www AWRS = All Winners Really Strive / something else?
Jul 31, 2026
What's Up? How is it August tomorrow?!
Tanks full of lager and pilsner and Sundown, fermenters full of Moondance, Alton's Pride... a small batch Ruby IPA being brewed that needs a name [usual case of beer and bragging rights to you if name comes from you]. Think we finally might have brewed enough Mr. Brightside... but like the best things in life it takes time...
In terms of trade - we headed to ~23% more places than last week - so chances are that means "thank you for the order" but if not, there is always next week! More wonderful places but I think our overall ale sales will be broadly flat week on week. People keen for fresh supplies but just cautious on the heat. Lager and Pilsner continue to fly. Feedback from folks running events is they are all running v slightly below expectations. No clear conclusion on why this is but suspect it is more to do with the weather and thin wallets than world cup fatigue, but maybe something we can all benefit from in terms of less wastage?
On Wednesday night in our Taproom, Mr. Brightside outsold ALL cask ale sales combined. That is a first. For my pallet it isn't even our best pilsner/lager! We will have it in bottles in a few weeks and then you can sample it more easily... then buy some (obvs!).
BTW AWRS subject matter worth reading below for - just as an aide-memoire.
What's On?
And back in kegs the much feted:
What's About?
I spend too much time driving my computer and not enough time in my car seeing folks - such is the limitation of running a small business in a tough economy with a small - but awesome - team.
Anyway this past week I was lucky in managing to get out to meet with a person who owns and runs several successful pubs - someone I respect and who, if you knew them, you would too.
We had a nice chat and at the end of it were swapping war stories - I told about how all our tax payments ended up in HMRC's VAT account and the Duty guys were chasing us for money we had paid - despite us sending them to totally different accounts with totally different references [you have one job...!]... they told me another interesting one - one for you to take heed of... it goes something like this - with actually not that much embellishment (but maybe a little bit!):
T'was a dark stormy night and the bar was full... In walked two substantial, intimidating fellows dressed head to toe in black. The bar falls silent. You can cut the atmosphere with a knife. They announce themselves as from HMRC and address the bar staff. The bar staff happens to be the (super smart) child of the pub owner and does the super smart thing and dials it in. The pub owner says "don't say a word to them, I'll be there shortly" - gets out of their pyjamas [probably putting some clothes on, though we did not establish this for certain in our conversation] and legs it over to the pub in question.
The HMRC bruisers present their credentials (legit) and ask our [presumably clothed] friend if they purchased beer from a certain Home Counties Brewery (no longer in business) in the previous months? Turns out, yes they did. "Can we see the beer?" "Er no, it went in 3 days but you can see the empty, and we have a year of paperwork if you want - what's the problem?"
Turns out one of the reasons this brewery went pop was that it was not paying Duty.
When this happens and if the brewery doesn't work with HMRC, they lose their AWRS (Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme), so they aren't allowed to sell alcohol - but they were selling and selling quite aggressively - illegally. [I actually got to know a little bit about these bods (brewery in question) - one came to me with a deeply unethical proposal and was duly invited to go forth and multiply - so to me that they were selling beer with no valid AWRS is no surprise].
Here is the thing though... the responsibility to ensure the AWRS is in place is in fact the buyers! Yep - check out HMRC's website - if you buy beer off someone without them having a proper AWRS registration in place it is you who is breaking the law. HMRC agents then have an on-the-spot choice: they can close you down (seriously), they can suspend your license while processes are implemented, they can fine you or they can do a smorgasbord of all of these. It is really serious and immediate.
I guess the conclusion here is deal with ethical, professional people, but do check [speak softly but carry a big stick]... you can check AWRS numbers clicking here: Check if an alcohol wholesaler or producer is approved - GOV.UK Our AWRS is XPAW00000117675 if you want to begin some checking... Genuinely worth getting a member of the team to check this (should be on all the invoices, if not demand this) once in a while and recording that you've done it... The other reminder is be firm but polite with HMRC's agents and don't be rushed by them - that and it is a good idea to put clothes on before leaving the house... or not - maybe that is why the HMRC bods were reasonable in the end with our friend?!
Boring but important - hopefully a helpful reminder to some to avoid disruption.
And now that you know we are legit - de-risk yourself and go ahead and order some beer! - what can we bring you? One of everything ticked in the above graphic?
