Meantime Brewing Company’s founder and Master Brewer Alastair Hook has been named ‘Brewer of the Year’ by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group. The announcement was made at the Beer Group’s Annual Awards Dinner held at One Great George Street in Westminster and attended by MPs, Peers and leading lights of the UK brewing fraternity.
True pioneer
As the founder of Meantime Brewing Company, Alastair is most notably attributed as one of the true pioneers of the craft beer revolution here in the UK. With humble beginnings in a small flat in Greenwich, Alastair’s decision to establish one of the UK’s first modern-craft brewery’s came in the year 2000 when he, and a group of likeminded friends, grew tired of the mass-market homogenisation of beers at the time.
Seeing the potential for quality, innovative beers and the desire for choice among UK drinkers, Alastair’s unique sense of creativity, passion and skill has helped the tightknit team at Meantime usher in the current era of modern craft. This shared commitment to embracing the latest technology, a desire to constantly experiment and innovate, use only the highest quality ingredients, and to take the time necessary to make great beer have helped cement the brewery as one of the most loved and successful beer producers in the UK today.
Starting with Union Beer…
From the first beer made available to the public, Union Lager, the brewer now has ten styles in the core range, as well as numerous limited edition, seasonal, and special Brewers’ Collection beers, each as unique as the last and all crafted with passion and knowledge from Alastair’s years of brewing.
International education
Alastair gained a degree in Brewing at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and went on to complete postgraduate studies at Weihenstephan in Germany, the world’s leading brew school, giving him the formal training which would become the foundations of a long career in brewing. After graduating, he travelled the world absorbing brewing knowledge from brewers across Europe and, notably, the US. This international education is visible in the many continental and American styles of beer brewed by Meantime.
In 2004, Alastair and the Meantime team won the first of many medals at the World Beer Cup and the success of Meantime hasn’t slowed since.
Commenting on his award, Alastair said:
“I first fell in love with beer and brewing in the eighties and for the past fifteen years I’ve been able to share that passion through Meantime Brewing Company. It’s always been my goal to change the way people think about beer and make the amazing and complex world of beer as accessible to British drinkers as possible; I’m honoured to receive this award because it’s testament to how far we’ve come in achieving just that. To be recognised by my peers and the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group in the same year as Meantime’s chief sommelier Rod Jones was announced as Beer Sommelier Of The Year goes to show what a special brewery Meantime is and I’m immensely proud of everything we’ve achieved. Here’s to the next fifteen years!”
Passionate and inspiring
Andrew Griffiths, MP for Burton and Uttoxeter and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said: “Alastair Hook is one of the most passionate and inspiring brewers not just in the UK, but in the world. One of the pioneers of Britain’s thriving craft beer scene, Alastair’s dedication and knowledge is second to none. You only need to drink a pint of any of his beers to understand why his brewery has grown from a one-man operation in Penhall Lane to the state-of-the-art facility in Greenwich that stands today. Alastair is the driving force behind every pint and we raise our glasses to him as he accepts this enormously well-deserved award.”
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