Paul Bowker - Brick Lane Brewing Company

2023-11-28

This week I speak with Paul Bowker, Managing Director of Brick Lane Brewing company.The small brewing movement was built on a lot of romantic ideas about brewing that were born from a reaction to a brewing duopoly that didn’t offer consumers a lot of choice. The craft narrative was small, traditional and independent, it initially eschewed a lot of brewing techniques and business strategies that were seen as not being craft…and in doing so spawned a million discussions about what the term craft meant. In this worl...

This week I speak with Paul Bowker, Managing Director of Brick Lane Brewing company.

The small brewing movement was built on a lot of romantic ideas about brewing that were born from a reaction to a brewing duopoly that didn’t offer consumers a lot of choice. The craft narrative was small, traditional and independent, it initially eschewed a lot of brewing techniques and business strategies that were seen as not being craft…and in doing so spawned a million discussions about what the term craft meant.

In this world, a brewery such as Brick Lane - well-resourced from the outset with the help of business people and celebrities, and openly adopting the modern brewing techniques that its resources provided - was viewed by a craft industry with some cynicism. And yet, in 2023, the brewery has won a swag of major awards for beer quality and - in world where so much news is on craft businesses struggling - Brick Lane appears to be going from strength to strength.

These are the observations that continue to fascinate me, and I always enjoy discussing Brick Lane’s role in the brewing industry with Paul Bowker as a result.

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