Hop Forward: Getting You Ahead in the Brewing and Beer Business

When news broke that Magic Rock Brewing sold their fledgling business to Australia's Lion, Twitter started trending with #MagicRock as people in droves started discussing 'What does this mean?!' yet again.

Hot on the heels after independent bottle shop closures and Tesco's all-singing, all-dancing craft beer range moving up a gear, the perfect storm was brewing for emotions to run high and opinions to get aired in the echo-chamber of social media.

So, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to reach out once again to beer writer Matthew Curtis to discuss everything from brewery sell-ups, supermarket beer, and 'Bread Twitter'.

Abbeydale Brewery have been around the block and then some!

Founded by Patrick Morton and with his father Hugh in 1996, they quickly carved out a reputation for themselves in Sheffield and beyond by brewing traditional cask beers such as the award winning 'Moonshine', 'Daily Bread' and 'Absolution'.

Over the last three years, Abbeydale Brewery have grown substantially, re-establishing themselves in the market with their Emporium range and barrel-ageing and souring project, the Funk Dungeon.

In this week's episode, we talk to Sales Director, Dan Baxter, and Head of Marketing, Laura Rangeley, about what makes Abbeydale so successful, how they managed to shake off some of the old perceptions surrounding 'traditional ales' vs 'craft beer' and talk about what lays ahead for this fledgeling brewery.

In this week's episode, we catch up with Charles Sibbald, a man who built his own canning machine!

Having been challenged by a fellow brewer to come up with a solution for his own brewery, he set his hand and finances towards developing a micro-canning line for breweries similar to his own.

Charles talks about the advantages and disadvantages of cans over bottles, what brewers should consider when moving to canned products, and talks us through his machine whilst at SIBA Beer X a couple of weeks ago.

Yeastie Boys isn't your conventional brewery. They span the northern and southern hemisphere, operating out of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, their products are readily available in national supermarkets, and yet they don't own a brewhouse of their own.

This week we talk to the benevolent dictator of the Yeastie Boys, Stu McKinlay, about moving his family from New Zealand to brew their beers at Brew Dog and establish beers like Gunnamatta and Digital IPA.

Now, Yeastie Boys has a head brewer and brews out of Dark Revolution Brewery as well as across the country, collaborating with the likes of Thornbridge, Abbeydale Brewery, Vocation and many more.

Also, Nick shares some exciting news from SIBA Beer X...!

In this week's episode we chat to Willy Mayne of Bullhouse Brew Co based in Belfast, who talks about some of the difficulties selling beer in Northern Ireland due to archaic laws surrounding licensing and public houses, exporting to mainland Britain and the challenges with wholesalers, and moving beer into the Republic of Ireland; also discussing what Brexit could beer for craft beer in Northern Ireland.

We caught up with David Jackson, CEO of EeBria: a technology business that exists to serve the craft beer industry.

Having learned from and left Viagogo, David Jackson set up EeBria, which is now the UK's largest independent craft beer wholesaler, utilising technology for breweries to deliver their beers direct to your door and to landlord's via their trade site, EeBria Trade.

In this episode, we chat about the platform and how technology is shaping the future of beer sales.

For more info on EeBria, visit www.eebria.com

Make sure you visit www.hopforward.beer/podcast for more episodes like this one and subscribe to the podcast on your preferred service.

Richard Morrice has an impressive CV. Marketing Director for Courage Brewing (John Smith's, Foster's, and Miller), Richard moved on to set up his own marketing agency, working with the huge multinational companies such as Heineken, Coca Cola, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Fullers, among many others.

These days, Richard is a semi-retired consultant within the drinks industry and runs beer tasting events, whilst keeping a keen ear to the ground with all the happenings in the beer world.

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss everything from supermarkets and the mistakes many brewers make selling their products into national chains, sales and pricing of products in general, and Richard shares the reasons why he was saddened but not surprised of the sale of Fuller's brewery to Asahi Europe.

This week, we talk to Eyes Brewing - the UK’s first wheat focused brewery, based in Bradford - an old industrial city in the heart of Yorkshire.

I first met Dan Logan in 2016. At the time a stand-up comedian and formerly a teacher, Dan had the dream to start his own brewery focusing on wheat beers with a modern twist.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing Dan develop his brewery and realise his dream - often accompanied by hardships and strife - and was lucky enough to pay him and his new business partner, Pip Hardy, a visit in their new home at the site of the former Bradford Brewery.

In this episode recorded in their emerging Tap Room, we chat about everything from their beers and the early days of cuckoo brewing; have hilarious takes on the cool crowd, the pronunciation of Wylam, and take on the Kinder Egg challenge; and also reflect on more somber topics such as changes life circumstances and directorships, and sexism within the beer industry.

And Rory’s brother - who makes his own gin and throws axes - makes a cameo appearance.

Make sure you visit Eyes Brewing in Bradford and check out their website at www.eyesbrewing.com

SUBSCRIBE http://bit.ly/HOPFWDsubscribe
FOLLOW US @hopforwardbeers
VISIT US www.hopforward.beer

On this week’s episode, we catch up with award winning beer writer, photographer and consultant Matthew Curtis to chat about beer trends and social media, exploring everything from packaging types, whether breweries should chase the hype of Hazy and Brut IPAs, and what kind of legacy beer business are leaving behind - if any.

Matthew appears regularly in publications such as Original Gravity Magazine and Ferment, writes reviews for Hop Burns & Black, and was the UK editor for Good Beer Hunting for a season, helping to host the Beavertown Extravaganza.

For more articles and info, check out www.totalales.co.uk

Make sure you subscribe to the podcast and follow us on social media @hopforwardbeers

Our interview with a new microbrewery has a unique and interesting background…

Husband and wife duo - Dann and Martha Paquette - set up The Brewery of Saint Mars of the Desert (Beers of SMOD, for short) after their last venture, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, came to an end.

Souring various locations across the UK, Europe and America, Dann and Martha set up shop in an unlikely location in the UK’s cask beer capital: Sheffield.

Having had over 25 years of experience within the industry across continents, Dann shares the good, the bad and the ugly of craft beer, discusses the differences between beer culture in the UK and USA, and gives us his insights on the future of craft beer.

Check out The Brewery of Saint Mars of the Desert at:
https://beerofsmod.co.uk/ and follow them online @beerofSMOD and make sure you make a trip to their charming little tasting roon,

And visit the Hop Forward website at:
http://www.hopforward.beer or follow us on social media @hopforwardbeers