Half-tonne pallets for smaller brews
While the whole brewing and distilling industry is suffering the knock-on effects of Covid 19, the craft brewing sector is being hit disproportionately by the lockdown. It’s no understatement to say that cask brewers, in particular, have a problem.
Although players in the supply chain can’t solve the crisis, they can offer support. Various initiatives have been created to help craft brewers and distillers, and among these are the ones Crisp Malt has introduced.
“Our aim always is to work in close partnership with our customers,” says Rob Moody, Crisp Malt director, “and that means, when things get tough, we want to provide support initiatives that actually make a difference.
“That’s not just commercial considerations, but also technical and educational. Wherever possible, we want to help brewers to weather the Covid-19 storm and support their efforts to come back stronger.”
Refunds
Crisp is offering craft brewing and distilling customers the opportunity to return whole pallets of malt purchased after 1st March, to be refunded.
Rob says: “Many of the cask- and keg-focused brewers had to stop brewing so quickly that they now have stocks of malt they cannot use in the short term. We have offered to buy back this stock to help them with cashflow and storage.
“This offer has been very well received, including by those who don’t need to take us up on it, but appreciate the gesture. Anyone wanting to know more should call their usual contact at Crisp, or email customer services on sales@crispmalt.com.”
Credit terms and individual payment plans
At the best of times, it’s tough for brewers when customers take a long time to settle bills. Now, it looks as though a hand-to-mouth existence may be the norm for some time to come.
Rob says: “We have offered extended credit terms and individual payment plans. This has been warmly welcomed by many customers. If you would like to discuss your specific needs, please just phone your sales manager or send them an email.”
Half-tonne pallets
Many who are still brewing during lockdown are producing fewer or smaller batches.
Rob says: “Our usual minimum order is one tonne, but we have temporarily introduced the option to buy half-tonne pallets of malt at no extra haulage cost. Again, this should help with cashflow and allow brewing to continue on a smaller scale.”
Educational tools and insights
Craft brewing and distilling sales manager, Colin Johnston, has led a stream of information and educational resources.
He says: “The newest is The Steep, a bi-weekly newsletter. It will contain information and news relevant to brewers. Sure, there will be plenty of focus on malt, but that isn’t all. We’ll be writing features, looking at beer recipes, listing our webinars and those of others, and suggesting brewing content from across the web.”
To sign-up, click here
Audiences of 50 to 80 brewers from across the world have been attending the maltsters’ weekly technical brewing webinars. You can catch up with these on Crisp’s blog.
“The technical blog posts, on subjects ranging from crop insights to malt functions, have been well received, too,” says Colin. “Take a look, and let us know what other topics you would like to see covered.”
Rob says: “The craft brewing and distilling industry has been one of the business success stories of the past decade. Like so many businesses it is now in for a very difficult time. But, unlike many industries, it has a culture of co-operation and collaboration between producers and suppliers.
“Hopefully, by working together, we can get through it and be prepared and ready to go once the pubs and bars re-open and brewing ramps up again.
“We’re always open to ideas on what we can do to support you. Please get in touch if you have suggestions about anything that would help in these challenging times. Talk to your contact at Crisp, or just ping an email to hello@crispmalt.com. We look forward to hearing from you.”
