Brewers Journal Podcast

Launching a new business is always an exciting time. It’s also a challenging one, too. In our sector, you need a quality liquid, great branding and a team that knows the industry. Thankfully, with today’s guests you have all of those and more. Earlier in the summer, the cider category welcomed one such new addition. Developed by a team with decades of experience in building successful beer a...

Since starting out in 2021, Moonwake in Leith has become one of the UK’s most regarded breweries. Founded by a team with extensive craft beer and brewing careers. They believe there is a beer out there for everyone. Moonwake means: “the moon’s reflection on a body of water” and speaks to the brewery’s Leith Shore location, the importance of water as an ingredient, and our beers’ reflection o...

To celebrate his excellent keynote address at our Brewers Congress event in London last month, we return to one of our most listened-to episodes. David Gluckman was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on 1st November 1938, the day Sea Biscuit and War Admiral fought out the race of the century at Pimlico Park, Baltimore. Educated in Johannesburg, he joined a local advertising agency after universi...

What is diversity and inclusivity and why is it important to the beer industry? Earlier this year we invited Amelie Tassin, the founder and director of Tipple Marketing, a marketing and strategy agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland, to find out more. With over 15 years’ experience, Amelie has worked across several European sectors from retail banking and property development to cosmetics and food a...

Holy Goat is a Dundee based brewery specialising in the production of mixed- fermentation and wood aged beers. At Holy Goat, they’ve taken an unconventional approach to yeast and fermentation, opting for a proprietary method that utilises Brettanomyces yeast for long maturation times – typically 3-4 months – to produce unique, complex, full-flavoured sour beer. The brewery, co-founded...

Welcome to Closet Brewing, an Edinburgh-based nano-brewery focused on producing unique seasonal beers. The founders Lucy and Lizzie Stevens, began as homebrewers (brewing quite literally out of their closet), before officially launching the brewery in 2022. Since then, they’ve gone from strength to strength; brewing a diverse array of beers including a traditional doppelbock, a smoked pineap...

A great beer from a revered and respected brewery is always a pleasure.

But when you bring together three such outfits, creative forces that are admired across the UK, Europe and beyond then you know you’re in for a treat.

 And last week – a collaboration that took place in Lewes, in sunny East Sussex – is proving to be just that. Before Covid came crashing into people’s lives, Mark...

Sheffield is one of the UK’s great beer cities. It’s a haven for great breweries, great beer and great people. Not to mention a wealth of brilliant places to enjoy these in. One such spot is Heist Brew Co. Founded by Dan Hunt and Adam France, Heist started brewing in a little village called Clowne in 2018 when the duo added a brewery to their craft beer bar and bottleshop.  Learning the skill of b...

One of the finest qualities the industry boasts is the way we find inspiration from businesses, brewers, beers and breweries from across the globe. Beer is a global language and brewers from around the world frequently find a new home in towns and cities to share their experiences and expertise in. And one such brewer is Virginia Casadio. Virginia hails from Ravenna, Italy and spent her early year...

You’ve probably had and enjoyed a beer produced by Colin Stronge. Failing that, you no doubt know some that has… And in Spring of 2024 the renowned brewer, alongside his wife and esteemed brand manager Vik Kastenbauer Stronge, launched Lost Cause Brewing Co onto the UK beer scene. We were thrilled that Colin used our Brewers Lectures at the excellent Wiper and True in Bristol to showca...

How much do you know about your local and the people that run it. Why they do what they do. What they enjoy about this profession. What they enjoy….less so. Be it core classics or specials and seasonals, the independent on-trade is essential in offering a platform to countless brewery’s beers. And for patrons and producers in West London, they’re fortunate to have a brilliant pub...

From Arise, Aurora and Cuvée, to Plateau, Saison Anniversaire and Luppoleto Pils, many of us are abundantly familiar with the fantastic beers produced by Burning Sky. But how much of do you know of the story behind these beers and the brilliant brewery that makes them? Because the Burning Sky team, led by founder Mark Tranter, prefer to let the beers do the talking. Founded in 2013, Burning Sky ha...

Much has changed in England’s capital during the last decade. Breweries have come and gone as have countless beer styles, too. But in 2024, Hammerton Brewery – based moments from Caledonian Road & Barnsbury railway station in the London Borough of Islington – proudly celebrates its 10th anniversary. The business, founded by Lee Hammerton and his girlfriend – now wife &#...

What’s the largest event you’ve organised alcohol licensing for?  Well, today’s guest has licensed major festivals such as Glastonbury, pubs, bars – oh and the King’s Coronation, too. Piers Warne is a licensing lawyer at TLT and has 20- plus years’ experience licensing premises for the sale of alcohol and other licensable activities. This includes licensing breweries for direct sales to...

What does it take to cut it as the head of operations and sales at one of the UK’s most exciting independent breweries? Well, we asked Kat Türková to find out! Kat grew up in the Czech Republic and came to the UK in 2015 to study a BA in Comparative Literature at King’s College London. After graduating university and following a few jobs in the hospitality sector, she met Daniel Tapper and b...

As head brewer at Liverpool-based Azvex, Jack Walker is responsible for creating a raft of celebrated beers. And only this month, the brewery was awarded the accolade of Best Double IPA in England for its Swedish Buzzsaw in the Untappd Community Awards. The 8.2% beer is dry-hopped with Citra, Strata, Mosaic & Nelson Sauvin These types of beers, as Jack explains, are part of the modus operandi...

Where do you go for a pre-match pint? If you’re one of the Fratton Park faithful supporting Championship-bound Portsmouth, there’s a strong chance you’ve frequented the excellent taproom on offer by the good folk at Staggeringly Good Brewery.  On matchday they often welcome no fewer than 1,000 footy fans to their superb spot that’s only a stone’s throw from the famous football gro...

We’re only two months into 2024 and this year has been somewhat seismic for Mash Gang, the producers of high-quality, small-batch low and no alcohol craft beers. In addition to a wealth of new beer releases, the team announced that they are significantly boosting their output after securing major investment from tech investor Ryan McCarry. The investment process, managed and advised upon by Daniel...

How do you ensure that your potential fans, your potential customers, your potential advocates feel like they’re part of your story? How do you bring them on that journey with you? At Neptune Brewery, their newly-opened beerhouse is one such way of doing just that.   A business and a relationship forged in Liverpool, Neptune Brewery was founded by Julie and Les O’ Grady. Producers of modern b...

How can we make brewing a more sustainable process? We can all pretty much agree that when it comes to the world of beer, the topic of sustainability needs to be more than a box-ticking exercise or a buzzword that we occasionally throw about as part of our business plans.  And we’re a month into the new year so many of us are probably assessing how well our resolutions for 2024 our panning ou...

How much do we understand about brewing ingredients and the advances that are taking place in this integral part of the sector? With that in mind, we brought together three leading names from across the brewing spectrum to find out… In this panel discussion, which took place at our Brewers Congress in London, top of the agenda was biotechnology past, present, future and how to harness it. In this...

Where were you a little over 30 years ago? As today’s guests recall… England had failed to qualify for the World Cup, 2 Unlimited were Top of the Pops, Shane Warne had bowled the ‘Ball of the Century’ and Rooster’s Brewing Co has just hatched. And in doing so, forever changing the shape of beer in the UK.  And in 2024, Rooster’s Brewing Co is ramping up its limited release offering in 2024, with c...

Knowing why your beer tastes like it does is imperative, in all parts of the chain. In this podcast, part of our Digital Takeover on quality control and analysis, our contributing editor Melissa Cole chairs a panel discussion with figures from the brewing industry whose roles revolve around ensuring quality and extolling the virtues of this to the wider world. As SHE Compliance Manager at Beaverto...

How do you build brand consistency at your brewery? Well, it’s clear that starting with controlling the quality of the liquid you’re building your business is on is a great way to start. At Northern Monk, Tanya Kondratyuk was Quality Manager at the Leeds-based business. She started her career in the industry working in quality control, sensory analysis, and the bourbon barrel aging program at Goos...

When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold … We’ve all probably heard that saying, or at least a variant of it. In beer, it’s no secret that many US brewers appreciated and were often inspired by classic British styles. And in turn many brewers in the UK, Europe, and beyond have been galvanised by the wealth of creations to emerge from modern US brewing.  One such outfit oper...