At a recent meeting of the London Brewers’ Alliance (LBA), a vote was held in favour of formalising the governing structure of the group. The LBA was formed in 2010 to unite those who make local beer with those that love it, and represent the vibrant heritage and contemporary scene of beer brewing in the great city of London. John Keeling, Fuller’s Global Ambassador and former Brewing Director, was named as the first Chairman with Sam McMeekin of Gypsy Hill taking on the role of Deputy Chairman.
The new roles will lead the group through a 12 month review of the role and structure of the LBA to improve issues around funding, knowledge sharing and communications – building an organisation that can protect the role of London brewers in the future. The new working group will report back to the wider LBA membership at regular intervals.
John Keeling said: “The London Brewers’ Alliance was created on a more social level, to bring together those of us with the common purpose of brewing great beer in our capital city. However, we realise that we need to formalise some of our activity to ensure that we offer the best support possible to our members – and to do that, we need a working party to identify areas of commonality and issues for development.
“I’m honoured to be taking on this role – and delighted to have Sam in support. It was only 10 years ago that I was one of just five head brewers in London. Now there are 90. We need to ensure that brewing in London continues to flourish and survive and I’m looking forward to implementing plans to do just that.”
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For further information please contact:
John Cryne 07802 174861 john.cryne2@googlemail.com
John Keeling 020 8996 2027 john.keeling@fullers.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
The London Brewers’ Alliance was formed in 2010 as a loose collective of breweries within the M25 to celebrate the resurgence of brewing in London.
Its main object is to promote excellence in all aspects of brewing within London:
- by promoting the sale of beer brewed by its members
- by promoting its members
- by participating in any suitable event that promotes members interests
- by co-operating with any other body that is deemed to have similar aims
- by supporting the improvement of brewing skills among the membership,
Membership is restricted to established commercial brewers within the M25 (plus founder members as previously agreed)
Associate Membership shall be available to anyone brewing or intending to brew commercially within the M25 converting to Full Membership after 6 months of commercial brewing.
Fuller, Smith and Turner P.L.C. is an independent traditional family brewer founded in 1845 and is based at the historic Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London, where brewing has taken place continuously since 1654. The Fuller’s Beer Company brews a portfolio of premium beers including London Pride, Oliver’s Island, ESB, Organic Honey Dew and Frontier Craft Lager. The Company owns Cornish Orchards, a craft cider maker producing a range of award-winning ciders and premium soft drinks. Fuller’s is also the UK distributor for Sierra Nevada, the premier US craft beer. In December 2015, Fuller’s acquired a 51% stake in Nectar Imports, a wholesale drinks business. For the time being, Fuller’s will be handling press releases for The London Brewers’ Alliance.
Alice Monteath
PR Assistant