A Pint With Brewing Director, George Young

When did your obsession with beer begin?

When I was a university student studying biotechnology at King's College London. We used to visit lovely pubs by the river and enjoy real ale. I learnt about brewing as part of my course - brewing is all about biotechnology. I then did a masters in brewing and distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Beer is the passion that gets me out of bed every day - there's nothing like the satisfaction of making beer for people to enjoy. 

How did you end up at St Austell Brewery?

My journey began when I worked in a small microbrewery (Smiles Brewery) in my hometown of Bristol. It was a very hands-on job which included tasks like digging out the mash tun. I then moved to a research organisation which ran an experimental brewery; we did research for major breweries including product development and hop-variety trials. Then I went to Fullers to become a production brewer and subsequently its production brewer. Somewhere in the middle I was also a secondary school teacher - I have eclectic skills! 

What's it like working at St Austell Brewery?

St Austell appealed to me because it's a family-owned, independent brewery. You feel a part of the family and you're listened to and looked after. There's a feeling at the brewery that you can't bottle: a sense of pride and of everyone working together towards a common goal. 

When I first started working for the company in 2019, my role was as head brewer for Bath Ales (which St Austell Brewery acquired in 2016) at its brewery in Warmley, on the outskirts of Bath. I took on the role of brewing director for St Austell Brewery the following year, after the untimely passing of Roger Ryman (who had been brewing director since 1999). Since then, I've overseen brewing at St Austell Brewery and up in Warmley. During this time, we've commissioned a new canning line and launched a permanent cask beer: Anthem British pale ale. 

What are you especially excited about at the brewery right now? 

We have a small batch brewery where all our brewers (including those at our brewery near Bath) get to put forward beers they want to make for Cask Club. The scheme runs from March to the end of November and supplies member pubs with a different beer every week.

It's our chance to push the boundaries in terms of beer styles, and to blend styles together to create something entirely new. The brewers have free rein - they even get to come up with the name of the beer. 

Our brewers also have the opportunity to create beers for the public to drink at our charitable Celtic Beer Festival in November. 

How are you nurturing the next generation of brewers? 

As part of a team, I helped set up our brewing apprenticeship scheme in collaboration with the International Centre for Brewing Science (ICBS) at the University of Nottingham. 

During the course, participants gain skills in brewing, packaging, quality control and much more through practical, hands-on experience mixed with academic lessons at the university. We also run an engineering apprentice scheme aimed at people of all ages, and we're proud to offer full-time salaries and employee benefits. 

What's new at St Austell Brewery?

Alongside updating our packaging line, we're investing in new kit to keep up with demand for a number of our products. 

At St Austell we've got some new bright tanks for Proper Job - something that's very exciting for us brewing geeks! We've also got some new dual-purpose vessels (DPVs) in which we can ferment and condition more of our beer to meet demand.

Share your top beer predictions

Stout is having a real moment right now, and we'll be releasing a Christmas edition is response to that - stay tuned for more info!

Lower ABV beers are rising in popularity, and people are also seeking more interesting flavours in beer; it's always a challenge to produce those naturally rather than by adding fruit concentrates or by other artificial means. 

What are you drinking right now?

At this time of year, I'll go for one of our latest seasonal beers and finish an evening with an Anthem. 

Article from The Local, read the full issue online.