Food & Drink

Chief champion: Molson Coors’ Phil Whitehead is on the board at the British Beer & Pub Association

Molson Coors MD is new BBPA chairman

By Alice Leader

The managing director of Molson Coors Western Europe has been appointed as chairman of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), following a vote at the trade association’s general meeting.

Previous experience: Gareth Bath counts BrewDog and Chapel Down as former workplaces

Ex-BrewDog and Chapel Down boss joins Distill

By Nikkie Thatcher

Ex-BrewDog and Chapel Down managing director Gareth Bath has been appointed as the boss of Distill Ventures – a business that gives entrepreneurial companies a foot up in the hospitality world.

On the up: 2019 saw Five Points' cask beer sales soar

Five Points doubles cask sales

By Nikkie Thatcher

London brewer The Five Points Brewing Company has reported a year of growth in 2019, more than doubling its cask beer sales.

Sugar fears: health experts call for ‘ready to drink’ alcoholic beverages to be reduced in sugar and calories

RTD beverages present ‘double burden to health’

By Alice Leader

Popular sugary alcoholic drinks are a ‘double burden’ on consumers’ health because of their alcohol and sugar content, coupled with the huge cash onus placed on the NHS, according to new research.

Category growth: CGA research suggests a third of consumers tried a low or no-alcohol product in the last six months of 2019

What do pub-goers want to see on drinks menus in 2020?

By Emily Hawkins

Whether it is introducing a new range, cutting down on variants that don’t sell or lining up the latest in no and low-alcohol options, it’s time to review your drinks list and target your customer base better this year.

Very vegan: new research unveils the Veganuary boom with 16% of positive reviews mentioning the word ‘delicious’

Reviews quoting ‘vegan’ rise 104% in a year

By Alice Leader

New insight has revealed the public’s keenness to participate in Veganuary as the percentage of reviews citing the word ‘vegan’ rose by 104% between January 2019 and January 2020.

Proper Job: 'I absolutely have been conscious of the fact I’ve been born with a silver spoon in my mouth – but that has made me work twice as hard throughout my career because I’ve been so chippy about it'

Exit interview

St Austell to pass 200-pub mark in 'next few years'

By Stuart Stone

Having joined the company as an apprentice, St Austell Brewery’s CEO James Staughton officially bows out on 31 January after an impressive four decades at its helm. Here he shares a slice of his Cornish past.

Career change: 'there is simply nothing better than the buzz of a busy pub,' according to Brendan Padfield of the Unruly Pig in Woodbridge, Suffolk

Guv'nor

Teaching a pig some new tricks

By Brendan Padfield

After spending 33 years as a solicitor, Brendan Padfield – now owner of the Unruly Pig in Woodbridge, Suffolk - had a dramatic career change and became a publican.

Try something new: the nationwide campaign has encouraged people to support their local pubs this month

How have pubs been encouraging Tryanuary?

By Emily Hawkins

A nationwide campaign has encouraged people to make a trip to their local pub during ‘Tryanuary’ to try a new drink, even if they are not drinking alcohol.

On-trade targeted: Ryan Fritsch is ‘hugely excited’ to take on his new role at Budweiser Brewing Group

Budweiser takes on new on-trade sales director

By Alice Leader

Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I, a part of AB InBev, has announced Ryan Fritsch as its new on-trade sales director, who will be pushing on-trade sales across Budweiser Brewing Group’s entire portfolio.

To dare is to brew: One Of Our Own IPA will make its first appearance when Tottenham host Liverpool on 11 January

Beavertown creates official beer of Tottenham Hotspur

By Stuart Stone

North London-based brewer Beavertown has added new brew ‘One Of Our Own’ – the official beer of Premier League football giants Spurs – to its line-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Launch roulette: Rebel Pi founder and former contestant on The Apprentice Jackie Fast proved the best at pitching ideas at Drink Tank and has been busy producing ice wine

Drink Tank

Launch Roulette: Grape news on ice

By Emily Hawkins

Rebel Pi founder and former contestant on The Apprentice Jackie Fast proved that producing ice wine was a cool idea by winning the honour of ‘best pitch’ at the inaugural Drink Tank

Sales shifts: Champagne sales have dipped while Prosecco and English sparkling wine have enjoyed growth

English sparkling wine sales fizz

By Emily Hawkins

Champagne sales in pubs have dropped in the past year with consumers looking to other varieties of sparkling wines instead.

Read the label: ‘it was suggested recently that some alcohol-free beer has up to 2,000% more sugar than some of its full-strength compatriots,’ according to Big Drop Brewing’s Rob Fink.

My Shout

How healthy is low-and-no alcohol beer?

By Rob Fink

For the growing industry of alcohol-free craft beer there is, unfortunately, a great deal of misunderstanding about what constitutes alcohol free beer and exactly how healthy it is, according to Rob Fink, founder and CEO, Big Drop Brewing.

Food trends: did the past year's food trends get a thumbs up or thumbs down?

Hit or miss: looking back at 2019’s food trends

By Stuart Stone

From activated charcoal croissants and pulled jackfruit to ‘dirty’ vegan food and anything ‘deconstructed’ – which of the food trends tipped to take 2019 by storm have caught on in pubs?

Growing trends: 'the big drink trends developing in 2019 centre around sustainable cocktails, craft fruit beers, no-and-low alcohol spirits and wine in cans,' according to Adrian Taylor, head of on-trade for Roust

Which drinks trends have caught on in 2019?

By Nikkie Thatcher

Whether your customers still love their beer or perhaps a spirit, while others may not indulge in alcohol at all, there have been plenty of trends to take advantage of this year.

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