Brewers Journal Podcast

What does it take to cut it as the head of operations and sales at one of the UK’s most exciting independent breweries? Well, we asked Kat Türková to find out! Kat grew up in the Czech Republic and came to the UK in 2015 to study a BA in Comparative Literature at King’s College London. After graduating university and following a few jobs in the hospitality sector, she met Daniel Tapper and became a part of the Beak Brewery from the early days in 2019.  At Beak, Kat has utilised her skills and went from being a taproom manager to becoming the head of operations and Sales, driving the brewery’s sales strategies not only in the UK, but also abroad, as well as ensuring a smooth day to day operations of the business.  In this episode, recorded at our Brewers Lectures in Portsmouth, Kat talks us through her journey in beer, her role at Beak, the challenges that presents and the advice she would haven given herself before embarking in a career in the brewing industry. Production: Ross MacPherson Photo Credit: Beak Brewery

As head brewer at Liverpool-based Azvex, Jack Walker is responsible for creating a raft of celebrated beers. And only this month, the brewery was awarded the accolade of Best Double IPA in England for its Swedish Buzzsaw in the Untappd Community Awards. The 8.2% beer is dry-hopped with Citra, Strata, Mosaic & Nelson Sauvin These types of beers, as Jack explains, are part of the modus operandi at Azvex. And that means hazy hops, big stouts and silly sours. In this podcast, recorded in the Azvex taproom, Jack talks us through the setup at the brewery and what makes them tick. He discusses their four-vessel brew house, which allows for ultimate flexibility and control over a multitude of variables in the brewing process.  He explains that the fundamentals of their hoppy IPAs remain good basic brewing practice, but also evolving how and when they use hops, their percentages of adjunct grains, and always focusing on quality markers such as dissolved oxygen and pH.  Currently, they are focused on biotransformation and the flavour impact from the interaction of yeast and hops, and they have some “really silly” 60%+ adjunct grain bills.  “Pray for our lauter tun!” he says…

Where do you go for a pre-match pint? If you’re one of the Fratton Park faithful supporting Championship-bound Portsmouth, there’s a strong chance you’ve frequented the excellent taproom on offer by the good folk at Staggeringly Good Brewery.  On matchday they often welcome no fewer than 1,000 footy fans to their superb spot that’s only a stone’s throw from the famous football ground. So whether you’re in the market for their Beerbasol Pilsner Lager, Little Arms Big Ambitions NEIPA or perhaps a Megalodawn Breakfast Coffee Stout, they’ve got you covered. Founded by Joe Ross and Jon Chapman in 2015, the brewery continues to make a wealth of excellent beers enjoyed across the UK and beyond. But for the full Staggeringly Good experience, a visit to their brewery and taproom is a must. In this episode, we speak to Joe about the brewery’s journey over the last eight years, their commitment to brewing beers from across the style spectrum, the role the business plays in the local community and why fans of live music, comedy and, of course, wrestling have a place to call their own at Staggeringly Good brewery.

We’re only two months into 2024 and this year has been somewhat seismic for Mash Gang, the producers of high-quality, small-batch low and no alcohol craft beers. In addition to a wealth of new beer releases, the team announced that they are significantly boosting their output after securing major investment from tech investor Ryan McCarry. The investment process, managed and advised upon by Daniel Finn, brewery sector lead of Brabners LLP, marks a pivotal moment in Mash Gang’s journey, fuelling its growth strategy and reinforcing its commitment to producing best-in-class beer. The investment aims to position Mash Gang as one of the UK’s largest non-alcoholic brands. With production upscaled to 500,000 units in a single run. And last month, we invited Jordan to speak at our Brewers Lectures event hosted at Azvex Brewing Company in Liverpool. In the episode Jordan explains how in beer, we all come from different starting points and why there is no such thing as a mistake – just an opportunity to learn. He asks if you are engaging with your consumer base and also why it’s important to choose a path, and stick to it.  Photography: Noelia Amado

How do you ensure that your potential fans, your potential customers, your potential advocates feel like they’re part of your story? How do you bring them on that journey with you? At Neptune Brewery, their newly-opened beerhouse is one such way of doing just that.   A business and a relationship forged in Liverpool, Neptune Brewery was founded by Julie and Les O’ Grady. Producers of modern beer inspired by tradition, their beers are naturally conditioned and unfined. In this episode, we speak to Julie and Les about the brewery’s evolution, the growing importance of their beerhouse in connecting the brewery to the local community, how they are navigating a challenging market and why the maritime city of Liverpool deserves more credit, especially when it comes to beer.

How can we make brewing a more sustainable process? We can all pretty much agree that when it comes to the world of beer, the topic of sustainability needs to be more than a box-ticking exercise or a buzzword that we occasionally throw about as part of our business plans.  And we’re a month into the new year so many of us are probably assessing how well our resolutions for 2024 our panning out. And from a business perspective, reducing our impact on the environment and improving the efficiencies of the brewing process is no doubt high on many agendas. In this episode, part of our February Digital Takeover on sustainability, we discover how to approach the often-daunting idea of becoming more sustainable and also hear from a brewery that is making on-going strides to do just that.  With that in mind we speak to Chris Lewington, the founder of Brew Resourceful. He argues that when it comes to sustainability, there are three pillars to consider – namely economic, environmental and social.  We also hear from Joe Watts, the operations and sustainability manager at Wiper and True. The Bristol-based brewery is on a mission to reach Net Zero by 2030.  Joe explains how the team has implemented a raft of sustainability projects but how they are also mindful these are part of an ongoing journey – one that involves constantly working to become the most sustainable brewery they possibly can be.

Experts Margaux Huismann, Stephanie Brindley, and Todd Isbell discuss biotechnology advancements in brewing, including yeast flavors and carbonation, genetic modification, traditional Norwegian yeast strain, challenges in the agricultural sector, and blending traditional methods with new biotechnology for unique flavors.

Where were you a little over 30 years ago? As today’s guests recall… England had failed to qualify for the World Cup, 2 Unlimited were Top of the Pops, Shane Warne had bowled the ‘Ball of the Century’ and Rooster’s Brewing Co has just hatched. And in doing so, forever changing the shape of beer in the UK.  And in 2024, Rooster’s Brewing Co is ramping up its limited release offering in 2024, with close to 50 different beers scheduled for production in addition to their year-round core range. The Harrogate-based brewery has mapped out their brewing schedule for the twelve months ahead, which includes several new recipes, the return of a few old favourites from the archives and a series of collaborations with some of the UK’s most highly-regarded breweries. Rooster’s will be brewing a mix of styles that will cover various pale ales, stouts, lagers, amber ales, and fruited beers across a range of ABV’s. Some beers will be only available in cask, some keg and can only and others across all three package types. As with the whole of the brewery’s core range, the overwhelming majority of the beers will be vegan friendly, while the lagers planned will also be gluten free. In this episode we speak to Tom Fozard, the brewery’s commercial director, to discuss the plans for this year. We look back on the impact and influence that Rooster’s founder Sean Franklin has had on the UK brewing industry, and also the way that Tom and his family have helped Rooster’s evolve since taking on the business back in 2011.

Knowing why your beer tastes like it does is imperative, in all parts of the chain. In this podcast, part of our Digital Takeover on quality control and analysis, our contributing editor Melissa Cole chairs a panel discussion with figures from the brewing industry whose roles revolve around ensuring quality and extolling the virtues of this to the wider world. As SHE Compliance Manager at Beavertown Brewery, Jessica Maye looks after all things health & safety, food safety and environment & sustainability across their London sites.  Previously a quality & compliance manager at Fourpure, and a PhD candidate at Queen’s University Belfast, Jessica’s role at Beavertown Brewery as SHE Compliance Manager has allowed her to continue to develop and grow her expertise in Food Safety, in addition to responsibilities such as taking on artwork and label sign off. During this discussion she is joined by Tanya Kondratyuk, formerly quality manager at Leeds-based Northern Monk and also Amber Thorne. Having started her career in beer in the sales team at Siren Craft Brew, Amber has since moved to the iconic Bristol beer scene working with Good Chemistry and is now the Customer Account Manager at Arbor Ales. During this episode they discuss how best to ensure the flow of essential information travels from brewhouse, to quality assurance right through to taprooms and sales – and how that flow really needs to go both ways! As Melissa says, this way everyone feels empowered, every step of the way to offer valuable feedback and information.

How do you build brand consistency at your brewery? Well, it’s clear that starting with controlling the quality of the liquid you’re building your business is on is a great way to start. At Northern Monk, Tanya Kondratyuk was Quality Manager at the Leeds-based business. She started her career in the industry working in quality control, sensory analysis, and the bourbon barrel aging program at Goose Island Brewery, based in Chicago, IL. Her experience is rooted in microbiological & analytical fermentation analysis, yeast propagation, bourbon & sour barrel sensory and blending work. Before moving on to her new role at Harrogate Spring Water, she spent two years with Northern Monk designing and supervising the build-out of their new QC laboratory, launching analytical and microbiological sampling programs, yeast propagation planning, sensory panels, barrel aging programs, and also taking part in production planning and recipe development. In this podcast, part of our digital takeover on quality control and analysis, she shares her expertise on the building blocks you need to create brand consistency at your brewery. She argues that continuous improvements are key, which includes setting achievable goals, embracing your mistakes, keeping quality dynamic and if you aim for consistency, you’ll find room for creativity.