The Pellicle Podcast

Ep86 — In Simpatico with Manchester's Blackjack Brew Co.

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 23:14:27 +0000

Manchester in the mid-2010s was an electric period in the city’s brewing history, with several modern brewing trailblazers—including Track and Cloudwater—exploding onto the scene. Before either of them existed, however, there was Blackjack, which has been quietly plugging away with its wonderful beer since 2012.

Over the years they’ve established themselves not simply as a well-respected brewery and taproom, but through the opening and adoption of several venues around Greater Manchester. These now include Station Hop in Levenshulme, their bars at Mackie Mayor and Altrincham Market, and at their fantastic pub on Swan Street, the Smithfield Market Tavern—or simply ‘The Tav’ to its regulars.

It’s never been Blackjack’s style to boast about their achievements, however, so at the end of last year I decided to do a bit of that for them. Over the summer their lager program was, to put it modestly, having a moment. During this time I became completely enthralled by their Italian Pilsner, In Simpatico, a beer that possesses the crisp, structured body of a pilsner, and a hefty dose of aromatic Enigma hops, planting it somewhere between a lager and a pale ale. Such was its quality, I decided to name it as one of my top ten beers of the year in 2025.

Fast forward a couple of months, and I get a call from the brewery inviting me down for the canning of a new batch. Unable to resist the offer of trying the beer fresh off the line, I headed down to the brewery. Afterwards I settled in at the Smithfield with Blackjack’s managing director Jon Hartley, plus team members George Charlton, Matt Drage and Jack Williams, for a chat about the past, present and future of Blackjack Brew Co.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsor Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Ep85 — How Thornbridge Saved The Burton Union

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:13:48 +0000

In January 2024, co-founder of Thornbridge Brewery, Simon Webster received an email from Garrett Oliver. He’d heard a rumour that Carlsberg Britvic, the now owners of Marston’s Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent, were “laying the union to rest.” The Brooklyn brewmaster continued to ask Simon if he’d be interested in taking a set, in turn saving it from being permanently erased from British brewing history.

Six months later, after Simon and Thornbridge’s brewing director Rob Lovatt had visited Burton to assess the situation, a single Union set was delivered to their brewery in Bakewell, Derbyshire. In the months since, it has become a focal point for their brewery, and something that has stirred plenty of excitement in the process. This has no doubt been assisted by the fact it’s been used to produce some exciting collaborations, including with the likes of The Kernel and Odell Brewing. They’ve even produced a Strong Dark Mild with Garrett himself, a beer that would go on to become award-winning.

In October 2025, host Matthew Curtis was invited to spend two days at Thornbridge and document a collaboration on the union system with Theakston Brewery of Masham, North Yorkshire. As the brewers set about making a version of the Yorkshire brewery’s famous Masham Ale, Matthew set about filming, interviewing and documenting as much as he possibly could. The idea was to get to the heart of why the arrival of the Burton union at Thornbridge felt so significant.

In this documentary-style episode of the Pellicle Podcast, you’ll hear from several people at Thornbridge, including Simon Webster, Rob Lovatt, brewing manager Dominic Driscoll, and several others, plus Theakston’s head brewer, Mark Slater. With plenty of analysis throughout, plus an original soundtrack composed by the host himself, this is the story of how Thornbridge saved the Burton Union.

Ep84 — Getting Hands On With New Hop Varieties

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Hops have dominated the beer conversation for decades. Modern beer culture has been built on the back of their vast trellises, the majority of which today stand in Yakima, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Many North American hops, including Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe, could arguably be called legacy varieties, such has been the length and size of their impact on the beer industry. Even Citra, which was first commercially released in 2007 and is now the most cultivated hop variety in the world, is approaching 20 years of production. Without them, the beer we know and love today would smell and taste very differently indeed.

But as much as these hops have shaped beer as we know it, there has been no rest for hop merchants, or indeed the brewers who use their products day in, day out. There is a constant demand for new varieties offering up new flavours and aromas. This demand comes in part from drinkers, and indeed brewers themselves, but largely this constant development of new hop varieties—which can take up to a decade, sometimes more—is driven by the hop industry itself.

Think about it—every year sees billions of pounds worth of hops harvested across the hop growing regions of the word, encompassing hundreds, if not thousands of different varieties. Hop merchants are not only seeking that x-factor in terms of flavour, but they’re also looking for agronomic viability, and, indeed, strong profit margins. Hops can be notoriously difficult to grow, so while breeders are trying to figure out what’s going to make a new variety taste great, they’re also looking at other qualities like disease resistance, how much water input a variety needs to survive in a changing climate, and so on.

Krush—which until recently was known under its development name: HBC586—is a great example of this. In terms of its flavour and aroma it’s a riot of ripe mango, juicy peach and sun-ripened orange, but in terms of its agronomics it also requires less inputs than older varieties, making it more economical and more sustainable to produce.

If the sound of this has got your interest piqued, then you’re going to love our latest podcast. Recorded live at FyneFest 2025, in this episode Matthew chats to Robbie Harrigan, a UK-based sales representative for Yakima Chief Hops, plus Mark Cotterill of Beak Brewery in Lewes, and Brett Pemberton of Manchester’s Pomona Island. Together we chat about some exciting new hop varieties, including Krush, and taste the exciting results alongside a live audience.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Ep83 — 2025: The Year in Pellicle

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 20:00:54 +0000

This has been quite a year for Pellicle. Not only has it seen us set new records in terms of our readership, but we also released our first piece of print media in Katie Mather’s A PLACE TO BE and recruited the talented Claire Bullen onto our editorial team. Between us and our contributors we also picked up no less than 17 awards, including being named as the Beer Publication of the Year in 2025.

We’re dead chuffed as you can imagine, and have spent the holiday season taking stock ahead of planning out our content that will see us head into the new year with excitement and anticipation.

This has included Matthew taking time to sit down, microphone on, and take stock of the year in Pellicle. Our podcast has had a great year too, picking up one of those 17 awards, and producing episodes consistently on a three-week release schedule. This will be our 18th episode of the year, ensuring that 2025 has seen us publish more features and podcast episodes than ever.

In this episode, Matthew looks back at the year that’s been, taking time out to share a few thoughts on his favourite articles and podcast episodes. He also talks through what were his beer and pub experiences of the year, after his favourites were published by our good friends at Craft Beer & Brewing a few weeks ago. It’s good wholesome fun, best enjoyed with something delicious pulled from your stash.

Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our Patreon subscribers, and our friends and sponsors at Get ‘Er Brewed. Thanks to all of you for making sure Pellicle has been as good as it can possibly be in 2025. If you’d like to support our award-winning work, and ensure all of our writers, illustrators, photographers and small team are paid fairly for their work, you can sign up for just the price of a pint a month by clicking here.

Ep82 — The Importance of Bottle Shops

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:52:25 +0000

As a beer enthusiast, bottle shops have always played an important role in my life.

They were there when I first got into beer in a big way, supplying me with hard to find bottles imported from the United States, or new releases from some of the most exciting new breweries in the UK. It was through them that I also met some of my most valued friends and peers, including Jen Ferguson and Glenn Williams of South London’s Hop Burns and Black, who gave me one of my first breaks as a beer writer with a monthly column published on their website. When we launched Pellicle in 2019, they were there to sponsor us for our first two years. Looking back, we probably wouldn’t have made it through those first 24 months without their support.

Then there’s Phill and Steph Palgrave-Elliott of Caps and Taps in Tufnell Park. Not only did they give me my first ever gig as a freelance photographer, but like Jen and Glenn they became wonderful pals, and are also long time supporters of the magazine. It’s through both of their shops that I gleaned a deep perspective of how important bottle shops once were within the beer ecosystem. Here is where you came when you wanted to support local and independent, or when you wanted to find the latest fussed-over cans, or simply something delicious from a brewery you were yet to discover.

But things have changed a lot since those early days of craft beer—the early 2010s when everything felt shiny and new. Breweries came and went, some sold out, some focused on shifting units in national supermarket chains, and—after the pandemic—most of them started shipping direct to their customers. The role of the bottle shop shouldn’t have changed, but the industry changed around them, forcing them to pivot and adapt. Some became bars, some focused on online retail, others simply weren’t able to compete, and closed their doors forever.

Without them, however, we probably would have the vibrant selection of independent breweries we’re blessed with today. In this episode of The Pellicle Podcast I’m joined by the owners of three different UK bottleshops: Krishan Rajput of Stirchley Wines in Birmingham, Sam Parker of Keg Cask and Bottle in Prestwich, Manchester, plus Rosie and Greg Start, who run R&G’s Beer Vault in both Macclesfield and Congleton. Together we chew through the last few years in beer, and discuss the importance of bottle shops.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2025 Salford Beer Festival. Huge thanks to organiser Jim Cullen for inviting us down to host this chat.

Ep81 — Modern Scottish Beer

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

When I wrote my 2021 book, Modern British Beer, I made the very intentional decision to put Fyne Ales irreplaceable Blonde Ale, Jarl, right at the beginning.

For me, it’s a beer that merges two schools of thought: that it is a modern beer, hopped with Citra imported from the Pacific Northwest, showcasing a bold, citrus fruit character, but one that is also a 3.8% cask beer, and at the same time feels resolutely anchored to British brewing tradition. Jarl, though, is not simply a modern British beer—it is a modern Scottish beer. Honestly, there is perhaps no beer experience that is resolutely more Scottish than to enjoy a pint at its source in Glen Fyne.

That was the inspiration for this particular discussion—an effort to take a closer look at what’s happening in the contemporary world of Scottish brewing. FyneFest, conveniently, provided the perfect place to chew on this topic and indeed it features Fyne Ales’ very own head brewer Sam Shrimpton. Also on the panel are two owners/brewers at two of Scotland's youngest breweries: Lucy Stevens of Closet Brewing in Edinburgh, and Harry Weskin of Dookit Brewing in Glasgow.

Listening to this episode, you’ll quickly realise that no one on the panel claims immediate Scottish heritage (although Harry is pretty damn close.) However, they are, each in their own way, vital to the local, independent beer community. It’s great to find out that the spirit that bound businesses together during the last resurgence of small breweries still exists today—in fact I’d argue it probably wouldn’t exist without it.

Tune in to hear two of the best young Scottish breweries talk about what they do, while perhaps one of the finest contemporary breweries to exist north of the border provides balance and context to this conversation.

Tickets for FyneFest 2026 are available now, and we’ll be back hosting our panel talks and tastings for another year! Get your tickets here.

Ep80 — Nick Scarffe and Elizabeth Townsend of Kerroo Brewing

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Nick Scarffe, Elizabeth Townsend, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 3 Nov 2025 01:00:00 +0000

A few months ago I met a couple who had recently opened their own brewery on the Isle of Man. I was really compelled by their story, that one of them had lived on the island for most of his life, and how the other had returned from a life in London. Together they were trying to bring modern beer styles to a British dependency with a population of just 85,000 people, surrounded by the Irish Sea.

That was Nick Scarffe and Elizabeth Townsend, the founders of Kerroo Brewing. Since then we’ve met on several occasions and their story has only grown more compelling, so the next time they arranged to hop on the ferry and visit Manchester, I managed to pin them down for an hour* and have an in depth conversation about their brewery.

I was fascinated to learn that the beer culture on the Isle of Man remains relatively traditional, with a handful of independent breweries—from the 175 year old family brewer, Okells, to more up-to-date outfits like Bushy’s—but many residents hadn’t yet been exposed to such wonders as hazy IPA…

A keen homebrewer, Nick had dialled in his recipes, and when she turned back up on the island during lockdown, the two shared beers, started dating, and eventually decided to do what they thought was the most reasonable thing: to open a brewery of their own.

Operating in the village of Port Erin at the southwestern tip of the island, they run a 1000 litre brewery and a small taproom that opens monthly. We had the chance to chat about the struggles they’ve faced bringing modern beer styles to a market that remains relatively traditional—at least compared to mainland cities like Liverpool and Manchester—and how challenging it has been getting their beer out into the wider market.

Despite this, they’re still giving it a go. And take it from me, the beers are delicious, hence why I found their whole story, and this conversation, so compelling. Thanks to Nick and Elizabeth for joining me in this conversation.

*We may have enjoyed several pints over several hours after the recording of this podcast.

Ep79 — Time Hopping with Siren Craft Brew

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Martin Rake, Matthew Curtis, Sean Knight, Darron Anley) — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 14:57:25 +0000

Established in 2013, Berkshire’s Siren Craft Brew has rightfully grown to become one of the most well-respected modern breweries in the United Kingdom.

We at Pellicle have been lucky to have followed Siren’s journey since pretty much the beginning—I even hosted a tasting with founder Darron Anley at the Duke’s Head Pub in Highgate all the way back in 2015. They’re also one of our dedicated pro-Patreon supporters. As such, when their head of marketing, Andy Nowlan, got in touch to ask if we’d be interested in doing some collaborative content around the second edition of their Time Hops project, we said yes without giving it a second thought.

Time Hops is Siren’s way of helping drinkers to understand the nature of hops, from their development and cultivation, to how they present themselves in finished beers. Siren produced four different beers for this year's edition, and we diligently produced four different stories about each of them, and the hop they focused on.

Mark Dredge donned his lager hat once again, and told us the story of the sublimely elegant noble hop, Saaz, from the Czech Republic. In her Pellicle debut, Robyn Gilmour wrote about Australia’s fantastic Galaxy—a hop with something of a chequered past that is finally beginning to come back into its own. Katie Mather told us a story from the other side of the Tasman Sea, about one of modern beer’s darling hops, Nelson Sauvin. Last but not least, Lily Waite-Marsden dug into the more recent story of Strata, one of the most exciting young hops on the market today.

But we weren’t done there. As part of Siren’s Time Hops event at their taproom in the village of Finchampstead, Pellicle headed down to host a panel-led discussion all about the project and the four beers that have resulted from it. In this episode I’m joined by Darron Anley, plus head brewer Sean Knight, and Martin Rake from The Malt Miller, who delivers some fantastic insight into hop procurement.

It’s a long conversation, and a fascinating one to boot, especially if you’re interested in all things hop-related. Thanks again for Siren for inviting us to collaborate on this fascinating project with them.

Ep78 — Into The Black (A Discussion of Dark Beer)

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 17:19:13 +0000

If you’re anything like me, you might have noticed that a certain dark beer has slowly but surely become the most ubiquitous beer in the UK. I am of course talking about Guinness. Now the most popular beer in the country (by value) it feels almost impossible to escape the gravity created by The Black Stuff.

Many of the smaller breweries I speak to—particularly those in Ireland—malign the ubiquity of Guinness. But perhaps where there is one popular stout that a whole new generation of drinkers is drawing enjoyment from there is also opportunity. Convincing someone to switch up from their favourite macro lager into something a bit more complex is challenging, but if they’re already drinking stout, that way opportunities potentially lie.

At FyneFest I recruited a panel from three independent breweries who are doing incredibly exciting things with their dark beers. At Lost Cause, Colin Stronge is continuing the great work he built his reputation on at breweries like Buxton and Salt, but now completely under his own steam. In Northumberland, Rigg and Furrow is focused on producing beers with a sense of place, and this feeds into some truly unique stouts and porters. Marketing manager Harriet Edgar is here to fill us in on those. And at Barney’s Beer in Edinburgh, career brewer Andrew ‘Barney’ Barnett is getting really experimental with his post mortem series.

While you won’t get to taste through the beers like our gathered audience at FyneFest, by listening to this you will get to enjoy a fascinating, and hugely jovial conversation about why we love dark beers with three hugely entertaining guests. The laughter and merriment throughout is a great reminder of why we return to the festival every year, and why you should consider joining us next time around. Until then, get your ears around this.

Ep77 — Will Evans of Manchester Union Brewery

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Will Evans, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 1 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s begin the description of this episode with a mea culpa.

In February 2025 I visited the Trading Route, a new venue from the people behind Manchester Union Brewery, and Manchester restaurants Trof, and Stow. One of the main reasons I was excited to go was because Manchester Union co-founder Will Evans had appeared in an Instagram video advertising slow poured versions of their lager, complete with voluminous creamy heads.

Slow poured lager—like that offered at Denver’s Bierstadt Lagerhaus—is something I love. This method of pouring the beer in stages, letting the beer rest for anywhere between three to seven minutes between each stage of a three or four part pour has this magical effect of bringing out malt sweetness. This works particularly well in bitter lager beers, such as Bierstadt’s eponymous Slow Pour Pils. Manchester Union’s own lager is a 12º Czech-style, decoction mashed pilsner, with a bitterness of around 35IBU (International Bitterness Units) which brings it close the the 39 possessed by perhaps the most famous Czech lager in the world: Pilsner Urquell.

Only, that’s not quite what happened. The food was fantastic, the lager itself tasted great. But when it came to the slow pour, I found the experience to be lacklustre, so I decided to use the experience to practise my critical writing skills over at my personal blog, Total Ales.

Here’s the thing though. Trading Route, sidled right up to the brand new Aviva Studios (or Factory International or whatever you want to call it) is a lone independent in a sea of transplanted London-chains, from Hawksmoor to Dishoom, and even a brand new Caravan Coffee right next door. Good ideas often take time to perfect, especially without the same level of resources of those chains I’ve just mentioned. Was zooming in for a hot take three months into Trading Route existence the right thing to do? Maybe, just maybe, I jumped the gun a little with my review.

Regardless, I’ve now been back to the Trading Route—in a way, Manchester Union’s de facto taproom—several times, and on my last two visits the Slow Pour was served as advertised. I also took this opportunity to catch up with Will on record, and have an important conversation about the brewery he helped to establish in 2018, because it’s a brewery worth knowing about. Manchester Union is the city’s only dedicated lager brewery, and the fact that they’re concentrating on Czech style lagers (including a fantastic dark lager) is an important point of difference to me. How do you stand out when lager is still the most visible product on any given bar? The answer is quite Mancunian in nature, as it happens: to do things differently.

In this episode of the Pellicle Podcast I catch up with brewery co-founder Will Evans and get to the nub of what makes Manchester’s only dedicated lager brewery tick.

With special thanks to our dedicated Patreon supporters who help bring the Pellicle Podcast to life.

Ep76 — Dan Wye of Fyne Ales Origins

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Dan Wye, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 21:40:00 +0000

One of the best things about making a yearly trip to Fyne Ales for FyneFest is that I get to check in on the brewery’s Origins side project.

It’s the vehicle for its wild beers, typically produced using mixed or spontaneously fermented and then barrel-matured beer, and often showing locally grown fruit, or forage herbs. These beers are a long way from cherished Fyne Ale classics like Jarl or Highlander, but they arguably show an even greater ‘sense of place’ than the cask beers that put this particular brewery on the map.

For the past couple of years the project has been under the stewardship of Dan Wye, an experienced brewer who now lives next door to the brewery in Glen Fyne. When he took the project on he was given carte blanche to make Origins his own, which he did initially by gutting and cleaning the small brewery he uses to produce wort, and even getting rid of a few barrels he felt didn’t meet his standards.

Any fermentation project such as this needs time, and now we’re at the point where Dan has his feet under the table, and Origins is beginning to produce some incredibly special beers. Among these are what Dan likes to refer to as ‘Chimeras’. Named for the mythical beast from the Greek classics, with the body and head of a lion, the head of a goat and a snake for a tail, Dan’s Chimera’s are far less threatening. Instead he uses the term to describe hybrid beers that are designed to ape beverages like wine or cider, but don’t feature any of the ingredients that would be traditionally used to make such drinks.

The results are pretty magical, with beers such as Smudan employing Nelson Sauvin hops before being further aged on gooseberries, elderflower, limes, sunflowers, marigolds and borage to imitate both the mouthfeel and flavour of cold climate Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a seriously impressive beer, but don’t take my word for it. The beer is carried by local restaurant, Inver, which presently holds a Michelin green star.

If you recognise Dan’s name, it’s because he featured on a Pellicle podcast recorded at FyneFest in 2024. On this occasion Dan spoke alongside The Kernel’s Evin O’Riordain, Mark Tranter of Burning Sky, and Will Harris of Balance Brewing in Manchester. This year, we figured seeing as he’d been super busy releasing lots of beers, and the fact we’re literally on his doorstep, it might be nice to have a one to one conversation about what he’s been up to.

Speaking of which, keep your eyes out for a forthcoming Origins, Pellicle collab in the not too distant future. I’ll be heading to Fyne Ales for non-FyneFest related reasons for the first time ever to help make a foraged beer that helps explore a notion I’m rather cynical about… Terroir. Expect more details soon!

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Ep75 — Mark Welsby of The Runaway Brewery, Stockport

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Mark Welsby) — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 09:42:35 +0000

About 10 years ago I was roaming along Red Bank in a part of Manchester city centre I was hopelessly unfamiliar with. On either side of me were tall stone walls topped with railway bridges, boxing me in and hiding the sun from view. Not another soul was to be seen. I sincerely hoped I was in the right place.

Thankfully, a few moments later, I was met by a smiling face that had emerged from a red door in the side of one of these dark, Mancunian trenches. Here was Mark Welsby, the founder of The Runaway Brewery and soon he was leading me on a quick tour and tasting. Although it was a while ago, I still remember being thoroughly impressed, especially with his sweet, chewy and resinous American Brown Ale.

As the years passed I got to know Mark increasingly well, especially after I relocated to Manchester myself in 2020. But more recently we’ve become very familiar, as in 2023 he moved Runaway to Stockport, opening a small brewery and taproom a mere 10 minute stroll from my own front door. This means that rarely a week goes by without me bumping into him or his wife and business partner Sam, because the space they’ve built in Stockport is wonderful, and the beer is tasting better than ever.

Located in a former metalworks, opposite Stockport’s brand new £140 million bus terminal and right on the banks of the River Mersey as it begins its journey westwards to Liverpool, Runaway has built a space the local community can be proud of. Featuring seating across two levels, twelve beers on tap (including two on cask) and pizza from another excellent local business, Honest Crust, in a roundabout way, it's a shining symbol of Stockport’s continuing redevelopment.

But more than that, it’s a sign of Mark’s intent. When the brewery moved here in April 2023, he signed a 10 year lease. This is where the next stage of this brewery’s development is to be, and it's here for the long haul.

In the latest episode of the Pellicle Podcast—and as part of a wider, more concerted effort to focus on what’s happening within the Manchester Beer Scene—I chat to Mark about the origins, and first decade of The Runaway Brewery, before discussing what it means to have relocated, after embedding itself within the Stockport community.

Ep74 — Should We Scrap The Pint Measure?

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Chris Shepherd, Vik Stronge, Matthew Curtis, Ol Fozard) — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 17:16:12 +0000

Should we scrap the pint measure? Or is the very notion of doing so rooted in prejudices like classism?

These were the questions I asked following the September 2024 publication of a study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge. Back then my focus was singular: why indeed did such a study focus specifically not just on beer, but on pubs? Its focus was to look at alcohol consumption rates, and investigate if reducing the size of the available measures would in turn reduce the rate of alcohol consumed.

Following the study’s publication, I contemplated why it focused on the pub, when around 60% of alcohol is now consumed in the home. It eventually led to bigger questions, such as where the pint measure fits within the fabric of British culture itself. This, I felt, was the perfect subject for an old-fashioned debate.

Once again, this summer we headed up to FyneFest to host our Meet the Brewer tastings and panel discussions, and we decided to kick off Friday evening with this very topic of conversation. I was pleased to welcome back two previous Pellicle podcast guests, in the form of Rooster’s Ol Fozard and Lost Cause Brewing’s Vik Kastenbauer Stronge. It was also a pleasure to welcome Chris Shepherd from Cambridge-based Pastore brewing, for what I hope won’t be his only appearance on this podcast.

While the festival got underway around us, we kicked our debate into action. You might say that being members of the beer industry, this is a side of the discussion loaded with some bias. But you’ll also hear some really interesting questions from the audience, including former CAMRA national executive chair Colin Valentine, and some other surprising guests.

As conversations around alcohol and health continue I’m sure this is a discussion that will come back around pretty soon. But in terms of the pint as a British cultural reference point, this is a fascinating panel, and one I hope you enjoy.

Ep73 — Theakston Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Simon Theakston, Richard Bradbury, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It’s fair to say I’ve developed something of an obsession with Theakston’s Old Peculier. Ever since deputy ed. Katie Mather and I sat down and had a couple of pints in Manchester’s The Salisbury a year or so ago, it’s become a cornerstone of my drinking habits. Katie went on to write a very fine profile of this majestic beer, and following that the brewery reached out and invited me to the brewery for a tour.

Politely, I asked if, while there, I’d be able to record an interview with its former managing director, now chair, Simon Theakston. His wing of the family acquired the brewery from previous owners Heineken in 2003, bringing it back under family control for the first time since 1987. Simon and his brothers share the same grandfather as would-be heir, Paul Theakston, who in 1993, seemingly in defiance at his family brewery’s loss of independence, founded Black Sheep Brewery (which has now entered its own tumultuous phase.)

To my delight, they agreed, but getting to the brewery itself was an issue. I don’t drive, and the market town of Masham, North Yorkshire, where the brewery is located, is a fair way from the nearest train station. Thankfully the brewery found a solution. Current MD Richard Bradbury offered to pick me up from Sheffield station, as he commuted to work from his home in Derbyshire. This gave me a great opportunity to chat to Richard about his own background—how his career started at Bank’s in his home of Wolverhampton, and how he worked on various Heineken brands before landing the role at Theakstons—during the drive over. Richard also kindly agreed to sit in on the podcast, and he shares some useful perspective within.

What was most interesting about meeting and chatting to Simon himself, was explaining to him my aims and intent, and what Pellicle is all about. He seemed genuinely thrilled that our young magazine is so dedicated towards the coverage of cask beer, and afterwards kindly allowed me to ask questions at will—including, yes, about beer duty and the Small Brewers Duty Reform Coalition (SBDRC).

Simon also gave me an in depth tour of the brewery, including a look at its vintage (and that’s an understatement) grain mill, and the famous Steel’s masher that helps contribute towards the unique character of Theakston’s ales. My favourite part of the tour—other than when Simon poured me a pint of Old Peculier from the wood—was the fermentation room. Here in this corridor lined with open Yorkshire squares, the unmistakable aroma of Old Peculier was at its most potent. I also got to have a peek inside the cooperage, where in house journeyman cooper Euan Findlay builds the very casks that dispense this hallowed beer.

During the interview we get into all the good stuff, including the history of the brewery, and its current objectives as an old brewery in a very different market. We also dig into a bit of beer politics. It’s a very satisfying conversation, and one I hope you enjoy as much as I have done cutting it together. If you do enjoy this episode, do consider leaving the podcast a rating or review in the app you use to stream it, and sharing it with any friends who you think might find it interesting.

Ep72 — Christine Clair and Nolan Russell of Crosby Hops, Oregon, USA

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Christine Clair, Nolan Russell, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 19 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Those of you with good enough memories will remember I have some thoughts on terroir in beer. Basically, I think the concept is a scam, and that a product which is so influenced by not just a confluence of ingredients, but so much human intervention can’t possibly express the t-word.

However, I remain open-minded, and I try to let those opinions remain somewhat malleable. While beer as a finished product might not be the best device to showcase the influence of climatic conditions on ingredients and flavour, when it comes to those ingredients individually I admit that differences can be demonstrated.

Take, for example, Centennial, a public aroma hop variety that is known for expressing aromatics that range from freshly zested lemon rind to sun-warmed rose petals in full bloom. Centennial is a characterful hop that makes delicious beer, and if you don’t believe me just ask breweries like California’s Sierra Nevada, or Bell's Brewery in Michigan, who use this particular hop to stunning effect in beers such as Celebration and Two Hearted. In fact, the latter of those two beers is what we have to thank for the continued success and admiration for this particular hop variety.

But what’s the difference between a Centennial hop if it's grown in the hot, arid climate of Yakima Valley in Washington compared to the cooler climate of Woodburn, Oregon? While located further south, with the city being just outside of Portland, it's also closer to the coast, which brings in that cooler, Pacific air. It means the hops experience completely different growing conditions, giving Oregon Centennial its own vibe compared to the harvest a few hundred miles north.

Crosby Hops are the owners of that hop farm, and they are growing the Centennial that you find in Bell’s Two Hearted. But it’s also making its way over to the UK, and most recently it has been showcased in a new, nationally released IPA from the Leeds-based Northern Monk Brewery called Beyond. While it's still packed with that familiar pithy citrus, it also has something else—a brightness, a resonance if you will. It brings a distinctive character to the beer, and a lot of this is down to where it grows, and who grows it.

In this episode of The Pellicle Podcast I’m lucky enough to sit down, in person, with Christine Clair and Nolan Russll of Crosby Hops, a generational family-owned hop farm in Oregon, USA. It was a great opportunity to chat about both the challenges faced by, and the opportunities available to modern-day hop farmers, and there’s a good mix of chat that veers from the scientific and technical, to the romantic. Hops are an ingredient that gets a lot of people fired up about beer, so if you love hops, then this is an episode for you.

A special thank you to our sponsors at Brewers Select who made this episode possible by bringing Christine and Russell over to Beer X Liverpool, where this interview was recorded in March 2025.

Ep71 — Damian O'Shea of Heaton Hops, Stockport

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Damian O'Shea, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:52:46 +0000

If you’re a regular user of pubs I’m probably someone you’d refer to as a ‘transient’ pubgoer. I enjoy variety—the spice of life, as it were. Stimulation, for me, comes from visiting lots of different pubs, and here in Manchester I am spoiled for choice.

It’s easy enough for me to hop from Café Beermoth, to The City Arms, to Bundobust, to head over to The Salisbury for yet another Old Peculier. And if I jump back on a train or bus to where I live in Stockport, I can visit The Magnet, Ye Olde Vic, The Petersgate Tap, Runaway Brewery… you get the picture.

But it’s also part of a problem in that this desire I have to visit and experience lots of places often leaves me lacking the feeling of being grounded. And when you think about it, that’s one of the key reasons pubs exist in the first place. Thankfully, one pub, just down the road from me in the Stockport borough of Heaton Chapel, seems to have changed all of that. Here I have found a place where the staff know my name (and insist, for some reason, on always calling me by my full name), where they know what I want to drink before I order it, and where I can sit down and be in full conversation with other regulars within seconds. Here is somewhere I feel safe and welcome, always.

The place? Heaton Hops, a tiny pub (you might call it a ‘micropub’ but I find it diminutive so it's not a term I like to use) just off the busy A6 that’s nestled into a neighbourhood that has collected a multitude of similar small, independent businesses. A genuine community. The pub was founded in 2014 by husband and wife Damian O’Shea and Charlotte Winstone, initially as a bottle shop that sold a limited amount of beer to drink on premise. The needs of the community, however, dictated that it should be a pub first, and a bottle shop second, and so that’s what it became; home to eight lines of keg beer, and three hand pulls serving immaculately conditioned pints of real ale.

Me being me, in my fondness for this place I decided to pitch an article about it to BEER, the quarterly magazine for the Campaign for Real Ale I write for relatively frequently. The piece will be featured in the Summer 2025 edition, and so if you’re a member you’ll be receiving that around the beginning of June. Listening back to the interview recently, I thought wouldn’t Damian, essentially the landlord of my local, make a great podcast guest. And so I’ve edited that recording into a nice, half-hour interview for you to enjoy.

Damian and I chat about Heaton Hops itself, and how he came to own and run his own pub. But we also get stuck into what’s happening in terms of small, independent hospitality businesses at the moment, and what kind of beer gets Damian out of bed these days while also indulging ourselves in a bit of nostalgia for the early craft beer days. It’s a fun conversation, and one I hope you enjoy.

If you’d like to visit Heaton Hops (which is also featured in my book, Manchester’s Best Beer Pubs and Bars) you can find it at 7 School Lane, Stockport, SK4 5DE. You might even find me propping up the bar.

Ep70 — Paul Meikle-Janney and Damian Blackburn of Dark Woods Coffee, Marsden

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Paul Meikle-Janny, Damian Blackburn, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 7 Apr 2025 16:23:04 +0000

Coffee and beer are, when you think about it, strange bedfellows. One gets you out of bed in the morning, provides stimulation and impetus, while the other (hopefully) tells you that it’s time to slow down and kick back. Perhaps it's the inherent balance this creates which is why I can’t do without either.

I first got into coffee about 10 years ago, and for all wants and purposes in this podcast we’ll call it ‘third wave coffee’ (it’s a bit like craft beer, in that it is a term that was invented to definite a subculture within an industry, but it just ended up getting abused and misused.) For me, the appeal of third wave coffee was exactly the same as the one I found in craft beer: big, bold, unusual flavours from small producers. Once I’d discovered it, I was the owner of an Aeropress, hand grinder and scales faster than you can say “Yirgacheffe.”

But like beer, my coffee journey has been one of peaks and troughs. In the early days I lusted after the rarest, most interesting coffees I could find, even once spending $15 on a single cup of pour over Colombian Gesha at a fancy American coffee spot. That was the peak. Then, just like with beer and my lust for cask bitter and precise lager, my coffee enthusiasm settled out. An automatic filter coffee machine replaced my manual equipment. A good pour of espresso, like a great pint of cask, was best left to the experts. I was happier now.

My interest in coffee, however, lingers on. So when I was invited for a tour of Marsden’s Dark Woods Coffee (hands down one of the best roasters in the UK, in my opinion) I couldn’t refuse. What I love about Dark Woods is both how approachable their coffees are, and their seemingly unwavering commitment to quality beans. This was evident in every part of the process I saw during my visit, from the roastery itself, down to the perfect espresso I tried immediately afterwards. It was also great to see that they’re not limiting how they express their coffees, as I also got to try hopped, and fruited coffees, plus even bourbon barrel-aged coffee.

Perhaps there are more similarities between modern beer and coffee than I care to admit. This is why I was thrilled to get a chance to sit down and chat with two of Dark Woods’ founding partners, Paul Meikle-Janney and Damian Blackburn. I was curious to see where their perception of coffee culture is, and how what their industry is experiencing relates to what’s currently happening in beer.

It’s a compelling listen, and I’d like to thank Paul and Damian for taking the time to chat. If you enjoyed this, then why not check out our recent article by Tom Wilkinson (also of Dark Woods) who recently wrote for Pellicle about the place of third wave coffee in a post-craft world. You can read it here.

Ep69 — Big Beers from a Big Weekend

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:58:52 +0000

Although it’s still a few months away I’m already getting excited about this year's FyneFest. It’s one of the most important dates in my calendar, not just because we head up there to host our Meet the Brewer panel discussions, but because it’s simply one of the best beer-focussed events that the UK has to offer.

While I tend to get misty-eyed over glorious pints of Jarl from the source, I also recognise it as a chance to try some truly special beers that I don’t normally get to enjoy. The Origins Bar, where our talks take place, is a great example of this. Here you’ll find plenty of funky wild beers and mixed ferments from several breweries including Fyne’s own Origins project, plus wild-fermented ciders from producers such as Ross-on-Wye.

For this discussion we decided to focus on the biggest beers pouring at the festival: stouts, barleywines, strong saisons and biere de garde—the kind of beers a situation like FyneFest is the perfect place to treat yourself too. On the panel I’m joined by Gareth Young from Glasgow’s Epochal Barrel Fermented Ales, Lally Morrison from Polly’s Brew Co in Mold, North Wales, and Sean Knight from Siren Craft Brew in Berkshire.

Each brewer brought something truly special for us to taste, in addition to their wealth of knowledge and experience in producing these kinds of beers. Tune in for a little bit of ‘how’ but plenty more ‘why’ and, indeed, why we can expect lots more big beers from these breweries in the future.

Ep68 — Paul King of French & Jupps Maltings

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Paul King, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Until the start of 2024 I had never heard of French & Jupps, the UK’s oldest continuously operating maltster, established in 1689. When I was offered to visit by my friend Jonathan Mitchell, who distributes their malt via his Northern Ireland-based company Get ‘Er Brewed, I just had to tag along.

Malt has always been central to both my enjoyment and fascination with beer, and is my favourite ingredient. You can probably say that water is more important, and hops are more exciting (sorry, yeast) but it's malt that fuels my curiosity the most. Malt forms not only an important intersection between the technical side of brewing, and the creative, flavour-driven element, but for me also provides the most tangible connection to its agriculture – the fact that beer is a product of the land first, and the factory second.

Located a 20-minute train ride from Tottenham Hale station in North London, French & Jupps is located in the picturesque town of Stanstead Abbotts, next to the River Lea. Although by no-means small, it's not quite as gargantuan as other maltings in the UK, such as those operated by Crisp, Simpsons, or Bairds. That’s in part because they don’t produce base malts, instead focusing exclusively on crystal, roasted and what’s known as patent malt – the latter so-called because historically a permit was required to authorise its manufacture.

French & Jupps produces everything from crystal malts – designed to add sweetness and body – to patent malts that can imbue beer with everything from notes of chocolate and coffee, to bitterness and astringency. You might not have heard of them as a maltster before, but you have almost certainly tasted their malt in beers such as Harvey’s Mild, or Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale.

But there’s another reason you might not have heard of them, and that’s because their product was, until recently, distributed via other maltsters, and often re-bagged so none of their branding was present. This is, in part, where managing director Paul King comes in. Joining the company just over four years ago, Paul has had an illustrious career in brewing, holding positions at Diageo, SAB Miller and Anheauser Busch, in roles that have seen him based in Japan, South Africa and the USA.

Now, under his stewardship, French & Jupps are beginning to take a more prominent role in their own distribution, but also starting to tell their own, fascinating story in greater detail. I’m pleased to tell you I’m working on a written companion to this interview with Paul that will fill in the details of this maltster's history, while also explaining a bit more about roasted malt on a technical level, and how it's used to make certain beers taste and feel the way they do.

Until then, please enjoy this delightful conversation with one of the most interesting people in the beer industry I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. It’s about malt, yes, but also about understanding the vital role it plays in the beer we drink.

Ep67 — Defining British Wild Beer

Mon, 3 Feb 2025 01:00:00 +0000

For the past few months I have been considering a very specific subgenre of British beer, its place in the wider culture of British beer, and my own enjoyment of it. You might call the beverages within this category by the name saison, sour, barrel-aged, or even mixed-fermentation. None of these terms, however, feel like they do this category, how exciting it is, or what it actually means to people justice.

The reasons why they don’t are multifaceted—not to mention complicated—but the reason why it’s important that we do find the terminology to describe them is because of the vast range of quality and deliciousness producers of these sorts of beers are making. Some of the most stunning things I have drunk over the last 12 months have so often been left to mature in barrels or foeders, typically with a variety of yeasts and bacteria, and sometimes other ingredients ranging from foraged herbs to harvested fruits. I estimate that there are at least 50 producers of these beers within the UK at the moment (and as part of this project I hope to catalogue them).

Some of these producers, like Balance in Manchester and Mills in Gloucestershire, are making these kinds of beers outright. Others, like Burning Sky in Sussex and The Kernel in London are making them alongside an existing range of “clean” beers. Now there’s a word that easily defines a pale ale, lager or IPA. For some reason, though, I don’t think “dirty” is going to work for the beers we’re trying to talk about here. But what about “wild?” Sure, it’s not not perfect, and I don't think there's a one size fits all solution here, but it works for me. (And how the hell do you present a beer like this to someone who doesn’t know anything about them and call them “mixed-fermentation?” Honestly, it's an overly technical term that does nothing to describe how a beer actually tastes, and we need to move on from it.)

There’s a lot of work to do to unpack the excitement occurring in British Wild Beer, and that’s a project I have assigned myself this year. This podcast, recorded in June 2024 at FyneFest, was pretty much the starting point for that thinking. It features an all-star cast, including The Kernel’s Evin O’Riordain, Burning Sky’s Mark Tranter, Will Harris from Balance Brewing and Blending, plus Dan Wye, who spearheads Fyne Ales own wild beer project: Origins.

For a long time I have been asking “who are these beers for,” and you will hear me ask it as part of this panel discussion. Perhaps the biggest lesson this chat taught me is that this doesn’t matter, but the beers that are being made definitely do. It's time we found the language that helps place them into the wider culture of British Beer.

Ep66 — Gipsy Hill's Sam McMeekin on Brewing Sustainably

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Sam McMeekin) — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 16:37:03 +0000

Will brewing ever truly manage to become ‘sustainable’? Acknowledged by the UK government as a highly energy intensive sector of the economy, the industrial act of making beer has a far larger drain on our natural resources than those simply caused by heating liquid up and cooling it down again.

Brewing uses a massive amount of water for a start, whether that’s for cleaning, packaging, or making the beer itself. More pertinently, there’s the fact that brewing is almost wholly reliant on industrial agriculture perennially lurking in its sizable shadow. The production of grain and hops for brewing has, arguably, the biggest impact on the industry's carbon footprint, which is why breweries like Gipsy Hill in South London are looking for ways to mitigate this.

The brewery’s founder, Sam McMeekin, has appeared on this podcast before speaking about what’s know as ‘regenerative agriculture’ – a system of sustainable cultivation that endeavours to increase the amount of carbon locked away by soils and their surrounding ecosystems. At FyneFest in 2022 the brewery was pouring a beer called Regenerator, which in addition to using regeneratively farmed barley malt, also utilised second use hops, reclaimed using a centrifugal filter Gipsy Hill has invested a considerable amount of money in.

In August 2024 I paid a visit to the brewery to learn more about its investment into sustainable beer production. Regenerator has now spawned two new core beers. Called Trail (a pale ale) and Swell (a lager) both breweries use completely regeneratively farmed barley, contracted directly by Gipsy Hill and then malted for them at Warminster Maltings.

A lot happened at Gipsy Hill after this conversation was recorded, including its acquisition by Sunrise Alliance Beverages – a step it took to avoid putting the company into administration. Which begs the question – can breweries actually afford to invest in sustainability at a meaningful level? Tune in to hear about the efforts Sam and Gipsy Hill continue to make in reducing this brewery’s carbon footprint.

Ep65 — The 2024 Pellicle Christmas Special

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Katie Mather, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

It’s that time of the year once again, and you can bet we’re making our lists and checking them twice.

In what feels like a breakout year for Pellicle, join our editor-in-chief Matthew Curtis and deputy editor Katie Mather as they chew through the year that was. There’s plenty of reflection on the magazine itself, as well as space for discussing some of the bigger topics in beer and cider for 2024. This includes some healthy conversation about the rise of Guinness and the trad pub ‘revival’, plus a nod to Thornbridge and Epochal Brewery taking on Burton Union Sets from Carlsberg. The pair also discuss the pressing issue of DEI in beer, before looking ahead to the new year.

Thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in to The Pellicle Podcast this year. We’ve managed to publish 19 episodes—our most in a calendar year ever—and have produced some of our favourite episodes to date. If you’re new to the podcast, do dig into our back catalogue as there are some absolute gems in our archive. A special thanks to our podcast sponsor Loughran Brewers Select, and to our wonderful Patreon supporters for giving us the resources to bring our magazine and podcast to life. Merry Christmas to you, one and all!

This episode is dedicated to our dearly missed friend and peer Susanna Forbes.

Ep64 — IPA Still Rules, OK!

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matt Dutton, Matthew Curtis, Vik Stronge) — Mon, 2 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

IPAs. We love to hate them. We love to love them. It’s fair to say that the darling of modern beer has, over the past 10 or 20 years, been discussed to death. But we felt there was life in the old dog yet. That’s why at FyneFest earlier this year we hosted a panel discussion to talk about the present and future of the IPA with two breweries who are pushing the envelope as far as this category is concerned.

Matt Dutton is the head brewer at Manchester’s Track Brewing, one of the innovators at the forefront when it comes to utilising the latest hop technology. Coming from a background as an award-winning homebrewer, Matt has led the brewing team at Track for the past eight years, and is in charge of ensuring every pint of Sonoma, Half Dome, or whatever weekly special happens to be pouring at their taproom tastes as good as it possibly can.

We know Track means business too, as we brewed one of our fifth anniversary beers with them, a resolutely modern IPA that we called Optimism Forever. This provided a perfect stepping off point for us to chat about how modern brewing techniques and technology are ensuring there’s still plenty of ground to cover when it comes to experimentation and flavour within the IPA category.

Our second panelist is Vik Stronge, who long time Pellicle Podcast listeners might remember from previous episodes where she appeared as strategy manager of Huddersfield's Magic Rock Brewery. Since then Vik has moved on from Magic Rock, teaming up with her husband and experienced brewer to form their own brewery: Lost Cause. With both Vik and Colin’s extremely high brewing pedigree you’d expect greatness out of the gate from these two, and that’s exactly what we’ve been served so far.

During this panel Vik discusses the use of new hop varieties and how they are helping Lost Cause to define itself as a brewery. We taste its IPA, Love You, Bye, which is hopped with a recently developed proprietary hop variety from Indie Hops in Oregon, USA, that tastes like cloudy lemonade on a hot summer's day. It’s vibrant, electric and proof positive that there’s plenty of exciting hop flavours still out there for us drinkers to experience and enjoy. All of which is discussed in this podcast episode.

Ep63 — Tim Dewey of Timothy Taylor’s Brewery

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Pellicle Magazine) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 01:00:00 +0000

What do you think of when you think about a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord? Is it a seamless marriage of hop, malt, yeast and water? Or is it perhaps the pristine vistas offered by the hills and dales of Yorkshire? God’s Own Country they call it, modestly. Maybe it’s about that duff pint you had in a random Soho pub that tasted of idleness and regret? All three perspectives are valid.

There is a lot that goes into the production, consumption and (potentially) enjoyment of this near universally acknowledged and appreciated beer. One that is the second largest cask beer by both volume and value in the United Kingdom, neatly behind the ubiquitous Doom Bar from the Molson Coors-owned Sharp’s (which also makes Landlord the largest independently produced cask beer in the UK.) 19 million pints of this pale, Yorkshire bitter are supped, swilled and scoffed at every single year. That’s quite a feat, when you think about it.

It is these reasons that stimulated our latest long read: A Polyptych of a Pint, by Rachel Hendry. As a feature it is one that came into being thanks to a little bit of serendipity. While Rachel and I were wrapping up the production of an earlier piece she wrote for us on the history of Babycham, at the end of an email she opted to include a couple of sentences that indicated she wished to write about Landlord. By coincidence I had also been sitting on the open offer of a tour at the brewery, and suggested she might like to join me, as research on her yet-to-be feature began in earnest.

That tour was led by the current CEO of Timothy Taylor’s, Tim Dewey. An ex-spirits man who formerly led marketing at brands like Smirnoff and Drambuie, he’s sat in the big chair at Taylor’s for over a decade now, and announced his impending retirement earlier this year. More serendipity, then, in that Rachel and I were lucky enough to catch Tim before he started to enjoy a well-earned retirement.

In this episode join Rachel Hendry and Matthew Curtis as we chat to Timothy Taylor’s CEO Tim Dewey about all things Landlord. Find out why it's one of the most well loved, and indeed, talked about (and argued over) cask beers in the country in this must-listen-to episode of our podcast.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Ep62 — Keep It Traditional!

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Pellicle Magazine) — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 13:42:09 +0000

It always brings me great joy to publish the recordings of the panel discussions we have at FyneFest each year. This year’s were our best and busiest yet, with our new Origins Tent making our small portion of the festival feel more accessible and welcoming than ever before. Thanks to everyone that came down, and if you enjoy the sound of this, then head to fynefest.com this week to secure your tickets to next year's festival. We’ll be back again, hosting more talks and tastings just like this one!

Speaking of which, this has to be one of the most fun, most bonkers discussions we’ve had so far. The premise was a simple one: We talked up our favourite traditional beer styles. Styles like bitter, mild, porter, stout and old ale. A simple premise, really, but one that proved to be really effective. Traditional beer styles and cask dispense are having what feels like a moment right now, so here’s hoping this turns out to be the beginning of something lasting, rather than a flash in the pan.

Huge thanks again to our panellists, Jamie Delap of Fyne Ales, Bob Cary of Good Chemistry Brewing and Russ Clarke of Amity Brewing. Thanks also to Aidy Fenwick of Fyne Ales for helping us to organise these talks, and for running samples to our (very) thirsty audience.

A last note: instead of publishing all five talks we recorded at FyneFest in one go, this time we’re going to intersperse them between regular episodes. We hope this will keep things feeling a bit fresher (and it also means you won’t be waiting as long for some of the fantastic interviews we’ve been recording to come out.) We hope you enjoy listening, and if you’re enjoying the Pellicle podcast be sure to subscribe and leave a rating in your streaming app of choice, and tell some friends about us!

Ep61 — Bill Shufelt of Athletic Brewing Company

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Bill Shufelt, Matthew Curtis) — Fri, 4 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I used to be a bit of a stickler when it came to low and no alcohol beer—because it didn’t really fit into my lifestyle at the time, I didn’t see the point of it.

These days, however, I’ve not only accepted that it’s important to see more alcohol free beer on the bar, but believe its increasing availability is a net positive to beer culture as a whole. Not only does it give people who don’t drink alcohol the chance to enjoy beer, but it allows people to curate their habits, whether that’s to drink more mindfully, or cut down on the units in certain situations or at certain times of the year.

Most importantly, I believe the increasing availability of good quality alcohol free beer opens up beer and pub culture to more people. And more people choosing to socialise and spend time in pubs is something that all of us should be celebrating. With a greater number of good quality draught low and now alcohol beer options coming to the market, this is a trend I expect to continue.

One of the breakout low and no alcohol beer brands of the past few years is Milford, Connecticut’s Athletic Brewing Company. Established in 2017 by Bill Shufelt and John Walker, in just seven short years it’s grown to have multiple brewing sites, release well over 100 different beers—all low/no—and attain a market valuation of a staggering $800 million. They’ve even opened a taproom, which brings a beer experience most of us take for granted to a much wider range of people.

While alcohol free beer is growing in the US beer market, it’s not doing so quite as quickly as it is in the UK, where there seems to be less remaining stigma around alcohol free beer. As a result, Bill spends a fair amount of time in the UK as he helps to steward the growth of his brand over here. Most recently, Athletic has partnered with Arsenal Football Club as an official drinks partner, providing further mainstream exposure for a brand that shows no signs of slowing down.

In this brand new episode of the Pellicle Podcast I caught up with Athletic Brewing Company’s co-founder Bill Shufelt during SIBA’s Beer X conference in Liverpool. We chatted about, among other things, the stratospheric growth of his brewery, their approach to producing their alcohol free products, and why the UK is a crucial market for low alcohol brands. If you’re keen to understand the dynamic alcohol free beer market, then this episode is a must-listen.

Ep60 — What Does “Craft Beer” Mean To You?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I was once a craft beer evangelist. I believed it was the future, and the past was dead in the water. That past, to me, was over a century of British brewing tradition: bitter, mild, porter. I was ready for the global Americanisation of beer culture—double dry hopped everything.

But I was wrong, and eventually I realised that. Craft beer was not new, not a revolution, not the sea change of an entire culture I, for some reason, longed for, just the continuation of a thing that already existed: beer.

I have realised there are much more important things within beer culture than craft beer: independent beer, well made beer, ethical beer, beer that gives a shit, delicious beer. All of this is more important than ever trying to define it, and always will be.

In this, the last of our podcasts to be recorded at IndyManBeerCon 2023, I speak with some fellow beer industry lifers about craft beer, and what it means for us now. With huge thanks to our guests: Cath Potter of CAMRA, Lauren Soderberg then of Port Street Beer House and now of Deya Brewery, and James Campbell of Sureshot Brewery.

Please enjoy this conversation as we try to untangle “craft beer” and then let us never speak of it again. Good beer will always be there for us, and perhaps it doesn’t need to be anything more than that.

Ep59 — The State of Independence

Mon, 9 Sep 2024 12:41:06 +0000

Since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis, the UK has experienced the closure, or change in ownership of nearly 200 small, independent breweries. Prior to that, however, we saw a boom, growing from just over 700 in 2013, to more than 2000 at the start of 2020.

Around 700 of these breweries are members of SIBA, the Society for Independent Brewers and Associates. In March 2024, our host Matthew Curtis visited its annual trade show, Beer X, in Liverpool, and wandered the trade floor asking members two simple questions: what’s the biggest challenge facing their business at the moment, and what’s one thing they’re feeling positive about when it comes to beer and brewing.

It seems like a simple premise, but it revealed that while the industry is still facing hardships—illustrated by that decrease in overall brewery numbers—there’s still plenty to smile about. Independent beer, it seems, still has plenty of fight left in it, and that’s something all drinkers should take to heart.

This episode features, in order of appearance: Catherine Webber (Attic Brew Co), Charlotte Thomson (Indie Rabble/A Hoppy Place), Paul Jones (Cloudwater), Sean O'Reilly (Brids Cross Brewery), Steve Dunkley (Beer Nouveau), Laura Rangeley (Abbeydale), Julie and Les O'Grady (Neptune), Richard Archer (Utopian Brewing), Cameron Brown (Turning Point Brew Co) and Sam Martin (Leigh on Sea Brewery).

Ep58 — Talking Yeast with Alix Blease of Lallemand

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Alix Blease, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Yeast so often plays third fiddle in the conversation about beer, and how it’s made. It never quite shares the limelight with hops, the most glamorous beer ingredient, and to some extent malt. And yet, it’s one of the most fascinating elements within beer's makeup. In this episode we chat to Alix Blease of Lallemand, and dig into the importance of yeast in brewing.

There’s a saying some brewers like to peddle, not to mention Alix herself in this episode: “brewers make wort, yeast makes beer.” It’s a statement I’ve never been inclined to agree with, because—as we learn in this episode—there are so many factors that can implement the fermentation process, and it is brewers, or cellar managers as they’re typically referred to in a brewery, who control these various processes.

Simple adjustments such as temperature, the size and shape of a particular fermentation vessel, and indeed the strain of yeast (or yeasts) itself will have wildly different influences on a particular beer's fermentation. Through the careful stewardship of their yeast, brewers can influence a variety of flavours and other characteristics that contribute hugely to the finished beer in your glass.

Maybe, then, I can agree in part that the yeast does make the beer, but it wouldn’t be able to do so without those who steward it. Perhaps, in terms of fermentation, it’s more useful to describe brewers as shepherds, or perhaps yeast wranglers, who give these little critters the best possible chance to make a beer you and I will enjoy. In this episode, we learn why all of this is so important, and talk about some interesting developments in the future of yeast science, and how this will influence modern beer production.

Ep57 — How Does Beer Navigate a Cost of Living Crisis?

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

How does the beer industry navigate a cost of living crisis? In a panel discussion recorded at IndyManBeerCon 2023, Jonny Hamilton chats to Phil Sisson from Glasgow’s Simple Things Fermentation, Julie O’Grady from Neptune Brewery in Liverpool and Toby McKenzie from RedWillow Brewery in Macclesfield to find out how the financial squeeze is affection small breweries, and their customers.

I’m sure most of you have felt the pinch by now: you want to get a big haul in from that local bottle shop, but instead you opt for a couple of specials and a case of something reliable from the supermarket. That expensive third of DIPA looks tempting, but it’s your round and you’ll settle on a pint of something lower in ABV, and much more affordable.

The cost of living crisis has most of us feeling the squeeze. Rising energy bills, the cost of groceries, and the general expense of merely existing has had most of us making small changes to our lives, sometimes consciously, sometimes not.

Small breweries, too, are feeling the pinch. For many it’s simply too much and since the Covid-19 pandemic close to 200 small breweries in the UK have either shut down, or found new investment, or even new owners to help them steer through the financial mire. This has a knock on effect for customers, not simply pushing up the cost of beer, but shattering the amount of choice. You only have to step inside your nearest hostelry to see that a handful of mass produced brands occupy the taps.

There’s hope though, which can be heard in the tone taken by our host and three panellists in this episode of our podcast, all of whom own and work at small breweries in the UK. Sure, there’s a sense of realism throughout, but there’s also a sense that if they’ve made it this far, they might as well keep on going. For beer’s sake, as much of their own.

Ep56 — We'll Miss You, Good Beer Hunting

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:00:00 +0000

We were deeply saddened to hear that our peers at Good Beer Hunting would be closing their publication. In this episode Matthew shares some thoughts on GBH's significance, and why its more important than ever to support independent beer writing.

Ep55 — Max Vaughan of White Peak Distillery, Derbyshire

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Max Vaughan, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 1 Jul 2024 11:26:15 +0000

Like beer, whisky has always fascinated me. Maybe it’s because, like beer, it’s brewed, and before distillation the resulting wash (the distilling term for wort) undergoes a period of open fermentation, not unlike a wild or mixed fermentation beer. Or maybe it's because it’s simply delicious. Enough so to pique my curiosity and to discover more about how it’s made, and the people who make it.

At White Peak Distillery in Ambergate, Derbyshire I found another beer hook from which I could hang my hat—that it uses brewers yeast sourced from the nearby Thornbridge Brewery. Not just any yeast either, as every Tuesday they collect several tubs of the same yeast that’s used to produce the brewery's flagship IPA, Jaipur. The hope is that using this yeast will produce lots of interesting esters during fermentation, adding fruit notes to the wash, which is then further amplified by whatever else gets in there during the open fermentation.

The goal, as I learned when chatting to Max Vaughan, who founded White Peak with wife Claire in 2016, is to pack as much flavour into its distillate as possible, so that when it begins a long maturation in oak, it's already packed with character that will slowly, steadily evolve for several years until it’s ready to be called whisky. Tasting the results of what White Peak has released so far under its Wire Works range of whiskies, I genuinely think that this English whisky maker—one of about 50 in the country—could potentially be one of the most exciting drinks producers in the country at this moment.

Recorded in the tasting room at White Peak Distillery, in this episode I chat to White Peak founder Max Vaughan about why he decided to open a distillery to the edge of the Peak District, at the water’s edge of the River Derwent. In it I learn about how the brewery is constantly pushing for more interesting flavours through the use of heritage grains and through the use of many different types of barrel. We chat about sustainability, about the state of English whisky in general, and I learn how White Peak sources potentially the freshest bourbon barrels in the UK, direct from Kentucky, thanks to its partnership with US bourbon brand Never Say Die.

It’s a fascinating conversation, and if, like me, you’re more of a beer person than a whisky one, I promise there’s plenty of interesting stuff in here that may well pique your curiosity, just like it did mine.

Ep54 — An Open Discussion About Sustainability in Beer

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

How important is the role of sustainability in brewing? How does beer actually get made sustainably when it’s an incredibly energy-intensive process to actually get your beer from the farm to your glass? And how does the industry avoid greenwashing as it attempts to be more responsible about its impact on our climate and the environment?

All these questions and more are answered in our latest podcast episode: An Open Discussion About Sustainability in Beer. Recorded live at IndyManBeerCon in October 2023, this episode features Ben Stubbs of Rivington Brew Co, Chris Drummond of Allkin Brewing, IMBC founder Jonny Heyes, and is hosted by our very own Jonny Hamilton.

At the start of the episode there’s also some reflection from our regular host Matthew Curtis about IMBC’s decision not to hold an event in 2024, and what the festival means to him.

Ep53 — Alistair Morrell of Cider is Wine

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Alistair Morrell, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 1 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Cast your mind back to February 2021, when I published episode 20 of this podcast. In an effort to experiment with the format of the show, I’d begun recording long monologues loosely based on the idea that I would ask myself a question and try to both answer and contextualise it in under an hour.

One of the first questions I asked myself was “does cider have an image problem?” And, over the course of about 55 minutes, I sent myself down a rabbit hole of loaded opinion in which I expressed some deep feelings about cider and perry. It proved popular, in fact to date it is the third most popular podcast we’ve ever published. Why it has been listened to so regularly is largely down to the fact it split opinion about 50/50. Some relished the idea of cider’s image being challenged, while others found little to agree with.

One bone I picked at relentlessly during the episode was the existence of a supplier and trade body called Cider is Wine. I considered their use of terminology, in particular its decision to refer to cider and perry as ‘orchard wines’ to be somewhat self-defeatist. I’ve long considered that language and its use to describe alcoholic beverages to be a powerful tool. I also believe that for cider and perry to win more hearts and minds, it needs to be true to itself and not look to beer or wine for answers (or customers). This includes directly referring to itself as wine, and not cider, as Cider is Wine chooses to.

Not long after the episode was published I was contacted by the founder of Cider is Wine, Alistair Morrell, and we had a relatively healthy conversation about my views—well, as healthy as you can do via Twitter and email. What we did agree on, however, was that when Alistair found himself in Manchester we would sit down face to face and record a podcast, which we finally did in November 2023.

Remarkably, as so often happens when you allow time for proper, in-depth, face-to-face conversation, we found that we had more common ground than we suspected. Well, I have a feeling that Alistair did suspect it, because cider is his business after all. While we didn’t agree on everything, we did speak constructively about the future of cider and perry, and discussed his use of specific terminology in depth.

After the heated part of the interview, we also took the chance to taste through a few of the ciders he distributes, all of which were stunning. (Please note, this episode was recorded in a moderately busy bar, so there is a little background noise, but nothing hopefully too distracting.)

Ep52 — Beer Writer and Author of Desi Pubs David Jesudason

matthew@pelliclemag.com (David Jesudason, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 01:00:00 +0000

In hindsight, it’s easy to say that when writer David Jesudason pitched me a story on the history and significance of Desi Pubs, I bit his hand off. But reality is never that simple. While it’s true that I was desperate to commission stories by writers from non-white backgrounds, and publish stories that explored previously uncovered elements of British beer culture, I am always wary before I commit to an idea.

The question I ask myself before I commission a story, whether I like it or not, is “would our readers enjoy this.” Although I get the final say over what we eventually publish on Pellicle it’s not really about what I like, it’s about meeting the expectations of the people who come to the site every week to read about beer, pubs, or whatever we happen to be talking about at the time.

Thankfully, I loved David’s pitch, and we eventually published his first story on Desi Pubs on the 2nd of June, 2021. It was a hit, and in addition to opening up our readers to this vastly undercovered area of British pub culture, it sent David down a rabbit hole, as he delved ever deeper into researching and covering this topic.

The eventual result of this would lead to the publication of his first book Desi Pubs, in 2023. On the book’s surface it’s a guidebook to British-Asian pub culture and some of the amazing Desi Pubs that can be found in certain parts of the UK. It’s fantastic, and if you haven’t already I urge you to buy a copy for yourself.

A few months after the publication of his book, I had the chance to invite David up to Manchester, to join me in conversation for a live podcast, recorded at IndyManBeerCon (or, if you prefer, the Independent Manchester Beer Convention.) We chatted about Desi Pubs, the book itself, about bigger subjects such as the colour bar, and on David’s thoughts and approach to writing about beer and pubs in general.

Ep51 — Tom and Ol Fozard of Roosters Brewing Co, Harrogate (Part 2)

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Tom Fozard, Matthew Curtis, Ol Fozard) — Sun, 3 Mar 2024 18:10:20 +0000

Please note this is the second part of a two-part episode. Find part one, Episode 50, right here.

There exists a curious tension at Roosters Brewing Company, one that few other breweries have to navigate in terms of both their identity, and their position within the UK beer market.

On the one hand this is a resolutely contemporary brewery, creating modern IPAs as delicious and precise as the cask ales loved by locals it built its reputation upon. But there’s also the fact that this is a three-decade old brewery, with a considerable legacy established by its previous owner, Sean Franklin, and its flagship beer, Yankee. It’s a persistent problem, one that’s always snapping at the heels of twin brothers, Tom and Ol Fozard—the commercial director and head brewer, respectively—who took on this considerable stewardship when, along with their dad, Ian, they acquired the brewery in 2011.

Since the acquisition they have done their best to put their stamp on it, while also clinging to the story and substance that makes Roosters Brewery what it is today. They’ve achieved this through beers such as their best-selling IPA, Baby Faced Assassin, and by relocating the brewery from its original home in the town of Knaresborough to a new site, complete with an American-style taproom, on the outskirts of Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

In 2023 they celebrated the brewery’s 30th birthday in style, holding a beer festival at the brewery called Suds With Buds. They were joined by contemporaries from both sides of the Atlantic, and ably demonstrated that this is a brewery that more than holds its weight within the highly competitive British beer market.

Please enjoy this bumper length interview with Tom and Ol, split into two parts for brevity. This is a candid, warts and all account of one of the UK’s most interesting breweries, and a fascinating look at one that is navigating an industry under so much pressure, as it continually seeks to define itself within it.

Ep50 — Tom and Ol Fozard of Roosters Brewing Co, Harrogate (Part 1)

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Tom Fozard, Ol Fozard, Matthew Curtis) — Sun, 3 Mar 2024 16:38:03 +0000

There exists a curious tension at Roosters Brewing Company, one that few other breweries have to navigate in terms of both their identity, and their position within the UK beer market.

Ep49 — FyneFest 2023: Does Independence in Brewing Still Matter?

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 20:51:30 +0000

During one of our first ever panel discussions at FyneFest, held way back in 2019, we spoke about the importance of independence in brewing. Not only were the results of the conversation inconclusive, two of the breweries represented in that discussion—Hawkshead and Harbour— have since sold out to larger corporations…

With several years having passed since this talk took place, and the brewing landscape also having changed dramatically during this time, we felt it was time to return to it once again and ask: is independence more important than ever? Join Matthew Curtis for a debate featuring an expert panel to work out if there is still genuine value for both breweries and their customers in remaining independent, or if it’s time to sell out and cash in, while there’s still time.

Featuring Darron Anley (Siren Craft Brew), Vik Stronge (Magic Rock), Matt Clarke and Michelle Gay (Lakes Brew Co.)

Ep48 — FyneFest 2023: For Beer, For the Planet

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Sam McMeekin, Sarah Luxon, Matthew Curtis, Jamie Delap) — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 01:00:00 +0000

There is no getting away from the fact that producing beer is a hugely energy intensive process. The very nature of brewing requires boiling a huge vat of liquid, which then needs to be cooled quickly, and kept at near freezing temperatures for several weeks. The finished product also needs constant refrigeration if it’s to be kept at its best. Other processes connected to brewing, such as the farming of ingredients, and the production of the chemicals used for sanitisation, all add to its large carbon footprint.

In this panel discussion, hosted by Matthew Curtis, we examine what both breweries and the folks who drink their beer can do to encourage breweries to take responsibility for adopting more sustainable practices in brewing. There’s plenty to debate, from the use of organic grains, to carbon dioxide capture and reuse, to the controversial deposit return scheme that is just around the corner for the United Kingdom.

Featuring Sarah Luxon (Wiper & True), Jamie Delap (Fyne Ales), and Sam McMeekin (Gypsy Hill).

Ep47 — FyneFest 2023: Make Beer Fun Again

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 17:06:04 +0000

We can all agree that the last few years have been tough, and as a result, it can be difficult to find the joy in life’s simple pleasures — of which beer is one of the best. The past decade in British brewing has been pretty exhausting, with thousands of newcomers entering the category, many of whom have been in a race to make the haziest, juiciest, pastriest, and most intense beers possible. As a result, many of us have reached our saturation point within beer culture.

For this panel discussion, Jonathan Hamilton speaks to people from within the beer industry about their own experiences of what we’re calling ‘beer burnout’ and discuss ways in which we can regain joy from the simple pleasure that is enjoying a well made glass of beer. Hopefully, together, we can learn to Make Beer Fun Again.

Featuring Lucy Clarke (Sureshot), Aidy Fenwick (Fyne Ales), and Dominic Driscoll (Thornbridge).

Ep46 — FyneFest 2023: Modern British Lager

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 17:28:05 +0000

Perhaps one of the most exciting things to have happened within the UK brewing industry over the past decade is the birth of modern British lager. Whether they’ve been directly inspired by the brewing traditions of Germany and the Czech Republic, or by more contemporary influences such as the American West Coast, the wealth of great lager beers now produced by British breweries, from Helles, to Baltic Porters and even newer styles such as India Pale Lager, is breathtaking.

For this discussion you’ll join Pellicle co-founder, lager enthusiast, and Heriot Watt brewing and distilling masters alumni Jonathan Hamilton, along with an expert panel of brewers to chat about all things lager. If you want to learn your infusion mashing from decoction, or about things such as the influence and flavour of heritage barley varieties in lager brewing, then this is the discussion for you.

Featuring Colin Stronge (Salt Beer Factory), Reece Hugill (Donzoko) and Hannah Davidson (Jolly Good Beer).

Ep45 — FyneFest 2023: The Great Price Of Beer Debate

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:00:00 +0000

From the pandemic to Brexit, the cost of living crisis has impacted everyone’s pockets. For brewers, the price of beer production is through the roof, with rising ingredient costs and soaring energy bills, everything has become significantly more expensive. Perhaps the greatest challenge, however, is passing this cost onto the consumer. Beer is an egalitarian product, and drinkers have always had an expectation that it remains affordable, accessible, and live in hope that it doesn’t become a very occasional luxury.

In this debate, featuring members of the brewing industry and hosted by Pellicle co-founder Matthew Curtis, we’ll discuss the difficult subject that is the price of a pint. From the cost at the bar, to concepts like premiumisation, and whether there’s actually a benefit (or not) to the price of beer going up, no stone will be left unturned. Audience participation will be encouraged—think of this as like Question Time but with much more beer.

Featuring Andy Parker (Elusive Brewing), Charlie Harding (Bonne Vivante Marketing) and Alice Hayward (Cloudwater).

Ep44 — Katie Mather reads ‘Hand-Held Rebellion — An Ode to the Burger Van’

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Katie Mather) — Mon, 4 Dec 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In a recent team discussion both of our associate editors, Katie Mather and Lily Waite, asked if they could narrate some of their stories for a podcast episode. Long-term listeners will know this is something I experimented with in early episodes, with varying results. I found reading my own stories to be a delight. I felt it gave me the ability to add detail using tone and inflection that might not have quite the same impact when read, but I struggled a little when narrating those written by others. It really needs the writer's voice to help the listener understand the mood that they're trying to communicate with their writing.

This is what made me jump at the opportunity as soon as they both asked, and Katie got straight to work recording a narration of a piece of her writing from 2020 called: ‘Hand-Held Rebellion — An Ode to the Burger Van’. It’s a shorter episode than usual. An easy 15 minutes as opposed to an hour; something you can easily enjoy on a lunch break, or during your daily run.

Katie is a very special writer. She has this uncanny ability to conjure poetic majesty in topics that some may find mundane. In the latest series in her newsletter The Gulp—which she calls PROCESS—she makes eating spam sound like enjoying a delectable, three-course meal. That Katie’s viewpoint is grounded in her working class roots is arguably what makes her ability to tackle subjects like these so potent.

This piece, which internally at Pellicle we simply call ‘Burger Van’, is one of her very best. It’s a tale from memory, about childhood, nostalgia, and how that has manifested in Katie’s adult life. It will absolutely, 100%, make you want to head straight to your nearest butty van and order a belly buster with extra bacon and cheese.

Before Katie reads her article, Matthew also takes the time to check in with some thoughts he has on the beer industry after a visit to Duration Brewing in Norfolk for their 4th anniversary celebrations.

If you want to read the original Burger Van article, you can do so here. We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Ep 43 — Theo Freyne of Cheltenham's DEYA Brewery

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Theo Freyne, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 01:00:00 +0000

DEYA. It’s spelled in capital letters, a reminder so you can shout its name joyfully from the rooftops. Joy is certainly one thing the Cheltenham based brewery provides in abundance. This is through their carefully put together beers—such as its flagship pale ale Steady Rolling Man—or its vibrantly colourful, energetic, and yet at the same time peaceful taproom. DEYA is a brewery of multiple dispositions.

In November 2022 I finally visited the brewery itself for the first time, doing the 3-and-a-bit hour journey from Manchester (via Birmingham) and back again inside a day to take some photos for another project I was working on. As I was packing my gear, I made a last minute decision to throw my mics and Zoom recorder into my bag, and asked the brewery’s founder, Theo Freyne, if he had a spare hour to be interviewed for an episode of The Pellicle Podcast.

Thankfully, he agreed, and we recorded a really fascinating conversation. Together we covered the origins of the brewery, how it has grown and changed so much since it was established in 2015, and how they make their oh-so-delicious beers that have captivated so many drinkers throughout the UK.

And then, well, I had a book to finish. A book that is now finished. Unfortunately it meant that the recording was left to languish on my hard drive for several months—almost a year to the day, in fact—waiting for me to find the time to edit it. At the start of the year I had every intention of making sure I was producing regular podcast episodes, but time is not something I have in abundance.

Thankfully, however, now the book is out it’s something I have a little bit more of, and on listening back to the episode I was pleased to hear it hadn’t really aged. While it might not include what the brewery has been up to over the past year, it serves as an excellent primer, whether you’re completely new to the brewery, or you’re an experienced Steady drinker, eager to hear more about how this beer is made.

Please enjoy this wonderful interview with Theo, and about his brewery, DEYA. I’ll be back with more podcast episodes very soon, (and I really mean it this time.) Special thanks to our pals at Loughran Brewers Select, who in addition to sponsoring our website are now also sponsoring our podcast. A double whammy of support that means more good stuff for you folks!

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Purchase your copy of Manchester’s Best Beer Pubs and Bars (the podcast-not-happening-er) right here. And don’t forget to support us on Patreon if you enjoy these podcasts.

Ep42 — Marble Brewery and the (Recent) History of Beer in Manchester

Mon, 5 Jun 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Manchester has a fascinating beer history, stretching back well over two centuries, and into the industrial revolution. What’s remarkable is how that history still influences the northwestern city’s beer culture today, whether via one of its four, storied family brewers like Robinson’s or JW Lees, or one of its modern trailblazers such as Track or Cloudwater.

One of the city’s most unquestionably influential breweries is Marble, which was originally established in the Marble arch pub in 1997. The brewery has since gone through two expansions, its most recent in 2019 when it relocated from Manchester to Salford (the difference of which is very important to locals). The latest episode of our podcast takes place here at the brewery, where we hosted a panel discussion in front of a live audience, and delved into the recent history of the Manchester beer scene, as we joined in Marble’s 25th anniversary celebrations, which took place towards the end of 2022.

Hosted by our very own Matthew Curtis, the panel features a host of luminaries from within the Manchester beer scene, including Jason Menzies, Marble’s events manager. We’re also joined by Stephanie Shuttleworth, a former Marble employee who has worked in and around the Manchester beer scene for over a decade, and is currently working on a PhD centered around pubs and brewing. Last but not least we’re joined by John Clarke, chair of Stockport and South Manchester CAMRA, who has been living and breathing beer in Greater Manchester for over three decades.

It’s a fantastic discussion, and one of our lengthiest to date, as there was so much interesting history to talk about. Thanks again to Marble for inviting us to host this talk, and to our guests for providing such great insight.

Don’t forget that if you enjoy this, and other content that Pellicle creates, please consider subscribing via Patreon, and support our independent magazine and podcast.

Ep41 — Meet Oxford's Tap Social Movement

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Tess Taylor, Jason Bolger, Matthew Curtis, Matt Elliot) — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In a British beer market that has expanded rapidly over the previous couple of decades (before grinding to a halt during the current cost of living crisis), finding a point of difference has been vital for these small businesses to succeed. For some it has meant focusing on particular styles, like Hazy IPA, or crisp, refreshing lager. While for others it could have been producing a rock solid hospitality offering, and direct-to-consumer sales via a bar, or taproom.

For Oxford’s Tap Social Movement, which was established in 2016, that point of difference has been about making—well—a difference. Social justice is a part of this brewery's core ethos, and at the heart of this are the efforts to work with individuals exiting the prison system, and finding them employment. In fact, around a third of Tap Social’s employees have been hired through this system, and you’ll hear plenty about this from two of the company’s directors, Tess Taylor and Matt Elliot, in the first of two interviews in this episode.

In the second interview, we’ll learn all about the other side of the business—the beer—as we chat to head brewer, Jason Bolger. Our visit coincided with us producing a collaboration beer with Tap Social, a modern British bitter, which we called ‘Wake Up’ after the song by Rage Against the Machine—a little nod to the social justice this brewery was founded upon.

Speaking of beer, there’s also plenty of time at the beginning of the episode for our host to talk about some of the things he’s been enjoying lately, and about his recent trips to Edinburgh, and Fort Collins, Colorado.

Don’t forget that if you enjoy this, and other content that Pellicle creates, please consider subscribing via Patreon, and support our independent magazine and podcast.

Ep40 — In Conversation with Sydney, Australia's Wildflower Brewing & Blending

Tue, 7 Mar 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In the summer of 2022 I had the privilege of escorting Topher Boehm and Chris Allen of Sydney, Australia’s Wildflower Brewing & Blending on a day out in which we enjoyed a few beers in Clitheroe, Lancashire. Topher and Chris were keen to visit Corto after listening to the conversation I had previously published on this very podcast between myself and my friend and colleague, Katie Mather.

As long time readers and listeners of Pellicle, Topher and Chris were keen to explore the beer scene in the North West—most notably, its traditional pubs, and the bountiful selection of real ale they had to offer. Their keenness to explore the best of the UK's beer traditions is also represented in their own approach to beer making. You might be thinking what does best bitter have to do with the complex, mixed and wild fermentation beers that Wildflower has built its deserved reputation upon? The answer is simple: everything.

Since I first had the privilege of meeting Topher at a beer festival in Denver, Colorado back in 2018, I have been fascinated—not just by Wildflowers processes—but by how mindful in their approach to drinking, and the culture of drinking, this brewery is. This approach can be heard throughout this bumper-length interview, which covers everything from their processes in the brewery, to what inspires them as producers, and how they unpack and consider the impact of colonialism on what they make and sell.

Need a primer on Wildflower before diving in? Check out this profile we published way back in 2020, written by Australian writer Anastasia Prikhodko, and then dive into this fantastic interview. Thanks again to Topher and Chris for making time in their travel schedule to record this interview, and for sharing some wonderful beers with us during your stay.

Don’t forget that if you enjoy this, and other content that Pellicle creates, please consider subscribing via Patreon, and support our independent magazine and podcast.

Ep39 — Oo-De-Lally! A Nottingham Craft Beer Week Roundtable

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Growing up in the nearby city of Lincoln, in my late teens day trips to nearby Nottingham held a great deal of anticipation and promise. While my hometown felt, in some ways, culturally deficit, Nottingham had it all—namely venues such as Rock City and The Rescue Rooms where I could see the touring bands I loved.

Although, when I eventually moved away from Lincolnshire, so too did I remove myself from the culture of the Midlands, and this absence continued as I began exploring beer. Last year, however, I was presented with the opportunity to visit the city’s annual craft beer week, after being invited to talk about my book, Modern British Beer, at one of the many events happening around town.

I was also offered an opportunity to record a podcast at the office’s of Leftlion, the local music, arts and culture magazine that is behind both Nottingham Craft Beer Week, and the annual beer festival that forms the centerpiece to these events. In this bumper-length roundtable discussion I chat to Aimee Harbison of The Barrel Drop pub, Lucy Simons of The Abdication micropub, Alex Wilson of Black Iris Brewing, and Josh Mellor of Neon Raptor Brewing Co.

It’s a fascinating conversation that digs into one of the most exciting beer scenes in the UK—and one that, for some reason, doesn’t quite get as much coverage as other, more vocal cities. What I found, however, is that the locals know exactly how good it is, so it was a delight to chat to some of the folks who are making Nottingham such a destination city for great beer.

Special thanks to Jared Wilson for inviting me down to Nottingham, and arranging this podcast. Tickets for this years Nottingham Craft Beer Festival are available now, and with the lineup of breweries already signed up, I’d highly recommend paying it a visit.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing via Patreon, and help in our effort to turn Pellicle into a sustainable, profit-making business in 2023.

Ep38 — FyneFest 2022: The Bitter End — Are Traditional Cask Beer Styles Back for Good?

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:00:00 +0000

If you've been on Beer Twitter at all recently you’ll have likely noticed our podcast host Matthew Curtis harping on about bitter and mild. Cask beer is something we love at Pellicle and so we were always going to dedicate one of our panel discussions at Fynefest 2022 to this much debated category.

Joined by an expert panel including Mark Welsby of Stockport’s Runaway Brewery, Laura Rangeley of Sheffield’s Abbeydale Brewery, and Malcolm Downie of our hosts Fyne Ales, we attempt to get serious about the discussion around cask. We start by asking whether or not the resurgence in traditional styles such as bitter and mild is here to stay, or if it's merely a flash in the pan. (Or, indeed, consider if it never went away in the first place.)

We also dig into some more serious topics. With statistics indicating that the cask ale category is ailing, we ask if premiumisation is the answer to sparking a true resurgence, and debate the much talked over discussion point that is the price of a pint.

It’s been a thrill, as always, to host these discussions, and we hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as we have. We’ll be back for more at FyneFest 2023, so make sure you grab your tickets now so you can join us there. And don’t forget to subscribe to Pellicle via Patreon if you’re able to support our website and podcast with a monthly, or yearly donation.

Ep37 — FyneFest 2022: More Foeders More Problems — Has the Barrel Ageing Bubble Burst?

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Over the past couple of decades barrel aged beers have become increasingly popular among craft beer enthusiasts. From intensely flavourful spirit barrel aged strong stouts, to more nuanced and complex sour and wild ales matured in former wine casks, the range of barrel aged beers is as breathtaking as some of the beers which eventually emerge from the barrels themselves.

But as the market has become saturated with these often costly beers, and the post-pandemic, cost of living crisis driven drinker looks towards simpler, less wallet-intensive beverages, what does the future look like for this subgenre within the beer category? Who’s actually buying them? And perhaps more importantly: how are breweries making any profit from a project that takes an immense amount of time and space to produce, and is largely driven by passion?

For this panel we put together a group of brewers making (in our opinion) some of the best barrel aged beers in the UK: Toby McKenzie of Macclesfield’s RedWillow Brewery, Dave McHardy of Fierce Beer in Aberdeen, and Lee Grabham of York’s appropriately named Brew York. The trio discuss everything from the processes behind their barrel aged beers, to what they think the future of the market looks like for them.

Ep36 — FyneFest 2022: The Beer All and End All — On Mental Health in the Beer Industry

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Mental health is a seldom talked about subject within the brewing industry. Perhaps this is because the demographic working within brewing skews highly male, and men are infamous for often being unable to discuss this topic adequately. Thankfully, in more recent times, the discussion is becoming more open and more frequent—valuable indeed, considering how tumultuous the past couple of years have been on our minds, as well as our bodies.

In this discussion recorded at FyneFest 2022, host Matthew Curtis is joined by Miranda Hudson of Duration Brewing, Vik Stronge of Magic Rock, and Dominic Driscoll of Thornbridge. The panel discusses a range of points within the subject of mental health, from setting boundaries within the workplace, to managing the mental health of our colleagues, employees and friends, as we try to make the beer industry a safer, friendlier place to work.

CW: Topics discussed include depression and alcoholism. If you’re struggling with your mental health we urge you not to suffer alone, and recommend contacting an organisation such as The Drinks Trust or The Samaritans for support.

Ep35 — FyneFest 2022: In Conversation with Fyne Ales' Jamie Delap

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Jamie Delap, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 9 Jan 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Throughout this month we’ll be bringing you our panel discussions from FyneFest 2022, kicking off with a fantastic, in-depth conversation with Fyne Ale's managing director, Jamie Delap. Founded in 2001 by his parents Jonny and Tuggy Delap, the day-to-day running of the brewery passed on to Jamie when his father passed away in 2009.

The following year, Fyne Ales held a small gathering for a few hundred people on the family farm within Glen Fyne, where the brewery is located. They even brewed a special beer for the event at 3.8% ABV, hopped with a new variety of hops from North America called Citra. The event was a huge success, and today FyneFest sees over 3000 people travel from all over Europe (and even from the US) to attend. The beer didn’t go down too badly either, and was eventually given the name Jarl. It now accounts for well over half of the brewery's total production volume.

In this conversation Jamie and I discuss everything, from these origins, to how the pandemic affected the brewery, to how it's looking at taking on challenges such as the cost of living crisis, and the means of making the brewery more sustainable. Jamie is undoubtedly one of the keenest minds within the UK brewing industry, and it was a true privilege to have such an open and honest discussion about these issues during the business of the festival.

We’re pleased to say we’ll be back at FyneFest in 2023, with a whole new host of guests and topics to discuss. Tickets are available now from FyneFest.com, and trust us when we say this is an event you don’t want to miss. We look forward to seeing you in the Glen later this year. Special thanks to Fyne Ales for hosting us at the event, and for being one of our pro-tier Patreon supporters.

Pellicle is supported by our Patreon subscribers—please consider helping to keep our independent magazine and podcast sustainable with a monthly, or yearly donation. If you are interested in sponsoring future episodes, please get in touch.

Ep34 — Our Beers, Wines and Ciders of the Year 2022

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 06:00:00 +0000

At the beginning of the year I arrogantly tweeted that this would be my “year of podcasts.” For various reasons I ended up managing to produce less than half of my target number of 20 episodes, but I hope that those who’ve been waiting for new episodes have enjoyed what we’ve managed to publish this year.

This brings us to one of my favourite, and our most popular episodes, now in its third edition: our beers, w̶i̶n̶e̶s̶ and ciders of the year. Why are wines struck out, you ask? Simply because when recording myself talking about this year's favourites I didn’t find myself vibing with my selections. I don’t want to disappoint our listeners, and I didn’t feel there was enough conviction (or indeed, knowledge) about my favourite wines of the year to warrant including them in the show. This is something I’ll figure out in future years by hopefully bringing the rest of the team into this episode somehow. Either way, I’m considering shaking up this format a little next year.

What this did give me is plenty of space to talk about my favourite ciders—as well as sharing a few thoughts on how my cider drinking has changed this year. I also reveal a handful of my favourite pubs in 2022, before ploughing into another bumper beer list—with no less than 10 beers—including announcing what I'll be awarding my coveted beer of the year prize.

This being our third edition I also decided to hand out a few accolades, including cider/cidermaker of the year, brewery of the year, new brewery of the year, as well as naming the beer I enjoyed more than any other over the past 12 months. Initially, these will only be revealed on the podcast, so make sure you listen in to find out which beers really rocked my world in 2022.

Thanks to all of you for listening this year. Here’s to a fantastic holiday season, and a promise from me to deliver all of those long awaited episodes in 2023.

Pellicle is supported by our Patreon subscribers — please consider helping to keep our independent magazine and podcast sustainable with a monthly, or yearly donation. If you are interested in sponsoring future episodes, please get in touch.

Ep33 — Glasshouse Beer Co. in Stirchley, Birmingham

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Josh Hughes, Dave Sharp, Josh Mitchell, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000

I’ve never given Birmingham the credit it’s due. The City of 1000 Trades knows and loves its beer. And yet, for some unknown reason, for many drinkers who live outside the area it doesn’t rank among the UK’s top beer towns.

As I learned on my most recent visit, this sentiment is neither fair nor accurate. In reality, Birmingham has not only a thriving but a varied scene. In the town centre you can hop from proper pubs such as the Post Office Vaults or The Wellington, to craft beer joints like Tilt or Kilder, or to brewery taprooms such as Dig or Burning Soul.

Like a lot of bigger cities, however, some of the best beer in modern beer culture lies beyond this periphery. Neighbourhood bars and bottle shops are becoming cornerstones of the suburban communities, as are its breweries. In Stirchley, to the south of central Birmingham, the scene is thriving, and it’s here where Glasshouse Beer Co. has made its home.

Founded in 2018, the brewery has quickly established itself both locally, and in some of the more beer savvy venues around the UK. This is largely thanks to its mastery over hazy pale ales, which range from sessionable table beers, right the way through to almighty DIPAs. There’s far more to this young brewery than a bit of fuss though, and it’s already dialling in other styles, from lagers, to barrel aged sour beers.

I sat down for a fun, beer fuelled chat with founder Josh Hughes, lead brewer Dave Sharp, and head of sales Josh Mitchell. We cover a lot of ground, talking about the brewery and the beers themselves, to digging into why Birmingham’s beer scene doesn’t get its fair share of the limelight. Seeing as its four blokes sat around the table (a classic beer podcast scenario, one might say) we also take time to discuss the recent reckoning within craft beer, and how groups like ours can take proper accountability and action in light of accusations of sexism and workplace abuse.

Pellicle is supported by our Patreon subscribers — please consider helping to keep our independent magazine and podcast sustainable with a monthly, or yearly donation. If you are interested in sponsoring future episodes, please get in touch.

Ep32 — Confidence and Paranoia (Feat. William Burgess of Gan Yam Brewery)

matthew@pelliclemag.com (William Burgess, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000

I worry about the beer industry, it sometimes keeps me awake at night. Following the unprecedented experience of the pandemic and lockdowns that changed our lives, to the newly realised cost of living crisis, the breweries and pubs we love are up against it. The reality is that many will not survive these challenges, and some already haven’t.

While, relatively speaking, things have been pretty good for the past 10-15 years—during which the number of breweries in the UK has more than doubled—now, whether you’re operating a production brewery, or a hospitality business, the outlook is bleak. The cost of everything is increasing, from raw materials such as hops and malt, to chemicals, carbon dioxide, aluminum cans, and the devastating increases to utility bills. That’s even before you’ve considered your staff, and increasing their wages so they can work through this crisis too. When looking at the big picture, it feels like not only are the glory days over, but that we are yet to see the true extent of the damage this will cause to these livelihoods.

But there’s always hope. Right? In this episode I decided to take a look at how the cost of living crisis is affecting the beer industry from two different perspectives. Inspired by the classic Red Dwarf episode ‘Confidence and Paranoia’ I listen to both of these internal voices, to try and make sense of what’s happening out there at the moment.

This was inspired by the interview featured in this show with William Burgess, co-founder of Gan Yam Brew Co. Based in Kendal, on the edge of the Lake District. Back in February on a visit to the brewery I had the opportunity to William about what it’s like to set up a business during the middle of a pandemic, without really understanding (at this point) how the cost of living crisis was going to make things even worse. But if things are truly so awful, then why exactly are new breweries like Gan Yam deciding to make a go of it at all? Listen on to find out…

This episode of The Pellicle Podcast is sponsored by Hand & Heart. We’ve partnered with them to offer listeners of The Pellicle Podcast a free 30-minute advice session. You could be a business owner wondering what the hell DEI means, an employee wanting to upskill, thinking about starting a business, or at a loss of how to develop your current business. To sign up head to www.handandheart.eu/pellicle.

Pellicle is supported by our Patreon subscribers — please consider helping to keep our independent magazine and podcast sustainable with a monthly, or yearly donation.

Ep31 — Chris Schooley of Troubadour Maltings in Fort Collins, Colorado

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Chris Schooley) — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 05:00:00 +0000

I first met Chris Schooley, and his business partner Steve Clark, back in 2015—not long after they had established their business, Troubadour Maltings, in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. I had visited malthouses in the UK before, and looked on in awe at their immense scale, but what I found at Troubadour was something different entirely, not just in terms of their smaller scale, but in terms of the quality and flavour of what they were producing.

Initially working out of a concrete saladin box that allowed them to produce up to five tons of malt at a time, what I discovered at this little malthouse was familiarity; I saw craft beer in what they were producing. Over time, and repeated visits to the malthouse, I got to know Steve and Chris well, and they became good friends. I would love listening to Chris in particular wax lyrical about the “potential” of barley malt, so much in fact that I credit him in my book, Modern British Beer, for helping me to properly connect beer back to its agriculture.

Troubadour has gradually grown into a well-regarded “craft maltster”—as they are known in the US—one of about 70 nationwide. And things didn’t slow down for them in lockdown, when they installed equipment that allowed them to triple capacity, as well as a new roaster that allows them to customise darker malts to brewers exacting specifications. Over their relatively short lifespan they’ve provided malt for large breweries like Odell, Oskar Blues, and New Belgium, as well as smaller breweries including TRVE, Cohesion, and Primitive.

Honestly, you’ll have to take it from me that you can really taste the difference in Troubadour’s malt, and the beer it produces. Where often you’ll hear this ingredient forms the “backbone” of beer, for me it’s about more than that. It’s about flavour, and freshness. If you ever find yourself in Northern Colorado seek out a glass of TRVE’s Cold keller pils and taste it for yourself. Beers like this, and how maltsters like Troubadour are working closely not just with brewers, but with farmers—closing the loop on the agricultural supply chain—make me excited for what could be ahead in beer’s future.

Pellicle is supporter by our Patreon subscribers — please consider helping to keep our independent magazine and podcast sustainable with a monthly, or yearly donation.

Ep30 — Questions & Answers

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 7 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

A disclaimer: this episode of The Pellicle Podcast is intended as a piece of escapism. Since this episode was recorded in early February, a lot has changed in the world around us. As much as we don’t want to minimize this, we also accept that this is a podcast largely about beer, and other tasty beverages, and this episode is presented very much in the spirit of that.

While the majority of our episodes are either driven by an interviewee, or by an idea our host wants to spend a little time mulling over, this time we’ve changed things up. Several of our regular listeners have sent in questions over the past few weeks, which over the next hour Matthew dutifully works his way through. What came as a surprise is that it afforded the opportunity to really dig into what’s happening in beer at the moment, and expand on what that might mean for makers and drinkers alike over the next few months and years.

We hope you enjoy this episode. If you enjoyed it and you think we should do it again, or if you have any feedback about the podcast in general, drop us a line to matthew@pelliclemag.com.

www.handandheart.eu/pellicle

Ep29 — Katie Mather of Corto, Clitheroe

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Katie Mather) — Tue, 1 Feb 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Speaking of Katie Mather as both a peer, and as a friend, she is someone who continually impresses me. I first came across her work through her old blog, called The Snap and The Hiss, and was enamoured with her writing from the very first sentence. Since then she’s gone from strength to strength, producing a series of wonderfully evocative articles, and taking on editorial roles both at new wine publication Glug and here at Pellicle.

Having her on board as a regular contributor alone was a thrill, and if you read her pieces such as this one on the nostalgia of burger vans, or her epic taxonomy of the British bread roll (the most read feature we’ve ever published) you’ll soon understand why. Taking her on as an associate editor deepened her connection to the work we publish. What editors do largely happens behind the curtain, but you can see her influence on pieces such as Josh Barrie’s profile of a very special branch of Londis in North London, or in my own feature about Sheffield’s Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert. We are so stoked to get to work with her, and can’t wait to see what else she brings to our little magazine.

But the depth of Katie’s talents don’t end there. In late 2019, she and her husband Tom finally got the keys to their bar, Corto. Based in their hometown of Clitheroe, situated in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, Corto is part of a new wave of bars slowly emerging within the United Kingdom. Inspired by the food and drink culture of Northern Spain, the bar merges the concepts of craft beer, natural wine, cider and delectable small plates into something that is far greater than the sum of its parts. I’m biased, but you should visit. You’ll be planning your next trip there before you’ve got halfway through your first pint, or whatever’s by the glass on that particular day.

As a bonus, before the interview I dig into some of the bigger beer news that’s occurred lately. From Monster acquiring the Canarchy collective of breweries in the United States, to Lion announcing it is to sell UK acquisitions Fourpure and Magic Rock, there’s a lot to dig into. And that’s before I take the chance to chew through the BBC’s recent documentary on Scottish brewery BrewDog, and why I think its behaviour reflects badly on the entire British craft beer scene.

It’s a bumper episode, and I hope you enjoy listening. Don’t forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating if you’ve got a second, as this will help more folks find the show. You might also see we’ve got a new logo thanks to our resident designer Tida Bradshaw. It felt like it was time to give the podcast a little spruce up, so we hope you like that.

In the show an article I wrote for Novara Media is referenced, which can be read here: https://novaramedia.com/2021/06/15/could-brewdogs-cancellation-trigger-a-reckoning-across-the-craft-beer-industry/

Ep28 — Our Beers, Wines and Ciders of the Year 2021

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Pellicle Magazine) — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Look, here’s the truth. I would love it if more of you listened to my podcast, and so please accept this episode as a bribe. I want you to know what my favourite beers, wines and ciders of the year are, and I want you to revel in the joy of experiencing them as much as I did. But if you want to find out what they are, which includes no less than 17 beers (in hindsight, post-edit, I will make this smaller next year) then you’ve got to tune in. I won’t be sharing this list anywhere else.

I love making this podcast, it’s become one of my favourite mediums for creativity. This has become especially the case since I switched up the format of the show towards the end of 2020. I’m stoked that those who listen to it enjoy the style, and my off the cuff riffing on our favourite beverages, and I pledge to try and record as many as I’m physically capable of in 2022.

I’m especially thankful of the support of both our new sponsor, Hand & Heart, along with our generous Patreon subscribers. Thanks to them I’ve got a bit more time and space to spend more time producing podcasts this year, which means more episodes for you to enjoy! If you’re able to support our content at Pellicle, then please consider signing up to our Patreon. Every penny goes back into making more features and podcasts.

Please enjoy this list of things I really enjoyed over the past 12 months, and stay tuned, because we’ve already got more episodes in post production that should be released soon!

Ep27 — New Belgium, Buyouts, and Emotional Responses

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 20:33:26 +0000

A small piece of me permanently exists in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. Ever since my dad emigrated from the UK and took a job here in 2010 I have visited often, and become more enamoured with the place each time I do so.

While it was the beer that first made me form an attachment with Fort Collins (and, indeed, start writing about it) over the years it became more to me than simply a place I visited. Trips were about seeing friends, hiking, relaxing by the Poudre River, and, over time, the beer became less central to each visit.

At least, that’s what I convinced myself.

The truth is, as a true beer enthusiast it was always about the beer. And I was reminded about how much this matters to me when New Belgium—headquartered in Fort Collins and once the fourth largest craft brewer in the United States—announced its sale to Australian firm Lion in November 2019. The news of this triggered in me a deeply emotional response. So tied had I become to the story, the people and the product of this place that I could not figure out how to deal with it.

I had hoped to reconcile these feelings on a scheduled visit in April 2020, but when the inevitable happened and my flights were cancelled, this thought process had to be temporarily paused. Thankfully I was finally able to make my way back to Colorado in November 2021 (and I reflect on this trip during the episode.) This meant I was finally able to visit the New Belgium Taproom, enjoy a pint, chat to my friends who work there, and try and figure out how I feel about the next stage in this brewery’s journey.

Those thoughts stowed away, once I returned home I turned on the mic and riffed on those feelings. Is it truly irrational to have a strong emotional response when a brewery you’re fond of sells out? In this episode, I make my best attempt to answer that question.

I’m also thrilled to welcome on board a brand new sponsor for this episode. Hand and Heart is a business consultancy focussed on supporting industries including hospitality—and that includes breweries and other beer-centric firms. We’ve partnered with them to offer listeners of The Pellicle Podcast a free 30 minute advice session. You could be a business owner wondering what the hell DEI means, an employee wanting to upskill, thinking about starting a business, or at a loss of how to develop your current business. To sign up head to www.handandheart.eu/pellicle

If the Hand and Heart sound familiar, it’s because they recently published the documentary podcast Super Cool Toxic Workplace, investigating the allegations of abuse and toxic workplace culture at the Danish brewery, Mikkeller. We’re thrilled to partner with a business that shares the values we have at Pellicle, and thank them for their support in helping our own podcast to flourish.

Ep26 — Mark Tranter of Burning Sky Brewery, Sussex

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Mark Tranter, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

I couldn’t imagine Burning Sky Brewery and Blendery being located anywhere else. Situated in the village of Firle, nestled amid the rolling South Downs National Park, here is a brewery that’s very much of time and a place. The beers it produces—from traditional cask ales, to US-inspired IPAs, and the sublime beverages that come from its barrel ageing program—are a reflection of this, and of the people who brew and blend them.

In the latest episode of the podcast, I sat down for a chat with the brewery’s founder, Mark Tranter. With over two decades experience in the beer industry, it was wonderful to get the opportunity to pick his brains, reminisce about some of these experiences, and to find out what the future has in store for Burning Sky.

Visiting Firle, and the neighbouring town of Lewes, has become something of an annual pilgrimage for me. The first time I travelled there in 2017, Mark kindly arranged for me to visit the magical Harvey’s Brewery, as well as some of the amazing pubs the town has to offer. On subsequent visits I’ve discovered new treasures, including Beak and Abyss brewery, as well as deciding on my definitive Lewes beer destinations. (The Brewers Arms, The Gardners, and Patch Beer Café, for those interested.)

On this trip I was also lucky enough to brew a beer with Burning Sky which we called The Broad Spectrum of Joy, after the first chapter of my recent book, Modern British Beer. The beer was subsequently released a few months later to celebrate its launch. It was during this arduous day of brewing, on a scorching hot July day, that I found the chance to catch up with Mark, and record this conversation, which I hope you enjoy.

During the intro of this podcast I also mention another podcast by Kate Bailey, called Super Cool Toxic Workplace. As I alluded to during the episode, this is an essential listen, and more context can be found on episode 25 of The Pellicle Podcast. Find Super Cool Toxic Workplace here.

Ep25 — Modern British Beer

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Pellicle Magazine) — Tue, 2 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

The start of 2020 was an especially weird time for me—not just for the obvious reasons with the pandemic swirling around us in those early stages—but because right at the cusp of it I signed a book deal.

I’d come up with the rough idea and concept for Modern British Beer in 2018, having thought at length about how the emergence of well over 1000 new breweries in the UK had changed our beer culture forever. But what I didn’t realise then was the idea needed time. Some of that was to allow the idea to properly gestate and to become fully formed, but the rest of it was waiting to find the right home for it. That home turned out to be the capable hands of CAMRA Books; the publishing arm of the Campaign for Real Ale, and the gracious editing of Alan Murphy and Katie Button, to whom I am incredibly thankful.

In this episode I work through the ideas at the book’s core. I explore how I created my own personal beer philosophy, which I call “the broad spectrum of joy” as well as explaining why my definition of what constitutes beer as being “modern”, at least, in context of the book and how I think about beer these days. I then try to explain (or make excuses for) how I selected the 86 beers to use as case studies which, together, I hope form a solid case for how I feel beer in the UK has changed so dramatically over the past 20 years—but also, in many ways, has stayed exactly the same as it has always been.

I’ve also used this episode as a chance to pick up on some current affairs—namely, the controversy presently surrounding Denmark’s Mikkeller Brewing company in the wake of numerous accusations of sexual harassment and toxic workplace culture from several former employees. This situation escalated on the eve of the brewery’s annual Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen (MBCC) event in late October, which saw over 40 breweries pull out at the 11th hour so as not to associate their brand with the accused.

Kate Bernot at Good Beer Hunting has been covering this in some detail for several months, and I recommend catching up on what’s happening by reading her excellent reporting here:

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2021/7/1/former-mikkeller-employees-allege-culture-of-bullying-harassment-and-indifference

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2021/10/29/mikkeller-meetings-a-chaotic-situation-as-brewery-focuses-on-hr-issues-not-survivors-voices

Modern British Beer is available now from all good retailers, including several brewery tap rooms and bottle shops. You can get yours direct from the publisher here:

https://shop1.camra.org.uk/product-category/modern-british-beer/

Ep24 — James Albon on 'The Delicacy'

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, James Albon, Jonny Hamilton) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 05:00:00 +0000

It’s been a hot minute since our last episode and for this I can only apologise. Work and life has gotten in the way for too long, however, and I’m pleased to present our latest episode at last. Over the next hour you’ll hear Pellicle co-founder Jonny Hamilton chat to long time friend, and regular Pellicle contributor James Albon.

An exceptionally talented illustrator, James has illustrated for the likes of the Wall Street Journal, CAMRA’s Beer Magazine, and for us at Pellicle. You might recognise his work from Eoghan Walsh’s piece on Brasserie de la Senne Zinnebir, or Hollie Stevens’ recent missive on catering, catharsis and collapse. He’s also recently released his latest graphic novel, The Delicacy, which charts a pair of young, ambitious restaurateurs who struggle with the relentless demand of the high end dining world.

Jonny and James talk about the book, as well as some of the real world stories in food and dining that draw eerie parallels. It’s a wonderful chat we sincerely hope you enjoy. Stay tuned, as we’ve got another bunch of episodes in the pipeline that we’ll try to get with you as soon as possible.

Buy The Delicacy here.

Ep23 — Bundobust Crank it up a Notch

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Mayur Patel, Dan Hocking, Marko Husak) — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 05:00:00 +0000

Ever since I first tried the vibrant, deliciously spiced food at its original Leeds site back in 2014, I have been besotted with Bundobust. It’s 100% vegetarian/vegan menu changed my preconceptions of what a modern Indian restaurant offering could look like. Especially one with such a focus on craft beer—which is more often associated with food such as American barbecue (and its many regional variants) or other meat-focused fare.

Although it was definitely the eclectic beer offering that first drew me in—and has made me something of a regular—Bundobust helped me understand, and get excited about regional variances in traditional Indian cuisine. A few years ago I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you what bhel puri was, or about the delights of the (now albeit somewhat ubiquitous) vada pav. But now this style of cuisine feels familiar, and comforting. Perfectly at home in the lively, modern surroundings Bundobust has set it within.

But Bundobust founders Mayur Patel and Marko Husak are not content with operating just three successful restaurants. Venues that have received seriously high acclaim in the national press. In 2021 they’re expanding by opening their own brewery, which is housed in a soon to open fourth site on Manchester’s busy Oxford Street. For the past eight months, recently hired head brewer Dan Hocking has been toiling away on a brand new brewing system, fine tuning recipes which finally saw the light at the end of June 2021.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to catch up with Mayur, Marko and Dan, and find out why they’ve decided to move into this direction. It was also the perfect opportunity to dig into the origins of the restaurant, as well as ask a few questions about the bigger picture, such as the gentrification of Indian food, and where Bundobust sees itself in relation to that. We also dig into the beers themselves, and where the restaurant sees itself going in the future.

Here’s a couple of links to pieces mentioned in this episode:

Jaega Wise talking about sexism in the drinks industry for BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme

Zarina Muhammad’s article “I Hate Dishoom” for The White Pube

Ep22 — On Writing and St. Mars of the Desert

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Pellicle Magazine) — Wed, 7 Jul 2021 04:00:00 +0000

It often dawns on me that, as cool as my job of being a writer is, it’s also pretty-fucking-weird. This never felt more the case than over the past nine months where I worked on not one, but two very different books. Not only is having a self-defined career writing (predominantly) about beer, cider and wine strange, but it’s also quite a lonely experience, and largely revolves around working solo. This has felt especially true over the past 18 months.

This—incredibly self-indulgent episode—is part explainer, part therapy session, where I talk about the idiosyncrasies of what I do for a living, my process as a writer, and what it’s really like on my side of the screen. It’s something that I’ve wanted to talk about for a long time, and honestly it felt really good getting it out there. To round out this episode I also read what I consider to be my personal favourite piece of feature writing of my career so far: my profile of Sheffield’s Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert.

If you’re interested in writing, especially regarding food and drink, then this episode is for you.

You can pre-order Matthew's new book Modern British Beer here.

Ep21 — Paul Jones of Cloudwater Brew Co, Manchester

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Paul Jones) — Mon, 31 May 2021 05:00:00 +0000

When Cloudwater Brew Co. was founded in Manchester six years ago I was desperate to be the first to get the scoop on this exciting new brewery. This opportunity came in September 2015, when on a typically rainy Manchester day I met a smiling Paul Jones—the brewery’s often outspoken owner and founder—at the entrance of his brewery for a tour, tasting and interview. The article I would subsequently write was published by Good Beer Hunting in January 2016, and was one of the first proper dives into what motivates Jones and his brewery, which at the time was single-mindedly focused on producing what it described as “Modern Seasonal Beer.”

On re-reading the article in late 2020 it felt to me like it was written about what could be a different brewery. Yes, Cloudwater is still focused on producing high-quality, seasonally reflective beer, but in the years that have passed since, they’ve become something more. Not only has Jones grown his workforce from just six to over 50 people, but the brewery pays what is an industry-leading wage and is heavily invested in activism. From supporting charities like The Racial Justice Network, to giving breweries like Rock Leopard, Eko and Queer Brewing what Jones describes as a “leg up” by giving them time and space to make beer on its equipment, to its groundbreaking Wayfinder scheme, Cloudwater has since become a great deal more than merely the sum of its parts.

This is not without some controversy. The decision to bring sales in house during the pandemic to, as Jones puts it “protect his staff” temporarily cutting off independent retailers from its beers caused a certain amount of ire. This was amplified in early 2021 when the brewery reversed its decision to list in national grocery chains, listing four beers contract brewed by BrewDog, no less, into Tesco. However, this also gave it the opportunity to further the platform of the Black and LGTBQ+ owned breweries it was working with by also giving them a national supermarket listing, the first instance of this happening in the UK. If you also consider that Cloudwater did not make a single redundancy during the pandemic, Paul’s malleability in terms of his decision making might not seem so controversial to some.

In this interview we discuss all of this and more. It’s been a busy few years for Paul Jones and Cloudwater, so this felt like the ideal way to reflect on them, on the Manchester scene, and how its own beers have changed and developed during this time. Please enjoy this fascinating, hour long conversation with one of the most vocal members of the UK beer industry.

Ep20 — Does Cider Still Have An Image Problem?

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 1 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

In October 2016, six months into being a full-time beer writer, I waded into the murky waters of cider writing. On publishing my first piece I was—a little surprisingly—met with a considerable amount of resistance to my view that “cider had an image problem” but there were also positives, which kick-started my journey into cider in earnest.

This episode takes a dive into that piece, in which I said that “there needs to be more British cider that takes itself seriously in terms of both flavour and the way in which it presents itself.” It could be argued that we have that now. However, the further I dig to cider culture, the more it feels evident that divisions remain. In this episode I attempt to work out why that is, while also considering that when most people think about cider, they still consider it to be something fizzy and sweet that comes in cans or pints—certainly not 750ml bottles or bag-in-boxes.

Consider this a thought experiment in trying to work all of this out, and where UK cider is now compared to where it was five years ago. All opinions within are to be taken with a pinch or two of salt. Listen in to hear what might be next for cider culture, and try to figure out why we can’t all just get along.

Read the original cider article from 2016 here: totalales.co.uk/blog/2016/10/23/the-skys-the-limit-cidre-latypique-and-the-uks-cider-renaissance

Dig into Pellicle’s cider archive here: pelliclemag.com/home?category=Cider

Support Pellicle on Patreon here: patreon.com/pelliclemag

Episode Host: Matthew Curtis

Ep19 — Our Beers, Wines and Ciders of the Year 2020

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 10:30:48 +0000

It's that time of the year where we're making our lists and checking them twice. No, not for Christmas, but for our annual best-of's! In this drink-along Christmas special, join Matthew as he recounts his favourite beers, wines, ciders and meals of 2020 over a couple of cans. It's been a rough year for many of us, but hopefully this will help spread a little bit of Christmas cheer.

Thanks again to our Patreon subscribers for making this podcast possible throughout this tumultuous year. If you’re able to support Pellicle with a monthly donation, please head to patreon.com/pelliclemag.

Episode Host: Matthew Curtis
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com

Ep18 — Is the UK Beer Duty Debate a False Flag?

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 7 Dec 2020 11:01:06 +0000

Welcome you what you could consider the beginning of The Pellicle Podcast 2.0. After much deliberation we've made the decision to switch from a series-based format to an episodic one. We just didn't have the time or the resources available in our current schedule to produce the documentary-style episodes we had in mind when originally launching this podcast. This change will allow us to produce episodes in a more timely fashion, thus keeping the show's momentum going.

We've also made a few editorial changes, for example we'll be introducing more long-form interviews. We know a lot of beer podcasts already do these very well, but you know the feeling where you're listening to a conversation and wish they'd ask the question that's burning away at the back of your mind? Well, we're in an advantageous situation where we can do exactly that, and who are we to deny you folks? In addition, our host—Pellicle co-founder Matthew Curtis—will be using the podcast as his personal scratchpad to explore his feelings on some of the bigger (and smaller) topics in beer, wine and cider.

Which brings us to our latest episode. Over the past few years the UK's beer industry has been embroiled in debate over whether or not some of its smallest brewers are paying enough tax, and if some of its larger brewers are paying too much. In this episode our host explores his personal feelings on a matter he's spent much of the past three years covering, with few holds barred, and a conclusion that perhaps changes to the duty system should be the least of small brewers concerns.

If you enjoy this new format of the show—or you didn't—drop us a line and let us know.

In this episode we reference an article on Marston's by Jonny Garrett for Good Beer Hunting, which can be read here: https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2019/12/9/years-of-lying-to-pub-tenants-could-cost-marstons-millions

Thanks again to our Patreon subscribers for making this podcast possible. If you’re able to support Pellicle with a monthly donation, please head to patreon.com/pelliclemag.

Episode Host: Matthew Curtis
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com

Ep17 — Friends & Family & Beer 2020: Hurry Up and Wait

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Katie Pietsch, Alex Troncoso) — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 05:00:42 +0000

Welcome to this special edition of the Pellicle Podcast. Today’s episode was recorded back in February at Cloudwater’s Friends and Family and Beer Festival. It’s hard to believe that such a brilliant event actually happened in 2020, but we’re so glad it did, and we’ll remember that weekend fondly for a long time to come. Thanks again to Paul, Doreen and Connor at Cloudwater for inviting Jonny and I up to host these talks at the festival.

In this episode, we chat to Alex Troncoso of Lost and Grounded in Bristol, and Katie Pietsch from WhiteFrontier in Switzerland, as we get into conversation about what makes lager so universally appealing, and contemplate why its popularity has been steadily growing among craft beer consumers who typically lean towards American hops, complex sours, and delectably big stouts.

Thanks again to our Patreon subscribers for making this podcast possible, including Cloudwater, who are one of our pro-tier subscribers. If you’re able to support Pellicle with a monthly donation, please head to patreon.com/pelliclemag.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Alex Troncoso — Lost & Grounded, Katie Pietsch — WhiteFrontier
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com

Ep15 — Friends & Family & Beer 2020: Looking Back to Go Forward

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Paul Wood, Doug Odell, Matthew Curtis) — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 05:00:41 +0000

In this episode we take great pleasure in chatting to two bonafide industry legends: Doug Odell from Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Paul Wood, now retired but formerly of Manchester’s own JW Lees Brewery. Over the next half hour, we chat about how styles vital to the beer heritage of the United Kingdom such as bitter and mild remain as vital today, and tomorrow, as they’ve always been.

One additional, very important thing about this episode. At the moment I am not actively supporting JW Lees brewery, due to their stance on beer taxation reform in the UK, and how this might negatively affect many of the UK's small breweries. However, I really enjoyed this conversation, and still consider it having value, hence why I’m sharing it. But not everything I say during this recording is reflective of my present stance—find me on twitter @totalcurtis for a more updated view.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Paul Wood — J.W. Lees, Doug Odell — Odell Brewing
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com

Ep16 — Friends & Family & Beer 2020: Of Must and Graf

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 05:00:41 +0000

In this episode Jonny Hamilton chats with Khris Johnson from Green Bench in Florida, Andrew Schwartz from Modern Times in San Diego, California and Felix Nash from The Fine Cider Company here in the UK, on what happens when the production of beer, wine and cider are brought together, and what potential experiences does this offers to the curious drinker. This is a fascinating insight into the crossover of beer, wine and cider, and I hope you find this discussion as compelling as I did when I got to sit in the audience and listen in.

Host: Jonny Hamilton
Guests: Khris Johnson — Green Bench, Andrew Schwarz — Modern Times, Felix Nash — The Fine Cider Company
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com

Ep14 — In Search of Pliny the Elder

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis) — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 05:00:19 +0000

Here’s something a little different for you. The latest episode of our podcast is spoken word recording of our co-founder Matthew Curtis’ popular article on his visit to Russian River’s brewpub in Santa Rosa, California, for a taste of its revered Pliny the Elder at the source. It’s a short episode at just 13 minutes, but one we still hope you’ll enjoy a great deal.

Regular listeners will know that we’ve narrated a couple of our stories before during a couple of the episodes in the first series of our podcast. This time, however, we’ve not only decided to produce a spoken word version of a feature, but also underpin it with a score. One will—hopefully—add a little extra drama and impact to the listening experience. It should go without saying that we welcome all feedback on how this worked (or didn’t) for you.

There is intent behind this too, as we wanted to see how viable it would be in terms of time and resources to record scores for the episodes planned as part of The Pellicle Podcast’s second series. The answer is that 12-minute-long soundtracks probably aren’t going to become a regular part of our broadcasting, but hopefully we’ll figure out a more time-sensitive way of adding a little colour and flare to S2 when it’s in post-production. More on that soon.

For now, please enjoy this episode, which you can either stream or download below, or via popular services such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many more. If you’re enjoying our podcasts please subscribe on your app and leave a review if you’ve time, and if you want to help fund more content like this, please consider signing up for a monthly donation via our Patreon page.

The track in this episode is called “Sonoma” and is written, produced and performed by Matthew Curtis. We recommend sitting in a big, comfy chair with headphones and a cold class of IPA for an optimal listening experience.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep13 — FyneFest 2109: Dropping Acid

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 05:00:13 +0000

It’s over to my partner in crime Jonathan Hamilton to host this, our final panel talk from FyneFest 2019. This discussion is all about spontaneous, mixed fermentation and wild ales—perhaps collectively better known, for better or worse, as “sours”. He’s joined on the panel by Andy Gibson, who at the time was working for BrewDog Overworks, Steven Smith-Hay from Vault City, Jim Rangeley of Abbeydale’s Funk Dungeon project, and Andrea Ladas, who helped establish the Origins project at Fyne Ales.

This episode is a must listen for anyone curious about the production of sour beers, as this is a super fun, and geeky chat. I’ll leave it there but quickly want to say thank you for listening to these talks, and thanks again to Fyne Ales for having us. We’ll see you back in the Glen in 2021. And I’ll be back in a week or two with some more episodes, including yet more panel talks from this year’s Cloudwater Friends & Family & Beer festival. Stay tuned!

Host: Jonny Hamilton
Guests: Jim Rangeley — Abbeydale, Andy Gibson — BrewDog Overworks, Steven Smith-Hay — Vault City, Andrea Ladas — Fyne Ales
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep12 — FyneFest 2019: Crafting a Legacy

Mon, 6 Jul 2020 05:00:10 +0000

In recent months I’ve become fascinated by the idea of legacy in modern beer, and what kind of impact today’s brewers will have on the next generation of beer lovers. We’re incredibly fortunate for the existence of beers like Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Harvey’s Best, St. Austell Tribute and Fyne Ale’s very own Jarl—beers with a seemingly timeless quality that will hopefully continue to be enjoyed for decades to come.

But what’s next? They say it takes at least 10 years to build a brand, and with many modern breweries focusing instead on limited releases and one-off beers, what are they building in terms of brand and identity? In this discussion we try to get to the bottom of this.

I’m joined on this panel by three people who are highly invested in their brands: Tina Breslin, the illustrator behind the compelling cans from Manchester’s Wander Beyond, Andrew Mathews of Vibrant Forest Brewery, known for its equally vibrant artwork, and the lovely Iain Smith, marketing manager at Fyne Ales, who was the person kind enough to let us folks at Pellicle host these talks.

It’s a fascinating chat, especially if you’re interested in branding and design as well as the beer itself. And apologies for a little background noise, this was recorded at a festival heading well into the livelier portion of its afternoon.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Tina Breslin — Wander Beyond, Andrew Mathews — Vibrant Forest, Iain "Arrows" Smith — Fyne Ales
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep11 — FyneFest 2019: Hybrid Theory

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Jonny Mills, Matthew Curtis, Jonny Hamilton, Bates) — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 05:00:02 +0000

You already know how much we love beer, wine and cider here at Pellicle. Something that also fascinates us, however, are hybrids—co-fermentations of beer with wine grapes for example, or blends of beer and cider, which is sometimes referred to as graf. These boundary pushing beverages aren’t just incredibly delicious, but within them also lies potential. Too often the worlds of beer, wine and cider are viewed separately, but I see them as three cards within the same deck. Hybrids provide each of these worlds with an opportunity to understand each other, and, hopefully, bring them closer together in the process.

Take this episodes panelists, for example. Jonny Mills of Mills Brewing has caused a stir among hardened beer collectors with his incredible beer/cider hybrids, produced in collaboration with cidermaker Tom Oliver. At Duration Brewing in Norfolk, head brewer Derek Bates is inspired to use seasonal produce within his beers, and has previously made a grape must infused New England IPA with his friends at Verdant Brewing in Cornwall. And before he moved on from Beavertown, my Pellicle co-founder Jonny Hamilton was creating mixed fermentation beers incorporating grapes from Chapel Down winery in Kent. He even got to pour them in California at Firestone Walker’s Terroir Project—a festival of beer/wine hybrids.

In this panel discussion, recorded at FyneFest 2019, we dig into the world of hybrid fermentations, discussing their potential, who their prospective audience is, and why they are oh so delicious.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Jonny Mills — Mills Brewing, Derek Bates — Duration, Jonny Hamilton — Pellicle
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep10 — FyneFest 2019: Independence Matters

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 05:00:21 +0000

Time. It makes fools of us all. When listening back to this episode I couldn’t decide whether to publish or not, as so much has changed over the last 12 months. However, I feel this episode is still relevant and worthwhile. Perhaps serving as a marker of how we felt about independence in beer in 2019, feelings that have likely intensified significantly over the past few months.

Independence is hugely important to me, but getting to the bottom of why it’s so important is challenging. On this panel I’m joined by Eddie Lofthouse, founder of Harbour Brewing in Cornwall, Matt Clarke, who at the time of this recording was the head brewer at Hawkshead Brewery in Cumbria, and Kevin Brooks, who at the time was working for US importer Shelton Brothers, but has recently left to set up his own company, Oasthouse Creative.

The reason I was so reticent about publishing isn’t just because during this panel I don’t really manage to gather enough evidence to make a case for independence. But since then, Matt Clarke has been made redundant, along with 14 other staff at Hawkshead, as its owner Halewood Wines and Spirits—who acquired the brewery in March 2017—covered its losses during the financial difficulties created by the pandemic. For me, this signified how important independence is, and what it means: control, or the lack of. In making those redundancies I feel the heart and soul—its people—has been torn out of Hawkshead Brewery.

This episode is also evidence of how fast the beer industry moves. To my panelists, if you’re listening, thank you for being on this episode. And, if your opinions have changed since its recording, please drop me a line, as I’d love to get you back on the show to talk about it.

I hope you enjoy this one folks — and just a reminder that this was recorded at a festival, so there’s a little background noise, but hopefully it’s not too intrusive.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Matt Clarke — Hawkshead, Eddie Lofthouse — Harbour, Kevin Brooks — Shelton Bros.
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep9 — FyneFest 2019: The Joy of Cask

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 05:00:07 +0000

Today’s show is part of a series of panel talks recorded at 2019’s Fynefest—The annual festival held by Fyne Ales, at the home of their brewery and family farm in Cairndow, Scotland.

In this episode we debate about one of my favourite subjects—cask ale—and why it means so much to both British brewing traditions, and to modern beer culture. Our panelists in this session were Stuart Ross of Magic Rock Brewing Company, Abbeydale Brewery’s Laura Rangeley and Doreen Joy Barber of Cloudwater. Plus, there’s a special guest appearance at the start from Cloudwater’s Jay Krause while we waited for Doreen to find the venue, where we hosted these talks.

Fyne Ales have been huge friends and supporters of Pellicle since day one, and it was a privilege to be invited to host these talks. We were gutted not to be able to return to the Glen in 2020 due to the pandemic, but are already relishing returning in 2021 with gusto.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Stuart Ross — Magic Rock, Laura Rangeley — Abbeydale, Doreen Joy Barber — Cloudwater, Jay Krause — Cloudwater
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep8 — Beer & Socialism with Unity Brewing's Jimmy Hatherley

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Jimmy Hatherley, Eoghan Walsh, Matthew Curtis) — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:46:43 +0000

Today’s episode is an interview with Jimmy Hatherley, founder of Unity Brewing Co in Southampton. Jimmy is a good friend of mine, and a fantastic brewer. He established his brewery in 2016, influenced by modern, hoppy beers such as Russian River’s Pliny the Elder and Focal Banger from Vermont’s The Alchemist. His other influence is closer to home, however: Belgium. He’s just as interested in perfecting his crisp, nuanced saisons as he is his intensely hopped IPAs.

The other thing that interests Jimmy is building his business—but not in the way you might think. He doesn’t feel the need to grow his business to any greater size than he operates at already. Instead he wants to grow slowly, and laterally, investing in his people and a sustainable, good quality of life for his family, and his employees families. It’s a noble aim, and one that for me is at the core of independent brewing here in the United Kingdom.

Stick around after the interview is done as I’ll be reading another feature from our site. This time it’s a piece from Eoghan Walsh, who headed to Rwanda in search of authenticity, and instead went on a journey of self discovery.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guest: Jimmy Hatherley — Unity Brewing Co.
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep7 — Where It's At feat. Duration, Verdant and Five Points Brewing

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:45:02 +0000

Welcome to the question time episode.

A few months ago I hosted a panel talk at a bar called Five Miles in Tottenham, North London called Where It’s At. It’s intent? To figure out where the UK craft beer industry is at the moment, perhaps taking stock of it in the process and figuring out how it might look in the future.

I’m joined on this panel by three influential people within the world of beer: Ed Mason, founder of the Five Points Brewing Company here in London; Miranda Hudson, founder of Duration Brewing in Norfolk, and Adam Robertson, founder of Verdant Brewing Company in Falmouth Cornwall.

Very few topics are left alone in this lengthy debate: quality, independence, crowdfunding, the price of beer—nothing is taboo. It resulted in a very interesting discussion, and at times quite amusing—especially when our host, Mark Hislop of Exale Brewing (formerly Hale Brewery) delivered us some patented Mali-Bomb shots midway through the discussion.

Thanks to Dan and Mark of Exale for hosting this discussion. Now that they’re in their new home in Walthamstow, North London, we hope to host another of these entertaining debates soon.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Adam Robertson — Verdant Brewing, Miranda Hudson — Duration Brewing, Ed Mason — The Five Points Brewing Company.
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep6 — Leeds Leeds Leeds

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:44:15 +0000

Today’s episode is a bumper special: a narrative exploration of one of my favourite cities in the UK — Leeds. This bastion of West Yorkshire is very special to me, and that’s because it’s such a wonderful place to visit and to drink some very fine beer.

During this episode we’ll hear from several key people from within the Leeds beer scene, including: Richard Brownhill of Little Leeds Beerhouse and bar, Brownhill and Co, Russel Bisset, founder and director of Northern Monk Brewery, Katie Marriot and Mike Hampshire of Nomadic Beer, and finally Christian Townsley, who over two decades ago founded North Bar with his friend and business partner John Gyngell—who, together, are arguably two of the most important figures in British beer today.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Russell Bisset — Northern Monk, Richard Brownhill — Little Leeds Beerhouse, Katie Marriot & Mike Hampshire — Nomadic Beer, Christian Townsley — North Brewing Co.
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep5 — St. John's Trevor Gulliver Gatecrashes a Breakfast

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:43:29 +0000

In today’s episode I get to visit one of my favourite places in the world—St. John—a place the late Anthony Bourdain described as “the restaurant of my dreams.” A truer statement has seldom been uttered.

I was invited by Will Bucknall, co-founder of Kicking Horse, a beer distributor with a wine industry background, helping to educate and supply some of London’s best restaurants with great beer. The subject of food and beer is one of my favourites, which is unsurprising considering they’re some of my favourite things. Put them together and you have perfection.

After Will and I chew on this subject for a while we’re joined by St. John’s co-founder Trevor Gulliver—a man with a great many opinions—and whether you agree with him or not, you’ll no doubt find his views to be thought provoking.

This episode was recorded in a working restaurant ahead of a busy service, so please bare with the background noise.

And don’t go anywhere once the interview has finished, as I’ll be reading another piece from our website: a rumination on citrus fruit from chef and founder of Nanban Restaurant, Tim Anderson.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Will Bucknall — Kicking Horse, Trevor Gulliver — St. John Restaurant
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep4 — Down to Business with The Real Ale Shop

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Zeph King, Tim Peyton, Nick Dolan) — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:42:27 +0000

Today’s episode is a “lost podcast” of sorts. I originally recorded this interview in late 2018 for the Good Beer Hunting podcast. Sadly, I left before it was ever submitted, and it has sat, languishing on my hard drive ever since. Listening back to it recently I decided it was too good not to publish.

It features Nick Dolan, Zeph King and Tim Peyton of Real Ale, a small, independent chain of bottleshop/bar hybrids. What’s fascinating is that their business isn’t simply that of a retailer. They’re also in the distribution game, perhaps most notably supplying supermarket chain Marks & Spencer with their own-brand range of beers.

While this episode is perhaps a bit more business focussed than we aspired to produce here at Pellicle, it still centres on what fascinates us the most—great food and drink.

Disclaimer: In this episode it is stated by the interviewee's that their business, Real Ale, is an owner of Woodforde's Brewery in Norfolk. Please be advised that this is no longer the case.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Nick Dolan, Zeph King and Tim Peyton — Real Ale
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep3 — Natural Wine, Lambic and the Joy of Acid

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Duncan Sime, Ola Dabrowska, Matthew Curtis, Karel Boon) — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:41:49 +0000

Today's episode flits between two of our favourite topics: natural wine and lambic—beers own spontaneously fermented equivalent. In this episode you'll hear from Ola Dabrowska and Duncan Sime of Huddersfield-based natural wine shop Kwas, followed by Karel Boon, heir to the storied Boon brewery in Lembeek, Belgium.

In our first interview we'll learn how Ola and Duncan came to open a natural wine bar in a West Yorkshire town better known for its traditional pubs and cask ale. Then we'll jump to a busy Hackney pub where we chat to Karel briefly about his family brewery and how it feels to be taking over from his father as he nears his inevitable retirement.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Ola Dabrowska & Duncan Sime — Kwas, Karel Boon — Brouwerij Boon
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ep2 — Chatting Cask with St. Austell's Roger Ryman

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Roger Ryman) — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:41:08 +0000

In today's episode Matthew ruminates briefly on the importance—nay magnificence—of cask ale, before chatting to Roger Ryman, the head brewer at Cornwall's St. Austell Brewery and creator of Tribute, one of the best selling cask beers in the country. Following the interview Matthew reads his article on another of the UK's great cask ales, Harvey's Sussex Best.

Host: Matthew Curtis
Guests: Roger Ryman — St. Austell Brewery
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag

Editors Note: Sadly Roger passed away in May 2020. Read our obituary to him here.

Ep1 — The Pilot

matthew@pelliclemag.com (Matthew Curtis, Jonny Hamilton) — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:40:03 +0000

When brewer Jonny Hamilton told writer Matthew Curtis he wanted to start a magazine, a seed was planted and Pellicle was born. In this episode, our very first—and a pilot of sorts—Matthew and Jonny discuss our magazines origins over a couple of nice bottles of wine and beer. They get there, eventually.

Hosts: Matthew Curtis & Jonny Hamilton
Read more at www.pelliclemag.com
Support our podcast at patreon.com/pelliclemag