Kelham Island Brewery

Have you ordered the Rolls-Royce yet? I asked Dave Wickett. He laughed and said, "I'm too busy ordering casks!" The phone hasn't stopped ringing since Kelham Island, founded by Dave in 1990, won Camra's Champion Beer of Britain competition last week with its Pale Rider strong ale. With an order in for 90 casks, Dave was just wondering how to meet demand when another caller asked for 500 tubs of Pale Rider.

"I even had a call from Los Angeles asking if I could send them some beer," he said, almost in disbelief. The power of the Internet is truly awesome.

Kelham Island in Sheffield is typical of many tiny micros. It has grown substantially but is now faced by the daunting prospect of being famous nationally and even internationally, with a sudden surge in demand for its beer.

Dave didn't expect or plan for such success when he opened a pub, the Fat Cat (left), in the Kelham Island district of Sheffield in 1981. At the time he was a lecturer in economics at a local polytechnic that is now Sheffield Hallam University. He was an active member of Camra, sitting on its Economics Committee, and he studied closely the workings of the brewing industry, in particular the monopolistic power of the national brewers. "I kept my day job in lecturing while I ran the pub," he said. "I decided to add a brewery in 1990 on the day the government announced the Beer Orders and the guest beer policy, as I saw an opening for a small brewery."

He bought the five-barrel brewing kit from the closed Oxford Bakehouse brewery and installed it in out buildings next to the pub. He retired from the college and the "dismal science" of economics and took the plunge into brewing in a big way.

At the same time as he was building Kelham Island, with the help and advice of renowned micro-brewing adviser David Smith, he also launched a brew-pub, the Old Toad, in Rochester, New York State, which, he proudly proclaims, "Is still brewing real ale to this day."

At first Dave was brewer, driver and publican in Sheffield. His first batch of beer, Fat Cat Bitter, went on sale at a Sheffield Camra beer festival in September 1990 to great acclaim, but he never expected his business would grow and flourish. "Back in 1990, there were four big commercial breweries in Sheffield, which is Britain's fourth biggest city," he said. "The Hope & Anchor, Stones, Wards and Whitbread's Exchange had all gone within nine years, and Kelham Island was the biggest brewery in Sheffield."

Dave's inspiration when he started was Timothy Taylor's Landlord, which he first drank on a visit to the Keighley brewery and loved its complexity, full flavour and uncompromising bitterness. "We've never changed the character of Fat Cat Bitter since then," he said. "But we also listen to our customers and get inspiration from them. Lots of customers find the beer too bitter and hoppy so I thought we'd try a beer that is full flavoured, with a good aroma but not too bitter."

The result was Pale Rider, 5.2%, brewed only from pale malt, and using American and German hops, varieties famous for their aroma and fruity notes but not aggressively bitter. In the 1990s, the success of the brewery forced a move. A car park next to the Fat Cat was owned by the local authority, which agreed to sell part of it to Dave.

He moved and installed custom-built new equipment that gives him a 55-barrel capacity. The old brewery is now a museum that traces the history of brewing in Sheffield, the former "Steel City".

The industry has changed out of all recognition since Dave Wickett gave up his day job and launched his brewery. "We deliver to 90 or a 100 pubs in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire but only a third of those pubs take our beers on a regular basis," he said. "The growth of the pub companies makes it much more difficult for micros to get regular space on bars.

"We used to sell our beer to 25 Whitbread pubs in Sheffield. It was successful and in great demand. But then Laurel took over the Whitbread pubs and kicked us out. Sheffield has around 450 pubs and Kelham Island, the city's leading brewery, is only in about five of them."

But Kelham Island goes on growing despite these local difficulties. Dave still masterminds the business but has staff to help him. Paul Ward brewed the winning batch of Pale Rider. He came to Kelham Island as a part-timer and cask washer but became assistant brewer and then head brewer. He is supported by Stuart Ross, who only joined the brewery in February this year but is now assistant brewer. The delivery driver - "our key man," Dave Wickett says - is David Beaumont while brewery manager Richard Hamilton controls production and supply.

Dave and his team will cope with the increased demand for their beers by a stroke of good fortune. Two well-heeled people from Sheffield recently bought a stately home in Derbyshire, Thornbridge Hall at Ashford-on-the-Water near Bakewell. "One of them was a regular drinker of our beers and ordered supplies for parties and events at the hall," Dave said. "In fact, they were ordering so much that I jokingly said one day that I should set up a second brewery at their place. "They said 'Lets do it', and found some out houses which we've refurbished. I heard that Malton Brewery in North Yorkshire was stopping brewing, so I bought their kit and we should be brewing in Derbyshire within six weeks."

In spite of the success with Pale Rider, Dave Wickett is adamant that nothing will change at Kelham Island. "We won't cut any corners. We won't use brewing sugar or additives and you won't suddenly find Pale Rider in cans in supermarkets for 99 pence. If we have to disappoint people, so be it, but it's a wonderful position to be in."

For the moment, the caller from Los Angeles may have to wait for his delivery.

Visit Kelham Island's web site for stockists. Hopefully the Pale Rider at least will be more widely available in the near future following its Champion Beer of Britain success.