Brewers Journal Podcast

We’re all familiar with the saying time flies when you’re having fun. When we last spoke to Rich White back in April last year, he was in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign and brewery fit out. His long-held ambition to start a brewery of his own was becoming a reality. In that episode we spoke about his exciting plans for Werewolf Beer, their crowdfunding campaign, his love of brewing classic American styles and the brewery’s very own…. ghost train! At that point it was very much a case of all hands on deck. And you can probably argue that little has changed since. Except now he has a brewery to call his own. And it’s one making excellent beer that caters for the great and good from London and beyond.  Let’s see how he’s been getting on….

Diversification in, or this case away, the world of brewing can mean more than producing different styles of beer or packaging said liquid in unusual package types. An increasing number of breweries have, or at least considered, broadened their offering by entering the world of spirits. And for many, that means Gin. And if you suspect big gin has a grip on the UK hospitality trade, you are correct. But this doesn’t mean you can’t get poured as well. Receiving the right data will help you understand your market – and competitors – as this episode will explain. Data collection agency Shepper sends its ‘Sheppards’ out to pound concrete and come back with the real facts regarding products. In this case, they looked at 1,000 pubs, bars and restaurants across the UK to see what gins were being poured. It found that not all towns ‘belong’ to big gin, glasses can make a difference if you want to charge more, and if you’re thinking of entering the tonic water market, you might want to think again. In this episode from our sister publication The Distillers Journal, Toby Darbyshire of Shepper – who has been connected with the spirit industry for years – will explain all.

With our 2022 Brewers Congress two months away, we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our 2021 keynote address. Greg Zeschuk knows a thing or two about running a team. During his latest visit to the UK in September just gone, we caught up with him again and discussed that before working in beer, the company he co-founded grew to employ 1500 at seven locations across the globe. Zeschuk was originally trained as a medical doctor, before starting the videogame company BioWare in 1995 in his hometown of Edmonton. BioWare created a number of successful games (Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Mass Effect) before being purchased by Electronic Arts (EA) in 2007. While a part of EA BioWare grew to employ over 1500 employees at seven studios across the world. Zeschuk left BioWare in 2012 and after a short hiatus started working in beer.  He went on to start The Beer Diaries, a YouTube channel focused on craft beer, and served as the first Executive Director of the Alberta Small Brewers Association in his home province. This led to Zeschuk starting a brewery in his hometown of Edmonton. To achieve his brewery goals Greg built two buildings – the award-winning Ritchie Market and the Monolith. The Ritchie Market is a multi-use building housing a brewery (Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company), a restaurant (Biera), a butcher, coffee shop, and a bakery. The Monolith was built as a barrel-focused brewery. Out of its Market brewery Blind Enthusiasm focuses on making lagers and runs a barrel-aging program. The Monolith was built to marry scientific method with tradition while making beer largely in wood. At the Monolith Blind Enthusiasm exclusively makes mixed fermentation and spontaneous beer.  And having worked in a variety of different professions across the world, Zeschuk says the key to heading up a team is to ensure you coach people rather than simply manage them, something he discusses in this latest episode. “You have to be a manager, a coach and a referee all in one. And there’s probably a little bit of hope involved, too.” “It’s important that the right people are in the right positions,” he explains. “And as your team grows, you need to remember that it helps for people to have frameworks to work within.” Zeschuk adds: “I’ve let people run with roles because I have full confidence in them making it their own. But at times, people are more comfortable with having clear guidance of what’s expected of them. So it’s key to communicate and discover what works best with that individual.” At its peak, Zeschuk was responsible for managing 600 people at EA BioWare and says having a good team around you is imperative. “When you grow, you need management structure that works for you. But there’s no point it being too bloated because that can be disastrous,” he says. “You all need to work well together and, of course, there’s a little bit of hope that everyone pulls in the same direction.” And while working in beer Zeschuk is now used to working with smaller teams, he says that doesn’t mean there are fewer pressures or challenges. “Making video games was one thing and obviously delays happen. But the idea of telling a customer that we can’t deliver their beer that week? he laughs.That’s a whole different problem!”

From a background in homebrew, Ross Holland would go on to start Box Social Brewing with his dad Steve in 2015. Fast forward several years and Holland is the proprietor of Alpha Delta Brewing, a Newcastle-based brewery making modern beers from hop-forward IPAs to mixed-ferm sours. Not only that but the business was crowned in the top 10 of the New Brewer Awards for the Year 2020 by RateBeer. In this podcast, Holland talks about his background in beer, the hurdles he’s overcome along the way and that if you’re a fan of ace beer and excellent rock and metal, then their Delta Lounge taproom bar in central Newcastle is just the place for you.

Earlier this week Beavertown announced it was to be fully acquired by Heineken UK. And earlier this summer, the brewery celebrated its 10th birthday. Much has changed since Logan Plant started the brewery in the De Beauvoir area of Haggerston, London. And two years ago, in September 2020, they threw open the doors of their new brewery in Ponders End, Enfield. The facility, which has created some 150 jobs, has enable the business to produce up to 500,000hl and to brew in 150hl batches, equivalent of 90,000,00 pints per annum, on its Krones brewhouse.  The brewery build was a major undertaking at any point in time, it just so happened those involved had a global pandemic to navigate during the project, too. To mark the two years since Beaverworld opened for business, we revisit our interview with founder Logan Plant and then lead brewer Chris Lewington about the brewery’s exciting new capabilities, the hurdles the team have overcome on the way and the changing role Beavertown is playing in the wider beer sector.

The city of St Albans is one synonymous with great beer.  Home to the headquarters of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, St Albans was also once famed for having the most pubs per square mile than anywhere else in the country. But in recent years, the county of Hertfordshire where St Albans is based has become known not just for a place to drink excellent beer, but it’s home to many breweries producing this fine beverage, too. For four friends Jon Howarth, Josh Kitt, Jordan Manfre and George Sanderson, all shared that appreciation of a good beer. And before long, knew they wanted to play their part in making their own. Launched by those life-long friends who met at school, Lost Boys is the culmination of a group that have juggled full time jobs as policy advisers, policemen and as a CAMRA employee to build a craft brewery that now supplies some of Hertfordshire’s great pubs. With no formal investment or business background, against the backdrop of a locked down hospitality sector and increasing supply chain costs, they’ve gone from brewing in a kitchen to having a small brewing facility in St Albans. In this episode, we speak to Jordan Manfre, the company’s head of marketing, about the brewery’s origins, fitting into the growing Hertfordshire beer scene, meeting customer demands and exciting festivals it will debut at later this year.

When there’s some 1,300 breweries across the country, and nearly 300 in your province alone, it pays to be different. So what happens then when three beer lovers from various marketing agency backgrounds come together to open a brewery designed to satiate the curious palette and mind? You get Something In The Water Brewing Co. And since opening its doors in May 2022, the brewery and bar concept is already a hit with the great and the good of Toronto’s Liberty Village. They began their curious beverage journey in March 2020, right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting with a curiously sour beer with a hint of sweetness, they dedicated themselves to looking at every beverage they curate with that same lens of curiosity. Whether it be the Canadian whisky aged in rum casks, a World Beer Award winning Brunch Stout, or the coffee we source directly from small farms in Costa Rica, they believe curious people deserve curious beverages. And they welcome you to their flagship brewery in Toronto’s Liberty Village to drink curious…

We all come into beer from different backgrounds, with different perspectives, with different goals. And when Jess and John Magill returned from several years spent living in Australia back in the early 2000s, they collectively knew that the world of brewing was for them. In doing so, they’d eventually go on to start Powderkeg, a team of freedom-loving beer obsessives carving out their own path with curiosity, creativity and defiance; as they say – this is free-thinking beer. So just what is Free-Thinking Beer? For Devon-based Powderkeg, they say they strive to look beyond the established ideas and opinions to revolutionise a style and create something fresh, interesting but always outstanding. In Cut Loose, they’ve re-imagine a classic German-style Pilsner by pepping it up with New Zealand hops; additions they explain that move past traditional techniques to elevate a beer beyond expectations. And taking influences from craft beer across the globe, they are on a mission to create flavour-packed, easy-drinking session beers that excite craft aficionados and the casual drinker alike. In this episode, we speak to Jess about their small, dedicated team who have spent years honing their skills, giving them the expert brewing knowledge to break the rules with a bit of style, making the beers that really satisfy their curiosity, creativity and thirst.

Just how do you keep on top of innovation? Do you follow the trends, or help create them? In the world of beer, over time, much has changed and much has stayed the same.  And one company that has played an integral role in the development of the brewing industry, as well the distilling sector is Briggs of Burton, the world’s oldest and number one distilling and brewing design and engineering company. With a history dating back to 1732, they know a thing or two about helping brewers and distillers achieve their goals. So with that in mind our colleagues at our sister title, The Distillers Journal, sat down with the company to find our more. Because while spirit consumption around the world continues to grow, customers are demanding more, wanting to feel as good about the distillery as about the spirit they’re drinking. Green credentials and sustainability platforms have grown in importance as much as quality and flavour.  However, with the rise in fuel and raw material prices, distillers have to wonder…will they be able to meet their customers demands, while maintaining a healthy bottom line?  Joining us for this episode from Briggs is Scott Davies who discusses some of the major issues and challenges facing the industry today and how Briggs of Burton is helping them to overcome them…

What’s in a sales role? Sometimes it might be easier to ask what’s not in a sales role…. You’re dealing with a wealth of departments internally, a raft of businesses externally and that’s before we’ve got onto other responsibilities such as social media, beer festivals, activations and everything in-between. But the value and importance of such figures can sometimes be overlooked. I think it’s pretty fair to say that when it comes to choice, fans of great beer have rarely had it better. Regardless of the style you’re seeking, the ABV you’re after or the country of origin you’re craving, there are an array of varieties, catering for all tastes. But while there’s an embarrassment of riches for the consumer, there’s also a host of breweries competing for those all-valuable taps and space on fridge shelves. And that’s something that Katie Arabella Ward knows a thing or two about. Katie is the key accounts, internal sales and operations manager at Big Smoke Brew Co. Big Smoke is a modern brewery and pub company, producing flavourful beer in the leafy suburbs of Esher in Surrey.  Before her roles within beer at reputable companies including Northern Monk, Mondo, Carlsberg & Little Creatures and renowned wholesaler James Clay, Katie gained life experience spending four years as a freelance make-up artist both in the UK and US. And her passion for growing brands, championing original ideas & helping businesses gain recognition through creative sales & marketing tactics, make her a highly regarded member of the UK brewing industry. So that’s why we asked today’s guest to share her experiences of the industry. Speaking at The Brewers Lectures in Brighton last month, Katie talked on the perception many have of the sales role, her advice to people working in this side of beer sector, and the importance of balancing your professional and personal life.