Relief for top brewer Bernard as taps open again on European business

Bernard Sloan had good reason to relax with a couple of his craft beers at the weekend.

The founder and managing director of Whitewater Brewing in Castlewellan, Bernard shipped two significant consignments of his award-winning beers to customers in France and northern Italy last week. They were his first exports since just before the coronavirus lockdown led to the shutters being pulled down in Europe and Asia as well as in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

And there was further encouraging news for the affable brewer from a business contact in Australia inquiring about his successful brews.

He describes the new orders from established distributors in France and Italy as “the first green shoots of recovery”. “The past couple of months have been terrible for the industry due to the lockdowns in hospitality in all our main markets,” Bernard, an experienced engineer and Whitewater’s master brewer, says.

“I have to admit that the new export orders came as a huge relief. It was a real morale boost to receive the telephone calls from both distributors in quick succession.

“Both wanted to know if I had stock and could supply them quickly so that they could meet the growing demand from the lifting of the lockdowns there.”

He had stockpiled the full range of bottled beers before the shutters were pulled down in Northern Ireland, Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

“It proved to be a really wise move,” he continues. “I had furloughed most of my staff and kept the brewery ticking over myself. I was able then to draw stock and arrange transport in double quick time.

“The beers were with them very quickly. I hope that this will lead to further orders soon.”

The prolonged lockdown resulted in a sharp downturn in business, especially in kegs, to the hotels and pubs which have long been the mainstay of Whitewater’s hugely successful business.

“The loss of this business has only been partly offset by increased orders from independent off licenses and some supermarkets here,” he says. “I greatly appreciate their support during what has proved to be an immensely difficult period for everyone in the industry.”

Another major problem inhibiting the industry’s response to the lockdown was the licensing legislation in Northern Ireland which restricts brewers from selling directly from their websites and breweries.

“The lockdowns in Europe halted our fast developing export sales in which we had invested considerable time and other resources,” he continues.

”Our state-of-the-art brewery, for example, was a very substantial investment in response to the growing demand for our beers from hospitality operators in the UK, the Irish Republic, other parts of Europe and from further afield.”

While he’s looking forward to the reopening of hotels here and in the Republic later in July he is understandably keen to see a date set for bars, the backbone of his business, to be allowed to open their doors again.

“It’s not clear yet what the opening of hotels here will mean especially in terms of their bars and restaurants. Will they be allowed to open their bars and restaurants when others outside remain locked down?

“I’d obviously wish to see these opened and especially our important keg business revived soon but within social distancing rules,” he continues.

Bernard is also hoping that the recent orders for his five-strong range of local beers from France and Italy will also see a resumption in exports to other key markets he’s developed such as Sweden and Japan.

“I’ve spent a great deal of time and money on developing sales outside Northern Ireland and had been doing really well before the pandemic struck. I am now aiming o recover this business as quickly as practicable,” he says.

“Our reputation and market awareness benefited immensely from our success in major awards including the UK’s highly influential Great Taste. Last year, for instance, Kreme dela Kremlin Imperial Russian Stout, our strongest stout, was the Regional Golden Fork winner for Northern Ireland in the Great Taste Awards. Demand for this and our other beers increased substantially following the award last September.”

As well as its bottling lines, the brewery has developed a canning operation and introduced a facility for slimline cans which is now attracting attention from a leading producer of sparkling soft drinks.

Bernard founded Whitewater Brewery, near Kilkeel, in 1996 in buildings on the family farm. It was then Northern Ireland’s original craft brewery and has since gone on to become one the island’s largest brewers of ales, lagers and stouts. The enterprise’s outstanding success led Bernard to invest in the new brewery in Castlewellan. The new brewery was opened in 2018 and is now among the most modern of its type on the island of Ireland. Invest Northern Ireland has assisted the company with the development of the new brewery and export marketing.

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