The Pellicle Podcast

Join Jonny Mills, a brewer known for his inventive beer/cider hybrids, Derek Bates from Duration Brewing, who crafts seasonal brews, and Jonny Hamilton, co-founder of Pellicle and mixed fermentation exponent. They dive into the exciting world of hybrid beverages, discussing co-fermentations that blend beer, wine, and cider. With a focus on innovation, local sourcing, and experimentation, they reveal how these unique drinks can challenge our perceptions and draw in new audiences, pushing the boundaries of traditional craft beverages.

Time. It makes fools of us all. When listening back to this episode I couldn’t decide whether to publish or not, as so much has changed over the last 12 months. However, I feel this episode is still relevant and worthwhile. Perhaps serving as a marker of how we felt about independence in beer in 2019, feelings that have likely intensified significantly over the past few months. Independence is hugely important to me, but getting to the bottom of why it’s so important is challenging. On this panel I’m joined by Eddie Lofthouse, founder of Harbour Brewing in Cornwall, Matt Clarke, who at the time of this recording was the head brewer at Hawkshead Brewery in Cumbria, and Kevin Brooks, who at the time was working for US importer Shelton Brothers, but has recently left to set up his own company, Oasthouse Creative.  The reason I was so reticent about publishing isn’t just because during this panel I don’t really manage to gather enough evidence to make a case for independence. But since then, Matt Clarke has been made redundant, along with 14 other staff at Hawkshead, as its owner Halewood Wines and Spirits—who acquired the brewery in March 2017—covered its losses during the financial difficulties created by the pandemic. For me, this signified how important independence is, and what it means: control, or the lack of. In making those redundancies I feel the heart and soul—its people—has been torn out of Hawkshead Brewery. This episode is also evidence of how fast the beer industry moves. To my panelists, if you’re listening, thank you for being on this episode. And, if your opinions have changed since its recording, please drop me a line, as I’d love to get you back on the show to talk about it. I hope you enjoy this one folks — and just a reminder that this was recorded at a festival, so there’s a little background noise, but hopefully it’s not too intrusive.  Host: Matthew Curtis Guests: Matt Clarke — Hawkshead, Eddie Lofthouse — Harbour, Kevin Brooks — Shelton Bros. Read more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Today’s show is part of a series of panel talks recorded at 2019’s Fynefest—The annual festival held by Fyne Ales, at the home of their brewery and family farm in Cairndow, Scotland.In this episode we debate about one of my favourite subjects—cask ale—and why it means so much to both British brewing traditions, and to modern beer culture. Our panelists in this session were Stuart Ross of Magic Rock Brewing Company, Abbeydale Brewery’s Laura Rangeley and Doreen Joy Barber of Cloudwater. Plus, there’s a special guest appearance at the start from Cloudwater’s Jay Krause while we waited for Doreen to find the venue, where we hosted these talks.Fyne Ales have been huge friends and supporters of Pellicle since day one, and it was a privilege to be invited to host these talks. We were gutted not to be able to return to the Glen in 2020 due to the pandemic, but are already relishing returning in 2021 with gusto. Host: Matthew Curtis Guests: Stuart Ross — Magic Rock, Laura Rangeley — Abbeydale, Doreen Joy Barber — Cloudwater, Jay Krause — CloudwaterRead more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Today’s episode is an interview with Jimmy Hatherley, founder of Unity Brewing Co in Southampton. Jimmy is a good friend of mine, and a fantastic brewer. He established his brewery in 2016, influenced by modern, hoppy beers such as Russian River’s Pliny the Elder and Focal Banger from Vermont’s The Alchemist. His other influence is closer to home, however: Belgium. He’s just as interested in perfecting his crisp, nuanced saisons as he is his intensely hopped IPAs.The other thing that interests Jimmy is building his business—but not in the way you might think. He doesn’t feel the need to grow his business to any greater size than he operates at already. Instead he wants to grow slowly, and laterally, investing in his people and a sustainable, good quality of life for his family, and his employees families. It’s a noble aim, and one that for me is at the core of independent brewing here in the United Kingdom.Stick around after the interview is done as I’ll be reading another feature from our site. This time it’s a piece from Eoghan Walsh, who headed to Rwanda in search of authenticity, and instead went on a journey of self discovery. Host: Matthew CurtisGuest: Jimmy Hatherley — Unity Brewing Co. Read more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Welcome to the question time episode.A few months ago I hosted a panel talk at a bar called Five Miles in Tottenham, North London called Where It’s At. It’s intent? To figure out where the UK craft beer industry is at the moment, perhaps taking stock of it in the process and figuring out how it might look in the future.I’m joined on this panel by three influential people within the world of beer: Ed Mason, founder of the Five Points Brewing Company here in London; Miranda Hudson, founder of Duration Brewing in Norfolk, and Adam Robertson, founder of Verdant Brewing Company in Falmouth Cornwall.Very few topics are left alone in this lengthy debate: quality, independence, crowdfunding, the price of beer—nothing is taboo. It resulted in a very interesting discussion, and at times quite amusing—especially when our host, Mark Hislop of Exale Brewing (formerly Hale Brewery) delivered us some patented Mali-Bomb shots midway through the discussion.Thanks to Dan and Mark of Exale for hosting this discussion. Now that they’re in their new home in Walthamstow, North London, we hope to host another of these entertaining debates soon. Host: Matthew CurtisGuests: Adam Robertson — Verdant Brewing, Miranda Hudson — Duration Brewing, Ed Mason — The Five Points Brewing Company. Read more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Today’s episode is a bumper special: a narrative exploration of one of my favourite cities in the UK — Leeds. This bastion of West Yorkshire is very special to me, and that’s because it’s such a wonderful place to visit and to drink some very fine beer.During this episode we’ll hear from several key people from within the Leeds beer scene, including: Richard Brownhill of Little Leeds Beerhouse and bar, Brownhill and Co, Russel Bisset, founder and director of Northern Monk Brewery, Katie Marriot and Mike Hampshire of Nomadic Beer, and finally Christian Townsley, who over two decades ago founded North Bar with his friend and business partner John Gyngell—who, together, are arguably two of the most important figures in British beer today.Host: Matthew CurtisGuests: Russell Bisset — Northern Monk, Richard Brownhill — Little Leeds Beerhouse, Katie Marriot & Mike Hampshire — Nomadic Beer, Christian Townsley — North Brewing Co. Read more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

In today’s episode I get to visit one of my favourite places in the world—St. John—a place the late Anthony Bourdain described as “the restaurant of my dreams.” A truer statement has seldom been uttered.I was invited by Will Bucknall, co-founder of Kicking Horse, a beer distributor with a wine industry background, helping to educate and supply some of London’s best restaurants with great beer. The subject of food and beer is one of my favourites, which is unsurprising considering they’re some of my favourite things. Put them together and you have perfection.After Will and I chew on this subject for a while we’re joined by St. John’s co-founder Trevor Gulliver—a man with a great many opinions—and whether you agree with him or not, you’ll no doubt find his views to be thought provoking.This episode was recorded in a working restaurant ahead of a busy service, so please bare with the background noise.And don’t go anywhere once the interview has finished, as I’ll be reading another piece from our website: a rumination on citrus fruit from chef and founder of Nanban Restaurant, Tim Anderson.Host: Matthew CurtisGuests: Will Bucknall — Kicking Horse, Trevor Gulliver — St. John Restaurant Read more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Today’s episode is a “lost podcast” of sorts. I originally recorded this interview in late 2018 for the Good Beer Hunting podcast. Sadly, I left before it was ever submitted, and it has sat, languishing on my hard drive ever since. Listening back to it recently I decided it was too good not to publish.It features Nick Dolan, Zeph King and Tim Peyton of Real Ale, a small, independent chain of bottleshop/bar hybrids. What’s fascinating is that their business isn’t simply that of a retailer. They’re also in the distribution game, perhaps most notably supplying supermarket chain Marks & Spencer with their own-brand range of beers.While this episode is perhaps a bit more business focussed than we aspired to produce here at Pellicle, it still centres on what fascinates us the most—great food and drink.Disclaimer: In this episode it is stated by the interviewee's that their business, Real Ale, is an owner of Woodforde's Brewery in Norfolk. Please be advised that this is no longer the case. Host: Matthew CurtisGuests: Nick Dolan, Zeph King and Tim Peyton — Real AleRead more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Today's episode flits between two of our favourite topics: natural wine and lambic—beers own spontaneously fermented equivalent. In this episode you'll hear from Ola Dabrowska and Duncan Sime of Huddersfield-based natural wine shop Kwas, followed by Karel Boon, heir to the storied Boon brewery in Lembeek, Belgium.In our first interview we'll learn how Ola and Duncan came to open a natural wine bar in a West Yorkshire town better known for its traditional pubs and cask ale. Then we'll jump to a busy Hackney pub where we chat to Karel briefly about his family brewery and how it feels to be taking over from his father as he nears his inevitable retirement. Host: Matthew CurtisGuests: Ola Dabrowska & Duncan Sime — Kwas, Karel Boon — Brouwerij BoonRead more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag 

In today's episode Matthew ruminates briefly on the importance—nay magnificence—of cask ale, before chatting to Roger Ryman, the head brewer at Cornwall's St. Austell Brewery and creator of Tribute, one of the best selling cask beers in the country. Following the interview Matthew reads his article on another of the UK's great cask ales, Harvey's Sussex Best.  Host: Matthew CurtisGuests: Roger Ryman — St. Austell BreweryRead more at www.pelliclemag.comSupport our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag Editors Note: Sadly Roger passed away in May 2020. Read our obituary to him here.