Category: Blog

January 5 2019

Don’t “Lose the Booze” – This is why…

Rudi Keyser Beer, Blog, Social, Uncategorized

Ah… it’s that time of year again….!!!

A time for reflection, resolutions, short-lived gym contracts, “dry-January” and now the latest campaign from Bloodwise – “LOSE THE BOOZE”.

As someone in the booze industry, these types of campaigns annoy the living daylights out of me. FML. (Again ref Urban Dictionary)

Don’t get me wrong, Bloodwise is a fantastic organisation. The work they do and funds they raise are terrific for research and support of blood cancer and people suffering from or who have suffered by blood cancers.

I should know as my daughter was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer at the age of 18months. Thankfully, She is a survivor.

So what’s my gripe about it?

At first it was just one month. Now it’s crept into two months (October & January).

Let’s focus on January.

From a business/industry perspective, January is historically the worst month to set up any good customer service goals. It’s got the longest payday gap, as a lot of companies payroll goes off just before Christmas, so January sales are down anyway without further encouragement.

Throw in the natural mental hangover the majority of the nation endures post festivities of Christmas & NY, January is certainly not the most celebrated month on the happy-o-meter.

Bloodwise suggest you give up the one bit of guilty pleasure you take comfort in, having a drink.

They should call it “Little Red Riding Hood featuring Robin Hood January Panto!” The wolf dressed up as sweet old granny, but actually just wants your blood(pun) and money.

It’s dressed up as a positive, but I believe it’s actually a negative.

Some might say I’m just bitter and instead, I want your money! Not entirely wrong, but I’m such a small player it’s neither here nor there in my little environment. Industry wide though, it has massive implications, from big brewery pubco’s to small independents and distributors.

Sometimes though, starting small, like we have with our little Watling St community, is where you need great changes to gain traction.

I am also not condoning getting trashed in January, or at all. Merely that we slowly change peoples perceptions about alcohol and encourage responsible drinking. A healthy relationship with drinking.

Let’s break it down…

On their campaign website they list 5 points why you should do it.

1. Be Fitter – What bollocks! By simply giving up booze, you are not going to get “fitter”. Being fit requires exercise. You can still achieve that while drinking.

2. Feel Better – Interesting point this. We feel great when I have had a drink or two. It’s called responsible drinking. When you can take responsibility of your drinking, you feel even better. More on this later.

3. Stash the Cash – Again, somewhat flawed. You might save, but they’re asking you to raise money so other people don’t stash any cash because they are sponsoring you to be “dry”.

4. It could be the start of something new! – OMG – Every January is!!! In fact, every single day could be the start of something new!!!

5. Help fund lifesaving research – Well, this is very important, but the point is it can still take place without a silly sober campaign.

So what alternatives do I suggest?

1 Be Fitter – We have Watling St Striders, a fantastic group of casual and not so casual runner who meet every Wednesday evening. We go for a run and then enjoy a few responsible pints afterwards at the brewery. It has had a hugely positive impact on all who have come along. Quite a few small breweries do a similar thing, or just join your own local running club.

2. Feel Better – Coming into our taproom, you are bound to leave feeling better. We offer a safe environment for people to come along and engage with other people. Arrive as strangers and leave with new friends.

3. Stash the Cash – OK, so we cannot actually help you save money in January, but you can can still come in for a pizza and a pint for £12 which you would be hard pressed to find a pizza and coke at Pizza Express for any less.

4. It could be the start of something new! – If you come down to the brewery and get involved with some of our initiatives, like Community Beers, Running Club or look out for #BarCodeBeer on Saturday mornings to reward yourself for a ParkRun.

5. Help fund lifesaving research – We have a donation tin on the bar. Instead of buying a barman a drink, add a drink to your round and we will stick it in the charity tin.

So don’t go cold turkey this January only to binge drink at the start of February. Say no to all this “lose the booze” malarkey and rather pick a great event which you can set your sights on, hopefully support Bloodwise, or any other great charity without having a negative impact on small business.

October 25 2018

Watford’s Best Kept Secret

Rudi Keyser Blog

Street Food Markets

Spitalfields Market, Borough Market… Epic right!?

Or those lovely European town markets we visit during the summer holidays and wish that we had something half as decent in our own little town? McDreamy!!

The reality is that Spitalfields and Borough have decades of history, heritage & tradition behind them. Not to mention an abundance of natural footfall.

The European markets are also skewed by the fact the sun is generally shining, you’re relaxed on holiday and it just feels blissful. Most of them shut down post the summer holidays.

Not that we fit into either of the above categories, but we are trying our best to create a little bit of Sunday Market magic in good old North Watford industrial.

The past 4 weeks have been an interesting learning curve doing the Sunday Markets.

Personally, I wanted to be open on a Sunday without having to do any food prep or cooking myself as I am wearing a bit thin on time, energy and enthusiasm for cooking.

It is also a great way to offer people a new different way to spend a Sunday afternoon in a fun, friendly, cosy albeit it slightly eclectic space.

In an attempt to reduce my stress levels by arranging the vendors myself, I entrusted Christine and Erida from The Good Food Market in Bushey.

These lovely ladies painstakingly tried to introduce a fabulous food market in Bushey. Something the community welcomed with open arms.

This last weekend they pulled the plug for the season. What they achieved under challenging circumstances with the weather (being an outdoor market) having to change locations due to the initial popularity and managing expectation between vendors and punters alike. They need some serious kudos!

Collectively, Christine, Erida and I are trying to host a regular fun event which can be counted on throughout the autumn, winter and spring. Each week, we try and muster up new vendors to keep punters coming back for variety.

It is such a fine line though. Lots of vendors means the punters are happy, but the vendors aren’t happy as it means less units sold per vendor. Less vendors, makes happy vendors, but then the punters bemoan lack of choice.

So how do we work around that?

I guess the simplest is that we need the local community to really back us. Spread the word and help us get out of the “Watford’s Best Kept Secret” realm. Join us on this fantastic journey and help us grow something which you too can enjoy and love.

More punters will bring in more fantastic vendors. Ideally, we would love to have vendors booking a pitch weeks in advance. It will also help us sift out the more unreliable vendors who let us down at the last minute.

So if you have been down already, please do keep coming back and keep spreading the good word. If you have not been down, please do make a point of popping in soon and supporting an initiative which in turn supports local independents.

Much love!

September 6 2018

Community Beers

Rudi Keyser Beer, Blog, News, Social, Uncategorized

This is significant.

I’d like to introduce a new chapter to Watling St Beer. It is not for everyone, however, I do hope you will give it a try.

Community Beers

One of the core values of the brewery is community. However, I completely underestimated the positive impact our space has created. It actually gives me goose bumps. It makes me feel incredibly proud and even a bit emotional. It has accidentally become THE core value.

(1)Brand Advocacy
Brand Advocacy is the concept of a brand giving 10% of profits to charity. You see this a lot on products all the time. Not to say it’s rubbish, but you certainly lack visibility of how much actually ends up being passed on and where it ends up within a charity.

There is certainly no intrinsic feel good factor and no direct positive impact.

(2)Brewery Membership
This is a concept of paying an annual fee to attend a brewery once a month on a school night to drink unlimited beer and get trollied. It can be fun, although it’s actually a bit pointless and lacks a positive influence on society.

Community Beers
We are going to incorporate a blend of (1) & (2).

We a trialling the concept for 3 months – 5th October, 11th November (Daytime), 5th December. We know it will be an overwhelming success. We just want to iron out the process.

In a nutshell:

– To join at any time during the 3 months will cost you £40 (This will be revised after the 3rd month)
– Each night, 1 local charity/cause/foundation (CCF) will give a short presentation of what they are all about.
– At the end of the presentation, they give us a checklist of help required (5-10 items).
– Help could be in the guise of volunteering, mentorship, DIY projects, services required etc.
– We all help where we can, individually or as a collective. Use the night to brainstorm and plan. To tick box as many itms as possible during the month.
– The next month, we have the 1st CCF tell us what was achieved against the list. This is key as it gives us a demonstrable sense of how powerful we are as a community. To instil positive change through beer.
– Then the second chosen CCF presents and the cycle continues.

Join us here!

FAQs

How will the CCF be chosen?

When you join, you will be asked to nominate a CCF. This will go into a google poll for the collective.

What do I get for my £40?

You get 5 pints of our beer each Community Night and an overwhelming sense of community.

I cannot make two of the nights, can I only pay £13.33?

No. However, you can pay £20 on the door for the night.

Can I nominate a CCF which isn’t local?

Yes, our aim is that maybe one in 3/4 months, we have a foreign cause. However, not for the 3 month trial.

Are there any guidelines for qualifying CCF’s?

Yes. No political or religious causes.

Will it always be a random school night?

No, we will mix the nights up and will even do some weekend daytimes as children and teenagers are also part of the community (although they don’t get the beers)

Do children need to pay £40?

Under 18’s are exempt.

Enough questions…

Join us here!

May 12 2017

#BarcodeBeer

Rudi Keyser Social BarcodeBeer, Beer, ParkRun, Running

Running and beer – a winning combo

Why do people run?

Some run to shift a few kilos or to maintain weight, others to realise the plentiful health benefits of regular exercise and some just as a means to an end with a greater goal, such as a marathon. I believe running is the best way to get rid of a hangover. Running is also very sociable.

Why do people drink beer?

Too many reasons to mention really. I like to think the best beers are when you feel you deserve one. Almost celebratory. Drinking beer is also very sociable.

Every Saturday morning at 9am, thousands of runners all over the world venture out to their local park and run a timed 5km. These fantastic events are fun, free and also very sociable. A perfect way to kick off any weekend. All you need is a pair of trainers and a Barcode (for your times).

We recognise your Saturday morning run and would like to give you a drink to celebrate. Each Saturday, a growing number of pubs will honour your Barcode for 1 free pint of WatlingStBeer.

It’s simple really. Follow us on social media and every Saturday, search the hashtag #BarcodeBeer to find out where you can redeem your Barcode for a pint. If your local isn’t on the list, ask them to get in touch and get involved.

Remember to run and drink responsibly, but please, always be sociable.

May 3 2017

Reflecting on the last year

Rudi Keyser Blog, News Beer, craft beer, London, microbrewery, warm fuzzy feelings

It has been one hell of a ride to get to this pint, er point.

A little over a year of hand crafting and refining the initial recipes and creating some new ones along the way.

There is still an ever increasing number of breweries popping up and just last weekend, I was walking around a lovely little farmers market when I stumbled upon yet another crafty beer person in the realms of setting up.

It was quite a feeling. There I was, still a complete novice in the grand scale of brewing, feeling like an age old master, trying to impart some of the experience I have gathered along my own journey.

There are so many things I would do differently if I were to start this all over. If anyone reading this is considering starting a brewery of any size, then do feel free to get in touch and I will give you honest insight into what to look out for in your decision making.

Brewing is bloody hard work. I won’t sugar coat it. However, it is also exceptionally rewarding to see people choose your product over more established brands. That warm fuzzy feeling is amplified further, when they enjoy your product and order more!

Of course, the warm fuzzy feeling oft has the converse effect when the chain of beer management or customer expectation is not managed.

I always attempt to deliver my beer in pristine condition to an establishment, alas this is the point of no return. The custodianship changes and the new curator perhaps doesn’t have the same passion for the product as the brewer. It is the most difficult part of the cycle to manage.

The owner of the establishment might not always be at hand to make sure the lines are cleaned regularly, or the beer is racked, vented and tapped correctly. Beer lines aren’t pulled through the next day resulting in one to many stale line pints being served, or in slow moving houses, vinegar is served. Too often, staff are ill-equipped and perhaps are not even beer appreciators. Some just don’t give a monkeys.

At this point, the warms fuzzy feeling turns to a chill. The point from chilled to “stab my eyes out”is ironically the result of politeness.

When the beloved punter, who has so kindly taken a chance on the new brew on the block, is too polite to complain to the bar that they believe there is an issue with the condition of the beer. Oh no, instead of being within their right to question the number of days a cask has been ON, or have the lines been pulled at the start of the day, the fury grows from within, sip by sip.

Eventually, a trip switch in their brain fries out and a brand attack on various social media platforms takes place. One star ratings, complaints about the price of the pint, the stink in the toilets.

A polite request, if you think the beer is old and tired, it probably is. Hand it back to the bar and request a different beer.

I do try and play nice when I see such scathing attacks. It is always an invitation to pop in at the brewery for a fresh pint. The way beer should be enjoyed.

On that note, if you’re looking for a fresh pint, be sure to look out for events at the brewery or our days out, all listed on the EVENTS page of the website.