Arkell's Brewery: News

Debbie Ettenfield with her 'Honest John' Design

As part of their final year exams, nine students from Swindon College spent six weeks designing new beer labels for Arkell's Brewery's 160th Anniversary this year.

And some of the results are so good, according to brewery bosses, they could well be seen in the brewery's pubs later this year.

The students, from Swindon and across the UK, are all doing BA or HND courses in Packaging Design with the College's School of Art and Design, and for the HND students, this work was their final year's project.

According to George Arkell, director at the brewery: "We asked the students to design beer promotional material that would appeal to drinkers from 18 - 25 and some of the ideas they came up with were very creative. It's been hard to chose a winner as the designs were so diverse, but eventually we chose Miles Carter's design, Gala, because of its strong brand identity and visual interest and Debbie Ettenfield for her 'Honest John' design because of its attention to detail, as overall winners, both of whom are doing the HND course."

Winner in the BA category was Anup Champaneri with Exist, for his ultra modern approach.

This is the first collaboration between Arkell's Brewery and Swindon College, and one which the brewery hopes will happen again in the future.

Miles Carter with his 'Gala' design

"Good label and promotional material design are essential," points out George. "However fantastic the beer, we need to present it in an appealing and mouthwatering way, and at the brewery we take the design of our marketing material very seriously. Working with the students at Swindon College has been a great experience as we have seen what appeals to the younger end of our market."

According to Miles (20): "We all did a lot of research into what the beer's name should be. A few of my mates drink real ale so I listened to what they had to say. I enjoyed the whole project as it was an opportunity to develop a strong brand in a number of different ways."

School of Art and Design tutor at Swindon College, David New, said: "Arkell's has shown such interest in the students that they not only came to the final presentations, but the Head Brewer, Don Bracher, also came in half way through to see how work was progressing. Their support and commitment has been wonderful and we hope the collaboration may continue."

At the student's end of year show, at The former Renault Building in West Swindon, Miles and Debbie were each presented with a cheque for Ł160 to reflect Arkell's 160 years in business.

The student's work will be on display at Arkell's Beer Festival on 12th and 13th September at the Swindon brewery, the first beer festival held at the brewery in celebration of its 160th Anniversary.

1. Anup Champaneri (22) from Luton. BA student. Designed 'Exist'. "The project was challenging because I wanted to avoid traditional beer designs."

2. Miles Carter (20) from South Wales. HND student. Designed 'Gala'. "I spent a lot of time researching names and brainstorming with friends. Luckily some of my mates drink real ale so I was also able to discuss ideas with them.

3. Kevin Comer (19) from Devizes. HND student. Designed 'CLX'. "One of the toughest challenges was creating background colours for the beer design."

4. Muri Balogun (24) from Camberwell, SE London. HND student. Designed '1843'. "Tried to get into the mind of Arkell's so I could create what they were really looking for."

5. Dawn Bowen (21) from Longlevens, Gloucester. HND student. Designed 'Creation'. "I used the image of DNA in the beer pump to link into the 'creation' theme. The hardest thing was designing the bottle carrier."

Arkell's Finance Director, Ray Fisher (far right), together with Head Brewer, Don Bracher (far left), present the prizes

6. Debbie Ettenfield (34) from Freshbrook, Swindon. HND student. Designed 'Honest John'. Debbie is a mature student who has returned to education after having three children. "I really enjoyed the course, especially the Autocad element. It was a lot of fun designing a beer brand and got a lot of support from the tutors and feedback from the head brewer on my designs which was very helpful."

7. Stephen Mann (23) from Liverpool. BA student. Designed 'Freeze'. "I enjoyed the card engineering part of the project and would like to go into this area of design when I leave college next year. Swindon's great, but compared to Liverpool, it needs more culture."

8. Amanda Rose (22) from Bath. BA student. Designed 'Steam'. "The project was challenging because we had quite a lot to cover in a short time. It's amazing how many promotional items go into developing and supporting a beer brand."

9. Emma Holmes (21) from Kidlington, Oxford. Designed 'IL - Intensively Limey'. "I wanted to design a drink for women. Lime mixed better with the beer than the lemon I initially tried."

Swindon CAMRA pub of the year takes on The Bell

There's a hint of France in the air at Purton Stoke near Cricklade as 25-year old Katy Libbreck from Normandy takes over behind the bar at Arkell's pub The Bell.

Landlords Mark and Tracey Whittam of the award-winning Red Lion pub in Cricklade have taken on the tenancy as joint licensees with Katy, who has been working for them as a bar manager for the last two and a half years.

"Katy came to work for us part time two years ago then left us for the warmth of the Caribbean," says Mark. "Six months later, she found that Guadeloupe wasn't as much fun as she'd hoped and called to ask for her job back. She's already firmly established herself at The Bell and although we miss her at The Red Lion, the new pub is only two minutes drive up the road and we see her every day, especially when she wants to borrow my power tools," he joked.

Tracey and Mark are old friends of Arkell's Brewery and when they heard the tenancy was vacant at The Bell, they didn't waste time contacting the brewery.

"At our annual Red Lion beer festival, it's always Arkell's 3Bs which is the first to go and another winner is Arkell's Moonlight which came out in January," points out Mark, who knows a good beer when he tastes one. The Red Lion has featured over 850 different real ales in the last two years from top micro and regional breweries across the UK.

The Red Lion has built its reputation by concentrating on serving excellent beer, but no food. At The Bell, the threesome are keen to develop the pub by serving not only top quality beer but fresh food as well.

"The Red Lion is well known for its wide range of beers, and we've recently started offering quality accommodation," explains Tracey. "We're keen to maintain that tradition, but The Bell has the potential to allow us to develop a similar high standard food operation. To do this we plan to maintain the current Bell pub and add a conservatory dining area."

James Arkell, managing director at Arkell's Brewery, is delighted that such real ale aficionados are running The Bell: "There's absolutely nothing better in the world than a pint of Arkell's from a well-kept cellar," he says. "And when the dining area opens, with some of Katy's gastronomic French heritage added, we could be eating there every night."

More about The Bell...

Arkell's Goes To Town With New Pub Guide

Arkell's Brewery delivered its new pub guide across the South West last week, just in time for the May Bank Holiday weekend.

"Of our 100 pubs and hotels across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, we have 29 pubs in Swindon and 25 in small towns and villages nearby," said managing director at the brewery, James Arkell. "There are 25 in Gloucestershire, 13 in Berkshire and five in Oxfordshire.

The Arkell's pub guide was last published three years ago and lots of things have changed since then, according to James Arkell.

"We've opened The Jovial Monk, a completely new pub at St Andrew's Ridge in Swindon and are in the process of building another at Taw Hill in Swindon, called The Taw-Ny Owl. We've also installed many disabled loos to comply with the upcoming Disability Discrimination Act. By 2004 all licensed premises should have taken reasonable steps to make it easier for disabled people to use their service. We started installing disabled access to our pubs some years ago, before many other pub landlords, and currently almost half of our pubs now have disabled access, or we are in the process of installation."

James points out that over the last three years many of the Arkell's pubs have undergone upgrading and a significant number now have bed and breakfast accommodation - easing the shortage of beds in key areas such as Swindon and across Wiltshire.

Information on which pubs have disabled access, as well as details on those offering overnight accommodation, restaurant or pub food and even pubs which have satellite TV and live music are all listed in the 2003 Arkell's Pub Guide.

"Designed to fit snugly into most cars glove boxes, this guide gives 100 good reasons to visit an Arkell's pub with each one offering a good pint and a welcoming atmosphere," said James.

Free copies of the new 2003 Arkell's Pub Guide can be ordered from Arkell's Brewery on 01793 823026, or picked up at any of its pubs across the South West.

After eleven years at Fattios, husband and wife team Ian and Sian Vockins have closed their doors for the last time at Highworth's most famous restaurant and taken over the license at Arkell's pub The Saracen's Head just down the road in the market square.

Former Fattios owner, now joint-landlord with his brother Shaun at the Saracen's Head, Ian Vockins, said: "A lot of people were surprised at our decision to close such a popular and thriving restaurant, not least our bank manager. But we've been doing it for over a decade and we felt it was time for a change."

But fans of Fattios restaurant aren't too downhearted as many of the famous dishes are now on the menu at The Saracen's Head as Ian's wife Sian has moved her kitchen lock, stock and barrel to the hotel.

"Running a top class restaurant is hard work and long hours, and we know that running a popular pub won't be any easier, but there's a more relaxed feeling about The Saracen's Head," explains Ian. "Sian can continue to produce new dishes as well as the old favourites from our Fattios days, but they will be eaten in the more relaxed atmosphere of a lovely old pub rather than a top-rank restaurant."

Since they have taken over at The Saracen's Head the pub has also been treated to an internal makeover and the public bar has been restored to its former, panelled, glory.

Managing Director at the brewery, James Arkell, is delighted to have attracted such a well-known and liked family to run the hotel.

"Ian and Sian Vockins built up a highly successful restaurant with Fattios. Together with Ian's brother Shaun, we can't think of a better team to run The Saracen's Head and are looking forward to sampling Sian's first class cooking."

The new team at The Saracen's Head is a real family affair with Ian managing, his wife Sian as head chef, brother Shaun behind the bar, and even Uncle Ronnie as the hotel's 'Mr Fixit'!

Ian explains: "I'm responsible for the management, Sian runs the kitchens, producing fabulous food and Shaun is the best barman I know. My Uncle Ronnie was an electrician for 45 years and only lives 300 yards away, so he's a great asset too. Now all we need is for Shaun to marry a plumber to complete the team!"

The Saracen's Head is one of Highworth's oldest and most imposing buildings. Operating as an Inn since 1825, Arkell's Brewery bought it in 1883 - exactly 120 years ago this year.

More about The Saracen's Head...