Best Brewing Pub Company winner: Brewhouse & Kitchen

Founders Kris Gumbrell and Simon Bunn, along with group head brewer Pete Hughes, have found new ways of doing things to make this work and combine creativity with consistency, pioneering a brewing apprenticeship that has so far provided the industry with 70 new brewers.

Alongside their day job, producing beers in a balanced variety of styles, giving them their own twist under their own brand, a Brewhouse & Kitchen brewer also delivers to pub-goers the UK’s most extensive programme of beer experiences from tastings to brew days.

Consumer engagement​

There’s strong customer engagement across the bar, too, and the group is serious about deepening its roots in local communities. Its pubs, with their all-day food offer, comfortable environment and welcoming atmosphere, attract a broad mix of regulars, giving it more opportunities to introduce more people to the diversity of modern brewing.

Alongside the home-brewed beers on cask and keg, which always include a seasonal cask special, variation is provided by guests on the taps.

Beer quality is maintained by frequent checks and audits, part of a company culture that keeps the business under constant review, and the group’s success at that is reflected in a growing string of awards.

Company expansion​

The next Brewhouse & Kitchen opens its doors this spring in Chelmsford, and there are plans to expand the company’s accommodation at its largest pubs.

Thanks to a determined focus on training its people and a belief in the power of beer, the 2023 Best Brewing Pub Company has risen to the challenge of running a business model that throws up some novel demands. The result is a business that’s giving something back to the whole industry, in skills and consumer education.