BUSINESS guru turned brewer David Wall says you need some bottle to go into the business of beer.

And he knows what he’s talking about.

Four years ago he gave up his lucrative job as a consultant working for the criminal justice system to set up Wall’s County Town Brewery in Northallerton.

“My wife Jayne and I always said we would do something completely different before we were 50, and it certainly is. We had three criteria, could we afford it, would it pay the mortgage, and would we enjoy it. Of everything we looked at, the one thing that came back time and time again was brewing.” said Mr Wall.

So David did a training course, and in January 2011 had a micro brewery installed in his premises on the Standard Way Industrial Estate in Northallerton, after a couple of days with a brewer, he was on his own.

“Then it was just designing my own beers. Brewing is basically barley, hops and water, and the many permutations of that, but there’s a huge amount to learn and to know and you have to have a good product otherwise people won’t come back.

“Once I knew we had a good beer, my marketing approach was to knock on every pub door in the area and persuade them to try it.

The problem is, of course, that many pubs are tied to breweries, and have to stock their beers. That has slackened a bit of late.

There are more free houses, so there is a market place for independent brewers,” he added.

That has brought its own problems because the numbers of micro breweries has rocketed in the past few years, and there are now around 1,100 breweries across Britain. Although competition has increased dramatically, it’s quality brews that are making headway. David’s now producing 15 beers with the most popular being Gundog, Brewers Gold and Beaters Choice.

“We’ve had to be smarter and change our marketing approach. It’s all about building up a relationship with pub owners, being consistent and producing quality beer. We now have eight pubs which have our beer on all the time within a 20- mile radius, and up to 200 who we also supply, covering an area from Alnwick in the north to Huddersfield in the south and over to the coast. We also supply casks nationally through wholesalers.

Our bottled beer accounts for around five per cent of sales,” said Mr Wall.

Business has increased dramatically – growing by 60 per cent in the first year.

“There has been a massive move towards local produce, that’s what people want, and a real shift towards real ale. It has been really enjoyable, but I can’t say it’s been easy. Many of my friends say it’s the dream job but it does involve long hours and hard work.

“It hasn’t grown as quickly as I would have liked and the banks have not helped at all. They have been very unwilling to lend money.

Before I started this business when I was working as a consultant, I was offered a £25,000 loan out of nowhere, when I went back with my business plan for investment in the brewery, and asked again, they didn’t want to know,” added David.

But he believes the future is bright for the County Town Brewery and is planning to expand next year with a move to new premises next door.

He’s increasing brewing capacity and plans to open a visitor centre, so people can see for themselves the business of making beer.

Wall’s Brewing Company Ltd

The County Town Brewery,
1 Binks Close,
Standard Way, 
Northallerton,
DL6 2YB
Telephone: 01609 258226
Web: wallbrewery.co.uk
Email: info@wallsbrewery.co.uk