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Moorehouse's cask ale was voted the best in the international brewing 'Oscars'. Adam Withrington caught up with the man in charge.

There's a prestigious golf club in the North West that recently asked if it could stock a Moorhouse's beer in its clubhouse. If accepted it would be one of only three beers on the bar. Instead of leaping at the opportunity as you would expect, David Grant, general manager at Moorhouse's, said he wouldn't be happy doing it because he felt the club didn't have the throughputs to make a success of the beer during the autumn. In fact he felt that it would probably be de-listed by Christmas. David instead suggested that the bar manager should call him back at the start of March and take the beer then, when they would have a full spring and summer to establish it.

Instead of telling David to shove his throughputs, as many retailers might do, the bar manager was seriously impressed. "You're the first brewer to ever turn down business here," he said. "I'll call you on February 27 then."

Moorhouse's brewery doesn't seem to do things the usual way. After production of its award-winning Pride of Pendle failed to meet demand recently, David wrote to all his pubs and freehouse clients, apologising for the problems. But doing things with a slightly original touch doesn't seem to have done the Burnley-based brewer any harm at all.

"Two years ago we were in a loss situation, last year we just made a profit and this year we stand to make a substantial profit," says David. "Our turnover, volume-wise, is 35 per cent up on last year, with the same number of brands. Our customer base is growing on the back of our reputation and through winning the International Brewing Awards."

Ah yes, the International Brewing Awards, or the Brewing Industry International Awards, to give them their full title. The so-called "Oscars" for the brewing industry was an unqualified success for Moorhouse's this year. Pride of Pendle was awarded the Champion Beer award in the international cask conditioned ale competition and its Premium Bitter won a gold medal in the same category.

For David it was a dream come true. "It was just unbelievable," he says. "We knew the products were good enough but we were up against some really great beers. When we were announced as the overall champion it was just incredible and we didn't come down for a couple of days."

However, the success was tarnished somewhat by what the brewer saw as a lack of appreciation in some quarters for what he had achieved. "What was most disappointing was that after all our excitement at winning there wasn't any publicity to go with it. The coverage from the trade paper that was sponsoring the awards was nil and there wasn't a huge amount in any other trade titles. All we got was the stuff we put in the local press. For us it was like bringing the World Cup back to Burnley.

"Everybody in the industry values what we've done - they appreciate what it took to get those medals. But the average consumer and licensee doesn't have a clue about the International Brewing Awards, whereas they are all fully aware of the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF)."

However delighted the Moorhouse's staff were at winning the Brewing Industry award, and let us not forget that Moorhouse's Black Cat ale was named Champion Beer of Britain at the GBBF in 2000, winning awards aren't always a guarantee of future happiness.

"Winning awards like the Champion Beer of Britain at the GBBF can be a double-edged sword for a smaller brewer. It is a nightmare to cope with the demand generated and they can lose volume because everyone wants that brand for the next six months," says David.

Some would argue that you could just bite the bullet and refuse to increase production. But David feels this is unrealistic.

"Sure you could say that, but who do you say it to?" he asks. "Do you say it to the big boys who say they want three-brews worth and that they'll take it all now on central distribution? Or do you pacify your regular bread and butter customers and say don't worry, we will always supply you? It is a difficult call to make. If you want to grow your business in the future you may well have to knock on the door of one of these big boys again."

Quality is the buzzword at the moment and David and Moorhouse's take this issue extremely seriously. All Moorhouse's licensees have just been on a cellar management course with Scottish Courage and they've all been on a basic food hygiene course.

This last course may sound like a strange one, but David has his reasons. "From an environmental health point of view beer is classed as a food," he says. "What we manufacture goes into people's mouths - it's that important. I've refused to supply certain freetrade customers because of the condition of their cellars - a cellar should be as clean as a kitchen. Each of my freetrade salespeople check out the cellars in the pubs they visit. Most of our freetraders welcome the opportunity to show someone their cellar but there are always some who make excuses. Funnily enough they are always the people who send back beer saying it's gone off."

Moorhouse's staff do a lot of troubleshooting with pubs they supply. If they hear the quality of their beer isn't up to scratch they will visit the premises and if necessary take the beer out. "We would rather that happened than have the glass of beer returned to the bar by the customer," says David. "You always remember your last bad pint but you never remember the thousands of good pints you had before.

"Good cask ale offered in a pub is becoming an important point of difference for a community pub. There is no point in having it unless it's great quality."

Quality control​

Such devotion to quality is bearing fruit - Moorhouse's beer returns this year were less than 0.3 per cent.

How have the team managed to pull such success out of hat - particularly in an organisation that was losing money only two years ago? Rather than dazzle with tales of new brewing equipment and startling business acumen, David believes the simple truth is that success has been bred by not making any changes.

"We started brewing in 1978 and since then the process we use has changed very little. Everything is done manually, we don't skimp on costs of raw materials - they are the best money can buy. We've maintained our heritage. Since 1978 we've only had four head brewers and each one has passed their skills and knowledge onto the next one. Plus our attention to detail is incredible - we count out the number of hop pellets we put into a brew and we weigh everything meticulously. We make it as close as possible to being consistent every day of the week."

This year has been a good one for this small Burnley brewery. But if David's plans for the future succeed then things will continue on an upward curve for some time. His main aim is to increase sales to 500 barrels a week, which he feels is the limit for any craft brewery. "I don't believe you can be a craft brewer once you go over 500 barrels. To do any more would mean becoming automated, which isn't something we want to do."

Interestingly, he also wants to add a brewing chemist to his staff to improve the yeast culture at the brewery. "What we lack now is the skill to manage our own yeast culture. If the business grows we need to take good care of our yeast. It will be better for us and the quality of the brew in the future to manage our own yeast culture," he explains.

David estimates that by the end of the year £300,000 will have been spent on the brewery. A new brew plant and two new fermenters have been installed to keep up with demand.

You imagine that if Moorhouse's could produce that magic figure of 500 barrels a week while maintaining the quali