A COUPLE who plan to open a brewery to help train adults with learning disabilities officially launched the project this week with their first new beer.
Becky and John Whinnerah from Reading are currently working with the Elusive Brewery in Wokingham where several young people have already started learning about the business.
More than £450 was raised at the launch of the beer called Count Me In Pale Ale, at Reading’s Castle Tap pub on Saturday.
Becky said the couple were inspired to start their own brewery, the Count Me In Collective, by their youngest daughter who has two rare genetic conditions and son who is autistic.
“We were shocked to discover that fewer than 22% of autistic adults are employed in the UK, which plummets to around 5% for those with learning disabilities,” she explained.
“We decided it was time to help change those appalling statistics. Our aim is to open a training brewery for adults with learning disabilities and autism. Some of the trainees will go on to be employed by CMIC, while others will gain experience, and qualifications, so they can apply for jobs within brewing and hospitality.
“We see the future of the venture as a co-operative and have drawn together a team of both disabled and non-disabled people to run it and learn together. We hope to use our strong links to breweries and pubs in Reading and the surrounding areas to assist our trainees to apply for jobs within the sectors, and possibly beyond, as so many of their skills will be transferable.”
The fundraiser at the Castle Tap was a chance to show off the skills of the trainee brewers as well as to raise funds through a raffle and selling CMIC T-shirts and other merchandise.
Ruth Mitchell, managing director of Elusive Brewing, said the award-winning company was delighted to team up with the new collective.
“We have already learned about implementing change in order to make the business more accessible,” she added.
“The brew day was a great experience for us, not only because the trainees had a great time but because we learnt so much about what we can do to make our business more inclusive. The trainees gave us some great feedback which we have taken on board and are using to make our taproom more accessible for all.”
Becky and John will be among hundreds of breweries at this year’s Great British Beer Festival at London’s Olympia exhibition centre on Friday, August 4.
The new beer, Count Me In Pale Ale is also available at venues across Reading and to purchase from Elusive Brewing’s Taproom and webshop.
