Jack Baber is a fellow Cardiff homebrewer and he helps run the long-established and highly regarded Rebel Homebrewers club in Cardiff which I myself am an occasional attendee of (not as much as I'd like, but hey, family diary clashes and all that).

In this episode Jack kindly welcomes me into his incredible bar and brewery set up in his garage. We hear the secrets on how to make such a great set-up, plus the story of how he got started on home brewing and why we both agree that it's an incredibly fun and rewarding hobby that really doesn't take much effort to get started with.

I should warn you, listening to this episode will significantly raise the chances of you going online and buying your first brew kit immediately afterwards... and that's a very good thing!

Did you know that the UK's biggest low and no alcohol brewer is based right here in South Wales?

Drop Bear was formed just 5 years ago by two women in South Wales with a mission to put the craft into low and no alcohol brewing... and their success has been incredible.

The beers are good. That's the starting point. But the business sense, the ambition, the upward trajectory, the commitment to genuine planet-friendly policies... put all these together and it's seriously impressive.

I couldn't wait to meet them and my visit to their new brewery and chat with co-Founder Joelle did not disappoint. So much to take from the episode - brewing geekery, industry analysis, business savvy... and just inspirational stuff.

Check out Drop Bearer yourself at dropbearbeers.com

Batemans is the type of brewery that used to be common all throughout the UK. Now it's vanishingly rare. 150 years old. All that time brewing at the same site. All that time independent. All that time run by 5 generations of the same family.

World wars. Covid. 1980's Dallas and Dynasty style internal family ownership wrangles. The fall of cask beer. The rise of industrial brewing. The rise of craft beer.

Batemans has survived it all. And throughout it has brewed some of the most distinctive and tasty traditional British ale you will find in these isles.

Author Adam Cartwright - who has written the brilliant book 'Good Honest Tales - 150 Years of Batemans Brewery' - joins me on this episode to tell this Lincolnshire brewery's incredible story.

The episode is about beer and a brewery but its also about business savvy, community spirit, determination and the roll-your-sleeves-up spirit of just keeping going.

Get your copy of the book here:

https://www.amberley-books.com/good-honest-tales.html