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This week’s conversation is potentially one of the most enjoyable and
insightful conversations I’ve had since I started working in beer. I spend
a lot of my time chatting to brewers and bar owners, but never have I taken
the time to pose questions to someone who works in the world of beer
distribution.
I’ve known Pete Brissenden from back when he worked for London’s Meantime
brewery, way before SAB Miller and subsequently Asahi bought it out. Pete’s
worked for a range of breweries over the years, from the very traditional
Hopdaemon in Kent to Camden Town Brewery in its formative years.
These days he works for The Bottle Shop, a London based distributor and
retailer that specializes in wholesaling craft beer. What differentiates
The Bottle Shop from other British beer distributors is that 50% of its
business is based on imports. In the UK The Bottle Shop is working with
cutting edge breweries such as Beavertown and Cloudwater. While at the same
time bringing in beers to the UK from the likes of Green Flash, Crooked
Stave, Alpine and many more.
During this discussion Pete and I cover topics ranging from pricing, to the
viability of imports in a post-Brexit UK economy to the health of the cask
ale market here in the UK. We also dig into his history at Camden and
Meantime a little, including Pete’s reaction to the latters sale to SAB
Miller while he was still working there. |