Who Are We?
Back in 2019, we (Mike and George) entertained the brave idea of taking on a defunct brewery in Sheffield.
Neither of us knew Sheffield or had any actual background in beer – we didn’t even know if we could work together.
But we did share a love and overwhelming passion for the craft beer industry. And we both loved a challenge.
So, when the opportunity of developing the brewery with Alex came about, the temptation was too much to resist and we signed the lease.
Making The Move
We had to move quickly!
We acquired the equipment we needed from banks and liquidators and secured a lease for the building.
In the middle of all this, we teamed up with Alex. A Sheffield local with an infectious enthusiasm for beer and tonnes of experience as a brewer (including a Master Brewer stint at some of the world’s best breweries). It didn’t take us long to decide what beers we wanted to brew, at least to start with. We knew we wanted to make our beers gluten-free, properly fresh (unfiltered and unpasteurised), and vegan, wherever possible.
With a brewing plan in the works, we just needed to work out how to:
- Sell the beer
- Create a brand
- Spread worth of mouth
- Refurbish the bar
The jobs were stacking up! And, funnily enough, we didn’t have any money.
The Beer Came First
In the hopes that that would all come later, we started brewing the beer. The beer came first.
As someone who knew branding, I teased then: ‘We don’t know who we are. We don’t know what we are. But we do know what we’re brewing.
By the time the first beers were finally ready, we still didn’t have a brand. So, we chose simple beer names that we could write in chalk on slate tiles and attached them to hand pulls.
It stuck. We liked doing it that way. And through to today, for every new beer release, we ask (or compete for the opportunity) someone in the team to handwrite the beer name for our branding.
