COLIN STRONGE THE BIG INTERVIEW
IF YOU’VE ENJOYED A BEER FROM THE UK MODERN BREWING INDUSTRY, THEN THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE YOU’VE ENJOYED A BEER CREATED, OR COLLABORATED ON, BY COLIN STRONGE. WE SPEAK TO STRONGE, THE HEAD BREWER AT SALT BEER FACTORY, TO DISCUSS HOW THE BUSINESS HAS OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES OF THE LAST 12 MONTHS, WHY BREWERIES SHOULD BE DOING MORE TO IMPROVE THEIR QC AND LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE SEMINAL BEERS HE’S HELPED BREW.
36
|
MAY~JUNE 2021
T
o make a mark in your field
following three years planning, the same
of expertise once is a sign
level of care and attention that went into
of hard work and, perhaps,
the brewery build, is evident in the beers
good fortune. To do that
they produce, too.
regularly shows there’s
more at play than a bit of luck.
Thanks, in no small part, to head brewer Stronge. Following a career that has
Whether you’re in sports, a musician or
taken in those earlier breweries, Colin is
maybe a director, to hit the mark time
now showcasing his wealth of expertise
and time again shows that you’re a
at Shipley’s own Salt Beer Factory.
professional and a master of your art.
Joining the business at the start of 2019,
Not only that, but there’s likely to be
Stronge had a good year under his belt
a grateful audience out there that
before, like so many others, he and the
appreciates and enjoys your work.
business had to adjust to everything 2020 threw at them.
For a great brewer this dialogue is no different, and for the longest time, brilliant
“It was crazy,” he recalls. “We had some
brewers have loathed the term “rock star”
staff on furlough because we weren’t
brewer.
entirely sure how much work there was
And who can blame them? You can
going to be. Along with that, my wife
guarantee Colin Stronge, would be the
and I went through some odd working
first to shun such a title.
patterns so we could look after our child so that was all pretty exhausting!”
But there’s no denying the absolute quality of the beers Stronge has
During the four days a week he spent in
produced in his career to date. Not bad
the brewery, Stronge would find himself
for someone who, in his own words, fell
double brewing most days with one
into brewing by accident.
spent transferring beer to Ossett Brewery (Salt’s parent brewery) for canning.
To anyone that knows even a little bit about the modern beer scene, breweries
“We were turning out a fair amount of
such as Buxton, Black Isle, Marble and
beer,” he says.
Northern Monk are synonymous with well-made, quality beers.
With hospitality shuttered for much of the last year, the team’s approach to
But you can also add Salt Beer Factory
brewing in lockdown would, in part, be
to that list, too. Founded in 2018, they’re
informed by the brewery’s other sales
a little newer than some of the names
channels, which includes bottle shops
we’ve just mentioned.
and supermarkets.
However, for a business that opened
BREWERS JOURNAL
