Refreshing change

By taking control of both the Brakspear and Hobgoblin beer brands, Rupert Thompson has doubled his business in a matter of weeks.

"I think I'm going to wear a hard hat," said Refresh UK's Rupert Thompson as he contemplated his reception at the Great British Beer Festival.

The company that he founded two years ago had just agreed to take on the beers of Henley brewer Brakspear.

Now, holed up in a café a short walk from the Olympia Exhibition Centre in West London, the managing director was preparing for an afternoon engaged in various discussions with the press, his peers and members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

To the dismay of the real ale consumer group, the deal will see the historic Brakspear brewery close. Refresh has pledged to build a new site within 20 miles of the Oxfordshire town and to replicate the tastes of the ales. "It's actually the second time the brewery has moved - the first was in 1810," said Rupert.

The Refresh boss has appeared on local radio and television asking for suggestions for the new location. "It started as a bit of fun but with a very serious aim," he said.

"So far, we have been made aware of 60 possible sites for a new brewery, 30 of which we think have potential." While he declined to reveal the cost of the new brewery, he said it would be a substantial seven-figure sum.

Refresh plans to remove the roof of the £10m Henley site and take the existing brewing equipment to the new brewery. It will build a facility capable of producing 30,000 barrels a year. "That will be based on one brew a day," he said.

"We would have the opportunity to do more. We could also go down a little but heaven help us if we have to do that - we want to move it up."

Brewing at the old site will end in December. During the interim period between closure of old and opening of new, the Brakspear beers will be brewed partly at Refresh's Wychwood Brewery, and partly under contract by Thomas Hardy.

The general sentiment among other brewing chiefs at the beer festival, who had watched with interest the Brakspear story unfold, was that Refresh had taken a bold decision.

Many acknowledged that the drinks company formed out of the Ushers of Trowbridge business had taken a significant risk.

The fact is Refresh will attempt to pull off what Brakspear could not. "If I was in charge of a public company the City would be all over my back," said Rupert.

"Analysts can't sometimes see the bigger picture. This is a great brand when aimed at the right market."

The Refresh boss said some of the brewer's speciality ales face the chop. "Each will be treated on its own merits," he said.

"Our focus is brands. I am a marketeer by profession. The most fundamental commercial decisions should have a marketing focus, that is be in the interests of the consumer.

"Therefore, instead of looking at the cheapest way of brewing something, we will look at what is right for the brand. But we will not be inefficient."

In the past eight weeks, Refresh has essentially doubled its business. Launched through a management buyout backed by Alchemy Partners, the company owns Manns Original and is UK agent for Löwenbräu.

As well as the Brakspear brewing operation, it recently took control of the Wychwood Brewery and its clutch of niche Hobgoblin beers.

Although new to owning real ale brands, Rupert is not new to real ale.

During his time at Morlands in the early nineties, he was responsible for moving Old Speckled Hen up from on-trade sales of 100 barrels a year.

He believes differentiation is the key and has a keen eye for identifying the ultimate selling point in a product. "Wychwood is about being different," he said. "It's a small independent brewer but it's not about location, it's about style, being independent and trying new things.

"It is logical that you should focus on building consumer values. With Brakspear it's about the taste, the unique tradition and being in its heartland of south-east Oxfordshire - most of its pubs are in the Thames Valley.

"But clearly, most importantly, it's about replicating the taste." He says the beer is unique. "Considering it is only 3.4 per cent ABV, it has a remarkable level of flavour and depth."

Refresh has seen volumes of its Löwenbräu lager jump 20 per cent this year. "It's a great brand that had been abused for many years," said Rupert. "It also tried going head to head with Stella and Kronenbourg in the mainstream premium market - that was a mistake."

The company has focused on what made the beer great in the first place. "Because we were not driven by production we were able to move Löwenbräu back to Munich," he said. "Munich is the capital of brewing and the thing that made Löwenbräu was its authenticity - it was from the heart of the brewing world.

"We also marketed it as a speciality beer, not a mainstream premium lager."

CAMRA has called on the Brakspear board of directors to hold "an emergency general meeting to explain its failure to make the brewing operation profitable, fully explain its decisions to quit brewing and give a full account of its plans to keep the pub company independent and protected from a takeover."

Quite what CAMRA expects to unearth from this is a mystery. In the unlikely event that such a meeting takes place, will its members be overwhelmed by the revelation that profits in brewing are hard to come by, margins are minute and that in general, there is too much capacity chasing too little volume?

"I think Brakspear took a wise decision," Rupert explained. "It made a commercial decision to focus where most of their assets are - in pubs.

"We have a completely different business model. We will be able to spread management costs over a wider area. We will run the business in a lean and focused way."

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when it was announced that the 200-year-old Brakspear brewing operations were to move. "It is not bricks and mortar that determine the taste and success of a beer," he said. "Roots are important, but you have to be careful they don't become an anchor, weighing a product down, stopping it from moving forward."

The key to the deal, which will see Brakspear paid a royalty, is that Refresh has thrown the beers a lifeline. "We enter into it with a degree of trepidation but sometimes you have to follow your gut," he said.

"The numbers are okay but we will not be rich men from Brakspear unless we find new markets for the beer."

Growing Brakspear will mean maintaining the taste and quality, and marketing the ales innovatively to attract new customers. Easier said than done, but Rupert and his management boast the credentials and the track record to make it happen.

Pictured: Refresh UK's Rupert Thompson with a selection of brews from the historic Brakspear brewery​

Related articles:​

Refresh search for Brakspear brewery hits 64 (14 August 2002)

CAMRA launches campaign for Brakspear pubs to remain independent (5 August 2002)

Balaclava buys Hobgoblin pubs (23 July 2002)

Brakspear to close its brewery (22 July 2002)

Refresh UK takes control at Wychwood (27 June 2002)

Campaign to save Brakspear's historic beer launched (5 June 2002)

Brakspear considers brewing exit (23 April 2002)

Balaclava and Refresh swoop for Hobgoblin (4 April 2002)