Twenty Charles Wells tenanted pubs have now signed up to the agreement that lets them stock one beer out of tie if they pay a “corkage fee” of £65 per 36-gallon barrel and reach sales targets.
The company, which has 250 tenanted pubs, has told M&C Report that another five pubs have taken on the Micro Brewed Corkage Agreement since early summer, when its new code of practice, which includes details of the new agreement, won accreditation from BIIBAS.
Under the agreement, licensees can stock one cask ale out of tie from a brewer producing less than 15,000 barrels per year.
The tenant gets the beer from the microbrewer, but it goes through Brulines’ systems to ensure no more than the agreed amount is sold. Pubs would be set a minimum target for selling Charles Wells beers and must pay the corkage to the company.
The agreement is primarily aimed at pubs where ale is a unique selling point of their business.
However, Kate Hempsall, recruitment, marketing and PR manager at Charles Wells Pub Company, told M&C report that a greater mix of pubs are now opting for it. For example, the King William IV in Kempston, Bedfordshire, which she described as a food-led community pub.
She added that the agreements have come up for discussion during the series of regular meetings between individual tenants and company directors, which were introduced this year for the first time.
