Puffed out cheeks accompany a long exhale when I ask Dominic Hope-Smith if he thought that Carnival Brewing would ever reach this stage. It’s been a slow burn for both him and Adrian Burke in getting Carnival into permanent premises with a fixed kit to call their own, located between the ‘Ten Streets’ area of Liverpool and its central business district. Evidently the trials and tribulations in setting up a brewery are not all based in finances and building a steady network of customers, logistics and luck play their part too. Timing can be everything, the right time and place with the right network and right recipes can be make or break a fledgling outfit. Dom’s response is somewhat weary but tinged with a hint of an optimistic tone and no shortage of surprise... “Nope! I still can’t quite believe that we are doing this. It is slightly surreal when you consider that it has been an ongoing project for so long, taking in lots of twists and turns along the way. It sounds pretty obvious, but we both really love craft beer and the culture surrounding the industry. I have been a keen homebrewer for a few years now and at one point Adrian (the other half of Carnival Brewing’s founding team) tried some of the beers I made, he suggested that I should start making them a bit more widely available. From this point, Carnival Brewing was formed.” The early days of Carnival also saw Dom’s homebrew touted to bar staff and select guests at Liverpool’s 23 Club, with high praise heaped onto the homebrewing duo and their wares. The follow up to this initial buzz was sadly and heavily delayed (as alluded to above). There was participation in the first Liverpool Beer Week with a pre-launch event at Hard Times and Misery (now known as Dickens and King). This in itself was followed with a trickle of keg and cask beers to local bars such as Pi on Rose Lane and central Liverpool favourite, the Grapes. These were the only clues as to Carnival’s activities before the news broke that they had found and procured a site from which to base their operations. Ade and Dom first met at the Clearview Charity Carnival in Mossley Hill in 2016 via an introduction from a mutual friend, the grease to the wheels of the relationship was Ade spotting Dom’s Flaming Lips tee shirt; Dom suggests that his attire at the time is probably what made Ade form a positive opinion of him initially. I was lucky enough to appear on Beernomicon’s Podcast during the Summer of 2019, chatting about the second Liverpool Beer Week. As part of the Podcast, I was joined by Black Lodge’s Rob Tuffnell and both Ade and Dom from Carnival. Dom was very upbeat about the opportunities for beer and brewing in Liverpool and contributed well: [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/beernomicon-lv-liverpool-beer-week/id1130929820?i=1000444035776] This was not his first foray into broadcasts either, appearing on BBC Radio Merseyside in promotion of the Mossley Hill Beer Festival earlier in the year and conveying a message about beer to a wider and possibly less informed audience on matters of brewing and craft beer/real ale. Things have now progressed for the Carnival team since the broadcast and ground was finally broken at the new Carnival brewery site in October 2019. This in itself was not without difficulty; the aforementioned tribulations of setting up a brewing outfit for Carnival included some practicality issues for brewery infrastructure, but thankfully ones that were not insurmountable, as Dom confirmed: “Originally, our scheme was supposed to take shape in South Liverpool and this had to change for a number of reasons. We then stumbled onto Unit 3 not far from the city centre and decided that it could provide us with the perfect blank canvas for our vision and ideas. The process so far has been excruciatingly slow and has involved some pretty complex lease negotiations, planning issues and dealing with licensing. Add the technical difficulties of the build to the mix and you get quite the cocktail. The build has been difficult but steady in all consideration and it is certainly the most challenging thing I have done. We have worked with R2 Architects who are based just off Hardman Street in Liverpool and they have helped us create a phased scheme, providing us with a large enough area for our current brewhouse and tank farm with the ability to respond to capacity growth requirements. We also have quite a substantial cold store, a great bar space, new toilet facilities and the foundations are in place for a mezzanine should we push for that.” In terms of brass tacks, the brewery kit itself will be 16 hectolitres in size (four fermenters and a carbonation tank, with some additional kit coming in the new year), therefore the aim is to be capable of an output of 3,000 litres of beer a week. The brewery has a taproom attached to it, which is expected to evolve over time in keeping with the status of the brewery, the beers and other factors. The Taproom will be opening soon, with the opening hour being Thurs-Fri 4m to 10pm, then Saturday 12pm to 10pm, Sunday 2pm-8pm. Dom conveyed his excitement further about this space: “We are going to be community focused, so expect a variety of cool events, pop ups, art shows, live music and food-orientated events. We are planning to host regular nights with local music promoters to bring artists to a wider audience. As you can tell, music is pretty important to us and we’re having it as central feature along with the beer! The part of town that we are based in is not currently known as a place for night-life, so we’re aiming to inject some life, promote a safe and inclusive environment and animate it with good happenings." So what beers can we expect from Carnival?
“Our tasting room has 12 keg lines and two cask lines, we are aiming to get these flowing as quickly as possible. We’ve got some special releases saved ready for launch, including a robust porter called Transmission which will be on cask. Our Imperial Stout, Moose Stack, which has been quietly maturing in oak barrels with toasted coconut should be ready along with kegs of our session pale ale (All Clouds Are Silver) and some cask Macau (a cream pistachio pale ale). We’ve yet to decide on what beers will be first to go on our big kit, so you’ll have to watch this space! Trades lists will probably be ready to go out shortly after Christmas in time for New Year deliveries and we’re also buying in a range of used spirit and wine barrels to kick off a barrel-aging programme in earnest.” What do you think the next five years holds for brewing in Liverpool and specifically with Carnival? “I’m really excited about the future of Liverpool’s scene actually. It feels like we’re gaining some momentum, with the increase in the number of independent bars, pubs and restaurants in the city, the outlook is positive. Seeing the likes of Bundobust, Honest Burger and Albert’s Schenke to name a few pitch up with a really good beer-orientated offer is great; especially as they want to work with local breweries to stock their beers and integrate with the local scene. We have big ambitions to thrive in our new site, create great space for people to meet, relax, enjoy great beers and music. There is more to it that just that though, but I’ve got a few ideas and tricks up my sleeve that I’ll keep to myself for a while longer!” Carnival Brewing and tasting rooms are now open and welcome to accept customers in this unexpected gem of Liverpool’s waterfront. --------------------------------------------- Many thanks for reading everyone and sorry my output has been a little sparse (a lot sparse) recently... but we do have another article coming soon! Cheers! Pedro.
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There has been some turbulence in Liverpool on the beer scene of late; another black-armband moment late in the year added to the angst that many already felt with a slice of beery bedrock being pulled from under them (admittedly, myself included). Thankfully the void, whilst not totally filled (and may never be in the case of both Mad Hatter and 23 Club) has left some oddly-fertile uncertainty for a few new breweries to begin trading across Merseyside from West Lancashire. Step forward Clay Brow Nano (they have been bottling their beer for just over a year), Conch Brewing, Uncanny Valley and Brooks Brewhouse. All four are relatively small outfits, brewing mostly bottles, cask and generally less frequent kegged offerings. Visibility is also quite low at the moment, given that they are all relatively new and feeling their way into the market place (for example, Brooks Brewhouse has had cask beers on at the West Kirby Tap, but to my knowledge, none has made it across the water into a venue in Liverpool). That said, this takes the number of breweries in the Merseyside region up in no small measure; variety is the spice of life and it is always good for a drinker to have some new ideas ready to try on the bar. So what will these newcomers be bringing to the pumps? Read on. Brooks Brewhouse Based in Hoylake, Brooks is a very small outfit producing what seems to be bespoke orders (mostly in bottle and only by request in cask) for the local market; hence the lack of any visible marketing or presence on the northern side of the River Mersey to date. The brew kit is described on their website as a nano-size (up to 3 barrels per batch), with test batches brewed to a meagre 20 litres and only brewed up to 200 if proving successful. The beer range for Brooks appears to be a spread of traditional British and some newer American styles double dry-hopped IPAs, early grey infused IPA, a Porter, best bitter style and English IPA all appear on the website. The brewing roster appears to show some reverence for older styles, but a willingness to enter the fray on newer hoppier and experimental adjunct styles. Sales from the brewery appear to be only to trade for the time being. You can check out more information on the brewery here: [http://www.brooks-brewhouse.co.uk/] Clay Brow Nano Another small operation based in Skelmersdale, Neil Parkin set up Clay Brow Nano follow a decade long affair with home brewing. Currently at half a barrel in size, an expansion is in the offing, with Neil looking at maybe expanding to a 1 barrel brewery the middle of 2019. Neil states: "It took me a while to Design and build my wooden structure in the garden (some would call it a shed) to house the brewery, but following encouragement from friends and family, I eventually got there. My Ales are bottled mainly and I have just started racking into cask during last November and December, which so far is having very positive feedback from customers". Upon asking Neil where his beers would be available whilst noting he had a bit of a thing for darker hued ales, he responded: "Currently, I have two firkins which are heading for Prospect brewery's bar (Editors Note: This was last December), Beer Central in Wigan in 2 weeks time which i can not wait to see on there bar. Yeah, I have a bit of a thing for stouts and dark ales, though I do also enjoy a decent hoppy IPA. About 20 years ago I stumbled across a mobile travelling Theakston's Bar; a few pints of Old Peculier later, that was me hooked on dark ales! I am planning to brew a few more stouts next year and to bring my two NEIPAS, Juicy Lucy & Zulu, back out in March for drinkers to enjoy. At the moment, I really want to push the notion that a stout is for all year round and not just for the Winter, I want to change the perception that some like to think it is only a cold weather style." You can follow Neil and Clay Brow Nano on Twitter, here: [https://twitter.com/Clay_Brow_Nano] Conch Brewing Mike Petersen is another homebrewer turned professional on the scene, with the 200 litre kit at his disposal, he has been steadily producing some very interesting pale brews. I asked what styles he predominantly expects to be putting out in the near future and what dispense we as customers can expect to see: "I've only been brewing commercially since July 2018, and my first batch was an 'Imperial' 8.3% stout that went out in 330ml bottles. I have since then brewed a fruity New England style IPA at 6.8%, which again went into bottles at 500ml with a small keg for an event at Cathop Beers. Since then I've brewed an Old Ale for release late season 2019, a massive 16.8% impy stout which was brewed in collaboration with Clay Brow and Neil Ashton at Cathop Beers (we all love dark beers) - I'm really excited about how that brew is going to turn out! I've also brewed a more traditional 5% Porter which is aged with bourbon oak, it debuted at a taster event at Craft Taproom on Smithdown Road in Liverpool but it will also be on cask and bottle in very limited amounts elsewhere. Planning ahead, I'm ruling nothing out. I do love big beers like the Old Ale and the Imperial Stout, so there will be loads more of that in various styles. I do Love dark beers, so stouts and porters will always be on the menu too. I'm a big fan of British Beer and historic beers too. Obviously not macro-produced twig-water clones, they're an abomination to me to be frank, but I really love barley wines and Old Ales and would Iove to put a spin on some old recipes that I have found." Upon asking Mike about dispense style and whether he had a prefence, his retort was: "Whether the beer ends up in cask, keg, bottle or can doesn't matter to me. But I currently don't have any facility for canning. There's something magical about beer and wood, so Barrel aging, Brett and sour tradional styles are 100% on the horizon." In terms of inspiration and motivation, Mike replied to be asked about what drove him to brew: "I'd been home brewing for a long time, so it was just a natural next step in a way. I brewed to make beers that I couldn't buy from shops, as back in the day it was a lot more limited in the bars and shops compared to where the market is at now. Brewing commercially was a long held ambition, but I'd always had this belief that it wasn't viable without a lot of investment and total career change. The thing that changed my perception was when I read a blog about a guy in Manchester who set up a nano brewery in his bedsit; eventually expanding it into his shed. A bit later I met others who had set up in a similar fashion and guys like Ivor who used to run Bridgewater brewing supplies. Meeting these others who'd made the cross over to commercial brewing from small beginnings was really inspirational too; guys like John Marsden at Melwood in particular. One evening late autumn 2017, I just sort of decided I'm gonna do it and get brewing commercially. Within two weeks I'd bought a second hand rig, I sort of had to crack on with making beer then! I then probed a bit further by asking Mike what sort of beers he really liked drinking at the moment and how he felt about the market becoming increasingly saturated with competitive products: "This time of year I'm getting stuck into big dark beers. I have been drinking some DIPAs and NEIPAs too, though most of them I'm picking up at Cathop Beers and drinking at home as I'm a dad to two boys and don't get out a while lot these days! In terms of the competition and getting a foothold, it holds no fear for me, partially due to my size and the fact that I have a full time job beyond the brewery, there's no pressure on me to sell huge amounts. That means I can just brew with a focus on quality rather than profit and as a result, I feel able to take risks and experiment thus have a bit of fun; I'm hoping that will be coming across in the beers. " Finally, I asked if there are there any other unique or interesting facts about the set up or remit as a brewery with Conch: "With my latest beer Im giving 100% of the profits to Claire House Children's Hospice. I'm hoping maybe I can encourage other local brewers to do a bit of the same, but in any case this is something I'm gonna do again." You can follow Mike and Conch Brewing at: [https://twitter.com/BrewingConch] Uncanny Valley I caught up with Uncanny Valley's Ged Courtney and asked him for an overview of Prescot's new and only brewery and the about waves he plans to make in the local area with his beers. "The brewery is tiny by comparison to most in the area, I'm only operating on around 200 litres, so approx. 1.2bbl per brew. At present I brew a West Coast IPA (Icarus), a single hop Pale Ale (Electric Dreams) and a Milk Stout (Event Horizon). I have plans to add a NEIPA and a Berliner Weisse at some point, but I think I need a bit more practice on the sour side of things before that becomes available to the public! At present the beer is available in 330ml bottles and on Keg (Eco or Key Keg depending on bars preference). I've currently no plans for cask beer, but I'd never say never, especially given the mini-revival we're seeing with some breweries making a return to the dispense. I've always been a big food and drink nerd and have always wanted to make things 'from scratch', over the years I've had a number of life consuming hobbies but home brewing was the one that stuck. I started making beer on the kitchen stove and when I brought some sample bottles into the various craft places I used to drink, they were always complemented - I think that gave me the confidence to push onward. After a few too many drinks in Hard Times and Misery one night, I decided I'd see if it was viable; lots of internet research later (and a great series of articles by Carbon Smith) led to me getting permission (from HMRC, EHO and my fiancé) to turn my one car garage into a fully licensed and authorised brewery. Having seen the likes of Top Rope also coming through on similar set ups gave me the confidence that it was at least possible." In terms of what he likes to drink at the moment, Ged was quite forthcoming: "I enjoy most beer styles but at the moment have a real love for juicy NEIPA and Pale Ales. There will always be a place in my heart for the bitter, resinous West Coast hop bombs that still got me into craft beer though. I think most probably that DEYA's Steady Rolling Man is a great example of the beers I most like to drink at present." So what does the future hold for Uncanny Valley? "I'm in a very fortunate position in that brewing is not my full time job and I own the premises where the brewing takes place. The competition is immense at the moment which is a credit to the quality of the local beer scene. That said, producing four kegs and a half dozen cases of bottles per run is a lot easier to shift than the volumes of beer needed by the bigger guys who've got wages and rents to pay. Keeping a stock of products is tricky at my size, but equally I suppose I can be more flexible with my brewing rota. I'm essentially brewing on a scale that would be most brewery's pilot kit." You can follow Uncanny Valley further here: [https://www.facebook.com/Uncanny-Valley-Brewing-Co-605765986541387] Tyton Brewery
A 'big' name for a small microbrewery, Tyton Brewery based in Ainsdale, just outside of Southport are another new set up to keep an eye on for 2019. Tom Anderson, who developed his craft brewing in the former Wapping Brewery set up underneath Liverpool's Baltic Fleet pub has taken on kit formerly used by another Sefton outfit, 3 Potts who ceased brewing around a year ago. Tom informed me that the viable brew size is 480 litres, although the more likely standard brew size will be 250 litres in terms of consistency. Tom also said: "There will be three core beers to start; Tawny (3.8% Amber Bitter), Morepork (4.2% NZ Hopped Pale) and Western Screech (5% US IPA). Initially these will all be starting off in cask and will eventually be moving to bottling and kegging products, that will hopefully be within a few months. The brewery going forward will be based on a good backbone of reliable standard ales and a wide range of changing experimental beers, including Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime, Habanero Sorachi Ace Hopped pale inspired by Thai Cuisine. Brewing appeals because it allows for both creative thinking as well as a strict set of rules to go by. There is always something to learn, and it is always challenging." In terms of what got Tom's creativity flowing and what he enjoys from other brewers, he was very definite about what he likes: "I've been really into sour beers for a long time, Suggestions Tropic Thunder being a personal fave, as well as a lot of Dank heavy IPAs. For Tyton going forward and how it will sit in the market, I feel I'm happy enough to enter into a big market at the moment. The size of my kit is a small drop in a huge ocean of others. I'm happy and confident that good beer made with love and purpose will always win. In terms of beer nomenclature, all the beers are inspired by, and named after owls. It's kind of a tradition thing between me and my dad. We're both kinda obsessed with all things Strigiformes!" You can currently follow Tom on Twitter: [https://twitter.com/morporkiwi] We’re hurtling towards Christmas now… it’s all too close. But before you make too many plans for nights out and about around Liverpool city centre, have a little read of this. There are quite a few new places that are now open, or about to open their doors in time for a proper knees-up. Most of them are supplying more than a fair share of really good beer too! Scroll down and see if anything gets those festive thirsts tickled… Craft Minded Craft Minded is the brain-child of Gareth Kellett and friends, looking to bring a hefty slice of craft beer sensibility to the Cains Brewery site. Whilst there are some decent beers on offer at other locations, the Baltic Triangle is still rather patchy on what is available. The Baltic Fleet, Black Lodge, Constellations and to a slightly lesser extent Baltic Social, have been flying the flag for craft beer and real ale without much baseline support beyond the odd bottle of Mad Hatter finding its way into more coffee orientated establishments. Gareth’s background in the hospitality/service industry will no doubt stand him in good stead when it comes to the crunch time for Craft Minded. At time of initial writing, the venue was undergoing some serious interior works, with articulated seating areas, a six-line keg bar and an array of fridges around the bar area all slated to make an appearance. Throw into this the lean-to at the rear of the premises in the old boiler house of the brewery and there will be a kitchen area, storage and conveniences leaving room to free up more seating. The area around the old boiler house has also rather brilliantly been allocated to the plot, meaning potential for outdoor seating and expansion for Craft Minded. The full long term stock is yet to be confirmed for Craft Minded, but expect a mix of local craft beer in keg and bottle alongside some of the more nationally minded brands that have been making waves in the UK, thanks in part to the influence of Crosby Beer Bottle Shop on Gareth’s infectious enthusiasm for good beer. The launch saw the six keg lines taken by two local collaborations with Craft Minded, Wylam’s Jakehead IPA, Mad Hatter Fat Stout, Brass Castle’s Bad Kitty and Chapter/Fourpure’s Roadside Picnic sour. The bottle fridges were full of goodies from Vibrant Forest, Wild Beer, Wylam, Sweetwater and many many more. Craft Minded is now open, from 1pm on Saturdays until 1am, with other hours as per their website. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftmindedliverpool/ Gibberish The scene in Liverpool seems to move in a very jagged and erratic fashion, rather pertinently as this round up article shows (with five new significant locations for beer enthusiasts to get onto). The city can go through a relatively quiet period with little changing for a few months whilst a few rumours circulate and then things either go very quiet, or pop into life. This period is certainly the latter for Liverpool. Since Gareth Matthews announced on Twitter his intention to leave Mad Hatter Brewing Company to pursue a new project, Gibberish has managed to get some beers together ready for a launch sometime at the end of 2017 or possibly in January 2018. Gibberish is Gareth’s new project and will be taking off in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool. The former site of Mad Hatter’s operations on Caryl Street (before their shift to the Liverpool Waters area) will continue to host brewing by day and in the evenings, will become a fully-fledged brew tap. This tap will get on with selling cask and kegs beers, which Gaz can rule with a vice like grip to ensure the beers are served as he would want (given the shift away from cask by Mad Hatter a few years ago, simply due to being at the mercy of outlets). The remit of Gibberish is simply to make interesting beers based on ingredients with good provenance where possible. The name of the new one-stop-shop for beer is linked partially to the madness of Gareth’s brewing and also to some of the pretence that Gareth feel surrounds the scene at times. The brewing itself will likely be as it was in the early days of Mad Hatter, with a cornucopia of hoppy and strong pales, Belgian influenced yeast monsters and an array of sours and saisons, with a fair old space present Gareth is also considering room for a meadery in the corner of the brewing premises to offer further interesting facets to Gibberish’s output. The thinking behind Gareth’s new venture is that whilst Mad Hatter became successful on the back of the weird and wonderful, this brewing project can focus on smaller batches with more expensive ingredients and still work due to being sold on the premises. Gibberish is set to launch from the evening of Thursday 14th December, though there is no word on permanent opening hours at the moment. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GibberishPub/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GibberishPub Glen Affric Taproom It may seem like quite a lonely and awkward location for a tap room, but the Lightbox units in Birkenhead are actually rather accessible by own vehicle, public transport and on foot. Located overlooking the Birkenhead Mersey Tunnel (The Queensway Tunnel), Glen Affric’s premises have grown ever more impressive as time has passed. A ten minute walk from the Wirral Line station, Hamilton Square, will get you there to sample some of their beers at a rather reasonable tariff. The Glen Affric Tap opened mid-November 2017 and is still in its relative infancy, but the work that has been put in really does make it seem that the team are quite an old hand at getting this kind of thing together. Well laid out seating areas, booths with USB ports, 8 keg lines (7 for Glen Affric’s own brews and one guest line) along with a couple of fridges for other stock are talking points for the tap room. Build in bespoke fashion, the whole installation is a testament to graft and upcycling of palettes of wood, reclaimed furniture with flourishes of newer elements and some obligatory brushed steel surfaces. Glen Affric are currently pushing their core range on the taps, but as time goes on, they intend on having some more diverse beers present coming through the lines. As well as their current kit, the brewery has a larger set up waiting to be plumbed in and also a smaller kit ready for pilot and experimental brews. Glen Affric will be looking to get up and running with off sales too in the new year, with a number of set backs on their own canning line kit, they will look for alternative solutions and likely have canned beer such as their Payload Pale, Highland Suntan and Lazy Haze good to go at some point in early 2018. The Glen Affric Tap opens on a Saturday from 4pm until 10pm, but they are opening up on further evenings in the run up to Christmas (at least Friday to Sunday) to enable patrons a chance to try some locally brewed craft keg beers. It is quite easy to lose a few hours in this tap, being strangely relaxing given its industrial setting outside and in proximity to very shiny brewing kit inside. Web: http://www.glenaffricbrewery.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlenAffricTap/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlenAffricTap Higson’s Brewery (aka H1780 Tap and Still) Since Stephen Crawley (formerly of the MD Caledonian Brewery) bought out Liverpool Craft Beers and acquired the Higson’s Brewery intellectual property, things went a little quiet in terms of what was actually going on with the two brands. Nuggets of information dropped out at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo approximately 2-3 years ago, with a suggestion (now seemingly confirmed by the website branding) that Liverpool Craft would shift into its most famous moniker with ‘Love Lane’ (the site of the former Liverpool Craft Beer brewery premises) and the Higson’s brand would be coming back into the consciousness of the city it departed in 1990. Though the Higson’s brand came back briefly thanks to Liverpool Organic Brewery circa 2010-12, none of the beers such as ‘Double Top’ came back into mainstream production; only the best bitter and stout made the roster. Now it seems that the team behind Crawley are going to make the brand a force again in the city it once called home, along with a distillery (Ginsmiths) and the Love Lane brewing (a ‘craft beer’ arm to Higson’s) in the new Higson’s Brewhouse on Bridgewater Street in the Baltic Triangle. Bookings are being taken at the moment for tours and for tables (they are planning on doing food at the tap house too) and information is gradually trickling out all the time. A Twitter account for the H1780 brand and for the tap and still have come online recently, along with an announcement that the brewery will be open from 16th December to the public. Luckily, I had a few questions for new MD, Stephen Crawley that he kindly answered: Though this has been on the boil now for some time, what made the company think now was the time to bring Higson's back? Did they feel that there is a place for another 'traditional' brand given the shift in interest to newer and more innovative brewing? I genuinely believe the time has been right for some time! – BUT to try and rekindle this brand in a really positive way that looks forward and genuinely give it the best chance of success has sadly slightly longer than we hoped – but that is in the past now and we are really excited by the future! Liverpool is the UK’s 6th largest city and it does not have a brewer of a regional scale…. E.g. Manchester and its environs has JW Lees, Holts, Hyde’s and Robinson’s and some high profile craft brewers. We’re proud of the innovative past that Higson’s has and it does not preclude brewing modern drinkable brews that the city can be proud of! We do not see Liverpool as traditional, though there would be an opportunity if we did, as Liverpool does not have a traditional brewery – But I wanted to ground Higson’s in an urban setting and build something that could be seen as a real outpouring of confidence in the modern Liverpool and deliver 21st century beers! So, what was the thinking behind buying out Liverpool Craft Beer, when Higson's could have been a stand alone brand? It was going to take time to build the new brewery and the guys at TLCBC bought into the dream of building something that aspired to regional scale and they had a site they could not afford to develop in Bridgewater Street. It was going to be a much stronger proposition to add Higson’s to an existing business and it gave us time to plan whilst talking to pubs and drinkers about Liverpool and plan what we were going to create, get planning permission and so on. Higson’s we suspect will not be a big seller in the UK outside ‘Greater Liverpool’ whereas Love Lane will and does already sell further afield… I genuinely felt we would be a stronger business with the Love Lane and Higson’s! I notice that there is going to be a shift from Liverpool Craft Beer to 'Love Lane' for all the beers made by the former - does that mean Liverpool Craft Beer will be consigned to the past once that rebrand is completed? Not necessarily – but we have Love Lane, Higson’s, H1780 Tap & Still and The Ginsmiths of Liverpool to get moving and we feel that is enough for now – we will revisit TLCBC when the dust settles. Essentially though we have lots of positive traction with bars and drinkers with Love Lane over the past 12 months. Will any of the old Higson's beers be making their way back onto the market - e.g. beers like Double Top? Never say never – but as you asked earlier – is there an opportunity for Traditional? But who would have though Pabst lager could have become a retro sensation in USA amongst the craft beer phenomena. I noticed the first beer out of the traps is a lager - I assume that the Higson's Best and maybe the Liverpool Stout will also be coming back, but are there any other plans for developing a core range? We wanted to get the lager right – not easy to produce – and we are very happy with where we are with Higson’s Pilsner. The next two products will be cask and we are excited by the response we have had to the prospect of two new Higson’s cask beers that will be very drinkable and sit nicely on the bar as an alternative to National brands. Higson’s Best and Mild were beers that polarised opinion – we aim to make our first two cask beers that Liverpool can be really proud of. At the brewery/still - is the tap room going to be open all week, or is it just going to be a weekend? We have invested a considerable amount of money in our new home. The brewery, distillery and our offices will share the site of our Tap & Still and be called H1780 Tap & Stll – a nod to the past – but proud of the future. We have wanted to create an ‘urban home’, a home that could easily be on the east coast of America, a home that is not polished concrete, chipboard and grungy but timeless and well invested with lots of original brick – a colour scheme running throughout and lots of steel. We look forward to hearing peoples reaction – but we hope we have built something that is a real positive statement of modern Liverpool. So, are there going to be any other exciting interactive elements for the public with what Higson's are doing? I think a new home, new Higsons beers, Love Lane, new gins from The Ginsmiths of Liverpool, 3 bars, a well invested kitchen, a tasting room, tours, tastings and events are probably enough for now. We have lots of other ideas – but we will focus on the above for now! Another interesting development in the Baltic Triangle means, more than ever, the area is a draw for those seeking a night out, interesting venues and options for the discerning beer drinker. Web: http://www.h1780tapstill.co.uk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/H1780-Tap-Still-122976508413774/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TapandStill Tank Room To my knowledge this is amongst the first ‘Tank Beer’ outlet in Liverpool and for the moment, the one of at least three (Porky’s Ski Hutte and Haus being others). Whilst most places that indulge in dispensing Tank Beer in Manchester and Leeds have gone with Czech brand ‘Pilsner Urquell’, Tank Room has selected the Slovak brand ‘Krusovice’ as its lager of choice. The bar is located on the site of the former Cain’s Brewery and is currently rubbing shoulders with the Dock Leaf and Bedouin at the rear of the main former brewery building, by the canning hall. As the site goes from strength to strength (with the food hall and its numerous pop ups and central bar, Ryde café, Alhambra, The Brewery Tap, Kiosk, Dock Leaf and other new addition the Old Gas Station at the North end of the site), competition is going to get quite fierce and only time will tell how each of these bars will play to their strengths. Tank Room is quite a sparsely kitted out space, rectangular in shape, with a bar at the top end away from the door, two tanks of lager above the bar (with blackboard stating date of tapping) and a heavy blue paint adorning all the walls it’s not the most warming of places. There is plenty of seating and standing room and if you’re not keen on lager, there are a few other beers and other beverages to satisfy one’s thirst. Maltsmiths and Lagunitas IPAs are present on draught, along with Orchard Thieves draught cider, Guiness and Amstel. The fridges are a bit more inspiringly stocked, with Yeastie Boys cans, Liefmans and Mongozo bottles also present. Curiously, they also stock the IPAs in bottles, which seems a little like a waste of space where there is room for some more diverse beers. There are also wines and spirits available for other drinkers; the gin selection looks reasonably competent at first glance, though it is likely that local brands will find their way onto the shelves at some point. Tank Room opened in November this year. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetankroomliverpool/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tankroompool In other news… in the run up to Christmas There are a number of events and launches amongst those mentioned above, here are a few things to put into the calendar! Black Lodge Brewery – 2nd Birthday celebrations, Thursday 14th - Sunday 17th December from opening until late close. Expect loads of great one-off brews, music and plenty of food and good fun. Tap and Bottles Biscuit Brew Off – Saturday 16th December, from 5pm onwards. Local collaboration project with six new collaboration beers, flavoured themed on biscuits! Neptune, Chapter, Handyman and more making the beers! The Dead Good Bottle Society – Dead Crafty Beer Company, 7pm Monday 18th December. Top Rope Brewing’s Ben will be taking people through another selection of bottled brews. Tickets now available at Dead Crafty.
Dead Crafty Christmas Quiz – Wednesday 20th December, 7pm. £5 ticket for the quiz, includes a mince pie and a beer with great prizes to be won! Connoisseur Ales – Tap Openings. Every Saturday before Christmas from 12pm until 10pm, beers on cask draught and bottle packs available for off sales. ---------------- Pedro. Some of the images are used from the venue's/business's social media feed and with permission. The copyright remains with them. In 1962 at 461 Smithdown Road, the Handyman Supermarket came into being. Its bright yellow signs and horse's head have been a recognisable façade on the thoroughfare for over 50 years and under the stewardship of Roy Wilson for some time. The tenure providing locals with various hardware, tools, key cutting and other odds and ends came to a close at the end of 2016. Thankfully, as one door closes, another one opens... or at least a window does, or something along those lines. Step forward the Emporium Collective; a group of individuals who have come together gradually over time through academic acquaintances, professional or friendships and have finally stumbled on a suitable premises for their vision; a locally iconic landmark to host a brewery and brewtap to fit into the local landscape. With Smithdown Road undergoing something of a renaissance of late; Craft Taproom, Defend Vinyl, Naked Lunch co-operative café/restaurant and a host of other solid independents, this is another promising addition to the road. I was lucky enough to catch up with a few of the Emporium Collective members at the launch of their first brew in collaboration with Manchester's Runaway Brewery in Kelly's Dispensary and again a bit later with Patricia O'Callaghan who was kind enough to sit and entertain a few questions regarding their exciting project… Hi Tricia, so, have you got a firm opening date in mind (I seem to recall a July estimate)? “Yes we will be opening in July. We don't have a firm date unfortunately until we start work but envisage an 8-10 week build. We are hoping for a soft open on 8/9 July or 15/16th at the moment. Though we must open then as we have LIMF after party booked in following weekend and want to tap into the crowds at that!” Other than Colin Stronge from Buxton Brewery, the guys at Blackjack and Mark from Runaway, do you have any other firm commitments from brewers to come in and get involved in producing beers for you? I am assuming that Suzie (formerly of Liverpool Organic Brewery) is the permanent fixture brewer too? "Yeah, Suzie and Colin will be chief brewers in place for all our brews. They both are shareholders in brewery side of business. In relation to other brews we have done another collaboration with Blackjack this time; A pale ale at 4.3% abv. We don't have any others lined up at present but would love to do some with Liverpool breweries. The focus has been on festival opening so we will hopefully start some negotiations once that is over." Have you got any ideas about the beers that you're going to brew and those that you are going to stock when you open? "In terms of stock we will be stocking white hag a brewery from Sligo. Suzie recommended them. She has brewed a coffee porter and peaches and cream ale for festival too. These will also be featured regularly. We also intended to stock cloud water, ABC, we haven't firmed up who else at minute. Waiting on prices for line installations before deciding." What made you choose the location, given the area hasn't, in terms of recent history, been a massive rich vein to tap (the Brookhouse/Dispensary/Wilowbank excepted...) on the face of things? There's a bit of a student population at the moment, but they aren't exactly cash cows...? “We choose the area mainly due to the building and its character, it has heart and soul.also having a good customer knowledge of the area and listening to feedback. Smithdown is up and coming and people want diversity in terms of what the area has to offer. We hope that what we offer will attract people and if we get it right it will become a destination. Also properties in town are difficult to secure.” How big is the place going to be (how many people are you looking at accommodating)? ”With regards to capacity we hope to accommodate 120-150 people, with around 60-70 covers in front bar and 70-80 in the back bar/ cutting room. We are keeping the name in there too. This space will be very versatile with removable furniture.” What size/specs is the brew kit that you're going to be using? ”The brew has just been upscale actually from 200l to 400l (2.5BBL) kit as we have more room for kit than first expected and also due to the response we have had with our initial brew of the IPA. In terms of spec it will be clad with stainless steel and will be visible to the public above the bar in front.” What made you all get together and decide that you'd be doing a brewpub/micro? ”We all came together through our individual jobs and friendships really. Toby, Luke and Andy are all architects and do a lot of bar refurbs and new ventures in Liverpool, London and Leeds for their clients and wanted to tap into this for themselves, after seeing their ideas flourish for others. Myself and Kev both have bar backgrounds for 15 plus years and the dream is always to have your own bar and do it for yourself. Getting to create the Handyman from scratch is just mind blowing. Kev knew the other boys from his university days and I obviously work for him in Kelly’s Dispensary on Smithdown Road and hold the licence there. The 3 boys also met Colin through his time at university, when I think he studied to be an architect too. Then Suzie met the boys when she was planning a venture of her own (a micropub in Crosby, North Liverpool) that they were doing the plans for, sadly it fell through. However, it has brought us all together which is a happy ending and we all gel really well together. I think each of us brings something different to the table; many connections to breweries and local musicians between us all. So basically our passion for beer and amazing spaces made us want to find a bar. The five of us have been looking for a premises for over two years, we came close with a few but nothing felt right until we found the Handyman. Due to the sheer volume and scale of the premises this allowed us to incorporate a brewery. This also adds another dimension to the bar and taps into the skills we have on offer within the group.” Have you experienced any difficulty with the planning process or any local opposition with what you are looking to do? ”Sadly yes, we did have some objections but nothing too serious or insurmountable. One example was with the Council; they were cautious that deliveries are scheduled outside of peak hours to minimise traffic disruption to locals, they want us to open daytimes as well as nights because they don't want Smithdown full of shutters in daylight. The bin storage area is indoors now too, as they were concerned about large waste containers outside that would contain glass, which sadly could be used to cause damage to the public or property by vandals, this also ensures the area is kept tidy. We’re going comply with all this and ensure all precautions are taken to reduce noise pollution so we will insulate parts of the building and must maintain the vestibule entrance and two doors. The landlord has replaced the glazing in the roof so it is efficient and reduced the glass panels above bar area to minimise sound escaping. All pretty standard stuff really.” So have you any plans that might placate or bring locals on board or ways in which you are looking to do some 'public engagement'? ”We want the building to be as versatile as possible. That's why the two zones will really work. Midweek, the space could be used by community groups if they approach us, maybe mother and baby classes etc. On May 6 & 7th we returned the building to its former use as a Picturedrome. We worked with Empty Spaces Cinema to show three films during the course of the weekend that are under the hammer and nail theme, Withnail & I (Saturday) sold out quickly, Wreck-it Ralph is a kids film that showed on the Sunday at 3pm with free arts and crafts session from 2pm, then we had The Hound of the Baskervilles in the evening. We want to offer something for all ages. We are also planning further cinema events during summer and in October for Liverpool Irish festival, Halloween and Christmas. We would also like to do a carol service around Christmas and maybe even incorporate some local schools choirs. We intend to be a part of the community and hold fund raising events periodically too. The cutting room will also be available for hire for parties and functions (funerals, birthdays, christenings, baby showered, graduation etc).” I recall that there was a bit of a chat about the buoyancy of the brewing scene over in Ireland at the moment; is there going to be any plan to get some of their beers over here? Given Liverpool's historic and immeasurably strong Irish ties, it seems odd we've never had much come over other than obviously, Guinness and the odd bit of craft stuff coming online at 23 club in the city. ”Yes we are having an Irish beer festival in October that will run along Liverpool Irish Festival (Dates and details to be confirmed soon!). This is a growing event year on year and Smithdown has a huge Irish population as well as myself, Suzie and Colin influencing this beer festival in Handyman. I have been in discussion with a couple of breweries who are going to come and showcase some of their beers and do a meet the brewer event. We are currently in talks with plenty other breweries in Ireland who we would like to do a tap takeover with. You’ll have to stay tuned to our media channels to see what’s coming up, but it’s very exciting!” Do you have any current plans for say, MTB events/Food Pairing nights/Quizzes etc? ”We will have live acoustic music weekly and have some mellow tone events scheduled as well as the LIMF after party I mentioned earlier. With regards to quiz nights I can imagine we will but we haven't got down to that type of planning as yet. We have a French film night pencilled in after being approached by a member of French community who would like arrange this for fellow French people to network and get to know others in the area. We are open to all suggestions and the Smithdown Festival will be a great chance to meet the locals and potential customers and hear their ideas. We may use the back room to screen events, but will never put screens in front bar!!! The screen will be retractable and only down when in use. We will do beers from around the world events and wine & cheese tasting events in collaboration with our wine merchant. I think we will also run a gin festival too at some point, we want the room to be used as much as possible and would like a mini market to showcase local independent produce, maybe on a monthly basis. As previously mentioned we will obviously do MTB events with Colin and Suzie and have had many enquiries from home brewers who want to come down and help already. On the food front we are hoping to keep it simple; just some rustic homemade food, things like Scouse, pies, homemade soups etc. We endeavour to keep produce local where possible. We have so many plans but nothing written in stone yet but we will keep you in the loop as we know more so will you!” So now you know, Handyman will be up and running and will be doing some very interesting, tasty and exciting things from this Summer onwards. I for one cannot wait.
Pedro. -------------------------------------------------------------- Handyman Supermarket (and Brewery) 461 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool, L15 3JL. Twitter: https://twitter.com/handymanbrewery and https://twitter.com/handymanSmarket Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handymanbrewery/ Glen Affric have hit quite a few bars of Merseyside over the last couple of months, with two main brews and some more prototype brews on the way. I was lucky enough to get hold of two bottles of their first brews and give them a try, the tasting notes are further on in this article. Before we get to that though, the guys from Glen Affric have been making waves and indulging in quite a bit of development, taking part in the Bottle Club at Southport's Tap and Bottles on Wednesday 4th April (along with fellow newcomers Top Rope and Chapter). The Bottle Club at Tap and Bottles was quite eventful, with Glen Affric sharing the limelight with Top Rope and Chapter Brewing. The Birkenhead based outfit used the occasion to launch a test batch of their Blood Orange IPA - Atomic Orange (a timely launch given the seasonality of the oranges and with other breweries also holding similar launches). The full brew of this will probably take place in the next few weeks. The Atomic Orange was well received and the brewery is currently weighing up their options on brewing more test batches, or just ploughing ahead with a tweaked recipe. So there's another thing to keep your eyes and ears open for. Other brews to look out for from Glen Affric are a number of single hopped prototypes, including a Mosaic (Medal of Mosaic, which came out at 5.6% according to Craig from Glen Affric) brew, Simcoe beer and an Azacca hopped pale. These beers (at time of writing and speaking to Craig) haven't got a home yet, but I am sure that they'll be snapped up by local bars soon enough - so keep your eyes peeled. The 'Loch and Load' lager that has been brewed will be ready in under a fortnight, therefore hitting taps shortly after this (as the conditioning is nearly complete). Then finally, the canning line that has been installed at Glen Affric's premises is nearly ready to go; so once test runs are out of the way and beers are made, we can look forward to seeing cans of Glen Affric on the shelves of our local bottle shops. Progress for Glen Affric's own Tap Room is ongoing, with works and licensing being negotiated carefully, at the moment it seems that it should be ready in the next few months, but there is no set date given the rather volatile scheduling the brewery has. At current count, the tap will have an 8-line bar (though this might be subject to change during the build). Fingers crossed that everything progesses smoothly for the project! yway, given the kind donation of brews from Glen Affric for a review, how did the initial brews come out...? Read on: Commander IPA (4.4%) A straw to light gold coloured session IPA, Commander is hopped to 35 IBU using Colombus hops, then given a combination of Azacca, Chinook and Centennial for the aroma, along with a similar combination on the dry hop. Commander pours with plenty of effervescence and leaves a thin white head and a discernible amount of haze. The aromas are quite malt driven, with plenty of cereal and biscuit coming through along with some citrus notes. The flavours back this up with cereal, honey and hints of lemon and orange poking through, leading to a bitter and acidic finish. The mouthfeel is light and very smooth, even conveying a lightly silky element in the body. The finish leaves a puckering to the sides an back of the tongue. The balance is a little out with the strength of the bitterness, but with a bit more fruit on the aroma and in the flavour, things will straighten out nicely. The foundations are good on this beer, a little flabbiness can be trimmed off easily enough; look forward to future iterations building a very pleasing session IPA. Payload Pale (5.0%) An American style pale ale, Payload pours a hazy and robust golden colour with a thin white head, at 40 IBU is hopped using a combination of Colombus, Chinook and Centennial, similar to the Commander. The head is crisp, but diminishes fairly quickly sadly, but the beer retains a good level of fresh carbonation. The aromas are of lemons, bitter fruits and cereal, backed up with lesser notes of wood and pine. The flavours are driven again by the malt bill, with a metallic cereal tang bolstered by more lemon and some gentler pine notes. The finish is as with the Commander, bitter and dry along with plenty of puckering effect and leaving your mouth watering through the acidity. The body is a little thin and carries a bit of a residual quality. As the Commander, this has the makings of a very solid brew; a bit more body and fruit presence in the aroma and it'll be spot on. You can get more Glen Affric beers in places such as Tap and Bottles, Rookwood, Brewdog Liverpool, Dead Crafty Beer Company and West Kirby Tap amongst other places. I have been reliably informed that Glen Affric are also working on a bit of software jiggery pokery to show on well known mapping websites where their beer is currently being served...
Happy hunting and cheers! Pedro. ------------------------------------------------------------ Some of the photographs and the pumpclip art/labels were kindly supplied by Glen Affric for use in this article. Replication or image use without the permission of Glen Affric is prohibited. A year on from the article presenting Neptune, Rock the Boat, Parker, 3 Potts and Red Star to a wider audience, things have progressed in the Liverpool beer scene once again. We have another slew of breweries opening their doors, mashing and sparging into our pubs, bars and bottle shops. There is a healthy spread of styles too on this occasion, with some cask brewing accompanied by a couple of keg only brewers, meaning there could be some very different beers hitting Liverpool’s taps over the next few months. Whilst one or two (or even more, for those with an attentive ear to the ground) might already be known to people, they have only really gotten going in the last twelve months and hopefully, we shall see more for an ever-burgeoning scene. The addition of Mad Hatter Brewing Company growing into a very impressive new site, Rock the Boat, Ad Hop and Melwood all beginning to bottle beers for local shops and other breweries on the scene looking to expand into bigger capacities and bigger premises is a good indication that things are healthy here on Merseyside. This provides a fertile pool into which the newbies can dip their toes. So who are these new brewers ready to sate our thirsts? We have a few cask based brewers in the shape of The CRAFT Brewery in Southport, Big Bog Brewery who have opened a second site in Liverpool and the politically charged Republic of Liverpool Beer Company. The other more wild card entries are the honey-fuelled Moonsugar, exciting craft newcomers Glen Affric, the fictional brews of Chapter Brewing and the squared circle stalking Top Rope. So, what do they all offer? Read on… The CRAFT Brewery, Southport Head Brewer, bottle washer and all rounder, Robbie from The CRAFT Brewery gave up some of his time for a little interview. Thankfully there were no awkward questions, just enough to tease out what his brewery stands for, what he brews and where we can find it. Hi Robbie, what made you take the leap from whatever you were doing before, to becoming a brewer? (what were you doing prior?) Well, prior to setting up The CRAFT Brewery I was a Software Sales manager covering Europe for a US company. The travel and commitment to them was huge all I wanted to do when I got home after spending time with my wife was go to the pub but conference calls between 7am and 10pm updating status' and reporting to people who didn't know how Europe "worked" was a up hill struggle. There were two bottle shops in Southport the Inn Beer Shop and the Tap and Bottles where I could enjoy something different from the normal John Smiths or generic Bitters. What I didn't see was a local brewery that was making what I liked to drink flavourful hoppy beers. So my wife convinced me to start brewing my own at home and after some time, had enough spare to share bottles with the CRAFTY Tasters the rest is history! Did you think the market would be accommodating, given Southport has a solid number of breweries at the moment? (Southport, 3 Potts, Parker and possibly up to Red Star). At the time of setting up there was only Southport Brewery and Parker who were doing traditional ales, they’re both great breweries whose beers I like, but I saw there was room for what I wanted to make. 3 Potts came along about the same time and concentrate on stronger beers, which as an afternoon drinker personally meant they are not the sort of session beers I wanted to make. Red Star Brewery hit the scene just after I had started selling my beers commercially too. What sort of styles do you brew and what dispense... (Cask/keg/bottle/can) and would you consider changing things around? What are your core brews? Initially I started experimenting with different styles and gave them Masonic themed names such as Labour to Refreshment Masters Maul and Brethrens brew. Eventually, I settled on three key styles; an IPA, a Golden ale and a dark ale packed with flavour and easy to drink. These are available in Cask (Pin and Firkin) and bottles. Where can we generally get your beers from? Southport has been my main target market while I get set up (to reduce travel costs) selling to the bottle shops, bars and restaurants and event venues in town. What sort of size kit are you on and do you have any plans to grow if things go well? I'm currently brewing on a 100 litre system from Powell Brewing. Expansion has to be organic as I'm self funded I have replaced my initial 6x60 litre fermenters with 3x210 litre fermenters allowing me to help meet demand at the moment expansion in to Liverpool and Preston are on the cards having 2 current customers in these areas. What breweries have influenced you in terms of what you wanted to brew and what do you aspire to, as a company? Rick from Parker brewery and Peter from the Inn Beer shop have been instrumental at looking at the bigger picture and are always happy to offer advice; both having lived through the growing pains experienced as a start up. But everyone I meet Les from Neptune and John from 4Ts who I only met recently are happy to give advice and support. I have to add, there is a big debate at the moment with CAMRA between what is Craft and what is real ale and whether they can be the same. My beers are real ale and hand Crafted the only machinery I use is a pump I even sparge by hand so as long as the beer is good does it realty matter? I think everyone should support their local breweries; give them a try you never know, you might like what you find! Moonsugar Brewing Company, Hunts Cross Moonsugar have been hovering around the scene for a little while to date, without a product actually being released though they are on with pushing things along and awaiting a few bits of paperwork to come through before they can really start hitting the scene with their curious brews. Their focus is mainly on mead and braggot, along with a few other pale ales, stouts and IPAs which we were lucky enough to try on the Liverpool Beer Collective Tap Takeover weekend at The Dead Crafty Beer Company. Hi Matt, can you tell us who is involved with Moonsugar Brewing? Moonsugar Brewing is made up of just two of us Matt Longmore and Stuart Kidd. What made you all decide to go into opening a brewery? Stu had been into brewing long before Matt and had always brought what he'd made round to try. When Matt got into brewing there was the shared interest and heads were put together recipe ideas produced and that led to test batches. We really enjoyed what was being made so we tested it it out on friends and they all went down really well, so we decided we wanted to see if we could turn it into a business and all our ideas kind of exploded from there. Do you think there's much more room on Merseyside/Liverpool for new brewers in terms of supply/demand across the North west? What size kit are you going to be brewing on? We would like to think there is room for us in the local brewing scene as we feel we're bringing something a little bit different from what other breweries are producing in the local area. We're currently still working on a relatively small kit but that suits us fine we don't want to over stretch ourselves initially and the small batch suits us as well l, after all our core brews could be considered a bit niche. What will be the core brews you'll be doing? We won't be focusing on a huge core range but there will be a few recurring brews but we've found certain styles that we're good at and we aim to bring different variations of those. Will you be doing anything in terms of styles that the other local brewers aren't covering, any exciting new brews? I think there are definitely styles we will be concentrating on that aren't heavily produced locally. Our main focus for the future is our brews made with honey primarily mead and braggot, which is exciting because there are so many ways you can change the tastes of these it leave a lot of space for variation. What existing breweries out there would you say have influenced you guys in the set up, style and brewing? I don't think there's been any particular breweries that we can say have influenced us to set up shop. When we had the idea to set up we didn't think about how other breweries did it or what kind of brews they produce. There are breweries we love to drink though, we're both fans of Siren, Atom and a few well established traditional breweries; we like a bit of everything. Do you think much about expansion at all, in case things really do take off for you at all? Expansion is something that always gets thrown around in discussions but we're miles from there at this current time so it's all just talk. If it did turn out that we raised the capital needed to expand we've a fairly good idea about how we might go about it. For now though we're going to keep tweaking till we're happy (nearly there honestly) and keep focused on our launch prep which we are confident should be in early 2017. Thanks to everyone who's helped us out, tasted brews, given feed back and for being so patient with us. Glen Affric Brewing Company, Birkenhead A new brewery that started their operations at the end of September 2016, Glen Affric is named after the area near Loch Ness where Craig and Calum McCormick initially looked at setting up their brewing near to the family home. The idea of setting up a bar and microbrewery was quite daunting given the levels of renovation needed on the property they were considering, so plans for development up in Scotland were placed on hold. Over the last few years and having worked in Shanghai and Hong Kong, the brothers and their Dad got some insight into the craft beer movement over in the far east, with brewer Craig having completed some work experience with Boxing Cat Brewing alongside working in recruitment and in landscape photography. The younger of the McCormick brothers, Callum, had just finished a degree at the University of Liverpool and with a family home being in Heswall, property was found, ideal for setting up their brewing operations in England. Good transport links, ready made market and ready-made industrial premises made the decision to locate here a little easier. The set up will be an initial 2.5 barrel set up, to produce kegs and hopefully for Glen Affric, an early 2017 canning production. Their brewing premises also has scope for use as a brewery tap which again, will sell only kegged beer, as they look to keep their brand firmly away from cask dispense. Craig McCormick will be handling the brewing operations, having completed the Brewlab [LINK] course up in Sunderland, he stated that they will be keeping the brewing relatively simple at first; standard yeasts and a focus on malts and hops for their first core recipes, hopefully exploiting their links to China and Hong Kong to bring in some more exciting gear. There is a definite lean in the brewing towards West Coast US sensibilities with their initial core brews being a Session IPA at 4.4%, a New World Pilsner at 4.8% (this will be brewed using extra pale pilsner malt, pale malts and some caramalt) alongside an American Pale Ale at 5%. Although they are barely started, Glen Affric have a very definite sense of direction and high ambition for their operations, looking to potentially expand into coffee roasting (as Craig is a self confessed coffee-geek, having roasted his own beans (ooer) for some time and their father has experience in distilling. These extra facets to their brand may also have an effect on their brews and both Craig and Calum were very positive how these things would tie together. Exciting times, new brews and potentially Birkenhead getting its second brewtap (after the sadly, recently closed Peerless Brewing Company Thirsty Thursdays). Republic of Liverpool Brewery, Liverpool The Republic of Liverpool Brewery sprang up rather quickly, a few very vague articles did the rounds on local media later and some interest has been stoked, so I thought I would contact main man, Tony Rothwell to get the low down on the initiative with the rather fetching tee shirts. “The Republic of Liverpool Beer Company is an aside to the existing Stamps Brewery, which remains their business. The Republic of Liverpool was set up to produce beer and sell T shirts, expounding Liverpool's rebellious spirit, so to this end, it may last or it may not! The Ship and Mitre brews on the same kit once a week as an HMRC registered 'Cuckoo brewery' and we are presently searching for new premises into which we can expand to accommodate demand. The Ship will come with us to this end.” I asked Tony what their core brews would be when they get going… “Yes, we intend to produce 3 Rep beers, all with their own clips, reflecting Liverpool's rebellious spirit. We will launch the first in approx 4 weeks. The website/Facebook is functioning, and is already selling tee shirts, we will be selling bottled beers as well. Beers will be sold from our loyal customer pubs in Liverpool only, as we will be only making limited stock. At the moment, only my son is brewing the beer, but we have a team of 5: designers, website/facebook operator, sales of T shirts and beers, etc.” So there you have it, some information has trickled out, hopefully we will see some indignantly delicious brews to match the rebellious tee shirt designs. Top Rope Brewing, Childwall Top Rope is the brainchild of beer and wrestling enthusiasts Ben Jackson and Neil Rothwell, who recently popped onto the scene by their involvement with the Liverpool Homebrewer’s Club and like Moonsugar, by holding a formal tasting of their beers for the Liverpool Beer Collective’s #LIVEBEER Tap Takeover event at The Dead Craft Beer Company. The set up is small at the moment, with a very pragmatic approach to putting the kit together for their brewing. Ben’s parents provided space to the back of their Childwall home for the brewery, whilst Ben, Neil and parents Rob and Pam all provided some elbow grease to get things moving. I managed to catch up with Neil and Ben to find out some more: Hi guys, so, how did Top Rope Brewery become a 'thing' for you? N: We meet at a homebrew club in Brewdog and we found that we were 2 of the guys that would stay behind, drinking and chatting shit, came up quite quickly that we were both big wrestling fans and it just kinda went from there. We had another little failed experiment at something similar to this about 12-18 months ago with a couple of other people, when that didn’t work out we kept on homebrewing but the passion for it was clearly there between us and it just got to a point where we decided to take the plunge and go for it. What was the beer that made you think "Yes... we can do this, I want to brew and make beer" even at the homebrew stage? N: I started homebrewing purely by chance, I had a friend who’s Mrs bought him a home brew kit, did that with him a couple times and then went and bought one myself, did a couple of extract kits before doing all grain work and that’s also what I suppose opened me properly to the world of craft beer, going to the homebrew clubs in the likes of Brewdog and 23 Club, drinking the beers there whilst also trying all the different styles of beer people made at home. I can’t really pinpoint a specific beer but the one most likely would be Gloucester breweries Chinook that we both had whilst working at the Liverpool Craft Beer Expo back in 2015. The brewer from the company was there and we managed to have a good chat with him, getting lots of good knowledge and we initially based our Overkill IPA on that beer, which is where the heavy use of Chinook comes from so for me, I’d say it was that. B: For me, another turning point was bank holiday weekend at the end of May. On the Friday I found out I was going to lose my job, then on the Sunday 3 of our beers (out of 5) won categories in the Brewdog homebrew competition. That felt like a pretty clear sign. What sort of beers are you going to be brewing for us and where are we likely to be able to pick them up from? N: We are going with some fairly traditional style beers to start with, IPA, pale, porters that kinda thing but then we have our very hop forward spicy American style Brown ale and also the Orange Soda Gose which I am happy to say is a very unique take on the gose/sour style. We do have plans for more sour beer as and when time permits along with all kinds of experimenting and the occasional seasonal beer/one of stuff to keep things nice and interesting. B: My approach to brewing has always been sort of “traditional beers with a modern twist” and I’ve got loads of recipes already at various points of completion. Distribution wise, we’re looking at an initial area of Southport to Chester. That should keep us busy for a while! Not forgetting our official launch in The Dead Crafty Beer Co in early November of course! I spy a barrel by your brewing shed, are there plans to do some aging? N: We do. We have been gifted a couple of batches of some interesting sour yeast that will come into play in time as well but for now, we are looking at doing some aging with all kinds of different beers and even at some possible blending, see how that affects the taste of the beers and see what new flavours we can come up with. Given your set up is quite small (yet perfectly formed) how do you think you'll handle expansion going forward, it is going to be something you'll consider if your beers really do take off? N: That is something that I am very excited about and very hopeful that in the coming year or so, it is something we can very seriously look at. We are very lucky in this city to have quite a range of different sized breweries and brewers who are some of the friendliest people you could want to meet on the planet so when it comes to expansion, we have a wealth of knowledge with regards to ideal premises, setting up bigger kit, actually upscaling the brews and ensuring the quality remains the same. The aim of the game is to simply make good beer that people enjoy drinking and if that allows us to end up doing this full time and working for ourselves, then I will incredibly happy. B: Part of the reason for us starting so small was to enable us to learn on the job, narrowing the gap between homebrew and professional brewing. As Neil said, the other brewers of Liverpool are the most supportive group of people we’ve ever met so meeting any increased demand should be a fun challenge. If you were a proper tag team, what would be your finishing move and do you actually own a pair of luchador masks? N: We are in process of sorting our costumes for the brewery, can’t have a wrestling themed brewery without some of the pageantry that comes with it! We are also thinking about a possible championship belt for the brewery. Regarding a finisher, I can imagine something like the Legion of Doom’s Doomsday Device, get our opponents up on Ben’s shoulders whilst I jump off a pile of kegs to take them down. B: I agree with pretty much all of that, I never said anything about spandex though! Big Bog Brewing Company, Speke Big Bog initially set up brewing in North Wales, with them still retaining a base there, whilst the second larger site near to Liverpool Airport gets business moving. Their cask-based recipes are stated as brewed to the same standard as those previously seen on the market. The brewery has also held open days in late August, so they will no doubt continue to do so should things remain buoyant. I managed to catch up with brewer and sales assistant Chris Riley and pose a few questions to him about Big Bog. Big Bog moving up to Liverpool from North Wales is a bit of a step, as I understand it, this is the second site - is that correct and will brewing continue in North Wales also? Why did Big Bog decide Liverpool was a good location for their second site? Essentially Big Bog moved owing to geography! Paul Jefferies and Gordon Hurst (The founding fathers) both live in West Derby and it was a 200 mile round trip in order to brew. As the brewery has grown and awards came along, it was getting to 3 times a week they needed to be over in Wales. This was just not sustainable and it was decided that we would relocate to a much larger premises and install a much bigger, new, purpose built plant. Brewing of Bog Bog beers has ceased in Wales as of February 2016. What is the brewing capacity/output at the moment? The new plant is 10 barrel brew length with two Fermenters and another one on order, which will be in operation before Christmas 2016. What are the successful brews that Big Bog produce and is there a core range or are you a little more fluid in terms of producing new recipes? Please see the web site for a list of our beers (the link is at the end of the article below - Pedro). We have won several awards for Quagmire and we are currently developing a Porter for release before Christmas “Peat Bog Porter” – 4.9% abv. It will contain peated malts and liquorice. What do you see yourselves adding to the Liverpool scene with the beers and presence you offer? Paul is an established and qualified Master brewer of 30 years and an examiner of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling for the Internationally sat Master Brewers examination. He also remains Head brewer and main Board Director of Hydes Brewery in Media City, Salford. He is very experienced having brewed extensively in the UK and abroad. He has many hundreds of years of brewing in the blood as he and his family are from Burton on Trent. We hope that we can offer top quality ales building on this experience. We have no intention to diverting our attentions away from producing cask ales only unlike many other micros who ae moving towards craft keg. Paul has lived in Liverpool for over 20 years, was Head Brewer of Cains brewery when it was Danish owned and has a real love for the city. Gordon is Liverpool born and bred as to am I and my other colleague Peter Hughes. Peter has nearly 40 years’ experience in the brewing industry and I the newest staff member, bring 6 months brewery experience from Coastal Brewery based in Redruth, Cornwall. We know you're dedicated to cask brewing at the moment, but is there any chance you'd consider other dispense - i.e. bottles/cans etc for the home market? Please see above. We want to specialise in continuing the great tradition of British cask ale brewing only. Can you give us a few pubs where you regularly have your beers on? Baltic Fleet, Most Liverpool and surrounding area JD Wetherspoons, Ale house – Old Swan, Hard Times and Misery, Old Bank Ale House, Caledonia, Vernon, Ma Boyles, Magazine, Butchers and there are several pubs in North Wales where we still maintain a healthy presence. Chapter Brewing Company, Sutton Weaver I was lucky to hear on the grapevine about this interesting start up brewery and got hold of acquaintance Noah Torn to find out a bit more about what was going on with the ‘Fictional Brews’ from Chapter. Hi Noah, thanks for your time… we’ll start with a nice easy question; who is involved with Chapter Brewing? Alex Monks and myself (Noah Torn) are the founders of Chapter Brewing, we met through Paul (previously Mad Hatter and now Fourpure) and discovered that we both wanted the same things from a beer and started brewing together. Currently I am working full time with Alex coming in on brew days. We will both be full time in the summer of 2017. What made you all decide to go into opening a brewery? NT: For me I was finding that although I really enjoy trying beers and exploring the various styles, I wasn’t finding one beer that I truly loved. I vary rarely drink the same beer twice in a night and this isn’t always because I just want to try everything – often it’s because I just want to find that “perfect” beer. I thought that the beer that Alex and I were brewing was getting pretty close to what I really wanted…and it turns out that others liked it too. The opportunity came up to get a 10 bbl kit and I jumped at it. Why did you locate the brewery where it is (and also... where is it)? NT: We didn’t have a lot of choice in where the brewery is and it’s currently in Sutton Weaver, wedged in between Frodsham and Runcorn. We decided that as it was already set up there (more or less – although a lot needed to be done to get it operational) we would use it in situ for the first year; get to learn its foibles and quirks before moving to a more permanent home in Liverpool where both Alex and I live. Essentially we wanted a year to decide what we needed from a brewery space, having learnt about the kit in Sutton Weaver, rather than making assumptions about what we wanted before we’d even got it running. Do you think there's much more room on Merseyside/Liverpool for new brewers in terms of supply/demand across the North west? I think that the North West, and the North East too, is going to be the next big craft beer region. If you look at the wealth of breweries in the North, the beer they’re producing is excellent: Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle – it’s exciting and demanding is growing. Where Liverpool is concerned I think there is a gap in the market. If you look at the other major cities there are many, many breweries all living peacefully together making a thriving and exciting scene – Liverpool has some fabulous breweries, particularly real ale, but not that many that are really making that ‘craft beer’ style. We want to bring something else to the scene – something exciting, consistent and, most importantly, enjoyable. What will be the core brews you'll be doing? NT: We have a core range of 6 spreading across a fairly wide spectrum. We’re striving to have a strong core of interesting beers and although we do have a fantastic pale and an IPA, the rest of our core range is slightly different – a twist on the basic style – adding something creative and imaginative to bring in that element of intrigue without being outlandish. AM: Many of the recipes for our core range are based on beers I brewed for Christmas last year. I’ve taken what worked and tweaked the recipes to make them more suitable for commercial brewing, hopefully resulting in some pretty fun and interesting beers. Will you be doing anything in terms of styles that the other local brewers aren't covering, any exciting new brews? NT: We’re fortunate enough to have spent time at Mad Hatter in the Baltic Triangle, so exciting ideas have been running through our heads ever since I started homebrewing. We’ve got a few ideas that are close to production, particularly along the sours and barrel aging route – we’re making space for aging and I’m heading to Italy to get some Malbec barrels in the new year. A particular interest for me is pale ale: as I don’t really like them. We’re working on making a range of pales that will really inspire and interest the drinker. We’re also bringing an overarching theme to the table – something a little more than just the beer. Each beer is inspired by literature and fiction; either published by others or created by ourselves. We’re not going as clichéd as “each beer tells a story” but we’re bringing our own passions into the design of the beers and of the design of the labels. AM: Another area we’re looking at experimenting in is with the use of adjuncts. A shared interest in cooking has given us ideas for beers either based around food or ones that would complement what we like to eat. I have also recently become more interested in lager (and other similar styles) after a summer holiday to Menorca, so this is something I hope we can add to our repertoire at some point. What existing breweries out there would you say have influenced you guys in the set up, style and brewing? NT: My initial foray into brewing started with Otter Brewery in the West Country but it wasn’t until I tried Mad Hatter’s farmhouse saison for the first time that I really started to realise what was out there and the pure diversity of the beer world. Gaz from Mad Hatter and Paul from Fourpure have been particularly influential for me personally – indeed it was those two who first suggested setting up on my own. Advice and time from Terry at Liverpool craft, John at Melwood and Ben at Liverpool Organic has been really helpful in the more recent stages of setting up the brewery. There are a few breweries that I always try if I see they are on – Mad Hatter, Chorlton, Buxton and anything along the Geuze and Gose style lines. AM: The whole team at Mad Hatter have been incredibly supportive of our venture into brewing so they’re obviously a huge inspiration for me. In terms of style my main influences come from the likes of The Kernel, Mikkeller, Siren and Great Divide. My aim is for Chapter to become synonymous with quality beer that isn’t out of place amongst my favourite breweries. Easy. So there we have it, another set of new breweries with a range of beers with something for everyone.
Please keep an eye on my Twitter feed, that of the Liverpool Beer Collective and give the individual breweries a follow (links are below!) to find out more and keep up to date with what's going on. Have a great Christmas everyone!! Pedro. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you to the brewers for giving up their time to help with this article and thanks for the photos from many of them when I couldn't make it to them to get some pictures! The CRAFT Brewery Part Street, Southport Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.thecraftbrewery.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecraftbrewery/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCraftbrew Republic of Liverpool Brewing Company Boundary Street, Liverpool Email: [email protected] Web: https://therepublicofliverpool.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRepublicofLiverpool/ Moonsugar Brewing Company Hunts Cross, Liverpool Twitter: https://twitter.com/moonsugarbrewco Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonsugarbrewco/ Glen Affric Brewery Birkenhead Email: [email protected] Web: https://glenaffricbrewery.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/glenaffricbrew Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlenAffricBrew/ Top Rope Brewing Company Childwall, Liverpool Email: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/topropebrewing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/topropebrewing/ Big Bog Brewing Company Speke, Liverpool Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.bigbog.co.uk/home.html Twitter: https://twitter.com/big_bog_brewing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Big-Bog-Brewing-Company-350961654987859/ Chapter Brewing Company Sutton Weaver Email: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChapterBrewing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chapterbrewing/ |
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