The Grocer – 10 August 2019

buying & supplying grocery

34 | The Grocer | 10 August 2019 Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

Curious Brewery last month kicked off production at a new multimillion-pound facility

Curious Brewery

eyes redesign and

raft of new drinks

Daniel Woolfson

Curious Brewery – the

craft beer arm of English

wine giant Chapel Down

• has unveiled plans for
  a major redesign and a
  swathe of new products
  poised to launch over the
  coming months.
  The brewer, which last
  month kicked off produc-
  tion at a new multimil-
  lion-pound brewery in
  Ashford, Kent, is to com-
  pletely rebrand its core
  range of drinks. New bot-
  tles will roll out between
  now and the end of the
  year, its MD Gareth Bath
  told The Grocer this
  week, and it will add a
  slew of new drinks.
  It has begun brewing
  a porter, which was pre-
  viously available only
  as a limited-run brew,
  on a permanent basis
  for the core range. It has
  also created a Brut IPA,

which Bath called “a

fusion of the mouthfeel

of sparkling wine with

the flavour and aroma of

West Coast IPA”, which

is already available on

draught and will join the

core range in the near

future. It is hopped with

Nelson Sauvin hops.

On top of that, the

brand plans to move

into the booming fruit

cider market with its own

competitor.

“In my opinion [that

market] is mostly, but not

entirely, made up of prod-

ucts that are 35% juice

and then sugar additions

and concentrates,” said

Bath. “That’s not the way

we make our apple cider

and that’s not the way

we would make a fruit

cider.”

Curious Brewery has

begun work on a cider

by fermenting Reuben

and Bramley apples to

7.1% abv, then cutting the

drink with fresh black-

berry juice. Initial trials

were “really exciting”

said Bath.

However, he stressed

despite these develop-

ments Curious Brewery

was “not about to do 85

different beers a year –

that’s not the winemak-

er’s approach”.

The news comes on the

back of a bumper year for

Curious Brewery: finan-

cials from its parent com-

pany show beer and cider

sales were up 10% to

£4m for the year ended 31

December 2018.

Curious Brewery last

year hired former AB

InBev packing manager

Matthew Anderson to

take up the role of head

of brewing and produc-

tion at the new site in

Ashford.

The three variants contain
15mg of CBD per can

Startup brand Trip has
launched a range of CBD-
infused drinks it claims
will be “one of the high-
est CBD content bever-
ages available in the UK
m a rk e t ”.
It has rolled out three
flavours – Elderflower
Mint, Peach Ginger and
Cold Brew Coffee – in
250ml cans. Elderflower
Mint and Peach Ginger
are sparkling, while Cold
Brew Coffee is dairy-free
and contains zero calo-
ries per 100ml. The two
sparkling drinks contain

Startup Trip launches

‘higher than average’

CBD content drinks

7.5 calories per 100ml

(rsp: £2.99/250ml).

They all contain 15mg

of CBD per can and are

billed as being “powered

by adaptogens” – mean-

ing they contain natu-

ral substances claimed

to reduce stress, such as

mint, rooibos, chamo-

mile and turmeric.

By calling the range

Trip the brand said it

wanted to reclaim “the

negative connotations

of ‘getting high’” and

emphasise “the posi-

tive ‘trips’ people can

embrace in their every

d ay ”.

“Despite the impres-

sive growth of CBD inter-

est and awareness among

consumers, there is some

confusion around effects,

dosing and benefits. Trip

aims to provide transpar-

ent and accessible infor-

mation on CBD.”

The new soluble mixes are

available in three variants

Nestlé has claimed a
world first with a new
range of plant-based
soluble coffee mixes.
It has launched three
variants – Coconut Latte,
Almond Latte and Oat
Latte – which had been
“specially crafted to mix
perfectly with the plant-
based ingredients to
create smooth creamy
tasting lattes”.
They would “help meet
the growing consumer
demand for plant-based
and non-dairy products”.
The coffees have rolled
into Tesco, where they
will be sold exclusively

Plant-based coffee

mixes from Nestlé

until February next year

(rsp: £2.98/6x15g).

“We are quick to spot

and embrace fast-moving

coffee trends and tastes

in this highly competitive

and innovative market,”

said head of Nescafé UK

& Ireland Neil Stephens.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

We’re not about to do 85 different beers a year, that’s

not the winemaker’s approach – Gareth Bath, MD,

Curious Brewery