Five Minutes with Faram featuring Dan Lawson from Copper Beech

Dan, introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your brewery

Dan Lawson: I’m Dan Lawson, one of the directors and head brewer at Copper Beech. We’ve been going since 2019, originally based in Kidderminster, and moved to Worcester in October last year. We now have an eight-barrel plant producing a lot of beer!

What’s your favourite hop?

Dan: I’d probably say Talus. It’s a hop that people don’t always love, but we’ve had great success with it. We use it a lot, either as a showcase hop or a supporting hop.

Do you use Talus within your range currently?

Dan: Yes, it’s in our beer Family Tree, named after my daughter – a 5.5% single-hop beer. It also features in many of our hazy pales as a supporting hop.

What is your favourite beer?  From your brewery or elsewhere

Dan: From elsewhere, Big Foam from Deya. During the pandemic years especially, it was fantastic. I don’t see it around here a lot, but whenever I do, I go for it.

Favourite food beer pairing?

Dan: We did a beer and cheese pairing, and with goat’s cheese was the best combo. Cheese is a great pairing for beer in general.

Favourite beer destination – UK or worldwide?

Dan: In the UK, Manchester is the obvious one, and Leeds is fantastic too. But Worcester has some great places as well. Before we moved here we used to come over, and it’s a great beer city that I think is underappreciated.

Favourite pub in the world?

Dan: The Chester Tavern in Kidderminster. It’s my wife’s and my favourite pub. Great landlord, eclectic beer range. You can get anything from Lucky Buddha to Vault City sours, and even a big non-alcoholic selection; it’s a lovely pub.

What’s one item in the brewery you couldn’t live without?

Dan: Two things: a squeegee, because our drainage is terrible and our brewery assistant Perry. He’s solid and doing great in his apprenticeship.

Do you listen to anything while brewing? Music, album, podcast?

Dan: I have a house rule: no music while I’m brewing. I’m tuned into the sounds of leaks, gas, water, anything. The rest of the team listen to stuff, but I like silence so I can hear if anything’s going wrong.

If you weren’t in the brewing industry, what would you be doing?

Dan: I worked in education and local government before this, so probably some boring corporate job.

How did you go from that into brewing?

Dan: I used to play football four times a week. I broke my leg, my wife said I couldn’t play anymore, and I needed a hobby. Brewing became the hobby – first in the kitchen, then in the shed. I was earning good money within my career but had no work–life balance, so I switched careers. I earn less now but enjoy what I do. And credit to my father-in-law – he bullied me into drinking cask ale

Do you have a big inspiration?

Dan: My father-in-law on a personal level. In brewing, Mark Costello from Horsforth Brewery. He probably doesn’t realise the impact he had. We followed a similar path,  limited funds, small scale, making it work.

Favourite beer festival?

Dan: Shirley Beer Festival. It’s a massive event and they supported us when we were tiny, treating us the same as bigger breweries. It’s now a fixed part of our calendar every May. Craft Brew Festival is great too, and we’re hoping to do more this year.

Any hobbies outside the brewery?

Dan: Not a lot of time for hobbies! But I’m a massive football fan. I support Kidderminster Harriers locally and Aston Villa nationally.

What was the last beer you brewed?

Dan: A Baltic Porter, brewed with Three Words Brewing. We used W-34/70 yeast and Admiral.

Goldings or Fuggles?

Dan: Goldings. I’ve never used Fuggles, and Goldings works well in our beers.

What’s next for you in the industry?

Dan: Ultimately, our aim is organic growth. Rather than punching above our weight, we simply want to be recognised for what we do. In addition, we have a good site, a great taproom, and a strong team. Above all, we’re focused on the beer, not on becoming famous. Looking ahead, we want to still be here in 10–15 years, known for being a solid Worcester brewery.