Brett's brewing beer that's "rooted in the local landscape"
HOME / / Brett's brewing beer that's "rooted in the local landscape"
“I wanted to build a brewery that would have an impact beyond just making good beer.”
37-year-old Brett left his career in organisational consulting to pursue his passion for brewing beer.
With a little help from his friends and a £10,000 Start Up Loan, he’s now living his dream, running a microbrewery, Strangers Brewing, on a small organic farm in Linlithgow, just outside Edinburgh.
Team Transmit spoke to Brett about his “difficult first year” and why all the startup struggles are worth it for the satisfaction of serving his community.
How long have you been running Strangers Brewing and how has it been going?
The business was incorporated in mid-2021 and we started selling in March 2022. In that time, the business itself has been reasonably successful in terms of getting local support and building the brand.
I think the issues everybody's facing at the moment, with hyperinflation and increasing costs, have been the biggest challenge. The projections I was looking at in March last year went completely all over the place, because the price of everything I am buying has massively shot up, and in some cases doubled. Despite that, it's been a good first year and we've been able to make a small operating profit.
Have you ever started businesses before this one?
Yes, but only relatively recently. My background is in business consulting but I've always wanted to do my own thing, and I’ve always wanted to start a microbrewery.
In early 2020 I set up my own consultancy, with a view to building up the brewery business alongside and transitioning to that full-time. When COVID came I was still doing my business consultancy and lockdown was a good excuse to transition to the brewery side of things more quickly.
Over the last year I’ve still done a few bits and pieces of consulting work, but for the last couple of months I’ve been focused solely on the brewery.
What’s different about your business?
We've got a real focus on trying to use local ingredients. As much of our base malt as possible comes from a single-origin farm in Fife, about 25 miles away as the crow flies. They provide almost 90% of the malted barley we use. That one farm grows, harvests and malts the barley all on site, which is quite unusual.
We have a mix of traditional styles and a seasonal range featuring different local ingredients; from beer infused with chillis and foraged spruce tips, to a rhubarb and ginger beer, where all of the rhubarb came from allotments close to the farm.
We've also brewed two batches of Nectar, which is a pale ale with added honey, from hives next to the farm.
So where does Strangers Brewing fit into the beer market?
In terms of brand positioning, we're trying to be somewhere in between traditional brewers and the ‘big hype’ expensive craft beer market. We're doing interesting beers, but we're not trying to be ridiculously wacky!
We're not following what everybody else is doing, but we’re tuned into what makes traditional beer good. Most importantly, we’re staying focused on trying to source as much locally as possible.
Are you running the business by yourself?
Officially, yes, I’m a one-man band! But in reality, the business is supported by a wealth of community. There are lots of people here who really get behind local initiatives.
The local cricket club were pretty much my first customer to put my beer, Suntrap, behind their bar and they've been incredibly supportive in pushing that product. Other local groups, such as the Rotary club, are also getting involved.
We've done a few events and Christmas markets and over the very busy period leading up to Christmas, we were able to offer some part-time jobs to people. My hope is that over the next 12 months, we'll be able to get some permanent staff in.
What motivated you to start your own business?
For ten years I knew I wanted to do this. I got to the stage where I either needed to actually do it, or stop talking about it! If I didn't give it a go, I'd always be wondering.
I really enjoyed the work I was doing, but it involved a lot of sitting in an office, writing reports as part of long-term projects, and it felt quite disconnected from the act of creating something for other people.
What I've really enjoyed about starting the brewery is seeing people enjoy something I’ve created almost straight away. I love the immediate impact of creating something for people to enjoy.
"I wanted to be able to create something that would give back to the town as well. So one of the things that we'll be doing in the future, as soon as we're in profit, is donating 10% of all of our proceeds to local charities."
How much was your Start Up Loan and what did you use it for?
I borrowed around £10,000 through Transmit Startups to purchase of one of our pieces of kit.
A lot of brewing equipment comes from China and I really wanted something that was fabricated in the UK (which costs more). We raised £20,000 through crowdfunding but were still some way off what we needed to buy the equipment. The Start Up Loan helped pay for a big stainless steel container in which to ferment and condition the beer.
The loan was also really helpful as a buffer, because every brew I make costs quite a lot of money before I can start selling it.
"Having the Start Up Loan has helped in terms of cash flow, enabling me to buy ingredients and pay for marketing before getting the money back from the beer we’ve made."
Who has helped you on your business journey so far?
First and foremost: my wife, because although she has no interest in beer at all, she's incredibly creative and can see things from a different perspective, which is often very helpful. And there's been a group of friends who have been amazing at helping me get set up for events, getting the word out, and doing loads of behind-the-scenes stuff that I couldn't do on my own. They’ve been so supportive and helpful in making all of that happen.
My friends have a range of different jobs, some with a hospitality focus, and others I went to university with who are now doing marketing jobs. There's even a guy I know who designs beer packaging! And a current example: I know nothing about Google AdWords so I’m going to phone a friend later to help me with that!
"When I started thinking about who could help me, it’s amazing how many people I already knew who could be useful in all sorts of ways."
From former colleagues in the consulting world to people I knew who ran pubs locally and could offer insight on what the market wants. These people in my network have helped me refine the brand itself.
What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about starting a business?
I’d tell them that it's going to be really hard work, but it's 100% worth it because it's amazing seeing people interacting with your product.
"Transmit Startups were great at helping me and it wasn't a scary process, so I absolutely would recommend a Start Up Loan."
"We’re delighted to be the 2000th loan recipients!"