We're Making A List - London Black's Surging Demand
We’re Making A List
Recent times have been positive at Anspach & Hobday. We have seen a huge increase in demand, driven by London Black, our Nitro Porter. This increase in demand has been a gratifying experience in contrast to the current climate that plagues our industry. Buoyed by a wave of national interest in dark beers, which started before COVID-19 and accelerated afterward, London Black is now the best selling beer in many of the bars we work with. This is an amazing achievement in the nascent revival of London Porter brewing.
London Black, in can and on draught.
Strong Growth
In the past 11 months at our taproom, The Arch House in Bermondsey, London Black revenues were three times higher than the next best selling beer, Ansbacher Premium Lager. Staggeringly, London Black itself is up more than 110% year-on-year which is phenomenal growth for a beer we already thought was very well established. It is certainly the London Black season but growth of London Black is up in London and nationally, surging 72% higher in volume sales in the last three months year-on-year. Last month we celebrated our 150th brew and 2,000,000th pint of London Black produced!
A Tribute to our Supporters
It is certainly worth paying tribute to our crowdfunding shareholders, who through two equity raises, have put their faith in Anspach & Hobday, London Black and our ability to deliver. We are still on that journey and there is no complacency to be had about current or future performance. Even more importantly we have to thank the early adopters of London Black in the on and off trade who championed the beer from the very beginning. You can find these on the London Black Map.
Keeping up with Demand
Still, London Black continues to make up over 70% of our production (73% of all packaged goods in the last 3 months). Keeping up with such growth in volumes has been a great challenge for our team. In what can only be ascribed to some fantastic brewing and supply chain management, we have managed to keep the taps pouring across London, the nation and abroad. This is despite a near shortage of London Black since August, when a bumper July depleted our stocks. Paul and I have to pay tribute to the whole team, because as the brewers have increased our brewing volumes, we have seen a near equal increase in demand from sales. Fear not, in the long-run, our brew site at Croydon has plenty of growth potential (up to treble current brewing, with FVs) but in order to navigate current demand,we are going to start a waiting list for new London Black accounts. The List will allow us to regulate the speed of expansion and support existing customers.
We’re Making A List
For trade enquiries please add your name to the list we are making. The Sales team will be in touch as soon as possible to co-ordinate bringing you on board in the new year.
Whilst we ramp up production, we will also be working with our wholesalers directly, to help them manage demand and encourage similar lists.
The Future
Looking ahead, in 2025, we will further invest in our production capabilities, particularly around fermentation capacity and canning for London Black. Cans of London Black have been the other success story for the brewery this year, providing an independent alternative to Diageo’s Guinness. When supply allows, and with the backing of our growing community, we believe that we can continue to make inroads into markets previously denied to smaller brewers.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers from myself, Paul and The entire A&H Team
John Hobday