Hernán Martín, owner of the Lanzarote craft brewery 'Dos Cabras', has just founded the Lanzarote Brewers Association together with Orlando Niz, from 'Malpaís' and Miguel Lasso, from 'Cervecería Nao'.
In an interview with the radio program Más de Uno Gourmet of Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, he explains the objectives of the Association, which include combating double insularity, obtaining more institutional support and improving the visibility of the product.
- What is the name of the association?
Aclan, Lanzarote Brewers Association. It will also be valid for the rest of the Canary Islands, we have producer friends in Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and La Palma.
- Which companies are part of it?
There are three of us. Mine, Dos Cabras, Orlando with Malpaís and Miguel with Cervecería Nao.
Each one has their own little recipes, tries to do new things, and we try them.
- How things have changed with respect to competition in Lanzarote...
In the old days, I'm talking about more than 20 years ago, when we saw that there was another place being set up in front, rivalry arose.
Now, with many years of experience, we know that if we join together, the sector is strengthened and the area is strengthened. It is healthy competition because each one offers a different product and by joining together we can gain strength.
- What role have the Saborea sector fairs played?
When we met at the fairs, we realized that we had the same problems and the same concerns and we saw that the way to solve them was to unite.
- What is the first of them?
The double tax, the double insularity that we have when entering the products. Like the wine producers. The bottles come from Italy, the label is made here in Gran Canaria, which is the closest we have, but everything else we bring from outside, especially from Germany, Italy and France.
- Which also makes sales to the peninsula difficult...
I had a small incursion in Barcelona, but we had a little problem there with the double cost of taxes and transport.
We are working on it, there are subsidies, but we had to start from the base, which has been to constitute the first association of craft brewers to visualize the product much more at an institutional level.
We will be at Gastrocanarias and we would also like to be in other places such as Salón Gourmet, but before going we have to be sure that we can reach a possible future client in the peninsula.
- And exports abroad...
Of course, sometimes we get a Belgian or an Irish or an English, whose countries are flagship of beer, they like the product and there is always someone who has a bar in their country who asks us how they could have it in their bar. That is why we have also created the association.
