Sam Reed, Production Operative and Brewer at Tring Brewery in Hertfordshire, has been crowned the inaugural Simpsons Malt Pallet Upcycling champion.
After close to 20 entries from our brewing customers and distributors across the UK and beyond over the course of three weeks, we whittled it down to a top four and opened it up for our followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to decide the winner.
Following two days of voting and with more than 100 votes cast, Sam’s outdoor table and chairs prevailed as the winner with 54% of the overall votes. Wild Beer’s board room table was second and Dominic Driscoll’s compost bin – the inspiration behind the competition after he tweeted the Simpsons Malt account with a picture of his project back on May 12 – saw the Brewer at Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire finish third.
The other finalist was London-based brewing company Brew By Numbers, who used their Simpsons Malt pallets to create a tank cradle to transport brewing apparatus to their new site in Peckham.
“It feels great to be named as the winner, especially after seeing some of the high-quality entries from others,” said Sam, who is set to receive a load of Simpsons Malt merchandise for himself and his Tring Brewery colleagues as a result of his victory.
“I moved into the house I’m in now six months ago and when it came round to doing work in the garden a month or so ago, I thought, you know what, I’m sure I’ll be able to make something for the garden from all the pallets we’ve got at the brewery.
“Of the pallets that we get delivered, the Simpsons ones are a pretty decent size and made from good wood, so I thought I’d give it a go. I also wanted to make sure I was wasting as little as possible, so I don’t think I wasted a single piece of the nine pallets I used building the set.
“Ever since I’ve built my table and chairs, everyone at the brewery wants the pallets to make their own. They’re like gold dust now!”
Richard Simpson, Vice Chairman of Simpsons Malt, added: “It’s been fantastic to see so many of our customers send us their creations from our pallets over the past few weeks and I’d like to give my congratulations to Sam, our first Pallet Upcycling champion.
“Like a lot of companies, sustainability is an important strategic objective of ours and it’s great that our customers are not only putting the bags of malt they receive from us to good use, but the pallets too.
“In fact, we’ve been so encouraged by our customers’ involvement in this that we’re now planning to make this an annual competition. So, brewers, get your thinking caps on as to what your winning entry could be in 2020!”
Have you reused a Simpsons Malt pallet or malt bag? Send us your creations over on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! Or want to find out how you can get your hands on your very own Simpsons Malt pallets? Contact us now!