Beer making is ramped up at Peterborough’s Oakham Ales ahead of pubs re-opening

The Government’s decision to call time on the lockdown closure for inns and hostelries has sent demand soaring for supplies of ale.

Now Oakham Ales, in Maxwell Road, has put its beer production into top gear as pubs get ready to welcoem a flood of customers from July 4.

But brewery bosses warn that tough challenges are still ahead for the industry.

Yet, it is still a far cry from the start of locksdown when the pub closures dried up demand and left Oakham Ales to tip away gallons of its award-winning beers.

Adrian Posnett, the brewery’s managing director, said: “2020 was promising to be a great year for us with sales of our flagship Citra Session IPA breaking all records and the new CitraT90 cans and kegs making a critically acclaimed debut.

“Then Covid19 intervened, the pubs closed and Oakham not only needed to place all but seven of 40 staff on furlough but were also left with large quantities of cask beer which needed to be tipped away.”

He said: “Re-opening pubs after over three months of closure is a welcome first step on what is likely to be a long road to recovery for our industry.

“We’ve been brewing throughout lockdown in order to keep up with demand for our bottled beers and to supply the many pubs who’ve been offering takeout services.

“This has also allowed us to keep the brewery ticking over and primed to respond to the rapid increase in production we’ve seen in recent weeks as we ready ourselves for the re-opening of pubs and bars in July.

“ We certainly wouldn’t like our loyal customers to be without their favourite Oakham beers next month after such a long wait.”

But Mr Posnett added: “The big question now is to what levels pub demand will return.

“Social distancing rules and the possible reluctance on the part of some customers to return to the pubs will certainly have an impact but we are ready for the challenge, are putting in place working practices designed to protect the health of our employees and our customers and look forward to many more years of brewing our top quality beers.”