Supporting our local community

How Palmers Brewery has supported our local community over the past 12 months

A timeline of measures to support the community

Our local community has always been important to Palmers Brewery. With events of the past year making things hard for so many people around us, it has been an honour to give something back and to show our support in times of need. There’s one thing that remains at the heart of keeping everyone together – that’s strong community spirit.

It has been a challenging year for everyone. The brewing industry itself has taken a severe hit as has the wider hospitality sector. Throughout this difficult time Palmers Brewery has shown positivity through ongoing support for the local community in a number of ways.

We look back at a year of support for the local community…

March – Covid-19 statement and support for licensees

In March 2020 our Chairman and Managing Director John Palmer released a heartfelt COVID-19 statement with details of support packages for our pub licensees. These support measures were reviewed on a monthly basis to form a continued effort in support of all of our pub licensees through the challenging period.

At this point we were forced to temporarily cease all beer production in our historic Bridport-based brewhouse. This was the first time this has happened in our 227 year history. On top of this, the licensees of our 52 pubs in Dorset, Devon and Somerset all faced the uncertainty of closing their doors. This ongoing process of opening and closing to navigate lockdowns led to the rapid introduction of Covid-secure measures. These were essential in making our pubs safe places to be.

Free deliveries in the local community

Also in March 2020, we launched our free home delivery service to DT6, DT7 & DT8 areas. This meant that when customers were unable to come to us, we could come to you. Deliveries included our range of award winning Palmers Ales, Dorset Orchards Ciders, Soft drinks, and Wines & Spirits. Demand has been so high we decided to continue this service ever since. For orders outside our immediate community our courier service provides FREE delivery on orders over £50.

April – Raising a glass to keyworkers

As a thank you to all the key workers we rattled our kegs and raised a glass at 8pm on Thursday evenings. The photo of a rainbow towering above our historic Bridport brewhouse served as a fitting tribute and captured the spirit perfectly.

May – Donation of soft drinks to Dorset County Hospital

Inspired by the overwhelming response to our social media post we felt compelled to make a donation to the NHS. We delivered 480 bottles of Palmers Ginger Beer and Original Lemonade to some of the frontline teams at the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester. We hope the team members got to enjoy these drinks on us during their hard-earned breaks.

June – Donation to Bridport Community Hospital

Palmers pledged £1000 to support Bridport Community Hospital to help the effort of our amazing local NHS team. In addition to this, we donated a further £1 for every bottle of HIX Blonde, Oyster Ale or HIX IPA ordered in West Dorset through Palmers Wine Store. This extra pledge brought the total donation to £1612. We hope this helped the dedicated team at our local hospital with everything they have done and continue to do for us.

July – Pub takeaway website orders

In the summer lots of Palmers pubs introduced pub perfect takeaways direct to your door! So many in fact that we have updated our website to help you find a takeaway near you!

Test and trace solution for Palmers pubs

It gave us huge pleasure (and relief) to wish everyone a safe and relaxing first pint when pubs were allowed to reopen on 4th July. To support NHS Test and Trace all pubs were required to welcome customers back and take contact details. Our bespoke ‘check-in’ solution at Palmers pubs meant that customers could use their phone to quickly complete the process, with peace of mind that their details are secure.

Dorset Pale face masks released

In light of the government’s guidelines on the use of face masks in shops we were delighted to bring our Dorset Pale snoods to the market. The fetching face coverings are available in Palmers Wine Store.

August – Palmers special offers

We know that many of our customers miss the experience of going to the pub as normal, including us! To lift the spirits of our customers a little we offered seasonal special offers. This included our 25% Off Palmers Ales for August Bank Holiday.

November – Virtual wine tasting

When the second national lockdown arrived some light entertainment was definitely required. Our team in Palmers Wine Store hosted a virtual wine tasting session with Viña Casa Silva. The evening was hosted by Johnny Bingham from importers Jackson Nugent Vintners with a live link to the producers in Chile.

December – Festive virtual beer tasting

Normally at Christmas time we’d all be gathering with our friends and loved, with a pint of Tally Ho Ho Ho! of course. With restrictions in place in December, it was time to stage our first virtual beer tasting session. Our Head Brewer Darren Batten talked through each individual Palmers Ale followed by an opportunity to ask questions. A tasting pack could be ordered prior to the event through Palmers Wine Store either online or by collection.

The evening was a great success and we might just do it again sometime. Watch this space!

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