As the U.K.’s first lockdown was winding down in June 2020, Cardiff-based hospitality professionals Helen Anne Smith and Rachel Hendry founded Burum Collective, a new platform for writing, education, and resources. “I wanted to create something a little different with regards to drinks media, but also a more positive, inclusive and accessible platform for the drinks industry,” Smith says. “I found that I was surrounded with lots of negativity and snobbery in beer, and I think Rachel felt the same way about wine, so we wanted to readdress that balance and celebrate the joys to be found in the drinks industry.” The two soon brought on artist Elliot-James Comanescu, whose joyous illustrations and designs have shaped the site’s warm and inviting look and feel.
Since then, Burum Collective has become a vital hub for those both in and outside of the U.K. to share their stories, with a particular focus on new and emerging voices and writers from marginalized backgrounds. The site’s 2021 objectives—including providing educational resources in lieu of expensive and inaccessible formal qualifications, and operating a community forum—have shaped its vision, and its stories have spanned everything from informative pieces on food pairings, cider-making, and indigenous grape varietals to thoughtful discussions of classism in the U.K. drinks scene, debates about ethical capitalism, and the politicization of wine labels. It was no surprise, then, that Burum Collective took the top prize in Beer52’s Best Beer Blog category this September.
Burum Collective’s work has also extended beyond the written word. In response to the outpouring of stories about misogyny, racism, and mistreatment of workers within the beer and hospitality industries this year, Smith and Hendry organized the Common Ground Conference in June. Hundreds of people attended, and the forum—which included speakers like Lorraine Copes of Be Inclusive Hospitality and Bryan Simpson of Unite the Union—made essential first steps towards connecting employees with unions, raising awareness of hospitality workers’ rights, and opening large-scale discussions about much-needed change.
Following the recent announcement that Burum Collective will partner with the U.S.-based Beer Kulture to host its U.K. jobs forum, with the aim of opening up drinks industry job listings to a more diverse group of candidates, it’s clear that its inclusivity-minded work, editorially and otherwise, will continue into the new year and beyond.
Words,Claire Bullen