This episode drops on April Fools Day—but the lessons are no joke.

In this solo episode of The Escarpment Labs Podcast, Richard reflects on a recent trip to England, including presenting at BeerX in Liverpool, visiting modern brewer Azvex, and touring the historic Fuller’s Brewery.

From traditional cask ale to modern hazy beers, English brewing offers a pragmatic, process-first approach that still has a lot to teach today’s brewers.

In this episode, we explore:

• The diversity of English yeast families—and why they behave so differently
• How traditional fermentation shaped highly flocculent and chain-forming strains
• What changed when breweries moved to conical fermentors
• Why UK brewers are comfortable using “hazy” strains across multiple styles
• Higher dissolved oxygen practices—and what we can learn from them
• Why “supplier equivalent” yeast strains are rarely identical

If you’ve ever struggled to get English yeast to behave—or wondered why British beers feel so effortlessly drinkable—this episode connects the dots between yeast, process, and tradition.

Featured in this Episode:

• Learn more about Vermont Ale, English Ale I and II, and Foggy London Ale through our British Strain collection