Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you and your current job?
I am Simon Miles, head brewer and co-owner of Anarchy Brew Co. Established November 2011.
What was the inspiration behind your brewery?
Having been a homebrewer since the mid 1980’s (out of necessity when I was earning low wages) with later interests in touring Europe and the USA, I guess it would be fair to say that the inspiration behind Anarchy Brew Co has come from my old touring days, so I am unable to put an exact finger on it, however, I am a big fan of Belgian Trappist & Abbey Breweries (who isn’t?).
Can you give us a tour of your beer scene?
In our home city of Newcastle Upon Tyne the craft beer scene has steadily been growing for a number of years now, with more and more new specialist bars. We have an exciting number of bars selling craft beer from around the world, never mind the English beers, so I would say craft beer is very popular here. Almost every week there’s a bar in town hosting a meet the brewer evening, and nine times out of ten it’s a brewery with a great reputation. So our little city is a magnet for all things craft beer and it doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a brewery?
My advice for anyone who has plans to start their own brewery is; do a lengthy business course of some description first, develop a thick skin, arm yourself with a very healthy cash flow balance, grow a huge set of balls, develop just a couple of robust recipes only and get them nailed and finally…. Don’t employ friends!
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