Good Beer Hunting

I've been writing for GBH for going on two and a half years now. Over that time you may or may not have noticed that I've gradually been trying to build a picture of the modern British beer scene. We've looked at the likes of Beavertown and Brew By Numbers in London, BrewDog up in Scotland, Cloudwater in Manchester, Magic Rock and Northern Monk in Yorkshire and most recently Lost & Grounded in Bristol. It's Bristol that we find ourselves in today, or at least, that's where today's guest Bruce Gray, and his brewery Left Handed Giant, is based. Gray has worked in the beer industry for a number of years now, working in BrewDog's bar division before heading to Bristol and setting up a distribution company. He also opened a specialist beer bar called Small Bar, which now has a second site in Cardiff, South Wales. From here he began "cuckoo brewing," as Gray puts it, under the Left Handed Giant brand. Things snowballed for the fledgling brewery, as they are wont to do in a British market hungry for more young brands like his, and now they're nestled into a permanent site, brewing 15 barrels at a time. Bristol seems to be the perfect incubator for the ambitious plans for his brewery. It's perhaps because Gray has had the opportunity to work at all ends of the chain that he's able to articulate his experiences within the beer industry so well. He does so regularly on his brewery's blog, where he's earned a reputation for being honest and forthright. On this podcast he's no different, giving in-depth opinions on issues such as the much-debated price of beer. He also gives his opinions on CAMRA as well as SIBA, the Society for Independent Brewers, which is the closest equivalent the UK has to America's Brewers Association. We have a great conversation here that covers all of the above and more. Listen in.

I’ve been writing for GBH for going on two and a half years now. Over that time you may or may not have noticed that I’ve gradually been trying to build a picture of the modern British beer scene. We’ve looked at the likes of Beavertown and Brew By Numbers in London, BrewDog up in Scotland, Cloudwater in Manchester, Magic Rock and Northern Monk in Yorkshire and most recently Lost & Grounded in Bristol.

It’s Bristol that we find ourselves in today, or at least, that’s where today’s guest Bruce Gray, and his brewery Left Handed Giant, is based. Gray has worked in the beer industry for a number of years now, working in BrewDog’s bar division before heading to Bristol and setting up a distribution company. He also opened a specialist beer bar called Small Bar, which now has a second site in Cardiff, South Wales.

From here he began “cuckoo brewing,” as Gray puts it, under the Left Handed Giant brand. Things snowballed for the fledgling brewery, as they are want to do in a British market hungry for more young brands like his, and now they’re nestled into a permanent site, brewing 15 barrels at a time. Bristol seems to be the perfect incubator for the ambitious plans for his brewery.

It’s perhaps because Gray has had the opportunity to work at all ends of the chain that he’s able to articulate his experiences within the beer industry so well. He does so regularly on his breweries blog, where he’s earned a reputation for being honest and forthright. On this podcast he’s no different, giving in depth opinions on issues such as the much-debated price of beer. He also gives his opinions on CAMRA as well as SIBA, the Society for Independent Brewers, which is the closest equivalent the UK has to America’s Brewers Association.

I’ve been writing for GBH for going on two and a half years now. Over that time you may or may not have noticed that I’ve gradually been trying to build a picture of the modern British beer scene. We’ve looked at the likes of Beavertown and Brew By Numbers in London, BrewDog up in Scotland, Cloudwater in Manchester, Magic Rock and Northern Monk in Yorkshire and most recently Lost & Grounded in Bristol.

It’s Bristol that we find ourselves in today, or at least, that’s where today’s guest Bruce Gray, and his brewery Left Handed Giant, is based. Gray has worked in the beer industry for a number of years now, working in BrewDog’s bar division before heading to Bristol and setting up a distribution company. He also opened a specialist beer bar called Small Bar, which now has a second site in Cardiff, South Wales.

From here he began “cuckoo brewing,” as Gray puts it, under the Left Handed Giant brand. Things snowballed for the fledgling brewery, as they are want to do in a British market hungry for more young brands like his, and now they’re nestled into a permanent site, brewing 15 barrels at a time. Bristol seems to be the perfect incubator for the ambitious plans for his brewery.

It’s perhaps because Gray has had the opportunity to work at all ends of the chain that he’s able to articulate his experiences within the beer industry so well. He does so regularly on his breweries blog, where he’s earned a reputation for being honest and forthright. On this podcast he’s no different, giving in depth opinions on issues such as the much-debated price of beer. He also gives his opinions on CAMRA as well as SIBA, the Society for Independent Brewers, which is the closest equivalent the UK has to America’s Brewers Association.

It's hard to be objective when it comes to such a subjective thing like beer. We're all driven by our own preferences and tastes mapped out by sensory experiences of flavor and aroma. Things are good and bad, sought after whales and shelf turds. Beer is an experiential good and our exposure varies on time of day, mood, company and more. But there are still plenty of cold, hard facts that factor into the social, cultural and business side of beer, which is why this week's guest is a special one for me. Bart Watson deals with numbers. Truthful, verifiable, factual data. As one of only several economists who work within the beer industry, it's his job to offer context and insight into what's changing, and often, what's to come. His logical and well-cited reason is regularly seen on the Brewers Association website and increasingly in media around the country. When some may be focusing on the hot take du jour, Bart can be found writing a blog post or interacting on Twitter with calculated answers. And it's about beer. As the BA was preparing to kickoff the Great American Beer Festival in early October, I sat down with Bart inside the Colorado Convention Center to geek out, talking about the new challenges within the beer market, including price points, marijuana use, distribution and more. With thousands of people scurrying around the building ready to celebrate craft beer, it was exciting to take a fittingly calm moment to evaluate the state of the industry and where beer lovers should be looking in 2018. Who knew economics could be so cool?

It’s hard to be objective when it comes to such a subjective thing like beer. We’re all driven by our own preferences and tastes mapped out by sensory experiences of flavor and aroma. Things are good and bad, sought after whales and shelf turds. Beer is an experiential good and our exposure varies on time of day, mood, company and more.

But there are still plenty of cold, hard facts that factor into the social, cultural and business side of beer, which is why this week’s guest is a special one for me.

Bart Watson deals with numbers. Truthful, verifiable, factual data. As one of only several economists who work within the beer industry, it’s his job to offer context and insight into what’s changing, and often, what’s to come. His logical and well-cited reason is regularly seen on the Brewers Association website and increasingly in media around the country. When some may be focusing on the hot take du jour, Bart can be found writing a blog post or interacting on Twitter with calculated answers. And it’s about beer.

As the BA was preparing to kickoff the Great American Beer Festival in early October, I sat down with Bart inside the Colorado Convention Center to geek out, talking about the new challenges within the beer market, including price points, marijuana use, distribution and more. With thousands of people scurrying around the building ready to celebrate craft beer, it was exciting to take a fittingly calm moment to evaluate the state of the industry and where beer lovers should be looking in 2018.

Who knew economics could be so cool?

It’s hard to be objective when it comes to such a subjective thing like beer. We’re all driven by our own preferences and tastes mapped out by sensory experiences of flavor and aroma. Things are good and bad, sought after whales and shelf turds. Beer is an experiential good and our exposure varies on time of day, mood, company and more.

But there are still plenty of cold, hard facts that factor into the social, cultural and business side of beer, which is why this week’s guest is a special one for me.

Bart Watson deals with numbers. Truthful, verifiable, factual data. As one of only several economists who work within the beer industry, it’s his job to offer context and insight into what’s changing, and often, what’s to come. His logical and well-cited reason is regularly seen on the Brewers Association website and increasingly in media around the country. When some may be focusing on the hot take du jour, Bart can be found writing a blog post or interacting on Twitter with calculated answers. And it’s about beer.

As the BA was preparing to kickoff the Great American Beer Festival in early October, I sat down with Bart inside the Colorado Convention Center to geek out, talking about the new challenges within the beer market, including price points, marijuana use, distribution and more. With thousands of people scurrying around the building ready to celebrate craft beer, it was exciting to take a fittingly calm moment to evaluate the state of the industry and where beer lovers should be looking in 2018.

Who knew economics could be so cool?

Our resident composer for the podcast and our commercial video work, Andrew Thiboldeaux, is writing original scores devoted to beers he finds fascinating. These are interpretations of the experience of drinking them. But they're also just great tunes.

Our resident composer for the podcast and our commercial video work, Andrew Thiboldeaux, is writing original scores devoted to beers he finds fascinating. These are interpretations of the experience of drinking them. But they're also just great tunes.

Our resident composer for the podcast and our commercial video work, Andrew Thiboldeaux, is writing original scores devoted to beers he finds fascinating. These are interpretations of the experience of drinking them. But they're also just great tunes.

As someone who thinks way too much about beer way too often, I'll always consider myself lucky for the sheer fact I get to spend some of my time talking about this beverage we love so much. There have been lots of great conversations about beer shared with friends and people in the industry, with some of my favorites simply nerding out with fellow writers I meet during my travels. This fall, I made my first trip to Portland, Oregon, where I had the chance to have one of those kinds of talks with two of my favorite writers covering beer, Jeff Alworth and Jason Notte. The pair represent two brilliant sides of reporting on the same topic. Jeff has long been one of my go-to sources for cultural and historical insight and commentary, while Jason's acumen on the business side of things makes him stand out. We met at Portland's Wayfinder Beer and grabbed a table outside where our conversation meandered in many of the same ways it would have without microphones in front of us. We talked about our process, the latest news about the likes of Sam Adams and trends we've been following. This was at the beginning of October, right before the Great American Beer Festival, when the Brewers Association was set to celebrate their new seal of independence—an ideal time for Jason, Jeff, and I to share our own takes on what such a thing means and why it's important…or not important. Whenever I sit down to record a GBH Podcast, I like to preface it as a conversation, not necessarily an interview. This talk with Jeff and Jason felt very much like that.