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Julie is the co-founder of Neptune and Head of Sales & Events. As well as managing the day-to-day brewery ops and team, Julie is hands-on with brewing on occasions too. As Neptune opens its first Beer House in Maghull, Julie will also be overseeing that project when it is due to open in April 2023.
“Neptune has always been about brewing well-made, consistent and highly drinkable beers. We love offering a wide variety for all drinkers but the key thing is that people enjoy the Neptune beer they’re having and want to have another one.”
Just before joining Neptune full-time, she founded the Liverpool-based women’s social group Ladies That Beer in response to not seeing enough other women at beer events and festivals, and wanting to create a safe space for that.
Established in 2015, the group meets monthly in pubs and bars across Liverpool and beyond, and has the aim to encourage women to drink and appreciate beer – learning about the different styles and how they’re made. They enjoy days out and have brewed with several well-known breweries.
Chess joined the Neptune team in 2021 as Sales & Beer Experience Manager. She’s a Beer Sommelier, Certified Cicerone® and judges in national and international beer competitions. She likes to bring her expertise and enthusiasm to deliver activities that engage with both beer-lovers and newbies alike.
A Stockport resident, Chess has also founded a Manchester Chapter of Crafty Beer Girls, a social group for beer-loving and beer-curious women. They meet monthly in indie venues across Greater Manchester, with new faces joining each time. It’s a real mix of those in the industry and those who simply enjoy their beer and its aims are simple.
“We just want to encourage other women to enjoy beer and offer a welcoming space for those who are curious but don’t have any pals who share this interest. Manchester has so many fantastic venues that champion great beer and we want to support that as much as we can.”
Lacada Brewery is an award-winning co-operative brewery based at the top of Northern Ireland in Portrush.
Their journey began when a group of friends and beer lovers devised a cunning plan to share their passion and create employment in Portrush. The co-operative attracted almost 500 members, and in 2015 they hit the ground running, with Stranded Bunny Porter and Utopian Stout, in particular, garnering plaudits and awards.
The Devil’s Washtub followed, winning Best Ale and Best New Product in Blás na hEireann (The Taste of Ireland) awards of 2017, along with beers like East the Beast and Nine Rubies, which quickly sold out.
Driven by the enthusiasm of their members, the range has grown in all directions. Many of the recipes are devised by a talented and dedicated core of home-brewing members.
Local places, stories and legends have inspired the beer names. Lacada point, beside the Giant’s Causeway, is where one of the last ships of the Spanish Armada, the Girona, sank in 1588. The Golden Salamander on their logo was recovered from the wreck.
After an additional share offer in 2018/19, the brewery invested in cold-storage, water treatment, a significant upgrade to their fermentation vessels, and a move to canning. This finally allowed them to start sharing their beer beyond the North Coast.
A brewser box will contain some beautiful stouts, lagers, sours, and their NEIPA, Blue Pool, which has proven such a hit that it has already become a core beer. Check their profile out and give them a try!
Track Founder, Sam, returned home from 2 years cycling tens of thousands of miles around the world with an idea. Having gathered first-hand experience of beer and its communities from around the world, he set out to bring it all together back home in the UK.
2014 saw the establishment of Track Brewing Co. in a railway arch tucked away in central Manchester. The goal? Brew beers that take people on a journey. Over time the team experimented, tinkered and consistently produced beer that did just that.
In 2020, Track up-sized and moved into their current home, meaning a bigger kit and the opportunity to develop a bespoke taproom. Combining visions from Track’s in-houe designer, Amy Haselden, On The Brink Studios, and MikeSian Studio – the immense taproom was born.
Now one of the most-loved breweries in the UK, and the producer of multiple award winning contemporary beers, Track is a pillar of Manchester’s and the UK’s craft beer scene. Enjoy their exclusive brewser showcase and pales/IPAs boxes, and journey through their freshest brews!
Tartarus Beers was founded in 2020 by Jack Roberts and Jordan Orpen with the shared vision of wanting to produce a range of high quality craft beers. They wanted to enter the market with a style of beers that they felt were underrepresented in the craft beer scene, particularly in the current UK market. And they did just that, the launch of their first 3 beers being a Belgian Saison, a Belgian Triple & a Russian Imperial Stout.
Their decision to release two Belgian beers was an obvious one, with their love of Belgian beer and the fact that not many UK breweries produce these styles. The imperial stout they released is 17% and was in fact at the time, the strongest imperial stout floating around the UK market. These beers were intended to hit the market hard and make the craft beer scene look up and pay attention. And they did just that, with the first 3 beers selling out immediately and their imperial stout ‘Abaddon’ becoming well known in the industry amongst craft beer drinkers and other breweries.
Their focus is on brewing Imperial & European beers but they also produce a wide range of styles from clean crisp lagers, easy drinking saisons to full bodied stouts. Traditional styles of beers are usually met with a Tartarus Twist, with their latest invention being a Squid Ink, Seaweed & Yuzu Imperial Gose which was released to celebrate their second birthday. And if that wasn’t enough, all their beers are named after mythical creatures and legends, with each beer getting its own tale which you can read whilst you sip the creation.
2022 saw Tartarus move into their own 5000 sq ft brewery which will also be home to their very first taproom. The taproom will showcase their wide range of beers on offer, including special and one-off releases. 2023 will see the taproom host tap takeovers, events & food vendors in the hope to place the taproom on the map as a great drinking venue in Leeds. We can also expect a barrel project from Tartarus over the next coming months which will see a variety of complex barrel aged beers.