I love how different and unique the three breweries we collabed with on this trip are. We all face similar challenges but often arrive at slightly different solutions.
JP: DEYA reached out to us about doing a collaboration at their place and invited us over for the release. Since we were travelling to Cheltenham, we picked up some other conversations with friends and customers that were on standby waiting for us to go back to the UK. This is why we also did a Tap Takeover at Craft Republic in Barry, Meet The Brewer event at Small Bar in Bristol and a collab with LHG.
Whilst planning the trip, it was around the same time we were brewing Bestiola with EXP666; and I was chatting with Jack from Rivington. It occurred to me that it would be great to swing by and see them, and we ended up brewing a collab together.
Since we were close to Manchester, we did a quick stop by Track and recorded an episode of The Thirst Time with Stefan. So this trip was kind of like pulling on a thread… and good stuff kept coming.
MJ: Yeah, we owed Deya and LHG a collab on their side, since we hosted both LHG and Deya here at DK back in October. I didn't know the Rivington crew prior to the collab, Judit had met them at These Hills festival and made that happen. I'm glad we made the journey up north, they sure are a friendly bunch.
JP: We started at Craft Republic in Barry; it was my first time over there and it was great to meet everybody. Tim and Claire and their team were fantastic and we did a little Q&A which was great to get to know some of their customers and be able to share more of our story.
MJ: On our way to Barry we slept over in Cardiff, I was looking for the local crafty bar and found Pop’nHops, a 10 min bus ride out of the center, well worth it, Trevor has a really nice cosy neighbourhood bar with a few records for sale. The local home brew club was sampling their latest brews. Nice vibe in this place and a really nicely curated beer list.
Next stop, Craft Republic in Barry. My grandmother grew up just down the road, so it was nice to be in that neck of the woods. I’d been speaking to David for a while about doing something with them so I was pleased we could make it happen. They got a nice vibe going on there and the beer enthusiasts were really engaged and seemed happy to hear from us. When we arrived Tim informed us we would be doing a Q&A onstage, I’m a reluctant public speaker but once I got up there I had fun.
JP: We then headed off to Cheltenham to meet our friends at DEYA; Nils, Katie and everybody were great hosts and we had great fun both at the DEYA taproom and visiting some local spots. We got to try our collab fresh on tap, alongside some DEYA staples and some beautiful mixed ferm ales. The place was pumping with people and good vibes.
MJ: Onto Cheltvegas as Nils calls it. Deya is a really impressive brewery. Our collab beer had just been tapped so we got stuck into a couple of them. Katie and Nils are great hosts and a good time. Outside of Deya, my Cheltenham highlight was The Motor Club, an old boys car club.
JP: Next we took the train to Bristol for a Meet The Brewer event at Small Bar, it was such a highlight to get to pour our beer in such a legendary place. Jack as always was a great host and took us around some other great bars such as The Kings Head where I got to drink great Cask Ale and try our collab with DEYA in another context.
The next day was spent at Left Handed Giant brewing our collab, it’s such a cool brewery! We brewed a modern WCIPA with Simcoe, Krush, Motueka Amplifire and Simcoe whole hop flowers. The Simcoe whole hop flowers were Left Handed Giant’s hand selected hops from Coleman Farms & Wyckhoff.
MJ: Small Bar in Bristol is a great place to hang, lovely crew, a good time was had. It was then onto The Kings Head. We had visited the Kings head once before with Jack, I love it! Such a great little pub, our Deya collab was on tap and MJ Lenderman was on the stereo. Tough to beat!
Brew day at LHG was pretty chill, always good to see Hananh and Alex, and meet more of the team, LHG have a really unique setup and their Taproom has to be one of the most impressive around.
JP: After Bristol, we went north to Rivington for a collab. I was looking forward to visiting them since they are also in a rural setting similar to us and their beers are excellent. We also had some cyclists visit our taproom last year that are friends with the Rivington team and they spoke highly of them.
We brewed a Hazy IPA hopped with Nelson Sauvin Bliss, Nectaron, Nelson Sauvin Amplifire & Strata that I think will be a great representation of both breweries' styles. The team was awesome and took great care of us.
MJ: Rivington is in such a beautiful spot, well worth the trip, the team there are so friendly, and have really enjoyable beers. We hung out in the taproom, then bounced around a few pubs and drank some Guinness on the canal which was lovely. Really looking forward to getting back there in 2027 for their festival. We’ll be hosting them here at DK in the not too distant future.
JP: Before flying back to Girona from Manchester, we made a quick stop at Track; it was a beautiful sunny day and the Track taproom was the best place to be. We met Stefan to record an episode of The Thirst Time in the taproom garden. We talked a lot and hopefully it will be an interesting listen. Thanks Stefan for having us!
MJ: This was my first Podcast experience, I’ve listened to so many over the years, it was fun to be on the other side. Stefans a great guy, he's so easy to talk to and a natural at hosting.
JP: We didn’t have much time for shopping or galleries, but we made time for food. My highlight was eating at Erst in Manchester. I had it saved from my last trip and everyone else kept recommending it. It did not disappoint.
MJ: Yeah, Erst was great. Other highlights include Noodle Alley in Manchester and North Point in Cardiff. Marmo in Bristol was fun. Harts Bakery and Greytone Coffee in Bristol too.
Can't wait to get back to the UK for another good time.
DEYA + DosKiwis
THE SCALE IS NOT LINEAR
Pale Ale
5.0%
“This is a crisp, precise, fruit-forward pale ale brewed with our friends at DosKiwis. Nelson and Simcoe on the exchanges.”
Order directly from Deya - whilst stocks last
Left Handed Giant + DosKiwis
I Like Not Knowing
West Coast IPA
6.8%
Sweet Herbs, Ripe Fig & Sharp Citrus.
“A base of 100% Pilsner malt keeps the texture lean & smooth, an ideal foundation for this ripe US & NZ hop combination. Our selected Simcoe cuts a complex figure, both herbaceous & juicy, while the tropical hues of Krush & orchard sweetness of Rakau add to the structure of the whole piece. There's a resinous background hum, classic to the style & a distinctive lemon twist from Motueka on the finish.”
Order directly from LHG - whilst stocks last
Rivington + DosKiwis
Ree-Oh-Jah
Double Dry Hopped IPA
6.5%
"A DDH IPA brewed with our mates from Doskiwis in Girona, Spain. Hopped with Nelson Sauvin Bliss, Nectaron, Nelson Sauvin Amplifire & Strata."
Available at the Rivington Taproom - whilst stocks last