What a thing it is to feel the warmth of the spring sun on your skin. After the cold dark winters, it comes as a welcome relief and a sign that life is slowly coming back and we start again. Old ends become new beginnings.
And that's where we find ourselves. Though to describe Harry as an 'old end' feels a little uncouth. We rarely talk about individuals in our posts, but we feel this one's an important one.
The Harry we mention is our Production Manager, and last month we said goodbye as he heads off to the Isle of Orkney to "live in the sunshine, swim the sea & drink the wild air" and give himself a well-deserved break from the brewing business.
Harry came to us fresh out of uni. No experience to his name but a willingness to learn and a gentle temperament that was welcome in the hectic atmosphere of a small brewery. He was thrown into the deep end, and we remember thinking 'is this guy going to be able to keep up?' as he attempted one of our bottling runs, which was a true test of anyone's ability. The Meheen took no prisoners.
He kept up alright. And over the course of his 6 years with us, went from inexperienced student to leading our production and managing the brew floor. It's been a beautiful thing to witness, and we couldn't be prouder of his development and the work he's achieved. Some questionable haircuts along the way (the mullet and Gary Barlow peroxide phase come to mind) but we are going to miss him greatly.
[Some Harry highlights below]
NEW BEGINNINGS
Harry shall never be replaced, but we have done our best to add some skilled and capable people to the team to fill the void. One of the things that runs through a large portion of the staff here, including founder Sam, Head Brewer Matt and myself (Hi Stefan here) is that we have little to no experience when starting out... now that has its advantages—you get to pave your own way with no preconceptions or expectations—BUT it's also really good to add some wisdom and experience, and with our new recruits George & Caitlín, that's what we have.
George comes to us after working for our old neighbours Alphabet, Wild Horse & Rivington and is going to be leading a new role as head of QC.
Caitlín has had to extend her commute greatly, as she joins us from our friends at Cloudwater. She is an incredibly accomplished brewer and is the first female UK brewer to achieve her Level 4 Brewing Apprenticeship (you can read more about that here).
We are so very proud of our brew team. They took an amazing 21 Untappd Community Awards in 2024, including the Top Four highest rated beers in the country, and they've shown no signs of slowing down. The quality of the beers in 2025 has already been incredibly high, and we can't wait to keep building on the foundation that Harry, Matt and our awesome crew (Bill, Aleks, Tom, Manuel & Kit) have built.
So here's to new beginnings. The quest for excellence does not sleep, and we are excited to embrace this next chapter.
Thanks again for all your support. We wouldn't be here without it.