Ep50 — Tom and Ol Fozard of Roosters Brewing Co, Harrogate (Part 1)

There exists a curious tension at Roosters Brewing Company, one that few other breweries have to navigate in terms of both their identity, and their position within the UK beer market. 

On the one hand this is a resolutely contemporary brewery, creating modern IPAs as delicious and precise as the cask ales loved by locals it built its reputation upon. But there’s also the fact that this is a three-decade old brewery, with a considerable legacy established by its previous owner, Sean Franklin, and its flagship beer, Yankee. It’s a persistent problem, one that’s always snapping at the heels of twin brothers, Tom and Ol Fozard—the commercial director and head brewer, respectively—who took on this considerable stewardship when, along with their dad, Ian, they acquired the brewery in 2011.

Since the acquisition they have done their best to put their stamp on it, while also clinging to the story and substance that makes Roosters Brewery what it is today. They’ve achieved this through beers such as their best-selling IPA, Baby Faced Assassin, and by relocating the brewery from its original home in the town of Knaresborough to a new site, complete with an American-style taproom, on the outskirts of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. 

In 2023 they celebrated the brewery’s 30th birthday in style, holding a beer festival at the brewery called Suds With Buds. They were joined by contemporaries from both sides of the Atlantic, and ably demonstrated that this is a brewery that more than holds its weight within the highly competitive British beer market.

Please enjoy this bumper length interview with Tom and Ol, split into two parts for brevity. This is a candid, warts and all account of one of the UK’s most interesting breweries, and a fascinating look at one that is navigating an industry under so much pressure, as it continually seeks to define itself within it.

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