A fresh start always brings a mix of emotions - the nervous excitement of whether we can we push further paired with reflecting on the strides behind us. Even amid economic turbulence, 2023 proved a standout year for the Brewery and Taproom.
It felt like the first year feeling comfortable with our equipment which led us to produce our most stylistically diverse range yet. We brewed everything from Double IPAs to American Brown Ales and welcomed thousands of you to the Taproom.
So... who wants to see some slides?
2023 saw us brew our most beer to date (more beer than our first five years combined!) As a brewery focused on constantly creating new beers, we don't always realise just how many new recipes get dreamt up. But after tallying up every single release, we clocked an astonishing 115 new and unique beers brewed, drank (and hopefully enjoyed) by you guys.
Sonoma. The beer that built us. Clocking in at a huge 34% of our overall production and a pretty close split between Cask & Keg.
Probably the slide we are most proud of. 15 new styles brewed. The Taproom, scaling production and feeling more at ease on the kit meant the brew team could spread their wings and explore beers using new ingredients and techniques that we'd never previously approached.
Worth noting that in our first five years of brewing, we probably produced around five styles a year, most of them being in the Pale & Hoppy category. For us, it's as a real testament to the talent and dedication of the Brew team, to push themselves into new and uncharted territory.
Don't get us wrong, we love producing Hazy Hoppy Liquid, but to get the chance to produce a classic Golden Ale using locally grown Hops was a real moment for us as a brewery, and then for it become the number one rated beer in its category was something we're very proud of.
This beer was the beginning of our relationship with MCR Hop Growers, and in 2024 our plans are to push and expand on the foundations that have now been set.
We produced some of our highest rated Double IPAs and IPAs last year. Collaborated with friends old and new and we were asked as one of only 70 Breweries in the world to take part in the Bract Brewing Programme - a programme that gave us access to experimental NZ Hops and produced our top rated IPA, Fields Of Gold.
Hop Water, our first Gin and even a Sonoma Negroni. We branched out into new areas and explored what else was possible. We feel very lucky to be surrounded by so many talented creators and producers here in Manchester and loved being able to collaborate and bring to life some ideas we had that existed outside of beer.
Thanks again to everyone who's helped, supported and purchased our beers. You are the driving force behind what we do, and as long as you're still interested, we shall carry on pushing ourselves to produce the best liquid we can.
Here's to (hopefully smoother) 2024 and all it may hold!