We Are SIBA’s Brewer in the Community 2018

Brentwood Brewery is ‘surprised but delighted’ to have won the Society of Independent Brewers’ (SIBA) Brewers in the Community Award 2018. This national accolade recognises ‘the fantastic but often under-appreciated work British independent craft breweries do for charity, local people and for community causes’.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR BEING COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS

Brentwood Brewing Company’s MD Roland Kannor said: “It is an honour to receive this award. We’re proud to serve, help and play an active part in our community. In the dozen years we’ve been trading we always aim to help the local community where we can.

“Whilst it’s always a pleasure to be of assistance, we always end up having fun and enjoying ourselves at the same time.”

Judges were ‘bowled over’ by the brewery’s connection to the local community as well as the range of activities they undertake supporting local charities, elderly residents and local businesses.

“Despite the high standard of entries, it was Brentwood Brewery that stood out from the rest. Their passion for finding innovative ways to support so many causes from a local pre-school to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire was truly inspiring. Congratulations to everyone at the brewery!” said SIBA”s Tony Jerome.

SIBA representatives and The Mayor of Brentwood, Cllr Sheila Murphy, joined many brewery friends for the award presentation by Brentwood and Ongar MP Alex Burghart, appropriately, on Beer Day Britain (June 15). He said: “This is excellent news for Brentwood Brewing Company, excellent news for Brentwood and excellent news for beer. Under Brentwood Brewing Company, local ale goes from strength to strength.”

Some of the many and varied charitable fund raising activities undertaken by the brewery team have included running the Brighton Marathon in aid of The Fragile X Society, supporting an elephant conservation charity through Colchester Zoo and supporting a local primary school with a collaboration brew generating a donation to the PTA for every pint sold. (Chipping Ongar Primary School Association COPSA).

The brewery is supporting three main charities this year. They are: Special Needs and Parents (SNAP charity) based in Warley (they support families across Essex), The Fragile X Society based in Great Dunmow (supporting families in Essex, a national charity) and Little Doves Pre-School in Navestock.

“SIBA’s Brewers in the Community Award judges were amazed by the quality of entries. These examples illustrate the varied and important roles British independent craft breweries play. In many cases, brewers play just as integral a part in their communities as the local pub. Raising funds, donating prizes, offering space for events, creating employment or just opening a small brewery tap are just some of the ways craft breweries support their communities,” added Tony Jerome.

Roland Completed Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) UK Programme

Brentwood Brewing Company’s ambition and potential for further growth led to its participation in the prestigious Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) UK programme in 2017. The fully-funded programme helps to support growth-orientated small businesses and is designed by business education experts and run in partnership with leading UK universities and business schools.

Brentwood Beer is Gluten-Free

Roland Kannor said: “It was an extremely valuable experience because we had so many ideas about how to grow the business and while we have always worked with the community, it was an opportunity to plan how we could develop that relationship even further by using tools such as social media.

“It also gave me the confidence to make the decision to work towards becoming a gluten-free brewery which has led to export opportunities with Sweden.”

Brentwood Brewery is an award-winning micro brewery in Essex run by a family with a passion for making and drinking the finest craft beer. It is among just 2% of UK breweries to hold the quality accreditation Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) plus Beer certification. It is home to the Brentwood and Elephant School Brewing beer brands.

SIBA is a trade association representing more than 800 independent craft breweries.

**SIBA’s Brewers in the Community Report**

SIBA has compiled a new report, Brewers in the Community, which highlights new research illustrating how important independent breweries are to communities across Britain. www.siba.co.uk. Key findings:

82% of independent breweries have supported a charity in the last 12 months

84% of independent breweries said their relationship with their community was ‘important’ or ‘extremely important’ to their business

45% of the breweries donating money to good causes chose to support a local or village charity

1 in 4 breweries raised over £1,000

A third of independent breweries now have a Tap Room, which has helped to replace a closed village pub in many instances.