When times are tough, those whose thirst for beer doesn’t quite match up with their bank balance turn to home-brewing to plug the gap. But as the recipients of home-brewed gifts from overzealous relatives know only too well, the results can often disappoint.
Not any more, according to Walthamstow-based Pinter, who claim to have come up with a solution. Their new product, the Pinter Keg, can make good-quality, consistent beer on a budget. Once customers have invested in the £79 keg, it costs £1.50 a pint with brewing kits made of the best ingredients which can be delivered through the letterbox.
Pinter co-founder and chief executive Ralph Broadbent said: “The value aspect of it is super important because people can carry on brewing forever once they get a taste for it.
“But taste is the key part of our appeal and beer tastes best when it is fresh. It is the opposite of a product such as wine which improves with age and the freshest beer you can enjoy is one you brew yourself.”
Pinter’s customers seem to agree. Since its launch in 2020, the firm has become the UK’s fastest growing online company, with sales of almost £6 million according to retail operating business Brightpearl. It has also amassed a community of 60,000 home brewers and it has sold the equivalent of 3,900,000 pints.
Over the past year the company has racked up a string of awards. The keg won TIME Magazine invention of the year and its Lost in Translation Brown Ale was voted best in the UK at the recent World Beer Awards.
Pinter has now expanded to offer over 20 different beers and ciders, ranging from traditional lagers to American pale ales. But the firm now believes the next chapter of their expansion could lie in the hands of Gareth Southgate. They’ve developed a new beer to support the England team as they head to Qatar.
Broadbent said: “The World Cup will be a big opportunity for us.
“The whole fan experience while watching games at home is enhanced if you are all drinking beer brewed by your own hand.”
