In my third year of University my flatmates bought me a homebrew kit, I brewed an undrinkable beer and for some reason it was at that point I decided I was going to set up my own brewery. So I bought (and read) every book on brewery start ups I could find, began homebrewing a bit more seriously and got myself a job in a local brewery where I would get some crucial experience and develop a passion for the Industry. My friend Arran was working with me at the time and after many visits to breweries, beer festivals and pubs we began dreaming up what our ideal business would look like…
I always knew I wanted to run my own business and this idea put me on the path of applying for a degree in BA (Hons) Business Economics. The degree not only gave me a good understanding of economic principles but finance and entrepreneurship modules meant I spent 3 years putting together financial statements and business plans which would later become very useful skills. Before launching the company I got in touch with the Cardiff Met Centre for Entrepreneurship who invited me to take part in a 5 day bootcamp where at the end I pitched and was awarded a grant that would later be used towards our launch party. To this day, almost a year after we launched I am still in contact with the centre and they have always been on hand to help me continue to grow the business.
Nine months in and we have launched four different beers including a Pale ale, Mango Lactose IPA, Coffee milk stout and a Passion Fruit IPA. We have brewed thousands of litres of beer and distributed it both in Wales and across England. We’ve sold our beers in our own branded cereal boxes and we were named as one of the ‘Ones To Watch 2020’ by Beer Hawk, the UK’s largest online beer retailer.
We’ve recently had to adapt our whole business model following the COVID-19 pandemic which meant we lost almost all of our sales channels overnight. To adapt we have launched an online store where we have been offering a local beer delivery service every weekend. We have been pouring draught beer into sealed containers so people can experience a pint at home as well as bottled beer and merchandise. We have also collaborated with a few other local breweries and put together a Cardiff Craft Beer Box so we can bring attention to the local beer scene and continue to grow it despite the difficult situation. Aside from our deliveries we’ve been hard at work planning an expansion where we are looking to invest in some brewery equipment later this year and move into a new space with a taproom so people can see the brewery and drink our beers at the source.
If you want to see what we get up to next, give us a follow on our social media pages!
Instagram: @flowerhornbrewery
Facebook: /flowerhornbrew
Twitter: @flowerhornbrew
