Magic Rock has secured a nationwide listing with Marks & Spencer for its High Wire, Salty Kiss and Inhaler beers, a move that has resulted in the brewery significantly increasing production capacity.

An additional 500hl is being installed this week, increasing capacity to 1,200hl. Burhouse expects this to come online in the next six to eight weeks.

“Much of that will be taken up by the beer we will be producing for Marks & Spencer but it also means we can start to supply beers to accounts we’ve previously had to turn down, too,” he said.

The brewery’s managing director also added the decision to supply Marks & Spencer would not impact its production of other beers.

He explained: “We don’t want to disrupt our ability to put out specials, the weird and wonderful beers that seem to resonate with people. It is important to keep that going.

“We still really enjoy our core, and it’s necessary to keep things ticking over. But in my eyes it’s the special stuff that keeps us relevant. It’s fun for the brewers here as well.”

Burhouse said that Magic Rock had been approached by major retailers in the past, but the possibility of that jeopardising existing accounts put paid to the idea.

“This new relationship allows us to secure future volume and when you’re asked who you’d like to partner with, Real Ale and M&S would be the ones. It’s a really good fit,” he said.

Burhouse was also keen to stress that the new listing would not impact its relationship with independent retailers.

He said: “I did think about it a lot. We are committed to them, the M&S listing is limited to those three beers and the opportunity to get those beers to the far flung corners to the country was really attractive. It helps our forward planning and gives us confidence and security.

“It’s a consequence of us maturing as a business.”

Photo credit: Sam Needham