and creative than it once was, which I think appeals to skateboarders. There’s also a strong DIY aesthetic to craft brewing that appeals. In terms of what sets the two scenes apart; the beer world tends to be a little nerdier and more macho – two things I cannot really relate to. Jay Cover designed The Beak’s logo; has he always held the reigns for this side of things or do you collaborate with other artists as well? I was introduced to Jay by my friend Ollie Shaw from Catalogue, who designed my website and label. We gave him a super loose remit: to create a logo that embodied The Beak ethos and that didn’t take its inspiration from the beer world or other beer labels. I was blown away by what he produced and fell in love with the logo instantly. It was playful, unique and timeless. And it kind of reminded me of the sort of thing you’d see on a French wine label from the 1980s – which was just what I wanted. Jay is one of my favourite artists so I hope we’ll be working together for a long time.
What ales are you working on right now? The beer style causing the most excitement at the moment is undoubtedly the Vermont Pale Ale. For the non-beer nerds amongst us, this is a beer characterised by low bitterness, massive fruitsalad-like aromas, murky appearance, silky smooth mouth feel and relatively low alcohol content. Make no mistake about it: this beer can be awful. But done right it can be an amazing expression of new world hops. I’ve been working on my own interpretation of this style for a while, tinkering around with water chemistry, different flaked malts and dry hopping schedules, and I’ve finally created a recipe I’m really pleased with. I’ll be brewing this from June onwards. Support Danny Tapper and enjoy Beak beer through - www.beakbrewery.com Follow Beak - @thebeakbrewery
What have been some of the hardest things to brew and what are some of the liquids you’re most proud of? The hardest part of running a brewery isn’t the actual brewing; it’s everything else that comes with the territory, including branding, costing, logistics, selling, cash flow and bureaucracy. But if I had to pick my hardest brew to date then I’d probably say my Bolney Estate Porter. I decided to age this batch in a red wine barrel sourced from the Bolney Estate vineyard in Sussex. During the trip back up to Leeds the barrel broke free of its rope and almost escaped through the back door of the van on the motorway. After that, I almost broke my wrist whilst transferring the porter from cask to barrel. Ten months later I hand bottled and labelled the entire batch. It took me two full days to do 700 bottles during which time I accidently drank some peracetic acid. I’m still stoked I did the beer though.
Illustration - Jay Cover
