Our customer
Keith and Deb Hayley began Twisted Oak Brewery after the opportunity arose for Keith to take his passion for home brewing to the next level.
In 2012 they opened the microbrewery, based in North Somerset, creating local products with sustainability at the heart of the operations. Growing rapidly, they took on the third member of their team, Simon Gait, 7 years ago – the same team that run the business today.
The challenge
With passion for their community and local produce, most of the product distribution is in and around Bristol and Somerset, the beer usually travelling no more than 35 miles from the brewery.
When partnering with like-minded wholesalers and reaching a wider audience, leasing was the most cost-effective and sustainable option for the business model.
The solution
Using Close Brothers Brewery Rentals for several years to lease casks the team have now moved to our flexible EkegPlus model. This rental solution gives access to a pool of over 400,000 containers. Using a scanning system when filling and collecting eCasks, it reduces costs for businesses as they only pay for what they use, and with access to our PlusPortal, users have oversight of their inventory and the associated charges.
This flexibility and insight from EkegPlus has greatly improved processes for the team at Twisted Oak Brewery, particularly when navigating seasonal fluctuations.
Keith said,
“Leasing is the best method when we are supplying outside of our local area and the move to EkegPlus has certainly been an improvement for us. We have much better visibility of operations and I log in to the portal daily to keep on top of the eCasks.
It has removed a lot of the predicting in advance, as we can adapt to changing demand and supply with the pool of eCasks. If we need more, we simply collect them from local venues, scan them in and start to use them straight away. It is also establishing good relationships with pubs where we can pick up empty casks that are otherwise taking up cellar space.”
