Meet RSM Steve
Meet new Regional Sales Manager Steve. Already making an impact on his South Coast patch, we caught up with Steve to learn a bit more about him.
Q: How long have you been at the Brewery?
A: It'll be four months on 20th February. So still very fresh but very much enjoying it.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself….
A: I'm thrilled to have landed this job at HBB. I've been drinking cask ale for years, even when my less refined friends were on the big brand lagers, I was always on the cask ales. Combined with a dedicated home-brewing and home-grown hops habit, I feel like it's a good fit.
I've been in hospitality on and off over the last 25 years or so having jobs in live music venues, bars, pubs, restaurants, Hartridges Soft Drinks and latterly just over a decade at the fine wine merchant Justerini&Brooks.
Aside from that, at home in Petersfield, I have a lovely wife and two girls tearing it up. They are 7 and 9 and are amazing.
Exercise has always been a big part of my life with rowing being at the core of a lot of it. I've met some amazing people (including my wife), pushed myself extremely hard and learnt many life lessons. Just recently I have started coastal rowing down at Bosham Saling Club. I still love running, cycling and golfing when I can.
Q: How are you getting to grips with all the various intricacies of delivering to all the different pubs in the On trade?
A: As I have been lucky enough to work in various operations roles in wine, finance, soft drinks and now beer I am fairly au fait with getting to grips with new route to markets. With all that said, the route to market here at Hogs Back does take some getting used to! There are umpteen different paths to take, but it just shows the adaptability of our team here that we're persistent enough to knock on doors to spread our beer message. As my sales team member Paul Bradford says, “Where's there's a will, there's a way to get beer into a venue.” Wise words from Paul.
Q: What are the big beer trends out there now or that are coming soon?
A: In the current climate, there is a worrying trend of closure. There's a trend I am happy that Hogs Back are not to be a part of!
I see a retraction from heavily hopped IPA/NEIPIA beers and some leaning towards cleaner, pilsner styles. There's a happy medium to be struck on the hopping in modern beers. Additionally the continued rise of sours and slushy sours shows what happens when imaginations run riot in a brewery.
Here at HBB, we should stick to our guns by using the fresh hops from the garden (for flavour and carbon footprint impact) and seeing what else we can do with Farnham White Bine for example. Something we should be right proud of.
Something that never goes out of fashion is quality cask ale, a company who really care about cask products and gets someone over thresholds in the trade. There's no substitute for it really.
Q: What is your favourite beer and why?
A: In reality, I don't have a favourite singular beer, there's too many to choose from. However, without being too wistful or rose-tinted about it, I can very happily point towards a style and situation. The thing that I'm always chasing is that hot sunny day, cellar-cool pint of cask ale with around four friends. It must be a pale ale in a traditional style, leaning towards the more bitter end of the taste profile. Preferably near a river in a characterful pub. It should paint a perfectly British scene of things to be honest!
Q: What would you like to see Hogs Back brew if you could choose a new beer style?
A: I'd really like to team up with Head Brewer Dewald and get in the Brewhouse to create an extremely interesting and charismatic Cascadian IPA (Black IPA). Although we have to be custodians of the core Hogs Back beers on cask, there's definitely a place for experimentation within Hogs Back and One Planet. Additionally, I don't see why we can't look at a new low ABV% style. “Low n No” is a growing sector and the success of Little Swine and a famous Irish stout as Zero options should tell us something about the state of the market.
Q: Favourite football team?
Well, I am really more of a rugby chap (Bath supporter), but my parents are from Middlesbrough, so I've supported them for ages. I was even a mascot for them once at Stamford Bridge. Let's not talk about the result. . . . . .
We’re sure Steve is going to be a success in his sales role and, who knows, he might even get to brew his dream beer!
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