Hydes lets loose Racey Rudolph

A festive ale has been launched by Hydes to sit alongside its familiar seasonal brew - Rockin Robin.

Hydes describe Racey Rudolph as ‘a spicy, malty beer.’ It has an abv of 3.5%. The Manchester brewers add that it is ‘full of warming malt winter flavours.’

David Safiruddin, Marketing Director, said: “Craft ales have grown from strength to strength in 2011, and these will be two fabulous beers to close out the year with.”

Both Racey Rudolph and Rockin Robin are on sale throughout the Hydes pub estate.

Hydes is owned and managed as a family business. The brewing side includes a commitment to craft ales.

The Hydes brewing dynasty began in 1863 when Alfred and Ralph Hyde acquired a small brewing concern from their grandfather. Hydes found a home at the Queens Brewery Site, Brooks Bar, in Manchester city centre.

Its other beers include Hydes Original, Amber Smooth, XXXX Strong Ale, Goalden Drop craft ale and a range of others.

Ex Housemartin becomes a landlord

Paul Heaton, famous for singing in The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, must be bracing himself for Happy Hour jokes after his decision to buy a Salford pub.

The singer and songwriter has explained that taking on the Kings Arms is a practical move on his part. He rehearses and records in the room upstairs. In addition, his partner, Zena, will get involved in the theatrical side of the pub’s activities.

Paul has taken the licensing exam but doesn’t plan to run the pub on a day-day basis. He will, though, stamp his identity on the Kings Arms.

Paul told the website Manchester Confidential that the subject of crisps is dear to his heart. He is keen to sell KP, Tyrrells, Seabrook crisps, along with others from small operators. The revival of Seabrook’s Spring Onion flavour is high on his wish list.

Despite bringing his own flavour to the pub’s character, Paul stressed that he would not change any of the pub’s popular and well-established features. Responding to comments on Manchester Confidential, Paul said: “We have no intentions of changing anything other than what we have to. The staff are integral, so they'll stay”

He plans to play gigs at the Kings Arms and last year showed his support for local pubs. His ‘Pedals and Pumps’ tour saw him embark on a 20-day cycling tour, performing at a different pub most nights.

.

As a star of The Beautiful South, Paul released a number of songs about pubs and drinking including ‘Old Red Eyes is Back’, ‘Liar’s Bar’and ‘Look What I Found in my Beer’. The Beautiful South split up in 2007, blaming ‘musical similarities’.

www.studiosalford.com

Greene King Discovers new talent

Celebrity Chef Marco Pierre White has, this month, given his support to an apprenticeship scheme, introduced by Greene King.

The Discovery Apprenticeship scheme currently involves almost 700 young people working in Greene King’s pubs and restaurants.

Marco Pierre White helped to officially launch the programme with a cookery masterclass.

The masterclass also celebrated the achievements of some of the first apprentices to qualify. It was attended by eight apprentices, each nominated by their Business Development Managers and Area Chef for Loch Fyne, Chris Stanbrooke.

Chris, a former apprentice himself, said: “To be able to get tips from one of the ‘greats’ like him was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us.”

The scheme has also been praised by Karen Woodward, Divisional Apprenticeship Director at The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS).

She said: “The NAS are delighted to be supporting Greene King and their selected provider, Charnwood Training Group, in their Apprenticeship programme.”

Over 250 employees have completed the apprenticeships and 425 are currently in training. Greene King intends to extend the scheme to cover 1,300 employees in 2012. Around 70% are currently aged 24-years-old or younger.

Jonathan Webster, managing director of Greene King’s Destination Pubs and Restaurants division, said: “Our aim is not just to provide a ‘pub job’ but to offer a clear career path for our employees.”

He added: “We might even develop a future Michelin star rated chef!”

Marco Pierre White started his own training at the Hotel St George in Harrogate. At the age of 33 he was awarded three Michelin Stars.

Vintage Inns nourish poetic imaginations

A well crafted line could lead to a free meal from Vintage Inns, in a competition being judged by former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion.

The national competition is being held to honour Great British country pubs. Each week Sir Andrew will choose one line, from those submitted, to take the poem forwards.

The poem that results will be an accumulation of those winning lines. The opening line is: ‘The muted brilliance of autumn leaves.’

Each week one person will receive a signed copy of one of Sir Andrew’s books along with dinner for four, plus wine, at their local Vintage Inn.

Sir Andrew will also be producing his own verse on the Great British country pubs theme.

Vintage Inns, a Mitchell’s & Butlers pub chain, features ‘real ales, real fires and pub-food as hearty and warming as the welcome.’

There are nearly 200 Vintage Inns throughout the country.

Sir Andrew was Poet Laureate between 1999 and 2009. His sequence of war poems ‘Laurels and Donkeys’ will be featured on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend to honour Remembrance Sunday.

www.vintageinn.co.uk/offer/poetrycompetition/

Adnams adds new recipes to its menu

A new range of condiments is on offer from Adnams, along with the reappearance of its winter warmer Old Ale.

One of the Suffolk brewers and pub owner’s kitchen teams created the recipes for the condiments. Alexese Scott, Adnams’ Cellar & Kitchen Food Buyer, was also closely involved in the development.

Ms Scott said: “We’re incredibly proud to be putting our name on the labels. We will be stocking the full range of products in all of our Cellar & Kitchen stores, online and also in our hotels, and are looking forward to sharing our new offerings with our customers.”

The range uses local ingredients and includes Adnams Tomato Ketchup, Wholegrain Mustard with Broadside, Brown Sauce and Strawberry Jam.

The labels were designed by local artist Clare Curtis. Her coastal illustrations are inspired by Suffolk’s landscapes.

Meanwhile, Adnams 4.1% ABV Old Ale is back to liven up winter. The mild ale style beer is brewed with East Anglian pale ale and Crystal malted barley and Boadicea hops.

Adnams other beers include Ghost Ship, Southwold Bitter, Broadside and Explorer, amongst others.

Hydes and Wychwood offer Halloween treats

New craft beers are on offer from Hydes to mark both Halloween and Bonfire Night.

The Manchester brewer has named its 4.4% ABV Halloween brew Hubble Bubble. Its 4% ABV ‘Guy Fawkes’ beer is called Bright Spark.

Hydes’ Marketing Director David Safiruddin said: “We have always had a great response to our crafted themed beers and in producing these two we aim to further build on that proven success.”

Meanwhile, Wychwood Brewery is making sure that it doesn’t miss out on Halloween fun. The Oxfordshire brewer is holding its own Halloween Fair at Wychwood Brewery on Monday 31^st October. It will include pumpkin carving and other spooky entertainments.

Both Wychwood’s flagship beer, Hobgoblin, and its famous mascot will be lifting spirits at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival in Whitby and the Sneaky Experience in Leeds on 31^st October. The Sneaky Experience will feature ‘ghoulish films’ that will be recreated in ‘stunning detail at a secret location’.

Hydes Brewery was established in 1863. Its brews include Hydes Original, 1863, Amber Smooth, XXXX Strong Ale and others.

Wychwood Brewery officially came into being in 1990 when the Eagle Brewery was renamed Wychwood after the ancient medieval Wychwood Forest which borders Witney.

Wychwood’s beers include Hobgoblin, King Goblin, Wychcraft and others. Its seasonal beer for October is Wizard’s Staff.

www.hydesbrewery.co.uk

www.wychwood.co.uk

“The rise and rise of craft and cask beers…”

By Mark Newton, Client Relations, CGA Strategy Limited

Two of the biggest news stories in the drinks industry over the last few months have been the purchase of Sharps Brewery by Coors-Molson and the American craft brewer Goose Island by AB-InBev.

Not only is this good news for the two smaller companies from a financial perspective, but this gives two of the biggest names in the brewing world an important foothold in one of the most important sectors of the GB LAD market at the moment.

Although in some ways cask and craft beers are different products they are linked by a shared philosophy and customer demographic that, combined with the rise in interest in traditionally made, high quality long drinks, has made them an attractive proposition to UK producers and retailers alike.

The fact that the two major players involved are both primarily lager producers, shows how far the cask and craft revival has come over the last couple of years. This is backed up by CGA trended category data.

Cask Ale, World and Speciality Lagers (which includes a number of US craft beers) are the categories experiencing growth in consumption, while Standard Lagers are reporting the highest losses over the short term.

This is also translating into category space in the outlet, especially on the bar, with cask ale (along with cider) continuing to erode the position of traditional category favourites such as standard lager – Carling, Fosters, etc.

The average bar has added 2 incremental taps since 2008. Stout & Keg Ale are the only categories not to have benefitted from additional visibility but it is undoubtedly Cask Ale (along with cider) which have been the largest beneficiaries of the trend.

However, it is interesting to note that creating a nationwide brand from a regional or niche category base is not without its difficulties. National brewers have exhibited similar acquisition behaviour in the past and this has not always resulted in the sustained success expected. The larger regional brewers – such as Greene King, Marston’s and Fullers - are themselves creating almost ‘national’ brands from their core products, such as Pedigree and London Pride, and this has helped to create a divide between commercially led mainstream ales and the micro brewery products which continue to be successful as much because of their niche positioning as their quality.

The fact that the major brewers have now latched onto this increasing trend, suggests that we will continue to see further growth within this sector for the next few years. Hopefully this will offer a greater selection of choice to customers over a wider range of outlets than ever before.