Big Hug is no ordinary brewing company in many ways.
From its inception to its method of operation and to its big heart, this venture was an interesting one to talk to.
The project has its origins in 2013 in the function room of the Old Nun’s Head in Peckham. The idea was to form a partnership; Matt Williams, Dan Rowntree and Chris Bayliss, with Henry Kirk as the brewer. Their credentials were impeccable. Matt had been working in the drinks trade for about 17 years, from Bacardi to soft drinks, coupled with a number of start-ups. Dan was running the Old Nun’s Head and, with Chris, had set up Craft Beer Rising. Henry however never came on board, instead going to brew at Fuller’s and becoming head brewer at Dark Star. The remaining trio decided to persevere and Matt remortgaged his flat in Brighton and moved to London. The idea was to launch their beer at Craft Beer Rising but they had no brewer or brewery. They decided there were two options: either to crowdfund like BrewDog or to go down the contract brewing route as Innis and Gunn had done. They decided on the latter. Matt said, “We were looking to build a business, with me doing a day a week consulting and holding down another job to pay the bills but it didn’t work out that way. Big Hug sort of took over.”
Matt doesn’t like the terms ‘gypsy’ or ‘cuckoo’ brewing; he prefers to use the term ‘hobo’. He explained, “It describes our ethos of moving from place to place and making friends.” This moving around also explains the use of ‘Brewing’ rather than ‘Brewery’ in their name. “We didn’t want to mislead” said Matt.
Over the years, Big Hug has brewed all over the country with a number of different breweries – from Firebrand in Cornwall and the Celt Experience in Wales to Great Yorkshire in the north, taking in Gadds in Ramsgate and Hop Stuff in London. The latter wasn’t the best of experiences; they went under with a lot of Big Hug’s stock in their warehouse which couldn’t be accessed. There was a white knight however. “Portobello Brewery stepped in to help out” said Matt. “It’s been very much a partnership journey. Currently, we are only brewing with them and Great Yorkshire.” Matt added, “I don’t do the brewing. I come up with an idea and then work with the brewers such as Farooq (at Portobello) to pull it all together for a test brew. Harry is still there to give me assistance even if he isn’t involved. Initially, we did a lot of test brewing at Brewhouse and Kitchen in Highbury and Islington; it usually took two brews to get it right and then we’d scale up.”
The ethos behind the company isn’t all about profit and the work that is done for social causes explains the other part of the name, ‘Big Hug’. Through the My Green Squares organisation, the company has managed to purchase one million square feet of rainforest. Matt elucidated, “Each purchase meant a donation and we had can labels you could scan that explained more about it. The money went to educating locals and improving the infrastructure etc. It lasted about 18 months.”
Another initiative came about when Matt went back to Brighton. “Walking from the station to the clock tower, I saw nine homeless people. I wanted to do something so we set up ‘Hugs4Snugs’. Whenever we did a tap takeover, we’d give the venue an opportunity to nominate a local homeless charity and encourage people to bring in clothes and toiletries. Anyone who did so got a free beer.”
The current campaign is a pale ale called Pave the Way, with 10p a can or £5 per keg going to an organisation called Only a Pavement Away. This was set up by representatives from the hospitality industry to help people facing or experiencing homelessness to reintegrate into society. “I want to make it easy for people to support” said Matt. (You can buy the beer on Big Hug’s website).
If that isn’t enough, Matt is aiming to raise £5,000 this year through fundraising and events. When he couldn’t do the London Marathon, he did the ‘26 Challenge’ and raised £480 through a bike ride. Matt has also participated in the Tough Mudder (you have to be slightly mad for this) and has been involved with a mental health charity working in the hospital sector. Collaborations are likely to be on the agenda again. The first lockdown wasn’t too bad for Matt. He just, “chilled out and, with a new baby, it proved to be a good time. I was also grateful that I didn’t have a brewery and the Government bounce back loan helped.” Before lockdown, the split of sales was 90% keg and 10% cans but, as with most breweries, the situation changed. A shop was put on the website (via Portobello) and ‘We did okay’.
The Laines pub chain took their draft beer prior to lock down and another benefit of the partnership with Portobello is access to their 15 pubs, which will provide a new avenue for the beer in the future and may include a possible dabbling in cask. In London, the beer can also be found in Spit and Sawdust (SW1), Patty and Bun and the Flying Frenchman (N16), plus a regional listing in Sussex Co-ops.
So what of the future? Matt said, “I want to get back to the pub and drink three or four pints! We launched with White IPA, which is our signature beer, but I am experimenting. I have just added a Hefeweizen called Bigger Digger and am developing a 0.5% ABV IPA, a black forest gateau porter and a cucumber Weiss.” He also has operational plans, “I’ve been looking at venues for a brew pub or similar and continuing to work with charities. Currently I am considering a number of places in Sussex or London”. So, watch this space. Talking to Matt certainly makes you want you to give a big hug to a hobo with a big heart but this interview had to take place virtually!
For tasting notes, go to the brewery page on the regional website and follow the links.
Christine Cryne