#95: Ben Hulse | Northern Monk

Graining In

Graining In has finally gone (virtually) international with the guys catching up with Ben Hulse, production manager at Northern Monk Brew Co. in Leeds, ENGLAND!
Noah first met Ben when the Northern Monk crew played the role of boundlessly patient tour guide for BBB on their first trip to the UK. A year-and-a-half later, when Bissell Brothers had the true privilege of hosting Ben (as well as putting him to work) for three weeks via NMBCo's brewery "exchange" program. We get into the goals behind that concept and why BBB still needs to uphold their end of the deal; How the COVID-19 experience has been for breweries in the UK and why a proposed "Pandemic Vacation" had to be scrapped; The dualistic nature that currently defines the country's beer culture as the staunch tradition of Real Ale and the new wave of heavily American-influenced beer figure out their respective roles; Northern Monk's aggressively measured expansions, fancy new BrauKon, and presence in grocery chains, PLUS a helluva lot more.
OH! - and Liverpool FC (both Ben and Noah's favorite soccer/football team) FINALLY makes its far overdue debut on the podcast.
Bissell Brothers felt an immense kinship with Northern Monk since first contact, and that relationship has only grown since. People like Ben are exactly why their brewery is so adored by BBB and is a great reminder (for Noah, anyway) that sometimes this industry ain't so bad after all ;-) ........ .................................... ............................................ ........... Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill