What’s your favourite hop?
Bramling Cross. Beautiful blackcurrant aromas which go perfectly with my favourite style of beers.
What’s your favourite beer?
Mmm, tricky one. I’m going to say Gales Prize Old Ale. Not to everyone’s tastes, I know, but I always found it stunning.
Favourite Food & Beer pairing?
Steak & Ale Pie containing and accompanied by a dark ale.
Favourite beer destination?
Yorkshire. The pubs are just so, well, how pubs should be! And they normally have a fine selection of good beers to keep you going as well.
Favourite pub in the UK?
Golly, so many to choose from, except not right now, of course. One of my favourite regular haunts when I’m in London has to be the Churchill Arms, Notting Hill. Amazing ceiling décor, good beer and a fantastic Thai restaurant at the back. Oh, and the outside is pretty stunning as well.
What’s the one item in the brewery you couldn’t live without?
The radio – for Popmaster at 10:30!
Favourite music to play during a brew day?
Pink Floyd.
If you weren’t in the brewing industry, what would you be doing?
Writing music.
Who is your biggest inspiration in brewing?
Ken Brooker, who founded Harviestoun Brewery. I fell in love with their beers then ended up buying their 10brl brewhouse when they expanded. Ken taught me a lot in a short space of time, back at a time when I knew very little about brewing.
What got you into brewing?
A fascination for playing with different ingredients to see what the result would be.
What’s your favourite beer festival?
An unexpected visit to the Stockholm Beer & Whisky festival a few years ago was a bit of a treat. Kills two birds with one stone, so to speak.
What’s the last beer you brewed?
Snowdonia Ale – our flagship beer.
What’s your favourite interest/hobby outside of brewing?
Running and rowing. I am very lucky where I live in North Wales to be able to go running up into the hills and mountains or go out to sea, training with the rowing club, all within a few miles from home. It really helps to clear your head!
Fuggles or Goldings?
Goldings.
What’s next for the brewery?
Survival! Hopefully we’ll be able to get through this rather strange period in British brewing history and grow again in years to come, but for now we just need to navigate our way through the current uncertainty in the industry.
