Brewers Journal Podcast

Des de Moor, a celebrated author and beer expert, discusses the distinctive qualities of cask beer and its recent decline in sales across the UK. The talk highlights the cultural significance of cask beer and the urgent need for revitalization. Joining him are industry pros like Alice Batham and Rob Lovatt, who share insights on quality management and the evolving landscape of cask beer in Belgium. The panel also dives into the revival of mild beer and the critical role of passionate pub owners in enhancing the cask beer experience.

Verity Phillips, Media Lead at Asahi UK, shares insights on marketing their beers and creating new fans. She discusses the launch of Peroni Stile Capri and how Asahi UK used media to target 18-34 lager drinkers. Topics include reaching younger consumers through innovative media opportunities, out-of-home advertising, and successful advertising strategies.

In 2002 Emma Reynolds met Ken Yamada and became great friends over their shared love of travelling and food, more specifically Japanese food and in particular ramen. Over the years, they realised it was very difficult to find decent ramen in London, so they began on a mission to sort that out themselves… They started out in 2011 with a Saturday night pop-up in the city. 30 people came through the doors at the very first pop-up, but just ten weeks later they had 120, with tickets selling out within minutes. Friday nights were spent prepping – bubbling broth for hours (with condensation running down the windows of Emma’s flat) making chashu and gyoza fillings, whilst drinking a couple of beers and talking about opening their first ramen restaurant. Then they’d be up at 6am on the Saturday to move all the ingredients to the pop-up restaurant, handmake 400 gyozas and get ready for the first sitting, with their adrenaline pumping. Ken and Emma made a different ramen every week, each from a different region of Japan. People loved it, and they knew they were onto something, which gave them the confidence to go and find a location for our first restaurant – and in 2012 Tonkotsu Soho was born. Now, in 2023, Tonkotsu has since grown to 17 restaurants – 15 in London, with Brighton and Birmingham also – and 280 staff over the last 11 years. And last month Emma took some time out from her busy schedule to deliver the keynote at our flagship Brewers Congress event. Here she reiterated the importance of people in your business, the tough decisions you often have to make and why Ramen is always a good idea.

At a time when many breweries are celebrating their tenth anniversaries Hackney Brewery, now the ripe old age of 12, could be considered elder statesmen of the London brewing community. Much has predictably changed in those years the brewery, founded by Jon Swain and Pete Hills, have been in business. Especially more recently, with the team celebrating two years at their new home in High Hill, Walthamstow. Part of the burgeoning and brilliant Blackhorse Beer Mile, Hackney Brewery is thriving thanks in no small part to their excellent taproom space that welcomes visitors four days a week. The High Hill Taproom is their new facility where the team aim to create a experience that you can immerse yourself in through their art, latest releases, beers from their friends around the world and events to celebrate the multicultural capital it calls home. In this podcast, we speak to co-founder Jon about the importance of the taproom in the brewery’s business proposition, Hackney’s role in the Blackhorse Beer Mile, those early days building the business with colleague Pete and also the secrets behind the team’s successful and sessionable sour range – namely the delicious Millions of Peaches.

As the dust settles on our recent Brewers Congress in London, we are already busy laying the foundations for next year’s event. Colin Stronge, a brewing industry pioneer, was due to close last month’s Congress. Sadly a recent operation meant he was unable to make it but health comes first and we, of course, very much look forward to welcoming him back at future events. Get well soon, Colin! So in lieu of real life Colin, we have the next best thing. A talk he expertly delivered at our Brewers Lectures in Springwell, Leeds. In this podcast, the head brewer of Salt Beer Factory, looked back at 23 years in beer. In doing so, he tracked his career alongside how the industry has evolved in that time, with the breweries, brewers and beer styles he has encountered along the way…

Gary Robson is CEO & Founder of Sure Purity, an award winning manufacturer of advanced filtration systems for the beverage industry, we are trusted by the most well-known beverage brand owners and sold in over 100 countries worldwide. He’s also the former president of International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT), board member and founder member of the Beverage Gases Technical Committee. So with more than 25 years’ experience in the beverage gases industry with expertise in carbon dioxide for beverage applications, we invited him to speak at our recent Brewers Lectures in Newcastle to share his views on the current state of play in the CO₂ supply chain, new sources and proven solutions. You can access Gary’s presentation right here. The figures presented were correct at the time (August 2023).

To many, John Keeling surely needs no introduction. But for those unaware, John is the former brewing director of Chiswick, London-based Fuller’s. Regarded and respected the world over for his ability to create and brew beers defined by balance and flavour, John is using his retirement to collaborate, consult and create with breweries across the globe. In this episode, we speak to John about his early career, what got him into beer and also brewing as a profession. We discuss his move to Fuller’s and what he learned from colleagues over the years such as Reg Drury, Derek Prentice and Georgina Young.  We ask him what he makes of the current brewing landscape and the challenges facing it, along with the advice he has for people working in and running breweries today. We discuss his love of music and also the beer industry, both in the UK and overseas, and how that can sometimes influence his travels with wife Symone. 

Chris Lewington is on a mission at Brew Resourceful, and that’s to make the world of craft brewing more resourceful.  ​He has spent more than a decade in some of the UK’s top craft breweries, and he’s been exposed to the industry’s best and helped some of the future best on their journeys. Individually, the elements of resourcefulness have always been the focus of his brewing life but in the last few years he saw how all the elements can combine under this same header. We should make being resourceful one of our top priorities, it helps reduce our industries carbon footprint, keep businesses financially healthy and stimulate our industries minds.  ​This is exactly why he wanted to bring the topic of resourcefulness to the forefront of our discussions. He wants it to be talked at every conference, dinner, journal article, chat around the brewery & podcasts.  ​With that in mind, we recently invited him to speak in Newcastle to outline the basics of sustainability. He explained how none of us are perfect but we should challenge our suppliers, challenge ourselves and also focus on what we can control.

When it comes to no-and-low, that no longer means no choice, no quality, no variety. Thanks to outfits like Mash Gang and their peers, there is something for everyone.  And of late, demand has been so high the business has actually run out of beer. To remedy this, they’ve recently brewed at five different breweries to get the capacity ready for their peak season. That means there’s currently more than four hundred and fifty hectolitres in tank. This plan of action also involved investing heavily in draught production, moving from just Cans in Hands, to Pints in Pubs. In this podcast recorded last month Jordan Childs, the leader and brewer at Mash Gang, shares his thoughts on changing consumer perception of now-and-low beverages, recipe creation, his love of working with breweries and businesses of all kinds, and the group’s collective desire for continuous improvement.

The pressure is growing for all businesses to demonstrate a coherent response to the climate crisis. In this podcast, Andrew Furness of Net Zero Now explains that a carbon footprint is the foundation of a credible climate strategy and provides essential content for key stakeholders. He says that corporate climate strategy has evolved in the last decade towards a consistent approach, built on global standards falling into four sequential and iterative actions. In this episode, he outlines them and explains how the brewing industry and those around it can all play their part.