You started brewing in 2015 at CBCo Brewing in Melbourne, and now find yourself as the Head Brewer for Lacons Brewery in Great Yarmouth, UK. Can you tell us a little about this journey?
I left a sound accounting job in NZ in January of 2015 to pursue a career more focused around passion than commercial practicality, being at the time unattached and without the shackles of home ownership I decided the time was right to take a chance and try something new. This led me to Western Australia where I had some good friends and knew there was a strong presence of wineries, my hope being to learn the craft of making wine and then adapt this to creating cider upon my return to NZ. I had previously travelled to the UK in 2012 and had my eyes opened to the world of beverages beer and RTD’s, leading to a keen interest in cider.
After falling foul on timing with regards the vintage in the wineries, meaning that jobs were not as plentiful as hoped, I ended up finding a job running pizzas at a Brewery in Margaret River called Colonial Brewing Co (later CBCo). This was a great job, that developed quickly meaning more involvement in packaging beer and maintaining equipment than bar work, it also got me hooked on the notion of craft beer, a relatively novel thing at the time in NZ. After seven months here an opportunity to relocate to Melbourne with the company arose as they embarked on an east coast expansion to service venues in the eastern states more readily. This meant a huge opportunity arose to be involved in re-commissioning a brewery and learn very quickly how to make great beer. Within six months I was leading the production team alongside another lead brewer and within the first 18 months we were producing just over 2.5 million pints per annum.
In 2016 I met my now wife, who originates from here in Norfolk, which ultimately led us to the decision to return to the UK to be nearer her family. My previous trip to the UK left me feeling confident in what I was to expect and aware that the independent brewing industry in the UK had a long heritage and that work in the sector would be relatively easy to find.
I was given a great opportunity to join the team at Lost and Grounded Brewers in Bristol, well renowned for their impeccable craft lagers, where I spent a year before moving back to Norfolk to be nearer my wife’s family.
I then took a role as production manager for a craft gin distillery in Norwich for a year whilst awaiting the start of a new venture by the name of Duration Brewing. After 4 years as production and then operations manager with Duration I moved on in 2023 to Lacons Brewery as Head Brewer.
What was it that first got you into brewing?
A passion for making things, being creative and needing some outlet for that meant I wanted to create cider initially, then upon tasting my first craft beer I realised this was the gig for me!
What do you enjoy most about your current role?
Where we are based in Great Yarmouth is a relatively underserved community, what was once a boom town for many centuries has fallen on tough times. I take pride in the fact we are providing opportunities for people to build rewarding careers in our industry. We have a great team and are a growing business which means many rewarding challenges on a daily basis, that keeps things fresh.
You’ve lived in a few different places – how does living in the UK compare to NZ, and what do you miss most from home?
It’s a tricky one, life in general is very different for me personally than when I left NZ at the age of 24. I am married, mortgaged and have a family so I feel like it’s hard to compare fairly. Norfolk in general is very similar to Canterbury, just a lot older in its settlement and more populous. It’s largely flat and driven by farming and their supporting industries. There is less of a focus on outdoor leisure and more on manufactured entertainment, something which makes me miss home. The key thing I miss is family and friends, most other things you can adapt to pretty readily I reckon.
