The brewing industry is an exciting and ever-changing scene to be a part of. But behind the glamour it’s a lot of hard work, too. Regardless of what point of the brewing journey you’re on, never forget that the people in your team are the most important part, explains Christian Townsley, co-founder of North Brewing and North Bar.

It has been another busy week for the team at North Brewing and North Bar.

Actually, make that a busy month.

No, year.

Let’s just agree that life at North is always busy but they wouldn’t have it any other way. And who can blame them when 2019 has proven to be another period defined by expansion, awards and brewing better beer than ever before.

“It just feels that this year has been our biggest and best yet,” says Christian Townsley, co-founder of North Brewing and North Bar. “I know that’s something of a cliché, but I truly feel it.”

Townsley, who is speaking at this year’s Brewers Congress, taking place in London on the 28th November, co-founded the legendary North Bar in Leeds with his business partner John Gyngell back in 1997. The excellent establishment, which is going stronger than ever, is widely-regarded as Britain’s first craft beer bar.

The duo, both experts in front-of-house hospitality, would take their passion for beer to the next level several decades later with the opening of North Brewing in 2015. Now an established and regarded brewery in its own right, it can be respected as one of the country’s top outfits for quality and consistency.

Consumer demand says as much, with the team eyeing the move to a new facility that will allow growth in every part of the business.

“We invested in six new 50HL tanks at the start of this year and recently took on even more capacity, but we can’t keep up,” he explains. “A new site will change that, and we expect to move from 8000HL output in 2019 to double that next year.”

Townsley makes it abundantly clear, though, that the success North has enjoyed is very much the result of team effort. Everyone playing an equally-important role in moving the business forward.

“You look at our head brewer Seb (Brink), who is always striving for the highest standards in quality in consistency. Then you have our designer James (Ockleford) who has been a friend since the very beginning and incredibly talented. We’re very lucky to work with such talented people,” he recalls.

And Townsley is awash with praise for each member of the team at North, knowing how integral they are in each facet of the company.

“You should always been caring and considerate for others,” he says. “If you’re fortunate to work with passionate, hard-working individuals, then you should consider yourself very lucky and do the most you can to make sure they are valued and appreciated.”

He adds: “I sometimes feel that as a whole, the industry doesn’t do enough on a human level. Whether that’s making an effort to engage with consumers that come to tap takeover events, or ensuring your team are looked after on a day-to-day basis. More needs to be done.

“I’m really proud of where we are but you can’t rest on your laurels. People are the most important part of your business and should be recognised as such.

“For me, this is truly a people industry and you should never forget that.”

Christian is speaking at this year’s Brewers Congress, taking place in London on the 28th November. Tickets are available in the link above.


Photo: Mark Newton