Last month, Derek Prentice was the recipient of the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ accolade at our Brewers Choice Awards. A decorated brewer with more than 50 years’ experience in the industry, Derek has made an indelible mark on countless breweries, beers and people along the way. Here, two of these figures, John Hatch of Sambrook’s and John Keeling, formerly of Fuller’s, share their own experiences and tributes to this fantastic individual.

“Ebullient and Eager” | John Hatch

I have many thoughts and memories of the great man himself.  Many of the facts will have been distorted with time and excess alcohol but the sentiment is true.

Derek Prentice joined Truman’s straight from school opting to learn the business from the bottom up rather than idle away his years at university.  Derek quickly became proficient as a Brewer and joined Young’s Brewery as a senior brewer in 1989 when he was appointed as Warehouse Manager. 

Derek is not the sort of man to get confined to one department though and he was soon exploring Young’s, pointing out inadequacies, recommending improvements and putting one or two noses out of joint as he did so! 

All of Derek’s advice though, when put into practice, turned out to be one hundred percent correct and the consistency, quality and shelf life of Young’s beer increased across all the departments.  Derek quickly earned profound respect from all his new colleagues at Young’s, even the Engineers!!

Derek’s love of hoppy beers came to the forefront when he was unleashed on an established brand known as Young’s Export.  Under Derek’s guidance, Export was transformed into Special London Ale following his tweaking of the hop grist, dry hopping and then bottle conditioning it.  SLA, as it became known, was later showered with an abundance of awards and became an international sensation. 

Derek finally decided to knuckle down and sit his Masters exams but, astonishingly, he failed to pass first time.  We quickly found out that Derek knew more about brewing that those marking the papers which was his downfall.  A quiet word from Ken Don suggesting that Derek wrote down what the examiners expected to read rather than what Derek knew to be true would help and, sure enough, Derek got his Masters.  Derek’s final role at Young’s was as Brewhouse Manager, a position which he relished until Young’s sadly shut down its brewing operation in 2006.

Derek was quickly acquired by Fuller’s running their brewhouse during George’s maternity leave.  Soon after, Derek was introduced to Mark Gordon and the two of them set up Wimbledon Brewery where Derek continues to inspire and influence.

So what sort of man is Derek?  Certainly one who grasps life with both hands and gives it one hundred percent.  There are no bounds to Derek’s passion, knowledge and enthusiasm for brewing and this extends to his eagerness to always make certain that everyone in the room has a beer as well as to impart his encyclopaedic knowledge onto any up and coming brewery worker.  Derek has inspired and taught generations of brewers who have all gone on to achieve great things.

Out of work, Derek is equally as ebullient and eager to participate and has a number of sporting accolades under his belt.  One of Derek’s passions was the luge and he went on to become the Captain of the British Olympic Luge Team.  There seems to be little in life that Derek has not thrown himself into with his resounding mantra of “Chickens Never Win!!” and the attitude of “what’s the worse that can happen?”. 

The worst that could happen when he tried hang gliding was a failed battle against the forces of gravity resulting in a snapped femur.  Many other sporting injuries over the years resulted in Derek having more titanium under his flesh than Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator!  At one point, Derek’s long suffering doctor announced that Derek would be confined to a wheelchair by the age of forty, something which Derek has managed to defy the odds on. 

Derek was a keen athlete excelling in the throwing field events, the high jump and badminton.  Derek was a pivotal force in keeping the London Brewer’s Amateur Sports Association going by encouraging both funding and participation.  At one LBASA fixture Derek had the opportunity to try his hand at the pole vault for the first time.  Derek’s “what’s the worst that can happen” was put to the test as he quickly acquired an astounding height before plummeting down and completely missing the crash mat.

Many people who know Derek will know of his affinity with his bicycle, possibly brought about to bypass the drunk-driving laws!  His trusty steed has put Derek into a few tight scrapes though, not least of which was the event known as “Del Boy’s corner”.  Each year Derek would encourage Young’s to enter a team to cycle from London to Brighton in aid of the British Heart Foundation. 

So, every May, by way of preparation, Young’s would go out for a Bank Holiday bike ride covering some of the steepest hills in Surrey and taking in a plethora of pubs.  On one such outing, Derek and Paul decided to race down a particularly steep and unknown hill without realising that there was an especially sharp corner at the bottom. 

On just surviving the corner, Derek came up against an oncoming lorry which he managed to narrowly avoid going under but, instead, he bounced and smeared himself and the bike along its side.  The bike was pretty much a right-off and when the rest of the party found him, Derek was cut and bruised from head to toe and lying in a heap on the floor next to an ashen lorry driver who honestly believed that he had nearly killed a cyclist.  On asking Derek what could be done for him he cheerfully expressed the need for a beer and that is what he had!

Why Derek Prentice is the “go-to” brewer | John Keeling

Derek is the most helpful person I know also one of the friendliest. When Georgina Young had to leave Fuller’s on maternity leave the only person who could fit into a well established team, head it up, take it onward and not put noses out of joint was Derek Prentice. What was truly amazing is that he was a brewer a Fuller’s greatest rivals  Youngs.

Derek never thought a problem too big or needed much direction. Our frequent chats were the basis of how we took brewing forward. Not only did I feel the tiller only needed the lightest of touches he sometimes did not need any direction at all frequently anticipating my ideas.

I would also be fairly big picture with my directions when I said to him in an airy fairy way “lets brew a stout”, he then came back with the great Black Cab Stout recipe, mind you he had done the same with several other beers to.

Derek is a great team man, nobody has a bad word for him  (except maybe a couple of accountants , but that’s a badge of honour for any brewer). Wherever he has worked he was always the go-to brewer.