Started as something of a lifestyle business but one that’s grown to become much, much more, Vocation Brewery is a name known across the UK. For a business long held back by capacity constraints, the Hebden Bridge outfit is ready to show the world of beer what it’s all about.  

“The plan was to brew four times a week. I’d make the beer and someone else would deliver it and sell it. That would make me more than happy.

“It just all got a bit out of hand!”

When John Hickling started Vocation Brewery back in 2015, the idea was to run something he considered a lifestyle business. But some six years on, that venture has grown to an operation that’s on course to produce 60,000HL over the next 12 months.

“I still marvel at it,” he smiles. “There wasn’t a calculated plan to get to this point. But it has been a great journey to be part of, and that’s thanks to the hard work of the fantastic team we have here.”

And for the 50-strong team that make up Vocation Brewery in 2021, they’re ready to take this year by the horns. That means improving their on-trade presence, brewing an ever-increasing range of beers, growing its partnership with Hong Kong-based Gweilo Beer, and even building a new barrel store and tasting room.

Before beer, Vocation’s founder worked in IT. But a desire to create something more than spreadsheets led him to start brewing his own beer at home.

For Hickling, it was a revelation.

Approval from friends inspired him to quit his job, sell his house and co-found his first brewery in the shape of Nottingham’s Blue Monkey 2008.

But following five years with the brewery he had started with his uncle, Hickling sold his stake and embarked on what may come next.

That led him to start afresh in brewing, which meant returning to his native Yorkshire, and settling on an old chicken shed in the the area of Cragg Vale. With that, Vocation was born.

“I’d make the beer and someone else would deliver it and sell it. That would make me more than happy,” John Hickling, Vocation Brewery

That experience has only benefited Vocation during these last three years.

“Matt has changed and improved many things, and that’s testament to his ability as a brewer,” adds Stenson.

A commitment to maintaining quality and consistency is at the top of this list of qualities, imperative when supplying beers on a regular basis to a number of UK retail giants like Tesco and, more recently, Marks & Spencer.

And supermarkets have played a key role in helping Vocation grow the brewery to the size it is today.

“Early on John packaged some beer in bottle and can, which flew out. They got noticed by someone at Tesco saying they’d like to sell our beers,” says Stenson. “He had a big decision to make whether to go down that route, but it was the right one.

“I think it’s fair to say that from very early on till, well, now, we’ve spent a long time trying to keep up with the demands of that contract and then the subsequent contracts that have come off the back of it, I guess.

“People warned us from day one on the risks of jumping into bed with Tesco. They warned us that we’d get “hammered on price” and the link but to Vocation, they’ve always been good to us and I’ve enjoyed working with them.”

The brewery’s beers are currently available at Tesco in single 330ml and 440ml cans, as well as 330ml four-packs. Looking back over some five years, Stenson says he’s proud of Vocation’s staying power in the world of competitive shelf space.

“I think it’s a testament to the quality of the beers,” he says. “Speaking to Domo Hill (the former beer buyer at Tesco) before he left, I thanked him for his help and he did likewise. People have enjoyed these beers and they’ve sold at a good rate. It was a big step, but one I’m glad we took.

“However, those that start going into supermarkets sometimes don’t realise the demand it will place on their process and systems. Any problems you have on that side will certainly come out when that beer goes on shelf, especially if it’s not sold straightaway.”

Stenson says supermarket listings can highlight inconsistency in a brewery’s output, and also recalls when an oxidisation issue impacted one of their own beers, too.

He explains: “We had it once with our Love & Hate IPA. It’s a case of educating the consumer because no brewery sets out to produce a bad batch of beer, then go on to sell it. When we brew, we brew enough to fill 10,000 cans. There’s no way we’re brewing and selling that if it’s not up to scratch!

“Instead it’s down to an equipment failure with a fault on CO2 purging. These things can occur, but it’s all-important to ensure you work out the problem and try to not let it happen again.”

Vocation’s story has always one of battling against capacity constraints, but recent additions to its FV setup, thanks to a significant investment in vessels from SSV Limited, is finally allowing the brewery to change its approach.

The team has moved from brewing 17 times a week to a 24/5 setup, which means a shift to brewing 27 times each week “full throttle” all year-round.

“We want a presence in places like London, and want to be known for more than being a brewery that supplies supermarkets. Some people might think that type of retail are the only ones we produce beer for, but that’s not the case,” says Stenson. “The issue was capacity and ensuring we keep our customers happy. It’s a fine balancing act.”

For a brewery that has long supplied its core range into retail such as Tesco, Stenson is aware that bottleshops are unlikely to be interested in stocking them, too. Instead, he hopes the brewery’s array of Imperial Stouts and Double & Triple IPAs will prove attractive.

“We’re probably still recognised for our supermarket presence but if you place something like our Zagreb Triple IPA (a recent collaboration with The Garden Brewery of Croatia) or BA Imperial Honeycomb Stout into a bottle shop, I’d like to think that would attract the consumer. It’s an area we want to grow, of course.”

“The brewery has enjoyed incredible growth and I hope I’ve played my part in that,” Matthew Howgate, Vocation Brewery

Away from sales in supermarket chains, the global pandemic resulted in Vocation utilising its web presence far more effectively, and frequently, than before.

“The webshop went from being something of an inconvenience to part of the business that has five people concentrating on it at times,” says Stenson.

Such is the turnaround in the fortunes of this part of Vocation’s business, direct sales went from being something verging on negligible to one accounting for £2.5m in revenues within a year.

And although that facet of the brewery now garners great support, Stenson is keen they tread a particular path when doing so.

“You don’t want to bombard people with emails, or too many social media messages about the online offering. You also don’t want to go too heavy on deals all the time because people will never want to buy outside that time,” he says. “Equally, you need to ensure you have products that excite and supply new beers that keep people interested.”

And a recent partnership with Hong Kong-based Gweilo Beer is another way they’re doing just that.

Gweilo is owned by Ian and Emily Jebbitt, and their friend Joseph Gould, who are all originally from the UK. They latterly relocated to Hong Kong, where the brewery launched in July 2015.

The partnership with Vocation Brewery began with the release of East & West Pale Ale in the UK.

The 5.7% beer boasts soft, hazy base is dry hopped with Galaxy and Vic’s Secret, imparting notes of ripe papaya, guava and pineapple, leading into a dank flavour profile on the finish.

Core beers in the Gweilo range include Gweilo Session IPA , which was the beer they launched with back in 2015.

It is intensely dry-hopped with Mosaic, creating a bold nose of melon, citrus and pine, nicely balanced by a malty backbone, delivering an IPA punching well above its weight.

In addition, the core features 4.5% Gweilo Pale Ale and the 4.2% Gweilo Tropical Lager, which is a light-bodied brew with tropical fruit notes. A dry hop of Ekuanot delivers aromas of papaya and lime which are rounded off by a satisfyingly crisp finish.

The partnership with Vocation has continued with the arrival of Vocation’s beers in Hong Kong, which are proving popular in the Asian craft beer scene.

Gweilo came to be several years after Ian moved to Hong Kong through his career as a trademark lawyer.

“I always wanted to do something in the world of food and alcohol. Then in 2014, I had a dream that I went into a bar and ordered a beer called Gweilo,” he recalls.

“I woke up thinking it would be a good name for a beer. Being a trademark lawyer I did a search on the registry to find out nobody had done it before.

“I filed the trademark and my boss who brought me out to Hong Kong say I bet you 100 bucks you do F-all with that.

The rest, they say, is history…

“We have a great relationship with the team and enjoy working with them,” Stenson says. “The nice thing is that their beers have a different taste profile to our own. They share the recipes with us and we build them up to brew them as close to the beers they produce in Hong Kong.”

Both Vocation and Gweilo work with Charlie Johnson of Ronin Fermentation Project, who has continually perfected recipes and processes as a commercial brewer for around 20 years.

Through his consulting contracts he has advised over 100 brewery startups in six countries, including Mexico, Argentina, China, Honk Kong, Japan, and the United States.

“We make sure he’s also happy with what we’re doing and then we brew it,” he adds.

In addition to the core range of beers, Vocation will be brewing a number of seasonal and limited Gweilo beers, too.

Along with bringing Gweilo’s beers to market in the UK, Stenson and Howgate are enthused about another growing part of their business, Vocation’s barrel-aged output.

The brewery has just taken delivery of 250 additional Bourbon barrels, complementing an existing family of those that previously house Chardonnay, Margaux, Pinot Noir and Bordeaux.

There’s also Pedro Ximénez, Porto Blanco and Tawny Port, to name but a few.

“We hope it’s going to be a big thing for us,” says Howgate. “We’ll also be installing a small bottling line to allow us to release these beers in that way, too.”

And for those fortunate enough to be invited, the new barrel store will house a tasting room for the on-site sampling of the barrel-aged beers that are certain to become a more important part of Vocation’s output in the future.

The construction of a designated barrel store is one the latest developments at the brewery. Not bad for an outfit that started out with the aim of a lifestyle business aiming to brew several times a week.

“In the near three years I’ve been here, I’m sure there hasn’t been a week without a contractor on site,” smiles Howgate.

Stenson adds: “And we wouldn’t have it any other way!”