Good Beer Hunting

The UK brewing market is getting pretty crowded. It's now home to more than 2,000 breweries, including nearly 110 in London alone, all crammed onto an island that's roughly the size of Michigan. And when you consider the divide between modern and traditional breweries, constant debates over cask, keg, and the price of beer (to mention only a few of the oft-discussed topics), its no wonder conversations about British beer can maybe get a little…tetchy…these days. Despite it all, the UK's most forward-thinking breweries, be they young or old, are still finding ways to thrive and expand. It's almost as if all of this competition has become a driving force for the most eager and entrepreneurial beer makers out there. When U.S. expats Tom Palmer and Todd Matteson founded Mondo Brewing Company three years ago just a stone's throw away from London's iconic Battersea Power Station, it became London's 81st brewery. Although they've dabbled with distributing throughout the capital and into some of the UK's more buoyant beer markets such as Bristol or Manchester, their local market of South London is where they've really thrived. Through pubs and bars in boroughs such as Brixton and Clapham, as well as their own brewery taproom, they've quietly built up a reputation for producing a solid range of beers. They might not be as talked about as, say, Cloudwater or Beavertown, but having just undergone an expansion that will see Mondo increase capacity by 80%, and with plans to open their first London bar in 2018, this is certainly one London brewery that's riding an ascending curve. The trick for smaller breweries like Mondo, of course, is to find the right balance between own-premise sales and through key accounts. For Palmer and Matteson, it's all about building strong, personal relationships. An example of this is the relationship Mondo has with restaurant chain Dishoom, for whom Mondo brews the house beer. Keeping up with these relationships, while ensuring steady turnover at its own sites, will be key for this London brewery's success in the long term. We talk about all that and more today. Listen in.

The UK brewing market is getting pretty crowded. It’s now home to more than 2,000 breweries, including nearly 110 in London alone, all crammed onto an island that’s roughly the size of Michigan. And when you consider the divide between modern and traditional breweries, constant debates over cask, keg, and the price of beer (to mention only a few of the oft-discussed topics), its no wonder conversations about British beer can maybe get a little…tetchy…these days.

Despite it all, the UK’s most forward-thinking breweries, be they young or old, are still finding ways to thrive and expand. It’s almost as if all of this competition has become a driving force for the most eager and entrepreneurial beer makers out there.

When U.S. expats Tom Palmer and Todd Matteson founded Mondo Brewing Company three years ago just a stone’s throw away from London’s iconic Battersea Power Station, it became London’s 81st brewery. Although they’ve dabbled with distributing throughout the capital and into some of the UK’s more buoyant beer markets such as Bristol or Manchester, their local market of South London is where they’ve really thrived.

Through pubs and bars in boroughs such as Brixton and Clapham, as well as their own brewery taproom, they’ve quietly built up a reputation for producing a solid range of beers. They might not be as talked about as, say, Cloudwater or Beavertown, but having just undergone an expansion that will see Mondo increase capacity by 80%, and with plans to open their first London bar in 2018, this is certainly one London brewery that’s riding an ascending curve.

The trick for smaller breweries like Mondo, of course, is to find the right balance between own-premise sales and through key accounts. For Palmer and Matteson, it’s all about building strong, personal relationships. An example of this is the relationship Mondo has with restaurant chain Dishoom, for whom Mondo brews the house beer. Keeping up with these relationships, while ensuring steady turnover at its own sites, will be key for this London brewery’s success in the long term.

We talk about all that and more today. Listen in.

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community, The Fervent Few. Members subscribe to GBH like a magazine, making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members also join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics well beyond beer. Each week, we pick one of these topics and present the community's answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. Learn more at patreon.com/goodbeerhunting. On this episode, we talk to Quinn Thompson a Supply Chain Manager for the Craft Brew Alliance about beer packaging, recycling, and the meaning of the word "infinite." But first, Michael and I chat about Uppers and Downers Chicago and the events surrounding it, the recent U&D Beer Dinner in Grand Rapids, and Bryan Roth being put in charge of charts at GBH.

Welcome to another episode of The Fervent Few podcast. Every few weeks we present you with this bonus episode of the GBH podcast where we chat with members of our subscriber community, The Fervent Few. Members subscribe to GBH like a magazine, making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members also join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics well beyond beer. Each week, we pick one of these topics and present the community’s answers to readers in the form of an article posted to Good Beer Hunting. Learn  more at patreon.com/goodbeerhunting.

On this episode, we talk to Quinn Thompson a Supply Chain Manager for the Craft Brew Alliance about beer packaging, recycling, and the meaning of the word “infinite.” But first, Michael and I chat about Uppers and Downers Chicago and the events surrounding it, the recent U&D Beer Dinner in Grand Rapids, and Bryan Roth being put in charge of charts at GBH.

This week's guest was recently part of an Uppers & Downers dinner we did in Grand Rapids at the Sovengard. It was spectacular. But more recently, I've gotten to know Nathan Walser from his latest project, which is his own brewery, Greyline. In a city like Grand Rapids, it's easy to get carried away with thinking of it as Beer City, USA, and there's good reason for that. There are a ton of breweries in this midwestern town. It's partially defined by its breweries. And the national success of a place like Founders really sets the tone there. But I'll be honest: I tend to go to the same few places every time I visit. That is, until recently, when I went out of my way to the far-north side of the city to visit Greyline. I'd heard it was a bit small and some people thought the service was a bit severe (at least according to Yelp), and all that made me want to go. I figured, if that's what the locals liked, who are more accustomed to gigantic restaurants and malty, hoppy beers from the '90s, then this was probably my kind of place. And it was. I was really taken with the beer. And as I started asking questions of the bartender, they started making nervous eye contact with the guy to my right. "You work here?" I asked. "Yeah," he said with his head down. "You brew here?" "Yeah," he said again. "You own the place, or what?" "Yeah, I do," he said, and finally started opening up. That was all I needed to dive headlong into what made Greyline tick. Since then, I've had multiple run-ins with Nathan, talked about his beer to a level of detail rarely captured on the mics, and have been enamored ever since. And to top it all off, Nathan's career as a journeyman Michigan brewer weaves its way through everything that makes Grand Rapids Beer City, USA—a title it sometimes deserves, and sometimes falls short of. We'll talk about why that is, too.

This weeks’ guest was recently part of an Uppers & Downers dinner we did in Grand rapids at the Sovengard - it was spectacular.

I’ve recently gotten to know Nathan Walser from his latest project, which is his own brewery, called Greyline.

In a city like Grand Rapids, it’s easy to get carried away with thinking of it as Beer City USA, and there’s good reason for that. There are a ton of breweries in this little midwestern city. It’s partially defined by it’s breweries. And the national success of a place like Founders really sets the tone there.

But I’ll be honest - I tend to go too he same few places every time I visit. Until recently when I went out of my way to the far northside of the city to visit Greyline. I’d heard it was a bit small and some people thought the service was a bit severe (at least accordion to Yelp) and all that made me want to go. I figured, if that’s what the locals liked, who are more accustomed to gigantic restaurants and malty hoppy beers for the 90s, then this was probably my kind of place.

And it was.

I was really taken with the beer. And as I started asking questions of the bartender, they started making nervous eye contact with the guy to my right.

“You work here?’ I asked. “Yeah he said with his head down.”

“You brew here?” - “yeah” he said again.

“You own the place or what?” “yeah, I do” he said and finally opened up.

That was all I needed to dive headlong into what made Greyline tick. Since then, I’ve had multiple run-ins with Nathan, talked about his beer to a level of detail rarely captured on the mimics, and I’ve been enamored every since.

And top top it all off - Nathan’s career as a journeyman Michigan brewer weaves its way through everything that makes Grand Rapids beer city USA - a title it sometimes deserves, and sometimes falls short of. And we’ll talk about why that is.

Welcome back to another episode of the GBH Collective where we bring you the stories behind the stories from our writers and photographers all over the world, and from our studio team based here in Chicago. This week we've got Hillary Schuster, our Experience Director at GBH. Hillary is in charge of all the events we produce as Good Beer Hunting, and working with our clients around the world to develop their own concepts and engagements with their fans. Her background in innovation planning lends a unique perspective on these things, and how the beer world can think more broadly about the audiences they attract and the experiences they create for them around beer. Not only is she my business partner, but we've been married for more than six years. Listen in.

Welcome back to another episode of the GBH Collective where we bring you the stories behind the stories from our writers and photographers all over the world, and from our studio team based here in Chicago.

This week we’ve got Hillary Schuster, our Experience Director at GBH. Hillary is in charge of all the events we produce as Good Beer Hunting, and working with our clients around the world to develop their own concepts and engagements with their fans.

Her background in innovation planning lends a unique perspective on these things, and how the beer world can think more broadly about the audiences they attract and the experiences they’ create for them around beer.

Not only is she my business partner, but we’ve been married for over 6 years now.

When it comes to beer, there is plenty on which we can disagree. Tastes, smells, brands, breweries ... these are all things beer lovers embrace and debate on a regular basis. But one thing we can all agree on? We just want good beer.

But even on that, there's plenty of subjectivity. Or is there? What makes a beer "good" or "bad" is often put into the context of our taste buds, not always with analysis through a literal and figurative microscope.

This is where Kate Lee excels. She's a trained scientist who spent more than a decade working for Anheuser-Busch, a business famously known for its focus on consistency and quality from batch to batch. Since 2014, she's helped lead a quality program for Richmond, Virginia's Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, building on an existing foundation to take Hardywood's focus on quality to the next level.

As director of quality assurance and director of operations, her job at the brewery has consistently evolved as production levels and brewer ambitions have grown. It's not just about running tests, but collaborating with staff to ensure the right ingredients are producing the right beer every step of the way. And as you'll hear, that's not always an easy decision.

When it comes to beer, there is plenty on which we can disagree. Tastes, smells, brands, breweries—these are all things beer lovers embrace and debate on a regular basis. But one thing we can all agree on? We just want good beer. But even on that, there's plenty of subjectivity. Or is there? What makes a beer "good" or "bad" is often put into the context of our taste buds, not always with analysis through a literal and figurative microscope. This is where Kate Lee excels. She's a trained scientist who spent more than a decade working for Anheuser-Busch, a business famously known for its focus on consistency and quality from batch to batch. Since 2014, she's helped lead a quality program for Richmond, Virginia's Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, building on an existing foundation to take Hardywood's focus on quality to the next level. As director of quality assurance and director of operations, her job at the brewery has consistently evolved as production levels and brewer ambitions have grown. It's not just about running tests, but collaborating with staff to ensure the right ingredients are producing the right beer every step of the way. And as you'll hear, that's not always an easy decision.