MEANTIME NEWS

Nick Miller appointed as CEO at Meantime Brewing Company

Meantime Brewing Company, London's leading craft brewery today announced the appointment of Nick Miller, Managing Director at Miller Brands UK and Ireland (SABMiller's operating company) as the company's new CEO.

Meantime Brewmaster and founder, Alastair Hook, believes that Nick's appointment will be the first of many matchups between craft brewers and senior brewing industry executives, who increasingly see the shift in consumer demand towards beers with more intrinsic qualities.

Alastair explained the reasoning behind the appointment:
"I recognise that just being passionate about great beer is not enough for modern beer drinkers. Taking their cues from the massive shift in consumer discernment for quality food and wine, today's beer consumers demand consistency, authenticity, provenance and a greater variety of choice  - but they also expect strong brand presentation and eye-catching packaging. For Meantime to deliver this whole beer package going forward, it will need a sound and responsive sales and marketing capability."

"Nick has a proven track record on all the aspects of beer that are key to today's consumer. We have been extremely impressed with the way SABMiller have moved their brands in to the direction of local speciality premium products, and with Peroni, Nick has shown the scale of the gap in the market for properly presented and marketed beer."

"As a London brewer, Meantime provide the quality of products, and the diversity of taste and flavour that befits the fact that we are operating in the greatest and most exciting city in the world.     The appointment of Nick, along with continued financial backing from shareholders, should ensure the UK craft brewing revolution starts 'shaking trees' in a more professional and perceptive manner than it has done previously. I have always stated the craft brewing revolution in America as my greatest influence. With Nick on board we believe we can now live that dream ourselves, right here."

Meantime Brewing Company has been at the forefront of the British craft brewing movement for some ten years; specialising in unpasteurised, Brewery-conditioned beers of exceptional taste and flavour. Meantime is thriving in the London bar and restaurant scene within a sector of the beer market that is commonly known as the 'graveyard for beer brands'. Indeed current output for the first six months of 2011 has increased 70% year on year. Within the next five years Meantime expect to increase this output a further four fold. The significance of a craft keg beer producer who uses locally sourced ingredients and brews products of authenticity and provenance to buck this trend should not be lost. It is testament to a future beer world which will increasingly see the internationally 'advertising led' bland lagers and ales making way for a new more exciting breed of beer and brewer.

Alastair commented further: 
"The craft beer sector is growing rapidly, and the most exciting developments have been encapsulated by the huge diversity in beer styles championed by brewers like Meantime. When I started up Meantime I was happy to grow organically, with little use of conventional marketing techniques but with a passionate and sound production orientated philosophy that focuses on the intrinsic qualities of great beer." 

"Nick Miller's appointment marks a considered and considerable change in this approach. There is no point in brewing great beer if you don't have the distribution and marketing in place to get your product and your message to the consumer".