#70 Growth is more than just volume | Aaron McClure

Most breweries will, hopefully, experience a growth curve during their business lives.

But when you’re on that particular journey, it’s key to recognise that there’s more to it than just increasing capacity and your ability to produce more volume.

And as someone heading up a brew team, Aaron McClure knows that all too well.

Aaron is the head brewer at Sharp’s, based in Rock, Cornwall. After studying biology at the University of Exeter, Aaron would join Sharp’s in 2011, rising up the ranks from brewing team member to technical brewer before being promoted to the role of head brewer in 2019.

Managing a team of 32 brewers, McClure is responsible for the production of a raft of beers including Atlantic, Offshore Pilsner and Doom Bar, which they brew in excess of one million pints of each week.

In this latest episode, recorded at our Brewers Congress in December, Aaron explains how he goes about managing all of his different responsibilities at the Cornish brewery.

During his time at Sharp’s, he has seen the brewery and the team grow. On the outside, he says, it’s sometimes easy to just look at a larger number of tanks or your ability to make more beer.

But there’s more to it, much more.

Whether that means HR policies and practices, quality controls and health and safety measures, you also need to make sure each and every part of your team feels valued and involved.