Beer
‘I always believed in the great British pub’: Titanic Brewery’s Keith Bott to be awarded MBE
Bott will receive the award for his work at the Stoke-on-Trent-based brewery over the years and his services to the local economy in Staffordshire.
He said: “Receiving such a prestigious award is a huge honour. It reflects the vast amount of hard work that the teams at both Titanic Brewery and SIBA have contributed, many thanks to them all for their continued help and support.”
He added: “To be honoured by the Queen for serving the brewery industry makes me feel incredibly lucky.”
A key figure
Bott was a key figure in the 2002 campaign to secure the Small Breweries Relief, which saw smaller breweries benefit from excise duty relief to allow them to compete with bigger competitors.
As a result, the number of British brewers has grown from 300 to 1,700 since 2002.
He has also advised the Parliamentary Beer Group and took part in the campaign to scrap the beer tax escalator in 2013, which helped ‘revive’ the British brewing industry.
Bott was SIBA chairman twice — between 2003 and 2007, as well as 2010 to 2014.
‘Hard work and commitment’
SIBA managing director Mike Benner said: “I am delighted that Keith has received this recognition for his hard work and commitment to the independent British beer industry.
“He has been a determined and committed campaigner and a leading advocate for independent brewers and, as chairman and president of SIBA, he led the organisation through a sustained period of success and growth.”
Bott added: “I have loved every minute of my career in brewing and often tell people I have the best job in the world. I get up every morning looking forward to going to work.
“It has been a fantastic journey and I feel privileged to have been able to represent the industry through my work with SIBA and many other organisations.”
Bott started as an apprentice brewer then bought the brewery with his brother, David Bott, in 1988.
