29TH MARCH 2011
Jennifer Ellison and the 'Axe The Beer Tax' campaign.
Beer tax rise is ‘kick in the teeth’
Press release from Wigan brewery and pub group, All Gates:
Wigan’s leading brewery is frustrated and angry at the duty slapped on a pint of beer and how it was announced in last Wednesday's Budget.
All Gates, recent winner of the SIBA Champion Strong Ale of Britain 2011 title has condemned the Government's spurious statement on beer duty which hikes the price of beer by 10p a pint to the loyal British drinker.
The initial statement by George Osborne stating that there "will be no additional increase to alcohol duty rate", was somewhat misleading, when in fact the "no additional" meant he would not be cancelling the beer duty escalator he inherited from Labour, resulting in a 7.2 per cent increase in beer duty plus VAT on the price of a pint.
David Mayhall co-owner of All Gates Brewery commented “All Gates own a network of responsible well run public houses which are often at the heart of their communities and a place where alcohol is served in a controlled environmental. And the brewery is baffled as to why the Government is squeezing British pubs – as don't they form part of this so-called "Big Society".
"This was supposed to be a budget for growth, which supports British manufacturing, it does none of this and creates frustration and breeds bitterness" and he added "This budget statement is a real kick in the teeth for the British Brewing industry, one of the few British success stories of recent years. Local brewers are just the kind of business this government says it wants to see prosper: they create jobs for local people and contribute to the local and wider British economy by using home-grown ingredients. Yet the current beer taxation regime is killing off our main route to market – the British pub and it is made worse by the misleading manner in which it was announced."
And quotes former Salford MP and naturalised Britain, Hilaire Belloc, from his preface to The Four Men (1911): “When you have lost your inns, drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England.”
All Gates is a member of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), which represents around 450 craft brewers across Britain. SIBA, and its members, have campaigned vigorously against the Government’s ‘duty escalator’, which increases beer duty by 2% above inflation every year.
-ends-
For more information: CONTACT David Mayhall at All Gates Brewery (Phone 01942 234976)
19TH MARCH 2011
Adrian Tierney-Jones who presented the event.
‘1001 Beers and all that...’ sponsored by All Gates Brewery
On 10th March Adrian Tierney-Jones came to the Turnpike Centre, Leigh, to talk about beer and different beer styles, specifically Mild’s, High Alpha hopped beers and Stouts, with the audience sampling these different style of beers in the form of All Gates’, All Black, Summit and Mad Monk.
Freelance journalist and author of Pubs for Families and The Big Book of Beer and also General Editor for 1001 Beers You Must Try before You Die, Adrian is well known to beer lovers everywhere. He was the silver award winner in the British Guild of Beer Writer's Award for National Journalism in 2006 and was awarded the Guild's Budweiser Budvar John White Travel Bursary in 2007.
This was the first event of its kind in the Wigan Borough and will hopefully be the first of many. Adrian gave a lively and amusing talk which was well received by the audience. There was a fun pub quiz and raffle of some of Adrian’s books and a really enjoyable night was had by all.
Thanks go to Carole Ogden of Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust, who worked hard to bring the event to Wigan and in conjunction with whom All Gates Brewery were pleased to bring Adrian to Leigh as part of the Wigan Food & Drink Festival.
12TH MARCH 2011
Ian Thorpe, (Director) All Gates, receiving award.
SIBA NATIONAL BEER COMPETITION 2011
All Gates’ Mad Monk, Champion Strong Ale of Britain!
All Gates Brewery is celebrating its first major National award having seen Mad Monk beat off the competition to be named the Champion Strong Ale of Britain at the prestigious Society of Independent Brewers annual brewing conference held on 4th March 2011 in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Each of the eight regions in the UK put its gold medal beers in each category through to the Champion of Champions Festival held on 10th February 2011 at The Canal House, Nottingham, where the judging took place for the national awards.
"Just to be on the same list as the breweries we were up against was a real honour" said brewery owner, Ian Thorpe, "but to win the gold medal shows that five years of really hard work is starting to pay off."
10TH MARCH 2011
Tim O’Rourke is the man behind this initiative to take Imperial Russian Stouts back to St. Petersburg in Russia.
MAD MONK; SAILING TO RUSSIA
I wrote about this a few weeks ago on my blog; Mad Monk; sailing to Russia with Ale for Sail 2011, and I guess it’s fairly old news now, but having just filled out the application form and having had confirmation of a berth available, I’m rather excited.
Brilliant Beer’s Tim O’Rourke is the man behind this initiative to take Imperial Russian Stouts back to St. Petersburg in Russia.
The Ale4Sail Great Baltic Adventure is an ambitious attempt not only to recreate the sea journey made by beers from England to Russia in the 18th century, but also to promote British cask beers in festivals in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki.
The plan is to take 12 Imperial Russian Stouts, each produced by a different brewer, all the way to St. Petersburg, where they will be judged in a beer festival on 18th June to find which stout is fit for the Court of Catherine the Great.
Tim has hired Thermopylae – a 60’ clipper – (pictured) and convinced twelve brewers to create Imperial Russian Stouts that will be loaded on board after a special beer festival in London, running from 12th to 15th May. Thermopylae will then set sail across the North and Baltic Seas with the intention of arriving in St Petersburg on 15th June.
The journey will be in five legs and volunteer crew are still needed. It’s a non-profit making venture and hiring a round-the-world clipper plus professional skipper and watch captains doesn’t come cheap, so it costs £700 per person per week. But it’s worth it to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The beers making the trip come from the following breweries:
- 1. Harvey’s
- 2. Coors Museum Brewery/William Worthington Brewery
- 3. Wadworth’s
- 4. Shepherd Neame
- 5. St Austell
- 6. Elgood’s
- 7. Thornbridge
- 8. Meantime
- 9. Bartram Brewery
- 10. Black Sheep
- 11. Fullers
- 12. All Gates
I wish I could go on more than the one leg, but business commitments etc doesn’t allow. I’m provisionally booked on the leg from Stockholm to Helsinki, which departs 5th June arriving in Helsinki 11th June. Tim describes this as a slightly shorter passage through a whole series of islands which will make for some interesting stopovers, and “this leg is particularly suitable for people who prefer a gentle sailing and welcome the opportunity of a hot shower every day.” That would be me.
Go to www.thegreatbalticadventure.com if you’re interested in joining; there are still spaces available; particularly I believe on the first two legs, from London to Cuxhaven, through the North Sea and from Cuxhaven to Copenhagen via the Kiel Canal. I wonder why!
I’ll keep all posted re details of the trip and beer festivals here and on my blog.
David Mayhall
4TH MARCH 2011
Help save British beer! A message from SIBA brewers!
HELP SAVE BRITISH BEER! A MESSAGE FROM SIBA BREWERS!
Please just take 5 minutes of your time to view this important message from this country`s proud brewers and then forward it on to your local M.P. and ask them if they feel the same way as we doabout our industry.
None of us wants another beer-duty increase.
