Focus on: Harbour Brewing

Rhys and Eddie from Harbour

In the space of just over a year, Cornwall's Harbour Brewing have established themselves with an instantly recognisable brand and more importantly, an excellent range of beers. 

I spoke to Eddie Lofthouse from the brewery about their inspiration, future plans and how he feels about being part of the UK's brewing resurgence. Here's how he answered...


When was Harbour founded and what was the inspiration behind the brewery being started?
I was first introduced to ‘craft beer’ years ago in the States, drinking Pete’s Wicked Ales and from that point on, I always wanted to drink interesting beers. I was running my family’s pub and all we could get locally was really traditional British beer. Rhys was working just up the road at Sharp's and we had talked about wanting to put a brewery into the pub for ages. Then one day we both just decided it was the right time. A few beers later and Harbour Brewing Company was conceived.

What are the beers in Harbour's core range?
Our core range is still developing but at the moment it consists of:
Light Ale 3.7% (hoppy golden ale),
Amber Ale 4% (malt driven ale),
IPA 5% (British style IPA).

We are also just about to release a 5.5% Pilsner, which will be a permanent fixture in our core range. We wanted to make a traditional style Pilsner - so we have used all the traditional malts and hops you would expect and special yeast that we had propagated just for the job. It’s been maturing for just over 3 months and we are really happy with it. It’s going into keg and bottle next week, so keep your eyes open for it very soon.

What LTD edition beers are Harbour brewing at the moment?
We have been brewing Porter No.1 over the winter and a couple of different pale ales, but with spring in the air we have our minds set on our summer releases. We have Pale Ale No.4 going into bottle very soon, and it is easily the best pale we have brewed to date. Dry hopped with Citra, Simcoe and Centennial it has the bases covered when it comes to hop aroma and flavour, but it is really well balanced.

We have IPA No.2 coming out in March. Our core range IPA is really a session IPA, not too bitter or hoppy but IPA No.2 is designed to be a different beast. Higher IBUs and double dry hopped with some of our favorite American hops. We also have the first of our barrel-aged beer being released at the moment. Chocolate and Vanilla Imperial Stout aged in Jack Daniels’ barrels is now kegged whilst Aji Limon Pale Ale from Jim Beam barrels is due to be bottled at the end of March.

We have plenty of other casks aging some really interesting stuff, but it is ready when it is ready and we won’t be rushing it. I think the ones I’m really excited about are the Bordeaux barrels, which are nurturing a Lambic number we have been working on for a while.

What do you feel is the style that most defines what Harbour is about? 
It’s hard to say really. Rhys is all about dark beers, while I’m a pale ale man. Both of us chat about what we want to achieve with each beer and then we brew it. I think more than a certain style of beer, we are better defined as brewing well-balanced beers whatever the style.

How does it feel to be part of the resurgence in British brewing? 
Amazing!

It makes me really proud to be part of such a fantastic industry. It’s the people that make it special. We are all in it because we are passionate about beer. If you weren't, you simply wouldn't put up with the early mornings, late nights, general hard graft involved in brewing. It’s not just a job, it has to be a lifestyle choice and that takes a certain kind of person. Pretty much everyone we meet from the ‘craft beer’ industry is really friendly, massively passionate and always willing to help.

I love it when I go to a ‘craft beer’ bar, and hear people talking with passion about what they are drinking. I truly believe British brewers are creating some fantastic beers to rival anything in the world.

Harbour Amber Ale and IPA

American IPAs and Pale Ales have come to define the craft beer scene. Where do you think brewing innovation is likely to go next and are there any styles that you feel are likely to catch on in the near future?
It’s difficult to say if there will be another beer style that will be as well received as pale ales have been over the past couple of years. I think there is so much variety within the pale ale style that it will always be really popular. Year on year hops are getting better and just as importantly British brewers are getting access to the best hop growths. So I think you’ll see pales at the forefront of the industry for a while yet.

That said, consumers are becoming more willing to try different styles, which gives us the option to try more of a variety. Sour beers seem to be becoming more popular as are darker beers. I had real doubts about the viability of a Porter but it has been our second best seller over the past 4 months. Our Imperial Chocolate stout has been sold weeks before it is actually released. So to be honest I have no idea where the market is going, but if I had to put a bet on I would say Saisons.

What do you feel has been the impact of American and new world hops on the micro-brewing boom in the UK?
The impact has been huge. They are giving us the flavours we want and more importantly the flavours our customers want. I would love to support the UK hop growers, but as yet I’m yet to be convinced by any of the new hop varieties I have seen coming through.

More and more UK breweries are beginning to brew European beer styles such as Hefeweizen, Saisons and Vienna style lagers etc. Are there any European styles of beer that you would like to have a crack at brewing at Harbour? 
We are about to release 2 different Pilsners, originally named No.1 (4.9%) and No.2 (5.5%). We also have some Lambic beer aging at the moment. We will be releasing a Berliner Weisse in the summer.

Our new brewer is from Sweden and she has been working on some interesting new ideas with Rhys. She has a different take on things than we are used to, which is great.

What are the plans for growing Harbour and getting your beers into more bars and shops?
We are pretty stretched at the moment so we are just trying to keep up with demand. Export is going crazy for us right now with beers heading here, there and everywhere…from Sweden to Australia

Can you tell us about one new and exciting thing happening at Harbour at the moment... 
Everything is exciting. We have only just celebrated our first birthday so the novelty is still there in everything we do, with the exception of racking! But, I imagine you mean something more like the fact we are putting in our own bottling line so we can bottle more of our small batch beers. Almost forgot, I’m really excited we have been asked to brew a new beer for the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular. I’m just not sure what we are going to brew yet!

Harbour's branding and label designs are instantly recognisable. What do you think is importance of a strong brand to go along with your beers?
I think it is really important to have a brand that gives an impression of what the brewery is all about. Something people can immediately recognise is a must, as long as the recognition is a positive one. We tried to make our branding clean and clear, stripped back but with subtle detail. We are really happy with our brand, but like all things we are contantly trying to develop it and make it better.

What do you feel are the beer styles that define the craft beer scene at the moment? 
Pale ales, Saisons and smoked beers

Do you have plans to be at any beer festivals this year? If so, which ones? 
We’re taking our beer out to the Washington DC Craft Brewers Conference at the end of March. We’ll be at the GABS festival in Melbourne in May, and we have been talking about the Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival in the autumn but we’ll have to see about that one.  Closer to home we’ll be heading to the Edinburgh Independent Beer Festival, and we have been talking to the IndyMan guys, so hopefully we’ll be able to get up there towards the end of the year. There are some really great festivals popping up all over the country, but time is precious these days. If we feel the festival is right for us, we’ll make every effort to get there. So who knows…

English hop production isn't doing so well at the moment. Do you feel that there is space for highly hopped beers to be produced using just British hops? 
Yes, we just haven’t found the right hop for it yet.

Lots of breweries seem to be doing collaborations at the moment, do you have any plans to make any collaborative beers in the near future?
We have done a couple so far (Bristol Beer Factory and Arbor). They were great fun and also being such a young brewery, we learned huge amounts from brewing with more experienced brewers. We have some good friends in the industry and I’m sure we’ll get together with some of them at some point. There has been talk of something really exciting, but at the moment it is just talk.

A big thank you goes out to Eddie from Harbour for taking the time to answer my questions.

Focus on: Wild Beer Co

Andrew Cooper and Brett Ellis of Wild Beer Co

Wild Beer Co are a pretty new brewery, but they've quickly excited beer heads throughout the UK with their innovative and exciting beers. I spoke to Andrew Cooper from the brewery about their inspiration, their plans for the future and making sour beers. Here's what he had to say...

When was Wild Beer Co started and what was your inspiration for founding a brewery?

October 2012. We worked in the industry and wanted to do our own thing. We felt there was an opportunity to explore using yeast strains and ingredients that not many others were really using in the UK beer industry.

What are the beers in your core range?

We haven't decided on our core range yet, it depends what gets drunk, where demand is.

What limited edition beers are you producing at the moment?

We have lots of beers being aged at the moment.  There will be some interesting one-offs coming out through the year including Spellbound, a 100% brett fermented spelt beer that is currently being packaged. A very exciting collaboration is coming up very soon with a summer release for the beer.

What style of beer do you feel most defines what Wild Beer Co is about?

Our 'Modus Operandi' is an Old Ale aged in oak for 90 days with brettanomyces - that beer really defines us. The time, the oak ageing and the wild yeast.

You've brewed a number of Belgian style Saisons, what is it in particular that you love about producing this style of beer?

The character of the yeast excites and intrigues us, we think it works well with other flavours, making interesting complex beers. 

A fine selection of Wild Beer Co brews.

Alongside yourselves, lots of other UK breweries are branching out into other European styles of beer including Saisons, wheat beers, Doppelbocks and in some cases sour beers. What do you think is the influence of European beers styles on current brewing innovation in the UK, and are there any other of these styles that you'd like to produce?

Our first proper sour will hopefully be out in the summer. I think with so many breweries in this country now, you have to look for your own niche in the market. When we create a beer we don't start talking about styles of beer, we look at what flavours we want to create. We will then look at sourcing the ingredients we need to achieve that and the style it ends up falling into is fairly irrelevant to us.

What do you feel has been the impact of the increased use of American and new world hops on the beers produced in the UK?

The evidence is out there... Little more than 5 years ago there was hardly a big flavoured IPA being brewed in the country and now they are everywhere. It has helped bring with it more excitement in the industry, more choice, more breweries, more competition, more creativity, more beer retailers and really good beer-centric bars. It's all been very positive.

What plans do you have for growing the Wild Beer Co and getting your beers into more bars and shops in the future?

We want to work with people who get excited about our beer. There are no plans for supermarkets or to flood the market. Our beers are niche, that will keep our growth in check. We may well export some beer and we'll see how the demand grows - it's very early days for us.

Wild Beer Co has a very distinctive and striking brand. What do you think is the importance of your brand to communicating to drinkers what you're all about?

We felt that generally speaking, beer branding in this country leaves a lot to be desired. We believe consumers buy into the whole package. With so many beers to choose from standing out on the shelf branding is important, but it is ultimately taste that makes people buy a second or third beer. By using a costly screen printing technique for our bottles and a strong logo, it shows a level of care and creativity that hopefully follows through with the beer. 

What do you think can be added to a beer by using an additional flavour or a 'wild' fifth ingredient?

Complexity, intrigue, difference. When we think of the concept for a beer we start with a flavour profile, and then we try to work out how to get to those flavours. We believe in using the finest ingredients, as you taste what goes into the beer. With Wildebeest, we could have used bog standard cocoa nibs and vanilla essence, but we spoke to people who are experts with these ingredients and ended up scraping out 500 vanilla pods and sourcing the finest Valrhona cocoa nibs. When we taste it, we feel we can taste the difference.

What for you has been the impact of the growth in specialist beer bars such as Craft Beer Co, The York Tap and The Euston Tap etc?

It has raised the profile of the smaller esoteric brewery, taking beers from all over the country to a growing market of consumers who want to try new and exciting flavours in their beer. 

Tell us about an exciting development happening at Wild Beer Co at the moment...

A lot of our time at the moment is being taken up by oak and sour beer. Hopefully in the summer the first results will be available to taste...

Our Beer & Cheese Festival at the end of April is also going to be the first of many such events.

British hops seem to be in decline at the moment. Do you feel that there is a place for hop-heavy beers made using British hops?

It's a complicated topic and it's easy to blame the brewers for not using British hops, but we need a wide variety of flavours available to us or we go back to the time of endless best bitters.

The industry has moved a long way very quickly, and the number of varieties and range of flavours in them is quite small compared to foreign varieties. Other varieties are being developed but it takes a while and the hop industry might have been a little slow in reacting to what was happening in other parts of the world. We need to work together to develop hops and beers that will both use British hops but excite the drinker as well.

What does it feel like to be part of the micro-brewing resurgence in currently happening in the UK?

It's an exciting time. I love how close an industry we are. I am excited to see and hear what our contemporaries are doing, and they seem to be pretty excited about our project too.

What do you think is the continuing influence of the American craft beer scene on brewing innovation in the UK?

I think there is influence from all over the world, not just the US. We personally take influence not just from other breweries but from other food and drink producers and chefs as well.

Are you likely to be at many beer festivals in 2013? If so, which ones?

As we only do kegs and bottles, we are unlikely to be at that many festivals but we are looking forward to going back to IMBC this year. We will let you know the ones we will be at on wildbeerco.com

Lots of breweries are doing collaborations at the moment. Do you have any plans to collaborate with other breweries in the future?

We are honoured to have Mark Tranter (from Dark Star) and Kelly Ryan (formerly of Thornbridge, now brewing in New Zealand) joining us for an exciting brewday in March. We are using techniques and ingredients that are new to all of us, and in true collaborative style, it's all about learning and experimenting.

A massive thank you to Andrew from Wild Beer Co for answering my questions. Next up: Harbour!

Focus on: Moor Brewery

Justin Hawke at Moor Brewery

Somerset's Moor Brewery has become a firm favourite with beer fans, for the varied range of well balanced, beautifully flavoursome unfiltered beers. I asked Justin Hawke from the brewery a few questions to find out a bit more about their inspiration and future plans.

When was Moor Brewery founded and what was the inspiration for it being started up?

Basically it was another pipe dream set up on a shoestring in the back of a cow shed, run poorly by someone who should have never entered the trade, and failed. We brought the pieces out of a pretty large hole in 2007 and began the uphill climb to help bring excitement back to the British brewing scene. 

My passion for beer hunting, real ale, and experimentation came from my Dad and the gospel as written by Michael Jackson. My realisation that I could actually make beer myself came from a homebrewer. I was lucky enough to live in Germany for a couple of years which started my thirst for unfined natural beer, and then returned to California during the microbrewery boom which gave me my love of hops. 

Of all the places I travelled, I liked the UK the best and decided this is where I wanted to brew. When the remains of Moor Beer were advertised I put on rose-coloured glasses and started it up again, creating modern, hop-forward beers in the real ale tradition.  As quickly as the market would bear, we started the unfined natural beer movement as well as keg-conditioning.  Most of what we did was a few years too early for the British market, but with the help of some great supporters we helped progress the scene.  It’s not been until the past 12 months or so that I feel the British brewing scene has become exciting again, with some great pubs and great breweries.  We’re really pleased to be part of it.

 What are the beers in your core range?

I think that really depends which angle you look at it from. We distribute beer around the world, and every region has different preferences.  Looking at the British draught beer market it would be Revival, Nor’Hop and Raw.  Most export markets tend to favour stronger beers like Hoppiness, Old Freddy Walker and JJJ. 

A selection of Moor Brewery bottles

What limited edition beers are you brewing at the moment?

We released the 2012 vintage of Fusion a little while ago, along with our annual release of Sloe Walker.  Coming up we’ve got JJJ, a couple of fun collaborations planned and will be revisiting Dark Alliance. This started as a collaboration but we loved it so much that we decided to bring it back once or twice a year so we’ve got something fresh for ourselves to drink.

 What beer style do you feel most defines what Moor is all about?

Without wanting to sound too vague, I would say flavour forward, modern hoppy ales (in the traditional sense of being top-fermented).  As much as I love sour beers and quality lagers of all styles, we’ll leave those to other brewers.

You produce an 'English IPA' (Somerland Gold) - do you think that there is more room for creativity with English hops within the brewing scene at the moment?

Although some call Somerland Gold an English IPA I’m not sure I’d classify it that way.  I haven’t used English hops in that beer for years, and the term IPA gets people so emotive right now.  With regards to English hops, traditional breeds do not generally contain the level of intensity expected by contemporary IPA drinkers. That’s just a fact.  Our climate and growing conditions are different here to say the US or Australia.  There is one exception, which is Jester, the new hop being bred by Charles Faram Hop Developments. 

We were exceedingly honoured to be asked by them to trial what little was available last year.  The hop smelled intense and modern on the rub, but it was critical to see how it would perform in a production sized brew.  We used over half of the crop in a modern English IPA, appropriately named Empire Strikes Back.  We, along with our distributors Liberty Beer and of course the developer Charles Faram, put a lot of effort and money into marketing what was really a one off brew, with the intention of raising the profile of the British hop industry.  The hop yielded some fantastic results, with many people describing them as tropical, citrusy and ‘not traditionally English’.  This bodes well for the potential future of the British hop industry.  Couple that with the great beers that some of the new British breweries are producing and hopefully that will bring excitement and attention back to both British hops and British beers.

Your selection of beers seems to combine elements of tradition (producing a best bitter, English hopped beers etc) with elements modern American inspired craft brewing. Is fusing the old and new in this way one of your aims when producing beer? 

Fusing old and new is important to creating intensely flavoured, thoroughly enjoyable and balanced beers.  I don’t mean balanced in the bland, boring way, which is how it had been used for too long.  It’s easy to throw hops in a kettle and brew an unbalanced, exceedingly bitter, unenjoyable beer.  If you don’t have a global context, respect for tradition and desire for continual improvement then you’re shooting in the dark.  A Best Bitter doesn’t have to be ‘boring and brown’, it’s just been brewed that way for so long that many people gave up on it in preference to golden ales.  Beer styles are a double edged sword. They help set expectation but can be limiting if you try to adhere to them rigidly.  So we look forward and have one eye on the rear view mirror.  After all, the world would be a much worse place without the Black IPA (or whatever you want to call it)!

All of your beers are unfined. What was the reason for your decision to produce exclusively unfined beer? And, do you feel that British drinkers are getting more used to drinking unfined beer? 

As mentioned, my love for unfined natural beer originated from my time living in Germany.  I had never smelled or tasted beers so fresh and vibrant.  I’m not talking about just wheat beers, but primarily the natural helles and dunkels that you get in German brewpubs.  The cloudiness never phased me.  Why should it?  That’s the way it was designed and served.  And of course no one is going to tell the Germans they don’t know how to brew!  I was used to seeing things floating in bottles anyway when my Dad would bring home Sierra Nevada in the early days.  Seeing something in the beer always left the impression that what I was drinking was wholesome and good, much the same way that drinking orange juice with bits in just feels right.  When I got back to California IPA’s were all the rage.  Clear ones were ok.  Hazy ones were better.  Opaque ones were best.  I knew how good the Pliny I was poured was going to be before it was even in my hand.  Sometimes it was bright, sometimes it was like orange juice.  There was no doubt in anyone’s mind which was bigger and better in every respect.

When I got to the UK and was told I had to put fish guts (sorry, isinglass finings) in my beer it didn’t feel right.  All the beer I drank for ‘quality control’ was unfined.  And it always tasted so much better than what I would get in the pub.  From a technical perspective the extra yeast adds body and flavour, and as hop oils coat yeast cells, it provides an additional level of hop to the aroma and flavour.  There can be too much of a good thing.  No one wants to drink the dregs out of a cask.  How much is too much?  That’s personal preference. 

British drinkers are getting more used to drinking naturally hazy beers.  Most quite honestly don’t care what a beer looks like.  It’s just that they’ve been told it should be clear.  When told it doesn’t need to be clear, most people are more than happy, especially once they’ve tasted the beer.  We may have kicked off the unfined natural beer movement in the UK, but there are loads of great breweries out there doing it now.  When they tell us we add them to our site.

 Tell us about something new or exciting happening at Moor at the moment...

We’re still coming off the high of the Empire Strikes Back / Jester project.  There is a balance to be kept between doing fun stuff and nurturing brands.  I’m not interested in some guys ‘latest creation’ consisting of leftover malt, stale hops and tired ideas.  Yeah, you brewers know what I’m talking about, that 'what should I do with this' moment.  It’s great to try a new beer, just like it’s great to get a new album from your favourite band.  But when you see the band live you want them to play your old favourites.  We really love our old favourites (particularly Nor’Hop) and thankfully loads of people do, too.  That being said, I’ve got a wicked idea for something I want us to do in the summer…    

What are the plans for growing Moor in the coming months/years and trying to get your beers into more bars and shops?

I really detested the old breed of beer wholesalers, so wouldn’t work with them.  As the market has moved on, new ones have come along with a fresher approach to distribution. We’ve started partnering with people like Liberty Beer.  The word partner was one of those words you used to be able to play business bingo with, but as there is really no money in beer the people serious about it tend to have mutual passion and do really develop true working partnerships.  This is helping us grow now throughout the UK and across the world.

 What does it feel like to be part of the resurgence in British brewing?

Of course it’s a great feeling, albeit perhaps a bit surreal when someone from my background stands up in front of the brewing industry and encourages them to change deeply held beliefs.  I love being part of a national, and international, community of great people driving change through things like natural beer, keg conditioning, and new yeast and hop varieties.

 What has the growth in speciality craft beer bars meant for you as a brewery?

Moor Brewery's Hoppiness

They have made a huge difference to the scene in the past 12 months or so.  Without them, we wouldn’t have ‘craft keg’ in the UK, and many styles we brew would have to be export only.  When we started selling our IPA’s years ago there weren’t enough outlets to justify keeping the beer in stock.  Freshness is key.  The beer ecosystem is incomplete without them. That being said, beer is for everyone, not just beer geeks.  It’s important that good beer is available everywhere, and that craft beer bars don’t become the preserve of the well-funded neurotic navel gazer.  I love it most when a non-beer drinker comes up to me and says, “wow, I never knew beer could taste like that!”

 What do you think has been the impact of American and new world hops on the UK brewing scene?

New world hops gave British brewing the kick up the backside it needed to wake up and enter the modern world.

Lots of UK breweries are broadening the range of styles they produce to take in things like hefeweizen, wit beers and Vienna lagers amongst many others. Do you have plans to try any new styles at the moment?

There are things we play with and things we leave to others.  If there is a beer I’m itching to drink and I think we can make a difference to the style then we’ll brew it.  A couple years ago I really wanted to drink a session strength Black IPA so we created Illusion.  I love smoked beers and rye beers so we did Smokey Horyzon.  Same with a nice hoppy stout, which we collaborated with Arbor Ales and Clifton Coffee on to create Dark Alliance.  This year I’ve got ideas to play with smoke, rye, and yeast more – not necessarily all at the same time!  And we’ll of course keep very close to developments in the hop world.

 Are Moor intending to be at any beer festivals this year and if so, which ones?

The local ones are the Maltings and Minehead.  I know we’ve got stuff going to festivals in various countries – Spain, Norway, Sweden and Australia spring to mind, although I’m sure that’s just the tip of the Iceberg.  There are big plans for Edinburgh this year, and there are some really cool discussions being had about something in London that will blow your mind if you’re brave enough to enter.  I’ve got an idea for something special but whether I can find the time to pull it together in 2013 is questionable.  The bottom of the ocean has been done so maybe we’ll try something on the moon.

It seems very fashionable to make collaborative beers at the moment. Do you have any plans to collaborate with other brewers in the future?

A collaboration has to have a purpose and yield something uniquely worthwhile, otherwise the consumer is just paying for people to play, and as much fun as it is to play, it doesn’t add any value.  In my mind the best example of a collaboration is Schneider Brooklyn Hopfen-Weisse.  What an amazing beer, where you really get the sense of how each brewer added value, and how the collection was so much more than the sum of the parts.  Although perhaps not as style defining, we thought our Dark Alliance with Arbor was a world class beer and look forward to doing the return brew with them soon.  Likewise, we made a really great connection with Beavertown and have some fun stuff planned.  There was a fun discussion one evening about a JJJJ, and there’s a great story to it.  I’d like to see that come to life.

 Many thanks to Justin for his fantastic answers. This is one of a series of posts showcasing particular breweries. You can catch up on my previous entries here. The next one will feature the brilliant Wild Beer Co.

Focus on: Tiny Rebel

Tiny Rebel's bear. Photo - Beer Lens

Since launching, Tiny Rebel has been hard for many beer fans to ignore. They produce a core range of beers with quirky names, eye catching packaging and above all else; great taste. I asked Gazz and Brad, the guys beyond the brewery a few questions. Here's how they replied...

When was Tiny Rebel started and what was the inspiration for founding the brewery?
Me (Gazz) and Brad began our brewing career as keen home brewers, who started taking our beer a lot more seriously.We then started creating beer that was better than what we were currently drinking in pubs around South Wales. We became so passionate about our hobby that we then, back in 2010, decided that in 2012 we were going to launch our own microbrewery. We spent the 2 years continuously research and development brewing on a 50 litre system, creating our branding and doing all the bits in-between.

What are the beers in Tiny Rebel's core range?
Our Core range consists off FUBAR 4.4% , Urban IPA 5.5%  (both being our flagship beers) Cwtch 4.6%, Billabong 4.6%, The Full Nelson 4.8%, Dirty Stop Out 5%  and Hadouken 7.4%

What beers style do feel sums up what Tiny Rebel is about most?
Anything tasty! We don’t really concentrate on any particular styles or fashion beers.  This year we'll be releasing a few continental classic styles as well some barrel ageing.

Tiny Rebel's branding and marketing is very distinctive, what inspired the look of the pump clips and labels etc?
Tiny Rebels branding for us is just as important as the beer! With me and Brad being 31 & 25, we wanted an image that portrayed us and our interests.

A lot of breweries are exploring European styles like hefeweizen, wit beers and kolsch to name just three. Are there any European styles of beer that you would like to produce at Tiny Rebel?

Tiny Rebel's brewery bar. Photo - Beer Lens

We do have a soft spot for European styles, especially Belgian, so there are plans for a Belgian Golden Strong Ale in the coming weeks. We just love the authentic malts & specialist yeast strains that are used in these styles of beer.

How does it feel to be a part of the brewing resurgence in the UK?
The UK brewing scene is very exciting at the moment with all the new microbreweries around. The never ending choice for the consumer is fantastic, its what beer is all about…Choice! It also pushes breweries to different levels in order to stay at the top of their game, which again is great for everyone!

What do you feel is the style that defines the craft beer scene?
Craft? What's Craft? We find the most popular beer styles at the moment are IPA's and US Pale Ales. Saisons do seem to be becoming ever more popular along with a small but strong following for the lambic styles. Oh and anything that can go into an oak barrels!

You guys have recently opened a bar at the brewery. How's the bar doing and what does it mean for you to have the punters come to you?
Making our brewery as accessible and as welcoming as possible has always been important to us. We feel that we can use it to help educate people and help them appreciate the hard work that goes into producing beer on a small scale. We love holding tours & open days, but with small breweries like ours there isn’t much to show after the brew area. So we thought that there was no better way to fully experience a microbrewery than to be able to chill out on a mezzanine bar area overlooking the whole brewery while drinking brewery fresh beer.

What has the growth in specialist beer bars like The Craft Beer Co and other meant for Tiny Rebel?

The brewery's set-up. Photo - Beer Lens

Huge! Consumer demand has driven these newer style bars, where people can enjoy the varied beers on offer. These new style bars also offer something different from the traditional style pubs, which is great for beer drinkers! Without these new bars, I guess there wouldn't be as many new microbreweries opening.

Tell us about a an exciting new development at Tiny Rebel
Expansion, new beers & an Ice Cream Van!!!

What are your plans for growing the brewery and getting Tiny Rebel's beers into more bars and shops?
Back in April 2012 we set up the brewery with 2 FVs (fermentation vats) and 2 CTs (conditioning tanks) and now 10 months down the line we have 3 FVs 4 CTs with 2 more FVs on order that will bee arriving in the about 6 weeks time. We currently have a great customer base that we unfortunately struggle to supply week in week out due to demand so the 2 additional FV's will help our stock levels massively by allowing us to not sacrifice our cask production as we continue to develop our bottle and keg products.

Which beer festivals will you be attending this year?
We will have a bar as usual at the Great Welsh Beer festival this June, with a few more surprises than last years!

What do you think the use of American and new world hops has meant for the UK beer scene and more specifically for Tiny Rebel?
Massive effect! Again it comes down to the more choice the better. All 4 types of hops: English, Noble, US & Aus/NZ have their place to make certain styles of beer. All as good as each other in their own unique way.

English hop production hasn't been going so well in recent years. Do you feel there is space for a super hoppy pale ale or IPA using only English hops?
Like any hop, they can be overused if not careful. If you're looking for a huge citrus floral hop slap in the face, then its US hops and this style of hoppy beers seem to be the most popular at the moment. Great beers are being made with English hops but they are much more subtle & refined compared to the US. New styles of British hops are being introduced, so hopefully this can pick their market up.

There seem to be a lot of collaborations happening between breweries at the moment. Do you have any plans to make collaborative beers with other breweries or is it something that you would consider doing?
We have not yet collaborated with any breweries at the moment due to being so busy. There are a few out of the ball park collaborations in the pipeline but it's all tight lips at the moment.

And Finally... I recently tried your Smoked India Ale 'Hot Box' and thought it was great - might this be brewed again in the future?
Our 'Tiny Batch Editions' are specifically created as one offs but we'll never say never.

A massive thank you to Gazz and Brad for taking the time to answer my questions. Next up, I'll be speaking to Justin from Moor brewery.

Focus on: Magic Rock

Magic Rock

In the first of a series of posts focusing on some of the best craft breweries in the UK, I asked Richard Burhouse, co-founder and director of Huddersfield's Magic Rock a few questions.

In the short time that they've been operating, Magic Rock have become hugely popular on the craft beer scene. I thought it would be good to find out a little more about the inspiration behind their beers and what they have planned for the future. Here's how Richard replied...

When was Magic Rock started and what was the inspiration for its founding?
We started planning the brewery in 2010 and the first brews were May 2011. The inspiration was the US craft beer scene and progressive UK brewers such as BrewDog and Thornbridge.

What are the beers in Magic Rock's core range?
Curious 3.9% 'Original Pale Ale'
Rapture 4.6% 'Red Hop Ale'
High Wire 5.5% 'West Coast Pale Ale'
Dark Arts 6.0% 'Surreal Stout'
Clown Juice 7.0% 'India Wit Ale'
Magic 8 Ball 7.0% 'Black IPA'
Cannonball 7.4% 'India Pale Ale'
Bearded Lady 10.5% 'Imperial Stout'

Magic Rock co-founder and director: Richard Burhouse

What limited edition beers are you producing at the moment?
Simpleton 'Session IPA', Dancing Bear 'Bavarian Pils.'


Which beer or beer style do you feel most defines what Magic Rock is about?
US style Pale Ale/IPA

How long does it take you to get from an idea for a new beer to it being in production?

Anything from a couple of days to a few months.

Much has been made of the quality of brewing in the UK currently, what does it feel like to be involved in the resurgence of British brewing?
AWESOME #craft

At the moment everyone wants to produce super hoppy IPAs - is there a style of beer that you feel defines the craft beer scene?
US style IPA's are the driver of the craft beer scene worldwide, but it depends which market breweries are in. The US has moved on to Belgian styles including sour beers in a big way, while in the UK there is still a big appetite for super hoppy IPA's.

What are your plans for growing Magic Rock and getting your beers into more bars and shops?
I haven't got ambitions for us to grow particularly big, I'm much more bothered about the consistency and quality of our beer. We are expanding slowly but I don't really see a point where we'll ever be available in national pub chains or the biggest supermarkets. We do hope to move to bigger premises in the next couple of years but I'm very happy as long as the brewery can make enough money to support the staff, we can make the beers we want to and we're all enjoying our work.

Tell us about a new or exciting development at Magic Rock and what it might mean for the brewery throughout 2013...
We are in the process of setting up a lab for microbiological analysis, so we can have more quality control in place. I hope this will lead to more consistency in the beers and the ability to be more technically correct with the beers that we make. We are also building a barrel store which will allow us to expand our barrel ageing programme.

You've brewed a take on a wit beer and so have Camden Town, whilst Thornbridge have brewed a Kolsch and a Vienna style lager. Are there any other European beer styles that you think UK breweries will start to produce this year?
I can't speak for other breweries but we're looking to brew a few traditional German beers in the coming months. We're brewing a Bavarian Pilsner this week, a German Gose in February and we also plan to brew a Berliner Weisse at some point.

Head brewer: Stuart Ross

Are Magic Rock intending to be at many beer festivals this year and if so, which ones?
Yes we'll definitely be at the following this year, and hopefully one or two more:
Barcelona Beer Festival (Spain) 8th – 10th March
Haand Olfestival Drammen (Norway)
24th – 25th May
Edinburgh Independent Beer Fest 11th – 13th July
Villaggio Della Birra (Italy) 6th - 8th September
IMBC Manchester 10th - 13th October

What does the growth in specialist beer bars such Craft Beer Co, The Holborn Whippet, Sheffield Tap etc mean for you guys as a brewery?
The growth of these type of bars has been instrumental in us being able to establish the brewery quickly. It's great being able to sell beer to people who are as passionate about serving it as we are making it.

What do you think American and new world hops have brought to British brewing and more specifically to Magic Rock?
No new world hops, no Magic Rock.

English hops are on a bit of a downer at the moment. Do you feel that there is space in the market for a super hoppy pale ale or IPA using only English varieties?
There's definitely room for more creativity with UK hops. We do use some, but it tends to be confined to styles in which pronounced hop character isn't necessary.

A number of breweries are making collaborative offerings. Do you have any plans to collaborate with other breweries?
There seems to be a trend at the moment to just collaborate for the sake of it, its definitely fun to have other brewers brew here and we did a number of collaborations last year, but at the moment we're busy making the core beers and trying to fit in our own specials. We are always interested to collaborate with brewers we can learn from, or breweries which have been an inspiring influence to us and we have one or two things in the pipeline at the moment.

A big thank you to Richard for taking the time to answer my questions. It was great to get this strand of blog-posts kicked off with Magic Rock. Next up: Tiny Rebel!