Episode 149: Wrestling a Brewery into Submission [with Top Rope Brewing]

On the Hop Forward Podcast this week, we're joined by Neil Rothwell - co-founder of Liverpool's Top Rope Brewing.  Coming up to their 6th birthday celebrations, we take a look back at their journey and explore Liverpool's beer scene.  We also discuss the many challenges they (and similar breweries) have and are facing as they wrestle their way through these turbulent times.THIS WEEK'S EPISODE OF THE PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY:Charles Faram & CoCharles Faram have been hop factors and merchants since 1865 and hop growers for even longer than that.  While importing a vast catalogue of international hops, they have also developed their own varieties through their Hop Development Program set up to create wildly different aromas and flavours whilst also working closely with growers to produce varieties with good yields and disease resistance.Every year a new class of plants are set off on their journey, involving disease assessments, aroma assessments, plot and brewing trials, to get from 10,000 individual variety seedlings to one super successful variety for commercial release.  The Faram’s Family range brings to you Archer®, Emperor™, Godiva™, Harlequin®, Jester®, Most™ (pronounced Moss-t – it’s Czech for bridge), Mystic™, Olicana®, and Opus™.They stock nitrogen flushed leaf hops, Type 90 pellets and T45 pellets; and - to ensure their hops remain in optimum condition - they have state of the art cold stores at their sites in Worcestershire in the UK and Yakima in the USA, with their Yakima site being a staging point for quality checks and the safe journey of US hops to the UKCharles Faram are fully committed to providing quality hops to customers at home and around the globe through their Well-hopped quality program.Did you know that they also supply yeast, malt, fruit purees and other brewing products?  Get one delivery and one invoice.  The full range and product specifications can be found on their website charlesfaram.co.uk.If you would like more information or expert advice on the different uses, applications and recipes, one of their Technical Advisors will be really happy to help.  Visit charlesfaram.co.uk for more details Notes:All brand varieties are British and grown in Herefordshire and Worcestershire except for Most™ which is Czech.Charles Faram have site in the US (Charles Faram Inc), Canada (Charles Faram Brewing Supplies Inc.), and Poland (Charles Faram Europe).Partners in Charles Faram's portfolio (but aren't limited to):Fermentis – yeastCrisp – malt and malt extractsWeyermann® - speciality malt and malt extractsMurphy & Son – Brewing aidsRankin Brothers & Sons – ClosuresTotally Natural Solutions – Hop products and non-hop flavouringshttps://www.charlesfaram.co.uk/Lallemand BrewingLalBrew NovaLager™ is an innovative new hybrid lager yeast from Lallemand brewing. Belonging to the newly created Group 3 lager yeast category, Novalager exhibits increased temperature tolerance for faster and more forgiving fermentations.Produced using a non-GMO yeast breeding technique, Lalbrew Novalager incorporates a patented technology, which prevents the creation of hydrogen sulphide which can lead to sulphureous off flavours in the final beer. Additionally, Lalbrew Novalager produces a reduced level of diacetyl, allowing for shortened storage times post fermentation.Lallemand Brewing, ‘We Brew With You’.https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/Follow Hop Forward on Social MediaFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn