It almost doesn’t need repeating but breweries, like many businesses in the wider world of hospitality, have much to contend with in recent months and years. As we continue to adjust, post-pandemic, to what normal is – if there still is such as thing –  there are also other pressures to deal with. A cost of living crisis, rising energy costs and staff shortages are all major hurdles to producing and selling your beer. And last week, HMRC published its guidance to the upcoming changes to Alcohol Duty. Effective from the 1st August, HMRC outlined the rates of duty and also the new reliefs for draught products and small producers. But how might these affect you? Thankfully Andy Parker, the founder of Berkshire’s Elusive Brewing, is on hand to explain. Recorded live yesterday at our Brewers Lectures in Bristol, Andy spoke on the background to these measures and shared some examples on how these revised rates could impact your brewery. And thanks to Andy, his presentation is also available to view and download right below, too. https://www.brewersjournal.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Andy-Parker.pdf

When it comes to the world of no-and-low beers, they no longer on the periphery of the conversation – they are the conversation. The sale of low-alcohol and no-alcohol beers in the UK have nearly doubled in the last five years. Various product releases from global brands, coupled with a raft of launches from independent businesses, have helped give drinkers an increasing number of options when it comes to the beer they drink. A glance at research from last year courtesy of research group IWSR showed that UK drinkers bought some $500m of alcohol-free and low-alcohol beers in 2021, a 40% increase on what they procured back in 2016.  In that time the curious and determined duo of Bill Shufelt and John Walker brewed more than 100 test brews of non-alcoholic beer on a small home brewing system in order to perfect their proprietary process. As a result, they went on to start the US-based Athletic Brewing. Since founding the business, they’ve gone from being one of the smallest breweries in America to a top-20 craft beer producer. In this episode, we revisit our chat with co-founder Bill Shufelt who talks us through the brewery’s journey, its global expansion and why losing the alcohol from your beer, shouldn’t mean you lose the variety. 

For many people, you mention Reading and the first thing that springs to mind is the famed festival. The Reading Festival, which will once again take place this August, is the world’s oldest popular music festival to still be in existence….with countless bands and artists having played at the summer event over the last five decades. But breweries, as we all know, also have a special way of putting places on the map. And outfits such as Double-Barrelled are doing just that for the celebrated Berkshire town. Double-Barrelled, a concept, began when its co-founders Mike & Luci Clayton-Jones got married, back in 2015. With Mike being a passionate home brewer for many years prior, they created their first branded “Double-Barrelled” beer as their wedding favour, as a nod to Mike’s much begrudged surname. Having loved creating their own brand of beer & sharing their beers on a larger scale than ever before, this idea became the pathway to where they are today. Later this year, the Reading-based brewery turns five, so with that in mind we invited co-founder Luci to give a talk on the brewery’s journey so far. Recorded live at North’s Springwell in Leeds, Luci shares her experience in helping run a brewery, the importance of community, a love of travel and how the business has navigated the challenges and hurdles that have come their way.

Welcome to Camden – home of Werewolf Beer. In the latest episode of The Brewers Journal Podcast, we return to North London to catch up with Rich White, the founder of Werewolf Beer. Recorded live at the brewery, to accompany our new Brewers Journal video series, we speak about Werewolf’s commitment to classic US styles, the challenges and opportunities of running your own business, welcoming his new sales manager Josh Curran and his hopes and ambitions for the year ahead.

The brewing industry has become a testing ground for the energy transition. Many drinkers want to drink responsibly: not just to protect their own health, but the health of the planet. Brewers large and small are taking innovative approaches to their energy use. In Samlesbury, AB InBev has started working with Protium, who will fund, build, and operate a green hydrogen facility that will provide renewable energy, heat for brewing operations, and fuel for their distribution vehicles. Hepworth & Co, a much smaller brewery, based in Horsham, has been taking an incremental approach, using solar panel, and careful recovery of heat from its systems, to cut its use of fuel oil. And the company is now looking to use methane, produced on site in a containerised anaerobic digestor, to replace some of its fuel use. The next step for the brewery will be to store heat produced over the weekend, and use it in its small batch brewing through the week. One day, brewing consultant Tim O’Rourke says, brewers may be able to source agricultural raw materials from farmers who use techniques that actually remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, meaning that every pint drinkers enjoy, will help heal the planet. Guests Tim O’Rourke – The Brilliant Beer Company Andy Hepworth – Hepworth & Co Chris Jackson – Protium

Welcome to Moonwake. Moonwake, or “the moon’s reflection on a body of water” speaks to the Scottish brewery’s Leith Shore location, the importance of water as an ingredient, and their beers’ reflection of the team’s combined experience. Established in 2021 and the winners of ‘Best New Brewery’ at our 2022 Brewers Choice Awards, the outfit brew with the belief that there is a beer out there for everyone and they create balanced beers for a wide range of people to enjoy. In the latest episode, we speak to Sarah Sinclair, marketing manager at Moonwake and also co-founder and head brewer Vinny Rosario. We discuss the brewery’s achievements and successes over the last 12 months, the thought process behind new beers, the Leith taproom and the community around it, as well as road ahead for a business that is only on the up. 

The brewing industry has changed a great deal in the last decade. Breweries have come and gone, as have numerous beer styles. But take a step back even further and you’ll see an even bigger picture. This sector is blessed with certain brewers that have truly made their mark on the field of brewing. They’ve worked in different breweries, producing different beers, catering for different audiences. And at the end of last year, we celebrated one such figure. The winner of our 2022 Brewers Choice – Brewer of the Year has been a pillar of the UK beer scene, created beer styles and also helped light the way for new breweries and the brewers within. In this week’s podcast, recorded live at our Brewers Lectures at North Springwell, Colin Stronge, 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…

Breweries are centres of creative expression. Places where talented teams can come together to produce fantastic creations full of flavour. But the beers brewed are often only part of the story. For Thom Stone, beer and music are his two biggest passions in life. So it seemed appropriate that the brewery he founded in 2017 would in some way reference an art form that has historically paired the two. And in Liquid Light Brewing Company, he’s done just that. In this episode, recorded last week in the brewery’s Nottingham taproom, we discussed the Liquid Light’s ever-evolving role in the Nottingham beer and music community, how the business navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, and Thom’s passion for cask beer.

This week we are bringing you a bonus episode from our sister podcast The Distillers Journal following. The bourbon industry has faced challenges over the centuries. However today the industry is booming, and Briggs of Burton are supporting Kentucky distilleries steeped in history and tradition, as well as new businesses emerging along the Bourbon trail, to meet customer demand and prepare for the future. Guests Logan Cordle, Briggs of Burton, LouivilleLindsay Parker, lead process and design engineer, Briggs of Burton This episode was created in partnership with Briggs of Burton

10 years is a pretty significant chunk of time, in any walk of life. So you can’t blame Brian Dickson, who helped start one of the UK’s most popular modern breweries, of being proud of how far Northern Monk has come in that first decade. And if you work in and around the craft beer industry, you probably know Brian. There’s a strong chance you’ve probably brewed with him, too. Such is his appetite for working with others. A meeting at a beer festival with fellow co-founder Russell Bisset would set the duo on a path to grow a business that produces countless beers, has won a wealth of awards and exports to numerous countries. The brewery also employs a team of nearly 100, too. And with their popular Hop City festival on the horizon this May, we recently visited Brian at the Northern Monk Refectory in Holbeck, Leeds, to discuss their achievements in that first decade, the importance of working with the community, and the brewery’s collective desire to give people the best beer experiences they possibly can.