Brewers Journal Podcast

Quality assurance helps ensure all aspects of the brewing process are in place to create a product that both meets and exceeds consumer expectation.

And at Round Corner Brewing in Melton Mowbray, head brewer Lara Lopes knows just how important quality control and quality assurance is when it comes to producing great beer. 

Lara began her career with AB InBev in Brazil before moving to the UK to join Round Corner Brewing. During her tenure, the brewery has earned prestigious accolades, including two trophies at the International Brewing Awards and two “World’s Best” titles at the...

Jim Rangeley is the lead brewer of the mixed fermentation Funk Dungeon project at Sheffield’s revered Abbeydale Brewery.

He is also a co-owner of the business, which became an Employee Ownership Trust in 2024. In 2025 Jim celebrates a decade of working in the beer industry and he’s also our very own Brewers Choice Awards ‘Brewer of the Year’.

When not in the brewhouse, Jim is most likely to be found running up a big hill, or recovering from said run in the pub.

So on a rare break from both of those ventures...

Meet Jordan Childs.

Jordan is the co-founder and chief product officer at Mash Gang. What started in 2020 as an adventurous experiment in the world of alcohol-free beer, Mash Gang have become a powerhouse in the world of no-and-low.

Known for beers such as Chug, Cult and Lesser Evil as well as many more, Jordan and the team have moved the dial when it comes to alcohol-free beers. So much so that last year Mash Gang were acquired by DioniLife, a newly-launched company focused on non-alcoholic adult drinks brands.

While Jordan now splits his...

If you ever paid a visit to North Bar, the seminal Leeds-based craft beer bar, sometime between 2013 or 2017 there’s a good chance you might have met Alex Millhouse-Smith or one of his equally excellent colleagues.

Working at North Bar, Alex would further develop his love and knowledge of great beer. And he’d share that enthusiasm and expertise with the bar’s wealth of customers, too. A desire to broaden his grasp of beer would lead him to become part of North Brewing on its production side before taking on the brewery’s newly-created brand ambassadorial position...

In the UK and elsewhere in Europe, there is no shortage of fantastic beer festivals and events to keep the industry busy. And last month one fantastic addition to the brewing calendar returned for its third successful year.

At Kirkstall Brewery in Leeds, brewers from across the land descended upon Yorkshire for ‘The Great Exhibition of Prize Ales’. A unique celebration of the history of brewing, Kirkstall challenged breweries across the UK to dig deep into their local history, and exhibit beers with a link to the past.

Under the stewardship of brand manager Chris Hall...

A full-scale brand refresh is an important landmark in any brewery’s journey. Even more so when it helps mark the company’s 10th anniversary and the start of an exciting and powerful new chapter following a testing time for both the business and the wider brewing industry.

And this month Mondo Brewing Company, the independent London-based brewery, has marked its 10 years in beer with an impressive brand revamp.

Ahead of the brewery’s official birthday this July, Mondo have employed a bold new look for their five-strong core range that includes flagship Dennis Hopp’r IPA and...

Staying true to yourself, building a positive working culture, creating a business people admire and also producing beers that consumers and your peers enjoy are traits any brewery owner strives for. Today’s guest has all of those in abundance.

Since opening for business in the summer of 2016, Lost and Grounded Brewers of Bristol, have cemented themselves as one of the finest breweries – not only in the UK – but Europe, too.

Founded by Annie Clements and Alex Troncoso, the brewery as made its name through early releases such has Keller Pils, Running with Sceptres and Hop-Ha...

Across a 12 month period, Laura Rangeley has celebrated 10 years working at Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield. And in October last year, alongside the rest of the team, Laura and her colleagues became part of an Employee Ownership Trust, taking ownership of the business from founders Patrick and Sue.

Not only that her colleague and husband Jim was recognised as the Brewer of the Year at our very own Brewers Choice Awards, too….

At the celebrated Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield, Laura walked through the doors some 10 years ago and never looked back. In that time the marketing an...

In the brewing and distilling industries there is a mutual appreciation of the craftsmanship, skill and process involved in creating these fantastic liquids. And today’s guest, having worked and studied in both fields, is well placed to do just that.

Earlier this month Glen Scotia, part of Loch Lomond Distillery, unveiled Glen Scotia 50 Year Old. Glen Scotia Elements of Campbeltown Release Number One: Air is described as an exceptional 50-year-old single malt which marks a pivotal moment in the distillery’s history, as its oldest ever release.

And this prestigious release follows on from the launc...

This year RedWillow Brewery is raising a glass to 15 years of brewing bold, balanced beers. They’re marking the milestone with a packed calendar of collaborations, reimagined classics, and monthly giveaways — as well as a recent haul of prestigious awards.

Starting out in 2010, RedWillow Brewery has long since established itself as a leading light in UK brewing. Founded by Toby and Caroline McKenzie, the business has grown and evolved without ever undermining its core values.

To mark this prestigious anniversary in 2025, RedWillow is launching a year-long series of collaborations with some of the UK’s most res...

Securing important early listings is a milestone of any new business. And earlier this spring, Red Fin Cider did just that by sealing a listing for both its Fresh Apple and their Meloncherry styles at Waitrose.

44 Waitrose stores now stock Red Fin Cider, a product launched by three industry veterans and friends, Freddie Rouse, Dave Tugwell and Graeme Baldwin, who saw a need for a new and vibrant brand in the category that was both independently craft but also accessible and a real celebration of Somerset apples, delivering a cider that stacks up in the world of...

Changes to off-sales, Martyn’s Law, amendments to smoking rules and introduction of Digital IDs are all key developments that those owning and running taprooms need to be aware of.

So with that in mind, we welcomed Piers Warne of TLT to our Brewers Lectures in Bristol last month. Piers has 20- plus years’ experience licensing premises for the sale of alcohol and other licensable activities.

This includes licensing breweries for direct sales to customers, online sales and for tap rooms. He has acted on the licensing around sale and purchase of major breweries and smal...

Earlier this month Lost Cause Brewing, the independent brewery, founded in 2024 by Vik and Colin Stronge, completed a crowdfunding campaign help to bring beer production home to Castleford.

So what better time to hear from one of the excellent brewery’s founders.

Whie Lost Cause Brewing might be new, its founders are no strangers to making great beer. Head brewer Colin Stronge has spent over 20 years crafting beers at some of the UK’s most celebrated breweries, including Marble Beers, Buxton Brewery, Northern Monk, Black Isle, and Salt Beer Factory.

His beers have pour...

Opening your own brewery, at any point is time, comes with its own challenges and hurdles to overcome. Just ask the team at Great Beyond Brewing Company, and many of their peers.

But John Driebergen, Ollie Parker and Nick Walsh have shown that with hard work, determination and a wealth of brewing skill you can succeed. Their ever-popular taproom in Hoxton, London, is testament to just that.

And in their formative first years they have sealed a trio of awards at our very own Brewers Choice Awards – winning accolades in 2024 for ‘Beer of the Year‘, ‘New Beer...

How can you help keep your brewery relevant for the next generation? Tim Weaver, founder of The Brand Weaver, is on hand to tell you how.

The Brand Weaver is an agency on a mission to even the playing field in brewery branding and marketing.

Right now, he explains, a handful of breweries dominate with slick branding and sharp messaging—while the rest are left behind. Tim is here to change that.

His work has helped breweries double their revenue, land two new trade accounts a week, and even win Brewery Rebrand of th...

Next month the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America takes place in Indianapolis. From April 28th to 1st May, America’s largest gathering for the beverage alcohol industry will bring together countless figures from across the drinks sectors.

And for Ann Obenchain, she lovingly likens it to a ‘taproom on steroids’. Because as we all know, such events are the perfect opportunity to learn, and to reconnect.

Ann Obenchain is the vice president of marketing and communications for the Brewers Association.

Here she develops and leads the strategic direction of the association’s marketin...

“What Did You Post That For?“

That’s the question asked by Charlie Harding, founder of Bonne Vivante Marketing. And in Bristol recently she shared her top tips and insights designed to help improve your social media presence.

At Bonne Vivante, Charlie works with hospitality venues and businesses in a freelance capacity. She does marketing, PR, copywriting and currently works with two breweries, Basement Beer and RedWillow, running their social media, general marketing and a touch of PR for good measure.

In her talk, she shares her expertise on what businesses owners should post o...

Every so often a beer comes along and things just click. A combination of brilliant branding, a brilliant brewery and, of course, a brilliant beverage are essential ingredients for a beer that resonates with the consumer. And with London Black, the 4.4% Nitro Porter from Anspach & Hobday, you’ve got just that.

The brewery, founded by Paul Anspach & Jack Hobday back in 2013, has gone from strength to strength in recent years and much of that growth can be attributed to their flagship beer.

London Black has fundamentally changed and redefined the brewery and business with approximately 70+% of...

Off the back of his most recent address at this week’s Brewers Lectures in Bristol, we revisit Piers Warne’s talk from February 2024 where we asked him to share his experiences and expertise from the licensing world, the opportunities that can arise and the potential pitfalls to avoid.

Piers is a licensing lawyer at TLT and has 20- plus years’ experience licensing premises for the sale of alcohol and other licensable activities. This includes licensing breweries for direct sales to customers, online sales and for taprooms. He has acted on the licensing around sale and purchase of maj...

Meet Bec Blake. In the last 13 years she has worked in almost every corner of the craft beer industry. From working in her local beer bar, she moved her expertise and passion for the industry over to the US where she became the Head Beer Buyer at Whole Foods Market.

From there she ventured into B2B sales as the Southern California off-trade representative for Stone Distribution, navigating a fiercely independent portfolio of over 50 suppliers including Alesmith, Russian River and El Segundo Brewery across the golden coast.

And after returning to the UK, Bec has...

What beers have you enjoyed brewing lately? For today’s guest it would probably be an alcohol-free Negroni sour, or perhaps an alcohol-free Margarita Gose.

Quite the shift from Delirium Nocturnum, the Belgian Strong Dark Ale that helped open her eyes to the wonderful world of beer. But for Caitlín McErlean, part of the team at Manchester-based Cloudwater, her journey in brewing has been anything but conventional.

For Caitlín, a love of languages would lead her to a degree in Chinese Studies. Originally from Milton Keynes, a move to university in Durham would not...

“It takes two flints to make a fire”

Where did the inspiration for your brewery name come from? For Alex Kerr, founder of Windsor, Berkshire-based Two Flints, he has his own story to tell. And drawing influence from the famous quote from Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age novel Little Women was just the place to start.

Opening at the end of 2022, Two Flints recently has marked its second anniversary brewing in Berkshire. 

A town that has been the home of Windsor and Eton Brewery for more than 10 years, Alex Kerr and his team have gi...

Which brewery, which style, or which beer, got you into the wonderful world of brewing? We will all have our own response and that’s what makes this liquid so great.

And for today’s guest, it was a Bitter that lit that fire. But instead of a beer from a classic British brewery, it was one being produced, and enjoyed, by locals and tourists alike, in the heart of Paris.

Because in the brewing industry, some of us are set on our trajectory from early on. Knowing full-well that a career in beer is for...

In starting Amity Brew Co back in 2020, the team wanted a business that stood for community, friendship and good beer.

And more than four years on, they can proudly say they’ve achieved just that. But that doesn’t mean they’re planning on slowing down, though. Far from it. Because in 2025, the West Yorkshire business is set to take its next exciting step.

Amity Brew Co is the brainchild of Russ Clarke, Verity Clarke and Richard Degnan. Opening their doors in 2020, the business is based in Sunny Bank Mills, a commercial and cultural destination in the...

There are certain joys, certain constants when it comes to the world of beer. And one of those has to be the pleasure when scanning the bar for a pint and you happen across the pump clip for Jaipur on cask.

It’s a seminal beer that has stood the test of time and this year the brewery responsible, Thornbridge, based in the Derbyshire Dales, celebrates the 20th anniversary of both that beer and the business, too.

The Thornbridge story began back in 2005 when founders Jim Harrison and Simon Webster recruited two young brewers to br...

The London brewing scene has changed a great deal in the last decade. Styles have come into, then gone out of, fashion. People have learnt their trade across it and, in many cases, moved on to different companies, different counties, different countries.

We’ve also seen breweries open, breweries consolidate, breweries close.

But thankfully, one mainstay in England’s capital since 2009 has been The Kernel. Under the stewardship of founder Evin O’Riordain, it is safe to say the brewery has inspired a significant amount of people to get into brewing and for countless more, to loo...

In the world of beer, there are a number of real positives when it comes to working for, or running, a brewery.

Creating something that people enjoy, savour and value is a goal in any artistic venture. And in ownership, so is the ability to provide employment, development and satisfaction to your team.

Another purpose for many businesses is the ability to affect a change. Breweries are often the beating heart of local communities. They can offer a place to frequent, to socialise and where possible, also have a positive impact on the local economy...

When you’ve worked with award-winning brands in the world of beer and whisky delivering digital communication and paid media strategies, you’re likely to know a thing or two about the world of marketing.

And today’s guest, has done just that.

Looking back at the last 12 months, Scottish brewery Vault City can toast another incredible year. They released 90 beers in total—up from 84 in 2023. This included 76 sours, 11 imperial stouts, two barley wines, and a Radler. 

And after four years of brewing in Portobello, in 2025 they are moving to their new forever home in t...

Some things are just meant to be. And today’s guests are an example of just that.

When Young’s ceased its London brewing operations in 2006, it looked to signal the end of a historic site where beer has been brewed since at least 1533.

The brewery would officially close on 25th September 2006 but, thanks to John Hatch, a nano-brewery was kept on-site throughout construction and development. This ensured that Ram Quarter would remain Britain’s oldest continuous working brewery.

And two years later in 2008 a new brewery – Sambrook’s – was founded just down the road in...

Did you know that in addition to our Brewers Journal Podcast, we also run The Distillers Journal Podcast, too? And there’s where today’s guest episode comes from.

If we’re lucky our careers, coupled with an appetite for new experiences, can allow us to visit, work and live in different countries around the world.

And in the case of today’s guest, she’s done just that. And as a result the Scottish distilling industry is all the better for it.

Because the Scottish Whisky industry is blessed with a wealth of fantast...

Reaching an important milestone in any business is a real achievement. It’s the culmination of hard work, commitment and the result of providing a quality product or service. Probably both…. And in 2025, today’s guests will toast their 40th year in the world of beer. And as we all know, that simply doesn’t happen by accident.

Since starting out in 1985, Herefordshire-based Wye Valley Brewery has been producing a wealth of excellent cask, keg and small pack beers.

They’ve earned a reputation for consistency and product quality, seeing their beers served in more than 1,200...

When it comes to the world of beer, Lager is big business.

Recent research from Heineken in its 2024 Beer Report shows that Lager’s share of the on-trade market by value stands at 70%. In short, two out of every three pints poured in the UK is a Lager.

And when we talk about Lager, there is really something for everyone. In the UK we’ve had a wealth of fantastic lager-focused breweries open in the last decade from Lost and Grounded to Utopian, Orbit, Braybrooke and beyond.

And if you head to Walthamstow, East...

Launching a new business is always an exciting time. It’s also a challenging one, too. In our sector, you need a quality liquid, great branding and a team that knows the industry. Thankfully, with today’s guests you have all of those and more.

Earlier in the summer, the cider category welcomed one such new addition. Developed by a team with decades of experience in building successful beer and cider brands, Red Fin Cider is all about offering licensees a medium dry cider that can be stocked as an added value product, alongside existing offerings.

Th...

Since starting out in 2021, Moonwake in Leith has become one of the UK’s most regarded breweries.

Founded by a team with extensive craft beer and brewing careers. They believe there is a beer out there for everyone.

Moonwake means: “the moon’s reflection on a body of water” and speaks to the brewery’s Leith Shore location, the importance of water as an ingredient, and our beers’ reflection of our combined experience.

The head brewer at Moonwake is Vinny Rosario. Upon graduating as a chemical and process engineer in New Zealand, he went on to b...

To celebrate his excellent keynote address at our Brewers Congress event in London last month, we return to one of our most listened-to episodes.

David Gluckman was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on 1st November 1938, the day Sea Biscuit and War Admiral fought out the race of the century at Pimlico Park, Baltimore. Educated in Johannesburg, he joined a local advertising agency after university and soon fell in love with the business.

He made the pilgrimage to London in 1961 and worked as an account executive on Procter & Gamble, Kerrygold, Lyons teas and several Unilever...

What is diversity and inclusivity and why is it important to the beer industry?

Earlier this year we invited Amelie Tassin, the founder and director of Tipple Marketing, a marketing and strategy agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland, to find out more.

With over 15 years’ experience, Amelie has worked across several European sectors from retail banking and property development to cosmetics and food and drink.

Her agency’s work is truly ‘the Swiss Army knife of marketing’ and offers tailored services for all needs thanks to Amelie’s wealth of cross-industry experience.

In 2018 she...

Holy Goat is a Dundee based brewery specialising in the production of mixed- fermentation and wood aged beers.

At Holy Goat, they’ve taken an unconventional approach to yeast and fermentation, opting for a proprietary method that utilises Brettanomyces yeast for long maturation times – typically 3-4 months – to produce unique, complex, full-flavoured sour beer.

The brewery, co-founded by Johnny Horn, is driven by experimentation and they’re obsessed with the awesome flavours that can be achieved from mixed-culture fermentations.

In the episode, recorded at our Brewers Lectures in Edinburgh, Johnny talks us through his care...

Located in Hoxton, East London, Great Beyond Brewing Company is gaining recognition for our authenticity, community focus, and innovative craft beer. 

Founded by John Driebergen, Ollie Parker, and Nick Walsh, Great Beyond Brewing Company was born from over thirty years of combined brewing experience. During the pandemic, they envisioned a brewery embodying authenticity, community, and sustainability.

At Great Beyond, they are deeply rooted in their community. Actively host events and collaborate with both local and international brands, offering diverse cultural experiences in their taproom.

They also place sustainability at the heart of their e...

Welcome to Closet Brewing, an Edinburgh-based nano-brewery focused on producing unique seasonal beers.

The founders Lucy and Lizzie Stevens, began as homebrewers (brewing quite literally out of their closet), before officially launching the brewery in 2022.

Since then, they’ve gone from strength to strength; brewing a diverse array of beers including a traditional doppelbock, a smoked pineapple gose, and a raspberry-chocolate torte stout, while also working with fantastic breweries across the country.

Lucy, the head brewer, is the driving creative force behind the brewery drawing inspiration from a host of unusual sources; including botan...

A great beer from a revered and respected brewery is always a pleasure.

But when you bring together three such outfits, creative forces that are admired across the UK, Europe and beyond then you know you’re in for a treat.



And last week – a collaboration that took place in Lewes, in sunny East Sussex – is proving to be just that.

Before Covid came crashing into people’s lives, Mark Tranter of Burning Sky Brewery and Yvan De Baets of Brasserie de la Senne were in Lewes and a visit to Harvey’s and its head brewer Miles Jenne...