Over the last two lockdowns, Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield was hit hard and was forced to throw out 75,000 pints of beers. Since the easing of restrictions on April 12th, the brewery has since bounced back.
Laura Rangeley, 32 said: “It’s taken us by surprise”. The office and communications manager said that last week the brewery had their largest brew in their 25 years.
Around 300 barrels of beer (over 86,000 pints) was brewed to catch up with beer they’d sold out of, as well as brewing ahead to meet the upcoming demand. She says this is something they really didn’t expect.
credit: Mark Newton Photography
Prior to Covid-19, Abbeydale Brewery would produce around 220 barrels a week. The brewery continued to work over last year but were only brewing once a week to keep the yeast alive.
At the moment, around a quarter of the brewery’s customers have reopened. Some pubs have had to close, including the Devonshire Cat, that was owned by the Brewery.
Ms Rangeley said that there have been calls from the wider industry to the government, to make sure that breweries are given enough notice. This is so they can start increasing production and achieving deliveries in a reasonable timeframe for pubs.
The Brewery has five vans that deliver Monday to Friday within Sheffield, or Yorkshire, but also go as far afield as Newcastle and Liverpool. They’ve now got three or four vans out for delivery every day. When pubs first re opened, they were very busy and all five vans were running.
credit: Mark Newton Photography
The team at the Brewery is still on a learning curve, but has found out just how important the online shop is. Ms Rangeley said: “It gives us much more opportunity to speak to the people drinking our beers which is something we really enjoy”.
The Brewery is remaining cautious during these times but they’re hopeful that when pubs begin to open indoors, they can try get back to a new level of normal.