Allendale brewer toast of the town
Last updated 19:07, Wednesday, 29 October 2008
CORKS were popping at the Allendale Brewery recently when owner Tom Hick was crowned the Young Rural Entrepreneur of the Year.
Tom was shortlisted for the award in September and was interviewed by judges in London before attending the awards ceremony on October 16.
The competition was run by Field Magazine and the prize money put up by Lycetts, a Newcastle-based finance company.
Four other young entrepreneurs were shortlisted with businesses, including: wildlife photography courses, a deli with an olive grove, a pub and restaurant and a car-sharing system.
Tom’s award comes after his success with the Allendale Brewing Company that he has been running since February 2006.
As a student, Tom studied zoology at university but it was his home brewing and not his academic abilities that most impressed his peers.
Tom said: “On occasions my friends told me my beer was quite good, so I thought if I could make good beer on a small scale why not make it a business.”
So he decided to attend Sunderland University and do a master’s degree in brewing, before setting up his business in the old Allendale Brewery.
Tom was helped out financially by his father Jim and a grant from Defra, which enabled him to get the brewery up and running.
In three years he has gone from being the only paid employee to taking on five paid staff.
His company is also the main supplier of ales to the Crown Inn at Catton, the pub his family has resurrected.
Winning the award means Tom will receive a £10,000 cash prize, which he hopes to use to develop the brewery.
He has already spent £5,000 on new casks and £3,000 on a new fermenter to increase productivity at the brewery.
Tom also hopes to use some of the money from the prize to pay back his dad, who helped with the initial investment for the brewery.
His fiancee Lucy has designed new labels for the ale bottles and a new logo for the delivery vans, which will be rolled out in the next few months.
Tom said: “It was a lovely ceremony with about 100 guests but I really didn’t expect to win; it was a very pleasant surprise.”
