The boss of a respected Scottish brewery believes the time may be right to retire the word “craft” from the industry lexicon as he outlined plans to expand the company in a difficult climate.
Andrew McKnight, chief executive of the Harviestoun Brewery in Alva, questioned the validity of the descriptor when so many “craft” brands are produced by giant brewing corporates, and called into question the appropriateness of the label.
Mr McKnight was speaking to The Herald at a difficult time for the brewing industry following the collapse into administration of BrewDog which resulted in nearly 500 redundancies following the closure of 38 bars, and led to hundreds of early “punk” investors being left out of pocket. US firm Tilray Brands acquired just 11 BrewDog bars in the £33 million deal that saw it take over the rump of the business, including a brewery in Ellon, in a pre-pack deal.
To cap a miserable month for Scottish brewing in March, around 100 jobs were also lost when Innis & Gunn fell into administration, with the brand acquired in a pre-pack deal by C&C Group, owner of Tennent’s Lager for £4.5 million.
The failures came near the start of the current conflict in the Middle East, which has sparked fears that energy costs will rise even higher for brewers in light of the surge in oil and gas prices.
Mr McKnight, who described current trading conditions as “very testy”, said: “I’ve just been wondering whether the word craft is one we should discard now. If it wasn’t Scotland, I would use the word independent, [but] it’s quite a toxic word [owing to the debate over Scottish independence] as well, in terms of dividing people.
“I suppose at the time [when craft began being used] it might have been a reaction to the big guys as in, ‘we’re small, we’re artisan and that means we’re maybe a little bit more expensive’. I think there was probably a bit of that. But now with so many craft brewers in inverted commas actually being owned by big brewers, sometimes I wonder when I look at the market [if it is appropriate].”
Read more:
- The huge Scotch whisky deal that has rocked the industry
- Expert outlines 'huge opportunity' for Glasgow to change 'visual story of decline'
- Scotch whisky giants open talks over blockbuster merger
- Will Easdale hotel project really be the 'catalyst' Glasgow needs?
- The rare quality of Glasgow that has come to the fore after city blaze
Referring to Molson Coors brand Madri, promoted as “The Soul of Madrid” despite being brewed for the UK market in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, Mr McKnight said: “The consumer is obviously not that bothered about the provenance issue. They’re buying the marketing and again that’s somewhere we just don’t have the budget to compete. But I have got a bit of confidence that people will start to if they can afford to buy selectively.”
Noting that Harviestoun, which is best known for its Schiehallion and Bitter & Twisted brands, is a brewer that ensures consumers buy beer from “people you can connect with and that’s been made for a while”, he said: “Actually, I suppose Harviestoun was one of the pioneers of that craft movement, and then guys like Fyne Ales and Stewart Brewing came along in the wake and did produce some fantastic beers as well. Two of our kind of hero brands I suppose.
“But I think the time has probably come for the craft thing to not be what we are labelled as. Whether it’s family owned, finest, or Scottish, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just lager.”
Mr McKnight was speaking to The Herald at a positive time for Harviestoun, despite the challenges facing the wider industry. Harviestoun’s brands, led by top seller Schiehallion, are now available through all the major supermarket groups in Scotland after clinching a deal with Waitrose. They also enjoy a “really good spread” of on-trade distribution, with Gleneagles among its most prestigious accounts. “We make their house beer,” Mr McKnight said.
With 30% of the brewer’s sales generated in supermarkets, Mr McKnight added: “The bread and butter for me is the on-trade, you know, pubs, restaurants, bars. That's our probably our main focus at the moment.”
The company is motoring ahead with significant expansion plans at brewery in Clackmannanshire. The £500,000 project will include a new 600 square foot warehouse and additional office space that will allow the brewer to bring storage and logistics fully back on site. Harviestoun, which was established by former Ford engineer Ken Booker in 1983, will install a “transformational” new kegging line and double the production capacity of the brewery itself to 20,000 hectolitres. And in the next few weeks a rebrand of the entire Harviestoun range will be launched.
Mr McKnight, who noted that the rebrand will be rolled out to the brewer’s websites, social media channels, and vehicles, said: “They're just finishing the artwork and then we've got the mission of trying to coordinate the repackaging to get it out before summer. It looks fabulous.”
The company, which has been owned by Sandy Orr and Donald MacDonald for around 20 years, is also actively considering a move into the hospitality industry as an operator in its own right. Such a move would build on the regular “pop-up” beer and street food events it runs at the brewery in Alva, which are now attracting around 200 people.
Mr McKnight, who would like to establish a permanent taproom at the brewery, said he would like Harviestoun to own a small estates of pubs, emulating a model that is common in England.
With so many people on the Harviestoun board coming from a hospitality background, including Mr McKnight himself, “we should be adding on to this business to make it stronger”, he said.
Harviestoun company currently turns over £2.2 million and forecasts this increasing to £2.5m this year and £3.1m the year after.
