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

Brewer and Brother at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, Fr Mateusz, often says that people know more about the surface of the moon than they do about monks.

Nestled away in the idlic Leicestershire countryside amongst the rolling hills is Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, a monastery founded in 1835 on land provided by Ambrose de Lisle, who was eager to re-introduce monastic life into the United Kingdom.

As time went by, farming - the principle activity and source of income for the Brothers - became increasingly difficult to the point where the monks needed to explore new ways to generate an income to sustain their life and rhythms of prayer and worship.

The natural choice was to start a brewery.

Since 2018, Tynt Meadow have produced batch after batch of their authenticated Trappist beer:  a mahogany-coloured Dubbel with a subtle, warm red hue, and a lasting beige head.  Its aroma carries hints of dark chocolate, liquorice, and rich fruit flavours.

In this episode, we visited Tynt Meadow and met both Peter Grady - the Brewery and Operations Manager - for a tour of the brewhouse and Fr Mateusz, a Brother and brewer of the beer, to discuss the rich history of the monks and abbey, the brewing process and how spirituality and brewing are interconnected at the abbey.

This is a lengthy episode that straddles the lines between brewing technical knowledge, the story and history of the monastery, and themes about the Christian faith, spirituality and practises.  The discussion featuring Fr Mateusz begins at 51 minute mark.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BEER
Download the recipe | Buy the beer | Follow Emmanuales

TODAY'S EPISODE OF THE HOP FORWARD PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY:
Bespoke Brewing Solutions designs and manufactures equipment that allows breweries to produce high-quality craft beverages with increased cost-effectiveness and faster turnaround times.

The BBS team has 8 years of solid teamwork together and 10+ years of experience in manufacturing brewing equipment. BBS now has representatives around the world in America, Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, China.

Having a team in China that speaks the local language allows BBS to oversee all aspects of their client's projects, from initial layout designs all the way through to equipment testing before shipping.

BBS has equipment represented in 16 countries, which means they’ve sourced equipment and designed brewhouse configurations for every type of brewery you can imagine, in every situation.

BBS also offers consulting services, from brewery commissioning, recipe formulation, and equipment training on brew day, to the packaging of your finished product.

If you’ve never started a brewery before, they are here to help. If you’re an experienced brewer, they speak your language.

Visit bespokebrewingsolutions.com to get in touch with one of the team to discuss your project ideas and show you the bespoke way.

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This week, my Fermenting Thoughts are taken from a seminar I ran at SIBA Beer X in Liverpool, March 2022, called 'Brewery Marketing: How to Get Your Beer Buisness Ahead of the Crowd'.

We explore everything from how marketing should start with being human right through to crafting a compelling story that will enable consumers to tap into your brand and narrative with integrity.

You can download the slides from the presentation here.  If you want to discuss marketing your beer business in more depth, contact me at [email protected] for a free 30 minute consultation.

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On the Hop Forward Podcast this week, we ask the question, 'Can British Hops Really Create an Incredible IPA?' to Will Rogers, technical director for hop merchant, Charles Faram.

To answer this question, we partnered with Charles Faram to brew one for ourselves using hops from Charles Faram's hop breeding programme, making use of hops such as Harlequin, Jester, Olicana, Godiva, Mystic and their most recent edition Most, I attempted to push the boundaries of what hops to our native soil can really do in a modern IPA.

The result...? England’s Green and Pleasant Land is an all British Hopped IPA (6.1%), brewed in collaboration with Charles Faram and Emmanuales, which showcases how beautifully divine and delightfully hoppy IPAs can come out of England’s Green and Pleasant Land.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BEER
Download the recipe | Buy the beer | Follow Emmanuales

TODAY'S EPISODE OF THE HOP FORWARD PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY:
Bespoke Brewing Solutions designs and manufactures equipment that allows breweries to produce high-quality craft beverages with increased cost-effectiveness and faster turnaround times.

The BBS team has 8 years of solid teamwork together and 10+ years of experience in manufacturing brewing equipment. BBS now has representatives around the world in America, Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, China.

Having a team in China that speaks the local language allows BBS to oversee all aspects of their client's projects, from initial layout designs all the way through to equipment testing before shipping.

BBS has equipment represented in 16 countries, which means they’ve sourced equipment and designed brewhouse configurations for every type of brewery you can imagine, in every situation.

BBS also offers consulting services, from brewery commissioning, recipe formulation, and equipment training on brew day, to the packaging of your finished product.

If you’ve never started a brewery before, they are here to help. If you’re an experienced brewer, they speak your language.

Visit bespokebrewingsolutions.com to get in touch with one of the team to discuss your project ideas and show you the bespoke way.

Follow Hop Forward on Social Media

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

On the Hop Forward Podcast this week, we're joined by Duration Brewing co-founder, Miranda Hudson, to talk about their forthcoming crowdfunding campaign.  The brewery is planning to expand capacity and build an immersive taproom and kitchen at its historic 10th century priory site.

“We’ve some incredible plans to make this one of the most beautiful and atmospheric places to drink in the UK, as well as enhance our sustainability credentials with rainwater recapture and a fruit orchard." says Miranda.

“We hope to get more people celebrating our field-to-glass brewing principles, but we need you to help make it happen!”

We talk about the nuts of bolts of crowdfunding, the planning involved and we also chat about some of the brewery closures that have been happening across the United Kingdom of late.

TODAY'S EPISODE OF THE HOP FORWARD PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY:
Bespoke Brewing Solutions designs and manufactures equipment that allows breweries to produce high-quality craft beverages with increased cost-effectiveness and faster turnaround times.

The BBS team has 8 years of solid teamwork together and 10+ years of experience in manufacturing brewing equipment. BBS now has representatives around the world in America, Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, China.

Having a team in China that speaks the local language allows BBS to oversee all aspects of their client's projects, from initial layout designs all the way through to equipment testing before shipping.

BBS has equipment represented in 16 countries, which means they’ve sourced equipment and designed brewhouse configurations for every type of brewery you can imagine, in every situation.

BBS also offers consulting services, from brewery commissioning, recipe formulation, and equipment training on brew day, to the packaging of your finished product.

If you’ve never started a brewery before, they are here to help. If you’re an experienced brewer, they speak your language.

Visit bespokebrewingsolutions.com to get in touch with one of the team to discuss your project ideas and show you the bespoke way.

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Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

Standard Brew Co is a customer-owned, subscription-based brewery, shipping out new and exclusive, small batch IPA’s every month. Each subscriber receives twelve shares in the business and become an owner with Standard Brew Co, all whilst enjoying brand new, crushable beers.

We're joined by Milo Oddi, founder behind Standard Brew Co, to discover more about this brewery with a unique subscription model that focuses on one beer style.  We discuss all things IPA, contract brewing, social media marketing and our mutual love of making pizzas, stemming from Milo's background working in hospitality.

TODAY'S EPISODE OF THE HOP FORWARD PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY:
Bespoke Brewing Solutions designs and manufactures equipment that allows breweries to produce high-quality craft beverages with increased cost-effectiveness and faster turnaround times.

The BBS team has 8 years of solid teamwork together and 10+ years of experience in manufacturing brewing equipment. BBS now has representatives around the world in America, Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, China.

Having a team in China that speaks the local language allows BBS to oversee all aspects of their client's projects, from initial layout designs all the way through to equipment testing before shipping.

BBS has equipment represented in 16 countries, which means they’ve sourced equipment and designed brewhouse configurations for every type of brewery you can imagine, in every situation.

BBS also offers consulting services, from brewery commissioning, recipe formulation, and equipment training on brew day, to the packaging of your finished product.

If you’ve never started a brewery before, they are here to help. If you’re an experienced brewer, they speak your language.

Visit bespokebrewingsolutions.com to get in touch with one of the team to discuss your project ideas and show you the bespoke way.

Follow Hop Forward on Social Media

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

On this week’s episode of the Hop Forward Podcast, Nick is joined by none other than homebrewing legend and author Stan Hieronymus to talk about a subject close to his heart: brewing like a monk.

We discuss everything from what makes a good Trappist and abbey style beer, how Double IPAs have taken a leaf out of Belgian style beers, and dispel some of the myths surrounding monasticism and brewing.

In addition, Nick is also joined briefly by Kevin and Luke from Nigeria’s first craft brewery - Bature Brewery - along with Joe from Marble Beers in Manchester Marble Arch to talk about their African Beer Cup winning Imperial Coffee Stout, Black Gold, while Nick gives us a guided tasting.

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If you're listening to this on the date of publication, it's my birthday!  In these fermenting thoughts, I share some thoughts on my favourite beers, breweries and bars, as well as take a trip down memory lane on the role beer has played in my life over the last 40 years.  Yes, it's self indulgent... but it's my birthday!

In this week's episode of the podcast, Nick is joined by Yvan Seth and Justin Rivett from UK distributor Jolly Good Beer, looking at the issues regarding the recycling chain with one trip kegs.  We take a deep dive into an issue that is largely being ignored throughout the supply chain and passed like the hot potato.

We also discuss potential solutions and ask a few non-recycling questions such as what distributors are looking for when they work with a brewery.

And Nick recounts his beer judging experience at SIBA's Beer X.

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This week's fermenting thoughts are about consumers expectations when it comes to beer styles.  How we frame a beer often determines how a customer perceives it.  If we misdescribe what's in the glass, it can yield some terrible feedback from drinkers who aren't - or are getting more than - they bargained for.

Nick recounts his oxidised DIPA story with some cutting feedback and explores what we can do to ensure we're setting our customers up with the right expectations.

The article referenced in this episode is from Saint Mars of the Desert's blog, titled The Battle of Frogs and Mice.

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We're joined this week by Adam Henderson, owner and brewer of Liverpool's newest brewery, Azvex Brewing.  Adam, a mechanical engineer by trade and former partner at Neon Raptor, set up 30HL brewhouse in Liverpool that utilises a Thermal Fluid System.

We discuss the process of setting up the brewery and having to commission a kit from afar due to Covid-19, through to what it takes to brew and package big juicy IPAs.

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