Devon-based Utopian Brewing has announced that it has appointed head brewer, Jeremy Swainson, to the company’s board of directors.
Utopian’s director of brewing and production, Jeremy Swainson
“Jeremy joined the business at the very start, and throughout those five years he has made a massive contribution to the business and been a constant support to me,” said Richard Archer, Utopian’s managing director.
“Jeremy’s brewing knowledge is outstanding, his work ethic first class, and he provides inspirational leadership to the brewing team. That is what underpins the consistent, exceptional quality of our beer, but his talents extend past the brewing process.
“He has a keen interest and awareness of our industry, and has a huge amount of value to add, right across the business. That’s why I was excited to invite him to join the board, and even more delighted when he accepted.”
Jeremy joins the board as director of brewing and production, alongside founding MD Richard and three long-serving non-executives who collectively provide a wealth of industry experience, spanning both small and large businesses.
Jeremy said: “The past five years have been an incredible experience, helping to grow our team and developing our range of beers. It is a privilege to work for a brewery where beer quality and sustainability underpin everything we do, and I am thrilled to play a part in Utopians’ continued growth.”
The brewery has recently completed the installation of a Dalum CO2 capture system. This, together with earlier investments in nitrogen generation, has now made the brewery completely self-sufficient in CO2.
Jeremy at work in the brewery
Richard said: “Until fairly recently, capture of CO2 from fermentation, for re-use in production, was the domain of only the largest brewers. This Dalum unit makes it accessible to operations like ours, and we think it’s a game changer.
“It is not simply the reduction in emissions. Our unit will also deliver considerable net savings on utility expenditure, whilst giving us total insulation against any supply-side risks like those seen in 2022. Great for the planet and good for the P & L, too. A genuine win-win.”
Utopian is totally committed to building a sustainable future, and Richard was also able to update on the final commissioning of a biological waste water plant in recent weeks. A six-figure investment, the project has taken more than 18 months to complete. It will ultimately process all of the brewery’s waste water to final effluent standard.
“Finally, after a somewhat tortuous journey, we are delighted that the bio waste water plant is now on stream,” said Richard. “Disposing of waste water in an off-grid rural site is a massive challenge, expensive, and a source of considerable CO2 emissions, so removing all of those in one hit will provide very significant benefits both to the business and to the environment.”
The combined impact of the two initiatives is forecast to be a reduction of 35 tonnes of CO2e.
On the business performance, Richard reported that while its fiscal year 2022-23 (June to May) had, like for most breweries, been challenging, he was pleased that revenues had still grown.
On the current year, he provided a positive update for the first half, with sales up more than 20% on the same period last year. Alongside this strong revenue growth, he reported how production efficiencies and improved purchasing had contributed to a solid EBITDA and net profit performance.
“The sales team have done an excellent job, delivering good growth on the back of difficult trading last year. This has been underpinned by some great work by the brew team to find efficiencies in production without any impact on the quality of the beer.
“In fact, all the awards we have won suggest the beer has got even better. We are encouraged by the positive EBITDA and net profit performance, and the board remain cautiously optimistic for the full year.”
The company plans to expand the sales team, increase brewing capacity, and possibly develop taprooms and other direct outlets.
Richard said: “Whilst we remain cautious on the general economic conditions, we are an ambitious business and we want to continue our growth. Our plans are very much about sticking to our core values of sustainably brewing great lagers, with all British ingredients.
“Continued organic growth will remain our key focus, but we do also think the time may be right for some Utopian bars on the high street, and so are now actively researching opportunities for that.”
