When it comes to great beer, wine, cider and the good food that so often accompanies it—the core of what drives us at Pellicle—the last 10 years have been truly sensational. We’ve seen beer completely redefine itself all over the world. Now, we watch on as it heads towards its return arc, where after a period of innovation and envelope-pushing, it begins to remind itself how it reached this point in the first place.

Wine too is going through turbulent, yet fascinating change. From this outsiders perspective, it feels as though the natural wine movement is wrestling a culture free from the shackles that have made an old-world seem inaccessible to so many for such a long time. And cider—beautiful, wonderful cider—is at the start of a reinvention that has the potential to see it become an important thing to so many, as we head into its future. Cider’s renaissance years are only just beginning—and we haven’t even begun to really explore perry yet...

Important as qualities like reflection and nostalgia can be, however, they also have the darnedest ability to hold us back. Their properties are mire-like, appearing tranquil, and almost seductive on the surface, with the ability to hold you fast in the mud should you spend too long admiring the scenery.

With this in mind, I want to use the opportunity this hindsight has given me to try and look forward, and shine a light on some significant individuals who I believe will help shape the worlds of beer, wine and cider over the course of the next year. This list is by no means definitive, but these are 15 people who I believe will help define exciting futures within the worlds of our favourite beverages over the weeks and months to come.

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Derek Bates and Miranda Hudson — Duration Brewing, Norfolk

I’ll admit it, I was as cynical as they come when Derek Bates and Miranda Hudson announced plans to build a brewery in the Norfolk village of West Acre some two years ago. It’s the kind of project we’ve seen successfully pulled off in the US before, with breweries like Tree House and Hill Farmstead becoming vital destinations for beer drinkers. I wasn’t convinced this concept would have the same level of impact in the UK. I was wrong.

This summer I spent a long weekend with Bates and Miranda, who had very recently relocated from their home in Brixton, South London to their East Anglian idyll. They took me to the half-finished, yet already impressive site of their brewery, talking me through every detail: from the floor tiles to the foeders. That evening we ate well (Bates is a highly skilled chef, something that shines through in his brewing—just don’t call him Derek) and drank until the smallest hours. It was in this moment that amongst the flawlessly executed marketing and logistics I also saw anxiety and doubt—or to put it more accurately, I saw humanity.

I’ve met few people in beer who are as driven as Bates and Miranda. The fact this determination is, at its root, fuelled by the humble notion they want to make great beer for as many people as possible to enjoy, is what makes theirs a cause worth believing in. And if my first taste of their in-house brewed signature pale ale, Turtles All the Way Down, is anything to go by, 2020 looks set to be the year of Duration.

Do Bongers — Fierce Beer, Aberdeen

When I spent a few days with Fierce Beer in Aberdeen earlier this year, one of the things founders Dave Grant and Dave McHardy were excited for me to see was the initial stages of their new mixed fermentation and barrel maturation program, Fierce by Nature. The project is being led by a relatively new hire, Do (short for Dominique) Bongers, who joined Fierce after a stint at Oersoep Brewery in her home country of The Netherlands.

Do quickly made her mark at Fierce, designing a crisp and delicious gluten-free pilsner, and later this year would go on to win brewer of the year at the Scottish Beer Awards. It’s in her barrel store, however, where she really gets to explore her passion and immense knowledge for alternative fermentations in beer.

While Fierce by Nature as a project is still very much in its nascent period, the early results have been pretty breathtaking. They’re very different from the playful, intensely flavourful beers Fierce is better known for. Instead, they reflect an assured sense of maturity that Do has brought with her to this brewery—along with her enthusiasm and infectious personality—in spades. There’s a lot happening in beer north of the border in 2020 that should get you very excited, and this project is at the pinnacle of that.

[Disclosure: I was commissioned to do some writing and photography for Fierce Beer earlier this year, which is how I was lucky enough to meet Do.]

Steve Clark and Chris Schooley — Troubadour Maltings, Fort Collins

I’ve been trying, and failing, for months now to get drinkers more excited about malt. The difficult thing about beer’s most important ingredient is that (after water) it’s also the most boring. I thought I’d beaten this challenge when I had an article about Troubadour Maltings—and its founders Steve Clark and Chris Schooley—published on Good Beer Hunting back in 2017. But I was wrong, the beer drinker at large still doesn’t care all that much about malt.

Since then I’ve further explored my interest in the malting process and a supply chain that provides tens of thousands of brewers with the ingredients they need to make world-class beer. At the heart of that has been Chris and Steve’s eagerness to talk to me about it. Whenever I visit Colorado, I always make sure to swing by the malthouse and to try some of the beers made with their malt—beers from crisp, precise German-influenced kellerbiers to two-year matured, spontaneously fermented blends—each of them a taste of pure Colorado sunshine.

2020 will be a defining year for Troubadour Maltings as they not only expand capacity threefold but also commission their own roasting machine. With Chris’ background being in the coffee industry, including stints at Intelligentsia and Sweet Maria’s, he’ll be able to transfer that knowledge from coffee roasting directly to barley. This will give Troubadour the ability to supply dialled-in, speciality malts to brewers exacting specifications, and add another chapter to their already compelling story. I’m determined to get more people excited about malt next year, and with folks like Chris and Steve at the helm, this will be a far more enjoyable task.

Paul Jones — Cloudwater Brew Co., Manchester

It might seem a little obvious to include Cloudwater’s founder, Paul Jones, in this list. His uncompromising approach to the beers his brewery makes, and a willingness to stick his neck out with bold ideas about the industry’s collective future often sees him split opinion. And it’s for the latter he’s made this list. Yes, his brewery makes some wonderful beers, but his staff also enjoy some of the best employment conditions I’m aware of in the brewing industry.

For some reason, the conversation around supporting good labour practises has been a difficult one this year. It’s one that has ruffled feathers and more often than not Paul has been at the centre of this debate. The reason it’s uncomfortable is because in reality, there isn’t a lot of money to be made in brewing, unless you can make a mammoth amount of beer—and most simply can’t. However, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be having this crucial discussion.

Paul’s unwillingness to compromise when it comes to improving conditions for his workers, which includes industry-leading salaries and a 38-hour working week—one which he aims to further reduce by the end of the year. Talking about it within a public space will no doubt continue to spark strong exchanges of views. Despite this, I hope that Paul not only continues this discourse well into 2020, but that it has positive repercussions for all those that work in beer as a result.

Ed Mason and Greg Hobbs — The Five Points Brewing Company, London

Cask beer in the UK as we know it is in double-digit decline. Arguably the most important aspect of traditional British brewing culture, revered by many—especially beer lovers from outside of the UK—is, unbeknownst to most of the people who drink it, dying a slow death. Or so you’d think if the statistics told you all of the story.

On Christmas Day, East London’s Five Points Brewery announced that in 2019 its sales of cask beer had doubled. It’s important to understand that Five Points is a relatively small brewery, but here is concrete evidence that if you do something well, people will take notice. And thanks to the efforts of managing director Ed Mason and head brewer Greg Hobbs, The Five Points Brewing Company is helping to steward modern cask beer into a new golden age.

Much of Ed and Greg’s success in 2019 can be attributed to the launch of its lauded Best Bitter. A simple, flavourful, dare I say drinkable beer, Best has captured the heart of beer lovers in London—especially those possessed of, shall we say, a more jaded palate. But that’s not the whole story.

It doesn’t talk about how they’ve worked directly with a hop farm, Hukins, in Kent, to source the best quality British hops possible. It doesn’t tell us about how Railway Porter won CAMRA’s champion beer of London and Five Points Pale took silver in the Champion Beer of Britain competition. It doesn’t mention how they dared to use very northern sparklers, in very southern London, and everyone (more or less) loved it.

With breweries like Five Points showing such dedication to their cask beer, it’s no wonder they are seeing so many flock to it. And thanks to this success I predict many other breweries will look to ape them next year. This is all down to Ed and Greg adhering to the age old brewing cliché of “brewing the beers they want to drink.” Which is all well and good, but maybe it’s time you want to drink some mild, eh chaps?

Felix Nash — The Fine Cider Company, London

Earlier this year, when I spoke to cidermaker Tom Oliver, he told me that in order for cider to succeed there needs to be more producers. With the platform for cider he’s helped to develop, these producers are now, slowly but surely, beginning to emerge. Towards the end of this year, I spoke to another cider advocate, Dick Withecombe, who told me that the number of producers isn’t the problem, but the lack of available distribution for good cider is.

And he’s right. It’s all well and good there being some incredible cidermakers out there creating a delicious product, but who will ensure it gets into people’s hands? You might not have heard of Felix Nash, or his distribution business The Fine Cider Company, but he’s quietly been putting brilliant cider and perry into top restaurants like St. John and The Marksman—as well as your favourite local pub or bottle shop—for the past few years.

Felix’s role is beyond that of a humble cider-monger, though. He also talks a very good game, and this year he released his debut book, Fine Cider, which is my favourite new drinks book of the year. It explains cider in a way that is both simple and accessible, without ever dumbing it down. He is as much of a steward for this wonderful beverage as the likes of Tom or Dick or countless other producers. And, although he seems content to operate in the background, his is an influence that deserves serious recognition.

Matt Orlando — Broaden & Build, Copenhagen

As a beer writer, I’ve attempted to explore why the restaurant industry doesn’t have the same relationship with beer as it does with wine or even cider. I’ve also struggled a lot over the years with the sometimes enforced-feeling concept of beer and food pairing. Food goes wonderfully with beer, but it also does so with wine, and let’s be honest, best of all with cider. I’ve thought for a while that beer needs to rethink its approach to food, but in my own analysis of that I’ve often reached a dead end.

Then, earlier this year I read about Broaden and Build in an article we published by Cory Smith. It’s a brewery and restaurant in Copenhagen founded by Michelin-starred chef Matt Orlando, former head chef of Noma (which was once considered to be the best restaurant in the world) and the founder of Amass, also in Copenhagen. In doing so I felt like I had begun to see beer and food in a wholly different light. If beer is to earn a higher level of respect amid the food world, then that respect must come directly from the chefs and restaurateurs who drive it forwards. I believe Matt is one of these people.

And the best news is the beer that Broaden and Build makes is excellent—notably thanks to the intuition of its head brewer Tiago Falcone, and the way he works together with Matt on the development of their recipes. What’s also fascinating is Broaden and Build’s approach to sustainability—something that will occupy a huge amount of our thought in 2020—which only furthers my level of endearment towards this exciting new project.

Dann Paquette and Martha Simpson-Holley — Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert, Sheffield

If someone told me that my most uplifting, joyful experience in beer of 2019 would occur on Sheffield’s Attercliffe industrial estate I’d have probably told you to get lost. But there I was, between sessions at Abbeydale Brewery’s annual Funk Fest (which itself is a wonderful event that you should aim to attend next year) with a gaggle of friends, in a taxi headed towards a part of Sheffield that in my youth I was advised to avoid.

On the surface, the ebulliently named Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert looks like any other you might find on an industrial estate—which these days are numerous. That is until you reach the welcoming bright red front door, the brewery’s name artfully hand-painted above it. Then you enter a room of sky blue, draped with poetry dedicated to the beers that are made here—beers that are among some of the best I have tasted over the last twelve months.

Then your eye catches the tap list, and while yes, there are a couple of hazy pale ales to keep their enthusiasts sated, there are also Belgian-style saisons and tripels, Dortmunder-influenced lagers, and even a strong, historically recreated mild brewed with beer historian Ron Pattinson. Then, as you finally reach the bar to order your drink, there’s the owners, Dann and Martha, smiling, ready to pour (it’s just the two of them at the moment, there are no other employees.) The concept of the urban, hyperlocal brewery that has done so well in the US hasn’t really taken root outside of the very largest cities in the UK as of yet, but at St. Mars, Dann and Martha might have just cracked it. Make sure you visit soon and grab a slice of that blue sky for yourself when you can.

[Please note the taproom is closed until March, so don’t attempt to visit until it reopens!]

Averie Swanson — Keeping Together, Chicago

What happens when a recently qualified Master Cicerone and one of the most respected brewers in the United States leaves her post at one of the most exciting breweries in the country to start out on her own? Honestly, I have no idea, but that’s exactly the situation that was set up when Averie Swanson departed as head brewer of Jester King in Texas to launch her own project: Keeping Together, in Chicago.

I first met Averie a few years ago in London when, by chance, she was brewing with my friend and Pellicle co-founder Jonny Hamilton at Beavertown, as part of the Rainbow Project series of collaborations. There were numerous brews for the project happening that day, and so a whole bunch of us descended on Columbia Road Market’s fantastic Brawn restaurant for as much wine and offal as we could stomach (which, it turns out, was quite a lot.) After dinner Averie was determined to go for cocktails and so—chugging bottles of Kernel on the way—we headed to a fully booked Callooh Callay, where she somehow managed to talk us inside.

It was obvious to me then, here was someone possessed of both talent and buckets of positive intent. I was saddened when I learned Averie had left Jester King, because to this day it remains one of my favourite breweries. However, in Keeping Together, which has been born out of the cellars of the equally brilliant Half Acre, is a project already building a deserved weight of anticipation. That Averie’s first release was a 3% mixed fermentation table beer, beautifully packaged in a 750ml bottle says it all. Keeping Together is one brewing project to keep a very close eye on next year.

Mark Tranter — Burning Sky, Sussex

Watching Mark Tranter’s Burning Sky Brewery go from being relatively unknown to becoming one of the most exciting and respected breweries in the UK over the past six years has been a joy. Before he founded the brewery in 2013, Mark was known for making exceptional cask beers like Hophead, at Dark Star Brewery. The first beer he mashed in at Burning Sky was not a cask beer, it was a saison, and it was his first commercial attempt at the style. That beer, Saison à la Provision, is now considered to be among the finest modern examples of the style brewed in Britain today.

That some beer lovers don’t consider Burning Sky to be one of the most important breweries in the country vexes me somewhat. It’s not just their saison that’s superb. They also excel at cask pales, robust porters and even hazy IPAs. There is little this brewery turns their hand to and doesn’t succeed, but not being ones to shout about it too much themselves, I’m more than happy to take on a role as cheerleader.

2019 saw some incredible releases from Burning Sky. Delicious things like This Land, a beer-wine hybrid; Assemblage, a blend of four particularly exceptional barrels blended and packaged in Magnums; and arguably the best iteration of its annually released Saison Anniversaire yet.

Next year will see something potentially even more exciting, however. As his spontaneous fermentation program reaches three years of age, Mark will be able to blend beers that, if brewed in Belgium’s Pajottenland would be classed as Geuze. He would never call them that out of respect for the Belgian beers and brewers that have inspired him, however, but it makes this concept no less thrilling. I don’t know what other surprises await us in Mark’s barrels but I can say, hand on heart, that they’ll be some of the most exciting beers to be released in 2020.

Ben Walgate — Tillingham Wines, Sussex

English wine has had a bad rap over the years. It can too often be presented as overly stuffy, and winemakers overseas (in particular those just across the English channel) too often look down their noses at it. Things are changing, however, not only did 2018 see what is considered by some to be the best harvest English wine has ever seen, but there is a new wave of exciting winemakers emerging, adding the youthful exuberance and—most importantly—accessibility for a new generation of wine lovers.

Among these is Ben Walgate of Tillingham Wines, in the village of Rye, Sussex. His is an ambitious project, and while he’s previously been bringing in grapes from other English growers he now has his own vines in the ground, along with an impressive visitor centre, restaurant and hotel. Vines aren’t all he has in the ground either, he also has an impressive collection of qvevri—clay amphora used to ferment whole bunches of grapes on their skins, without the addition of any extra yeast.

It’s just one of the methods Ben is utilising to make some very exciting, fresh-tasting, acid-forward wines. The way he packages them is modern and upbeat too, with labels that look that they have more in common with beer branding than wine, adding to that sense of exuberance and playfulness his products possess. That’s not the whole story either, as it’s often forgotten that with his Starvecrow brand he’s also making some of the most exciting cider in the country. His qvevri-fermented Peaux de Pomme was among the best ciders I drank this year. While Ben is certainly not alone in aiding the reinvention of English wine, he will continue to be one of the most visible and exciting influencers within modern winemaking next year, and we’ll all be richer for it.

Thank you for reading Pellicle this year. If you’re enjoying the site please consider chucking us a little bit of cash each month via Patreon to help keep our little publication sustainable and independent in 2020 and beyond.

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Dec 30 Trendsetters and Trailblazers — 15 People Who Will Shape Beer, Wine and Cider in 2020