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Casks worth over £20k stolen from Nottingham brewery
A JustGiving page has been set up to help a Nottingham-based microbrewery fulfil its Christmas orders after 330 casks and kegs worth over £20,000 were stolen from the brewer last month.
Shipstone’s beer casks. Casks are always marked with the brewery’s colours in stripes across the centre.
Little Star Brewery in Basford, brewer of Shipstone’s beer, is faced with a challenging run-up to Christmas after over 300 empty casks and kegs were stolen from the brewery yard on 14 November. Made up of just three people – Richard Neale, Emily Dawson and brewer Patrick Storey – the Nottingham brewery is being forced to hire casks to keep up with festive orders.
The business insurance that the brewery had recently taken out would not cover the loss incurred by the theft.
Last week, however, friends of Neale set up a JustGiving page with the hope of raising £17,000 to replace some of the stolen casks.
Writing on the website, David Thornewill said: “Late last week we found out from our good friend Rich that Shipstones of Nottingham had suffered a break-in and burglary at its brewery in Basford.”
“Over £20,000 worth of casks (beer barrels) were stolen, which were vital to fulfil obligations and deliveries to local pubs & bars in the run-up to Christmas. Unfortunately the business insurance that Shipstone’s took out will not cover the loss.
“We have started this page without asking Rich, and he has had no involvement in setting it up. As friends of Shipstones, and huge fans of the beer and its integral part it has had to play in Nottingham’s history, we want to ask for help in raising enough money to help replace the items the thieves got away with”.
At the time of writing, a total of 31 people have pledged their support and have raised a total of £1,510 to support the Little Star Brewery. If you would like to contribute, please visit the page here.
Keg Watch, a company that helps to reunite breweries with their lost or stolen casks, confirmed in a tweet that it was investigating the theft.
It reported that investigators were working together with Nottinghamshire Police on the theft of 330 kegs and casks from Shipstone Beer overnight on 14-15 November.
Keg Watch Investigators are currently working with Nottinghamshire Police regarding the theft of 330 kegs and casks from @ShipstoneBeer , Old Basford, overnight 14/15 Nov ‘17. CCTV has recorded a Ford Mondeo and also a long wheelbase Ford Transit. Any info? 08081 001 945 #RT
— Keg Watch (@keg_watch) November 20, 2017
CCTV footage recorded a Ford Mondeo and a long wheelbase Ford Transit making several journeys to the brewery.
According to the police, on each trip four men were seen removing the casks and loading them into the back of the van.
As reported in Nottingham Post, the brewery has also had to invest in razor wire, lighting and other security measures, following the theft.
Neale told the Post: “It hit us really hard. It’s costing us a lot of money to rent the casks, and we don’t have £20,000 lying around to buy the new ones we need. But we’re not going to let them beat us. The support has been really fantastic”.