OPPORTUNITIES UNBARRED

Last year was all about getting production in line, growing our capacity to produce unique beers and finding new ways to share it in the UK and beyond. This year, we have been meeting with some really inspiring people, hitting a few awesome festivals and enjoying collaborating with some brilliant other breweries who share our ethos and approach to beer. Our capacity has expanded massively at our current home with Missing Link Brewing who have been the perfect partners for us in expanding Jordan’s original nano-brewery in Hove into a nationwide supplier of cracking craft beer. For 2019, we are also looking to expand further to reach the next level of distribution and sales so that we can share our vision with even more people. The more we brew, the better the economies of scale, and the more that we will be able to get our beer out there to new channels.

So when we were approached by Tesco completely out of the blue at the start of this year to discuss production of some exclusive beer, we were very excited to hear what they had to offer. Our UnBarred ethos has always applied to our whole way of doing business, and not just the brewing process. Although our core model has been focused on working with the many incredible independent craft beer shops, taprooms and pubs out there who have supported us since Day 1, we have never been restricted to one mode of distribution; it’s always been our dream to be able to get beer in the hands of people who will love it, regardless of where they shop. As it turned out, the team at Tesco were hugely passionate about what we had to offer, and were absolutely on board with making the project a collaborative one that would ensure no corners were cut in bringing two brilliant beers to Tesco’s shelves.

The logistics for the two beers necessitated brewing on a much larger scale than we are currently able to achieve at Missing Link. This is what led us to brew with the cracking team at Hop Stuff Brewery who collaborated on the first beer (a Grapefruit NEIPA) and facilitated our brewing of the other, a Mixed-Berry Gelato Pale. It was great fun working with Hop Stuff and we are really chuffed with the end result. We hope to one day have the capacity to brew these sorts of beers at our own brewery and this is a step towards reaching that goal.

The cans of the Grapefruit NEIPA and the Mixed Berry Gelato Pale will be exclusively hitting the shelves of Tesco from the start of April. You will also find them both on keg in pubs and taprooms up and down the country though. All our other beers will remain exclusive to the independent retailers whose support and camaraderie remain invaluable to us. We are really excited to get some UnBarred cans into the hands of drinkers who have never had the opportunity to try our beer before, and are looking forward to some of the other exciting opportunities and collabs in the pipeline for 2019. Watch this space!