O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:07 pm  

Link Don't know if anyone saw this, but the guys running the new Bradford Brewery pub started a bit of a Twitter war with that twit Galloway by asking him if he was still "a thing" given that all the other parties up for the Bradford West seat had sent in people to press the flesh with a new and vibrant business in the area. Galloway responded by first making threats of retribution for after the election and then blocking them. BTW, if you've not been up and around the new bars on North Parade, I would recommend them as they're very nice, welcoming and have good beer and pies

Link Don't know if anyone saw this, but the guys running the new Bradford Brewery pub started a bit of a Twitter war with that twit Galloway by asking him if he was still "a thing" given that all the other parties up for the Bradford West seat had sent in people to press the flesh with a new and vibrant business in the area. Galloway responded by first making threats of retribution for after the election and then blocking them. BTW, if you've not been up and around the new bars on North Parade, I would recommend them as they're very nice, welcoming and have good beer and pies

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:36 pm  

This: http://tinyurl.com/k4gvsrg came from it, so it can't be all bad.

This: http://tinyurl.com/k4gvsrg came from it, so it can't be all bad.

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 7:20 am  

Being blocked by Galloway is no bad thing. Well played Bradford Brewery. And yes, at least 4 good real ale places now available in that part of Bradford

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:32 am  

Don't like micro breweries, what they stand for and the fact they put people's livelihoods at risk. Small independents like copper dragon, York
, Timothy Taylor's etc employ people and produce a quality product consistently. Micros produce a load of rubbish consistently and are there to feed the ego of the camra geek that set it up. They go on for a bit before winding up because the market's saturated with them and they leave a load of creditors behind them.

Landlords like them because their beer is cheap. End of and it's for no other reason. They are cheap because they pay half the excise duty of a small independent. It's an unfair situation and is putting people out of work. Its creating a situation where the larger breweries are now buying up small independents. It's going backwards and will end up creating a situation where consumer choice is eroded again.

Make them pay the full excise duty and support the british brewing industry.

[Bulliac]

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:17 am  

Many micros are excellent and produce wonderful beers. Smaller breweries pay lower rates to help them compete with larger scale producers.

Only had the one [think it was in the Corn Dolly] from Bradford brewery and it was fine. Don't forget, "great oak trees from little acorns grow" and even the biggest of brewers mostly started out as pubs brewing their own long before they amalgamated or got taken over. Even modern ones such as Copper Dragon, which you've rightly lauded, started small.

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:34 am  

Bulliac wrote:

Many micros are excellent and produce wonderful beers.

Agreed but most produce absolutely dross and it's impossible to guarantee consistent quality when you're basically a hobbyist with no lab working in a garage with beat up old kit.

Bulliac wrote:

Smaller breweries pay lower rates to help them compete with larger scale producers.

Its a nice theory but doesn't work in practice. You've either got to be tiny or massive and enjoying economies of scale to compete. The large brewing firms had recognised the growth in real ale and small independents and are now buying them up as they struggle to compete with micros within the free trade. Like I said landlords like micros because they can buy a cask for two thirds of the price. Due to the artificial situation created by the unfair excise duty rates.

Bulliac wrote:

Don't forget, "great oak trees from little acorns grow" and even the biggest of brewers mostly started out as pubs brewing their own long before they amalgamated or got taken over. Even modern ones such as Copper Dragon, which you've rightly lauded, started small.

No they didn't. The owner Steve taylor undertook a two year study with a number of consultants before deciding where and how to set up.

He brought in a head brewer in Gordon Wilkinson who has 40 odd years of experience. It was properly funded with the commitioning of entirely new kit and marketed properly. It's grown because of their consistently good product.

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:37 am  

Gordon is also a season ticket holder at Odsal from Birkenshaw.

[Bulliac]

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:17 am  

Maccbull_BigBullyBooaza wrote:

Agreed but most produce absolutely dross and it's impossible to guarantee consistent quality when you're basically a hobbyist with no lab working in a garage with beat up old kit.

Its a nice theory but doesn't work in practice. You've either got to be tiny or massive and enjoying economies of scale to compete. The large brewing firms had recognised the growth in real ale and small independents and are now buying them up as they struggle to compete with micros within the free trade. Like I said landlords like micros because they can buy a cask for two thirds of the price. Due to the artificial situation created by the unfair excise duty rates.

No they didn't. The owner Steve taylor undertook a two year study with a number of consultants before deciding where and how to set up.

He brought in a head brewer in Gordon Wilkinson who has 40 odd years of experience. It was properly funded with the commitioning of entirely new kit and marketed properly. It's grown because of their consistently good product.

They are as varied as the rest of the trade and, imo, far more "dross" is brewed by massive megakeggeries than micros though, they do indeed do it very consistently, it's still dross.

Most of the micros are one [or two] man businesses with maybe just a couple of employees not hobbies, though would I agree that the tax allowance [for small scale production] really should be a sliding scale and go considerably higher up the scale than it currently does.

Yes they did. Proved even by the very example you quote which shows a small business growing due to its, very merited, success.

At the end of the day Maccbull, anyone brewing rubbish won't last five minutes as no landlord will buy beer he can't sell.

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:55 am  

Bulliac wrote:

They are as varied as the rest of the trade and, imo, far more "dross" is brewed by massive megakeggeries than micros though, they do indeed do it very consistently, it's still dross.

Most of the micros are one [or two] man businesses with maybe just a couple of employees not hobbies, though would I agree that the tax allowance [for small scale production] really should be a sliding scale and go considerably higher up the scale than it currently does.

Yes they did. Proved even by the very example you quote which shows a small business growing due to its, very merited, success.

At the end of the day Maccbull, anyone brewing rubbish won't last five minutes as no landlord will buy beer he can't sell.

The big boys have been taking the p*** out of consumers for years. Which is why the rise in small and independent brewing is important.

There is a very real problem of it going backwards. Marstons bought thwaites last week for example . That brewery will now shut with thwaites branded beer coming out of marstons. That sort of thing is bad for consumer choice IMO.

It's happening more and more though. Ask the breweries I was speaking to the owner of York Brewery last year and they are part of a group of small independents petitioning the government about excuse duty.

You'd be surprised on the issue of what landlords will buy. When I ran pubs I used to try different stuf out and we'd have all kinds of rubbish. I bought one cask of what purported to be a porter that wouldn't drop bright. I rang the agent who came back to me and sai it was fine and have me a lecture on it being a live product. Rubbish it wouldn't settle end of. I had one cask turned up in a black sheep cask that had had the banding taking off with paint stripper. I reported it and the brewer came as tried to take the cask off me. It was stolen property .

It's personal choice at the end of the day though. Mallinsons are popular but I think they're rubbish beers. That's my opinion but if the treasury don't act we won't have the opportunity to make those choices as the only beer available will be what the big boys tell you to drink.

[Bulliac]

Re: O/T Galloway vs Bradford Brewery : Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:02 pm  

Agree with all that Maccbull, though I thought Thwaites' Blackburn brewery had actually been shut some time back and Marstons had already been brewing their beer since then? Either way round, it's poor for choice and to be honest we've already gone through the day when the big boys dictated what we drank and it wasn't a good time. Definitely don't want to see that again.

Beer choice is very subjective though and my nectar well be your 'dross', but what is important is to keep the choice, which is why I nearly always go for the specials in pubs, and to be honest I've had some - well, I'll say it wasn't to my taste, but I never bought another! Though that has been surprisingly rare.