Brewing your own beer is a pastime enjoyed by many thousands of people, and thanks to the efforts of craft ale aficionados-turned-entrepreneurs Rob Berezowski and Jo Llewellyn-Jones, the founders of Brew Club, it is a skill being learned and enjoyed by many more.
There is a certain irony in the fact that while pub closures in the UK continue apace, the country’s craft and cask brewing industry is booming, with sales from independent breweries increasing across the country. Four out of five breweries expect an increase in turnover this year, according to figures from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).
Tapping into the British passion for craft beers are new businesses like Brew Club. Berezowski, whose background is in IT, and Llewellyn-Jones, a project manager for a construction company, came up with the idea during a brewing session at one of their houses. Discussion had turned to the frustrations and limitations they faced as home brewers, namely lack of space, no way of controlling fermentation temperatures, and less-than-ideal equipment.
“Out of this discussion came the idea of building a space for home brewers which provided all of these things,” says Berezowski. “From there we began to plan, eventually getting a premises around six months later.”
Situated in an east London warehouse, Brew Club opened in November 2015, offering home brewers the facilities to produce ales that would impress the most discerning of beer drinkers. Brewing classes for beginners are also on offer and have proved extremely popular, currently Brew Club’s biggest source of income, and are regularly sold out.
Growth has been steady and the business is on track to turn over around £80,000 ($105,000) in its first 12 months, essentially breaking even for the year, and year three forecasts could exceed £200,000 ($264,000).
While the number of new breweries opening in London in the past year has reached a new high of 36, an increase of 24%, according to a study by accountants UHY Hacker Young, the threat of growing competition has left Brew Club’s founders unfazed.
Llewellyn-Jones says: “There are a number of places that offer brewing classes in London, and another that rents out the equipment to brew on your own, but what we offer is somewhat unique in the field, and we have an ever growing base of brewers coming back to use our facilities regularly. We actually know most of the other people running brewing classes in London, and there's no cut-throat competition between us, brewing in general is actually a very friendly world to be in.”
Brew Club also operates a 'pay-per-brew' rental system, so with no membership fee they are flexible and accessible. They also have the coveted Braumeisters, state-of-the-art brewing systems that no other venue uses outside of classes for personal use.
“The customer pays £50 per brew to use the Braumeister and all sundries, the fermentation room, and the space to make beer. They can bring their own ingredients or buy from us, and they can bring their own bottles, re-use bottles from previous brews ofrbuy from us,” says Berezowski.
Currently the most popular beers that people brew at Brew Club are their English IPA and American Pale Ale recipes, with new recipes being formulated and tested all the time.
And while their wares are aimed at the home brewer rather than people who want to brew larger batches for commercial purposes, Brew Club’s founders are well aware that some people may use them a starting point before embarking on their own commercial brewing venture.
“Growth wise the biggest opportunity lies in the hiring of brew stations for customers to brew themselves. Their numbers are constantly growing, and we may eventually add more brewing stations into the space,” adds Berezowski.
Brewing beer as part of a corporate event is becoming increasingly popular, as is bespoke beer brewing for weddings. “The last wedding party that brewed with us made 15 batches of beer over three brewing days with different members of friends and family, and then the beer was served at their wedding,” says Llewellyn-Jones.
Over the next three years, the plan is to hire extra staff – currently the two founders work alone – and ultimately to make the Brew Club brand synonymous with home brewing in London, a tall order, given the local competition. Beyond that, the founders will explore opportunities to expand their business model outside London.
Berezowski says: “We want the space to be used not just by people who brew with us, but also by those who brew beer themselves at home on their own equipment. Our goal is to make Brew Club a place to share ideas and learn about brewing.”
