SALSA plus Beer-Success for Redemption Brewing Company!

The Redemption Brewing Company is a craft micro-brewery based in northeast London, just a stone’s throw from Tottenham Hotspur’s home ground, White Hart Lane.  Established in 2010, RDC has just 5 full-time staff to produce over 500,000 litres of beer a year using water from the local reservoirs in the tranquil Lea Valley, widely known as the ‘green lungs of North London’.  Redemption has a contemporary approach to brewing, using subtle twists on traditional recipes and age-old production methods, reflected today in a core range of seven cask beers which include Hopspur, Big Chief and Fellowship, available in bottles, mini-kegs and polypins.  Redemption also produces a new beer for every season, available for a limited time and special collaborative brews expand their range further. This summer look out for their Trinity.   Andy Moffat, Director at Redemption took the time to talk to Sally Ball, SALSA Marketing & Client Relations, to discuss achieving their recent successful SALSA plus Beer certification.

Why did Redemption choose SALSA plus Beer?

We underwent SALSA plus Beer certification as one of our major customers, Mitchells and Butler, were asking their suppliers to become SALSA-Approved. In addition, we had recently started supplying the Co-op and they too were looking for a recognised certification.  There were a couple of options we could have chosen which were less rigorous than SALSA plus Beer, but  I’m conscious that, increasingly, a high-level certification will be demanded, and as our business grows, SALSA plus Beer will give our brewery the full range of safety, quality and legality credentials we need.

What SALSA resources did you use and were they helpful?

My initial impression of the SALSA Standard was that it was very well structured and, significantly, recognised the particular environment we work in. The Audit Self-Assessment Checklist was very helpful in identifying the areas we needed to improve before the audit took place, and the SALSA Tools & Tips download section gave detailed guidance and examples of what was required. 

How did the audit go?

Our Auditor, Alex Kent, was very patient and knowledgeable, and good at explaining those areas where further improvement was required, as well as offering advice on how we might approach implementing the required action points and improvements.  The Audit lasted a full day; but felt very much like a consultation, and it is clear Alex takes a great deal of satisfaction in helping micro businesses like Redemption.  The Audit is definitely NOT an exercise in bureaucratic box-ticking for the sake of it as audits can sometimes be perceived.  I don’t expect we will be ‘All Perfect’ for the next audit, or even the one after that, and I’m sure Alex will push us a little harder on some of the improvements as we get better and better.  I definitely see the SALSA auditing process as an ongoing programme of understanding, improvement and learning.

What are the benefits for Redemption of being SALSA-Approved?

The whole process of gaining SALSA plus Beer certification helps to guide our business towards operating to a higher standard, improving our processes and ultimately helping us to deliver better, more consistent beers.  Although the focus of the audit is clearly on food safety, going through the audit process has already led us to make changes which will help reduce operational risk and downtime.  I’m confident our SALSA certification will make us more attractive to customers and give us another point of difference in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

For more information about Redemption Brewery Company, please see the SALSA Directory or visit their website:  http://www.redemptionbrewing.co.uk/