80 BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS It’s like one of those difficult Scotty-from-Star-Trek moments… ‘Ah cannae fix it, Captain! It’s a problem with the space-time continuum!’ …when you’re writing a piece before a scheduled engagement which won’t be read until after it’s taken place. I want to tell you about my brilliant participation on the panel at the second UK Beer Debate, at Hopbunker in Cardiff on 26th November, but as yet I don’t know how well I did. By now you might, though, because hopefully you’re interested enough in the topics up for discussion to have followed the Debate. Briefly, these covered: a) the explosion of beer styles; b) the importance (or not) of packaging format; and top of the bill… c) the continued relevance (or not) of CAMRA and the GBBF. To which you can probably add – given SIBA’s own internal debate about membership qualification – some confrontational consideration of the relative merits of industry unity against size (and craft) demarcation. For me, this marks an exciting return into the sometimes abrasive arena of beer politics. And I welcome the opportunity, in this regular column, to reassert myself (and my opinions) a little more closely to the sharp end of the industry to which I have dedicated most of my working life. I joined CAMRA in December, 1975, when ‘good’ British draught beer was mostly in cask and mostly came as bitter or mild. Let me assure younger readers that dinosaurs were already extinct – though prehistoric racist and sexist attitudes were far more the norm than today’s residual and offensive ullage, which will hopefully soon be disposed of for good. You might think I’d also be happy, in the context of the UK Beer Debate, to ditch the original (outdated?) values that made me an idealistic real ale campaigner. Think again. I welcome innovation and the variety it has brought, and the resulting broadest ever portfolio of beers in can, bottle, keg and cask; but at heart I’m an unreconstructed bitter drinker and pub user. I will continue to champion the vital synergy between cask ale and the on trade – every Friday night at least. Good beer is at the heart of such occasions, but it doesn’t dominate the conversation while we stand around swirling and sipping and detecting notes of narcissus and hints of humbug. We sup pints. CAMRA has its issues, which it is thus far failing to resolve through its Revitalisation Project. That, however, does not make it irrelevant. Now I’m out of the pub trade and back at local branch meetings, I promise to address our greatest ever consumer movement’s ongoing worth in a future article. There might appear to be some agreement across the generations that equates brewing evil with giant (and now global) business: Watneys and AB InBev – what’s the difference? It’s just far too simplistic a conclusion, that’s what. The prevailing ‘modern’ view – propounded in the main by the industry sector that defines itself so assertively as craft – seems determined to paint the world of beer in black and white, with a ‘them and us’ vision of a clearly segregated future. As far as I recall, monochrome technology was superseded even before CAMRA was founded, and a refusal to embrace the richness of a full colour spectrum strikes me as blinkered, myopic, and any other sight- limiting adjective you choose to apply. And, most importantly, clumsy attempts at manipulation don’t usually yield the outcomes you want. That’s all for now, but I hope appetites are suitably whetted to keep a lively and energised beer debate running throughout the year. Julian Grocock The view through my glass bottom… JULIAN GROCOCK It’s not all black and white! Julian Grocock is a former pub landlord, managing director of Tynemill/Castle Rock, and chief executive of SIBA. Now a partner in Brewindex, a new business consultancy consortium of senior industry executives. Extensive experience in beer and pub politics, brewery and pubco operations, and on the front line in the pub trade...‘from cellar to ceiling’. 80_Layout 1 10/11/2017 16:44 Page 1