Cornish tribute
Nestled on the south coast is St Austell, a brewery that’s been a local institution for more than 150 years. It now distributes its beer all over the world, but has maintained its quintessentially Cornish spirit
Words by John Silcox
Photography by Alexander Rhind
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED HERE IN FOUR RINGS BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Something rather special is brewing in St Austell on the south coast of Cornwall. This small town is home to the award-winning Tribute pale ale but a great pint isn’t the only cause for celebration. St Austell Brewery, the company that makes the stuff, has also sparked an alternative business revolution based on the theory that local is best. By sticking to this simple philosophy, this family-owned organisation has prospered for more than 150 years, developing a thriving beer-based empire as a result.
‘We’re basically super proud to be Cornish,’ explains St Austell Marketing Director Jeremy Mitchell. ‘Every activity we do starts off from the grass roots. When we want to do something we look at who we can partner with locally and then go from there. This focus on engaging local stakeholders means we are built on solid and stable relationships that thrive though mutual benefit. In terms of marketing it’s a dream. Consumers are increasingly identifying with authentic brands that have real stories and you can’t really get more authentic than us.’
St Austell Brewery was originally founded in 1851 by Cornishman Walter Hicks, who mortgaged his family farm to set up the company. With a reputation for quality beer and great service it quickly expanded until becoming one of the biggest employers in the region. In more recent times, increasing demand for British cask beer and an astute expansion strategy has seen the business grow exponentially, posting a record turnover figure of £153 million, according to the latest figures. It now also employs nearly 1,600 people.
At the heart of this success lies Tribute Ale, its 4.2 per cent Cornish pale ale, which represents more than two thirds of the company’s sales. St Austell Brewery produced 15,000 barrels of beer in 1999 but enter Tribute and 14 years later the beer accounted for more than 60,000 barrels on its own. Now, in 2017, the brewery outputs nearly 140,000 barrels in total, and its products sell in 12 different countries including Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Russia and Sweden.
‘Tribute was the brainchild of our head brewer Roger Ryman,’ explains Jeremy. ‘In 1999 the board of directors took a bold decision to employ a very young new head brewer. Roger was only in his thirties and normally this type of position would be given to a much older employee. They decided that passion and talent outweighed seniority and it paid off. Roger created Tribute to celebrate the solar eclipse later that year and it went on to be a wild success.’
“Consumers are increasingly identifying with authentic brands that have real stories and you can’t really get more authentic than us”
Innovation continues to fuel the company and the wide range of beers it makes and sells keeps getting bigger. The brewery continues to believe in home-grown talent and encourages its brewing team to experiment with small batches of beer that is then sent out to local pubs to test. They are also put into competition at the brewery’s very own beer festival. So, in effect, St Austell has managed to jump onto the craft beer trend despite being an established brand.
Another area of experimentation is with ingredients. The brewery is now supporting local farmers to grow their barley exclusively for it. There are now more than 1,000 acres of Cornish land dedicated to providing crops to make the beer even more local. But brewing is only one side of this business, as Curator and PR Manager Chris Knight explains.
‘To understand the whole of our operation it’s best to look at it as three businesses as one,’ he says. ‘We are vertically integrated, which means that we own our full supply chain. It starts off in our brewing business, then there’s the distribution business where we transport it to our various retail points. Finally there’s the pubs business, where we sell it directly to consumers.’
The brewery owns a number of warehouses in the West from where a fleet of vans operates, servicing local businesses. Cornwall is notoriously difficult to deliver to and many corporations have attempted to set up distribution networks and failed. In this light, St Austel got the contract to distribute Carlsberg products too.
The other wing of the business is the pub and hospitality sector. St Austell brewery owns a portfolio of 178 pubs, 30 that are managed and 140 tenanted, the majority in the South West. This large portfolio of buildings also makes St Austell the largest provider of holiday accommodation in Cornwall and also highlights its responsibility for maintaining quality in the hotel trade, as well as caring for the buildings – often centuries-old heritage sites.
The Pier House in the nearby village of Charlestown is one of these pubs. Located on the seafront of an historic Georgian world heritage site, it is a prime destination for tourists visiting the area, something that’s been increased by the popularity of the television show Poldark, which is filmed nearby. The landlord Rob Brewer recently took over operations here and is undertaking big structural renovation work to update this historic establishment but keep it true to its heritage.
‘St Austell works very closely with us to help us realise our ambitions,’ he says. ‘This site was only purchased last year and we are currently investing heavily to really help it realise its full potential and offer a high-quality service to punters. When all the work is done it will be one of the brewery’s flagship establishments. It will be a good reflection of what the company is: a business that delves into tradition to offer the latest in high-quality hospitality standards.’
“To understand the whole of our operation it’s best to look at it as three businesses as one”
Such an invested interest in the region’s heritage runs deep through the business and that is as apparent as the brewery building. The company’s good relationship with other local stakeholders is also testament to this, as it sponsors cultural and sporting events. Surprisingly, St Austell even maintains a good rapport with its direct rival Sharp’s, the maker of the popular ale Doom Bar, that is located a few miles down the coast.
‘We actually play Sharp’s quite frequently in a friendly football game,’ adds Chris. ‘We always try our best to win but in the end the result doesn’t really matter. It’s more about opening the dialogue and making sure we’re both trying to promote local products. When you look at it closely we’re both cheering for team Cornwall on and off the pitch, so it can only be mutually beneficial.’
