One of the (many) things I like about Bristol Beer Factory is their commitment to supporting other local organisations - either via charitable routes or collaboration ones.
I'm not naive enough to think it's 100% altruistic, but the vibe I get from every touch-point I have with them is a good one. It makes me want to support them more: from the brilliant barstaff in the Barley Mow who make you feel valued (and who remember that you like a straight glass, even if it's been 6 weeks since you've been there), to the fact that their no-alcohol beer specifically supports a mental health initiative and their commitment to donate a specific % of profits into the community via various forms of support.
Even better, this Social Value doesn't seem to come at the expence of the quality of their offering, unlike some things I've tried to support in the past (ethical coffee or whatever).
It feels like a proper win-win-win.
So, naturally, when I found out, a good while ago, that the Hastings Project Brewery was a CIC I was keen to learn more. The first beer of theirs I tried in Beerarama was OK, but not memorable - this was pretty early on and as I've remarked so many times before, even good brewers who have set up a new venture can take a while to get into their stride.
Hastings is half an hour away from Eastbourne by train (3 per hour), I'm a trustee of a charity there, and I do work with other charities in the town so I do find myself going there reasonably frequently.
I learned that the brewery were taking on a pub in St Leonards (the western edge of Hastings proper) and it's just around the corner from another couple of nice placess there. This part of St Leonards still feels a bit scruffy but the steady gentrification from the DfLs is definitely noticeable.
I'd been wanting to try the pub (The Prince of Wales) since it opened about 6 or 7 months ago but I haven't had to be in St Leonards and it still feels like a bit of an indulgence to get on a train, just to go to the pub.
Anyhow - this week I had a meeting with a bunch of colleagues related to poverty-support projects that we all collaborate on and the meeting was in CAB in St Leonards. All the assembled company are female in the age band 40-something to 60-something - we probably cut a bit of a scary air about us when en masse.
We'd all agreed a swift pint would be in order and I suggest that we go to the Price of Wales which only one (another regular beer fan) had even heard of. We arrived at the pub at 5pm-ish and it was empty. We were greeted cheerily by the lady behind the bar. I immediately ordered a pint of a 4%ish pale cask for me and one colleague gravitated towards lager (Helles). Bit by bit we coaxed orders out of the the others (we don't pub together often) and sat down.
Blimey! The beer was great, the lady behind the bar incredibly knowledgeable and encouraging - helping a couple of women to choose what they wanted. There were two cask guests as well as their own and some beers were offered on both cask and keg.
The layout of the pub is quite traditional for a corner-pub and has lots of small tables and stools to keep things flexible: this was quite helpful since there were six of us plus a small thing in a pushchair.
I learned that they offer all their beers in 2/3rds and also learned that 2/3rds glassware is relatively expensive so might go some way to explaining why not everyone wants to sell that way.
I had to go and get a train (station about 200 yds away) but I could have sat there for much longer and tried more of their lovely beers. I immediately felt at home and really want to engineer a chance to go back. All the others agreed it was a great place and everyone enjoyed the beer - vowing to make this the default venue in future.
I really want to take the BBB there - I'm pretty sure he'll like it much better than Heist and Collected Fictions which we visited the last time we had to pass through. It feels very "us".
Even better? Being a CIC all their profits are used for community good.
Another great example of Social Value from brewing where the product doesn't appear to be a compromise.
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