Good beer, said Thomas Jefferson, “softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health”.
It may also be a potential tool for helping solve the crisis in British prisons. A craft brewery set up to employ ex-convicts and train them in the art of ale-making has proved a success in cutting reoffending rates – and is now being hailed as a possible template for ways to ease the unprecedented overcrowding in UK jails.
Tap Social Movement in Oxford was co-founded by two former Ministry of Justice advisers, husband-and-wife team Amy Taylor and Paul Humpherson, who had become frustrated by the lack of practical help for prison-leavers, and soaring reoffending rates.
“We felt we were part of a system that wasn’t dealing with the structural issues that were leading to the kind of overcrowding we’re seeing now,” said Humpherson. “There are huge barriers for people wanting to turn their lives round after release – whether that’s finding a house or employment, or even just having the self-confidence to re-engage with society – and all too often there isn’t the help there for overcoming those barriers.”
The couple, along with Taylor’s sister Tess, set up the brewery in an attempt to prove that businesses offering work to prison leavers could not only be part of the solution, but could become a commercial success, too.
They are not the only company with such ambitions. A growing collection of businesses – including the Co-op, Greggs and Pret a Manger – now take on ex-offenders. James Timpson, whose key-cutting empire has been considered a model for providing employment for jail leavers, was appointed prisons minister last week.
Humpherson, 37, said government incentives should be used to encourage more businesses, including smaller independent companies, to run similar schemes.
“If you are leaving prison and you have a stable job with employers that genuinely care about your wellbeing, you immediately have the framework that enables you to rebuild your life,” he said. “That means less crime, less victims and less money spent on prosecuting and punishing people. There are no losers. It’s a no-brainer.”
Of more than 50 prison leavers taken on by Tap since it opened in 2016, just 6% have reoffended. The equivalent national average figure is about 50%. The business has now expanded to open three bars and a bakery – all partially staffed by former convicts – to accompany the original brewery.
Rehabilitated staff, meanwhile, have gone on to work in a variety of careers, including construction, security, hospitality and car sales.
Olsi Vullneteri worked at Tap as an assistant brewer for three years after serving a seven-year prison sentence for fraud. When he left the company in 2022, it was to set up his own sales business using the skills he had learned.
“You think you’ll never be treated with respect again when you first get out [of prison],” the father of two said. “But Tap, they restored my faith. The people there get where you’re from and understand you’re re-learning how to be outside again.
“I loved every second. Especially days when we got to do the quality control tasting. I’ve always enjoyed a beer, but I never thought it would turn my life around.”
The beer itself – including the aptly named Time Better Spent IPA – has been recognised by the Good Beer Guide, while the Inside Out stout was given a gold medal by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates.
“It’s crucial to us that the product isn’t a gimmick,” said co-founder Tess Taylor, 33.
“What we’ve noticed is people often first buy the beer because they want to support the social mission, but they keep buying it because it’s great beer.”
