This Week in Craft Beer

I am delighted to welcome to the podcast Alex and Graeme from Full Circle Brew Co in Newcastle. It is exactly 12 months to the week since we first recorded a podcast together. Join me to get an update on the fantastic Full Circle Brewery and Taproom in the Newcastle "Beer District", to hear about their Northern Revival Taproom Tour, and to discover the hectic Summer Beer Festival Schedule that the...

Little Earth Project are based in a idyllic, peaceful and remote corner of South Suffolk, and they have a campsite and a pub, and a brewery. When I first recorded with Tom last year, I express surprise that anybody ever actual left, once they had found their way there! I knew that I needed to go and check-it out in person, and I roped in my TWICB-Partner Steve, to act as wingman. There is a bit of...

Mount St Bernard Abbey is a Roman Catholic, Trappist monastery near Coalville in Leicestershire, founded in 1835. The abbey was the first permanent monastery to be founded in England since the Reformation and is the sole Trappist house in England. Starting in 2018 the monks began to brew the only Trappist beer in England, known as Tynt Meadow. http://www.mountsaintbernard.org/ Peter and Father Mat...

I first interviewed Joe from Pentrich on the Podcast in Episode 15 in October 2020. At that time we got to talking about how Pentrich had built their reputation by putting "proper" heavily-hopped NEIPAs into keg. I expressed incredulity at this concept, and so Joe invited me to come and join him for a pint or two at the Alexandra Hotel in Derby, to see for myself. https://www.pentrichbrewing.com/...

Born from a desire of escaping the oil and gas industry, Fierce would become the end result of a chance meeting of co-founders Dave Grant and Dave McHardy during a brewing course at Brewlab in Sunderland.  This friendship led to  Fierce Beer mashing in its first ever commercial brew in May 2016 at its new home in Dyce, Aberdeen. Five years on Fierce are exporting 15 countries and they ha...

Donncha has crammed a wealth of experiences, both good and bad, into his past decade, in and around the Craft Beer Scene. As he moved from Head Brewer roles at Dig Brew, at the ill-fated Evolution Beer Co, and most recently at Tap It, Donncha has built himself a reputation as one of the most talented Craft Brewers in the UK. This has culminated in the launch of his own commercial brewing project C...

Since launching in early 2018 Pollys have grown and adapted to form a small but tight-knit team of six running the day to day operations of the brewery. Their motto is to never stop improving; always learning and tweaking the beer designs to create the best beer they possibly can. https://pollysbrew.co/#beer Arron wholeheartedly recommends https://www.facebook.com/MoldAlehouse/timeline

Squawk was founded in Manchester in 2013. At its heart is a love of beer, the people that drink it and the people that make it. Since the early days they’ve been brewing progressive, hop-forward beers with traditional roots with a passion for quality, experimentation and ingredients. Their principles were created around our shared ideas of ethical business, sustainability and community. https://sq...

Drop Project was launched in 2019 by Joe, Will and JT, inspired by their love of the outdoors and enjoying nature to the max. Drop Project brew fantastic modern Craft Beers with an Eco conscious mindset, attempting to create as little a negative impact on the world as possible when brewing. https://www.drop-project.co.uk/home Joe wholeheartedly recommends the following fine establishment https://h...

Top Rope Brewing began way back in January 2015, when Ben and Neil met at Brewdog Liverpool's homebrew club.  Bonding over a shared interest in beer and pro wrestling, the guys set to homebrewing, before transitioning to Ben's back-garden, and then on to a Brewery in Sandycroft North Wales. Like many of the guests on this podcast, the guys scrambled and ultimately prospered under COVID, and o...

VAUX has been a beloved name in Sunderland for almost 200 years. From the earliest incarnation of 'C. Vaux & Sons' in 1837 the brewery was an important part of city life in Sunderland until its sudden closure in 1999. In early 2019, Steve and his business partner Michael set about relaunching this iconic brand to make it a source of pride once more for the people of Sunderland. https://www.vau...

O'Brother was the brainchild of 3 brothers, Barry, Brian and Paddy O'Neil, who in 2014 swapped the 9-5 jobs for beer 24/7, setup the brewery and haven't looked back since! https://www.obrotherbrewing.com/ Barry wholeheartedly recommends the following fine Irish Beer Businesses: https://www.facebook.com/UnderDog-Dublin-812139445602353/ https://www.brickyard.ie/ https://craftcentral.ie/ https://www....

Two Tribes was launched in 2016 as an evolution of founder Justin Deighton's previous beer businesses, and are based at the heart of many of the UK's recording studios in Kings Cross. Two Tribes as a brand is built on collaboration, focused around their passion for Beer, Food, Music and Art. https://twotribes.co.uk/ Chris wholeheartedly recommends the following fine establishments: https://www.cla...

Founded in 2013 and set on the stunning Kent coast, Time and Tide Brewing are fueled by their passion for beer, their sense of fun and unrelenting dedication to making the best beer they possibly can. https://www.timeandtidebrewing.co.uk/ Tickets are available for the Smugglers Festival here: https://smugglers-tickets.myshopify.com/products/smugglers-festival-2021 Kerry and Sam wholeheartedly reco...

Ben and Mick homebrewed for two years before opening commercially in 2014 on the family farm in a stunning rural setting. https://www.rivingtonbrewing.co.uk/ Ben and Mick wholeheartedly recommend the following fine establishments: https://www.northernmonkeybrew.co.uk/ https://www.blackedgebrewery.co.uk/ https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Brewery/Tinhead-Brewery-537267506607510/ https://www.face...

Mark has been a main-stay of the Newcastle Beer Scene for many years, brewing first at Mordue and then at Tyne Bank, before starting Almasty in the sumer of 2014, named after the legendary Siberian Big Foot! https://almastyshop.co.uk/ Mark wholeheartedly recommends The Free Trade Inn in Newcastle https://freetradeinn.square.site/

Ryan started Chain House in September 2017,  with a commitment to provide local beer to local bars, in Preston. Ryan wholeheartedly recommends the following fine establishments in Preston  https://www.themoorbrook.co.uk/ https://plugandtaps.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/chainhousebrewingco/

This is a conversation with my friend and fellow podcast host Mark Peacock. Mark is based in Chicago and has been publishing his popular Travel Commons Podcast since 2005. Mark and I both have two obsessions, travel and craft beer, and I have been listening to his show since the very early days. Whilst Mark's podcast is more about the travel than the craft beer, he is deeply knowledgeable about th...

Stuart and Jasper started Yonder Brewing & Blending in July 2018, with three key tenets, an obsession with mixed fermentation, a focus on locally sourced ingredients, and a love of foraging. https://brewyonder.co.uk/ Stuart and Jasper Wholeheartedly recommend  The Grape and Good in Wells http://thegrapeandthegood.com/ Beer Gonzo in Coventry https://www.beergonzo.co.uk/

Brew York was founded in 2015 by Wayne Smith and Lee Grabham, in the beautiful York City Centre with a mission to make beers with personality that are enjoyed across the globe. In 2020, while the rest of us were hunkering-down trying to get through COVID unscathed, Brew York have opened up a new 2nd Brewery site in York that increased their potential production output fivefold, as well as a new ba...

Hackney Brewery was founded in 2011 by Peter Hills and Jon Swain, in a couple of Hackney Railway arches. Towards the end of 2020, they ran a Crowdfunder, which successfully raised almost £50,000 to fund the development of a new brewery and taproom just up the road in Walthamstow, which is due to open very soon! Hackney Brewery is extremely environmentally conscious, using exclusively green energy,...

Padstow Brewing Company was setup in 2013 on the rugged North Cornish Coast. Padstow brew fresh, exciting and fiercely independent beers. They are a true small-batch brewery, with no computers or accountants to run the show. https://www.padstowbrewing.co.uk/ Simon and George wholeheartedly recommend: Vessel Beer Shop http://www.vesselbeer.co.uk/ and Bulletproof Brewing https://www.bulletproofbrewi...

Crafty Cats started life in lockdown No.1 as the brothers bunkered down in the family farmhouse to ride out the pandemic. Having dabbled in home-brewing for some time, they decided to start sharing the fruits of their labour with friends and family. In September, following positive reviews and perhaps beginning to believe their own hype, they took the plunge and bought a 4 barrel brew house and se...

Bone Machine Brew Co. are a fierce craft brewery inspired by a love of stoner rock, cosmo punk, Russian music and an idiosyncratic sense of humour. Underpinning the apparent chaos lies great values of honesty, hard work and innovation. Originally established in 2017 in East Riding, Bone Machine relocated to the splendid Taphouse in Hull in 2019, which must be a contender for Britain's largest Brew...

Roman is a Dutchman who was born in Brussels, but he studied for many years in London. After completing his studies, Roman began brewing part-time in 2014 on a farm near Ilford. Inspired by both the scientific and brewing traditions of his birthplace, Roman named his brewery Solvay Society and began producing modern Belgian-style beers with a twist. In 2019, Solvay Society opened a railway-arch Ta...