Brewers Journal Podcast

Located in London, but drawing on global expertise, Mondo Brewing Company has shown how beer transcends cultural and geographical boundaries. Founded by Todd Matteson and Tom Palmer in 2015, the American natives have been creating great beers that span the style spectrum for the last five years. Bonded by a love of Alt beer, the duo also call upon their experiences in Germany, Japan, Spain and beyond. And in doing so, have caught the eye of major restaurants, institutions and global sporting giants. In this podcast, we discuss how these experiences inform their outlook in London, their plans for the future and how they’re constantly striving to do better – in beer, in business and for the wider community. This episode was produced with support from QCL.

Many of us, if we’re fortunate to do so, will travel in our lives. Often it’ll be for holiday and sometimes it will be to live or work elsewhere. Travel, as they say, broadens the horizons. And it’s this mentality that Julia Huber subscribes to, the German native is the head brewer at ORABrewing in London. Founded in 2016, ORA started with the aim to create beers that marry the quality of the best Italianingredients with contemporary beer styles. Limoncello IPA? No problem. Balsamic Milk Stout? Sure thing. And although they started in 2016, the brewing story started some eight years before that. The trio of Daniele Zaccarelli, Pietro Rubbianesi, Emanuele Poletti decide to start making craft beer for fun in their garage, using the equipment provided by a friend. But fast-forward to 2020, and ORA Brewing in London is guided by Julia Huber, Working in Eng-land’s capital isn’t her first experience working abroad though, far from it. There’s the small matter of her time in New Zealand and Greenland, too. All by the age of 23. In this podcast, we speak to Julia about growing up in Germany, finding a love of beer from an early age and the different cultures she’s been part of throughout her journey in brewing.

The UK is blessed with breweries of all shapes and sizes. Some are tight-knit, modest operations while others operate out of facilities that could be mistaken for an aircraft hangar.  That doesn’t mean that one is good, and one is bad, or vice-versa. They’re just different and of course, variety is the spice of life. And while Mike Deal and his team are unlikely to come across many spices in the vast greenery that surrounds their brewery, working with locally-foraged produce has been a major part of Wildcraft Brewery’s ethos since its formation. The former teacher turned head brewer at the Buxton, Norfolk-based business takes pride in the beer he makes and the role the brewery plays in the local community. In this episode, he talks us through his journey, the brewery’s expansion plans and the ways Wildcraft has worked with the wider world during a challenging 2020.

Bottleshops are such an important part of the fabric of the brewing industry. In a Venn diagram they’re sitting in the middle, fulfilling an invaluable role connecting the breweries with the consumers that enjoy the fruits of their labour. In this episode, we speak to the founder of one such bottleshop – Marius Andrici. On 1st January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union in the fifth wave of EU enlargement. It meant the people such as Marius Andrici, a Romanian hailing from the country’s Banat region, could realise his dreams of seeing and working somewhere new. For the young Romanian, the the only destination on his mind was London, England. And 13 years on, Andrici is now busy looking after thirsty drinkers at his own bottle shop. Based in Acton, West London, A Pint of Hops opened its doors in the April of 2019. In this episode, we speak to Andrici to learn about the A Pint of Hops’ first 18 months trading, catering for the community during lockdown and the challenges of running your own business.

Last month, Beavertown opened the doors on its new London brewery. The facility, which will create up to 150 jobs, will enable the brewery to produce up to 500,000hl and to brew in 150hl batches, equivalent of 90,000,00 pints per annum, on its Krones brewhouse. It also boasts a complete KHS, which has the capacity to fill up to 30,000 cans per hour in 330ml format, and a KHS keg line that can fill up to 160 kegs per hour in 30l format and the ability to be expanded in the future to an ultimate capacity of 240 kegs per hour.The opening of Beaverworld is the latest stage in the brewery’s journey, which started back in 2012. And 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. In this podcast, we visit Beaverworld to speak to founder Logan Plant and 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.  This episode is sponsored by QCL and Muntons Malt.

If you want something done right, do it yourself.” This mentality has led to the creation countless companies and brands over the years. In the world of beer, brewers across the globe have taken to making their own beers in a bid to recreate styles that captured their imagination during their travels. In doing so, we’ve ended up with  a wealth of excellent new breweries and beers. For Tom Bott and Sam McGregor, cousins bonded by a love of live music and great beer, their decision to start Signature Brew came from frustration of the evident inability to marry those passions. You either had a pub or bar with great beer, or a favourite venue that only poured an endless array of dull macro lagers. It was time to take things into their own hands. In this podcast, we speak to Tom and Sam about the journey of Signature Brew, starting out over a pint back in 2011 to the new brewery in Walthamstow, London, they call home today. And this journey has involved significant expansion, numerous awards and collaborations with top music-industry names. Producing a wealth of excellent beers, they’ve successfully combined their two passions. And they’ve not only brought great beer to the live music arena, they’re part of it, too. 

Working in the brewing industry involves a lot of hard work, and long hours. Whether you’re in the field of production and packaging, or maybe sales and distribution, it has often been far too easy for many to forget that brewing industry professionals are not robots. And the Covid-19 pandemic has made a challenging career path an even tougher profession to navigate because, as we all know, the brewing industry, with its own pressures, is not immune from the impact of the global situation. But the relationship between mental health in brewing is nothing new. Far from it. It is, however, an area that has flown under the radar for far too long. In this episode we look at the relationship between the brewing industry and the people that make it. And while the global pandemic has meant that we’ve not been able to host as many of Brewers Lectures as we’d like this year, in the podcast we’ll hear talks from two our previous events. Stu McKinlay, co-founder of Yeastie Boys and Rich White, the founder of Werewolf Beer, share their experiences from working in the brewing industry, the pressures that come with that, and how we can do more to look after others and ourselves.

You can make your way in this industry with great beer but with that, you need to be genuine in your approach. Brew the beers you truly want to make and people will react in kind, explains Theo Freyne, founder of Deya Brewing Company. “Starting out, my goal was for Deya to become one of the best breweries in the UK,” explains a pensive Theo Freyne. Freyne is the founder of Cheltenham’s Deya Brewing Company. He says: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with ambition. But to be known as a brewery that makes beer that people enjoy, surprises me each and every day. It shows you’re doing something right.” Deya has come on leaps and bounds in its relatively short life to-date. Starting out in 2015, Freyne (above right) had a Masters of Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt under his belt, alongside internships at Colorado’s Odell Brewery and, closer to home, Cotswold Brewery. Operating out of a 4000sqft unit from January 2016, Freyne and the team operated a 10bbl kit, scaling up earlier recipes such as the excellent Pale Ale, Steady Rolling Man. The popularity of the beer, alongside numbers such as Into the Haze, led to the addition of extra capacity, a canning line and invitations to pour at prestigious beer festivals across the UK. In 2019, the brewery expanded into new 25,000sqft premises complete with a 40hl four vessel brewhouse. Not to mention a 2,000sqft destination taproom. Despite the rapid rise, Freyne takes nothing for granted. “Things have moved quickly,” he says. “There are a lot of breweries taking that major step up. Producing juicy, often hazy, Pale Ales and IPAs, you have to take a step back and ask what ceiling those beers have.” He adds: “Spending time at Odell was massively eye-opening for me. Operating in a competitive and mature market, they showed that beer had to be at the highest level to compete. “For me, it’s about keeping things simple but trying to do those things very well and doing them because you truly want to.” It’s that reasoning which informs Freyne’s desire to brew Pale Ales and IPAs, as well as a burgeoning mixed fermentation project. “I’m not really into big barrel-aged stouts or the pastry side of things. It’s just not what we’re about,” he explains. “Brew what makes you happy and if you’re doing that, nobody can tell you that your approach is anything other than genuine.” Freyne adds: “If we loved big stouts we’d be doing an awful lot of them, it’s as simple as that. “I want authenticity to come out in each beer we brew. That’s why I’ll always look up to The Kernel. People buy The Kernel because that brand represents quality and consistency, I want the same for Deya.”

Brasserie De La Senne has made its name with beers such as Taras Boulba and Zinnebir. Complex, bitter beers underpinned by balance, subtlety and nuance. For Yvan De Baets, co-founder of the Brussels brewery, these are the beers he wants to make and enjoy. He just wishes more brewers would do the same. There are certain beers that belong at the high-table of modern brewing. Beers that form part of a patchwork that command appreciation from drinkers across the globe. Taras Boulba is one such beer. The 4.5% session blonde is generously hopped with the finest aromatic hops, resulting in a refreshing spicy character and a scent reminiscent of citrus. Beers such as Taras Boulba and Zinnebir, its venerable Belgian style Pale Ale, define what Brasserie De La Senne is about. Unfiltered, unpasteurised output characterised by bitterness. A facet that inspired De Baets and co-founder Bernard Leboucq to brew beers they could no longer find on the market. They explain: “Bitterness is the key characteristic of our beers: it is their foundation. We have produced bitter beers since the beginning of our existence – and we are here to brew bitter beers! “Our approach was simple: we wanted to brew beers to our liking that we could no longer find on the market. We took on the challenge to bring this flavour – so fundamental in the evolution of human societies but sadly neglected in our modern societies – up to date.” Seven years on, De Baets believes that bitterness is still severely lacking in the broader brewing landscape and he wants that to change.  “Too many brewers are listening to the beer geeks, they should listen to themselves and to their hearts. And for me, that means bitterness,” says De Baets. “Too many brewers are desperately trying to follow trends and make beers that garner social media attention. There seems to be an obligation to make New England IPAs and let’s be honest, there are many brewers that do not enjoy making those beers. It doesn’t feel normal for everyone wanting to make and drink one type of beer.” He adds: “We prefer to try and open the consumers’ mind, making the beers we like and to try and convince them of those qualities, too. “When we started out, had we followed the local market we’d only be making Tripels. Too many young brewers make beer without ever thinking what they want, and instead what others want. That can be stupid. “If that’s your approach then you start running and you’ll never finish running. It can be good to settle down. The best breweries are those with a vision and take on the challenge to change consumer opinions. Your personality should be in each beer you make.”

Following a decade working in New York State craft beer; Gabe Barry says moving to Paris was like switching to lambics after only ever drinking German Pilsner. Despite her new surroundings, Brooklyn Brewery’s education manager of Europe explained one thing remains the same and that’s the power beer has as a catalyst for positive social change. “It’s been a leap into being humbled, exercising patience and a lot of waiting. A big change of pace after eight years of living in Brooklyn,” she explains. From visa issues and learning French, to education focused objectives such as no longer having a brewery to teach in, it was a period of going back to the basics for Brooklyn Brewery’s education manager of Europe. Barry says: “Rather than jumping in head first with brand new projects, I’ve been observing a lot. In 2014 I created my first education based position for Brooklyn Brewery and I honestly feel like I misstepped a bit that round. I came out of the gate guns blazing with all these ideas about what I wanted to do, what other people needed – ready to just ‘fix everything’. “It caused a lot of extra work for me but also taught me about communication, expectations and intentionality. As Brooklyn has grown to be a bit of a global brewery; it’s important we remember to strive and meet the needs of the local community rather than rolling up and telling a drinking culture what they need.” She spends around two thirds of her time on the road, which makes the work/life balance a “certain kind of ballet” but also a lifestyle that affords her to experience different beer communities all around Europe. Barry explains: “Working with Brooklyn Brewery has given me this gift for years of being supported on weird ideas I’ve had and then encouraged into making them realities. This year I’ve done a lot of reflecting on past projects I’ve worked on and seeing where they fit on this side of the pond. “Looking again at things like curriculums on beer linguistics for bartenders all the way to more elaborate dinner series programs I ran with my mentor, Garrett Oliver. I’ve been really looking not only at what would work here but what would support and add value for the uniquely different beverage communities around the world.” Barry admits that over the years, she has fallen in love with the idea of ‘the non-traditional classroom’ or more simply; the bar or shared drinking space. She adds: “I think bars have historically been the centre point of social change for centuries and so naturally craft beer has fallen into its rightful place as a tool or catalyst for something bigger. “One of my favourite things about this year has been seeing the way breweries and beer communities are becoming both more sustainable and technically efficient and yet we’re also going back to the basics- with our beers and with ourselves. “We’re back to the idea of the water hole, pub, bar or tasting room be the centerpiece of our ecosystems culturally connecting community with the hopes of a greater good. It’s a reality I’m excited about supporting while using beer education as the medium for changing the world.”