Brewers Journal Podcast
Business & Finance
About
The brewers industry podcast from the Brewers Journal and the Brewers Lectures
Episodes
- #220 | A Focus on Hop Compounds
Francesco Lo Bue, an expert in hop aromatic compounds, revisits his Brewers Congress talk on how hop compounds influence fermentation. He explains research on hop diastatic power and enzyme distribution, offering actionable tips for brewer…
- #219 | Elusive Brewing turns 10
Andy Parker, founder of Elusive Brewing, discusses the brewery
- #218 | A Summer of Lager
Marc Dickson, on-trade account manager at Williams Bros Brewing Company, discusses his career transition from coffee to beer sales. The episode explores the brewery's new Scottish lager, Ceilidh, its commitment to quality and innovation, a…
- #217 | The Price of Premiumisation
Author Pete Brown discusses premiumisation in marketing and branding, noting it involves desirability and luxury, not just price. He highlights how product reliability since the 1970s has led to overconsumption and a shift towards experien…
- #216 | A Love of Local
Red Kellie, Head Brewer at First & Last Brewery, shares insights into their family-run brewery in Northumberland, their diverse beer styles, and their unique approach to pairing wild ingredients with brews. The brewery also functions as a…
- #215 | Defining West Coast Pils
Since being founded by Adam Henderson in 2020, Azvex Brewing Company has gone on to become of the UK’s most respected producers of hop-forward pale ales and IPAs, fruited sours, and imperial stouts. And head brewer Jack Walker has played a…
- #214 | Andrew Barnett, Barney’s Beer
Meet Andrew Barnett. Andrew is the founder of Edinburgh’s Barney’s Beer. He started his career in brewing aged 16 as a lab assistant at the recently defunct Banks’s brewery in Wolverhampton before doing on to study Brewing & Distilling at…
- #213 | Tim Bloomer, Fell Brewery
Met Tim Bloomer. Tim is the co-founder and sustainability director at Fell Brewery, an independent brewery based in Cumbria. He holds an MSc in Brewing & Distilling from Heriot-Watt University and was Head Brewer at Fell for many years, he…
- #212 | Tom Bott, Signature Brew
2026 marks 15 years since Tom Bott and Sam McGregor started London’s Signature Brew. The duo combined their backgrounds in the music industry and professional brewing to create a business that aimed to improve the quality of beer at live m…
- #211 | Tackling a Coeliac Diagnosis
Next week our first Brewers Lectures of 2026 takes place at the fantastic Full Circle Brew Co in Newcastle on the 25th February. We’ve got a brilliant line-up of industry talent taking part including Jack Walker, the head brewer at Azvex.…
- #210 | Atlantic Archipelago
The role provenance plays in beer is something we rightfully celebrate. It can give the beer an identity and a sense of place. And today’s guest has made it his goal to recognise and toast British ingredients, as well as the agricultural e…
- #209 | Full Circle Brew Co
Fresh from celebrating the brewery’s latest birthday at the end of 2025, the team at Full Circle are gearing up for another year of growth and evolution. One of the UK’s most revered and regarded modern breweries, Full Circle’s 2025 was ch…
- #208 | Red Kellie, First & Last Brewery
When it comes to brewing, what excites you? The beautiful thing about beer is that we all come at it from different directions, with different passions, different opinions. And for Red Kellie, she loves making a wealth of different beers t…
- #207 | Thornbridge, Bakewell
Fresh from celebrating their triumphant 20th anniversary in 2025, Thornbridge can reflect on another year of growth and evolution. And in 2026, beer fans can expect a raft of new beers including a number of fresh releases from its celebrat…
- #206 | Tamar Banner, To Øl
Meet Tamar Banner, a veteran of the craft beer industry, having started brewing professionally in the US in 2001. In more than 24 years of brewing, she has worked in the brewhouse, cellar, packaging, quality, and management. She is current…
- #205 | Mikkeller Brewpub, London
From Café Kick to Coin Laundry, and from Moro to Mikkeller, Exmouth Market in London is a favourite spot for many in the capital. For good reason, too… And since late 2019, the Mikkeller Brewpub has been serving the great and the good a we…
- #204 | A Year to Remember – Two Flints
It’s been another fantastic year for Windsor’s Two Flints… Following on from the recent release of their celebrated collab Double IPA with Ghost Whale’s Ray Hadnett, the brewery has also worked with NZ Hops on their Bract Project initiativ…
- #203 | New Beginnings – Fourman Brewery
Being part of the teams at two of the UK’s most regarded breweries is good going by anyone’s standards. But for Robin Head-Fourman, the opportunity to open a brewery of his own was an opportunity that was too hard to turn down. And in doin…
- #202 | Beer Competitions – How to Enter, Win & Judge
Showcasing and celebrating the finest beers and breweries from around the globe is one of the most rewarding parts of the brewing industry. And at the end of September here at The Brewers Journal we toasted the winners of our very own Brew…
- #201 | Ben Murphy, Ad Gefrin
In the world of drinks production it’s not unusual to find a mutual admiration between brewing and distilling. Especially if you were a graduate of the world-famous Heriot-Watt University’s Brewing and Distilling School in Edinburgh. And B…
- #200 | Bianca Road Brew Co
If you’re looking for a way to demonstrate how the UK craft beer scene has changed and evolved in the last decade, then the Bermondsey Beer Mile is a pretty good place to start. An amalgamation of breweries, taproom and bars that stretch a…
- #199 | Francesca Nikita Corradin & Sam Paget-Steavenson, Botivo
While we primarily focus on the wonderful world of beer and brewing, it’s occasionally important to take time to look at the excellent innovation taking place across the wider world of drinks. So at our Brewers Congress in the Autumn, we i…
- #198 | Pete Brown on Premiumisation
Pete Brown is a British author, journalist, broadcaster and consultant specialising in food and drink. His latest book ‘Tasting Notes: The Art and Science of Pairing Beer With Music’ was published this year. And since February 2025, he has…
- #197 | Hop Compounds
Francesco Lo Bue is an agronomist with a degree in food technology, specialised in hops aromatic compounds. He’s also a brewer with 10 years of experience in the some most advanced craft breweries in Europe and the UK such as Beavertown in…
- #196 | Marian Reed, Sudden Death Brewing
What is the secret behind running a successful brewery? For today’s guest, the ability to make strategic production choices and prioritize markets is key. Marian Reed is the General Manager and Head of Business Development at Sudden Death…
- #195 | Matthew Curtis – Reflections on Authenticity
In today’s brewing world an entire brand from concept to completion can be developed for you in seconds at the touch of a button, or outsourced to agencies who almost definitely don’t know your beer as well as you do. However, as this week…
- #194 | Evin O’Riordain
Last month The Kernel celebrated its 16th (!) birthday. A fantastic achievement by one of the UK’s most-loved breweries. And as the dust settles on our very own Brewers Congress event in the capital last week, we wanted to revisit our chat…
- #193 | Anspach & Hobday
Our 2025 Brewers Choice Awards take place on the 30th September and Anspach & Hobday are nominated for both ‘Brewery of The Year’ and ‘Beer of The Year’ for the fantastic London Black. With that in mind, let’s revisit the talk that Paul An…
- #192 | Simon Webster, Thornbridge
There are little more than three weeks to go until The 2025 Brewers Congress and Brewers Choice Awards. One company nominated in this year’s awards is the fantastic Thornbridge. So what better time for us to revisit our interview with co-f…
- #191 | Brian Dickson, Northern Monk
Brian Dickson is the co-founder and technical director at Leeds-based Northern Monk. One of the UK’s finest brewers, he’s been an integral member of the Yorkshire business since it started out in 2014. And an important part of the brewery’…
- #190 | Russian River Brewing Company
The 2025 release of Pliny The Younger, the ever-popular annual iteration of Russian River Brewing Company’s Triple IPA, was unsurprisingly a hit. So what better time to revisit our conversation with Vinnie Cirluzo, co-founder of the semina…
- #189 | Toby Heasman, Hall and Woodhouse
If you’ve not had a beer from Hall and Woodhouse, you’re sure to know someone that has. Blandford Fly, Fursty Ferret Amber Ale and Tangle Foot Golden Ale are long-established household names while the newer Outland brand, with beers such a…
- #188 | Julie O’ Grady, Neptune Brewery
A business and a relationship forged in Liverpool, Neptune Brewery has just celebrated its 10th birthday. But what is the secret to their success? Julie O’ Grady founded the business with her husband and business partner Les back in 2015.…
- #187 | Diacetyl: Creation and Mitigation
We are all aware of diacetlyl in beer but how does it originate and importantly, how do we reduce it? Then allow us to introduce Todd Isbell, a senior brewing technician at the University of Nottingham and International Centre for Brewing…
- #186 | Kate Hyde, Hand Brew Co
How do you help get the beers you brew into the hands of more people? For Kate Hyde and the team at Brighton’s Hand Brew Co, art is a valuable vehicle to help you do just that. Kate is the head brewer and product director for Hand Brew Co,…
- #185 | Jack Walker, Azvex Brewing Company
Since being founded by Adam Henderson in 2020, Azvex Brewing Company has gone on to become of the UK’s most respected producers of hop-forward pale ales and IPAs, fruited sours, and imperial stouts. And head brewer Jack Walker has played a…
- #184 | Lara Lopes, Round Corner Brewing
Quality assurance helps ensure all aspects of the brewing process are in place to create a product that both meets and exceeds consumer expectation. And at Round Corner Brewing in Melton Mowbray, head brewer Lara Lopes knows just how impor…
- #183 | Jim Rangeley, Abbeydale Brewery
Jim Rangeley is the lead brewer of the mixed fermentation Funk Dungeon project at Sheffield’s revered Abbeydale Brewery. He is also a co-owner of the business, which became an Employee Ownership Trust in 2024. In 2025 Jim celebrates a deca…
- #182 | Jordan Childs, Mash Gang
Meet Jordan Childs. Jordan is the co-founder and chief product officer at Mash Gang. What started in 2020 as an adventurous experiment in the world of alcohol-free beer, Mash Gang have become a powerhouse in the world of no-and-low. Known…
- #181 | Alex Millhouse-Smith, Barth Haas
If you ever paid a visit to North Bar, the seminal Leeds-based craft beer bar, sometime between 2013 or 2017 there’s a good chance you might have met Alex Millhouse-Smith or one of his equally excellent colleagues. Working at North Bar, Al…
- #180 | Chris Hall, Kirkstall Brewery
In the UK and elsewhere in Europe, there is no shortage of fantastic beer festivals and events to keep the industry busy. And last month one fantastic addition to the brewing calendar returned for its third successful year. At Kirkstall Br…
- #179 | Turning 10: Mondo Brewing Company on its next chapter
A full-scale brand refresh is an important landmark in any brewery’s journey. Even more so when it helps mark the company’s 10th anniversary and the start of an exciting and powerful new chapter following a testing time for both the busine…
- #178 | Alex Troncoso, Lost and Grounded Brewers
Staying true to yourself, building a positive working culture, creating a business people admire and also producing beers that consumers and your peers enjoy are traits any brewery owner strives for. Today’s guest has all of those in abund…
- #177 | Laura Rangeley, Abbeydale Brewery
Across a 12 month period, Laura Rangeley has celebrated 10 years working at Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield. And in October last year, alongside the rest of the team, Laura and her colleagues became part of an Employee Ownership Trust, taki…
- #176 | A mutual appreciation
In the brewing and distilling industries there is a mutual appreciation of the craftsmanship, skill and process involved in creating these fantastic liquids. And today’s guest, having worked and studied in both fields, is well placed to do…
- #175 | RedWillow: 15 years young
This year RedWillow Brewery is raising a glass to 15 years of brewing bold, balanced beers. They’re marking the milestone with a packed calendar of collaborations, reimagined classics, and monthly giveaways — as well as a recent haul of pr…
- #174 | Early milestones and building business
Securing important early listings is a milestone of any new business. And earlier this spring, Red Fin Cider did just that by sealing a listing for both its Fresh Apple and their Meloncherry styles at Waitrose. 44 Waitrose stores now stock…
- #173 | Taprooms, the latest legislation and how it impacts you
Changes to off-sales, Martyn’s Law, amendments to smoking rules and introduction of Digital IDs are all key developments that those owning and running taprooms need to be aware of. So with that in mind, we welcomed Piers Warne of TLT to ou…
- #172 | Building a Brewery
Earlier this month Lost Cause Brewing, the independent brewery, founded in 2024 by Vik and Colin Stronge, completed a crowdfunding campaign help to bring beer production home to Castleford. So what better time to hear from one of the excel…
- #171 | John Driebergen, Great Beyond Brewing Company
Opening your own brewery, at any point is time, comes with its own challenges and hurdles to overcome. Just ask the team at Great Beyond Brewing Company, and many of their peers. But John Driebergen, Ollie Parker and Nick Walsh have shown…