Written by Hannah Ford, 18/04/2020
Obviously, there is one topic currently dominating our lives, coronavirus. A lot of the news isn’t exactly cheery at the moment and being told to stay indoors on lovely spring days is a bit soul destroying (but necessary!). It’s affected the drinks industry drastically as a sunny bank holiday weekend would have been ideal beer garden weather, but it seems that the industry is doing its fair share to help with the fight. I (Hannah) have been having a look at what everyone’s been up to with hope of spreading some positivity...
Renishaw Hall
Although the gardens and Hall are closed, Kieron has still been tending to the vineyard daily. He often hosts volunteer events where by you can go and help prune or pick the grapes at harvest but these have unfortunately been cancelled for the time being. However, he isn’t working the vineyard alone, he’s there with his wife and three children who are very much enjoying the freedom to run about. He has an adorable helper by the name of Nelson, the family dog who is also enjoying running through the vines. Kieron’s wine consultancy business he offers to other winemakers has slowed somewhat but he is using lockdown as a time, like many of us, to do the jobs that he usually doesn’t get time for. This includes tending the vines, tidying up some areas and ensuring the vineyard is running properly.
In terms of how you can help, he has his online shop with his range of wines, tours and vouchers. Obviously, tours aren’t running at the moment but they are still available to book. You can sponsor a vine! For £30 you receive a bottle of their still wine, a vineyard tour and 10% off your next purchase. Sponsorship lasts for a year and is a great way of helping maintain the vineyard. I had the opportunity to visit the vineyard last Saturday to deliver some stock as, sometimes, a winemaker needs some other bits. Hopefully, Kieron’s volunteer events will go ahead later in the year as it is a lovely, large environment, ideal for socially distancing.
Kieron is posting lots of great videos on his Instagram with updates every couple of days, its well worth a follow @englishwineproject.
Abbeydale Brewery
Abbeydale beers are a staple in the beer fridge and with them being a Sheffield staple for nearly 25 years, I was keen to see how they have adapted to things. They are working hard to practice social distancing at the brewery with people working from home where possible but it seems that things are running smoothly. New cans have been recently released, mini kegs of Moonshine making an appearance and plenty of orders being fulfilled. I have seen their car drop off a couple of times in Kelham Island with a little sign on top too! Brewery owners Pat and Sue have also taken to a spot of gardening during lockdown and are spending their spare time tending to seedlings.
Orders can be placed online through their website and they are offering both local and nationwide delivery. Local customers get free delivery when they spend over £25. They have also started a fabulous incentive as a means of looking after their pub customers. As you can imagine, breweries have taken a hit from pub and bar closures with no orders of their kegs and, just like the rest of us, they are missing the pub. However, Abbeydale Brewery are allowing customers that spend £40 or more to nominate their favourite pub they’d usually drink Abbeydale beers at to receive £10 credit for their next order! The idea is to help support the pubs and bars struggling through this period by making things a little easier for when they reopen. It’s a great way to not only support a local business but also your favourite boozer! You can find out more on their Instagram @abbeydalebeers.
The Brew Foundation, a father and son team of Robert and James, are another Sheffield staple with Robert being Cheshire based and James here in Sheffield. Along with the brewery, they also have two charming micro pubs, The Ale Club, on Ecclesall Road and one in Fulwood. The crisis has meant double the turmoil- they’ve had to deal with a drop in wholesale customers and the closure of two sites. However, things aren’t as gloomy as they seem!
James told me they are using their Fulwood site as a distribution hub and running down stocks from both sites. You can now buy both cask and keg beer in either 9 or 18 pint bag in boxes for those needing a draft beer fix during lockdown. They are also selling off other stock from wines through to tonics and you can get an up to date stock list by dropping an email to aleclub@gmail.com. The brewery has an online shop up and running where you can buy their whole range of beers by the case. They are also still supplying trade customers where possible which are ‘mainly bottle shops, farm shops and takeaway food outlets’. When lockdown was announced, they had just brewed a brand new beer for cask. There was a really worry that 2000 litres of the new beer, C.I.A made from 3 American hops, would have to go waste but, thankfully, their bottler was willing to take the cask and bottle it instead! We’re happy to hear that none of it went to waste and we’re looking forward to the Ale Club reopening! @brewfoundation @aleclubpub
@aleclubful
So, what else is happening in the industry?
A lot of distilleries have been looking at switching their production to making hand sanitiser. Hand sanitiser needs a high alcohol percentage in order to be effective and distilleries are usually in plentiful supply of a 95% (190 proof) neutral spirit which they distill from. Along with a couple of other ingredients, distilleries are successfully making and distributing much needed stock to those in need. Some are even adding some of their botanicals to make it a little more pleasant!
As you can imagine, the demand is high but a lot has been sent out to those on the front line with the public being able to purchase a smaller quantity through their websites. The support from the public is helping to fund the vital production with some doing promos where by you’ll get a bottle with an online order.
I contacted four local (ish) distilleries to see what their processes were. Karl and Lindsey from Forest Gin in Macclesfield told me ‘we are indeed making a hand sanitiser. All to WHO standards. Most of it is going to local care homes, and we’ve a large quantity heading to a charity which looks after disadvantaged young people. Anything left over is sold at cost price via our website.’ They have been using some of their neutral spirit but have also been recycling waste from local breweries. They ‘distilled a LOAD of spent beer that Robinsons Brewery and Wincle brewery would have otherwise tipped down the drains when the pubs closed’ which is a brilliant way of reducing waste! Masons Gin in Bedale are no stranger to adversity having faced a huge fire that took hold of their old distillery. Thankfully, no one was hurt and they rose from the ashes with a brand new distillery, visitors centre and shop that opened earlier this year, all of which is now closed again. However, they're facing this head on and working to help where possible. Masons have also been using some of their neutral spirit stocks to make hand sanitiser also to WHO standards with their first batch being sent to the NHS. Whitby Gin have also been busy making WHO standard hand sanitiser with a fair share going to a range of organisations such as The Nightingale Hospital, local fire services, care homes, postal services and hospitals. Luke also told me that they are ‘providing it to people across the UK but mainly in our local area’. They are still making gin and have confirmed that they ‘have a new still on its way soon from Germany’- they already have a name in mind for it too! Finally, Cooper King Distillery in York, who crowd funded their distillery and work to green principles, have been making sanitiser from their neutral spirit stocks and have been sending out to local hospitals, care homes and other front line areas with the likes of Yorkshire Ambulance Service benefitting from it. They have also been giving out little minis of their gin to frontline NHS workers so they can enjoy a post shift g&t! All of the above have been distributing to those in need free of charge and have been able to do so through customers purchasing stock through their websites.
It’s brilliant to hear of how people are adapting and all the great work they are doing to help. There are many out there who are supporting the effort in all sorts of way, thank you to you all and keep up the good work!
Here is a list of the current distilleries we stock that are making hand sanitiser.
There are distilleries across the globe also helping to towards their own country efforts too!
Not everyone has converted to making hand sanitiser but it doesn’t mean that they aren’t helping in other ways. Many are looking at ways to support a range of charities through sales or are simply providing great online content. Here’s just a few examples:
So, it’s clear the drinks industry is rallying together and learning to adapt. Hopefully, this has the desired effect of spreading some positive news and perhaps give you some insightful content from our end. I’ve included links to the mentioned brands Instagram accounts which proving a great space for drinks related content at the moment. I’d encourage you have a look at what your favourite brands are up to.
I’d like to say thank you to all of the people I contacted and to our wonderful suppliers for their continued hard work. Together, we’ll get through this. Although we can’t go to the pub and wait for it to all blow over, we can at least keep enjoying our favourite drinks at home.
Stay safe, stay home.
StarmoreBoss x