Hop Forward: Getting You Ahead in the Brewing and Beer Business

Today's episode starts with a statement written by co-founder of London's Gipsy Hill Brewing Co , Sam McMeekin.  The statement, in full, can be read on their Instagram page . This episode was a hard one - not only to discuss sensitively but to put together as a whole.  The topic of workplace culture can be divisive.  Some people have a wonderful experience working for an employer, while another ca...

Anyone who has ever attempted to describe the flavours and aromas of a beer will know that putting language to what's in the glass is both challenging, subjective and needs the right terminology. But what if we don't possess the language for ourselves or a customer doesn't quite know what they're after, but they certainly know what they don't want...! As brewers, bar staff and bottle shop owners,...

Edinburgh's Vault City Brewing have earned a reputation in a short time as one of Britain's most well-respected, sought after breweries.  Bucking the hazy producing trend, Vault City focus solely on Modern Sour Beers. With flavours such as Guava Banana Banoffee Toffee Smoothie, Apple Cherry Cinnamon Swirl and Strawberry & Lime Session Sour, Vault City have captured the heart and imagination of...

On this week's episode of the Hop Forward Podcast, Nick travels to Brewery Market on the historic Church Street in Twickenham, the Drinks Retailing Awards 'Independent Beer Retailer of the Year 2021'. Linda, Denis, Steph and a few of our locals appear on an impromptu episode called A Late Night Chat in an Indie Bottle Shop .  We discuss everything from beers, lambics, starting and running a small...

The first time I ever went into a bottle shop with one of my beers, I was absolutely packing it (for our international listeners; the literal translation is I was shitting myself).  What would they think about my beer, my brand… would they buy it, stock it, promote it and sell many…? Thankfully, the bottle shop in question - slightly bemused by the kitsch logo of Jesus welcoming people at the bar...

On the Hop Forward Podcast this week, we’re joined by brewing veteran and former Brewing Director of Fullers, Smith & Turner John Keeling. Although John entered retirement relatively recently, he is still very active in the brewing industry, visiting breweries across the United Kingdom and working with Asahi - recent purchases of the Fullers Brewery - in a consulting capacity. John is as engag...

To celebrate Elusive Brewing 's 5th birthday, Andy and the team joined forces with homebrewing store The Malt Miller to launch a national competition.  With a prize of £1000 at stake, a collaboration and mentorship from Elusive Brewing to help one lucky budding homebrewer go pro, the competition saw entries come in thick and fast from brewers reinterpreting Elusive's Belgium Witbier, Crisp Witty....

This week, Nick takes a trip over the Pennines to Manchester to catch up with owner of Windsor based bottle shop and taproom and winner of the SIBA Best Independent Craft Beer Retailer, A Hoppy Place . Recorded live on location at Alphabet Brewery , with a brief stop off at Track Brewing Co for a pint of Sonoma and to admire their floor, Nick and Dave discuss Inbetweenland , an article written by...

Ever since the invention of the light bulb, our perception of time has been significantly altered; we no longer live in a cyclical rhythm of the sun primarily governing when we work – but work can occur at any and every time of day. Nor is our weekly shop dictated by what time of year it is or where in the world we live.  Want strawberries in winters? Perhaps avocado and poached egg on toast is mo...

Working with agronomists, biologists, local farmers, Crisp Malting Group have been at the forefront of resurrecting heritage varieties of barley for craft brewers and distillers across the globe. Varieties such as Chevallier, Plumage Archer, Hana and Maris Otter - the define the past 200 years of brewing history.  But what do they taste like?  And in today's world of hazy, hop-forward IPAs and fru...

This week sees the return of Cask Ale Week: an initiative set up by independent award body for pubs serving great quality cask beer: Cask Marque . In this week's episode, guest Frances Brace and host Nick Law discuss why cask beer is important to the general community, why cask beer should be treated like a speciality product and why, in her opinion, landlords should be charging more for it. Direc...

Dissolved Oxygen (D.O): no two words strike fear into the heart of the brewers.  As you're probably aware, oxygen ingress into beer is bad news; the more D.O in a beer (counted in parts per billion, or ppb) the quicker it will develop stale, off-flavours that ruin a beer. But how should brewers approach D.O?  Is it simply a number that gets talked about when ordering a packaging line?  What should...

Sheep in Wolf's Clothing (abbreviated as SiWC) started life in 2020 with an ambition  to become a leading brewery specialising in the production of low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beers and to open a series of accessible, inclusive pubs, which reflect the communities they serve. Long term, they are committed to proactively employing people from disadvantaged groups and those underrepresented in the...

We kick Season 3 of the Hop Forward Podcast off with by catching up with Adam France and Dan Hunt: founders of Heist Brew Co . Heist started brewing back in 2018 out of an old-school house in the ex-mining town of Clowne, Derbyshire, building a reputation for a wide variety of beers. A move to Sheffield was always on the cards, to create an American style tap room in the thriving cultural quarter...

On the Hop Forward Podcast this week, Nick and founder of McColl's Brewery , Danny McColl , have an honest and open discussion about mental health.  We discuss some of the difficulties running a small business and the toll it can take on well-being, family life and look at some of the strategies you can implement to cope and last the course. Danny chats about their work promoting mental health and...

This week on the Hop Forward Podcast, we talk to beer writer Siobhan Buchanan and Head Brewer of South London's Coalition Brewing , Charlotte Cook , to talk about sexism, misogyny, toxic workplace culture and leadership, and what women endure working in craft beer and hospitality on a regular basis on account of the attitudes of men. In this open and frank discussion, we ask questions such as what...

Founded in 2015, CANarchy is a disruptive collective of like-minded brewers dedicated to bringing high-quality, innovative flavours to drinkers in the name of independent craft beer. The portfolio of craft breweries includes Oskar Blues Brewery , Cigar City Brewing , Squatters Craft Beers , Wasatch Brewery, Deep Ellum Brewing Company, Perrin Brewing Company, Three Weavers Brewing Company and Revit...

On the Hop Forward Podcast this week we're joined by founder of Elusive Brewing, Andy Parker: officially 'the nicest guy in beer'.  We talk about how he won a The Craft Beer Co’s National Home Brewer award competition to have his beer produced by Dark Star, which led to the brewery's conception. We also chat about their flagship West Coast IPA, Oregon Trail, as well as what advice he'd give to asp...

Beer and food writer and broadcaster Mark Dredge joins us on the Hop Forward Podcast this week to have an open and frank discussion about the effects of alcohol on our bodies.  We also chat about why he decided to go vegan and how brewery tap rooms and bars could go further when offering a vegetarian option for the patrons. This Week’s Episode is Sponsored by Crisp Malt Since 1870, Crisp Malt has...

On the podcast this week, we're joined by Nelion Ridley, family brewer and owner of Essex based brewery, Bishop Nick . With a rich heritage of traditional brewing as part of the Ridley brewing family that dates back to 1842, Nelion briefly moved out of the industry after the family brewery was sold to Greene King in 2005. However, it wasn't long before he was persuaded to give it another go, buyin...

On the podcast this week, we're joined by Head Brewer of Block Three Brewing Company , Kevin Freer .  Based in St. Jacobs, ON, Canada, the brewery produce a range of beers including Fickle Mistress - a dry-hopped kettle sour named after their temperamental labelling machine, Lo Gnomo - a smooth, fruity and dry Belgian Tripel brewed with orange zest and coriander - and a range of spontaneously ferm...

Described on the BBC website as 'the most influential women in brewing today', Emma Gilleland was the first ever woman head brewer in England. Emma is now the Director of Supply Chain for Carlsberg-Martons in the UK, meaning that she is responsible for brewing, production and distribution of beer to customers across all five breweries in the Marston’s business; from Cumbria to Hampshire. In this e...

Recently, we’ve been paying more attention to brewing practises, especially in the content of these shows.  In addition to Ali Capper from the British Hop Association , talking about the flight of farmers ,and Bill McFarland from Omega Yeast , who shared some of his fermentation practises with a focus on the Kveik strain, this week I took the opportunity to talk to the team from Munton’s Malt to t...

On the podcast this week, we talk to Omega Yeast's Bill McFarland about all things fermentation and supporting brewers with their yeast requirements. We focus in particular on brewing lagers, imperial stouts and hazy IPAs, in which Bill McFarland suggests that Kveik yeast may be the secret weapon in your brewery's arsenal. Omega Yeast are based in both Chicago and St Louis and are made up of a ded...

The Disruptive Entrepreneur, Rob Moore , says that  the difference between sales and marketing is, ‘Sales is taking the cash off the customer… marketing is getting them into the shop in the first place!’. If you were to sit down, right now, and assess your marketing and sales activity, how would you fare?  Are there any areas where you could grow in your marketing activities and testing their effe...