Member Article

York beer to be sold in the House of Commons

BEERS brewed on the outskirts of York will be sold in the House of Commons shops after a local producer won a lucrative contract.

The Hop Studio, in Elvington, is one of two breweries selected following a national tendering process.

The firm will now supply 50,000 bottles of beer over two years, with the beer going on sale in the three House of Commons shops and being available in its catering facilities.

Its porter beer has been chosen, and will be sold in specially-designed labels, under the name Treason.

Dave Shaw, founder and owner of the brewery, said the name would create a link to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, completing the link to York.

He said the contract was worth around £30,000 to the brewery.

Mr Shaw said: “We’re really happy with it. It was advertised as a contract, and it was a public sector tender, so quite a complicated process. We did a pitch at the beginning of June and designed some labels. We picked three beers and they have selected one.

“We will brew it in August to get it into their shops for mid-October, then there is also a Christmas fair they do in November, and a tasting with MPs at the beginning of December.

“It was advertised nationally, so I imagine breweries from all over the country have a go. They whittled it down to five, which meant we went to pitch in the Palace of Westminster and as a result we are one of two supplying the beers. The other is Windsor and Eton, who are supplying two.

“We’re delighted really. It’s a good prestigious contract. It will be co-branded as Hop Studio and the House of Commons, and it’s quite a good marketing opportunity, showing that we can do these sorts of contracts.”

Hop Studio’s porter includes vanilla in the recipe and is brewed at the company’s site in an industrial unit off York Road in Elvington.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .