Robinsons invests £1m in beer quality

North-west brewer and pub operator Robinsons is to invest more than £1m to help its 385 tenants improve beer quality.

The brewer is developing an in-house centre of excellence, which delivers the BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) award in beer and cellar quality, and added a sixth member to its technical services team in beer quality manager Paul Crolla.

It has also invested in cellar equipment to help its licensees improve quality.

The brewer is now a corporate member of Cask Marque, which means it can put all its pubs forward for assessment. All tenants will receive an unannounced twice-yearly cellar audit visit from Cask Marque assessors, who will award a gold, silver or bronze rating.

All tenants who achieve gold status will receive 100% funding for Cask Marque membership and those who achieve silver will get 50%. It is hoped the programme will help increase beer sales.

"This series of investments in beer quality is complementary to our long-term vision of sustainable growth for the brewery," said Oliver Robinson, director of Robinsons. "We feel we have the 'quality' aspiration underway, but Cask Marque offers our pubs so much more in marketing support."

Cask Marque director Paul Nunny added: "Consumers under pressure on their leisure spend are demanding better retailing standards from licensees, particularly in the quality of their pint. The programme by Robinsons will ensure licensees meet this challenge."

Cask Marque is a non-profit making organisation, which has 38 corporate members comprising the UK's leading breweries and pub groups.

Robinsons also announced that a new head brewer, Martyn Weeks, will take over from Chris Hellin, who has been with the firm for 24 years. Weeks aims to help Robinsons in the development of its new multi-million pound brewhouse facility.