Hop Forward: Getting You Ahead in the Brewing and Beer Business

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...!  Craft beer is on the rise, queues of beer nerds are lining up for the latest Imperial Stouts and a brave alliance of brewers has formed to bring down the Galactic Empire known as 'Big Beer'.In this last instalment of the Hop Forward Podcast, we sit down opposite Damian Doherty from Emperor's Brewery in The Fat Jedi (aka Damian's truly intergalactic beer cellar!) to chat all things Imperial Stouts, Porters and Barley Wines.   We reminisce about the rise of craft beer, what has changed over the past 10-15 years, how to brew a truly great high-gravity beer, and Damian is put through his paces to see whether he truly is a Jedi or is as mediocre as an Untappd score.THIS WEEK'S EPISODE IS PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:Charles Faram & Co (charlesfaram.com)Supplying hops for over 150 years, Charles Faram offers a vast range of nitrogen-flushed hop varieties from the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and the USA.Crisp Malt (crispmalt.com)Since 1870, Crisp has blended tradition with innovation, producing malts like Chevallier Heritage and Clear Choice Malt.FOLLOW HOP FORWARDhopforward.beer | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Instagram

On the Hop Forward Podcast this week, we head to Wellington, New Zealand, by the magic of the internet to sit down digitally with Pete Gillespie, co-founder of Garage Project, for a deep dive into one of the most unusual hop-forward beers you’re likely to come across: Sludgefest — a Radical Recycled Hop IPA brewed using reused dry-hop slurry.We discuss this unusual beer, how it tastes and the approach Garage Project takes towards creativity and experimentation on their beers, while keeping a consistent core range available to the average supermarket drinker.We also talk about their pickle beer (yes, you read that right!), their wild fermentation programme and how craft beer is considered ‘nostalgic’ to Gen Z - the beers their mums and dads kept in the fridge.The discussion with Pete starts at 36:32.Nick is also joined this week by Will Rogers from Charles Faram, discussing the 2025’s hop harvest, what to expect from this year’s crop and how fresh isn’t always ‘best’.THIS WEEK'S EPISODE IS PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:Charles Faram & Co (charlesfaram.com)Supplying hops for over 150 years, Charles Faram offers a vast range of nitrogen-flushed hop varieties from the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and the USA.Crisp Malt (crispmalt.com)Since 1870, Crisp has blended tradition with innovation, producing malts like Chevallier Heritage and Clear Choice Malt.FOLLOW HOP FORWARDhopforward.beer | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Instagram

Established in 2011 by General Manager and Brewster Claire Monk, Welbeck Abbey Brewery is situated on the Welbeck Abbey Estate.  Founded as a Premonstratensian monastery in 1153, after the Dissolution, the Abbey was bought by Bess of Hardwick's youngest son, Sir Charles Cavendish.As with many country estates, over time, the house and grounds have become a popular tourist attraction, pulling in crowds of people for a quintessentially English spot of afternoon tea and a gentle potter around.  Situated to the rear of the sprawling buildings, you'll find Welbeck Abbey Brewery, set in the heart of an artisan estate-village that produces specialist foods and crafts in a beautiful rural setting. Producing hand crafted ales using the estate’s own spring water and a unique strain of nurtured yeast, the brewery now produces over 17,000 pints of award-winning ales each week, which they supply to local pubs, restaurants, and specialist bottle shops across the region and beyond.In this episode of the Hop Forward Podcast, we talk about the power of place with Claire and how they've built the brewery brand and marketing around the story of the abbey estate, while remaining relevant to drinkers in both the beer and pub space, as well as tourists who don't know the difference between an ale and a lager.We also chat about how swathes of people leaving the hospitality industry are leading to pub closures and how breweries finding it difficult to attract new talent onto their teams.Also on this episode, Nick catches up with David Griggs, Technical Director from Crisp Malt, to discuss malt consistency and the steps brewers can take in the brewhouse before blaming their barley!THIS WEEK'S EPISODE IS PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:Charles Faram & Co (charlesfaram.com)Supplying hops for over 150 years, Charles Faram offers a vast range of nitrogen-flushed hop varieties from the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and the USA.Crisp Malt (crispmalt.com)Since 1870, Crisp has blended tradition with innovation, producing malts like Chevallier Heritage and Clear Choice Malt.FOLLOW HOP FORWARDhopforward.beer | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Instagram

How many grams per litre of dry-hopping creates those big juice DIPA flavours?  What cereal should we use to create a self-stable haze?  What are the correct additives and E-numbers that will give us the right hue to our teal coloured slush-puppy sour...?  These questions are great but unless we dig deeper to unearth how we can grow our raw ingredients in unfavourable conditions, then perhaps synthetic-coloured beers are all we can look to in a dystopian future where smoothie-sours are the norm.In this episode, we explore why agricultural research is imperative for the future of brewing.  Specifically looking at hops, Nick hosts a round table discussion with Will Rogers from Charles Faram, Duncan Westbury - Dean of Land and Property Management at the Royal Agricultural University - and Scientific Researcher, Josh Brett to answer this question.THIS WEEK'S EPISODE IS PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:Charles Faram & Co (charlesfaram.com)Supplying hops for over 150 years, Charles Faram offers a vast range of nitrogen-flushed hop varieties from the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and the USA.Crisp Malt (crispmalt.com)Since 1870, Crisp has blended tradition with innovation, producing malts like Chevallier Heritage and Clear Choice Malt.FOLLOW HOP FORWARDhopforward.beer | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Instagram

In this episode, Nick sits down with Dean & Jill Baker, the husband-and-wife team behind Bakers Dozen Brewing.  Based in Rutland, the smallest county in the UK, the Bakers have built a lifestyle business from scratch — just the two of them — while balancing the headaches of running a brewery while keeping their relationship sweet.Once landlords of The Jolly Brewer in Stamford, the Bakers share how they cleared out the drug dealers and bad curtains from their pub and turning it into one of the market-town's favourite public houses, before tiring of being landlords and exchanging and beer-engines for mash paddles.Over the course of this conversation, we dig into what it really takes to run a two-person brewery, how they've won national awards like SIBA Golds for Undertow and Bull Run despite being small, and share their insights on running a marriage and a business together.Nick also shares his views on how bucket hats have brought more people out drinking this summer.  Also, stick around right to the very end as Dean & Jill contend with what their correct email address is...!FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BAKERS DOZENBUY THE BEER | TRADE INFOTHIS WEEK'S EPISODE IS PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:Charles Faram & Co (charlesfaram.com)Supplying hops for over 150 years, Charles Faram offers a vast range of nitrogen-flushed hop varieties from the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and the USA.Crisp Malt (crispmalt.com)Since 1870, Crisp has blended tradition with innovation, producing malts like Chevallier Heritage and Clear Choice Malt.FOLLOW HOP FORWARDhopforward.beer | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Instagram