The Pellicle Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis, the UK has experienced the closure, or change in ownership of nearly 200 small, independent breweries. Prior to that, however, we saw a boom, growing from just over 700 in 2013, to more than 2000 at the start of 2020.

Around 700 of these breweries are members of SIBA, the Society for Independent Brewers and Associates. In March 2024, our host Matthew Curtis visited its annual trade show, Beer X, in Liverpool, and wandered the trade floor asking members two simple questions: what’s the biggest challenge facing their business at the moment, and what’s one thing they’re feeling positive about when it comes to beer and brewing.

It seems like a simple premise, but it revealed that while the industry is still facing hardships—illustrated by that decrease in overall brewery numbers—there’s still plenty to smile about. Independent beer, it seems, still has plenty of fight left in it, and that’s something all drinkers should take to heart. 

This episode features, in order of appearance: Catherine Webber (Attic Brew Co), Charlotte Thomson (Indie Rabble/A Hoppy Place), Paul Jones (Cloudwater), Sean O'Reilly (Brids Cross Brewery), Steve Dunkley (Beer Nouveau), Laura Rangeley (Abbeydale), Julie and Les O'Grady (Neptune), Richard Archer (Utopian Brewing), Cameron Brown (Turning Point Brew Co) and Sam Martin (Leigh on Sea Brewery).

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Yeast so often plays third fiddle in the conversation about beer, and how it’s made. It never quite shares the limelight with hops, the most glamorous beer ingredient, and to some extent malt. And yet, it’s one of the most fascinating elements within beer's makeup. In this episode we chat to Alix Blease of Lallemand, and dig into the importance of yeast in brewing.

There’s a saying some brewers like to peddle, not to mention Alix herself in this episode: “brewers make wort, yeast makes beer.” It’s a statement I’ve never been inclined to agree with, because—as we learn in this episode—there are so many factors that can implement the fermentation process, and it is brewers, or cellar managers as they’re typically referred to in a brewery, who control these various processes. 

Simple adjustments such as temperature, the size and shape of a particular fermentation vessel, and indeed the strain of yeast (or yeasts) itself will have wildly different influences on a particular beer's fermentation. Through the careful stewardship of their yeast, brewers can influence a variety of flavours and other characteristics that contribute hugely to the finished beer in your glass.

Maybe, then, I can agree in part that the yeast does make the beer, but it wouldn’t be able to do so without those who steward it. Perhaps, in terms of fermentation, it’s more useful to describe brewers as shepherds, or perhaps yeast wranglers, who give these little critters the best possible chance to make a beer you and I will enjoy. In this episode, we learn why all of this is so important, and talk about some interesting developments in the future of yeast science, and how this will influence modern beer production.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

During one of our first ever panel discussions at FyneFest, held way back in 2019, we spoke about the importance of independence in brewing. Not only were the results of the conversation inconclusive, two of the breweries represented in that discussion—Hawkshead and Harbour— have since sold out to larger corporations…

With several years having passed since this talk took place, and the brewing landscape also having changed dramatically during this time, we felt it was time to return to it once again and ask: is independence more important than ever? Join Matthew Curtis for a debate featuring an expert panel to work out if there is still genuine value for both breweries and their customers in remaining independent, or if it’s time to sell out and cash in, while there’s still time.

Featuring Darron Anley (Siren Craft Brew), Vik Stronge (Magic Rock), Matt Clarke and Michelle Gay (Lakes Brew Co.)

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month. Get  your tickets to FyneFest 2024 here.

There is no getting away from the fact that producing beer is a hugely energy intensive process. The very nature of brewing requires boiling a huge vat of liquid, which then needs to be cooled quickly, and kept at near freezing temperatures for several weeks. The finished product also needs constant refrigeration if it’s to be kept at its best. Other processes connected to brewing, such as the farming of ingredients, and the production of the chemicals used for sanitisation, all add to its large carbon footprint.

In this panel discussion, hosted by Matthew Curtis, we examine what both breweries and the folks who drink their beer can do to encourage breweries to take responsibility for adopting more sustainable practices in brewing. There’s plenty to debate, from the use of organic grains, to carbon dioxide capture and reuse, to the controversial deposit return scheme that is just around the corner for the United Kingdom.

Featuring Sarah Luxon (Wiper & True), Jamie Delap (Fyne Ales), and Sam McMeekin (Gypsy Hill).

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month. Get  your tickets to FyneFest 2024 here.

We can all agree that the last few years have been tough, and as a result, it can be difficult to find the joy in life’s simple pleasures — of which beer is one of the best. The past decade in British brewing has been pretty exhausting, with thousands of newcomers entering the category, many of whom have been in a race to make the haziest, juiciest, pastriest, and most intense beers possible. As a result, many of us have reached our saturation point within beer culture.

For this panel discussion, Jonathan Hamilton speaks to people from within the beer industry about their own experiences of what we’re calling ‘beer burnout’ and discuss ways in which we can regain joy from the simple pleasure that is enjoying a well made glass of beer. Hopefully, together, we can learn to Make Beer Fun Again.

Featuring Lucy Clarke (Sureshot), Aidy Fenwick (Fyne Ales), and Dominic Driscoll (Thornbridge).

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month. Get  your tickets to FyneFest 2024 here. 

Perhaps one of the most exciting things to have happened within the UK brewing industry over the past decade is the birth of modern British lager. Whether they’ve been directly inspired by the brewing traditions of Germany and the Czech Republic, or by more contemporary influences such as the American West Coast, the wealth of great lager beers now produced by British breweries, from Helles, to Baltic Porters and even newer styles such as India Pale Lager, is breathtaking.

For this discussion you’ll join Pellicle co-founder, lager enthusiast, and Heriot Watt brewing and distilling masters alumni Jonathan Hamilton, along with an expert panel of brewers to chat about all things lager. If you want to learn your infusion mashing from decoction, or about things such as the influence and flavour of heritage barley varieties in lager brewing, then this is the discussion for you.

Featuring Colin Stronge (Salt Beer Factory), Reece Hugill (Donzoko) and Hannah Davidson (Jolly Good Beer). 

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month. Get  your tickets to FyneFest 2024 here. 

From the pandemic to Brexit, the cost of living crisis has impacted everyone’s pockets. For brewers, the price of beer production is through the roof, with rising ingredient costs and soaring energy bills, everything has become significantly more expensive. Perhaps the greatest challenge, however, is passing this cost onto the consumer. Beer is an egalitarian product, and drinkers have always had an expectation that it remains affordable, accessible, and live in hope that it doesn’t become a very occasional luxury.

In this debate, featuring members of the brewing industry and hosted by Pellicle co-founder Matthew Curtis, we’ll discuss the difficult subject that is the price of a pint. From the cost at the bar, to concepts like premiumisation, and whether there’s actually a benefit (or not) to the price of beer going up, no stone will be left unturned. Audience participation will be encouraged—think of this as like Question Time but with much more beer.

Featuring Andy Parker (Elusive Brewing), Charlie Harding (Bonne Vivante Marketing) and Alice Hayward (Cloudwater). 

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month. Get  your tickets to FyneFest 2024 here. 

In a recent team discussion both of our associate editors, Katie Mather and Lily Waite, asked if they could narrate some of their stories for a podcast episode. Long-term listeners will know this is something I experimented with in early episodes, with varying results. I found reading my own stories to be a delight. I felt it gave me the ability to add detail using tone and inflection that might not have quite the same impact when read, but I struggled a little when narrating those written by others. It really needs the writer's voice to help the listener understand the mood that they're trying to communicate with their writing.

This is what made me jump at the opportunity as soon as they both asked, and Katie got straight to work recording a narration of a piece of her writing from 2020 called: ‘Hand-Held Rebellion — An Ode to the Burger Van’. It’s a shorter episode than usual. An easy 15 minutes as opposed to an hour; something you can easily enjoy on a lunch break, or during your daily run. 

Katie is a very special writer. She has this uncanny ability to conjure poetic majesty in topics that some may find mundane. In the latest series in her newsletter The Gulp—which she calls PROCESS—she makes eating spam sound like enjoying a delectable, three-course meal. That Katie’s viewpoint is grounded in her working class roots is arguably what makes her ability to tackle subjects like these so potent.

This piece, which internally at Pellicle we simply call ‘Burger Van’, is one of her very best. It’s a tale from memory, about childhood, nostalgia, and how that has manifested in Katie’s adult life. It will absolutely, 100%, make you want to head straight to your nearest butty van and order a belly buster with extra bacon and cheese. 

Before Katie reads her article, Matthew also takes the time to check in with some thoughts he has on the beer industry after a visit to Duration Brewing in Norfolk for their 4th anniversary celebrations.  

If you want to read the original Burger Van article, you can do so here. We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Loughran Brewers Select. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

DEYA. It’s spelled in capital letters, a reminder so you can shout its name joyfully from the rooftops. Joy is certainly one thing the Cheltenham based brewery provides in abundance. This is through their carefully put together beers—such as its flagship pale ale Steady Rolling Man—or its vibrantly colourful, energetic, and yet at the same time peaceful taproom. DEYA is a brewery of multiple dispositions.

In November 2022 I finally visited the brewery itself for the first time, doing the 3-and-a-bit hour journey from Manchester (via Birmingham) and back again inside a day to take some photos for another project I was working on. As I was packing my gear, I made a last minute decision to throw my mics and Zoom recorder into my bag, and asked the brewery’s founder, Theo Freyne, if he had a spare hour to be interviewed for an episode of The Pellicle Podcast.

Thankfully, he agreed, and we recorded a really fascinating conversation. Together we covered the origins of the brewery, how it has grown and changed so much since it was established in 2015, and how they make their oh-so-delicious beers that have captivated so many drinkers throughout the UK.

And then, well, I had a book to finish. A book that is now finished. Unfortunately it meant that the recording was left to languish on my hard drive for several months—almost a year to the day, in fact—waiting for me to find the time to edit it. At the start of the year I had every intention of making sure I was producing regular podcast episodes, but time is not something I have in abundance.

Thankfully, however, now the book is out it’s something I have a little bit more of, and on listening back to the episode I was pleased to hear it hadn’t really aged. While it might not include what the brewery has been up to over the past year, it serves as an excellent primer, whether you’re completely new to the brewery, or you’re an experienced Steady drinker, eager to hear more about how this beer is made.

Please enjoy this wonderful interview with Theo, and about his brewery, DEYA. I’ll be back with more podcast episodes very soon, (and I really mean it this time.) Special thanks to our pals at Loughran Brewers Select, who in addition to sponsoring our website are now also sponsoring our podcast. A double whammy of support that means more good stuff for you folks!

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Manchester has a fascinating beer history, stretching back well over two centuries, and into the industrial revolution. What’s remarkable is how that history still influences the northwestern city’s beer culture today, whether via one of its four, storied family brewers like Robinson’s or JW Lees, or one of its modern trailblazers such as Track or Cloudwater. 

One of the city’s most unquestionably influential breweries is Marble, which was originally established in the Marble arch pub in 1997. The brewery has since gone through two expansions, its most recent in 2019 when it relocated from Manchester to Salford (the difference of which is very important to locals). The latest episode of our podcast takes place here at the brewery, where we hosted a panel discussion in front of a live audience, and delved into the recent history of the Manchester beer scene, as we joined in Marble’s 25th anniversary celebrations, which took place towards the end of 2022. 

Hosted by our very own Matthew Curtis, the panel features a host of luminaries from within the Manchester beer scene, including Jason Menzies, Marble’s events manager. We’re also joined by Stephanie Shuttleworth, a former Marble employee who has worked in and around the Manchester beer scene for over a decade, and is currently working on a PhD centered around pubs and brewing. Last but not least we’re joined by John Clarke, chair of Stockport and South Manchester CAMRA, who has been living and breathing beer in Greater Manchester for over three decades. 

It’s a fantastic discussion, and one of our lengthiest to date, as there was so much interesting history to talk about. Thanks again to Marble for inviting us to host this talk, and to our guests for providing such great insight.

Don’t forget that if you enjoy this, and other content that Pellicle creates, please consider subscribing via Patreon, and support our independent magazine and podcast.