Good Beer Hunting

The UK’s independent brewing scene is booming. Recent figures from the British Beer and Pub association put the number of active breweries in the UK at over 2000, meaning that the UK has more breweries than any other European nation. At the heart of this growth have been the UK’s metropolitan areas, cities such as London, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol and many more.

Thankfully that growth hasn’t been restricted to the cities, with more breweries choosing to establish themselves in smaller towns and in rural areas – we’ve even seen established city breweries such as Redchurch in London, start to build production facilities outside of these city hubs.

Earlier this year I interviewed Dan Lowe–who co-founder Fourpure Brewing Co with his brother Tom in 2013. In the interview Dan spoke to me about how Fourpure were planning a similar move to Redchurch, in that they were looking at expanding to a purpose built brewery on a greenfield site on the outskirts of London. If your thinking that you never saw that interview then don’t worry, you didn’t, it was never published.

That’s because before I had a chance to do so, Fourpure changed its plans–for the time being at least–instead choosing to invest over £2 million in its existing site in South London. This expansion will involve a new brewhouse, more capacity, more lab and QC space and eventually they’ll also double the size of their taproom.

This, along with a whole bunch of other local breweries, including Partizan, Pressure Drop and Mondo, also investing in their London sites, is indicative that there is still one hell of a lot of room here for growth. This growth is also giving newer, smaller breweries a chance to establish themselves too, as the expanding breweries move into other markets, thus freeing up space at the point of entry.

I headed down to Fourpure’s brewery, at the end of the Bermondsey Beer Mile to catch up with both Dan and Tom, to make amends for that interview I never published. This was no mean feat, the Lowe brothers travel a great deal, especially as Fourpure is expanding as fast internationally as it is domestically but it was great to finally catch up with them, and find out what’s happening at their brewery.

The UK’s independent brewing scene is booming. Recent figures from the British Beer and Pub association put the number of active breweries in the UK at over 2000, meaning that the UK has more breweries than any other European nation. At the heart of this growth have been the UK’s metropolitan areas, cities such as London, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol and many more.

Thankfully that growth hasn’t been restricted to the cities, with more breweries choosing to establish themselves in smaller towns and in rural areas – we’ve even seen established city breweries such as Redchurch in London, start to build production facilities outside of these city hubs.

Earlier this year I interviewed Dan Lowe–who co-founder Fourpure Brewing Co with his brother Tom in 2013. In the interview Dan spoke to me about how Fourpure were planning a similar move to Redchurch, in that they were looking at expanding to a purpose built brewery on a greenfield site on the outskirts of London. If your thinking that you never saw that interview then don’t worry, you didn’t, it was never published.

That’s because before I had a chance to do so, Fourpure changed its plans–for the time being at least–instead choosing to invest over £2 million in its existing site in South London. This expansion will involve a new brewhouse, more capacity, more lab and QC space and eventually they’ll also double the size of their taproom.

This, along with a whole bunch of other local breweries, including Partizan, Pressure Drop and Mondo, also investing in their London sites, is indicative that there is still one hell of a lot of room here for growth. This growth is also giving newer, smaller breweries a chance to establish themselves too, as the expanding breweries move into other markets, thus freeing up space at the point of entry.

I headed down to Fourpure’s brewery, at the end of the Bermondsey Beer Mile to catch up with both Dan and Tom, to make amends for that interview I never published. This was no mean feat, the Lowe brothers travel a great deal, especially as Fourpure is expanding as fast internationally as it is domestically but it was great to finally catch up with them, and find out what’s happening at their brewery.

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 subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn't just stop at beer. And every 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. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting On this episode we talk to James Hernandez who works for a beer wholesaler in Southern California. But first Michael and I talk about some exciting new taprooms that have opened in the area and of course Hazy IPAs.

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 subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn’t just stop at beer. And every 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. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting

On this episode we talk to James Hernandez who works for a beer wholesaler in Southern California. But first Michael and I talk about some exciting new taprooms that have opened in the area and of course Hazy IPAs.

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 subscribe to GBH like a magazine making a monthly contribution via Patreon. Members join us in a forum to talk about a wide range of topics that doesn’t just stop at beer. And every 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. You can find out more information by visiting patreon.com/goodbeerhunting

On this episode we talk to James Hernandez who works for a beer wholesaler in Southern California. But first Michael and I talk about some exciting new taprooms that have opened in the area and of course Hazy IPAs.

This past fall when GBH experience director Hillary Schuster and I were in London for the Beavertown Extravaganza and Uppers & Downers, we were thrilled to get outside the city for a couple of days to visit one of my favorite cider makers in the world, Tom Oliver. He was pouring at the Extravaganza, of course, right next to Other Half, which made me laugh a bit as I entered. There were dozens of people rightly waiting in line for Other Half's beers and almost no one in line for Oliver's ciders, which I would put up against any Wild Ale, Lambic, or Geueze in the world in terms of its fermentation complexity, natural, rustic condition, and agricultural qualities. It's really one of the most fantastic fermented beverages you can buy. And at the fest, you could just walk right up to his booth and get a pour because we still have a strange relationship with cider. In the U.S., we have a strange tension between these artisanal orchard-based producers and "craft" cider makers selling quick fermentations in a six pack of cans. Some are even produced by breweries as an alternative offering. That also exists in the UK, but the biggest tension there is among the sort of country cider, known as scrumpy, which is maybe more akin to moonshine, and the mass market ciders, called white ciders, which people drink for their functional effects, not so much their flavors. Cider makers like Oliver have a hard time cutting through. But it's getting easier. Oliver's ciders were re-branded beautifully this year, which is getting some notice. And as more and more beer drinkers follow their palates into the more complex side of fermentation, they're finding something resonate in mixed-fermentation beers, natural wines, and maybe, finally, orchardist ciders. We went out to Oliver's multi-generational family farm in Herefordshire near the Welsh border and stayed for a couple days to get a lay of the land. We ate meat pies and drank some beautiful things, and eventually GBH UK editor Matthew Curtis and I sat down in the dining room of Oliver's cottage to talk about the future.

This past fall when myself and Hillary Schuster, our experience director were in London for the Beavertown Extravaganza and Uppers & Downers, we were thrilled to get outside the city for a couple of days to visit one of my favorite cider makers in the world, Tom Oliver.

He was pouring at the Extravaganza of course, right next to Other Half, which made me laugh a bit as I entered, seeing dozens of people, rightly waiting in line for Other Half’s beers, and a nearly empty line for Oliver’s ciders, which I would put up against any wild ale, lambic, or Geueze in the world in terms of its fermentation complexity, natural, rustic condition, and agricultural qualities. It’s really one of the most fantastic fermented beverages you can buy. And at the fest, you could just walk right up to his booth and get a pour because we still have a strange relationship with cider. In the U.S. we have a strange tension between these artisanal orchard-based producers and “craft” cider makers selling quick fermentations in a six pack of cans, some even produce by breweries as al alternative offering.

That also exists int he Uk, but the biggest tension there is among the sort of country cider, known as scrumpy, which is maybe more akin to moonshine, and the mass market ciders, called white ciders, which people drink for it’s functional effects, not so much its flavors. Cider makers like Tom Oliver have a hard time cutting through. But it’s improving.

Tom’s ciders were re-branded beautifully this year, which is getting some notice. And as more and more beer drinkers follow their palates into the more complex side of fermentation, they’re finding something resonate in mixed fermentation beers, natural wines, and maybe, finally, orchardists ciders.

We went out to Tom’s multi-generational family farm in Herefordshire near the Welsh border and stayed for a couple days to get a lay of the land. We ate meat pies and drank some beautiful things, and eventually myself and our U.k editor Matthew Curtis sat down int he dining room of Tom’s cottage to talk about the future.

This past fall when myself and Hillary Schuster, our experience director were in London for the Beavertown Extravaganza and Uppers & Downers, we were thrilled to get outside the city for a couple of days to visit one of my favorite cider makers in the world, Tom Oliver.

He was pouring at the Extravaganza of course, right next to Other Half, which made me laugh a bit as I entered, seeing dozens of people, rightly waiting in line for Other Half’s beers, and a nearly empty line for Oliver’s ciders, which I would put up against any wild ale, lambic, or Geueze in the world in terms of its fermentation complexity, natural, rustic condition, and agricultural qualities. It’s really one of the most fantastic fermented beverages you can buy. And at the fest, you could just walk right up to his booth and get a pour because we still have a strange relationship with cider. In the U.S. we have a strange tension between these artisanal orchard-based producers and “craft” cider makers selling quick fermentations in a six pack of cans, some even produce by breweries as al alternative offering.

That also exists int he Uk, but the biggest tension there is among the sort of country cider, known as scrumpy, which is maybe more akin to moonshine, and the mass market ciders, called white ciders, which people drink for it’s functional effects, not so much its flavors. Cider makers like Tom Oliver have a hard time cutting through. But it’s improving.

Tom’s ciders were re-branded beautifully this year, which is getting some notice. And as more and more beer drinkers follow their palates into the more complex side of fermentation, they’re finding something resonate in mixed fermentation beers, natural wines, and maybe, finally, orchardists ciders.

We went out to Tom’s multi-generational family farm in Herefordshire near the Welsh border and stayed for a couple days to get a lay of the land. We ate meat pies and drank some beautiful things, and eventually myself and our U.k editor Matthew Curtis sat down int he dining room of Tom’s cottage to talk about the future.

The Brewers Association loves to tout the ever-growing number of small and independent breweries that are popping up across the country. It's gotten to the point where there's really no type of geographical area that's without some "hometown" beer. In North Carolina, the number of breweries has ballooned in recent years, with businesses finding homes all over. While you might have heard of places like Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, or Durham, the town of Hillsborough is less commonly known. But it's this location—population: about 7,000—where we'll visit today for the chance to hear from Erik Lars Myers, the founder and CEO of Mystery Brewing. In July 2010, Erik's brewery was the first in the U.S. to successfully crowdfund a portion of its startup costs, something that seems near-ubiquitous in today's marketplace. Since then, his business plan and Mystery Brewing have evolved rapidly. In our conversation, which is far ranging and really in-depth, you'll hear me refer to him as something of a futurist. A lot of what Erik decided just as the American craft beer industry was really starting to take off was adventurous at the time. But now a lot of it is simply stuff people do: heavily rotating brands, focusing on bringing people to a taproom, wearing your heart on your sleeve. This is a long conversation. But so much of what we discuss is really topical to drinkers and business owners alike. Erik's honesty and love for beer and its industry made for one of those interviews that you just ride out. There are tips and insights that highlight how Erik and his team are doing something special, and I hope his story and point of view expresses something new and interesting to you, too.

The Brewers Association loves to tout the ever-growing number of small and independent breweries that are popping up across the country. It’s gotten to the point where there’s really no type of geographical area that’s without some hometown beer.

In North Carolina, the number of breweries has ballooned in recent years, with businesses finding homes all over. While you might have heard of places like Asheville, Charlotte or Raleigh and Durham, the town of Hillsborough probably isn’t commonly known. But it’s this location - population of about 7,000 - where we’ll visit today for the chance to hear from Erik Lars Myers, the founder and CEO of Mystery Brewing.

In July 2010, Erik’s brewery was the first in the U.S. to successfully crowdfund a portion of its startup costs, something that seems near-ubiquitous in today’s marketplace. Since then, Erik’s business plan and Mystery Brewing have evolved rapidly. In our conversation - which is far ranging and really in-depth - you’ll hear me refer to him as something of a futurist. A lot of what Erik decided just as the American craft beer industry was really starting to take off was adventurous at the time. But now a lot of it is simply stuff people do: heavily rotating brands, focusing on bringing people to a taproom and wearing your heart on your sleeve.

This is a long conversation. But so much of what we discuss is really topical to drinkers and business owners alike. Erik’s honesty and love for beer and its industry made for one of those interviews that you just ride out. There are tips and insights that highlight how Erik and his team are doing something special, and I hope his story and point of view express something new and interesting to you, too.