increase and the decrease are near as damn it without happenies the same. But (why is there always a but?) we have to pay the duty out of our income, so it is an increased cost to us. If we pass it on, it is an increased cost to the landlord, and will he then swallow it (pun intended) instead? I doubt it - there really is little margin for extra cost at the breweries or the pub, so guess what? Beer prices rise. I can hear the clamour of 'If it's the same amount, then prices should stay the same - what has come off goes back on, surely?' Well, to a point that is true, (and here's that word again) but businesses work to 'Margins', which is a pecentage addition to costs that sets your selling price, and whilst there is a lot more to price setting than that, the margins a business returns are a key indicator of it's performance (but not the only one by any means). So if your margins drop, investors/managers/bankers etc etc take a dim view. Of course this is no excuse for profiteering, but it explains the less blatant examples - and of course the old chestnut of cashflow comes in as well - Duty is not reclaimable, so duty increases come out of the lanlords pocket.
As a result, I expect beer price to rise by up to 10p per pint in the pubs. For good reasons pub prices are in units of 10p - anyone who has worked a bar will tell how hard it can be dealing in multiples of 2 & 3p here and there, and how much change is needed as a result. Again, not an excuse, but an explanation at least. But (that's a third one already) I also expect that some breweries will add a bit extra on as well - margins again - and I also expect some won't bother to raise prices but elect to take a hit finacially insted. Others will pass it on, but offer bigger discounts in return. It will be an interesting few days after the 1st December, but one thing is for sure, it will be the small breweries that take the biggest hit - we can't win, but we can damn well come a good second, and sometimes you know, that is more than good enough.
Phew, no more waffle - you can go home now. And then get down the pub for all our sakes.
The Bluffers Guide To VAT, Duty and Prices
(you may want to make a drink before reading this...)
1. How VAT Works
VAT is a purchase tax, designed to hit hardest those who buy the most, who must therefore be the richest. That's great, but as it doesn't just get applied to Armani Suits, Cristal Champagne and Jimmy Who Shoes, it is paid by all us, not just rich Hip-Hop folks like Piff Diddly and 20 Pence or whatever his name is. Companies are allowed to 'Register' for VAT, so that they can claim back the VAT on anything they buy - but by registering they then have to charge VAT on anything they sell. The upshot is that companies claim back the VAT they pay out, and hand in the VAT they collect from customers. This means that some items have gone through the VAT process 2 or 3 times before the shops get hold of them. When Mr Joe Public buys his goods, the price includes the VAT element, which is calculated as a perecntage of the basic price charged. At all times the value of VAT handled by any company belongs to Her Majesties Revenue & Customs (HMRC). If it sounds complicated it is - there is a big list of what can and can't be claimed back, and many items are exempt from VAT unless something is done with them to make them eligible. Other things (like energy for example) are charged at a lower rate.
2. How This Works In A Brewery
Anything deemed an 'ingredient' is generally exempt from VAT ('Zero-Rated'), so for us we don't pay VAT on most of our purchases in terms of beer producution, so compared to many maunfacturing industries, we don't have as much VAT to claim back - this is good because we don't have to spend as much in the first place, but also bad because we have to hand over more pro-rata at the of each VAT period ('VAT quarter'). On balance of course it is better not to pay it, but you see how difficult it becomes to glibly say how changing the rate VAT is a good or bad thing in business terms.
3. How VAT Works When Selling
If you are a shop, you collect the VAT form your customers, and pass it on to HMRC at the end of each quarter. If you don't, then you get shouted at until you do, or they take your house/car/business away (but then it was never your money, so fairs fair). You will of course have paid VAT on the stock you bought, so you take the amount you paid of the amount you collected, and pay the reulting amount. You keep records, but is generally built on trust that you do it correctly, on the basis that at somep point you will under investigation, which can be unpleasant I am told (our turn will come one day, but that is what makes it work, the knowledge that checks are made, often without much notice). What this does mean is that this collected VAT revenue is effectively in your possession for up to 3 months before it is handed over - and so many smaller companies have to use this extra money to keep their overdrafts lower, or generally help cash flow. So already, we have another issue - by dropping the rate of VAT, cashflow can be impacted in a negative way - and don't forget that any business needs to charge more than it pays, so there is in relative terms less benefit in terms of paying less VAT. And of course, if, like a brewery or many other food producers you don't pay much, if any, VAT on your raw materials, there really is little benefit, only the reduction in cashflow. And of course, on Monday 1st December every business, large or small, will have to redo their prices. In most cases, it is just a setting in some software, and a bit of checking. For a shop, it can mean new shelf labels, or worse, every item with an idividual price ticket. My guess is that in many cases you will pay less at the till than the value shown on the items in your basket, but it will vary. And of course items bought at the old rate, sold at the new one won't make any difference to the annual profitability of a business, but is an impact on cashflow, which can seriously damage a companies health. Importantly though, the general opinion in the real world is that that 2.5% reduction will, for the majority, make bugger all difference - unless of course it makes us feel more confident in spending money, and that after all is what it is about - if people don't spend, we'll get further into a recession, and if everyone offers lower prices, we get deflation, which really is a lot worse.
4. What About The Price Of A Pint Then?
At last, the bit you are interested in. Well, we don't keep the VAT anymore than the pub landlord, so between us we don't get extra cash, and whilst this won't affect us the brewery (beyond cash flow issues as above), it does mean the landlord could, if he chose, to reduce his prices. This would mean 5p off a pint currently sold at 2.70. I doubt that would make anyone drink more, but again if it makes folk happier about going down the pub, it is a good thing, as then the landlord gets more trade without losing his income, and of course we sell more beer. Trouble is, Mr Darling (bless him), really has got it in for alcohol (except spirits it seems), and so to stop alcohol (except spirits) getting cheaper, he has raised alcohol duty by 8%. This has, on the whole, been kept very quiet - and it's not just alcohol, tobacco and fuel (2p per litre) - are going up as well.
On the face of it, the figures on beer do about match - the increase and the decrease are near as damn it without happenies the same. But (why is there always a but?) we have to pay the duty out of our income, so it is an increased cost to us. If we pass it on, it is an increased cost to the landlord, and will he then swallow it (pun intended) instead? I doubt it - there really is little margin for extra cost at the breweries or the pub, so guess what? Beer prices rise. I can hear the clamour of 'If it's the same amount, then prices should stay the same - what has come off goes back on, surely?' Well, to a point that is true, (and here's that word again) but businesses work to 'Margins', which is a pecentage addition to costs that sets your selling price, and whilst there is a lot more to price setting than that, the margins a business returns are a key indicator of it's performance (but not the only one by any means). So if your margins drop, investors/managers/bankers etc etc take a dim view. Of course this is no excuse for profiteering, but it explains the less blatant examples - and of course the old chestnut of cashflow comes in as well - Duty is not reclaimable, so duty increases come out of the lanlords pocket.
As a result, I expect beer price to rise by up to 10p per pint in the pubs. For good reasons pub prices are in units of 10p - anyone who has worked a bar will tell how hard it can be dealing in multiples of 2 & 3p here and there, and how much change is needed as a result. Again, not an excuse, but an explanation at least. But (that's a third one already) I also expect that some breweries will add a bit extra on as well - margins again - and I also expect some won't bother to raise prices but elect to take a hit finacially insted. Others will pass it on, but offer bigger discounts in return. It will be an interesting few days after the 1st December, but one thing is for sure, it will be the small breweries that take the biggest hit - we can't win, but we can damn well come a good second, and sometimes you know, that is more than good enough.
Phew, no more waffle - you can go home now. And then get down the pub for all our sakes.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Well I Never....
I was just having a sly rummage in Google earlier, and I discovered we are listed in the Swedish langauge 'area' of Wikipedia. Brewery in Swedish is Bryggeri - which would possibly make me a Brygger, something many may think rather close to the truth!
Of course, looking for yourself (or your company), is possibly a vain excercise, but one I suspect we have all done at some point, and at least I suppose there is a commercial justification for it, especially when you read nice things, or are mentioned in the same terms as those you hold in high regard - and so the following brought a warm feeling to the deepest cockles of my heart...
Hop Talk, on American (ie the USA) hops in British beers
Maeib's Beer Blog - always an interesting read from a person who get's about a lot, and it seems often has a good word or two about us. Usual disclaimers, and no it's not me! And another blog, which mentions us, or at least our flagship bottled beer (92 Squadron, oh do keep up....), this time Messrs Boak & Bailey.
And finally for now, the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2008 launch day press release.
Goodnight!
Of course, looking for yourself (or your company), is possibly a vain excercise, but one I suspect we have all done at some point, and at least I suppose there is a commercial justification for it, especially when you read nice things, or are mentioned in the same terms as those you hold in high regard - and so the following brought a warm feeling to the deepest cockles of my heart...
Hop Talk, on American (ie the USA) hops in British beers
Maeib's Beer Blog - always an interesting read from a person who get's about a lot, and it seems often has a good word or two about us. Usual disclaimers, and no it's not me! And another blog, which mentions us, or at least our flagship bottled beer (92 Squadron, oh do keep up....), this time Messrs Boak & Bailey.
And finally for now, the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2008 launch day press release.
Goodnight!
Here Is The News.... pt 2
Slowly catching up (see below for the first bit...)!
November News:
The beer supplied to Tesco (my, didn't it take some time to get the first order - thought we'd run out of date...) has sold well. Not that we have seen any official figures, but feedback from across Herts & Cambs and parts of Essex suggest that once on the shelves, stock was sold in a few hours, then shelves sat empty until the next re-supply, often a week later. Certainly Tesco have said they wish to continue, and we will start in anger just before Christmas.
In other developments, Polar Star has continued it's run of praise and accolades, and is worthy of a post of it's own. Which it will get, one day!
Late October:
MoreHens. Not a typo (for once), but a reference to the fact we seem to have gained a second, or possibly third, new brood of Moorhen chicks in the last few weeks. Sadly this latest batch are being hit by the colder weather, and so the original three soon became one. I've lost count of how many of these noisy quarrelsome creatures we now have on the reed bed, but they do seem to have settled in quite nicely...
In Other Bill Oddie Friendly News, we can report increased, almost daily in fact, sightings of Red Kite (maybe one or more adults?). Of equal note was the three way fight between some crows, 2 buzzards and a few pigeons. The crows mob the buzzards, who eventually get bored and turn upside down to bring their talons to bear on the aggressor. All of which is far more interesting than the cask washing I should have been doing. Quite what role the pigeons were playing in all this was not obvious, but then that is often the way with pigeons (unless they are in the frying pan of course). The onset of winter has a undesirable side effect, and that is the normally distant rodent population of the fields comes looking for the warm dry shelter of the farm buildings. Now many of the buildings here are grain stores, and as such are designed to be rodent proof, and (again) like the brewery, are protected by the rat-mans equivalent of thermo-nuclear warfare. As a result, they are not an internal problem - but they do bring an increase in close-by kestrel action, and in the evenings, some serious owl activity. This is currently highlighted in the shape of a very noisy Tawny Owl, who, quite literally, finds it a real hoot to sit near our roof vents and make as much noise as possible. The result gives the impression that the little bugger is in the brewery or the office area. No doubt one morning we will discover he really was in the office last night, and having been locked in, spent the night on the internet downloading owl porn.
November News:
The beer supplied to Tesco (my, didn't it take some time to get the first order - thought we'd run out of date...) has sold well. Not that we have seen any official figures, but feedback from across Herts & Cambs and parts of Essex suggest that once on the shelves, stock was sold in a few hours, then shelves sat empty until the next re-supply, often a week later. Certainly Tesco have said they wish to continue, and we will start in anger just before Christmas.
In other developments, Polar Star has continued it's run of praise and accolades, and is worthy of a post of it's own. Which it will get, one day!
Late October:
MoreHens. Not a typo (for once), but a reference to the fact we seem to have gained a second, or possibly third, new brood of Moorhen chicks in the last few weeks. Sadly this latest batch are being hit by the colder weather, and so the original three soon became one. I've lost count of how many of these noisy quarrelsome creatures we now have on the reed bed, but they do seem to have settled in quite nicely...
In Other Bill Oddie Friendly News, we can report increased, almost daily in fact, sightings of Red Kite (maybe one or more adults?). Of equal note was the three way fight between some crows, 2 buzzards and a few pigeons. The crows mob the buzzards, who eventually get bored and turn upside down to bring their talons to bear on the aggressor. All of which is far more interesting than the cask washing I should have been doing. Quite what role the pigeons were playing in all this was not obvious, but then that is often the way with pigeons (unless they are in the frying pan of course). The onset of winter has a undesirable side effect, and that is the normally distant rodent population of the fields comes looking for the warm dry shelter of the farm buildings. Now many of the buildings here are grain stores, and as such are designed to be rodent proof, and (again) like the brewery, are protected by the rat-mans equivalent of thermo-nuclear warfare. As a result, they are not an internal problem - but they do bring an increase in close-by kestrel action, and in the evenings, some serious owl activity. This is currently highlighted in the shape of a very noisy Tawny Owl, who, quite literally, finds it a real hoot to sit near our roof vents and make as much noise as possible. The result gives the impression that the little bugger is in the brewery or the office area. No doubt one morning we will discover he really was in the office last night, and having been locked in, spent the night on the internet downloading owl porn.
Here Is The News.... Pt 1
So much to report, so little time to do so. So here is the first part of a few updates etc, some of which I may expand on in due course...
A Beer A Day is the title of the latest book by Jeff Evans (published by CAMRA), in which he suggests 366 different beers to try over the year, with some historical facts to tie them with. Of course these things are subjective, and we'll all have a different view on the beers included. Of course it is no doubt against some law or other to quote from the book, but I will anyway, on the basis that you should go and buy it - it is a truly fascinating trawl through some interesting history.
Quote number 1: "It's crisp, clean and delightfully easy drinking, with plenty of taste for its modest strength and an enjoyably dry, hoppy finish. As session beers go, this one certainly stands and delivers". The beer? Why, our very own Highwayman IPA of course.
Quote number 2: "...all shored up by 4.4% alcohol and a full malty body to guarantee happy drinking..." And this beer, none other than our Britannia.
Of course for the full praise you'll need to buy the book, but you, like us, will be happy to have done so.
Going Corporate is not something we relish, but after much delay our bottled 92 Squadron is now available in Tesco stores across the western half of East Anglia, and possibly the eastern half as well. Now the supermarkets have come into some criticism of late, much of it justified, for selling cheap alcohol. But here's a twist - we actually get more per pint from Tesco than we do from the pub trade. The extra expense of bottling swallows all this of course, but delivering to pubs is pretty expensive too, and given the fact we are competing with breweries happy to brew very cheaply and sell at cost just to stay in business, it's a tempting market to focus on. We won't of course, because we strongly believe in pubs and their role in supporting a strong sense of community (something sadly lacking these days). Trouble is, as landlords are increasingly starting to believe that price is everything, and quality just a word to speak and write of, it is easy to see the benefits of joining the spiral of destruction that is the cheap alcohol in supermarkets.
To Kill A Lizard is apparently an offence, so it was with some relief that I just missed flattening one with a firkin last week. Now we have a lot of newts up here in our pond, so I can tell the difference, and whilst we see the very occasional lizard, it is usually the newts that venture up to the brewery building seeking somewhere to hibernate (yes, we have already made that connection, but we have not yet seen a staggering newt...). Quite what the lizard was after is anybody's guess, apart from playing chicken with rolling firkins, but he was intent on reaching a pallet of empty Batemans firkins, so maybe he has an understandable liking for their XXXB?
A Beer A Day is the title of the latest book by Jeff Evans (published by CAMRA), in which he suggests 366 different beers to try over the year, with some historical facts to tie them with. Of course these things are subjective, and we'll all have a different view on the beers included. Of course it is no doubt against some law or other to quote from the book, but I will anyway, on the basis that you should go and buy it - it is a truly fascinating trawl through some interesting history.
Quote number 1: "It's crisp, clean and delightfully easy drinking, with plenty of taste for its modest strength and an enjoyably dry, hoppy finish. As session beers go, this one certainly stands and delivers". The beer? Why, our very own Highwayman IPA of course.
Quote number 2: "...all shored up by 4.4% alcohol and a full malty body to guarantee happy drinking..." And this beer, none other than our Britannia.
Of course for the full praise you'll need to buy the book, but you, like us, will be happy to have done so.
Going Corporate is not something we relish, but after much delay our bottled 92 Squadron is now available in Tesco stores across the western half of East Anglia, and possibly the eastern half as well. Now the supermarkets have come into some criticism of late, much of it justified, for selling cheap alcohol. But here's a twist - we actually get more per pint from Tesco than we do from the pub trade. The extra expense of bottling swallows all this of course, but delivering to pubs is pretty expensive too, and given the fact we are competing with breweries happy to brew very cheaply and sell at cost just to stay in business, it's a tempting market to focus on. We won't of course, because we strongly believe in pubs and their role in supporting a strong sense of community (something sadly lacking these days). Trouble is, as landlords are increasingly starting to believe that price is everything, and quality just a word to speak and write of, it is easy to see the benefits of joining the spiral of destruction that is the cheap alcohol in supermarkets.
To Kill A Lizard is apparently an offence, so it was with some relief that I just missed flattening one with a firkin last week. Now we have a lot of newts up here in our pond, so I can tell the difference, and whilst we see the very occasional lizard, it is usually the newts that venture up to the brewery building seeking somewhere to hibernate (yes, we have already made that connection, but we have not yet seen a staggering newt...). Quite what the lizard was after is anybody's guess, apart from playing chicken with rolling firkins, but he was intent on reaching a pallet of empty Batemans firkins, so maybe he has an understandable liking for their XXXB?
Monday, 29 September 2008
This Post Has No Title... (IsThat A Self Cancelling Phrase?)
You may have noticed an absence of blog through August and most of September. I would like to say this was due to there being no internet access at the tropical beach paradise we decamped to for that period, but it would be a lie. We've all been very busy brewing, selling, delivering, cleaning etc etc. Whilst this is still the case, a few minutes have been found to ramble on in, so here we are.
What happened that period then, I hear you ask. Well, the usual round of brewing - Britannia saw another brief return, we did a couple of 'Western' beers (but not Western Anorak - not yet...), Polar Star saw a return (again), and really does look set to be a 'Fairly Regular' beer. Oatmeal Stout has made a return to the range (it is a winter beer for us), and I have to say it is as good as ever, if not better. Vulcan is the current 4.4% special, a golden-brown best bitter brewed with a Japanese hop variety grown in the USA. And the aforementioned Polar Star is on it's way. Looking a bit ahead, once Polar Star is finished we will be brewing 'Buntingford Witch Project', a beer last brewed when we were in Buntingford (2002, IIRC). Hopefully the name won't be lost on folk... Needless to say the approach of Halloween has prompted this, and whilst we won't even try to match the original beer, the recipe will be much the same (water & yeast excepted).
On the expansion front, things have started to move (slightly) again. Now that we have a Dave working here, we have a much clearer view of demand - we knew it was there, but now we can show it. This means we can approach funding from a wider range of sources, and although the bottling line is still firmly on hold (little real benefit finacially at present), a bigger plant is very much desired and needed.
In other news, the elusive Marsh Harrier re-appeared in early September, with 2 friends. Indeed there may have been a fourth - certainly we have seen one female and two males, and possibly a second female. Whether they had nested locally (Fowlmere?) or were just passing through on migration back to Asia we don't know, but it was to have seen them, albeit only for a few days. We have had our supposed Hobby confirmed by some RSPB-ists, and of late the Buzzards have been enjoying the September sunshine. In fact their calling overhead has given the place a feel of Tolkein's Middle Earth, or maybe we shouldn't have the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy over two nights the week. If I start seeing strange old men with beards, I'll let you know. What we are currently seeing though are Herons flying past (or more likely one with no sense of direction), and it is now open season with the Goldfinches - this morning I got a fly-by twittering from 30-40 of them, all looking very smart in the morning sun. Meanwhile our friendly Robin, who last year seemed happy to fly around in the office if allowed, has this year taken to landing on the roof, and singing into the ridge vents, thus creating the impression he is inside. He even whistles down the chimney into the copper when Catherine is inside it on cleaning duties. Oh how we laugh as we waste time looking for him, before realising his knavish little japes. Mind you, I blame the Pied Wagtails. They're never far away, and I'm sure they are egging him on....
What happened that period then, I hear you ask. Well, the usual round of brewing - Britannia saw another brief return, we did a couple of 'Western' beers (but not Western Anorak - not yet...), Polar Star saw a return (again), and really does look set to be a 'Fairly Regular' beer. Oatmeal Stout has made a return to the range (it is a winter beer for us), and I have to say it is as good as ever, if not better. Vulcan is the current 4.4% special, a golden-brown best bitter brewed with a Japanese hop variety grown in the USA. And the aforementioned Polar Star is on it's way. Looking a bit ahead, once Polar Star is finished we will be brewing 'Buntingford Witch Project', a beer last brewed when we were in Buntingford (2002, IIRC). Hopefully the name won't be lost on folk... Needless to say the approach of Halloween has prompted this, and whilst we won't even try to match the original beer, the recipe will be much the same (water & yeast excepted).
On the expansion front, things have started to move (slightly) again. Now that we have a Dave working here, we have a much clearer view of demand - we knew it was there, but now we can show it. This means we can approach funding from a wider range of sources, and although the bottling line is still firmly on hold (little real benefit finacially at present), a bigger plant is very much desired and needed.
In other news, the elusive Marsh Harrier re-appeared in early September, with 2 friends. Indeed there may have been a fourth - certainly we have seen one female and two males, and possibly a second female. Whether they had nested locally (Fowlmere?) or were just passing through on migration back to Asia we don't know, but it was to have seen them, albeit only for a few days. We have had our supposed Hobby confirmed by some RSPB-ists, and of late the Buzzards have been enjoying the September sunshine. In fact their calling overhead has given the place a feel of Tolkein's Middle Earth, or maybe we shouldn't have the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy over two nights the week. If I start seeing strange old men with beards, I'll let you know. What we are currently seeing though are Herons flying past (or more likely one with no sense of direction), and it is now open season with the Goldfinches - this morning I got a fly-by twittering from 30-40 of them, all looking very smart in the morning sun. Meanwhile our friendly Robin, who last year seemed happy to fly around in the office if allowed, has this year taken to landing on the roof, and singing into the ridge vents, thus creating the impression he is inside. He even whistles down the chimney into the copper when Catherine is inside it on cleaning duties. Oh how we laugh as we waste time looking for him, before realising his knavish little japes. Mind you, I blame the Pied Wagtails. They're never far away, and I'm sure they are egging him on....
It's Turner Prize Time Again...
...And once again we have forgotten to send in our entries - although we did know about in plenty of time, so it's our fault.
This is a real pity, as this year we had some really viable art installations and mass pieces, such as:
Look At What We Have A Pile Of - in which we collect all the spent hops from 3 months brewing, and make a pile of compost in an empty room, that cannot be seen into, leaving the viewer in a quandary as to what is really happening.
Go And Get A Real Job - in which people who work for all those government/local authority funded think tanks, focus groups and consultancies justify their work to terminally ill cancer patients who are denied potentially life-saving treatment by the NHS.
Empathy & Teeth Under Canvas - an installation that sees previous Turner Prize winners encased in plastic & porridge, then placed in a tent full of hungry sharks. At the same time we show a video montage of 'celebrities' climbing through holes in a moving wall, as an example of how Saturday night TV could get even worse. Oh, too late....
Think Trolley, See Trolley. Push Me And See If We All See The Same Thing First & Last. And Other Stupid Phrases That Mean Nothing - this is probably the most daring project, as it sees a woman dressed in nothing but clothes pushing her bank manager around in a supermarket trolley, whilst all around lights flash out the name 'Dale Winton' in morse code, all against a video screen background that portrays a pointless mix moving and still images.
You see, the world may be in financial collapse, there maybe a global wheat shortage, the banks may have lost all our money (well not ours obviously, the government have that) but there is still plenty of Bull to go around, and plenty of money to finance it all. Makes you proud to be a Human, does it n0t....
This is a real pity, as this year we had some really viable art installations and mass pieces, such as:
Look At What We Have A Pile Of - in which we collect all the spent hops from 3 months brewing, and make a pile of compost in an empty room, that cannot be seen into, leaving the viewer in a quandary as to what is really happening.
Go And Get A Real Job - in which people who work for all those government/local authority funded think tanks, focus groups and consultancies justify their work to terminally ill cancer patients who are denied potentially life-saving treatment by the NHS.
Empathy & Teeth Under Canvas - an installation that sees previous Turner Prize winners encased in plastic & porridge, then placed in a tent full of hungry sharks. At the same time we show a video montage of 'celebrities' climbing through holes in a moving wall, as an example of how Saturday night TV could get even worse. Oh, too late....
Think Trolley, See Trolley. Push Me And See If We All See The Same Thing First & Last. And Other Stupid Phrases That Mean Nothing - this is probably the most daring project, as it sees a woman dressed in nothing but clothes pushing her bank manager around in a supermarket trolley, whilst all around lights flash out the name 'Dale Winton' in morse code, all against a video screen background that portrays a pointless mix moving and still images.
You see, the world may be in financial collapse, there maybe a global wheat shortage, the banks may have lost all our money (well not ours obviously, the government have that) but there is still plenty of Bull to go around, and plenty of money to finance it all. Makes you proud to be a Human, does it n0t....
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Grrrrr!
No posts for ages, then I come back really, really, really angry. Oh, yes - and a few more reallys for good measure.
You see someone has raised all the hackles today, and whilst this is not the place to do our dirty laundry, the repercussions need some explaining.
So, basically, because of numerous false accusations, lies, rudeness to our staff, and not being provided with the right information (or any pertinent information for that matter until it was too late) about a local beer competition, we are about to stick two fingers up to supplying future CAMRA beer festivals with our beer. And this is based on our ignoring little snippets of info we hear in the trade that could make us really paranoid if we thought they were true.
Of course all this is a shame for so many reasons (not least of all the majority of hard working volunteers that freely give up their spare time to earn CAMRA more money), but I am sure we will live. There are far bigger concerns in the world of pubs and brewing than us, and if anyone refuses to go to a festival because our beer won't be there then quite frankly they are daft and we want nothing to do with them either. But at least now they'll know why. Well, that and the fact that we aren't able to get beer to 90% of CAMRA festivals anyway... We know this will make no difference to the success of our local festivals, but from our point of view enough is enough. We were happy not to be in the competition (it's not after all the end of the world) or even at the festival, but what has gone on beyond this is too much.
And no more will we say on the matter.
You see someone has raised all the hackles today, and whilst this is not the place to do our dirty laundry, the repercussions need some explaining.
So, basically, because of numerous false accusations, lies, rudeness to our staff, and not being provided with the right information (or any pertinent information for that matter until it was too late) about a local beer competition, we are about to stick two fingers up to supplying future CAMRA beer festivals with our beer. And this is based on our ignoring little snippets of info we hear in the trade that could make us really paranoid if we thought they were true.
Of course all this is a shame for so many reasons (not least of all the majority of hard working volunteers that freely give up their spare time to earn CAMRA more money), but I am sure we will live. There are far bigger concerns in the world of pubs and brewing than us, and if anyone refuses to go to a festival because our beer won't be there then quite frankly they are daft and we want nothing to do with them either. But at least now they'll know why. Well, that and the fact that we aren't able to get beer to 90% of CAMRA festivals anyway... We know this will make no difference to the success of our local festivals, but from our point of view enough is enough. We were happy not to be in the competition (it's not after all the end of the world) or even at the festival, but what has gone on beyond this is too much.
And no more will we say on the matter.
Monday, 28 July 2008
You Have To Wonder Sometimes....
According to a report from the BBPA (British Beer & Pub Association), the pub trade saw a 10.6% drop in sales from April - June, compared to the same period last year. And over the first 6 months of 2008 there has been a 9.6% overall drop in sales. This compares with a rise in sales in the off-trade (ie shops, and supermarkets) of 7.6% in the same 6 month period. Now of course given then increasing scarcity of spare cash for most of us, and the continued availablity of very cheap alcohol in the off-trade, these figures are not a surprise. But it does call into question why various bodies, notably those reporting to the government, continue to bash the pub industry round the head, whilst praising the supermarkets, with regards to the drunken idiocy of a minority of folk. Forgetting for a moment that most of these drunken twerps would be just as anti-social when sober (and indeed often are), why should the pub trade take the flack? Because although they get 'pre-loaded' on supermarket at booze before leaving home, it is out in the street that their antics are observed, outside the bars they visit having already got drunk.
A recent study done for the Home Office by KPMG suggests that 'most pubs' are selling to under age drinkers. A very strong claim, but on further reading their is an admission that in reality the 'pubs' visited were selling to people 'who may have been underage' - ie they are assuming. There are it seems many other assumptions in the report, and very little hard fact. The upshot is that supermarkets are praised for showing signs reminding us what the age limit is for alcohol sales, and no doubt are also praised for demanding pensioners show some ID before buying a bottle of whiskey. And the pub trade is told to get its act together or else. Now, if we want a licence up here at the brewery, we have to show (quite rightly) that we will not sell to underage drinkers - and show statements, policy, training, procedures etc to prove that we won't. The most obvious proof is that a) teenagers couldn't afford to buy from us, let alone make the effort to come up here in the first place, and b) that I could go into the supermarket, stock up on cheap cider & lager, show my ID (well, I do look very young...), then nip round the housing estate and make more money selling it on than I could up here selling our beer responsibly. And so the supermarkets get no blame, despite the fact they are the cheapest, and easiest way to get alcohol. You certainly couldn't walk out the pub with 48 pints and then sell them on round the corner. Maybe that is why the pub gets the blame - that and the fact that the supermarkets are a very powerful lobbying force, certainly much more so than the brewery and pub trade. I suspect this is changing at last, but it may be too late to stop a raft of stupid legislation that won't do a thing to make a few numptys behave themselves. And that is the point - they only people to blame are those who get drunk then feel the need to make a prize twit of themselves. They should be punished, not anyone else. After all Ford don't get blamed if someone is killed by a speeding Mondeo. After all, alcohol is safe until it is abused, and the abuser should be made suffer the penalty. Of course there should be a degree of responsibilty from those selling the alcohol, and yes there needs to be a way of hitting those who don't follow the law. But we need to make people more responsible. Yes, even 12 year olds - if they think they are old enough to have a drink, then they are old enough to do something constructive as a pennance. There must be something they can do down a coal mine.
I would put a link to the report on the Home Office website. Sadly all I could find from their website is that we are very likely to be attacked by terrorists. Of course what they mean are the Muslim Fundamentalists who take exception - and for the life of me I don't know why - to the fact that we have put our soldiers in their back garden, and seemingly left them there.
Don't you just love the politics of fear?
A recent study done for the Home Office by KPMG suggests that 'most pubs' are selling to under age drinkers. A very strong claim, but on further reading their is an admission that in reality the 'pubs' visited were selling to people 'who may have been underage' - ie they are assuming. There are it seems many other assumptions in the report, and very little hard fact. The upshot is that supermarkets are praised for showing signs reminding us what the age limit is for alcohol sales, and no doubt are also praised for demanding pensioners show some ID before buying a bottle of whiskey. And the pub trade is told to get its act together or else. Now, if we want a licence up here at the brewery, we have to show (quite rightly) that we will not sell to underage drinkers - and show statements, policy, training, procedures etc to prove that we won't. The most obvious proof is that a) teenagers couldn't afford to buy from us, let alone make the effort to come up here in the first place, and b) that I could go into the supermarket, stock up on cheap cider & lager, show my ID (well, I do look very young...), then nip round the housing estate and make more money selling it on than I could up here selling our beer responsibly. And so the supermarkets get no blame, despite the fact they are the cheapest, and easiest way to get alcohol. You certainly couldn't walk out the pub with 48 pints and then sell them on round the corner. Maybe that is why the pub gets the blame - that and the fact that the supermarkets are a very powerful lobbying force, certainly much more so than the brewery and pub trade. I suspect this is changing at last, but it may be too late to stop a raft of stupid legislation that won't do a thing to make a few numptys behave themselves. And that is the point - they only people to blame are those who get drunk then feel the need to make a prize twit of themselves. They should be punished, not anyone else. After all Ford don't get blamed if someone is killed by a speeding Mondeo. After all, alcohol is safe until it is abused, and the abuser should be made suffer the penalty. Of course there should be a degree of responsibilty from those selling the alcohol, and yes there needs to be a way of hitting those who don't follow the law. But we need to make people more responsible. Yes, even 12 year olds - if they think they are old enough to have a drink, then they are old enough to do something constructive as a pennance. There must be something they can do down a coal mine.
I would put a link to the report on the Home Office website. Sadly all I could find from their website is that we are very likely to be attacked by terrorists. Of course what they mean are the Muslim Fundamentalists who take exception - and for the life of me I don't know why - to the fact that we have put our soldiers in their back garden, and seemingly left them there.
Don't you just love the politics of fear?
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Today We'll Talk About...
Well, I was to tell a couple of jokes, but it appears that they will probably cause offence, and so telling them would no doubt have me shot or locked away for several years - even though they may only cause offence to the sort of people who feel beholden to get offended on behalf of others, without consulting them first. And given that I can't think of any jokes that would avoid poking fun at some point in their telling, I won't bother.
I would tell what music we are currently enjoying, but even though we legitimately own the cd's, we are told we can't play them in case another person hears it. And that would mean we are broadcasting (even if they are trespassing burglar...), and so liable to pay a large fee to the PRS. Given that we feel we are already paying enough money to various bodies, institutions & government departments just for the privilege of running a business (several thousand pounds a quarter I might add), we don't therefore have music at work anymore. Given that we would possibly be better off on the dole, and certainly better off shelf stacking down the supermarket - either of which would certainly decrease the governments coffers - I don't think we can be blamed for thinking this way. So no, I won't now promote a few albums and suggest you might like to buy them as well.
I could say what a nice laugh we had down such and such pub the other night, but that would be promoting alcohol as a tool for pleasure. Indeed mention of how many pints we had may even lead to accusations of encouraging binge drinking. So again, I won't discuss it.
Likewise I could discuss some beer festivals....
Then there is the nice day out we had recently at the coast. But that involved driving a car, and despite the fact that we had no car at all for the last 6 months, is no doubt tantamount to promoting the benefits of an eco-disaster. Heck, it's note even as if we could have used public transport. They closed all the railways in Norfolk in the 1960's, otherwise it would have been much easier than driving. So I'll leave this subject alone (bar the bit in the previous post...).
So oh dear. I'm not in the mood to court the wrath of some State Nanny or other today. Which means there is nothing to discuss. Until next time that is...
I would tell what music we are currently enjoying, but even though we legitimately own the cd's, we are told we can't play them in case another person hears it. And that would mean we are broadcasting (even if they are trespassing burglar...), and so liable to pay a large fee to the PRS. Given that we feel we are already paying enough money to various bodies, institutions & government departments just for the privilege of running a business (several thousand pounds a quarter I might add), we don't therefore have music at work anymore. Given that we would possibly be better off on the dole, and certainly better off shelf stacking down the supermarket - either of which would certainly decrease the governments coffers - I don't think we can be blamed for thinking this way. So no, I won't now promote a few albums and suggest you might like to buy them as well.
I could say what a nice laugh we had down such and such pub the other night, but that would be promoting alcohol as a tool for pleasure. Indeed mention of how many pints we had may even lead to accusations of encouraging binge drinking. So again, I won't discuss it.
Likewise I could discuss some beer festivals....
Then there is the nice day out we had recently at the coast. But that involved driving a car, and despite the fact that we had no car at all for the last 6 months, is no doubt tantamount to promoting the benefits of an eco-disaster. Heck, it's note even as if we could have used public transport. They closed all the railways in Norfolk in the 1960's, otherwise it would have been much easier than driving. So I'll leave this subject alone (bar the bit in the previous post...).
So oh dear. I'm not in the mood to court the wrath of some State Nanny or other today. Which means there is nothing to discuss. Until next time that is...
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Nature Notes....
So far, it's been a slightly disappointing year - the Barn Owls (indeed all the owls) had seemingly vanished, and no Marsh Harriers or Hobby.
OK, so we had more Lapwing chicks in close view than you could shake Bill Oddie at, and there have been loads of Reed Buntings, plus Sedge & Reed Warblers nesting in the reeds. But it was the big stuff that impressed folk last year, and this year we could only reminisce. But not now. There are Barn Owls in the hood - by sound only at present, but a sighting can't be long off. So they must be nesting a bit further away this year. Tawny Owls have fledged on the other side of the farm yard as well, although unseen by us. There are baby kestrels, and young buzzards as well. Plenty of partridge and pheasant chicks to (as ever). Even the Pie-Eyed Wagtails (well, it is a brewery) have managed to stop eating long enough to breed, successfully. We even have Yellow & Grey types here as well now.
But still no Harrier - but that's OK, we went to somewhere called Norfolk to see some instead - and saw a Hobby to boot (possibly, it was a long way off). Even saw some Bar-Tailed Godwits, which made a nice change from Bar-Towelled Halfwits.
Trouble is, a reduced lack of excitement in the skies has resulted in my looking nearer the ground. And we do seem to have butterflies after all. Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Commers, Red Admirals, Peacocks, Fritilleries, Brown Argus, Small Skippers, Dingy Skippers, Brimstone, Common Blue, and the list goes on. We even have one pupating on the premises. Serves me right saying we were short on them. It seems I was short on seeing them. I may even become a Lepidopteroperlepedoperist as well as developing a Billoddieology. But I won't be sticking pins in them. That's just evil. And it's easier to buy them ready done on Ebay.
As a result I am now expecting to see more things I previously thought we were short of - ie money back from the govt, common sense regulations, twenty pound notes, etc etc. Well, I can hope...
OK, so we had more Lapwing chicks in close view than you could shake Bill Oddie at, and there have been loads of Reed Buntings, plus Sedge & Reed Warblers nesting in the reeds. But it was the big stuff that impressed folk last year, and this year we could only reminisce. But not now. There are Barn Owls in the hood - by sound only at present, but a sighting can't be long off. So they must be nesting a bit further away this year. Tawny Owls have fledged on the other side of the farm yard as well, although unseen by us. There are baby kestrels, and young buzzards as well. Plenty of partridge and pheasant chicks to (as ever). Even the Pie-Eyed Wagtails (well, it is a brewery) have managed to stop eating long enough to breed, successfully. We even have Yellow & Grey types here as well now.
But still no Harrier - but that's OK, we went to somewhere called Norfolk to see some instead - and saw a Hobby to boot (possibly, it was a long way off). Even saw some Bar-Tailed Godwits, which made a nice change from Bar-Towelled Halfwits.
Trouble is, a reduced lack of excitement in the skies has resulted in my looking nearer the ground. And we do seem to have butterflies after all. Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Commers, Red Admirals, Peacocks, Fritilleries, Brown Argus, Small Skippers, Dingy Skippers, Brimstone, Common Blue, and the list goes on. We even have one pupating on the premises. Serves me right saying we were short on them. It seems I was short on seeing them. I may even become a Lepidopteroperlepedoperist as well as developing a Billoddieology. But I won't be sticking pins in them. That's just evil. And it's easier to buy them ready done on Ebay.
As a result I am now expecting to see more things I previously thought we were short of - ie money back from the govt, common sense regulations, twenty pound notes, etc etc. Well, I can hope...
Carbon Neutral?
There has been much talk of going carbon neutral of late. And as a result many large corporates now claim to carbon neutral. But are they? It's all down to 'off-setting' - which in very simple terms allows an energy efficient company, that is below it's CO2 limit, to sell the excess CO2's to a company that is not so efficient, and either over it's limit, or perhaps more likely, keen to show the world it is actually environmentally sound. Add in extra factors such as being able to gain extra CO2's in exchange for investing in a windmill or buying a few trees.
In principal, anything that encourages a bit of corporate responsibility is of course a good thing, but the trouble is taken to an extreme the system means that a coal-fired power station could declare itself carbon neutral - although in commercial terms this would I suspect be economically unviable, after all the publics gullibility only goes so far....
In truth, the system just moves emissions around - those who want the PR of being green can get it with no real effort, and those who don't care can sell off their excess CO2's each year to help the aforementioned PR conscious companies.
This all became apparent because I wondered if it was right for us go carbon neutral. Now I know we don't actually have to cut emissions to be so, it seems pretty pointless. But how close are we? Well, if we used a horse for deliveries, and a windmill for electricity, then we'd be there without any trickery & form filling. But 'green' energy is bally expensive so it seems, and given the squeeze on beer margins it is unviable at the moment (but we keep going back to it, and it's getting cheaper!). As for the horse? Well, a great idea, but can you imagine paperwork, rules, regulations, complaints about animal abuse, etc etc etc. So for now we'll stick to what we are doing - although bio-diesel is an option, but only if it is not grown at the expense of an African's next dinner. Which of course means that unless we complete the equivalent 3 acres of rainforest in forms and paperwork to let us offset, then we'll not be neutral just yet. Unlike one other well-known brewer who has launched what they claim is the worlds first carbon-neutral beer.
Well I don't know about you, but I suspect that there may, at some point in history, have been a brewery that didn't use electricity or fossil fuels in way. Surely they would have been carbon neutral? And without any offsetting either... Hmmmm.
In principal, anything that encourages a bit of corporate responsibility is of course a good thing, but the trouble is taken to an extreme the system means that a coal-fired power station could declare itself carbon neutral - although in commercial terms this would I suspect be economically unviable, after all the publics gullibility only goes so far....
In truth, the system just moves emissions around - those who want the PR of being green can get it with no real effort, and those who don't care can sell off their excess CO2's each year to help the aforementioned PR conscious companies.
This all became apparent because I wondered if it was right for us go carbon neutral. Now I know we don't actually have to cut emissions to be so, it seems pretty pointless. But how close are we? Well, if we used a horse for deliveries, and a windmill for electricity, then we'd be there without any trickery & form filling. But 'green' energy is bally expensive so it seems, and given the squeeze on beer margins it is unviable at the moment (but we keep going back to it, and it's getting cheaper!). As for the horse? Well, a great idea, but can you imagine paperwork, rules, regulations, complaints about animal abuse, etc etc etc. So for now we'll stick to what we are doing - although bio-diesel is an option, but only if it is not grown at the expense of an African's next dinner. Which of course means that unless we complete the equivalent 3 acres of rainforest in forms and paperwork to let us offset, then we'll not be neutral just yet. Unlike one other well-known brewer who has launched what they claim is the worlds first carbon-neutral beer.
Well I don't know about you, but I suspect that there may, at some point in history, have been a brewery that didn't use electricity or fossil fuels in way. Surely they would have been carbon neutral? And without any offsetting either... Hmmmm.
Thursday, 17 July 2008
News From The Beer Front...
...Is actually a bit sparse.
It has been noted, accurately, that this year - so far - is not going well in the Pub Trade. This may be the smoking ban, it maybe the Daily Mail convincing folk they will be stabbed by a drunken teenager every time they enter the Plough & Taxman. It may be they have read that beer is now £27 per pint, or that Tesco are selling cask beer for less than a tanker load of Spring Water. Who knows (no-one it seems). But the fact is folk have been spending less money in pubs - mind you, having to re-mortgage your by now worthless house every time they wish to drive their car doesn't help - and so that means less beer.
And yes, we had noticed this, but as a growing company, we have not noticed a dip in sales so much as a wider spread of deliveries, which is of course a good thing, as it means a wider customer base - all a result of taking on a dedicated sales chappie, or Dave as we like to call him.
But, and it's good one, of late, trade seems to be climbing up - drinkers are back where they belong, in decent, honest and well run pubs. So things are starting to look good. We know this for two reasons:
1. We are seeing it the deliveries, and hearing it from customers
2. Our brewplant is broke, and so we have had to take a rest from brewing.
Things always go wrong at the most inconvenient time, and so having an element fail in our copper was a sure sign that the pub trade was about to ramp up. As I write this, on a wet, and quite frankly cold, Thursday in July (a feel asong lyric coming on...) we have a nearly empty cellar, and trade suddenly alive again. And whilst it is but a brief hiccup in our production, it will smart a bit. Still, all is falling into place, and things will be working next week. We know this, because this morning the Electricity Board told us, via a circular 'Dear Household' letter, that they will be turning our power off for a day later this month. Sometimes it does rain and pour at the same time.... Still, they have kindly given us advice on how to keep our food frozen. Thank you EDF, you're too kind. And of course any work they do will no doubt make improvements to the future reliability of the supply, and being a company with shareholders you can be sure not a penny is spent on repairs/maintainence unless things are critical, so it's hard to get really annoyed. But you do have to admire the timing of Fate.
What is has done is focus our minds even more on the importance of many things, not least the fact we should have bought a gas-fired copper (which we are looking at anyway, as part of a much needed expansion to the plant), and that running a diesel generator (on veg oil of course) may not be such a bad idea after all. We would have a wind turbine, but a decent sized one will probably upset the local Nimby's (of which there are several), and even series of small ones will still restrict work to windy days - of which, like Nimby's, we are not short of it must be said. No, we have no choice. An application to the local council for a Nuclear Reactor, without a second core to power our copper, is in the post. That should give them something really harmful to worry about...
It has been noted, accurately, that this year - so far - is not going well in the Pub Trade. This may be the smoking ban, it maybe the Daily Mail convincing folk they will be stabbed by a drunken teenager every time they enter the Plough & Taxman. It may be they have read that beer is now £27 per pint, or that Tesco are selling cask beer for less than a tanker load of Spring Water. Who knows (no-one it seems). But the fact is folk have been spending less money in pubs - mind you, having to re-mortgage your by now worthless house every time they wish to drive their car doesn't help - and so that means less beer.
And yes, we had noticed this, but as a growing company, we have not noticed a dip in sales so much as a wider spread of deliveries, which is of course a good thing, as it means a wider customer base - all a result of taking on a dedicated sales chappie, or Dave as we like to call him.
But, and it's good one, of late, trade seems to be climbing up - drinkers are back where they belong, in decent, honest and well run pubs. So things are starting to look good. We know this for two reasons:
1. We are seeing it the deliveries, and hearing it from customers
2. Our brewplant is broke, and so we have had to take a rest from brewing.
Things always go wrong at the most inconvenient time, and so having an element fail in our copper was a sure sign that the pub trade was about to ramp up. As I write this, on a wet, and quite frankly cold, Thursday in July (a feel asong lyric coming on...) we have a nearly empty cellar, and trade suddenly alive again. And whilst it is but a brief hiccup in our production, it will smart a bit. Still, all is falling into place, and things will be working next week. We know this, because this morning the Electricity Board told us, via a circular 'Dear Household' letter, that they will be turning our power off for a day later this month. Sometimes it does rain and pour at the same time.... Still, they have kindly given us advice on how to keep our food frozen. Thank you EDF, you're too kind. And of course any work they do will no doubt make improvements to the future reliability of the supply, and being a company with shareholders you can be sure not a penny is spent on repairs/maintainence unless things are critical, so it's hard to get really annoyed. But you do have to admire the timing of Fate.
What is has done is focus our minds even more on the importance of many things, not least the fact we should have bought a gas-fired copper (which we are looking at anyway, as part of a much needed expansion to the plant), and that running a diesel generator (on veg oil of course) may not be such a bad idea after all. We would have a wind turbine, but a decent sized one will probably upset the local Nimby's (of which there are several), and even series of small ones will still restrict work to windy days - of which, like Nimby's, we are not short of it must be said. No, we have no choice. An application to the local council for a Nuclear Reactor, without a second core to power our copper, is in the post. That should give them something really harmful to worry about...
Larking About In Troy....
Well, the title might have woken up a few Trekkies, but they will be disappointed and will, as I speak, be e-mailing us explaining how we spelt Troy wrong. If you don't understand any of this, then congratulations, you still have some semblance of a life - which is seemingly a rare thing these days. Anyone else pissed off with hearing Council workers moaning about not earning enough money to pay increasing bills? At least they can shout and strike, unlike the self-employed, the unemployed (as opposed to the unemployable), charity workers, and all the other good folk who just have to gird their loins and just get on with things.
Right enough of that. More serious matters to discuss.
Apparently the Skylark is in decline, it's numbers falling faster than it does at the end of it's distinctive song flight. Now I may have mentioned in the past how well endowed we are with birds up here (feathered ones, so do calm down). And so you may not be surprised to hear that we have a few Skylarks, to say the least - indeed the fields are managed to encourage them. As I lad I can remember them in the fields at the foot of the Chiltern ridge out Oxfordshire way, but I swear there are more round here - and that means from Baldock to Duxford - than ever this year. Whilst enjoying a distant view of Duxford airshow this weekend, the air was at times seemingly thick them, although it is possible they had travelled in just for the spectacle of 24 plus WWII fighters, and a couple of big WWII bombers, all flying overhead at the same time. Even folk like us who can spot a Spitfire, yet struggle with the difference between a 747 & a Zeppelin, couldn't fail to be wowed by the spectacle, and indeed moved by the knowledge that not that long ago history-wise, such a sight in these parts was not uncommon, albeit the wow factor would have been heavily tempered by knowing that there would be less aircraft coming back...
Anyway, I spent more time trying to photograph the rarely visible Skylark than I did watching the planes, which I think worried the plane spotters around us. We only choose the free seats because by the time we knew we would be able to attend, the show had sold out. I mention this lest you think we are freeloading. Can't speak for all the others though...
Anyway (can I start two sentences the same way?), back to the point. If you want to get some good Skylark, come to North Herts border country, particularly the hills overlooking Cambridge & the Fens. The very same hills, so some now say, that played a role overlooking the Battle Of Troy. Yes, that Battle Of Troy - complete with Achilles (who may or may not had a bad heel), and maybe a bit of equine carpentry was, it is thought, fought in the Cambridgeshire Fens. And so you too can join us in Larking About In Troy. Possibly.
And on that Ancient Greek Bombshell....
Right enough of that. More serious matters to discuss.
Apparently the Skylark is in decline, it's numbers falling faster than it does at the end of it's distinctive song flight. Now I may have mentioned in the past how well endowed we are with birds up here (feathered ones, so do calm down). And so you may not be surprised to hear that we have a few Skylarks, to say the least - indeed the fields are managed to encourage them. As I lad I can remember them in the fields at the foot of the Chiltern ridge out Oxfordshire way, but I swear there are more round here - and that means from Baldock to Duxford - than ever this year. Whilst enjoying a distant view of Duxford airshow this weekend, the air was at times seemingly thick them, although it is possible they had travelled in just for the spectacle of 24 plus WWII fighters, and a couple of big WWII bombers, all flying overhead at the same time. Even folk like us who can spot a Spitfire, yet struggle with the difference between a 747 & a Zeppelin, couldn't fail to be wowed by the spectacle, and indeed moved by the knowledge that not that long ago history-wise, such a sight in these parts was not uncommon, albeit the wow factor would have been heavily tempered by knowing that there would be less aircraft coming back...
Anyway, I spent more time trying to photograph the rarely visible Skylark than I did watching the planes, which I think worried the plane spotters around us. We only choose the free seats because by the time we knew we would be able to attend, the show had sold out. I mention this lest you think we are freeloading. Can't speak for all the others though...
Anyway (can I start two sentences the same way?), back to the point. If you want to get some good Skylark, come to North Herts border country, particularly the hills overlooking Cambridge & the Fens. The very same hills, so some now say, that played a role overlooking the Battle Of Troy. Yes, that Battle Of Troy - complete with Achilles (who may or may not had a bad heel), and maybe a bit of equine carpentry was, it is thought, fought in the Cambridgeshire Fens. And so you too can join us in Larking About In Troy. Possibly.
And on that Ancient Greek Bombshell....
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Return Of The Brit....
If you have been concentrating over the last 6 months, you would know that our Britannia was the first of our beers to be affected by hop shortages. Well, it's back. We secured a small amount of Bramling Cross hops late last year, enough to do a 'few' brews of Britannia. Well, we have just done the first of 2008, and it will be reaching the cellars next week (ie from 6th July). There is a reason for waiting this long before doing a brew, and all will be revealed in due course. Unless of course our tip-off is wrong.
Another return due soon from an enforced rest is Silence, and believe me, we've made a few gentle tweaks in dark corners of the brewery since we last brewed it, and well, I reckon it just might get a little better than the award winner it already was...
Another return due soon from an enforced rest is Silence, and believe me, we've made a few gentle tweaks in dark corners of the brewery since we last brewed it, and well, I reckon it just might get a little better than the award winner it already was...
Hertfordshire - The Home Of The Best Beers, And It Seems It's Partly Down To Us.....
There is, out there, on the interweb, a website called RateBeer. This site is inhabited by some hardcore beer drinkers who record every beer, and publish their opinions on it for the world to see. Now we have known of this site for a while, and like most breweries shudder slightly when anyone mentions it. This is a shudder of fear and foreboding, for the reviews of the beer are at times seemingly done by folk who don't know anything like as much as they think they do about what flavours should and shouldn't be in a beer. Or worse, they are homebrewers who think all beer should taste dead yeast and smell like a warm hosepipe. The reviews vary wildly of course, as taste is in the mouth of the beholder - with the result that the same beer, at the same event, will get some wide ranging reviews. Sometimes though they do all agree on the colour... That is not say all reviewers exceed their knowledge, but there are certainly times when you have to wonder - and this is viewed shared by many people who are far qualified to comment on such thing than we are.
Anyway, someone has played with the statistics, and come up with the answer that the English county at the top of the scoreboards beer wise is Hertfordshire, and then they have gone on to rest this result at the feet of just two breweries - Alehouse (St Albans) and some oufit called Buntingford. Mind you, neither of us appear anywhere in the 'charts' as shown on the RateBeer site (although a few that raise some eyebrows, as alluded to above, do)
Of course the exact manner of arriving at this humbling fact is not known, but we are chuffed to read it nonetheless, so thank you to all those on RateBeer, whatever you knowledge level. I have to say it is all subjective, and I take all on such sites with a pinch of salt
What RateBeer doesn't do though is align any review to the outlets themselves, and whatever the beer is like ex-brewery, the landlord/cellarman controls how it is in the glass, and so must take some of the praise, where it's due. And this maybe why we came top of this little statistic - we have a limited number of outlets, and do our best to avoid selling beer to places where quality may be an issue. After all, why should we go the extra mile, if the next one in the supply chain won't? Mind you, why should we go that extra mile when others don't and then get praised for the complex flavour profiles of their badly brewed infected beer?
Still, if it helps to show that here at Buntingford, we truly offer 'Beer Brewed In Herts' - and more on that in due course - then it can't all be bad.
Anyway, someone has played with the statistics, and come up with the answer that the English county at the top of the scoreboards beer wise is Hertfordshire, and then they have gone on to rest this result at the feet of just two breweries - Alehouse (St Albans) and some oufit called Buntingford. Mind you, neither of us appear anywhere in the 'charts' as shown on the RateBeer site (although a few that raise some eyebrows, as alluded to above, do)
Of course the exact manner of arriving at this humbling fact is not known, but we are chuffed to read it nonetheless, so thank you to all those on RateBeer, whatever you knowledge level. I have to say it is all subjective, and I take all on such sites with a pinch of salt
What RateBeer doesn't do though is align any review to the outlets themselves, and whatever the beer is like ex-brewery, the landlord/cellarman controls how it is in the glass, and so must take some of the praise, where it's due. And this maybe why we came top of this little statistic - we have a limited number of outlets, and do our best to avoid selling beer to places where quality may be an issue. After all, why should we go the extra mile, if the next one in the supply chain won't? Mind you, why should we go that extra mile when others don't and then get praised for the complex flavour profiles of their badly brewed infected beer?
Still, if it helps to show that here at Buntingford, we truly offer 'Beer Brewed In Herts' - and more on that in due course - then it can't all be bad.
Save The Planet, Drink Local....
One of the things that raises the eyebrows of those who come up here for the official 'tour', is that the beer is mostly water. Now admittedly some beers may appear to be more mostly water than most (and this includes a few micro's), but water is around 90% of your pint. This means that in terms of transport, moving beer around the country is much the same as hauling plain old water about - which is of course a stupid waste of resources. Something which no doubt many hardcore ecomentalists forget, whilst tucking into their six-bean casserole washed down with a bottled water from France....
The answer of course is to drink a locally brewed beer. Sadly it seems that this is lost on many of these ecomentalists, especially those who enjoy an ice cold lager - which will have been shipped half way across the UK, if not Europe, then to add to the problem, has been run through up to 3 seperate chillers, all of which of course consume a lot of energy, which will have come from coal or nuclear power because the local NIMBY's will have blocked the alternative energy sources ("Yes sir, we sell chilled lager, but only a windy day").
So to save the world, drink a locally brewed beer - ie within 20-30 miles - and suddenly, that car you drive isn't quite such a danger to the world. Mind you, that car will no doubt be banned soon by some other do-gooder who lives a world with 40 buses an hour within 100 yards of their front door, and trains that don't cost several hundred pounds per mile to travel on. And so therefore assumes that the rest of us do as well.
You'd think of course that this message about locally-brewed beers, and the high energy costs of super-chilled lagers, would have been picked up and heavily bleated-on about by any real ale promoting consumer group. But no. It seems not. Surprisingly, this is despite grass roots members of CAMRA developing just such a campaign. Steve Westby, all-round nice bloke from Nottingham CAMRA, and beer organiser of several festivals each year, came up with the idea of 'LocAle', a scheme to promote locally brewed beer. Nottingham CAMRA ran with the idea, and pushed it to other branches. It is now being picked up by other branches, but with seemingly very little interest/support from CAMRA itself beyond supplying Point Of Sale material and acknowledging it's existence as an idea (although Steve Westby did get a campaigning award, partly due to his LocAle idea). Of course cynics might suggest that LocAle is of little use to bigger brewers with a national/super-regional market, and that these are the very same breweries who spend a lot of money on sponsorship & advertising.
LocAle is though being embraced at CAMRA branch level, and to be fair, that is where the most effective campaigning is done, so look out for the name in your local pub - unless of course they don't stock local beer, in which case, why are you in there?
The answer of course is to drink a locally brewed beer. Sadly it seems that this is lost on many of these ecomentalists, especially those who enjoy an ice cold lager - which will have been shipped half way across the UK, if not Europe, then to add to the problem, has been run through up to 3 seperate chillers, all of which of course consume a lot of energy, which will have come from coal or nuclear power because the local NIMBY's will have blocked the alternative energy sources ("Yes sir, we sell chilled lager, but only a windy day").
So to save the world, drink a locally brewed beer - ie within 20-30 miles - and suddenly, that car you drive isn't quite such a danger to the world. Mind you, that car will no doubt be banned soon by some other do-gooder who lives a world with 40 buses an hour within 100 yards of their front door, and trains that don't cost several hundred pounds per mile to travel on. And so therefore assumes that the rest of us do as well.
You'd think of course that this message about locally-brewed beers, and the high energy costs of super-chilled lagers, would have been picked up and heavily bleated-on about by any real ale promoting consumer group. But no. It seems not. Surprisingly, this is despite grass roots members of CAMRA developing just such a campaign. Steve Westby, all-round nice bloke from Nottingham CAMRA, and beer organiser of several festivals each year, came up with the idea of 'LocAle', a scheme to promote locally brewed beer. Nottingham CAMRA ran with the idea, and pushed it to other branches. It is now being picked up by other branches, but with seemingly very little interest/support from CAMRA itself beyond supplying Point Of Sale material and acknowledging it's existence as an idea (although Steve Westby did get a campaigning award, partly due to his LocAle idea). Of course cynics might suggest that LocAle is of little use to bigger brewers with a national/super-regional market, and that these are the very same breweries who spend a lot of money on sponsorship & advertising.
LocAle is though being embraced at CAMRA branch level, and to be fair, that is where the most effective campaigning is done, so look out for the name in your local pub - unless of course they don't stock local beer, in which case, why are you in there?
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
News Of The Brews
On the beer front, the Britannia Class Range has been going from strength to strength. Lightning was a popular beer, and was almost brewed again but I decided to ignore the requests and so out came Polar Star. It was brewed using wheat malt & maize, so it was something of a new direction for us - and what a beer it was. It is certainly the palest beer I have brewed, indeed one of the palest I have ever seen, and the Centennial hops really made it stand out. Not even I can ignore the clamouring for this one...
Knight Templar, a 4.9% golden beer also caused a minor storm, being named the best beer at a few festivals (although none that do official certificates to add to our collection), and going down equally well in the trade. Trouble is, at 4.9% it's a bit strong for many, and so we have a dilemma. Brew it again at the same strength, and limit it's outlets, or brew it at a lower strength, and thus increase it's sales potential. Trouble is, we can't really manage another regular without major expansion, and that is a path with so many headaches along it we need a lie down just thinking about it. So it will hover in the background for now.
What we have done though is a 4.0% beer with a slightly reddish hue, called Twilight. Bit early yet for feedback, but it raised a smile when sampled last week prior to being casked up.
We have a slot for a brew later this week, and it has yet to be decided how it will be filled. Another new Britannia has been mooted (we don't have the hops yet for more Polar Star), but then so has the original Britannia. Originally rested due to a lack of hops, we managed to secure some earlier this year, saving them for a suitable point in time.
All these decisions... I think I'll have beer.
Knight Templar, a 4.9% golden beer also caused a minor storm, being named the best beer at a few festivals (although none that do official certificates to add to our collection), and going down equally well in the trade. Trouble is, at 4.9% it's a bit strong for many, and so we have a dilemma. Brew it again at the same strength, and limit it's outlets, or brew it at a lower strength, and thus increase it's sales potential. Trouble is, we can't really manage another regular without major expansion, and that is a path with so many headaches along it we need a lie down just thinking about it. So it will hover in the background for now.
What we have done though is a 4.0% beer with a slightly reddish hue, called Twilight. Bit early yet for feedback, but it raised a smile when sampled last week prior to being casked up.
We have a slot for a brew later this week, and it has yet to be decided how it will be filled. Another new Britannia has been mooted (we don't have the hops yet for more Polar Star), but then so has the original Britannia. Originally rested due to a lack of hops, we managed to secure some earlier this year, saving them for a suitable point in time.
All these decisions... I think I'll have beer.
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