2011 News

UPDATE
We are extremely pleased to announce that our Dreamcatcher 6.9% won 'beer of the festival 2011'. We are once again very proud to have beaten some strong competition and would like to give a huge thanks to the festival organisers and to our fantastic Head Brewer, Alex Kean for making us such a wonderful beer.

The Oakham team are very much looking forward to attending next year's festival to collect the award.

22/09/2011
Next week sees the home of CAMRA HQ host its annual beer festival and we will be there flying the Oakham flag! You will find us at both the balcony bar which we are sponsoring, and our Dreamcatcher 6.9% which will be on the main bar downstairs.

Due to the huge success and fantastically warm welcome from John, Phil and the team that we had at last year's festival, we decided to once again show our support with beer, promotional materials and sending a few of the team down for the opening day.

The festival runs from Wed 28th Sept to Sat 1st Oct and hosts numerous wonderful beers (and ciders) including 15 different Oakham Ales. Full listing can be found on the website: http://www.hertsale.org.uk/beerfest/index.php

Pictured: Richard and Pauline Smith aboard their new narrow boat – Bishops Farewell

When Pauline and Richard Smith of Yaxley, Peterborough, purchased their first boat they were considering what to name it. The fifty-two foot narrow boat, based in Yarwell, will be regularly cruising the River Nene.

Richard said: "We have three beautiful grand-daughters, the name of any one of which would look really good on the side of the cabin – but how could we possibly pay homage to one without offending the sensibilities of the others?" As Pauline and Richard are both enthusiastic consumers of the beers of the local brewer - Oakham Ales - they settled upon one of their favourite beer's and decided to name their boat - 'Bishops Farewell'.
Richard continues: "I'm a great believer in supporting local businesses but this isn't the reason we always return to Oakham's products - in our opinion they really do stand head and shoulders above their rivals.

Bishops Farewell has a strong link to Peterborough, something else I like to promote whenever anyone will listen (we've both lived here all our lives) and we also love the Brewery Tap as a place to chill out at the weekend - it's ever so slightly quirky and the staff are quite exceptional.
Richard continues: "It does bring a smile to the face of those that cotton-on when they see it for the first time. But as often as not it causes some quizzical looks among passing boaters and you can see them thinking, "I wonder what....." I'm sure some of them think I'm a retired clergyman! So in the quieter moments, such as when we are waiting to go through a lock, we take great pride in bringing some enlightenment to the curious."

Adrian Posnett, Managing Director of Oakham Ales comments: "We feel honoured that Richard and Pauline chose one of our ales to name their narrow boat. The team at Oakham wish them many hours of happy boating and I will keep my eyes peeled for our 'namesake' next time I'm passing the River".

Oakham Ales, the acclaimed innovative ale brewery based in the East Midlands, has appointed Steve Fuller as an Area Sales Manager for the 'East Region'. The sales team has grown from three to five since 2010, reflecting the strong sales growth for the Oakham Ales range of draught and bottled beers.

Steve Fuller, who previously worked for Middleton Wholesale, will cover an area to include Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, North-East Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and East Riding of Yorkshire. He will be responsible for developing Oakham's direct supplied free-trade customers as well distributor and wholesaler supplied outlets within this area.

Adrian Posnett, Oakham Ales Managing Director comments: "It's great to have Steve on board. With a rapidly growing number (currently 208) of 'Oakademy of Excellence' member outlets nationally – that's venues that serve Oakham Ales on a permanent basis – as well as an increasing number of regular stockists of our beers supplied through our network of distributors, we needed to strengthen our sales team to meet this growing demand. Steve brings with him a wealth of experience in the trade and his genial manner will make him a great asset to our team"

Our Production Director John Bryan is currently state side on his annual hop selecting trip in Yakima Valley, USA. Yes it is a tough job, and someone has to do it, but previous visits and discoveries have proven that John is the man for the job, and certainly knows his stuff. After the success of Citra, John will have his eyes, nose and fingers on the look out for something special again................watch this space! We will report back with more details upon his return and find out what John and his hopping mad companions discovered and been up to.

We are extremely proud to announce that we picked up not one but THREE awards at this year's SIBA Eastern Region Competition which was held at Elgoods brewery in Wisbech. One of our newest beers Green Devil IPA which is 6% abv scooped a gold in it category Premium Strong Beers and also silver overall. Black Hole Porter 5.5% also won its category of Porters, Strong Milds, Old Ales & Stouts.

This means that both beers will be in the SIBA National Finals which will be held in February 2012 with the winner being announced at the SIBA Annual Conference in March 2012.
Our MD Adrian will be attending so we will let you know how we get on. One, huge, massive well done to Production Director John Bryan, and Head Brewer Alex Kean for brewing such outstanding and consistently good ales. Cheers!