A Challenge to Pubs for Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 - Try Fairtrade Draught Beer

Don Burgess, Head Brewer Freeminer Ltd Robert Wicks

With the approach of Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 (February 26 – March 11) more and more off licences, pubs and catering establishments are raising a glass to Fairtrade.

Publicans and pub managers are being offered the first Fairtrade cask beers which are being launched by two companies – Fairplay Ale from Freeminer Ltd and William Wilberforce Freedom Ale from the Westerham brewery. A growing number of pubs now offer Fairtrade tea, coffee and other products, but this is the first time draught beer has been available.

Freeminer, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, has brewed Fairplay Ale using hops from Europe, malt from the UK and finest Malawian Fairtrade Demerara sugar made from sugar cane grown by smallholders’ co-operatives in Malawi. It falls between a traditional ale and a ‘blonde’ beer. “Our new Fairplay Ale is a quality beer and proves that Fairtrade products can be mainstream rather than niche,” says Peter Thomas, Managing Director of Freeminer. “Its Fairtrade credentials will give this beer a unique competitive edge.”

The Rising Sun at Moseley Green in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, is already offering its customers Fairplay Ale and sales are going well. Mick Robinson, the pub’s owner, says: “Fairplay Ale has stimulated interest among our customers and generated discussion about Fairtrade and what it achieves. We have been pleasantly surprised by the beer’s success and believe that the Fairtrade element has encouraged sales and once tasted customers have come back for more.”

He adds: “Fairplay Ale appeals to two distinct audiences – regular and local drinkers who are loyal to Freeminer and want to support the brewery, and tourists, walkers and cyclists who find it interesting and different and want to try it.”

The Westerham Brewery is launching William Wilberforce Freedom Ale during Fairtrade Fortnight. Initially the beer will be available in pubs, clubs and restaurants in Kent, Surrey, Sussex and South London. Freedom Ale is also brewed with Fairtrade Demerara sugar from Malawi.

Westerham’s Robert Wicks says traditionally floor-malted Maris Otter pale ale malt, crystal malt and Kentish hops combine with Fairtrade sugar to produce a deep mahogany ale. It is characterised by a mellow bitterness and long hoppy finish.

The beer commemorates the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. On 25th March 1807 the British Parliament voted in favour of one of the most humanitarian pieces of legislation in history, banning British ships from being used in the slave trade.

Pubs also serve other Fairtrade certified products. Sam Smith’s pubs offer Fairtrade orange juice. Pubs are also continuing to switch to Fairtrade hot beverages. The Orchid Group, the fifth largest managed pub retailer in the UK, is planning with Fairtrade coffee specialists Cafeology to roll-out Fairtrade coffee, hot chocolate and tea across its portfolio of 300 pubs, bars and restaurants in tandem with a multi-million pound investment strategy to redefine the pub and leisure market.

This switch has been successful for the Slug and Lettuce chain. Jason Danciger of the chain, which introduced Fairtrade coffee two years ago said: “We have had a significant amount of positive feedback from our consumers since we started to introduce Fairtrade coffee. This has given us invaluable brand loyalty and an opportunity to further share our passion about food and drink with our consumers. Coffee sales have increased and the quality has remained consistent. Introducing Fairtrade coffee was the right choice both morally and commercially.”

A Fairtrade Quiz can be used to add a special Fairtrade round to the best pub quizzes.

Other good Fairtrade news comes from the wine trade - via Waverley TBS, the UK's largest drinks wholesaler. It will be listing two Fairtrade wines for the first time from May. These are Isabelo Semillon and Isabelo Merlot from South Africa.
Waverley TBS’s customers range from independent restaurants, bars and clubs to large hotel and pub chains throughout the UK.

Threshers, the UK’s leading high street wine retailer, has launched a range of eight Fairtrade wines from South America and South Africa. Six of these are under Threshers’ own brand Origin. The wines are available at all Threshers stores. Jonathan Butt, Head of Global Sourcing at Threshers, said: “With our specially selected Fairtrade wines, customers get great quality wines and producers will see real benefits in their local communities. Making a difference has never been easier or more enjoyable.”

There are now 12 different grape varieties used in Fairtrade wine: Shiraz, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Cabernet Pinotage, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Malbec/Syrah, Riesling, Torrontes and Merlot Pinotage. There are more than 100 different wines to choose from. Mulled wine, whiskey sachets and bottled beer are also available, along with White Rum from Utkins.

And what better to wipe up spills in pubs and off licences than the first Fairtrade Cotton Cleaning Cloth from Minky. “We have developed the cloths as we felt that as the leading UK manufacturer and supplier of cleaning products we should be leading the development of ethical products within the cleaning sector,” says Minky Commercial Manager Robin Davis.

All of these announcements are timely for the theme of Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 Change Today. Choose Fairtrade.

A recent survey by Mintel said British shoppers would spend £2bn on Fairtrade, organic and locally sourced products during 2006, an increase of 62% since 2002. It also found Fairtrade to be the fastest growing of these sectors with a 265% growth since 2002.
Polls show that more than one in two people in the UK recognise the FAIRTRADE Mark and the Fairtrade Foundation is using this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight to communicate how informed consumer decisions can help tackle poverty in the developing world.
The guaranteed fair price which comes with Fairtrade means grape and sugar farmers face a better future for themselves and their families. They have used the additional premium which comes with Fairtrade to improve healthcare, education and other important benefits for themselves and their families and to improve and strengthen their businesses.

Notes to Editors

1. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body that awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards set by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) the umbrella organisation that unites national Fairtrade initiatives across Europe, Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. This independent consumer label appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than five million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. The full range of Fairtrade products is: coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, apples, pears, grapes, plums, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, lychees, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, fruit juices, smoothies, quinoa, peppers, green beans, coconuts, dried fruit, rooibos tea, green tea, herbal teas, ice-cream, cakes, biscuits, honey, muesli, cereal bars, jams, chutney, sauces, herbs, spices, nuts, nut oil, wine, beer, rum, flowers, sports balls, rice, yoghurt, babyfood, sugar body scrub, cotton wool and cotton products.
3. A recent Institute of Grocery Distribution report says UK shoppers now spend £13bn a year on premium food and groceries - products which are organic, Fairtrade, premium brands, retailers’ premium own label, local and regional foods, and specialist fine foods. It predicts the value of the market will rise to £19.2bn by 2011. The report suggests that the premium sector now makes up around 10% of the food and grocery market, and will rise to 13.5% by 2011, with the strongest growth in organic, Fairtrade, retailers’ private label ranges, and premium brands.
4. Fairtrade Fortnight is promoted by networks around the country including development agencies ActionAid, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, SCIAF, Tearfund, Traidcraft Exchange and the World Development Movement, as well as a wide range of other organisations: Banana Link, the Methodist Relief and Development Fund, the Mothers’ Union, the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, People & Planet, Shared Interest Foundation, Soroptimist GBI, the Public and Commercial Services Union, UNISON, the United Reformed Church, and many individual churches.
   

For further information, phone 020 7440 7686/7695 or mobile 07770 957 451 or email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk.

The Fairtrade Foundation,
Room 204, 16 Baldwin’s Gardens,
London EC1N 7RJ.