As anyone who lives in London probably knows, every year there is a churn of brewers leaving one brewery for another but few leave one award-winning brewery, such as Fuller’s, to become brewing director of another iconic brewery, St Austell. Georgina Young is proof that a brewster (female brewer) really can make it to the top.
But let’s start at the beginning. George (as she prefers to be known) studied biotechnology to degree level at King’s College London but was unsure what she wanted to do on graduating. She liked drinking in pubs and the Windsor Castle in Kensington and the Dove in Hammersmith were her favourite haunts. A family friend suggested brewing and took her around the Mortlake Brewery, then home of Watney’s. “It was huge and there was a lift to get you to the top of the fermentation vessels,” remembered George. “I got the brewing bug and went to do a master’s degree in brewing at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.”
Her first brewery job was at Smiles in Bristol in the 1990s. George recalls,”Smiles had some fantastic pubs. I started in the lab before moving on to the brewing team. It was very physical with tasks such as digging out the mash tun. I got through a lot of carbohydrates when I was working there. I couldn’t lift the 50kg malt sacks and was pretty useless but I did know about brewing, fermentation and packaging and so added something else to the team. I lasted about a year. It was brilliant experience.”
There was then a slight change in direction with George joining Camden BRI (then known as Brewing Research Inter-national). George reflects that she was running the pilot plant, conducting brewing trials. “I particularly remember doing trials on the new malt and hop varieties. I was there for five wonderful years and I got to meet so many people from the industry.”
This networking was to have an impact on George’s next move. Reg Drury, the brewing director at Fuller’s was due to retire and John Keeling, who was to succeed him, approached her. “They were looking for a young production brewer. It was a bit weird; my first interview was at a black-tie brewing dinner. I joined Fuller’s in 1999 and I moved around a number of departments, including brewing and cask racking, and helped with the installation of a new tun room. I assisted with the creation of Organic Honeydew and developed many beers, including Discovery.”
In 2006, family demands began to increase as George had her second baby. “I had a longer time off and appreciated life outside a brewery and so I left and taught physics, chemistry and biology to 12 to 16 year olds. I hadn’t lost contact with Fuller’s and they contacted me every year to see if I would help out. I eventually went back in 2013. Derek Prentice (see below) had been doing my maternity cover and then stayed on but they were looking for succession planning for John,” said George. She continued, “I came back my original role of brewing manager and my desk where my shoes were still underneath. Derek hadn’t moved anything, and I had a lovely three months handover with him.”
In 2017, George was promoted to head brewer and continued in this role until 2019 when Fuller’s sold their brewing operation to international brewers Asahi. Around this time, George was approached by St Austell Brewery who were looking for someone to run Bath Ales. George explains, “My family come from Bristol and Richard Dempster, one of the founders of Bath Ales, taught me how to brew when I was at Smiles, so the conversation was attractive. I moved in May 2019.”
Bath Ales had been bought by St Austell in 2016 and they had already invested in the new brewery and a new bottling facility. George reflected, “In my first year we increased capacity to 50,000 barrels. This investment continued with new kegging and canning lines. Bath brew four times a day, five days a week, using two shifts, including beers as part of the St Austell family group.”
Then, in the summer of 2020, very sadly, St Austell’s head brewer, Roger Ryman, died and George was made brewing director. She said, “The pandemic was having an impact on us and so we had a good look at the business to make it a more profitable but it was hard work. We struggled to keep up with the demands in the bottling, particularly with Proper Job flying off the shelves with people on furlough. I was determined to get the quality right and have introduced a trade quality team to help pub cellar excellence; that was something I learnt from John Keeling.” George doesn’t do it all on her own; she has two production brewers, one on each brewery and a new head of beer quality. “They are a talented team. We set ourselves some stiff targets and met them and we have started winning awards again.”
George is a great believer in putting things back into the industry. She has been chairman of the southern section of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, a member of the Worshipful Company of Brewers and, since 2018, has been a director of Cask Marque. She also supports the apprentice scheme, aimed at bringing new people into the beer business.
George has grown in stature and confidence since I got to know her when she first started at Fuller’s and what an amazing role model she is for any inspiring brewster. You just have to have commitment, tenacity, a business brain and, of course, a love of beer and a bit of talent!
Christine Cryne
Footnote: The legendary Derek Prentice brewed at Truman’s and then Young’s before going to Fuller’s. He is currently the brewing consultant at Wimbledon Brewery. He was awarded the John Young Memorial Award in 2018. See here.