Keltek Brewery Invests To Save Local Pubs

The Keltek Cornish Brewery has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan starting with the acquisition of four Cornish village pubs.

The multi-award winning, Redruth-based brewers have invested more than £1.6m to purchase the Coppice Inn at Lanner, the Robartes Arms in Illogan, the London Inn at Summercourt and the Fox & Hounds in Scorrier, and introduce significant renovations and developments to each pub.

With pubs nationwide closing on an almost daily basis, Keltek founder Stuart Heath believes it's time to launch a fight back and help to re-establish local pubs at the heart of their communities.

"Pubs have always been a central part of my life. Whenever I've needed anything from a plumbing job done to having my car fixed, in the past there's always been someone from the pub I knew and trusted. I can imagine a much emptier life without a local pub & many communities have been losing theirs. The idea of celebrating and supporting local pubs which really serve a key role in their surrounding community is very important to me," said Stuart.

"I truly believe in a successful and prosperous future for well run and attractive pubs that are there to serve local people so I want to turn back the clock and, once again, give landlords the opportunity to be able to make a profitable living from running their local.

"One of the ways we intend to achieve this objective is to take a landlord-friendly approach to supplying the pubs and avoid the kind of profiteering that has recently been hitting the headlines. Thus, although the pubs are tied to our brand, we'll be selling our real ales to our tied estate at a similar competitive price to those at which we sell to free houses and clubs. This will allow our landlords to be both very competitive and make a sensible and reasonable profit on their beer sales. Beer swaps with other breweries up country are another way in which we can keep prices competitive whilst offering a wider choice of ales in our pubs."

"This is very much a cause which is close to my heart and I am passionate about supporting local traders who give back to their communities," he added.

All four pubs will stock the full range of Keltek beers including Keltek King, Magik, Lance, Beheaded and Even Keel, all of which are themed in tribute to Cornwall's Celtic heritage and celebrate the legendary tale of King Arthur.

The Keltek Cornish brewery started life in a small stable on the Roseland peninsula and for years was run by Stuart much more as a hobby than as a business. After winning Gold for its very first brew, a craft ale named 'Kornish Nektar', the Brewery relocated in 1998 to a larger plant in Lostwithiel.

A few years later and following several more awards, including winning Gold in the UK National Brewing Competition for their flagship premium bitter 'Keltek King', and both first and second prizes at the International World of Beer festival in Miami Beach USA plus the SIBA South West Champion for their best bitter 'Magik', the Brewery upsized again, moving to its current location in Redruth.

In more recent years the brewery has made considerable investment in plant and equipment - including state-of-the-art processing and bottling facilities - and now ranks as one of the largest capacity breweries in the West Country.

Despite the increase in brewing capacity, Keltek remains a family owned brewery that adheres to the age old traditions of hand-crafting ales and is one of the few breweries who still make genuinely cask conditioned beers rather than tank conditioned beers that are casked at the last minute.

As well being served in Keltek's new pubs, Keltek's award-winning ales are available in numerous other pubs across the South West. Their bottled beers are available in Tesco and Sainsbury stores and other retailers in Cornwall as well as further afield in the UK, and are exported internationally as far away as Hong Kong.

Keltek Brewery, Unit 44 Cardrew Way, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 1SS Tel: 01209 313620  www.keltekbrewery.co.uk