Local connection

Midlands drinkers prefer ales from their home turf — good news for breweries focusing on provenance

Whether there's something in the water or it's just local pride, drinkers in the Midlands are fiercely loyal to their regional beers. Campaign groups have been extolling the virtues of local ales for years, but Nottinghamshire-based microbrewery Springhead recently decided to take things one step further and test Midlands drinkers.

It conducted a taste test and gave out samples of two beers, telling passers-by that one was a leading brand and the other was locally brewed. More than twice as many people preferred the "locally brewed" beer — though both beers were exactly the same, Springhead's Roaring Meg.

Springhead marketing manager Steve Reynolds says: "Provenance is a key issue for 2008, which is great news for smaller producers. Supermarkets are responding to the trend by stocking lesser-known British brands." And with the region's brewing heritage, it's no surprise that many of those brands come from the Midlands.

Enterprise Inns managing director Gerry Carroll says: "A number of our retailers make a big play of the fact that they source their food locally and serve local ales."

In addition, Nottingham is at the forefront of a national campaign to get more drinkers choosing locally brewed ale. The LocAle initiative encourages pubs to serve at least one real ale brewed within 20 miles, and the idea is now being rolled out nationally, with the backing of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra). In fact a local Nottingham issue prompted the campaign in the first place.

When the Hardys & Hansons brewery, in Kimberley, near Nottingham, was taken over by Greene King in 2006, Camra campaigned to keep the brewery open. It did not succeed, but the germ of an idea was born. Camra suggested it would be better for the environment if people drank local beers, rather than those that have been transported across the country, and of course this would help local brewers stay in business.

Solid support

Local brewers and pubcos are also actively supporting their local communities. Everards is proud of its local heritage and encourages its tenants to buy from local farmers and suppliers. It also sponsors Leicester Tigers and the county's cricket team.

Similarly, Marston's still has close ties with county cricket sides Derbyshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Marston's Beer Company marketing director Peter Jackson says: "Although we are very proud of our connection with the England cricket team, the heart of our cricket sponsorship goes all the way back to these three original trading counties. All three remain close to us."

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) also has strong ties with the local area and sponsors the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. It worked with a Midlands-based company to develop the curry menu for its Ember Inns brand. But there are challenges in the region, which have to be overcome. Parts of the Midlands suffered badly from the flooding of summer 2007.

One Punch Taverns pub, the Wharf, in Worcestershire, was badly affected. Last July's heavy rains left the pub under four feet of water. It was closed for a major refurbishment, only to be flooded again in February. However, licensee Billy Merrit and his team, with the support of Punch, have worked hard to turn things around — and with a strong food offer in place, trade is picking up well.

Midlands pubs also appear to have coped well with the smoking ban. M&B director of communications Kathryn Holland says: "We have some fantastic sites in key locations and are repositioning the estate towards food." Converting some of its pubs in the Birmingham area to non-smoking ahead of the ban has proven successful, Holland adds.

Licensees everywhere are feeling the pinch. The Bedford-based Charles Wells Pub Company has put together a number of initiatives to help its licensees, including Profit on a Plate, designed to promote food in pubs by giving licensees recipes, information on ingredients, preparation methods, health & safety guidelines and a profit and margin calculator.

Now it has launched Profit in a Glass, providing information on wines and support to help pubs maximise potential profits from wine. This initiative will be expanded to include beer and soft drinks.

Last year Marston's introduced an innovative tenancy agreement based on pub turnover, starting with some of its pubs in the Midlands. Operations director Andrew Andrea says: "It's about offering operators a sense of freedom and not having to look towards the next rent review."

Most Midlands brewers and pub operators agree that challenges facing their businesses are no different from those experienced by companies across the UK — and they are doing all they can to continue their success.