Where’s your true North?

Now that private equity firm Keystone has acquired North Brewing Co’s brands, the sector is responding. Could it be that brand identity is meaningless without beer integrity? Jessica Mason looks to the duo who began the North brand in earnest to see why the industry cares so much. 

The statements are out. Keystone now owns North Brewing Co. The narrative is being controlled by Keystone, with its CEO Mark Williams saying he is “delighted” that the North Brewing brand and beers will “join the Keystone family”.

But what does the industry think about it all? Especially since it has watched Keystone, formerly known as Breal Group, acquire and dismantle a number of the industry’s valued breweries in Yorkshire’s Black Sheep Brewery, Birmingham’s Purity and London breweries Brick, Brew By Numbers and more recently Magic Rock and Fourpure.

In January last year, the private equity company had been rumoured to be circling to attain North Brewing when the Leeds brewer and bar operator filed a Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator despite doubling its brewing capacity in recent years. But in a move to keep independence alive, Kirkstall Brewery’s Steve Holt stepped in to save the business. Only, now, Holt has sold North to Keystone. And although the plan is for North Brewing to continue to be brewed at Springwell under the stewardship of Kirkstall, do fans of North’s beers believe it will stay that way?

The industry is divided.

To give a bit of background to why the beer world is despairing has a lot to do with why people moved to drinking craft beer in the first place – a choice for integrity and supporting good people over big business. As consumption patterns changed, drinkers looked for something more appealing because it was a business that chimed with their values. Run by likeminded people. Imaginably, most would prefer a meal created by a chef who adored food and flavour. Or to dine in a restaurant where the owner was someone they might see now and again, show up and chat to guests. This is what people saw in North.

Christian Townsley and John Gyngell founded their original venture, North Bar, on New Briggate in Leeds in West Yorkshire before it quickly became termed a mecca for world beer. Some still cite it as the first craft beer bar in the UK.

As beer fans flooded the venue, the North brand grew in earnest too and soon the business became a solid set of bars with the branding recognisable and adorning the windows. Beer fans had found a home-from-home in those venues owned by Townsley and Gyngell. A place with shared values for good quality beer and where good people could be found.

Beer writer Adrian Tierney Jones admitted that the reason people liked North was always, essentially, because of Townsley and Gyngell being what he termed as a “pioneering duo” but still, always, the kind of people you would actually have a beer with in a pub.

By 2015, when Townsley and Gyngell founded North Brewing, it felt like the logical extension to an already-thriving business. A business which had already successfully helped shape the craft beer scene from its bars and built friendships along the way.

Beer judge and brewing consultant Bill Simmons emphasised how much people were already genuinely trusting of its founders. Why? Because they were decent. Fun, loyal, chatty, humble, kind, genuine and real. Simmons relayed how, additionally, “they brought excitement back into the sector”.

At the same time, the craft beer revolution had taken off in Britain. And, as many in the sector will remember, everyone was thirsty for beer. But, really, everyone was also looking for something else: Authenticity.

Keystone referred to its acquisition of North as having obtained “a true icon” and has given an additional hat tip to Holt who “will be working with us, as a special advisor to our group in future” and saying nothing of the people who built the North legacy. But went on to add that these are “exciting times for Keystone” and signed off with the loaded reminder “we’re not finished yet”.

The acquisition is another notch on the post for Keystone, which has said it has “ambitious growth plans to develop a £100 million portfolio of distinctive, high-quality beverages”.

Support

But how might beer fans support the two people who began the business in the first place? Visit their bars. Know their story. Understand the difference between building relationships and simply buying brands because you have the funds.

Tierney Jones said he was “disappointed” about the news of the sale. He lamented “this seems to be a common thing at the moment, all very reminiscent of what I have read Whitbread did in the 1960s and 1970s with its offering of a ‘Whitbread umbrella’ and added “…and we know how that went”.

Tierney Jones did remark on how he was “pleased for the staff, obviously, who have retained their jobs” but admitted, “it feels to me that the soul has gone out of the brainchild of John Gyngell and Christian Townsley” and went on to describe Keystone’s ownership of the North brand as “a Sputnik falling down to earth, its mission unaccomplished”.

Simmons agreed that the industry feels sad about it all and reiterated: “I had great respect for what Christian and John have done with North along with Seb the brewer, what a great team.”

Simmons described how “the beers were fun, tasted great and were diverse” but “Kirkstall taking it over seemed like it was doomed” and pointed out that even though “it saved a wonderful brewery, this latest news is a kick in the balls”.

Townsley and Gyngell are not in a position to comment directly on the sale of the brewery. So, instead, db asked Townsley questions he could answer: What he values the most about the original bar business that he and Gyngell still run. And his responses serve as a reminder of what we all liked about these chaps in the first place.

Townsley told db: “People have always been at the heart of everything we’ve done, bringing people together and making them feel valued is the core reason for our business. It’s an honour when people choose to spend their time and money with us and we feel incredibly strongly about the positive role of hospitality in community and society.”

The next question was possibly trickier to answer on such a week, but it felt right to hear the duo describe how they would like others to consider their legacy as founders of what are still some of the best beer bars in the world. But, again, their response is not to throw weight behind their achievements. Instead, they pay it all forwards to remark on the elements that have lifted them.

Townsley responded: “We’ve been so lucky over the last 27 years to have played such a part in the beer scene, both here in the UK and further afield. Our love of amazing beers and people has brought us so much joy over the years. Obviously, we’ve had a tricky time recently but our approach is to learn from the challenges we’ve had and move forward with purpose and passion.”

Looking for the good. Holding heads high. Showing gratitude in the face of a challenge. That’s integrity.

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