Cask Ale Week
Apologies from me. Cask Ale Week, an annual event run by the Cask Marque organisation and supported by CAMRA, was held between 18 and 28 September. Although I had the details, I overlooked including it in the previous edition. Still, as one of my CAMRA branch colleagues pointed out, every week should be cask ale week.
Doing well?
Propel Info, the leading provider of hospitality industry news, has come up with a new initiative. Called the Profit Growth Tracker, it ranks businesses on their growth in profit as reported across their three most recent sets of accounts filed with Companies House. There are 12 pub companies and breweries in the top 25. The top five of these are: (6) Mitchells & Butlers (27.6%), (7) Fuller’s (22.4%), (9) Wadworth (18.0%), (10) JD Wetherspoon (13.6%) and (14) McMullen & Sons (9.2%).
Wetherspoons news
The opening dates for JDW’s two new pubs in London have been delayed. Both the Sun Wharf in Tooley Street and the Sir Alexander Fleming in Paddington are now due to open on 30 September.
Congratulations to Georgina
Many readers will recall Georgina Young from her days as head brewer at Fuller’s. In 2019 she decided to return to her West Country roots, originally to run the Hare Brewery in Bath, owned by St Austell. Shortly after, she became head brewer for the whole company. She has now been named Brewer of the Year by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG). The APPBG’s honorary secretary, Rita King, said, “Georgina was a standout candidate and a truly deserving winner of this year’s award. Her dedication to brewing, her innovative spirit, and her passion for educating and welcoming others into the industry are highly respected across the beer community. When we speak to people about influential brewers, Georgina’s name is often mentioned as an inspiring figure whom many admire.”
Guinness news
If you thought that the shortage of supplies over Christmas was enough of a soap opera, Netflix are showing a drama series about the early days of the founding family.
In order to prevent any further supply problems, Guinness are expanding their existing production plant in County Kildare to the south west of Dublin. It will eventually be capable of brewing 4.5 million hectolitres of not just the black stuff but Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny and Carlsberg as well.
Let’s hope that it is more successful than their new brewery in China. I was surprised to learn that there were many ‘Irish’ style bars in China. Previously, Guinness supplied the market in China from St James’s Gate and it was distributed through AB InBev’s existing network. The new locally brewed version has not gone down well, with one report saying, “The feedback from everyone is that it tastes like cigarettes or an ashtray. The taste is not the same at all and the aftertaste is terrible.”
Going to the dogs
In these difficult days you have to admire any pub that shows initiative. The Barton’s Mill, a Wadworth’s tied house in Old Basing has made space available for a self-service dog washing facility. The pub, which stands on the River Lodden, is a popular dog walking destination. I’m sure that dog owners are grateful for the opportunity to clean the river water and mud from their pets before going home or perhaps in to the pub itself. I’m sure that the pub prefers clean dogs as well.
