Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 6864 BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS Hopefully not bust. However, history has a habit of repeating itself and the last century saw a period of consolidation in its latter half, when the market became dominated by the big six breweries (Whitbread, Scottish and Newcastle, Bass, Allied Breweries, Courage and Watneys) – none of which have survived in their original form, today. In the USA, consolidation is the order of the day, with an unprecedented amount of mergers and acquisitions in recent years and the last few months have seen a stampede: Hop Valley, Terrapin, Cigar City, Victory, Devil’s Backbone, Stone… Whilst last Autumn the San Diego microbrewer, Ballast Point, was acquired for the eye watering sum of $1 billion. Which possibly makes the $106 billion mega merger of AB Inbev and SABMiller appear to be a bit of a bargain... So what of the UK? With nearly 2,000 breweries and rising, we have significantly more breweries per head of population than the States (approxi- mately 50% more) whilst we drink approxi- mately 12% per capita less by volume… Which suggests that the ‘if you can’t beat them, buy them’ approach of the big American brewers could spread to the UK, as the booming craft beer market matures and it becomes ever more tempting to simply buy market share and distri- bution. There are still opportunities to grow markets and convert more drinkers to the new world of ‘craft’, however competition here is becoming ever more intense and price is becoming more of an issue across the trade. What are the factors that will secure your future success in this fast evolving world of beer? Quality has to be a primary factor, as the price of a pint is significant and consumers are becoming more discerning. However, quality is not a singular differentiator, as there are a lot of great tasting beers out there – and in blind tastings, very few drinkers will identify the individual breweries. Innovation and brand equity are the make-or-break factors - for consumers, trade customers and even the acquisitive big brewers. Ignore this at your peril. Consumers crave heroes (and villains) – they need a reason to believe and well managed brands can deliver this. Which is why Sharp’s, Meantime and Camden have already been snapped up – brewing equipment is a commodity, staff are an important flexible resource, whereas it is the brand and its reputation that returns the equity. Many new brewers are not comfortable in the world of brands (or marketing for that matter) and fail to put a proper value on them in their business planning. Think of marketing as proactive, planned selling and brands as your company’s equity - something to be treasured, protected and properly invested in. And what is the future for great British beer, you might ask… The future has to be vested in more great British pubs, delivered by independently-minded entrepreneurs who possess the passion, values and vision that have helped drive the craft brewing revolution over the last decade. Myles Pinfold is founder and managing director of WPA Pinfold, an award-winning brand and design consultancy, with over 30 years experience in strategic brand planning and multi-channel implementation for national and global clients. Sources: Brewers Association; Wikipedia; The Great British Beer Boom – what next? asks Myles Pinfold, WPA Pinfold Do it right or beware of the consequences! says David Grant, Brewology Opinion As a passionate supporter of cask ale over the years (with the odd bottle of Bud!) I would never have thought about packaging good beer into keg. In the old days, the difference between cask and keg beer was basically ‘process’. Cask ale was brewed in the traditional manner and filled into a cask, at the filling stage finings were added to the cask helping the beer to drop bright, once the cask was placed in a pub cellar, where, by introducing oxygen into the cask, it would re-awaken the yeast, cask-conditioning the beer and allowing the finings to work, producing a bright flavoursome liquid full of body. Cask ale brewed and kept correctly, in my opinion, is sheer nectar. Its natural, medically proven to be good for you - drunk in moderation - is lower in calories than other alcohol and makes the British beer market different to the rest of the world. Keg beer was a processed option for brewers and their beer, being be brewed in the same way as cask, but prior to filling, keg beer would be chilled and filtered, basically removing all the yeast from the beer and leaving a dead product brought back to life with the introduction of CO2 or mixed gas putting sparkle back into the beer. The beer had a far longer shelf life and was easier to manage and proved popular with the masses and still does. With the huge numbers of microbrewers entering the market, the American word ‘Craft Brewer’ has hit the scene so we now have ‘Craft Beer’, the definition of which I will let my betters decide upon. What I do know is that this emerging market is growing in popularity and does appear to be in a keg format, and this new ‘craft beer’ has given the emerging new brewers the opportunity to express their individuality and push the boundaries to new horizons. Some of these beers are different and make a welcoming change to my bottle of Bud. To those brewers, who are doing craft correctly by processing their beer, using their own hygienically cleaned kegs and using their own chilling and dispense equipment at the point of sale, good on you and every success. To those brewers who are not doing the above, be warned - putting unfined green beer into keg, adding all manner of raw materials to make the beer different and selling to any licensee who then dispenses it through another brewer’s chilling and dispense equipment, will cause a tsunami of consequences for the industry. The industry needs to be diverse and innovative, so you should never say no, as I had done whilst running an all cask ale brewery. Keep pushing the boundaries, ensuring that the beer you produce is of a quality you would choose to drink yourself. Use your own packaging, chilling, dispense and strive to enhance our incredible industry. After a career in the industry with Courage, Grand Met, Centric and Ascot Holdings, David Grant spent 15 years as Managing Director of Moorhouse’s Brewery (Burnley) Ltd, overseeing the company’s dramatic expansion from micro to regional brewer. He recently took up a position with Leeds-based Brewology Ltd as Operations Director. 64_Layout 1 30/10/2016 19:17 Page 1