About

I was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire in 1965. I graduated with an HND in Food Science and Technology in 1987.

My brewing career began in the Quality Department at Websters Brewery in Halifax, and I was encouraged to continue my learning with the Institute of Brewing and Distilling.

After a brief spell at Tetleys Brewery in Leeds, I returned to Websters and was soon in my first management role in bottling. The Beer Orders Regulations of 1989 would force the closure of the bottling plant at Websters so in 1991 I moved to Scotland to work for Belhaven Brewery as Packaging Manager and added cask and keg racking to my skills, 18 months later I became the Brewing Manager.

I became an IBD Master Brewer in 2000 and this opened up new opportunities with Bass at the Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow, which ultimately became part of AB InBev. I specialised in beer maturation and filtration and managed a number of multi-million pound projects. I was rewarded with a bigger role as a Beer Processing Area Manager looking after a team of 60 – we supplied 5 packaging lines and a tanker bay in Lancashire.

The next chapter took me all over Europe, as far east as Ukraine doing product and process development. As the craft beer revolution gained momentum I joined Sharps Brewery in Cornwall as their Technical Brewer and became Head Brewer 2 years later.

The next 7 years saw me meeting with hundreds of wonderfully enthusiastic and hardworking brewers as a Craft Brewing Sales Manager for Crisp Malt.

In setting up Heron Brewing Support I hope to pass on my knowledge and experience to brewers at all levels as a legacy to such a passionate and friendly industry.