MEET TWO OF THE APPRENTICES BEHIND OUR OCTOBER SEASONAL!

Meet Clarisse and Joel, two of the University of Nottingham apprentices behind the beer planned for our October seasonal ‘Future Brewers’...

Can you tell us your names and what you are studying? - I’m Clarisse and I’m currently studying a Level 4 Brewing Apprenticeship at the University of Nottingham. My working position is as a Brewer at Mondo Brewing Company based in London.

- I’m Joel and I’m also studying a Level 4 Brewing Apprenticeship at the University of Nottingham. My working position is at Cheddar Ales in Somerset.

Tell us about this opportunity and how you have collaborated with the team here - We were given a brief by Alan and Simon which presented us with the opportunity to brew something for October. We knew it needed to be a porter, so we wanted it to have that Autumn season drinkability.

- We brainstormed and discussed what we like to see in porters and what we thought would sell well for the Greene King demographic. We tried to build upon our craft-based backgrounds, and we also knew we wanted something with a bit of spice to compliment the season well.

It must be a great feeling knowing that you are behind the recipe for our October seasonal beer?

It’s so exciting! It feels amazing to have had this opportunity. To create and share great beer amongst passionate people is what brewing is all about. Thank you, Alan, Simon and all at Greene King who have made it possible for us.

What was it like getting to see our Bury Brewery?

It was fascinating! And it smells amazing! It was super cool seeing our recipe come to life, we certainly haven’t done anything to this scale before. It was great to see the kit as well and to get to use equipment that we have only read about before. The experience really developed our knowledge and was so useful for our exams.

So, what’s next for you both?

Clarisse – I would like to progress to a Masters in Edinburgh and to find out a bit more about distilling. I’m really interested in the technical side of brewing.

Joel – I am hoping to start my own business. My family own a pub so I would love to set up an onsite brewery!

A few words from Alan Fulcher…

It was brilliant to see the creativity of these future brewers and they put so much effort into both recipe and presentation. For the past three years, we have been proud to work with the ‘National Brewing Apprenticeship Programme’ on this opportunity for apprentice brewers and it’s great to give them the chance to work on something that ends up on our bar!