This Is Guernsey

By Simon Tostevin

Randall’s MD Ian Rogers raises a glass of Breda at La Piette Brewery, the only place in the world where the brand is now brewed. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0622194)

GUERNSEY’S best-selling pint is now being brewed here.
In fact, Breda lager is no longer made anywhere else.
Randall’s, which officially opens its La Piette Brewery at St George’s Esplanade this evening, has sealed a licensing deal with United Dutch Breweries and Inbev to brew the lager.
Randall’s MD Ian Rogers said that if they had not taken it on, the brand would have disappeared as its owners no longer wanted to make it.
On average, 5,000 pints of the full-bodied 5% alcohol lager are sunk across the Channel Islands daily. Drinkers in several local pubs have already unknowingly tasted the local brew over the past few weeks.
Brewery staff were sworn to secrecy about the deal.
Mr Rogers believes Randall’s has pulled off a coup by preserving arguably the island’s favourite brand.
He said the deal would also ensure that islanders were getting top-quality Breda. There had been complaints in the past couple of years about its taste.
‘We found out in spring 2007 that Inbev was going to stop doing Breda this summer. We saw it as an opportunity for us to continue the brand.
‘We approached Inbev about this and, unbelievably, they said yes, which means we are now the only Breda brewery in the world.’
Mr Rogers said lager sales had gone through the roof as people in developing nations and places such as South America, Russia and China had started drinking it. Breweries already running at full capacity producing one beer did not want to change their systems to produce only small amounts of Breda.
Mr Rogers is managing director of the Guernsey Pub Company, a consortium of private investors that purchased Randall’s in April 2006.
He has changed the way the business is run, including moving from Les Vauxlaurens Brewery, St Julian’s Avenue.
And now that the finishing touches have been made to the new plant, it will mean the return to the island of the brewing of Monty’s bitter as well as the reintroduction of Patois cask ale.
‘Patois was an old Guernsey brand that they had up to 10 years ago when they changed to Envy. But Envy wasn’t the right image for a cask beer, let alone a Guernsey cask beer. It was totally wrong.’
Striking the deal to brew Breda also meant that La Piette Brewery’s plans to import a micro-brewery from Canada had to be changed because a larger plant was needed.
A ‘midi-brewery’, made by Velo in Italy, has been installed. It takes up the same area but has deeper tanks.
Mr Rogers said it made more sense to take on Breda than to create a Guernsey brand that would not sell nearly as well.
‘Breda is huge in Guernsey and we’re sure the public will embrace the fact that it is brewed here.’
Breda is also popular in Jersey and Mr Rogers added that there was also the prospect of eventually exporting it to the UK and beyond.

Article posted on 27th August, 2008 - 2.30pm