The Beer Rep Chats With

In this episode I’m joined by Natalya Watson to talk about beer education, tasting and judging.Nat is an Advanced Cicerone, Beer Sommelier and WSET educator, as well as an experienced beer judge.Learning about beerWhat do you actually learn when you study beer?We talk about WSET and how a more structured approach to tasting can change the way you experience what’s in your glass.How to taste beerNat explains some of the biggest mistakes people make when tasting beer, why smell is so important and how to approach tasting more systematically.We also talk about some of the beers used in WSET classes, including a Munich DunkelBecoming a beer judgeHow do you actually become a beer judge?Nat takes me through how she got started, what happens around the judging table and how judges separate personal preference from assessing a beer against competition criteria.Finding your way into beerWe also talk about different beer styles, developing your palate and how you might introduce someone who doesn't think they're a beer drinker to something they could actually enjoy.Cheers with NatTowards the end, we talk about Natalya’s own podcast, Cheers with Nat, and how it has evolved into conversations across the wider drinks world.Quick fireWe finish with a few quick questions, including Natalya’s favourite beer, an underrated beer style and three breweries that have played an important part in her beer journey.If you’ve ever thought about doing a WSET beer course, becoming a beer judge, improving your tasting skills or simply understanding more about what’s in your glass, there’s plenty here to get stuck into.Natalya's SocialsInsta: https://www.instagram.com/cheers_with_nat/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/beerwithnatTimestamp00:00 - 04:56 Natalya Watson's Journey into beer04:57 - 08:24 What beer education teaches you08:25 - 10:39 Does knowing more about beer ruin the fun?10:40 - 15:24 What do you get from a WSET beer course?15:25 - 18:35 The biggest mistake people make when tasting beer18:36 - 25:30 How to taste six different beers25:31 - 27:52 How do you become a beer judge?27:53 - 32:05 What actually happens around a beer judging table?32:06 - 37:10 Can a great beer be a bad example of its style?37:11 - 39:44 Why beer gets pre-tasted before WSET classes39:45 - 43:09 What beer would you give a non-beer drinker?43:10 - Cheers With Nat, what's next & quick-fire questionsSee more at beerrepchats.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dean Baker, co-founder of Baker's Dozen Brewery, joins Martin to talk about the journey from running a pub to building a small independent brewery with his wife Jill.Founded in 2015, Baker's Dozen is a five-barrel brewery where Dean and Jill do everything themselves, from brewing and cleaning to deliveries, sales and marketing. We chat about how the brewery started, the influence of Oakham and Brewster's, and why focusing on brewing consistently good beer has always been at the heart of Baker's Dozen.Dean talks about some of the brewery's best-known beers, including Electric Landlady and award-winning Undertow, made with Citra and Nelson Sauvin. We also discuss SIBA awards, BeerX, why the brewery decided to focus on its core range, and how Dean's taste in beer has changed over the years.The conversation also moves into some of the bigger challenges facing small independent breweries, including rising costs, quieter pubs and access to market. Having previously run a tied pub, Dean shares his experience of the tied pub system and the difficulties independent breweries face when trying to get their beer into more pubs.And finally, Dean explains his love of the long-gone Carling Premier, talks about a previous Nitro IPA collaboration and why he thinks we should see more Nitro Lagers, Nitro IPAs and other nitro beers.Could a Baker's Dozen Nitro Lager be on the way?Shop Baker's Dozen Beerhttps://www.bakersdozenbrewing.co.uk/Baker's Dozen SocialsInsta: https://www.instagram.com/bakersdozenbrewing/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bakersdozenbrewingTIMESTAMP00:00 - 03:25 Meet Dean Baker and Baker's Dozen Brewery03:26 - 04:53 From home brewing to starting a brewery04:54 - 05:40 Brewing good beer without reinventing the wheel05:41 - 08:49 Leaving the pub behind and focusing on the brewery08:50 - 09:54 Oakham, Brewster's and the influence of hop-forward beer09:55 - 12:07 Electric Landlady and Dean's favourite hop12:08 - 14:18 How Dean's taste in beer has changed14:19 - 16:26 SIBA awards, BeerX and the importance of recognition16:27 - 21:05 The story behind Undertow21:06 - 23:59 Building a strong core beer range24:00 - 30:40 The challenges facing small independent breweries30:41 - 36:39 Cider collaborations, taprooms and the future of Baker's Dozen36:40 - Quick fire: favourite beers, nitro lager and future collaborationsSee more at beerrepchats.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Martin speaks to Ben Addison, Head Brewer at Tap Social Movement in Oxford, about brewing beer with a purpose.Ben shares his journey into brewing, from starting at Purity Brewing and working on large automated brewery systems to joining Tap Social and developing his skills on a hands-on manual brew kit. He also explains how hop dipping works and how the technique can create smoother, more rounded hop aromas.The conversation explores what defines a Tap Social beer: high quality, experimental when appropriate, but ultimately welcoming and accessible to as many drinkers as possible. Ben discusses the brewery’s growth, supplying supermarkets such as Waitrose, increasing can production and the challenges of consistency, shelf life and cold storage.At the heart of the episode is Tap Social Movement’s social enterprise mission. Ben explains how the brewery provides paid employment, training and progression opportunities for people who have been through, or are currently going through, the prison system. He shares how people can build confidence, learn new skills and move into brewing, sales, hospitality or their own business ventures.Tap Social LinksWebsite: https://www.tapsocialmovement.com/Insta: https://www.instagram.com/tapsocialmovement/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tapsocialmovement CHAPTERS00:00 - 02:42 Introduction: Meet Ben Addison, Head Brewer at Tap Social Movement02:43 - 04:37 How Ben first got into brewing04:38 - 07:38 Discovering hop dipping and how the process works07:39 - 09:49 Why Ben joined Tap Social Movement09:50 - 12:32 What defines a Tap Social beer?12:33 - 16:00 How brewing on a manual system changed Ben’s approach16:01 - 19:26 Supplying Waitrose and scaling up can production19:27 - 22:16 Supermarket beer: consistency, shelf life and cold storage22:17 - 26:09 How Tap Social Movement’s social enterprise mission works26:10 - 29:28 Building confidence and careers through employment29:29 - 33:47 How buying Tap Social beer supports people rebuilding their lives33:48 - 36:35 Why brewing is about more than making beer36:36 Why people should visit Tap Social MovementCheck out all episodes https://www.beerrepchats.com/See more at beerrepchats.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it really take to build a successful independent bar and brewery in the UK?In this episode I sat down with John Gyngell, the founder of North Bar in Leeds, to talk about almost 30 years in hospitality, beer and the independent brewing industry.John opened North Bar at just 24 years old, initially with no grand plan to create a craft beer institution. Leeds simply lacked the kind of independent bar culture he had experienced in Manchester. From those beginnings, North Bar gradually became known for great hospitality, better beer and introducing drinkers to products they might never have encountered before.We talk about how North Bar discovered beers from Belgium, Germany and the United States, becoming an early champion of beers such as Brooklyn Lager, Duvel and Erdinger, and how that experience eventually helped lead to the creation of North Brewing Co.John also talks openly about the brewery's rapid growth, the success of beers such as Transmission, expanding into a much larger brewery, selling beer around the world and getting North Brewing into UK supermarkets.But the conversation also explores the much harder side of running a brewery.John explains what happened when COVID hit during the move to North Brewing's larger Springwell brewery, the financial pressures that followed, rising costs, COVID loans and the eventual decision to enter administration. He discusses the deal with Kirkstall Brewery, why he believes the decision was made in good faith to protect the brand and team, and what happened after he left.We also discuss what brewery founders can learn from those experiences, why having enough financial backing matters, the dangers of chasing growth too quickly, rebranding too often and following every new beer trend.John shares his thoughts on whether craft beer really is dying, why beer trends are cyclical, how the quality of beer has changed and why independent beer still has a future.We finish by talking about Hexagon Strategy, John's new venture helping breweries and hospitality businesses make better decisions using the experience he has gained from founding, scaling and running businesses in the industry.And perhaps most importantly, John explains why great pubs and bars matter far beyond selling beer, describing them as part of the social glue of a community.If you're interested in the history of UK craft beer, independent breweries, hospitality, brewery business advice or the real challenges of growing a beer business, there's plenty to take from this conversation.North Bars Venueshttps://northbar.com/venuesTimestamps00:00 - 03:52 Starting North Bar at 24: John Gyngell's Journey Begins03:53 - 08:04 Why Leeds Needed Something Different08:05 - 13:07 Changing the Beer Line-Up and Introducing Customers to Craft Beer13:08 - 15:15 Why North Bar Started North Brewing15:16 - 20:06 The Birth of Transmission and North Brewing's Early Success20:07 - 22:23 The Springwell Expansion, COVID and a Leap Too Far22:24 - 27:34 North Brewing, Administration and the Kirkstall Deal27:35 - 30:06 What Really Happens When a Brewery Goes Into Administration30:07 - 32:18 Lessons for Brewery Founders: Money, Growth and Getting Help32:19 - 36:51 Why Great Pubs and Bars Matter to Communities36:52 - 41:15 Is Craft Beer Dying? John Gyngell on Trends and the Future41:16 - 46:42 Hexagon Strategy, Brewery Advice and the Future of Independent Beer46:43 Quickfire Questions and Wrap UpSee more at beerrepchats.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to build an independent brewery from the ground up? In this episode of The Beer Rep Chats With, Martin sits down with George Parker Collins, co-founder and head brewer of Bluntrock Brewery in Rock, North Cornwall, to hear the story behind one of Cornwall's most distinctive independent breweries.George grew up in Burton upon Trent, surrounded by brewing. His parents met while working at Allied Breweries, and his childhood was spent around Tower Brewery, giving him an early connection to brewing before he even realised it. At 18, he moved into the brewing industry and began his career at Sharp's Brewery, gaining experience of the standards, systems and discipline of a large-scale brewery.He then moved to Padstow Brewing, where he went from working within a large brewing team to effectively running the brewing operation himself. It was at Padstow that George began experimenting with modern hoppy beers, one-off releases and canned beer, discovering the ingredients and techniques that would eventually influence Bluntrock's brewing philosophy.George explains how the idea for Bluntrock started with a simple ambition to build a brewpub in Rock and Polzeath where beer could be brewed and sold directly at the source. That dream eventually became reality through four shipping containers, a tiny 150-litre brew kit and plenty of DIY work during the pandemic.The story didn't stop there. After demand quickly outgrew the original brewery, George and business partner Hugo took an unexpected gamble at the auction of Boxcar Brewery's equipment. They won the bid and suddenly found themselves owning a much larger brewery, despite having nowhere to put it.George talks openly about the challenges of scaling Bluntrock, moving into the new brewery in 2023, dealing with second-hand equipment, building a team of almost 30 people and expanding to three taprooms.We also get into Bluntrock's beers and brewing philosophy, including Pagan Juice, the beer inspired by George's Cornish cookouts, the distinctive Bluntrock artwork and the story behind the brewery's "bucket head" characters.George also discusses one of the most fascinating projects in the brewery's history: Ambassador, a Burton-inspired best bitter that led to an 18-month research project involving historic bottles of Bass, Allsopp and other Burton beers and an attempt to recover historic brewing yeast.The conversation also explores the challenges facing independent breweries in Cornwall, including tied pubs, limited freehouses, seasonality and the difficulty of getting beer into the local market.Bluntrock Socials:Shop - https://www.bluntrockbrewery.co.uk/pages/shopInsta - https://www.instagram.com/bluntrockbrewery/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bluntrockbrewery/CHAPTERS00:00 - 03:09 Growing Up in Burton and Discovering Brewing03:10 - 05:16 Starting at Sharp's Brewery and Learning the Fundamentals05:17 - 10:45 Padstow Brewing and Discovering Modern Hoppy Beer10:46 - 13:49 The Dream of Starting Bluntrock Brewery13:50 - 20:10 From a 150 Litre Brew Kit to Four Shipping Containers20:11 - 26:29 Buying the Boxcar Brewery Equipment at Auction26:30 - 29:21 Pagan Juice, Bluntrock's Brand and the Bucket Heads29:22 - 33:34 Brewing in Cornwall and the Battle for Market Access33:35 - 43:32 Recreating Burton Beer: The Story Behind Ambassador43:33 Dream Collaborations and Final ThoughtsSee more at beerrepchats.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.