We waded through at least 100 entries, and at least half of these were from brewers. Most of you, obviously, never heard anything back — we had to whittle these entries down to a shortlist of three, meaning many wonderful and inspiring stories didn’t get past the first stage.
Please don’t be discouraged if you were one of these. It was great to see so many in there, great to be a ‘beer person’ in a room full of celebrity chefs, wine writers, restaurant critics and assorted foodie legends, and for beer to be represented so strongly. Your entries made a deep impression, and no-one in food and drink can now ignore the revival that’s happening in British brewing.
As well as brewers, we had a huge response from cider makers, then a whole variety of gins, whiskies, English wines, soft drinks, coffee, tea, fruit cordials — there was an astonishing range, which proves that beer takes its place within a much broader British drinks revolution.
The first thing we were looking for in these finalists was, obviously, products that tasted absolutely awesome, the kind of beverage that, when you taste it, makes you glad to be alive.
After that, we were looking for interesting stories that highlight the very best of what’s happening in British drinks. We also wanted to demonstrate the richness and variety in those drinks.
So after a lot of painful decision making and guilty hand-wringing and being forced to knock out some of my favourite brewers and cider makers — honestly, it was like Sophie’s Choice in there — we managed to get it down to a brewer, a cider maker and a whisky distiller.
My three favourite drinks.
And then Victoria and I had to spend a day visiting each of them.
Tough gig.
The whisky maker was Kilchoman, the first new whisky distiller to set up on the Isle of Islay, Scotland, for more than 125 years. It makes just 120,000 litres a year, but its product is so good that it is able to sell it as whisky at just three years old — and it’s winning plenty of admirers and prizes.
The cider maker was Once Upon A Tree in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Simon Day used to work in the wine industry, and brings that sensibility to cider, challenging anyone who sees this drink as simply a sweeter alternative to beer. Packaged in elegant 750ml bottles, it’s impossible to imagine necking pints of the stuff, even though it’s no stronger than other full-strength ciders. Scrumpy it definitely ain’t.
And the brewer was Kernel, based in Bermondsey, south-east London, and already much celebrated in the beer industry after fewer than three years in production. These wonderful porters, stouts and IPAs typify the new wave of craft brewers, seizing on the flavour potential of New World hops, while simultaneously paying tribute to the past, in some cases recreating vanished beers from legendary London breweries such as Truman’s.
Right now I have no idea who will win. All three were wonderful.
At the end of our visits Victoria and I realised that we’d chosen three very young businesses. This wasn’t intentional. It just happened that way.
We also realised that, in very different ways, each was a product of its location. It’s not just about local sourcing or ‘terroir’, they fit where they are and would be different businesses if they were anywhere else.
Kilchoman is all about Islay’s whisky heritage and the unique conditions that give Islay its character. Once Upon A Tree sits in a microclimate that’s perfect for growing cider apples, and the orchard is the landscape. And Kernel sits in south-east London, focusing on beer styles that were born in the capital, writing the next chapter in London’s extraordinary brewing history.
It was a shock then, each time we got back on a train, walked into a supermarket or a pub, and saw the same old brands everywhere we go, the same lowest-common denominator, bland, industrially produced stuff that is made and consumed without love without passion, without respect.
I know most pubs are tied by pubco contracts and restrictions on what you can source from where, so maybe this is a message for the head offices: if you actually care about the pub, if you have any vestige of pride or passion in what you do, if you ever allow any consideration to enter into decision making other than the margin you make on aggressively negotiated deals with suppliers,
get out there and embrace what’s happening across every drinks category. Surprise us with quality, variety and innovation. Help small British businesses grow, while at the same time allowing your pubs to express a true point of difference.
You never know, it might actually increase profits and bring more people into the pub.
The results of the Food and Farming Awards will be broadcast on Radio 4 on 30 November.