The Big Interview: Robin Couling, Bath Ales

At long last Bath Ales is brewing ales in Bath. Back in 1995 that was the original plan, of course. But the deal fell through and Roger Jones and Richard Dempster settled on a site in Warmley, near Bristol.

Now a two-and-a-half barrel showpiece plant gleams in the window of Graze Bar & Chophouse on the top floor of the new development at Bath Spa train station.

The man responsible for finally fulfilling Jones and Dempster’s ambition is Robin Couling. As retail director, over the past few years he’s taken the Bath Ales pub estate, now 10-strong, to a new level.

The creations of Graze, which also has sites in Bristol and Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and Beerd — Bristol’s craft beer and pizza venture — have caught the eye, and Graze Bath, which opened at the end of last year, is his most ambitious scheme yet.

“It’s the biggest project we’ve ever done, a very expensive fit-out, and I did wonder whether it was going to work,” he admits, staying cagey about the price-tag. “It’s paying dividends, though. Because it was a shell it allowed us to spec to our own requirements.”

Different disciplines​

An island bar is surrounded by tables that spill out on to a balcony on the city side and a decked beer garden beside the railway line — a trainspotters’ paradise. The microbrewery and a large open kitchen kitted out with state-of-the-art equipment add theatre.

Couling is building on a sound base. Small brewers aren’t always successful pub operators, but Bath Ales has long been an exception.

“Being able to make good beer doesn’t necessarily mean you can run good pubs. They are two very different disciplines,” says Couling. “But Roger [Jones], our managing director, is very customer-centric. He understands what the market wants and that’s at the heart of what we do — for both the beer and the pubs.

“We’ve always had a premium pub offer with customer service at the centre of things, and it’s been an organic growth. The idea has been to build a critical mass with the beer and develop other income streams, growing the pub estate alongside.”

Five years ago, though, the brewers needed help to take the pubs forward. Couling had been their wine supplier, but with a rich experience in hospitality.

He was schooled by one of the first celebrity chefs, Joyce Molyneux, at her Carved Angel restaurant in Dartmouth, Devon, and had gone on to run his own freehouse, the Falcon Inn at Poulton, Gloucestershire, with a friend from catering college, Jeremy Lockley.

“It was a gastropub, but we maintained it as a proper pub for villagers, too. It was a vibrant place with a warm atmosphere and established a good reputation. We were named Best Newcomer in The Good Food Guide, and had listings in all the credible guides.

“I enjoyed running the pub but it wasn’t a good enough living for two people. I was keen to develop a group but Jeremy had different ambitions, so I sold him my share of the business and went to work for Novum Wines, which had just been set up by old colleagues from Oddbins.”

Growing pains​

Bath Ales was one of his customers and, after a career break that took him travelling, Couling saw the opportunity to exercise his hospitality expertise with the brewer.

His brief was to exploit the growth in food, and the figures suggest he’s achieved that, taking the estate-wide split from 80:20 in favour of wet sales to 60:40.

Within a year he had launched Graze, and within 18 months to the end of 2012 he opened four more pubs, to take the group into double figures. Most are free-of-tie leaseholds with a variety of landlords, “a quick way of growing a business when the market isn’t awash with finance”, he says.

“But that doesn’t happen without growing pains. We’re taking a breather in 2013, looking at cost controls, staff skilling and getting into a position for future expansion.

“We’re exploring a number of funding options, but we want to avoid setting any targets, because it can mean that you take on the wrong sites.”

Couling has four styles of operation in mind. As well as the Graze and Beerd formats, he wants to add to traditional urban pubs like Bath’s Salamander and suburban community pubs that follow the model of the Wellington in Bristol.

“We will look at sites with accommodation, too,” he says. “The Wellington has eight letting rooms that we’re refitting to boutique standard. And we have a few other concepts in mind. We’re not short of ideas.

“We would consider small groups,” he adds. “And we’re prepared to acquire other brewers to improve economies of scale. We’ll view every opportunity on its own merits.

“Since opening Graze Bath we’ve been getting offers of sites left, right and centre. I think it was viewed as a statement of intent on our part.”

Competitive edge​

Couling believes that the pub estate gives Bath Ales a crucial advantage in an increasingly competitive beer market.

“There are a huge amount of new breweries opening — there’s one cask-ale brewery for every 50 pubs in the UK now. You have to wonder whether they’ll all survive. But we’ve got the expertise to do pubs well now, while others are breweries first.

“We’ll also look at how we grow beer volumes, using reciprocal arrangements with other breweries and getting our beers into the off-trade. Our pubs are a significant customer, but the brewery could survive without them.

“We’ve been very careful to make sure each part of the business stands on its own feet. Then vertical integration can give us a competitive edge.

“The real challenge is people,” he goes on. “It’s relatively easy to make a premises look good, but without the right people it’s nothing, and we work hard at that. We’re still poorly skilled as a sector. Hospitality was always seen as a second-class profession. But we’re getting better all the time and have come a long way in the past few years.

“We are in a relentless pursuit of good people, and expansion helped us. It’s raised our profile and we’ve become more attractive to work for. People want to be part of Bath Ales.”

Couling feels positive about the future, and believes Bath Ales is well-placed to ride the market trends.

“People are drinking less but making better choices. There’s been a huge shift in the past 10 years — look at the diversification in beers. This allows us to generate more value and be more creative. We want to challenge ourselves with craft beers, at Beerd and now at Graze Bath.”

When it comes to food, he believes pubs have grown more confident. Over-ambitious, sprawling menus are being replaced by “doing something really simple, really well”.

“That’s good for the consumer and the operator, too, as it requires a lower skill set.

“I feel very positive,” he concludes. “The industry is going through a positive recovery period that’s sharpened everybody up. It’s been a healthy process. Bath Ales has been in strong growth for a few years, and it’s done it by staying true to its values."

Key dates​
1989​
Aged 16, Robin Couling starts working as a waiter at the Angel Hotel in his home town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
1995​
Bath Ales is established by former Smiles brewers Roger Jones and Richard Dempster
1996​
Couling works under celebrity chef Joyce Molyneux at the Carved Angel in Dartmouth. Bath Ales buys its first pub — the Hare on the Hill in Kingsdown, Bristol
1997​
Works in Oddbins, Clapham, south-west London, rising
to manager
1999​
Joins on-trade supply team
2002​
Oddbins is sold. Couling is made redundant and, with Jeremy Lockley, buys the Falcon Inn in Poulton, Gloucestershire
2005​
Sells his share in the business and returns to the wine trade with Novum
2008​
Bath Ales appoints Couling as retail director for its managed pubs
2009​
Launches first Graze Bar & Chophouse in Bristol
2011​
Opens Beerd, a craft beer and pizza bar, and the traditional Grapes pub in Oxford
2012​
Grazes are added in Cirencester and Bath