Liverpool Beer Collective Blog

SEVEN BRO7HERS BEERHOUSE

6/1/2022

Wolstenholme Square has felt like an empty and at times relatively soulless space for many people who remember how vibrant it was in the late 1990s during weekend evenings (granted it was quite at other times!), even more so since the demolition of Nation which hosted Cream and housed the famous courtyard space, along with the Continental Club immediately adjacent.

The new development that has since arisen from the rubble is smart if a little ubiquitous to many UK cities and the units have gradually been taken, adjusted and opened to the public, slowly adding character. Restaurants, bars and other concerns are starting to fill the area and one with quite some promise opened its doors for a soft launch on the 27th May, receiving a respectable amount of footfall for a bar which was yet to officially open up to the public.

Seven Bro7hers have been in place to set up their fourth premises for a couple of years or so, with this being the first venture outside of the family run brewery’s native Salford. The plan was and is, to pour their own brews alongside some guest beers and serve up their own ‘pub grub’. The plan is to utilise as much local resource as possible to supply the venue, from guest beers from some of Merseyside’s best brewers to meat and produce from local butchers, bakers and farms. The delay in getting the venue built was mainly down to the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of requirement to open venues, but now there is a shift back from drinking and socialising in person, the moment seemed opportune to push things along.

The team behind the new beerhouse set their business up in 2014 following on from a family penchant for home brewing, quickly setting up their own pubs, with the three other beerhouse venues (to date) located in Middlewood, Salford and Ancoats, along with another bar located in the taproom at the Salford Quays based brewery, and a partnership bar at Terminal 2 in Manchester Airport.

The Liverpool venue will be open seven days a week from midday and will allow bookings and walk-ins throughout the day.

Follow their socials here…

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SevenBro7hersBH
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sevenbrolpl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SevenBroLpl

Cain's BREWERY Relaunch

5/26/2022

The social media output has cranked up a little recently and in light of a few false dawns over the last three to four years, you could be forgiven for not expected another aborted launch for Cain’s Brewery.

However, things appear to be different this time, with some serious recruitment being undertaken and a now concrete plan and firm commitment to bring the brewery brand back to life after a hiatus for the best part of a decade.

Having a catch up with the new head brewer and operations manager, Andy Hayes, has furnished us with quite a few details on how things are planned to pan out for Liverpool’s erstwhile flagship heritage brewery. There were quite few reasons that it never felt ‘the right time’ to push Cain’s back into the marketplace, a major one being the pandemic. Perhaps the most definitive effect on the delay to Cain’s coming back online, it was a time that saw many breweries lower brewing capacity, stop altogether or move across into a focus for small packaging and online/off sales in order to limp along over what was a very long two years for them.

“Years of planning, consultation and training have led to the confidence that we are in the best possible situation to relaunch such an important Liverpool icon, in the way that it deserves” posited Hayes. When asked about the scale of what the brewery would be looking to do upon launch, he responded “The brewery is very much micro; a 10HL or 6 Barrel brew kit with the intention to brew at least four times a week, working up to six when it’s plausible. The beer will mostly be going into cask and kegs initially”.

Cain’s is slated to be available in the parent company’s (Mikhail Group) venues for the moment, with Liverpool pubs such as Punch Tarmey’s, the Brewery Tap (on the corner of Stanhope Street) and Dr. Duncan’s being backed up with the new brewery tap venue in the ‘Terracotta Palace’ venue at the Baltic Market site. There are also venues in St Helens and Southport that are part of the portfolio for the owners, meaning that Cain’s beer will be available across the region, albeit in select venues until things take off or expand. Andy Hayes is quite positive about the reception and how things are in Liverpool and across Merseyside; “We’ll possibly be looking to do some keg swaps in future, as I have a few favourite independent breweries that produce some great beer and we’d love to develop a relationship with”.

So far, the Microbrewery premises in the Baltic will comprise a visible brew house in a new multipurpose 3 floor venue, there will be four bars present which will include a ‘craft beer bar’ a ‘Hoptails’ bar and two taproom bars. There is also expected to be space for outside areas and some live music. Projected timescales for opening is a soft-launch by the end of May and a full opening within a few weeks of that. The Cain’s beers are expected to be ready in time for the full opening.

So what can drinkers expect from the new Cain’s Brewery output? The company has full access to the intellectual property associated with the brand, so that means all brewsheets, recipes and methods to enable them to bring some old favourites back to life. The launch is expected to come in tandem with the Cain’s Finest Lager on keg and the Cain’s Bitter on cask, two of the most accessible beers the brewery made just over a decade ago. There are some other memorable seasonal and former extended core range beers that are in the forefront of Andy Hayes’ mind for the brew run; “The Raisin Beer and the FA (Formidable Ale) along with a handful of others are certainly in our immediate plans. Seasonal offerings will possibly be based around old favourites, but I very much intend to have some new creations come from our brewery. We are looking to keep Cain’s in a traditional focus, as we feel Liverpool has missed this in recent times. That’s not to say that I am not a fan of modern craft beers, so expect to see something along those lines in the near future.”

For those that remember, many of the seasonal beers that Cain’s made years ago we reportedly generated by public engagement via committee – inviting groups to the brewery to discuss what flavours and character they would like to enjoy in a beer. Raisin Beer was one such beer, successfully generated by this venture. Although Hayes suggests there is no immediate desire to undertake this kind on engagement; “There’s no immediate plans for anything like this, as the brew kit and team are just going to find their feet first and making sure we concentrate on learning about each other and what the kit can produce”.

The vision for Cain’s is one which is possibly a cloudier one at relaunch than if it had continued to brew and trade past its demise in 2014, when reported debts of £8m meant the brewery could not continue. Though Hayes is quite certain about the new Cains’ place in Liverpool beer and brewing; “I see the brewery as a return to some vintage times, whilst things are certainly dominated by more modern offerings. The brewery venue we have will be in direct contrast to the traditional brews we are making, whilst the Brewery Tap pub will be held as a traditional venue more reminiscent of the heritage the brand holds. I’m confident that we can remind everyone that well-made traditional beers made with quality malt and hops can still hold their own in the modern environment and stand up to modern styles.”

Andy also wished to express his gratitude to the rest of the team who are behind the scenes getting things together for the Cain’s launch; “A nod to Brewing Services Limited, their expertise from day one has been really reassuring and informative, the help from David Smith, Hayley Young and Rob Smith has been invaluable”.

Stay tuned to our Social Media channels (Twitter / Instagram / Facebook) and the Cain’s output for updates on the new venue opening and when their beers will be pouring once again on the regions taps and handpumps.

-------------------------------------------------

Cain's Premises are due to open to the public from 6pm on Thursday 2nd June, 2022 onwards.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cains_brewery
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CainsBrewery
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cainsbrewery

Liverpool Craft Beer Expo 2022

5/16/2022

The Liverpool Craft Beer Expo is back again this June; back at the Black Lodge and Sub Rosa site on King's Dock Street on the edge of the Baltic Triangle. They'll be hoping for some great weather to go with the beers, food and music that is lined up for the weekend of the 16th to 18th June.

Tickets have been on general sale for a little while and are sure to sell out as they did last year, so you'll need to be quick to ensure you can get in and enjoy Liverpool's biggest craft beer festival.

The question on most people's lips as ever is over which breweries will be in attendance. The full list has also now been published... read on.

Full Brewery List:

Alpha Delta, Beak, Maxlrainer, Black Lodge, Brew York, Carnival, Chapter, Duration, Farm Yard, Glen Affric, Kirkstall, Lakes Brew Co, Left Handed Giant, Love Lane, Marble, Neptune, North Brew Co, Northern Monk, Pilot, Polly’s, Pomona Island, Red Willow, Seven Bro7hers, Thornbridge, Top Rope, Vaux, Verdant, Vocation, Wander Beyond, Wylam, Zapato.

You'll spot a few newcomers this year and some returning favourites in the list, along with some great additions from last year's event.

For those who want to attend the party, but are less fussed on all out craft beer drinking, there are other bars present at the event. To the rear of Black Lodge is SubRosa, which will be mixing cocktails and there is a bespoke lager bar and cider bar (hosted by (Inncider Trading) at the event to cater to other tastes.

Food will be covered by local (and across the North) Indian street food aficionados Bundobust, with Fatback, Chip'd, Root and Dough Bros also present.

Music is hosted by the Melodic Distraction crew, featuring Carnivalization, Giovanna, Emily Rose, Yama Yama and many more.

It's sure to be a corker of an event, as it is every year!

Ticket prices range from £12.50 for a single session to £32.50 for the full weekend ticket.

Sessions:

Thursday 16th June - 5pm to 11pm
Friday 17th June - 5pm to 11pm
Saturday 18th June - (Afternoon) 12pm to 5pm // (Evening) 6pm to 11pm

Link to tickets is here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/craft-beer-expo-2022-tickets-211654312747

AZVEX BREWING TAPROOM LAUNCH

4/27/2022

Taproom launches are often precariously hurried things; tiling, woodwork, line and cellaring installation and those final licks of paint and polishing surfaces all having to be tackled before the first customer’s beer can be poured, safe in the knowledge that a job has been done. There may be tweaks here and there, but ultimately, a brewery can take satisfaction in completing their own space and a chance to sell their beers direct to people, happy it will be in the best possible condition.

The team at Azvex Brewing have been working hard to make their unit on Gibraltar Row, in the shadow of the iconic Liver Building, ready for guests to enjoy beers brewed on the premises.

Azvex have made some waves since they planted their flag in Liverpool at the end of 2021, with Adam Henderson, formerly of Neon Raptor joining up with a handful of other seasoned beer operatives to bring another weighty presence to the stretch from the Liver Building down to the King’s Dock and Baltic area.

It seems that things are going to plan to, as at time of writing the brewery is carrying an average on Untappd (for what it is worth) of 4.06 for its range and was hovering around the top 4 for all UK breweries. The RateBeer scores are also better than good. Not bad for less than a year of operations.

A full run down of the what, where and why has been detailed on the Azvex website blog by head honcho, Adam, here:
https://www.azvexbrewing.com/blog/welcome-to-azvex-brewing-company/

The next stage for Azvex is to get the taproom established as a destination in the UK beer scene and with the premises set to launch this coming weekend (29th April at 5pm), expectations are high.

According to the team, there are to be 12 lines of beer present in the taproom, with 2 rotating guest beers present. Takeaway cans will be available from the taproom and when the tap is closed, there is still the chance to collect beers from the premises during brewing and process hours. For the time being, there are no plans for cask handpull lines, but they’d never rule it out.

Taproom opening times:

Friday 29th April: 5pm to 10pm
Saturday 30th April: 12pm to 10pm
Sunday 1st May: 12pm to 10pm

Regular Taproom Hours:

Fridays: 4pm to 10pm
Saturdays: 12pm to 10pm

Contact: www.azvexbrewing.com/contactus/

EPIPHANY BEERS

4/8/2022

This blog was put together by our Chair, Pedro Cotzier:

I noticed a tweet earlier this week from Melissa Cole’s Twitter account; it reminded me of those happy moments, vivid recollections and foundational sepia tinged memories we can have with beer in certain situations. Often they are tied to a time when we had great people around us, were at a truly memorable or joyful occasion or reached some kind of personal landmark.

here is occasion though where the beer itself can have ‘a moment’ for us. Melissa mentioned that there was an ‘epiphany beer’ in the form of Rooster Brew Co’s Cream Ale, this was in retweeting the brewery tweeting of an impending release as a seasonal cask brew. We all have a moment such as this don’t we?

I can’t quite place the exact moment where I knew that I loved good beer, it was possibly a slow process. A slow fermentation of an idea that I loved things put together with care, with nuance and with good providence. There is one beer which stands out to me as one that sparked a point of no return on beer, where I wanted only interesting flavours and was less inclined to drinking less than premium products and that my friends, was Pendle Witches Brew from Moorhouse’s Brewery. I distinctly remember which pub I was in, what glass I drank the beer from (an Imperial glass, thanks for asking) and what day of the week it was. I’ll come back to that.

There were stolen mouthfuls of beer, taken after furtively creeping round the back of a settee of beers such as Cameron’s, Banks, Trophy Bitter, Cain’s, Flowers and Castle Eden from the barrel glass (or dimple mug, if you prefer) that sat on the floor next to my Dad’s place on the couch. This usually elicited the same response as a youngster – a pulled face and a noise of disgust. My Dad usually just laughed (on occasion I probably got a clipped ear too) and told me that I would probably eventually grow into it. Back then I probably didn’t think so, but it never stopped me trying on occasion.

Fast forward to teenage years where interest is piqued in the mid nineteen nineties, adverts for Stella Artois, Kronenbourg and other continental beers are ubiquitous on television, promising premium product and something vaguely sophisticated alongside John Smiths and Boddington’s adverts pushing more UK based styled beers. There was still an interest in seeing the beer come from a handpulled cask line, with Guinness’ Kilkenny Bitter and (I’m sure that I am not making it up) Murphy’s Stout on cask (distributed by Whitbread as I understand it) in nearby pubs to where I grew up. I remembered drinking both of these quite fondly.

It wasn’t until the mid to late nineties when Sunday evenings became cheeky trips with my older brother and his friends up to Ormskirk and a pub, which was once a glorious Freehouse but now a tied Holt’s establishment, called the Hayfield. It was here that I became acutely aware of my desire for ‘better’ beer.

There were a few occasions where we visited the Hayfield and were faced with at least 8 – 10 lines of oddly named cask beer (along with a superb array of single malts and oddly, a draught line of Budweiser, which was rare in the area back then). There were some excellent beers on these visits, the beer kept in top condition by the landlord, Geoff and one of the managers, an American guy who loved his motorbikes, also called Jeff. I can remember other things about the pub from back then too, that elicit fond memories, such as the awful carpets on the floor, the amusing graffiti in one of the toilet cubicles, the brass last orders bell which was kept immaculately shiny, the seemingly endless chalk board selection of cask beers available, the plethora of postcards from patrons and staff all above the bar space. Two beers from my visits there stand out as truly exceptional and watershed moments in regard to really drawing me into the world of beer. One was a cask stout by Roosters Brew Co, at the time called Zulu – and if memory serves, it was a coffee stout. Creamy, rich and deep and incredibly smooth.

I was reliably informed that this beer evolved and was renamed as Londinium by the brewery themselves. The second and one mentioned at the head of this piece, was Pendle Witches Brew. A beer which was ‘strong’ back in the day, being over 5% and not considered to be very sessionable. It was burgeoning with fruit flavours and a crisp, deep malty backbone. Loads of berry notes in the aroma and berries in finish meant this was far too easy to sink one after another. It became a beer I sought and occasionally gleefully found at local beer festivals and other pubs in the area, although I never found the same joy in drinking it from bottles found in specialist bottle shops. It had to be dispense on handpulled cask too.

Anyone who has found joy in drinking beer, in homebrewing, in writing about beer or having any other involvement, will most likely have a beer which provided their ‘Eureka!’ moment, or their beer epiphany. Can you remember yours?

Pedro.

LIVERPOOL BEERX PUB GUIDE

3/2/2022

It is early March and SIBA BeerX is about to roll back into Liverpool in the middle of this month (Wednesday 16th - Thursday 17th March to be precise) for another instalment of its annual trade show.

The last two years have seen the event undertake a period of dormancy, due to the nature of a pandemic, rubbing shoulders with people from across the UK would not be the wisest move or the most sensible behaviour to propagate, so it’s understandable. But in 2022, the shadow of the pandemic is still not completely out of sight, but things have settled into a pattern to provide people with enough confidence to mingle again and for SIBA to put on a show at the Liverpool dockside arena.

For those attending the show, hopefully there will be enough of them to enjoy a trip around Liverpool’s city centre and perhaps further outward to investigate some of the great pubs and bars that are located nearby. Let’s be totally honest; there are a lot of them (RIGHT HERE).

So given the opportunity to investigate and have a bit of an adventure around the area once the trade sessions have reached a conclusion at the end of each day, we thought we would provide some inspiration for people to consider when exploring places to find a great beer in Liverpool.

Dead Crafty

Ship and Mitre

The Lion Tavern

Dr Duncan's

Dale Street Area

Not too far from the Mersey, Dale Street has a host of pubs and bars that pour some excellent beer; from the famous Ship and Mitre (with a great mix of traditional and modern cask beers, along with some own brewed gear, continental brews and kegged craft beer), to the Excelsior almost immediately next door (again, a solid cask line up), to a saunter (carefully) across Dale Street to the award winning Dead Crafty Beer Company, whose 20 lines of modern craft from across the UK, Europe and the US is nothing short of remarkable.

The Angus is a more recent venue, hosting lots of live music but also some great beers on both cask and keg. A little closer to the water are The Lady of Mann, Thomas Rigby’s, the Vernon Arms and Ye Hole in the Wall, all stocking a solid cask line up (usually more traditional styled for the latter two) with the former two stocking some craft keg and some interesting small package beer in the fridges. Round the corner from these is the Lion Tavern, another award winning pub with a good traditional range of cask ales.

A more recent addition to the area (during the pandemic) is the refurbished Denbigh Castle, set up as a sister pub to the Bridewell and it stocks a fine range of traditional and modern cask, with continental lagers and some craft keg. Finally, for a slice of local history mixed with a decent serving of cask beer, Dr Duncan’s is also located nearby; a beautiful and ornate building with a rich history and a lovely open fire in a mosaic tiled lounge.

Black Lodge

Hobo Kiosk

Turncoat

Love Lane Tap

The Baltic Area and Dockside

Another area of the city which is filled with interesting places to eat and drink, with the old and new juxtaposed. Here you can find Turncoat Bar on the Albert Dock, hosting a Kernel Brewery Takeover during BeerX, serving craft keg beers, great pizzas and cocktails if you need a change of pace. You can also see the Pumphouse, which looks out towards the Mersey and Irish sea and has started to display a very interesting line up of cask ales.

Across Wapping from the arena, the Baltic Fleet, an erstwhile brewpub with a deep tapestry of maritime influence in the city, hosts a range of cask and continental beers. There are brewery taprooms located in this area too, with both Love Lane and Black Lodge Brewing located nearby. Love Lane will certainly be open and serving an array of cask and keg, as well as having a busy kitchen ready to provide other sustenance.

There are a range of smaller and incredibly charismatic pubs in the area too; Hobo Kiosk serves a range of keg and small package beer from local brewers, all whilst in the most unusual and eclectic of surroundings, the Bridewell is another historic location, serving immaculately kept cask and some modern craft keg, whilst Albert’s Schenke is a larger beer hall style venue with a range of keg and cask available alongside a German style food menu. If in doubt, the Head of Steam is only just up the road on Hanover Street from Albert’s and the Bridewell; always a solid bet for good cask or keg beer.

Further up along the dock road and near to the Liver Buildings, Carnival Brewing’s Taproom will be open during the BeerX event, serving a range of their beers and some from across the Irish Sea as part of a special event.

The Belvedere Arms

The Roscoe Head

The Grapes

The Keystone

Cultural Quarter

The Area set back from the waterfront, towards the main university areas of the city contains some remarkable pubs and bars, with many stocking some incredible beer and holding a wonderful atmosphere. Venues like the Grapes, Roscoe Head, the Dispensary and the Keystone have a great cask beer line up, with the Keystone having plenty of craft keg to back their collection up.

There are other quirkier and historically significant venues in the area too, that also do beer on cask; the likes of Outpost, Ye Cracke, The Pilgrim and Liverpool’s smallest pub, The Coach House are all nearby the bombed out church of St Luke’s. Also in this area, the Philharmonic Dining Rooms has a wide cask selection and some salubrious surroundings to take in.

The Belvedere Arms has recently undergone some renovation and change of ownership, with that has come a refreshing of the beer selection; four lines each of modern cask and craft keg in rotation, supported by some standard continental beers and a very interesting small package beer fridge. Peter Kavanagh’s Victorian Pub is also in this area, on the fringe of the city centre, hosting a range of traditional cask ales in a very unusual pub setting.

Black Cat

Little Taproom

Handyman Brewery

Evidently, this list is not exhaustive and is not setting out to exclude any venues – there are plenty more shown on the map (HERE) and there are some exceptional venues which are over the water (such as Glen Affric, Black Toad and West Kirby Tap), up the coast along to Southport (including Beer Station, Trap and Hatch, Grasshopper and Tap and Bottles) just out of the city centre, with the likes of Black Cat, Little Taproom on Aigburth Road, Handyman Brewery, Haul and Crafty Swine all providing a great place to grab some cask or craft keg beer. Please do drop us a message via the form (HERE) or on or social media channels (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram) if you want any more information – we’d be delighted to help.

Enjoy your BeerX experience, everyone!!

FREE REIN BREWING

7/14/2021

Thankfully, cask is back on the menu with the gradual reopening of pubs through beer gardens, indoor table service and the final step of attempting normal service. The lockdown wasn’t quite the opportunity for everyone across the beer industry to show off their prowess in small packaging and beer via mail, some of the more traditionally driven outfits around decided to hibernate for a while in the face of the market sag on need for cask beer.

For Peerless Brewing, this has been an interesting period to undertake some observation and Steve Briscoe has had a keen eye on the situation since last March. As a response to the change in market and to look to bolster the brewery’s options going forward, they have set up a ‘craft beer arm’ to Peerless in the Free Rein project. The general concept was hit upon by Steve, as the brewery have occasionally dabbled with more modern styles of brewing, but never fully committed to anything.

Steve’s reasoning was quite simple:

“The guys in the brewery, Alex (Morley) and Greg (Mason) have really wanted to do some more creative brews for quite some time. We all come from a home-brewing background, so that desire and ease to just try something new has always been ticking along for us. With this venture we feel we can ‘pandemic proof’ the business somewhat and allow us to continue to brew and sell under difficult conditions. The Focus on cask has meant we shied away from keg and can, but with this brand on our side means we can avoid any potential confusion with Peerless’ output.”

The main copper at the Peerless Brewhouse produce batches of between 4500 and 5000 litres, but with the adaptation of an old Grundy tank, some smaller batches are now available for Free Rein to access. Brews will be between 800 and 1000 litres, meaning more experimental brews can be carried out to test demand for the styles they’ll be putting out there. To date, there have been three styles brewed (Mocha Matari, Mama Loves Mango and Tectonic) but Steve is open to Imperial Stouts, Double IPAs and fruited sour ales being produced under the Free Rein branding.

When asked about taking the leap from small package 500ml glass bottles (for the more traditional market) into canned beers, Steve was again quite open to the reason for following that path:

“The market for craft beer is pretty well established now in kegs and definitely cans, so it seemed the sensible method to put small package there. Currently, the canning will be carried out by Morrow Brothers in Preston who have also been doing the 500ml bottles for Peerless for some time now. As a professional packager, they’ll provide comprehensive laboratory results to us for the ABV, dissolved Oxygen and a full suite of micro tests, so we can have more assurance on our product being treated right.”

Apparently the Free Rein brand and name came about to keep things simple, something of a case of ‘does what it says on the tin’ (no pun intended). It allows the team to play about with recipes without being constrained with the conceptions of what Peerless Brewing is all about. Peerless was started 12 years ago and at the time and Steve felt that there was a preconception from other more traditional brewing orientated marketplaces that it was a craft beer brand, but things move and evolve.

“I still personally prefer cask dispense as a go to beverage, but there is absolutely no doubt that is a massive thirst for beers that are outside the constraints of the cask beer marketplace. The fact that we will only be brewing smaller bathes for canning and to go into kegs is the main difference in this. You should be able to pick up some of the Free Rein beers in bars, pubs and bottle shops soon and they are available for both local and nationwide delivery through the website as well as direct from the brewery itself”.

You can order Free Rein beers online from here:
[ https://www.beersno42.co.uk/products/free-rein-mixed-case ]

In other news concerning Peerless Brewing, they have recently done some brewing under contract for an Aloe Vera beer. The recipe apparently took some adjustment, but the end result is a pretty stunning Pink Guava and Dragon fruit flavoured Aloe Beer.
This is also available online, from here: [ https://aloebirra.co.uk ]

One final juicy bit of information that Steve parted on was alluding to another change of rein or perhaps, reign, with his ownership of Peerless Brewing and Free Rein:

“It’s no secret that Rose (Steve’s wife – ed) and I are getting older and can’t do this forever. Both being in our sixties, we’re facing the inevitable that we’ll have to consider retirement at some point in the future. So if anybody wants to come and run or buy a profitable and well established brewery with an excellent set up, kit and a fantastic staff then they should get in touch with us!”.

Bombshell.

Keep your eyes out for the Free Rein beers, which are landing on shelves and in fridges now!

The LBC.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Peerless on Twitter: t witter.com/PeerlessBrewing
Follow Peerless on Facebook: facebook.com/PeerlessBrewing

BUNDOBUST BREWERY LAUNCH

6/27/2021

Bundobust has become something of a phenomenon on the UK craft beer scene over the last few years. From relatively humble beginnings in Leeds, it has grown in stature and presence across the north of England and boasts three excellent sites, taking space in Manchester and more recently in Liverpool.

By marrying Indian vegetarian street food with the best of what the craft beer world has to offer, they have really created a unique place for themselves within the UK beer scene.

Bundobust has taken an admirable approach at each of their locations, choosing to augment their range of craft beers from the likes of Mikkeller, DEYA, Verdant and other heavy hitters from across the UK and Europe with a solid base range of beers from the region each brand is located in. This confidence is their location and support for the local scene really does help create a diverse and stable scene for the UK.

This stability has offered Team Bundo some real confidence in themselves and their people, so much so that they have gone forth with launching their own brewery to produce tailored beers that are ultimately designed to go with their superb food.

The launch event saw the three sites in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester simultaneously pouring three different beers brewed at their new site, located on Oxford Road in Manchester. We were lucky enough that Committee Members Jack and Mike were able to head along and try these new beers and sample some food to test just how good the new venture is.

CHAITRO Is a 5% Nitro Chai Porter, creamy and full bodied from the nitrogen assisted pour. The mouthfeel was very smooth, with roasty and chocolately notes from the malts and a generous floral and aromatic spice leading into a warm finish. The team brews this with their own Bundobust chai massala and fresh ginger.

PEELA is a 4% Pale Ale. Designed for easy drinking, Peela is a hazy pale which is brewed with Azacca and Ekuanot hops. The mouthfeel was soft and fluffy and the hops impart massive fruit aroma and loads of tropical fruit flavour, such as peach, mango and pineapple.

Finally, DHANIA PILSNER is a 4.8% Coriander Lager. Clean and crisp Czech-style Pilsner with a hit of
citrusy toasted coriander seeds. The malts give a doughy and grainy malt base which works perfectly with the hopping and use of coriander to impact floral acidity.

Photo by Amy Heycock

Photo by Ben Bentley

In terms of the future for the Bundobust Brewery, they won’t be resting on their laurels and simply brewing a base selection for their restaurants. There are already plans to collaborate with some well-established names on the UK scene, giving enthusiasts something to really look forward to. The brewery on Oxford Road will operate as a brewery tap and restaurant, perfectly located in a Grade II listed space, a stone’s throw from Oxford Road Station. Expect to see some big things coming out of the 10 Hectolitre (or in the region of 20,000 pints a month) capacity site; which will have former Uiltje Head Brewer, Dan Hocking, at the helm.

The brewery itself was in construction from November 2019 and the pandemic and successive lockdowns played their part in delaying launches and Bundo beers making it out into the wild for people to sample. However, Bundobust Brewery has stated they felt this has furnished them some additional time to perfect the beers and working on their new kit, meaning they think they have hit the ground running with the project.

Fingers crossed for some more amazing beer and ongoing marvellous food output from the team at Bundobust; the Bold Street site in Liverpool is the perfect place to go and check!

Cheers!

#toomuchspicy
------------------------------------------------------------------

Bundobust Liverpool is located at 17-19 Bold Street, Liverpool
Web: https://bundobust.com/locations/liverpool/
Tel: 0151 705 1688
Follow Bundobust Brewery on Twitter
Follow Bundobust Liverpool on Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

NO MORE NO SHOWS

6/8/2021

It’s nothing new. The hospitality industry has been dealing with the issue of no-shows on table bookings since time immemorial and it was harmful then, but its possibly even more damaging to an industry that has been peppered with bad luck for over a year.

A few of us from the Committee went out over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and visited not only some of our favourite pubs, but brewery taps, bars and restaurants, as we are gradually able to start socialising and supporting our favourite places with our custom once again. Rather strikingly, depressingly and concerning were the reports both verbally and on social media channels of repeated no-shows to places which can ill afford it.

Superficially it might seem a small issue, which would be rectified by a couple of walk-ins and a few customers just staying for that one extra drink. However, it’s a repeat problem and the thoughtlessness actually costs the sector millions and even billions of pounds a year through lost revenue. Attribute some of this deficit to our small, local businesses and you’re exacerbating an already disastrous situation for them. When someone books a table for six people at the moment, our local businesses are counting on that to boost the money coming into the business, which has potentially been haemorrhaging due to a lack of government support, shifting sands for trading on when and how they can open and the lack of confidence present in the general public not yet comfortable in entering public spaces during the pandemic. By not showing up, the table is reserved and more often than not, other potential customers are turned away due to a lack of availability. By not showing up, this is depriving the business of valuable and possibly business saving incomings.

Back of the cigarette packed time.

If a bar loses out on a table booking, which is worth £100 (lets say each person have 3-4 drinks at £20 each person on average for a party of 5 people) over 2-3 hours, then this happening in a night probably at a rate of 2-3 no shows means £200-300 of lost revenue. A week this can add up to £1,200 (opening Thurs-Sun), a month this will be nearly £5,000. That can build into an even more significant sum over a year. Around £60,000 based on these assumptions.
Industry estimates show that somewhere in the region of up to £16 billion was lost due to no shows over a year: https://sales.resdiary.com/no-shows-costing-uk-hospitality-industry-16-billion-year/. This is a startling figure and the cost to small businesses for a share of this hits very hard indeed. It’s not fair is it, when these businesses are desperate for this money to come in to help them pay rent, rates, cover wages and other overheads which are required?

So what can people do?

The simplest answer is to stick to your booking, make good on your promise to attend a venue and resist the temptation to abandon plans or intentions on a whim. If you can’t make the booking, then contact the venue as soon as possible via telephone or social media to let them know if plans need to alter or be cancelled; it’s not what they want to hear, but they’d rather be able to make alternative arrangements and need as much time as possible to do so. If you’re not completely sure what your plans for a day or night out will entail, then don’t book a venue in advance; chance the walk in or ring ahead shortly before you plan to visit instead.

We continually repeat this in our output, but we’re going to do so again; the small, local and independent business that make up the bedrock of Liverpool and Merseyside’s hospitality need our help. They need it at the best of times, give how tight things are for them; they need it more than ever given the context of the last year and ongoing uncertainty.

Honour your bookings.

LIVBEERCAST #1

4/3/2021

We did it!!!

We finally plucked up the courage to put together a bit of beer chat for you to watch and listen to in your spare time.

Download, or tune in and relax.

For the inaugural videocast/podcast, we have a bit of discussion between LBC Chair, Pedro and fellow Committee Members and Brewers Mike Corbett (Handyman Brewery), Jack Walker (Love Lane Brewery) and special guest, Ade Burke from Carnival Brewing.

We chew over pubs reopening on the 12th April (as things stand!), the state of the beer scene in Liverpool, how are venues are going to proceed with opening and how they’ve faced a bit of difficulty over the last few months in balancing output and preparations.

Find the videocast here on our YouTube Channel (or below).
Here's our new Podcast homepage: liverpoolbeercollective.podbean.com
Find the audio download here: click and save to listen later.

We hope you enjoy and hopefully we shall find the time to do some more of these interviews and discussions!

The LBC Committee.