The first MA500 meeting of 2020 will take place at the London Hilton Tower Bridge with a stellar line-up of speakers including Hawkes Cider founder Simon Wright, giving an overview of the local scene before heading to the company’s cidery and taproom in the study tour later on.
Fellow operators speaking include David Burgess, co-founder of Fugitive Motel on how he is looking to modern the UK pub and bar scene for the next generation; as well as Red Mist Leisure managing director Mark Robson; Yummy Pubs boss Tim Foster; and Arc Inspirations CEO Martin Wolstencroft; will reveal their biggest mistakes and how they recovered from them.
Delegates will also hear insight on business rates, how to avoid a crisis and an overview on the rum category.
The study tour line-up includes:
Hawkes Cidery and Taproom
Standing out from the crowd in the ever-popular Bermondsey Beer Mile is the Hawkes Cidery and Taproom. While all those around are focused on beer, the team behind Hawkes are rapidly building a name for themselves with a focus on craft cider.
Featuring a barrel-ageing facility, and bagging and bottling on-site, this great venue offers visitors the opportunity to understand more about the cider production process, as well as getting to taste a range of great craft cider products.
We’ll be taking a tour of the production process, sampling some of the products on offer and tucking into some fresh, stone-baked pizzas.
Nine Lives
This awesome neighbourhood bar on Bermondsey Street is a hidden gem, tucked away in the Victoria basement of No.8 Holyrood Street.
The name actually refers to an ethos of salvation with unveiled treasures, nothing wasted, everything lovingly sourced and selected with intention.
Bacardi will be showcasing its rum, treating us to a few cocktails and outlining the backstory of some of its products.
Bermondsey Bar and Kitchen
This all-day and evening destination is set in a former underground car park in the heart of Bermondsey Street.
The venue has been stripped back to its original design features, exposing its raw materials, reclaimed furniture and cool lighting, which we will be sampling while Molson Coors will be showing us what is great about Blue Moon witbier.
The Dugout at Belushi’s Sports Bar
Borough’s epic venue offers a large selection of international bottled and draught beers, ciders, spirits, wine and cocktails including its very own Dugout lager – the Grand Slam.
The Dugout at Belushi’s Sports Bar was the winner at the 2019 Great British Pub Awards, taking home the award for Best for Sport where judges were impressed how the site had turned over every stone in the past year to cater for the capital’s multinational and multicultural sports fans.
Embracing the latest tech and brand partnerships – through branded Heineken, Jägermeister and Jack Daniel’s booths, boasting PlayStations and drink stations in the downstairs Dugout – the neon lit, memorabilia-clad venue offers an ultra-modern round-the-clock experience.
Mercato Metropolitano
London’s first sustainable community food market focuses on revitalising neighbourhoods and protecting the environment.
Mercato Metropolitano has incubated more than 48 food and drink companies, a delicatessen with sustainably sourced products from local farmers and artisans, a unique cinema experience and, a communal kitchen.
This is all alongside several circular economy concepts, including a Bavarian microbrewery, a hydroponics farm, a mushroom garden from spent coffee grounds and a vertical garden in a double decker bus, to name a few.
Launching in 2016, the venue attracts up to 60,000 people a week and aims to teach them they can support their local and rural communities at the same time as protecting the environment by focusing on what and how they eat.
