This week on the Hop Forward Podcast, Nick shares some of his personal journey as to why he left the megachurch to start a microbrewery and visits a brewpub based in the heart of Hackney, associated with the local parish church, Hackney Church.

General Manager, Luke Scanlon, and Head Brewer, Ryan Robbins, and the team have created a welcoming space that everyone can enjoy that gives back to the local community - beer for all sorts.

Luke and Ryan talk about leaving their desk jobs to start the brewery with no industry background, working with investors who challenge them to brew world class beers, the challenges of setting up in a railway arch, and how they are serving the folk in the surrounding area with good food and great beer.

For more info on the brewery to pay them a visit, check out https://www.hackneychurchbrew.co/

Today’s episode is sponsored by BIG: a beer festival celebrating the new wave of UK craft breweries destined to grow large; we’re personally inviting breweries we believe are delivering diverse, complex, amazing beers but aren’t invited to some of the well-known festivals because, well… they’re not ‘big’ yet!

For more info and tickets, visit https://eyesbigfest.eventbrite.co.uk/