Episodes

The Green Goddess in Blackheath was named SIBA’s City Pub of the Year, just four years after it opened. Its landlords, Maryann and Stephen O’Conner, have focussed on building a community of beer lovers and locals, and a new South London tradition has been key to achieving this. On a Saturday this July, an old London Routermaster pub made its way between four South London bars. The bus tour, known as Shirk, Rust and Pray, takes customers between two branches of the Rusty Bucket, in Bexley and El...

In 2025 year RedWillow Brewery raised a glass to 15 years of brewing bold, balanced beers. They marked the milestone with a packed calendar of collaborations, reimagined classics, and monthly giveaways, as well as a recent haul of prestigious awards. And at our Brewers Choice Awards in London next month Toby McKenzie, who started the business with Caroline McKenzie, is shortlisted for our prestigious ‘Brewer of The Year’ accolade. So what better time to revisit our conversation with Toby from ...

Consistency, quality and reliability are all characteristics that brewers strive for in the beers they produce. They are also attributes that consumers seek out when navigating the tap lines and bustling fridges across UK bottle-shops. A sense of familiarity, and trust, is something that more and more drinkers desire when spending their hard-earned money on the beers they love. And for Pietro Maltinti, head brewer at Deya Brewing Company in Cheltenham, those qualities are what he calls the “s...

Richard Bradbury is the managing director at Theakston. An independent, family brewing company founded in 1827, the business is located in the Yorkshire Dales market town of Masham, North Yorkshire, controlled by 5th generation direct family descendants of the founder, Robert Theakston. As one of Britain’s oldest established family brewing companies Theakston is famed throughout the country and overseas for its wide range of premium ales brewed in their historic Victorian tower brewery. The bus...

2026 is proving to be another year of change and evolution for the brewing industry. Both in the UK and overseas. And with that, running a successful brewery is a challenge – and opportunity – that many of us are facing. With that in mind, we are revisiting a talk from our 2025 Brewers Congress, which focused on making strategic production choices and outlined why prioritising markets is key. Speaking in London was Marian Reed, the General Manager and Head of Business Development at Sudden De...

If you own a brewery, where did you source your brewhouse from? It might have come from one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers in the industry. Or perhaps it was a piece of loved, second-hand kit that needed a new home. You were unlikely, however, to have been chased around the streets of Vienna by an angry auctioneer looking for their money. But that’s exactly what happened, through no fault of his own, to Reece Hugill. And thankfully the whole saga would result in the creation of one ...

With judging well underway for our 2026 Brewers Choice Awards and with planning in full flow for the Brewers Congress we are taking a step back to revisit one of the highlights of last year’s event. In his talk on ‘Reflections on Authenticity’ at the 2025 Brewers Congress in London, Matthew Curtis posed a question. In an increasingly digital world, how do modern marketing strategies resonate with consumers who are looking for something more tangible, something genuine, something authentic? Ma...

Simon Rundle. Simon is the founder of Ivybridge, a not-for-profit brewery that is dedicated to providing job opportunities to individuals with learning disabilities. They believe that everyone deserves a chance to succeed. And with every purchase of their beer, customers are not only supporting their mission, but also enjoying a high-quality product, too. The company he started provides paid work, training, and volunteering opportunities for people with learning disabilities. They believe that...

There is little over a week left to enter the 2026 Brewers Choice Awards. To enter or make your nomination please visit our website www.brewersjournal.info before the 10th July. Showcasing and celebrating the finest beers and breweries from around the globe is one of the most rewarding parts of the brewing industry. But for these events to happen, breweries need to be prepared to show off their latest creations and decorated judges from far and wide need to assess the great and good. So what ...

A move from the corporate world to craft beer is path trodden by many of this sector’s brewers, business owners and beer professionals. And since taking the plunge for herself, Catherine Webber has become a well-known and much-loved figure in the fantastic fabric that is beer and hospitality. Catherine is the brand and business development manager at Attic Brew Co. Celebrating more than four years with the Birmingham brewery this year, Catherine previously worked for Mondelez International in f...

When you’ve worked in the fields of technology, restaurants, modelling and music management, where do you turn next? For Michel Lu, that meant the world of drinks. And he’s on a mission to bring the diverse, rich tapestry of Asia, and the untold myriad of flavours it boasts, to consumers through a series of drinks designed to showcase just that. Michel Lu is the founder of The Orientalist Spirits. A company described as the world’s first premium pan-Asian craft spirits company. They produce a ...

It’s looking like some more excellent weather for much of the UK this weekend. And with higher temperatures and blissful sunshine, there is also an increased appetite for refreshing beautiful beverages. And while we primarily focus on the wonderful world of beer and brewing here at The Brewers Journal, it’s important to take time to look at the excellent innovation taking place across the wider world of drinks. So at our Brewers Congress last Autumn, we invited the team at Botivo to share thei...

It’s official. Beer festival season is in full swing. We’re seeing new beers and new collaborations at every turn. What’s even better is that we’re seeing new breweries come to life, too. And in London last week, the capital’s latest brewing business sprung into life. So say hello to South London’s Palindrome Brew Co. Founded by Paul McTernan and Alin Sas, they’re on a mission to make their mark with a community-focused brewery that puts hazy, hop-forward beers at the fore. But that’s not to ...

Starting this June we’re opening entries for the 2026 Brewers Choice Awards So what better time to revisit our visit to the 2024 winners of our ‘Brewery of the Year’ category – Wiper and True. The brewery, which is known for beers such as its Kaleidoscope Pale Ale, Milkshake Milk Stout and a wealth of other fantastic creations besides, toasts its 13th anniversary in 2026. Based in Bristol, their goal is clear – that’s to make beautiful beer. Whether it’s at their original site at St Werburgh’...

Did you catch our excellent recent article? Titled Beyond Aroma: Hop enzymatic activity, diastatic power, and fermentation control, Francesco Lo Bue and Philip Wietstock, Professor and Chair of Brewing and Beverage Technology at TU Berlin, brought together recent research on hop diastatic power with observations on enzyme distribution within the hop cone, to provide a more complete understanding of how hops influence fermentation beyond flavour. As they explain, hops have long been evaluated th...

The UK beer landscape looks a lot different today than it did ten years ago. We’ve seen breweries and trends come and go. But certain names have stood the test of time by focusing on one thing: quality. Today’s guest is someone who transitioned from a decorated homebrewing career to founding one of the most respected independent breweries in the country. Based in Finchampstead, Berkshire, Elusive Brewing is officially hitting double digits in 2026. To help mark their 10th anniversary, which th...

Welcome to The Summer of Lager. As we race through 2026, the longer, warmer months are fast-approaching. And with that, so does the consumer appetite for cold, beautiful lager. And in Scotland, one of the country’s finest breweries has just launched a new beer that’s sure to be a hit in 2026 and beyond. Independently owned and proudly based in Alloa — the historic brewing capital of Scotland — Williams Bros Brewing has brewed, packaged and shipped every beer from its Scottish site for over 30 ...

Meet Pete Brown. Pete, as many of you will know, is a British author, journalist, broadcaster and consultant specialising in food and drink. In his latest columns for the Sunday Times he’s discussed everything from supermarket beer to where to turn when nothing catches your eye on the bar. And last year he released his latest book ‘Tasting Notes: The Art and Science of Pairing Beer With Music’. Across thirteen books, his broad, fresh approach takes in social history, cultural commentary, tra...

Meet Red Kellie. Red is joint owner and Head Brewer of the First & Last Brewery. They are a family run brewery, taproom and event space situated in rural Northumberland. The brewery doubles as a community space used for everything from art workshops to gigs and literature events. They brew a wide range of styles from hazy IPAs, through to sours, wheat beers, stouts and Belgian beers. After helping to establish Stu Brew at Newcastle University (Europe’s first student run brewery), then Twice Br...

Since being founded by Adam Henderson in 2020, Azvex Brewing Company has gone on to become of the UK’s most respected producers of hop-forward pale ales and IPAs, fruited sours, and imperial stouts. And head brewer Jack Walker has played a huge part in that journey. Known and respected across the land, Jack has helped create a wealth of fantastic beers at the Liverpool-based business. And for that reason, we invited him to speak at our Brewers Lectures in Newcastle last month. In his latest t...

Meet Andrew Barnett. Andrew is the founder of Edinburgh’s Barney’s Beer. He started his career in brewing aged 16 as a lab assistant at the recently defunct Banks’s brewery in Wolverhampton before doing on to study Brewing & Distilling at Heriot Watt. Various roles in research, production & commercial followed at Whitbread, S&N and The Macallan among others. Starting Barney’s Beer in 2012 the brand has grown steadily. However, the strategy was always to keep growth at a modest scale in order ...

Met Tim Bloomer. Tim is the co-founder and sustainability director at Fell Brewery, an independent brewery based in Cumbria. He holds an MSc in Brewing & Distilling from Heriot-Watt University and was Head Brewer at Fell for many years, helping shape the brewery’s beers and processes before moving into a dedicated sustainability role. Tim now leads Fell’s practical, data-led decarbonisation programme. Following a full, all-scope carbon footprint analysis in 2024 with Small World Consulting, th...

2026 marks 15 years since Tom Bott and Sam McGregor started London’s Signature Brew. The duo combined their backgrounds in the music industry and professional brewing to create a business that aimed to improve the quality of beer at live music events, collaborating with a raft of world-class artists in the process. And 2026 marks eight years since Tom took part in our Brewers Lectures events, so what better time to invite him back? Opening our lectures in Newcastle last week, Tom delivered a ...

Next week our first Brewers Lectures of 2026 takes place at the fantastic Full Circle Brew Co in Newcastle on the 25th February. We’ve got a brilliant line-up of industry talent taking part including Jack Walker, the head brewer at Azvex. Since being founded by Adam Henderson in 2020, Azvex Brewing Company has gone on to become of the UK’s most respected producers of hop-forward pale ales and IPAs, fruited sours, and imperial stouts. And head brewer Jack Walker has played a huge part in that ...