GBBF preview: Champion beer
Kelham Island Brewery's 2004 success escalated demand, but how did it cope?
Last year, Kelham Island Brewery, a small producer from Sheffield walked away gleefully clutching the title of Champion Beer of Britain (CBOB) after its Pale Rider pressed all the right buttons for the judges.
Winning the prestigious prize is an undoubted thrill for any brewer but for smaller players whose capacity cannot meet the flood of interest and demand prompted by the win, it's often a bittersweet victory.
The Publican caught up with David Wickett, owner of Kelham Island, to see how the 12 months have been since its triumph at last year's GBBF.
How did it feel to win the CBOB?
It was simply amazing, an absolute dream - a feeling I'll never forget. If someone had said to me when I set up this 10-barrel brewery in a glorified garage that one day I'd be brewing the best beer in Britain, I simply would have laughed in their face.
What happened after you won?
I nearly went out of my mind! The phones didn't stop ringing, the fax didn't stop beeping and I was snowed under by emails for the best part of a month. Fuller's rang me up the afternoon we won and ordered 60 casks for their pubs in London. I didn't have 60 casks spare so they sent their own which I happily filled.
There was interest from both home and abroad, ranging from pubs up and down the country to people in the US wanting to get hold of the beer. Interestingly, the big pub companies didn't get in touch at all - they're just concerned with the big guys.
Did you manage to keep up with demand?
In a word, no. There was no way we could keep everyone happy with such a small brewery. You simply can't quadruple capacity and storage overnight and although it's a nice problem to have, it did become a little frustrating.
We began brewing Pale Rider at Ridley's under a slightly different name and began brewing it at a new 40-barrel site at Thornbridge Hall near Chatsworth.
What has the victory done for your business?
Well, for any brewery regardless of size - but especially one as small as ours - the publicity is priceless. Everyone hears about you, I can walk into a pub now and mention the Kelham Island Brewery and people know about it or will at least have heard of it. It really put us on the map and has given us the confidence to grow.
Are you entering again this year?
Unfortunately not. CAMRA rules state that a beer can't win two years in a row and that's something I agree with.
However, the GBBF sponsor, Waverley TBS, is hosting a Champion of Champions competition, a kind of 'super cup' of recent winners, that we're taking part in.
Have you any advice for this year's winner?
If you're small brace yourself! Seriously consider whether it's worth expanding to meet demand - don't just jump in and feel you have to satisfy everyone's needs.
