INDUSTRY INSIDER: ALASTAIR SIMMS
The Cooper’s tale
From experiencing the near extinction of his trade in England, master cooper Alastair Simms is enjoying a new lease of life, thanks in no small part to the rise of craft distilleries south of the border. The Society’s Lee ‘Connas’ Connor paid Alastair a visit to find out more
PHOTOS: ANDY BARNHAM
INDUSTRY INSIDER: ALASTAIR SIMMS
The Cooper’s tale
From experiencing the near extinction of his trade in England, master cooper Alastair Simms is enjoying a new lease of life, thanks in no small part to the rise of craft distilleries south of the border. The Society’s Lee ‘Connas’ Connor paid Alastair a visit to find out more
PHOTOS: ANDY BARNHAM
It’s fair to say that the rich tradition of ‘cooperage’ in England has been through some torrid times in the past 40 years. The result of bigger multinational breweries all but replacing the notion of drinking ‘from the wood’ back in the 1980s and 1990s, in favour of new-fangled tanked beer and nitro-keg free pour systems, almost put the trade to rest altogether.
You will appreciate that traversing an industry in which supply is far outstripping demand is no mean feat. Yorkshireman Alastair Simms is one of the few who has managed it.
“I had a holiday job sweeping up at Theakston’s brewery when I was 14,” says Alastair. “I used to watch the coopers working and was fascinated by the whole thing. One day, one of the lads – Clive – caught me looking and said: ‘Ok son, have a go with that branding iron, I’m off to the pub. I’ll check it when I get back.’ He came back, checked it, and said: ‘Well done. I bet you’ve not done both ends, though.’ I had!”
In 1979 Alastair left school two months before his 15th birthday and became an apprentice cooper. And he has remained in the craft for his entire life. “I’ve always been intrigued by timber, how it feels, how diverse it is, and how it can be used,” he says. “The right cooper at the right time can be the difference between a good outcome and an excellent outcome.”
Even so, when faced with the reality of his craft being consigned to history, there were obviously times when Alastair had to question the viability of his trade.
“When I started, there were around 100 coopers in England and by the early 1990s there were only six or seven of us. For a short time, I was the only master cooper in the country.
So, diversifying into wine and whisky was pretty much inevitable. I worked for different cooperages and even set up my own at one point.
“Sadly, I may be a great cooper, but I’m no businessman. I took work as a drayman for a short while. Then, out of the blue I received a call from a chap called Chris Jensen. He was after some bespoke casks for his gin distillery. He asked if I’d be interested in starting a new cooperage that he would fund.” That was the birth of what is now Jensen’s Cooperage, with a 3,600 square foot unit in Ripon, North Yorkshire.
“Initially, I thought the site was too big,” says Alastair “But the demand for spirits, especially whisky, has resulted in somewhat of an overnight success here at Jensen’s.
“To be honest, I’ve always liked whisky. When I was younger, I was lucky to be introduced to the idea of single malts by my Uncle Sandy who worked at Balmenach, as opposed to the blends that everyone was drinking, malts like Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Glenmorangie and so on. I like to pick out the influence that the cask has on the spirit, to the point where I’ve gone even deeper into the DNA of casks used in Scotch and have gotten a keen taste for bourbon whiskey.
“Working with whisky makers from all over the UK – Cooper King, Spirit of Birmingham, AG Rattray to mention but a few – is great. I thought that we were in danger of the accountants and scientists stripping the identity from our drinks, so the return of a traditional cooperage in England is a massive positive for everyone, as far as I’m concerned.
“Even recently, there’s been modern tech coming in and casks with machine-cut staves appearing, the quality is just not there. There’s nothing more important than a cooper who knows what they’re doing, talking about and communicating with their customers. Whatever the liquid, beer, wine, whisky – that hands-on experience and knowledge of a traditionally trained cooper is irreplaceable.”
So, what of the future? Is Alastair confident that the ‘dark days’ are over?
“There is cause for optimism, and we’re looking to expand now,” he says. “We need more space and want a visitor centre. We need new coopers. And they’ll be specially selected and trained in a 100 per cent traditional way, they won’t be touching an electrical tool, not even a battery drill, for the first two and a half years of their apprenticeship.
“Plus, they’ll be going out to the timber yards to see how the oak is processed and even going out to breweries and distilleries to get a feeling of the whole process and what it takes to produce quality from the ground up.
“That’s the best way to do it – you need that understanding of the timber, how it behaves and how to best use it for the outcome we need. In short, if we stick to how it was done, and how it should be done, I think we’re in safe hands.”