A love of ingredients and flavour exploration led Jordan Mower to open a nano brewery back in 2014. And nearly 10 years on UnBarred Brewery of Brighton, with its team of 16, lives for one thing – that’s to inspire discovery through boundless creativity. Photos: Noelia Amado

Where were you on Christmas Eve in 2013? Possibly spending time with friends and family, or perhaps getting things ready ahead of a big day spent with loved ones.

It’s highly unlikely, however, that you were hanging out at the reservoir in Balsdean, a deserted hamlet in a remote downland valley near Brighton in East Sussex. Instead that was a job for Jordan Mower and his colleagues…

The Balsdean reservoir is a Victorian-era lake that collects rain water from the surrounding chalky hills. However when a storm hits, it can increase the turbidity of the water so as a result, the water mains need to be run with the water then dumped as it’s undrinkable.

Fresh water is then collected and filtered as the pumps that form part of the reservoir simply won’t run if it’s too hazy.

This very reservoir feeds all of Brighton and also some of Hove. So it fell to Mower and his then colleagues to run 12-hour shifts to fix the problem.

Otherwise? There was a strong chance that many of the great and the good of East Sussex would have not had running water on that special day. You could argue Mower and his team were the saviours of Christmas past.

“I remember I had a bag of fresh biltong from my local South African butcher in my car that night. That kept us going,” he recalls.

“It’s funny looking back on it. You don’t get any awards for that sort of stuff, and you end up completely shattered on Christmas Day. But 10 years on, here I am still working with water. It’s just more enjoyable now!”

It’s more enjoyable for fans of great beer, too. A stone’s throw from Brighton station, UnBarred has become a leading name in the world of excellent beer.

Not just in the South East but further afield, too. Just ask the swathe of American tourists that make a beeline for the brewery’s taproom while visiting the UK.

“We seem to have a big following over there,” laughs Jordan. “Which is strange because we don’t sell any of our beer in the US!”

UnBarred was established in 2014 from the shed of founder and head brewer Jordan Mower. Born of a passion to brew uncompromising and exciting beer, their original flagship IPA won the Bev Robbins Award for the Best Sussex Beer in its first year of production.

Meaning UnBarred would sit along revered peers Burning Sky and Dark Star as recipients of that sought-after accolade. 

They would soon outgrew the shed and moved onto gypsy brewing, enabling them to grow production and hone their craft, working together with other fabulous breweries.

And since establishing their taproom and brewery in Elder Place, Brighton in August 2019, they have gone on to grow their production and embrace the Brighton community that they call home.

Producing no fewer than 46 beers in 2022 alone, Mower and the team’s raison d’etre is to “ignite curiosity and inspire discovery through boundless creativity”. And the name of the business is a guiding message that has led the brewery since it’s very first days as a business.

“We are trying to break the barriers of what is a beer is. It’s unbarred, it’s unleashed and then on the flip side, as a follower of what we do you are not barred. You are welcome and encouraged to join on us on this creative journey,” he enthuses.

While many would-be brewers had those early epiphanies visiting a certain brewery or trying a special beer, Mower’s journey into the world of brewing started from his love of cooking and flavour exploration.

Growing up, if he did well at school, his mum would treat him with a visit to Dig In The Ribs. It was an American-style restaurant, now sadly defunct, located on Preston Street in Brighton.

Visits there, and spending time with both parents sat around the kitchen chatting about food lit a fire in him.

And as he grew older, Mower would enjoy going out to Brighton’s wealth of great bars and pubs. He’d enjoy the beers but he also relish welcoming friends back to cook them a meal. “I suppose I had a passion for produce, of all kinds!” he explains.

That love of cooking and creativity would soon lead Mower to the new-and-exciting beers that were landing on UK shores. Legendary beer spot Trafalgar Wines, which shut in 2019, would expose him to beers like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and various releases from Dogfish Head of Milton, Delaware.

“I had picked up a pretty advanced homebrew kit and was brewing all-grain from day one. But it was these beers from the US that showed me that beer didn’t need to be malt-forward and “beer” flavoured. Instead I was tasting all of these stunning fruit flavours.

The fact these came from the hops was magical and a huge inspiration to me,” he says. “And that was it. I could not stop thinking about it.

“I would be dreaming about it then waking up in the night writing notes on how I could turn an idea into a beer. I found myself needing to understand the science of the process. It was absolute, extreme, ultra focus.”

In 2014, Mower would register his 100L kit as Hove’s first ever nano brewery. It was then he found that the most expensive way to try and save money drinking beer is to make it yourself.

“It never works out that way because you’re always buying the next piece of equipment and everyone expects free samples from you!” he laughs.

Working with his good friend Tom Lacey, they would create the logo and identity of the brewery – UnBarred.

“I was literally going through the thesaurus looking for ideas but once we settled, there was no going back,” he recalls.

The following year, Mower created a beer called Benchmark to enter in the CAMRA Sussex Beer Festival, the same beer that would secure him the legendary Bev Robbins Shield.

Circa 5%, the West Coast-style beer featured Amarillo and Simcoe in the hop bill.

“I suppose you could argue it was more of an IPA because at the time they were were more dark copper in colour while Pale Ales were light and straw. Now there seems to be less of a defined difference in the two,” he says.”

The festival success of that beer led Mower, and his fellow brewer Gary to work on the recipe. A beer that they would refine and develop to become Joosy – the flagship beer of UnBarred to this day.

While the modern iteration is soft and pillowy, elements of that early cask beer from 2015 live on today.

In the years that followed Mower would join King Beer in Horsham, an outfit that would go on to become Two Tribes upon its relocation to London.

He enrolled in an IBD course and eventually moved onto Missing Link Brewery in East Grinstead where he would commission their brewhouse – a UK first from Ss Brewtech – and also help brew beers on behalf of a range of local breweries as well as Golden Goose lager for Goose Island.

All of this while continuing to brew and sell his own UnBarred beers. As his family grew, so did the size of the family car/delivery vehicle.

“At this point, I was designing the beers, contract brewing them, selling them and delivering them. I knew I needed to create my own destiny.

“And that involved finding somewhere of my own,” he recalls. And that journey would lead him to Elder Place.

Through a mutual friend he was introduced to Rupert Davidson and Davinder Sahota, the founders of Fatta a Mano, a Neapolitan pizza business with sites in Sussex and London. In asking for advice on raising funds, they proposed he joined forces with the duo.

“They were directors of Holler Brewery. That venture didn’t really work out but they also had this fantastic premises in the centre of Brighton, which could become the new home of UnBarred.

“The chance to work with two people that have a wealth of experience in hospitality was a no-brainer. I’m fortunate that we are part of the same team,” he explains.

And come August 2019 they would fling open the doors to the brewery’s new home, starting out with a 2,000L brew house with six fermenters, the taproom had 15 taps and also two cask lines. Things have grown and expanded much since then, but having that taproom focal point remains as key as it did since day one.

“That has always been a big part of the dream for me. I couldn’t have pictured just having a production facility in a field because I want that connection to people.

“I’ve always had a connection to people so I didn’t want to lose that,” he smiles.

“When I was growing up cooking for my friends, they all told me I’d become a chef. But I told them the problem with that is how difficult it is to engage with what’s going on around you. I live off the feedback, be that positive or otherwise.”

With close to 50 beers produced last year, that creative drive has shown so sign of slowing down in 2023 – nor can you expect it to.

Current releases include Cherry Garsour, an Amundsen collaboration, which is a 6.2% sour featuring a sophisticated blend of decadent dark chocolate, sweet vanilla & Fudge all layered onto a bed of 800KG of fresh tart cherries giving it this mesmerizing deep ruby red colour.

Cold Press Summer Stout was crafted in collaboration with Back Yard Coffee Roasters, Terre De Sienne, and Gold Coffee Mountain Growers, achieving a huge depth of flavour with sustainability in mind, while Catching Waves is dripping in Citra, Galaxy & Mosaic hops, a 6% hazy IPA packed full of sticky mangoes, tropical citrus fruits and accompanied by a gentle bitterness.

Then there’s the small matter of Old Fashioned. Their take on the classic bourbon cocktail with selected barrels from their barrel ageing program.

Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned is a deep, dark and roasted stout that has spent 8 months in Rye Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels.

They hand-peeled Seville oranges charred the zest and steeped in bourbon with Muscovado sugar and Angostura bitters, blending incremental amounts back into the beer to find the sweet spot. The result is a rich and indulgent 12% stout with sweet & spicy notes of citrus orange, vanilla & sticky caramel. 

These beers complement a number of regular, mainstay beers. And for Mower, having something new, interesting and exciting on offer is non-negotiable.

“I have ADHD so I’ve found in my older years that my brain moves extremely fast at all times. It’s like I’ve constantly got this second brain that’s looking out for ideas, even if I’m doing something simple like holding a cereal packet,” he says.

“I’ve already got more ideas than we have space for in next year’s production schedule so it’s going to be a case of looking for more capacity elsewhere as we simply don’t have any more room to grow here.”

But while Mower lives for that level of creativity, he also understands the day-to-day role of his brewery.

“We need to constantly be reminded that we are a production line that makes beer to be sold. And the way we sell that beer might not always be straightforward.

“So when a contract comes up that means you can fill your tanks for the next six months but you’re selling for 20% less than you would normally do, that’s a decision to be made. You have to ask yourself is this decision is the right one for you in the long-run?

“However, regardless of where you sell your beer, never compromise. You must dump the beer if it’s not up to your standards. If you send out a product that you’re not happy with, I promise you you’ll lose money in the long run.

“Yes, you’ll make that quick buck and you’ll get the cash in for it. But when people start talking and sharing their views on social media, it’s not worth it. I’ve done it once and promised myself we would never do it again.”

And while Mower started UnBarred and remains head brewer, he is passionate about the brewery operating as one entity – as one team.

“We talk about a lot about ‘Team UnBarred’. We share in each other’s successes and also help each other when we make mistakes and need lifting up,” he says. “Having that culture where we are all committed to each other is so important to us.”

In addition to Jordan, the team comprises Brett in marketing, social media and design, Gemma as sales manager, Anna as operations manager, Matt as sales and marketing ambassador with Felipe the taproom manager and Cameron assistant taproom manger with taproom colleagues Susana, Ruby and Hamish.

On the brew team there is lead brewer Gary, brewer Russ, technical brewer Brendan, brewery assistant Ben with Dan and Louis on the transport team.

Mower concludes: Growing six times from the day we moved to this brewery hasn’t always been easy. But we do what we do with love and integrity.

“And you can always have faith that here at UnBarred we’ll stick to our guns. And that means doing what I said earlier, aiming to ignite curiosity and inspire discovery through boundless creativity.”