As Les from Neptune brewery came out of the cold room with three casks to deliver en route to getting us lunch from the chippy, he popped into the office. He came out one minute later and returned the casks to the cold room. We both found this extremely funny. It’s not funny, but it just about sums up the day when Anspach & Hobday did a collab with Neptune. A collab on the day it all went wrong.
We met Julie and Les from Neptune at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo last year. We all made friends, we agreed to do a collab.
We met Julie and Les from Neptune at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo last year. We all made friends, we agreed to do a collab at our place. Classic. They came down to brew Janus, a maple and oak brown ale. They then asked if we’d like to come up to Liverpool in March 2020 for the return, which would also be one of the five collaboration beers to celebrate their 5th birthday over the Easter weekend. Of course we said yes.
The idea of brewing an IPA that was softer with far fewer IBUs seemed like something new and interesting for us.
It was going to be great. We decided to brew an IPA. As a brewery, we love to moan about how every collab these days is just an IPA… However, we only brew one IPA. It’s a classic West Coast inspired IPA. As a result, the idea of brewing an IPA that was softer with far fewer IBUs seemed like something new and interesting for us.
Having a pint in Liverpool’s wonderful Ship & Mitre on the evening of Monday 16th March, I tuned in to watch our infallible leader make a strong and concise announcement, outlining the UK’s new Coronavirus measures. During this landmark broadcast, I realised that the following day’s brew would be a little different.
Will we ever sell any draught beer ever again?
As the beer transferred into the kettle (overseen by the admirably positive-minded Gav) and we drank our third cup of tea of the day, we whooped and cheered as the emails rolled in. Each informing us of cancelled keg and cask orders and postponed events. All the while, brewing a beer destined for a 5th birthday celebration party in three weeks’ time. We discussed all the hot topics of the day; insurance policies (in the event of government enforced closures), how I’m a weirdo for not having vinegar on chips, the aesthetic benefits of OSB and, of course, will we ever sell any draught beer ever again?
As a firm believer that everything can be funny and this is the only way to deal with every situation, it was great to spend the bleakest day in UK craft beer history with like minded individuals. What has happened is beyond any of our control. It’s also extremely serious. For two small businesses like ours, this situation could very realistically be make or break. That isn’t, technically, very funny at all.
Having a laugh at the absurdities in life makes everything a lot more bearable. Better still, having a laugh with some really nice people in the same boat.
What is in our control though, is how we tackle the challenges ahead. Practically, by finding new avenues to continue selling our product in order to keep the breweries and staff afloat. But also the attitude with which we tackle it. Having a laugh at the absurdities in life makes everything a lot more bearable. Better still, having a laugh with some really nice people in the same boat.
Cheers to Neptune and cheers to making the best of a bad situation. Also, cheers to our web store. 15% discount with the code STOCKPILE. Cheers!