Our MD Paul Corbett’s thank you to you and roundup of 2022.

The team here at Charles Faram send season’s greetings to all our loyal customers and supplier partners.

Following the very difficult three years we have all had (and continue to have) I would like to say a big thank you for your continued support and business through 2022.

The Charles Faram team are committed to helping brewers make great beer, so we were delighted to collect the SIBA Supplier Associate of the Year Award for 2022. This is the only award that we get a chance to compete for on any level, so to be voted for by SIBA members and win this award again is a real honour and privilege. Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve this and if you still think we deserve to win, please feel free to nominate us for the 2023 awards!

We have continued to work hard to support our customers throughout the year and hope you have received a great level of service throughout your dealings with us. We have tried to be flexible on contracts, working to reach the best solutions to help brewers with contract volumes they no longer require and to supply extra volumes where brewers have found themselves short. We know times are hard so we encourage you to please talk to us about any issues and we will always do our very best to help.

We have strived to get quality, ethically produced products delivered to breweries on time and in good condition and our ISO 14001 accreditation, achieved this year is a fantastic example of this. Our continued improvements in our pelleting and packing facilities coupled with our benchmarking and development work with growers have really made me proud of the quality of the hops we are delivering.

Our focus has been not only on supporting brewers but also working with our partnered family farms to ensure the future production of locally grown hops. A very poor crop in 2022 and huge increases in growing costs have put farms under massive financial pressure, so where possible we have paid above and beyond agreed contract prices to try and support them as much as we can.

Buying locally grown hops has got to be the right thing to do for breweries wanting to improve their carbon footprint and to help protect the environment; so, to increase the choice of hops and allow brewers to produce every style of beer with local hops our Hop Development Programme continues apace. The new varieties released commercially are already proving to be extremely popular and the varieties in the pipeline are equally, if not even more exciting. Our annual International Hop Awards for our development varieties and growers takes place early in the new year and I can’t wait to see what the judges will make of them. I think we are all in for a real treat!

We are also thoroughly enjoying working with our Charles Faram Farms grower group. It was very exciting for us to set this up last year and we are already seeing the benefits of the work we’re doing together in terms of quality, supply and getting our growers closer to our brewer customers. This has given the unintended consequences of attracting new growers and we are very close to announcing new grower members who will be joining us in the new year. This is a really exciting development which gives us great confidence that we are on the right track. From all the grower families we represent I would like to pass on a big thank you for your support.

We have been delighted to be able to get out to visit breweries, join in with collaborations, attend brewing events and see people face to face. It is something that I shall never take for granted after the lockdowns through Covid; hopefully we never have to experience anything like that again!

It was fabulous to see everyone at this years Brewery Resource Roadshow and HopWalk®, both hosted by our friends at Pridewood Farm, and although we had a bit of rain we managed to dodge the showers and enjoy a great couple of days. If you haven’t been before then keep an eye out for your invitation next year and do come along as it’s a really great event. 

Again, a big thank you for all your support in 2022. As we go in to 2023 with a sense of the unknown surrounding the economy, inflation, and reducing beer sales, I can give my assurance that we will continue to adapt and work with you and the Faram’s Family to the very best of our ability and of course with an eternally hoptimistic attitude.

With very best wishes,

Paul