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

Barrel ageing and mixed fermentation. Are there any two phrases that evoke curiosity and create excitement for brewers and beer lovers more than these? You’d be hard pressed to find a brewer who is not fascinated with the art of blending beers stored in wood or the mixed cultures of Brettanomyces and lactic acid, which spawn bacterias such as lactobacillus and pediococcus. Sour, mixed fermentation...

On this week's episode we're joined by David McGowen from Broughton Ales talking all about their campaign to save the brewery. There’s not a brewery or business out there that hasn’t been hit hard by the global pandemic. No one could imagine an entire industry being put on pause for weeks, months even, on end. But now that pubs and bars have started to reopen around the world, furloughing schemes...

The apprentice: what comes two mind when you hear these words? Perhaps the first image you conjure up is of some wide-buoi in a suit who isn’t just a one trick pony, but is a whole field of ponies and would crawl over his dead grandma for Lord Sugar’s lucrative investment and business insights. Or perhaps, on the hand, it’s the young whipper-snapper that’s super keen to learn their craft on the jo...

Amy Brookes is the co-founder of Content on Draft , a company that works with brewers and drinks manufactures on creating content marketing with a view to growing their businesses. In this episode, we discuss some of the mistakes breweries, bars and bottle shops make when it comes to social media and provide a wide range of insights, tips and guidance for any business looking to improve their onli...

Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to attend the Thursday trade session of BrewLDN - a festival and trade show in The Old Truman Brewery; a welcoming emporium of game changing beers, high quality street food, good-time DJs and general festivities. Although COVID-19 was making headline news here in the UK, edging its way ever closer from far distant lands such as China and the-not-so-far-flu...

In this week's episode, we catch up with Neil Walker, Head of Comms & Marketing for the Society of Independent Brewers Association ( In order to support growth, boost productivity and remove ‘cliff-edges’, the scheme’s taper will be smoothed. It will take effect more gradually over a wider range of production, starting at 2,100 hectolitres per year, and be converted to a cash basis. A technica...

This week, we're joined by Utopian Brewing's Managing Director, Richard Archer, to talk all about how the pandemic has helped them reach a wider audience. Documenting their journey from humble beginnings in picturesque mid-Devon as a brewery serving the local market, Utopian Brewing have expanded their consumer-base through a grassroots marketing campaign by sending out their 100% British ingredie...

In this week's episode of the Hop Forward Podcast, we catch up with founder and CEO of Big Drop Brewing Co: an award winning craft brewery that exclusively makes low alcohol beers, under 0.5% ABV. Former lawyer, Rob Fink, who - on the pursuit of being the 21st century dad - laid aside lunchtime pints and sought an alternative, started the brewery with his former school friend James Kindred - an ac...

Beer fans in the 21st century have never had it so good! Go onto Untappd and you'll find everything from the Pomegranate Berliner Weisse, Double Peach Candy Popcorn Sour, and Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, right through to a Macadamia White Chocolate Stout or the Yorkshire Pudding Best Bitter. And whenever - fill in the blank - brewery makes a DIPA with the sexy new hop variety or releases their barre...

Mental health has long plagued many sectors, but particularly those who choose to talk the path of hospitality. And - as we discovered from our recent mini-series The Under Beer Belly of #BrewersLife - there are many black dogs on the shoulders of bar staff, brewers and business owners alike. Throw an unprecedented global pandemic into the mix of a pre-existing storm and who knows what the long te...

The Pub : two humble little words in the English dictionary that conjure up memories of friends, near and far, steadfast and forgotten; a phrase that is every bit as warm and inviting as you last remembered it (even if that last experience wasn’t necessarily a good one!); a soundtrack to accompany every moment, ranging from staring space at the rain through the window after a humdrum day at work,...

Craft… was there ever such a word in the English dictionary that has divided opinion in the world of beer as the C word. For some, it defines what it means to be a small, independent brewer. For others, it symbolises a revolt against the globalisation of big business and putting profits before people. While for others, it’s the smaller beer selection in their local supermarket with all the colourf...

Is there any other country quite as revered in the world of beer as Belgium? While many start their continental beer journey in their local supermarket with commercialised brands such as Leffe and Duvel, it’s usually only a matter of time before they’re booking Eurostar tickets to Bruge, taking a pilgrimage to Brasserie d'Orval , before visiting the Lamic mecca: Brasserie Cantillon . There is some...

On days like today, where the sun is shining, the weather is sweet, there’s nothing that people from Australia to Zimbabwe like to drink more than cold, refreshing, crisp lagers. Despite the FHM, lad’s mag, lager drinking culture of the mid-90’s being long lost and mostly forgotten. Although many certainly wouldn’t give a Castlemaine XXXX for the hangovers that accompanied the hedonistic aspects o...

It's no secret that the hospitality industry, in places, has a problematic consumption of alcohol. Day for some are casually accompanied by beer from dawn till dusk, and excessive consumption of alcohol for those who work in brewing or hospitality is just one Imperial Stout away at the end of a long shift packaging or dispensing beer. But how does being around and working in beer and hospitality w...

When I floated the idea of doing a mini-series exploring some of the underbelly of the beer industry back in January, I was flooded with private messages from brewers and bar staff sharing their personal stories, many of whom started with the prerequisite: ‘I'd like to share anonymously…!’ It seems that discussing topics such as workplace treatment, remuneration for overtime, expectations from bus...

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring the lesser savoury part of the beer industry that are less obvious to most while searching through Instagram or discussing their favourite beers over Twitter. I am, of course, talking about The Under Beer Belly of a #BrewersLife. We’ll be taking a deep dive into topics such as mental health, well-being in the workplace, sexism, alcoholism and more as we...

What is the deposit return scheme? On this week's episode of the Hop Forward Podcast , recorded in March at Beer X , we discuss with SIBA Head of Public Affairs, Barry Watts, and Scottish brewers Ride Brew Co and Loch Leven Brewery about how the proposed Deposit Return Scheme will affect brewers from across the country. While the focus and emphasis for the industry and the wider world is fixed upo...

Every April, people from across North America and around the world flock to America’s largest craft brewing industry gathering: the Craft Brewers Conference . Sharing education, knowledge and ideas, the trade show is led by the top minds in the world of beer and business. For many brewers and beer professionals, this is an annual pilgrimage to not only consume information but to sample great beers...

I this week's episode of the Hop Forward Podcast , we catch up with Redchurch Brewery 's Head of Operations, Rachael Reynolds , to talk about recovering from crowdfunding and the troubles that plagued the brewery in 2019. In essence, crowdfunding is a great idea, allowing die-fans and casual followers the opportunity to make a difference to a project; to do good while allowing others to brew good....

How do we make sense of a world suffering a health pandemic and economic recession?  Will the beer industry ever recover from this?  What will happen to my business, my job, my family, my income...? These are the kinds of questions we find ourselves asking at the moment during these unprecedented times. I'm sure you're probably sick of having your pint glass filled daily with the latest COVID19 ne...

The history of pub ownership is a long, complex one, as you will no doubt hear from today’s episode with long standing publican Mark Dodds will attest. Mark, who once ran the Sun & Doves in Camberwell, South London - Time Out Magazine’s runner up for Best Bar of the Year in 1996 as well as a string of other awards - is no stranger to the tied pub system. Having first hand witnessed the effects...

How can breweries, bars and pubs survive the Coronavirus outbreak in the United Kingdom? That’s the burning question that is on everyone’s lips at the moment. The hospitality industry has been quick to react to Boris Johnson’s government statement urging Britons ‘to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants and theatres and to only make essential journeys in the “national fightback” against coronavirus’. Wit...

This month, the Society of Independent Brewers Association - SIBA - celebrates its 40 year of championing independent beer in the UK. SIBA has achieved some monumental things, including lobbying for SBR (Small Brewers Relief) , helping independent brewers sell their beers into PubCos through Beerflex, and gathering beer professionals from all corners of the industry for Britain's largest brewery t...

The old adage goes that brewing is 90% cleaning, 10% paperwork. Like all sayings, there's an element of truth hidden within. Brewer's spend vast amounts of time cleaning vessels, packaging lines, containers and just about anything that comes into contact with wort and beer. And with good reason. Lurking between those heat exchanger plates, elbows, valves, and just about anywhere that's everywhere,...