Episodes

They are a brewery based in Hoults Yard, Newcastle. Home to great beers & an award-winning taproom since 2018. But why Full Circle, we hear you ask? The inspiration comes through three generations of a family business. Brewery owner, Ben Cleary’s grandparents were in the pub and beer trade, while his parents got into the wine business, and now Ben has moved towards the beer industry – thus the family has come Full Circle. A brilliant business, headed up on the brewing side by Alex Redpath, ha...

How much do you know about your beer and your customers? That’s the question asked by Amber Thorne. And when it comes to your brewery, what is your niche – your USP? And on the other side of the conversation, why do you want to sell to a particular venue? Amber Thorne started her career in beer in the sales team at Siren Craft Brew. She has since moved to the iconic Bristol beer scene working with Good Chemistry and is now the Customer Account Manager at Arbor Ales. In her time in beer she ha...

What is marketing, and what is it not? That’s the question Rachel Auty asks…. The head of marketing at Brew York, Rachel is a marketing leader, and brand and communications strategist who has worked extensively across the beer industry and the arts. She has work directly with SME founder-owner-managers, senior management teams, and boards of directors across tech, charity and not-for-profits, and fmcg. This rare breadth of cross-industry business and marketing experience enables Rachel to bri...

When it comes to the world of brewing, sustainable can no longer be just a buzzword or a box-ticking exercise. And at Bristol-based Wiper and True, they are constantly working to become the most sustainable brewery they possibly can be. As they admit, it’s no secret that brewing uses a lot of energy and creates a significant amount of by-products. So they are one outfit that want their overall impact on the planet to be a positive one, so in the day-to-day running of our business, they are al...

With Jordan from Mash Gang speaking at our Brewers Lectures in Newcastle next Wednesday, what better time to revisit our chat with him from January 2023… Gone are the days where choosing a beer without the alcohol meant forgoing genuine choice in the process. Countless macro businesses now offer 0.5% or 0.0% iterations of well-known brands. Beers that complement the burgeoning number of beverages available to consumers that want a great beer, just with less, or none, of the alcohol. For toda...

Last year’s release of Prize Old Ale was a real highlight for many fans of excellent beer. But the journey of this storied beverage, that classic fruity, strong, dark ale, goes back somewhat further. Originally a recipe from George Gales & Co, a great deal of interest was generated by the latest version of Prize Old Ale, which was brewed at Dark Star by head brewer Henry Kirk. According to John Keeling, the former brewing director at Fuller’s and a previous colleague of his, Henry made a versi...

Welcome to 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, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Based in Bristol, their goal is clear – that’s to make beautiful beer. Whether it’s at their original site at St Werburgh’s, which is focused on barrel ageing and mixed fermentation, or their stunning new Old Market brewery and taproom, the team is fully-focused on the beauty of bre...

In the modern world social media plays a huge role in pretty much every industry, and hospitality is no different. It can be both a blessing and a curse, so knowing how to get the best out of it is all-important. For your brewery, bar or bottleshop, it can enhance brand awareness, drive sales and help build a community. And one person that knows all about that is Charlie Harding, the founder of Bonne Vivante Marketing. After years of working for other people, she struck out on her own in 202...

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 Alcoho...

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...

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 Ber...

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 &...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, Louiville Lindsay Parker, lead process and design e...

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...

Miranda Hudson is the co-founder of Duration Brewing, a progressive farmhouse brewery that makes beers that belong in Norfolk. Starting out as a nomadic brewery in 2017, the business she founded with husband Bates, has become one of the most respected breweries in the UK. Based in a beautifully renovated Norfolk barn, they continue to expand and a successful Crowdfunder was one of their biggest successes in 2022, with more than 600 supporters, which is really enabling them to truly push on the...

The winner of our 2022 Brewers Choice – Brewer of the Year has been a pillar of the UK beer scene, has invented beer styles, lighting the way for new breweries, dishing out advice, support and encouragement to new and existing brewers as well as being an excellent all-around brewer. Colin has long since written his name into the story of modern UK brewing. To mark his keynote address at our Brewers Lectures in Leeds yesterday (23rd February), it’s the perfect time to revisit our conversation wi...

At some point, we’ve all had to turn a spare room into a custom and excise warehouse at some point, haven’t we? And in doing so, ending up on a path to starting a brewery that would go on to release some 70 unique beers in 2022. Today’s guest has done just that, and in co-founding Vault City of Portobello in Edinburgh, he’s helped create one of Scotland’s most popular breweries. Co-founded by Steven Smith-Hay back in January 2018, the brewery goes from strength-to-strength and is forecasting t...

Opening your own brewery, at any point is time, comes with its own challenges and hurdles to overcome. Just ask the countless outfits that had COVID to contend with, weeks and months after, slinging open their doors. And in the current economic climate, things probably aren’t much easier, to say the least. But people are thirsty, and there remains an insatiable appetite for excellent, locally-made produce. Which is convenient because that’s exactly what John, Ollie and Nick, the co-founders ...

Gone are the days where choosing a beer without the alcohol meant forgoing genuine choice in the process. Countless macro businesses now offer 0.5% or 0.0% iterations of well-known brands. And with January already halfway behind us, numerous independents have thrown their hats into the ring with a fascinating array of low and no pales, lager, sours and stouts. Beers that complement the burgeoning number of beverages available to consumers that want a great beer, just with less, or none, of th...

Earlier this month, the team at Neptune Brewery moved into their new home. It’s a step that will allow them to cater for increased demand and further cement themselves as one of the UK’s finest breweries. But this evolution didn’t happen overnight. And while the brewery started out in 2015, the story of Neptune Brewery goes back some years further. During one their first dates, enjoying pints of mild, a couple while away the evening in one of the UK’s most fashionable cities. But no, we’re no...