Help Our Hospitality: Historic Northampton brewery says you have just got to ‘roll with the punches’

In the second instalment of the Help Our Hospitality campaign this week, we gained an insight into the drinks industry with the managing director of a historic Northampton brewery.

Phipps NBC Brewery, in Kingswell Street, says they not only provide beer but a “pint of history in your hand”.

They brew traditional and new ales in their restored Victorian brewhouse, offering the “perfect mix of heritage and modernity”.

Their produce is popular with customers in and around Northamptonshire, with deliveries made four days a week.

Alaric Neville first took over the company as managing director in 2004, but it was not until November 2008 when the business got up and running as it took that time to bring the IPA back to life.

Alaric took on this venture with his brother, who worked at the Scottish & Newcastle pub chain at the time – which was heading towards bankruptcy.

As the company was being broken up and sold off, the pair decided to take the opportunity as a project of their own.

For them it was not about taking it on as a full-time job, it was about restoring history and bringing the IPA back, which many members of their family had loved drinking in the past.

When asked how he would describe the brewery to those who may have never heard of it, Alaric said: “We offer historic and accurate recipes of traditional Phipps and NBC beers.

“The original brewers from Phipps helped us to revive it.”

It was in 2014 when Alaric moved to Northampton and revived the final part of the historic brewery, which is when it became a full-time job for him.

Having been heavily involved in the drinks industry for almost two decades, Alaric was asked what has evolved during that time.

“I joined the industry at a period when cask, real and traditional ale was growing back from a low point,” he said.

“Keg and mass-produced beer was the style that was being pushed by multinational companies.

“2016 was when the revival of traditional British beer peaked and craft beer came along. The next generation moved in, who hadn’t got the memory of terrible keg beer, and craft beer was influenced by American ideas at the time.

“Craft beer has peaked now and we’re into a different market altogether. There’s no longer the stigma around keg beer that there used to be.”

The last time Alaric spoke to the Chronicle & Echo, the cost of beer production was on the rise and he explained how that was impacting Phipps NBC Brewery.

“In life and business, you get used to things,” he says now. “You have to roll with the punches.

“We’ve absorbed the increases at the moment and whether it is permanent depends on gas and ingredient prices.

“We’re making the best of it. The world we’re in is changing.”

Alaric says the “government rejig” and changes to the way alcohol is charged is going to affect the brewery, particularly in the lead up to Christmas.

He believes they have come through the “war-induced wobble” and the focus is now on how the market is going to settle in the years to come.

The managing director says it will be interesting to see which venues survive and if what people want from the drinking experience changes.

“Drinking habits are quite resilient,” he said. “People have what they have, and like what they like.”

Alaric says people may start opting for weaker beers, for health purposes, but it will take a few years to see how that pans out. At the moment, customers are still asking for the same beers at Phipps.

When asked his thoughts on Northampton’s hospitality industry, particularly the drinks sector, Alaric pinpointed that V&B in the town centre has proved popular.

“There’s always highlights and good things,” he said. “There’s always room for someone to come through with something new and interesting.”

Alaric says he was sad to see The Old White Hart close its doors earlier this year, which had “beautiful Phipps’ murals” covering the building.

He added: “Places can reemerge and it’s a situation that’s in flux.”

The manager director believes you cannot separate what is happening to the town’s hospitality industry with what is happening across Northampton generally.

Alaric, along with many others in the industry, is waiting to see how the developments in the town centre will impact the future of hospitality.

“A lot of pubs are struggling,” he said. “But there are always ones that will survive and do well.”

As Phipps is a drinks producer, Alaric says their business “relies on the skill and dedication of people who want to run venues” – which he described as a “hard job”.

For more information on Phipps NBC Brewery, visit their website here.