Fresh beer to give drinkers ‘next best thing to the pub’

Hogs Back Brewery ready for second lockdown

Beer lovers across Surrey will be able to enjoy their favourite pint despite the impending pub closure, thanks to a ‘brewery fresh’ beer service from Farnham based Hogs Back Brewery.

After successfully pivoting its business when the hospitality sector was locked down in March, Hogs Back is set to once again offer customers fresh beer, including its best-selling TEA (Traditional English Ale). What’s more, the brewer is now selling its draught beers in reusable glass Snorters, or flagons, so drinkers can choose an environmentally-friendly tipple.

Hogs Back customers can buy their lockdown beers in several ways: Drive Through, visiting the brewery and placing an order for immediate collection from a socially-distanced point outside; ‘click and collect’, ordering via the website www.hogsback.co.uk and choosing their date and time to collect, and, for those who can’t get to the brewery, Local Delivery. Hogs Back expanded its Local Delivery area during the last pub closure and it is now offered to many thousands of customers living in postcodes radiating out from Farnham and into north Surrey.

Earlier this autumn, Hogs Back launched its Snorter, a 3.5-pint reusable glass flagon, and will be introducing a 1-litre Snifter shortly. Once filled, these keep beer fresh in the fridge for seven days and can be reused time and again. Hogs Back estimates that if all their draught beer sales locally move into Snorters and Snifters, they can eliminate 18,000 plastic containers a year.

Hogs Back has taken care to ensure buying beer from them is a safe experience. All brewery staff members will wear a specially-designed face covering featuring a hog motif, contactless payments are encouraged and customer contact with staff is eliminated as much as possible throughout the process.

Rupert Thompson, Hogs Back managing director, said: “It’s heartbreaking to see pubs closing for the second time this year; they’re essential hubs in their communities and will be sorely missed again, particularly by those who are alone during lockdown. We look forward to them reopening early next month in time for the key festive season.

“In the meantime, drinkers across Surrey can enjoy our brewery fresh beers, which are the next best thing to a pint in a pub. Unfortunately, we can’t deliver the unique atmosphere of the pub, but we know many of our loyal customers enjoyed beers with friends over Zoom during the last lockdown, so we’re expecting these to be restarted.”

As well as brewery fresh beer, Hogs Back is offering a wide range of its bottles and cans for collection or delivery. Delivery is free to homes within its Local Delivery area, which extends approximately 30 miles from the brewery, with eligible postcodes listed on their website. Customers living further afield may buy bottled and canned beers for delivery, but not draught.