Nick Hunt: Brewing Beer With Purpose (and Bread, and Rainwater)

What does surplus bread, rainwater, and a car-park pop-up have to do with running a purpose-led business? 

Nick Hunt, founder of Cotswold Lakes Brew Company (and self-styled "Chief Beer Officer"), built his brand on unconventional ingredients and deep local roots, then had to rebuild it again after a forced relocation tested everything. Nick shares what actually held it together, plus his answer when the Purpose Pinwheel lands on "processes," and the one habit he says underpins purpose in life and business.

The Purpose Pinwheel Podcast is co-hosted by Erica Mackay (The Marketing Detective Agency) and Becks Neale (The Brand Naturalist, Inkshed Ltd).

Follow the show: [thepurposepinwheelpodcast.com] | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/purpose-pinwheel-podcast | YouTube: @PurposePinwheelPodcast

Want to be a guest? Get in touch at guests@thepurposepinwheelpodcast.com

Transcript

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Erica: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to our Purpose Pinwheel podcast. Hi, Becks. How are you? 

Becks: I'm really good, thank you. How are you? 

Erica: I'm good, thanks. And you've brought us a guest today. 

Becks: We have. I'm very excited to introduce you to Nick Hunt who is an entrepreneur and founder of the Cotswold Lakes Brew Company which is bringing beer with purpose.

So Nick, tell us a bit about yourself and how Cotswold Lakes Brew started. 

Nick: Yeah, sure. Hi, Becks. Hi, Erica. Thanks everyone. Maybe 10 years ago now, harbored this idea of building a kind of purpose-driven business from scratch.

And I've got a particular passion for beer drinking it and making it as a home brewer in the past. And I think when I was thinking about what type of business might be a good one to start and bake that purpose in, it just started becoming a bit of an obvious way to go. Any form of drinking together is that kind of sense of community and [00:01:00] people coming together for kind of conversation, connection, and so it became a really obvious place to start.

My interest fundamentally was trying to build something that could sit at the heart of the community and bring people together for meaningful change, and it just felt like a good old chat over a beer or alternative drink the bar offers all sorts would be the way to go, and that was really the genesis for it really.

It was the idea that we could build something where the product helped to create that community and bring people together for conversation. And yeah, we haven't looked back. 

Erica: And why beer? 

Nick: Beer, I, as I said I'm a keen home brewer. It felt to me as though there was space for another kind of taproom, another venue within the beautiful Cotswold Lakes where we're based here, just south of Cirencester.

And it just felt like a really nice way to combine a kind of personal interest, the satisfaction of making something physical. So actually producing [00:02:00] something that people actually enjoy is really satisfying. Yeah, I get that as a musician as well when I play and perform in bands and things, and so quite different from what was the day job and my corporate background.

This is quite a tangible thing. So I think that combined with the sense of building the community it just became really obvious that's what we ought to do. And, hence the tagline for the business, beer with purpose. We're here to do purposeful things with the product as the starting point really.

Yeah. 

Becks: I think for you as well, I think the environment and sense of place is really important as well and- do you want to say a bit on how you've incorporated- that into the beer itself? 

Nick: Or experience? So it was really important that we could build something that had a really clear, strong sense of location.

And interesting looking at the market for breweries, it was interesting to see those that had a strong geographical tag or link and those that didn't and following those journeys through. And I think for me, having something that people really [00:03:00] identify with an area and feel like, almost like they, partial ownership of it because it's in their neck of the woods is a really important thing.

And so it became obvious to us that we ought to have a brew co. that was named for the area, the Cotswold Lakes. We were also really keen to- Support the local conservation charity here which at the time was the Cotswold Water Park Trust, and unbeknownst to us when we approached them to talk about a partnership, they were just going through a proposed rebrand to the Cotswold Lakes Trust.

So we identified this sense of using Cotswold Lakes as the brew co. And that kind of aligned nicely with who we thought were gonna be a key, partner of ours, and that's proven to be a really mutually productive and enjoyable, relationship over the entire history of the business.

And that was a great partnership, but for me as well at the time of forming the business, I was already a resident in the Cotswold Lakes. Had been for about 10 years then. It's a part of the world that I've known all my life. 40 years spending time [00:04:00] walking round here enjoying seeing the landscape being returned to nature.

And seeing that change over time is something that I've always felt very connected with, and it's a very special place for me and the family as well. And so to be able to build something that was doing good, connecting people in a community that I really care about, but also strongly linked to the great and very important conservation work that's happening in the area, it just felt like a perfect combination really.

And so strong sense of identity, a place that I care about, and hopefully then something that people could also feel part of and feel was part of the community as well, and hopefully that's what we've been able to build over the last few years. 

Erica: So what does the word purpose mean to you, Nick?

Nick: I think long and hard about this, and I regularly revise my answer, because I think it's a journey that everybody goes through in different ways and- and does evolve over time. I've always had I feel a strong sense of purpose in what I do. And for me, it's about feeling a [00:05:00] connection and motivation that takes you beyond undertaking some task or activity just by simply going through the motions or because you're capable of doing something.

So something that gives you a sense of a deeper meaning and connection, that gives you energy, and quite frankly, a motivation to go above and beyond and do more with it. So if I can get something that energizes me and I feel really strongly aligns with my values and can deliver some sort of positive impact on somebody connected to that piece of work, whatever it might be, business or otherwise it just makes life more worth living, doesn't it, I think?

So purpose for me is that really strong inner sense of connection, meaning, and ultimately community, right? I think everybody's looking for stronger connections and a sense of belonging to things, and I think purpose really helps to do that in all walks of life.

But I think particularly when you can start taking individuals, company [00:06:00] founders' sense of personal kind of purpose and direction and baking that into the strategic direction and plan for a business or an enterprise, I think that's when the magic kind of really happens for me. So I spend a lot of time thinking about purpose.

I spend a lot of time putting it into my own businesses, but also helping people discover that sense of purpose in what it is that they're doing as well through the different bits of work that I do these days. And that's led me to start dabbling with writing a bit of an emerging book around purpose- Ooh

and purpose in life and business. It's far from a finished work yet. And some recent experiences and time away have given me the chance to further develop that. But I really think that it's something that people want to explore further. And if I can capture some thoughts around that and different perspectives on it, then I hope that might be a useful thing, yeah.

I really enjoy writing and talking about purpose and the sense of- direction and value that's given me with different initiatives and projects over [00:07:00] the years.

And I think when you find people who have a really clear, strong sense of purpose there is just this sort of sense of warmth and satisfaction in knowing what that is. And look, everybody goes through life trying to find The things that mean the most to them. But actually, I think if you can just find aspects of what you do where you've got a strong sense of connection and purpose and community, I think it makes for a much more, enriching time on this earth, quite frankly.

And, if we can help more people discover that and connect and build meaningful connection, maybe the world will be just a little bit better than it otherwise would be. 

Becks: So touching on that, where you're saying about that sense of connection, you've beautifully done that through where you're hosting all the People Planet Pints the group together.

That warmth that comes from that group when you walk into the door is just like something you've not experienced before. It's everyone from shared values, everyone's really excited to share the sort of top tips or hints they've found. It just feels a really nice energized atmosphere.

I think [00:08:00] that's a really good thing that you've been doing there and helping to roll out further. So it's, interesting to see where that space is gonna lead. 

Nick: I think, you mentioned the People Planet Pint group there. I think for us, that was a really important part of our story, and it came about a little bit by chance in terms of the opportunity to pick up the group locally from Danny Matthews, who's the original founder for PPP in Cirencester.

And I think we just saw the chance to further build on our values of beer with purpose with the brewery. We already had a place that people came together. I wanted it to be a place that we could help to build connection and build a sense of action on a local basis. And so it really aligned well with the brewery's values about doing more than just making great beer, 'cause there's plenty of people, doing that brilliantly in the UK and beyond.

But actually as a group of people meeting socially to talk about a particular topic of shared interest around sustainability, I think it was just a perfect example of what it was we hoped to create with other member interest groups who made use of the tap room space on a regular basis to meet and exchange ideas.

And so yeah, it's been really nice to see how that's grown as a [00:09:00] community, and obviously we've evolved that a little bit further now. We've got a strong sense of identity on a Cotswolds basis with our ReCotswolds group, which is all about kind of connection and purpose and meaningful change within the area.

And I'm really excited about, what we've already achieved and where I think we can take that in future, and it's also just great to spend time with nice people. And that's why when you do these things, it never really feels like work because you're building connection and reinforcing that sense of purpose about the things that you care about already, and there's nothing more satisfying than help to create connections and join up initiatives on a local basis to further increase positive impact.

And that could be a voluntary thing or it could be two businesses working together with some kind of common purpose and, that's the joy. Connection, you know, business and life in general is just more fun when it sh- when it's shared. It's for me, just a great example of the power of bringing people together whether that's over a beer, [00:10:00] glass of wine, or a soft drink.

Becks: And what's been the most unusual ingredient that you've had from the community to add into your beers? 'Cause I know you've done quite a few different things.

Nick: Yeah we were certainly going back a couple years, experimenting quite a bit with some different sort of special brews when we were really getting the brand up and running and we had quite a fun partnership with one of the great local kitchen garden restaurants, Roots & Seeds, where we'd got into this habit of every few months seeing what random excess food products they might have growing in the garden to utilize in in, in beer.

And so we experimented with quite a few different weird and wonderful things. Celeriac sticks out there as quite an interesting one to brew with. Beetroot made quite a nice kind of pink beer.

I got a why I knew you were gonna say beetroot. I just had a feeling it had to be beetroot.

Yeah, so we've got Sam and Toby at Roots & Seeds to thank for that. But no, it's been good fun and I think, when we were, fully operational there with [00:11:00] our kind of production on our old site, like having those ways of building some fun connection around our product with other local venues and producers.

Just a nice thing to do. And being very commercial about it here as well, like it creates interesting content and stories and material for social media, which is a great way to build kind of connection. It hopefully shows, That you can still have fun and not necessarily take yourself too seriously in business, but still achieve a lot as well.

And just a nice way to celebrate bringing different brands together. We've done more conventional collaborations as well charity beers we have a great very popular coffee stout which we did with Fire and Flow Coffee Roasters just to the north of Cirencester. We've had some good kind of possibly more drinkable products-

Than the beetroot beer. But no, it's been good fun and I think it generally, if we zoom out beyond product and just talk about collaboration generally- ... I think as a kind of founding principle for the business, one of our values was collaboration. We will pretty much be up [00:12:00] for trying any kind of fun collaboration with any sort of organization that we feel shares our values and is trying to do something important on a local basis.

And, that I think that creates great material and talking points for both businesses. It obviously helps them with foot fall and if you can get some interest. But also it just shows that you can be an active brand organization on a local basis, celebrating other kind of great local partners.

So yeah, so really important part of what we've always done really, and I think, that collaboration theme I think has then led to so many interesting- Partnerships, not just the initial partnership, but actually some of the stuff that then comes off the back of that, introductions that you may get.

And I'm a strong believer in that. If there's something interesting to do and it makes sense, even when it doesn't make sense, sometimes it might seem a little bit left field, but it seems like it might be fun to do, just do it and see what comes off the back of it. And as I say, it doesn't always happen immediately but you do find interesting opportunities come about because somebody's seen you doing something [00:13:00] interesting in the community.

So yeah, as I say, it just makes life a bit more fun as well. So if you can get that mix right, then why not? Yeah. 

Erica: And beer has such a legacy, a history, right? There's such I'm a big history buff myself. There's such a lot of history in it and seeing people have come before my...

The church I belong to recently has relaunched a parish ale. Apparently that was a thing. And I didn't know that, and so now we have our own parish ale, which is like- Gosh. 

Nick: Yeah ... 

Erica: fascinating, right? You're just like, "What?" 

Nick: Yeah, it's obviously very long history, especially, in the UK.

Clearly an interesting market right now where, if you look at the stats top down, consumption of beer is declining overall- ... albeit that there has been quite a big growth over the last 20 years or so in the craft beer market. So that celebration of small producers and things happening on a local basis, I think, has been a real success story for the sector in the last few decades.

But we're now at a point where generally alcohol consumption is [00:14:00] not necessarily where it was. Certainly in the beer market it's being replaced with other things. But there's a growing demand for lower alcohol or non-alcoholic products. And so I think, as ever businesses in a given sector need to keep on their toes and keep up to speed with where the demand's coming from.

But it is a great legacy of this country that people coming together to meet, discuss, celebrate, commiserate over a beer is just part, I think, still of the national psyche. And so it's really nice to continue that journey. I think for us, again, it's back to this theme of community.

We wanted it to be a product and a brand that really resonated locally. We don't really sell beyond 20 miles of where we're based. It's about being recognized locally and doing interesting events locally. Other business models out there where you can throw your beers far and wide to different places, that's not why we created the business in the first place.

I think, it's about trying to get back to the good old days when actually beer was produced on a super local basis, in houses. And [00:15:00] actually that echoes another area of our beer production where often it was using surplus product as well. Stale bread and things would've been the base of beers made in the home, going back 200 years or so. And it's funny that it's taken this long to go full circle in an era now where there are several breweries out there who are using surplus bread around one or more of their products, potentially their whole range. Which has all the benefits that we like to talk about in terms of, reducing the carbon footprint of the product and dealing with food waste in a very small way.

But actually it's also going back to the heritage that we had in this space anyway, where this is the reality of how the product used to be made in some ways. So yeah it's nice to be part of that heritage, but also be part of the future of what the market might be and what it can do.

And I think for me, creating spaces that bring people together is a hugely important part of what you can achieve as a producer of a food or drink product going forwards. And a certainly important driver for us as a business.

Erica: And I think what you're saying is right. The decline of [00:16:00] beer drinking is the commercial beer drinking.

There is this rise of back to roots- ... back to community, back to, to heritage. And that space for me is a very exciting space, right? And- Yeah ... just getting back in touch. You've just triggered a memory. My dad used to make, probably not beer, I don't know what it was, but out of watermelon skins.

Nick: Oh, wow. Oh. Okay. 

Erica: Something- Some form of, yeah- Would be- ... fermented product ... s- in the f- Yeah ... in the garage for a very long time. 

Nick: Yeah. I think 

Erica: any form of- And now and again it exploded. I just remember that. Yeah. 

Nick: As they often tend to do when you're learning. I think, yeah any, any form of kind of home made product that is great to experiment with.

I think that satisfaction of producing something is always great. And funny enough, there was lots of that kind of thing happening during lockdown when people had- a bit of free time on their hands, with varying degrees of success in terms of output based on the social media videos I've seen over the years.

But no, I think certainly that sense of craft product on a small scale in the local community is a [00:17:00] really important movement. And something that people, want to feel connected to and be part of. And, I think my reflection these days is that, and it's often said but I do think it's true, that people want experiences.

People want to go and experience something. And I think the challenge with brand affiliation with larger brands is how you create and control those experiences at scale, whereas on a local basis with connections and a strong sense of place, you can really build something that's quite unique.

And people not only enjoy those experiences, they enjoy telling others about those experiences. "I've discovered this place. You need to come down." And we were absolute beneficiaries of that kind of conversation in our early years. There's this amazing place just outside of Cirencester. No one knows about it yet.

You've gotta, you've gotta come down. It's great. And it was lovely because we went through, our first five years there, where there were still plenty of people less than five miles away from us who didn't know we existed until that [00:18:00] first time they arrived. And they go, "This place is amazing.

How long have you been here?" And you'd say, "Oh, five years." "I can't believe I haven't discovered it before." But isn't that nice that you can still find something on a local basis that still feels- ... special, Yet has continued to grow and develop. I think for me that's what it's about and it is all about things on a local basis that the community can feel proud of and feel part of.

When we've had to relocate the business unfortunately over the winter, and it's caused a bit of disruption, but what's been really encouraging in the occasions where we've been out to chat with our customer base in Christmas markets is everyone's desperate to know where we're gonna be and where we're gonna pop up.

And they want to reconnect with that experience again. And, in those times when you're sat there questioning whether it's something that you can carry on with in the same form as it before, actually knowing that demand is there and it really means something to people is an absolute motivator for us as a team.

Yeah. And are we allowed to share where your new location is? Yeah, absolutely. So we've- ... been open since the end of April. Again, in that spirit of partnership and connection and things coming [00:19:00] full circle the site we're now based at for our first pop-up is a Cotswold Lakes Trust site, which is a really exciting development for them.

So Cleveland Lakes Nature Reserve, ... as featured on BBC's Countryfile last weekend. We love. Oh, there we go. Is a really exciting project for the trust. It's their best asset that they have in their portfolio. Beautiful nature reserve- ... that I think is still really, tucked out the way and very undiscovered.

The main bit of the site itself where we're based now hasn't been open to the public until this year. They've got a really exciting new water sports club, Wild Leisure, which has opened up there, which we've partnered with. And we have a sort of a mobile bar pop-up arrangement there for the summer season, which we're excited about.

It's a beautiful lakeside venue. And we've had some great feedback from those that have visited already. We've got another venue that we're about to announce in the next week or two- ... which again, is still in the lakes, so still aligned with our brand. But will be another opportunity for people to connect with us and experience the product and hopefully get a, a sense of that kind of beer with purpose kind [00:20:00] of atmosphere that we worked really hard to create in our early years.

So yeah, watch this space for announcement number two. Still a little bit secret at the moment though, so I can't tell you. 

Erica: Okay. So we got two now. We got the book and the new venue. There we go.

Was there anything with purpose that you tried that- ... didn't work or that was harder than you expected?

Nick: Yeah. What interesting question. Yes. And I'm trying to think of some immediate examples that would be good. I think there's many partnerships that we've tried and many things that we think might work and hit the nail on the head for people and perhaps just haven't garnered the support that that we thought.

So that could be maybe certain theme nights and things that we thought would be a great way to bring groups together. So we had a sort of a clubs night advertised where people could, if you needed space to meet, come down, you've got that available. You could reserve a table and things.

I think, that for us was building on that more formal kind of private booking thing that we had from different groups. But that particular initiative didn't hit off in quite the way we thought. Maybe it was too rigid on a particular, [00:21:00] Wednesday night in the month, for example.

I'd also say from a practical perspective, our commitment around brewing with bread and with rainwater as much as we possibly could had some practical challenges. Both in terms of the level of extraction, the efficiency of the brew process and what we were getting out per brew.

Obviously when bread absorbs water, it tends to absorb a lot of water, and so the amount of beer you were getting then per brew was a bit of a balancing act. And so we spent a lot of time trying to optimize that and, struggling a little bit to get to a level we were happy with.

So I think that's been a challenge. Another kind of, purposeful example that, wouldn't say it didn't work out, but it took us a lot longer than we wanted to get it right, was actually the newest beer in our range, which is a low alcohol, non-alcoholic beer, 0.5%. Really hard to get a good beer at that strength, especially at a small scale on the kit.

We wanted to make that commitment partly because we knew it was the right thing. It's where society's moved generally and it ... [00:22:00] very clear feedback from our customer base as well. The most requested beer that we didn't have of our own in the range. So we knew we needed to do it, but actually there was a lot of trial and error and cost in getting that right and getting to something that we were really happy with.

So it was definitely one of those things we had to keep chipping away at. So yeah, lots of false starts with it, but pleased to say we finally cracked it and we've got some good feedback there. Maybe collaborations, and I won't be too specific, but things that we thought would have some longer term kind of life to them, energy to them, that for whatever reason just didn't quite land as well with the customer base of the two organizations.

But I don't think that's put us off from trying lots of things. I think when you've got, as we deliberately are, quite a broad target market as a business, ultimately we just want to bring people together. So we don't have a particular stereotypical customer. In fact, I'm never happier than when I see multiple generations- of the same family or friend groups from a village it's not just one narrow type of drinker that we have. And that for me is a real [00:23:00] joy because it then does feel like an inclusive kind of place. But then I think when you have such a broad base of customers, then doing specific things, be it collaborations or events, that probably feel a bit more targeted, sometimes they'll hit the mark with that particular part of your customer base and sometimes they won't.

So I think it's just encouraging people to experiment and, I think trying to build connection is the main thing, and sometimes these things will have longevity to them and sometimes they won't. But hey, you've had fun along the way and you've met some good people and hopefully built some connection and purpose you never know when that connection that you've established could be helpful further down the line. You don't do it because of that, but actually it's a lovely byproduct where a connection you've made in the past kind of comes back and you can help them or they can help you with something in future.

So always worth trying to broaden out your network of people that you work with within your business and n- not al- not always just purely from a, a financial bottom line perspective. Sometimes it's just a, we could do some good things [00:24:00] together on a local basis so why not? 

Erica: Absolutely. 

Nick: Yeah. 

Erica: Actually, one of the things Becks and I talk about as you talk about collaboration, is when... and purpose is such a broad statement, but for some- ... businesses it's purely commercial, right? It's a tick box exercise. And I think that's often where there's not a joining, is when- when one, one business in the collaboration is purely there for the commercial tick box- Yeah ... almost greenwashing. They're not- Yeah ... quite there- No, Yeah ... and the other business is really into their purpose and that's where we often see that connection doesn't...

you can feel straight away when someone is not that into it. They're- just saying the words because they think that's what you want to hear. 

Becks: There's not the sparkle- or the energy, is it? 

Nick: I think, and you're right, it is that feel.

I think you do get a feel for that quite quickly when you haven't got that full alignment everyone running a business has to be, commercial to a point. That's a given. But you do get that sense of willingness to invest time in something that may take time to work on and build up, and I [00:25:00] think that's it.

Sometimes there's a sense that there'll be some immediate payback from this piece of activity as opposed to, you know what, yes, it might work, it might take some time, but this is just a good thing to do anyway. And I think trying to recognize the value that can create for your brand, it might be a bit intangible, but it will have value and it will help you to engage with a particular part of your customer base or whatever.

So yeah I think it's, it's you gotta get to know the organizations that you wanna work with and spend time talking about, your plans and ensuring that your values and your commitments are aligned. I think that probably is a common scenario where people have perhaps got a mismatch of levels of commitment around that element of purpose.

I do take a very pragmatic view on, purposeful/sustainable things though generally, which is, look, everyone's got a different driver for doing stuff. And sometimes it's really important, particularly if you do, consultancy advisory work as I do in different aspects of my kind of working week where there might be an outcome that you're keen to support an organization to achieve but the driver that they start [00:26:00] with may be different from perhaps what you might choose to have yourself.

But if the outcome can still be a positive outcome, then does it matter, it's a little bit like getting people started on sustainability initiatives. And if you can make a small step in the right direction, and you've got lots of organizations taking small steps, that's a great thing.

Nobody's perfect. Everybody's kind of learning. Different people will make different levels of commitment and draw a line on that balance of kind of effort versus immediate reward or return. But if something good happens, we should celebrate what that thing is- ... regardless, sure. So yeah, I think making sure that you're clear on the reasons why you're looking to collaborate and having those open conversations early on are important.

But yeah, it's all part of the fun of doing purposeful things in business, 

Erica: yeah. And I think this understanding the underlying driver of the person you're collaborating with and not assuming they're the same as yours- Yes ... right? 

Nick: Absolutely, yeah. 

Erica: You need to really make sure you're on the right page, because then you can [00:27:00] tick their boxes, right?

If you know this is what they're looking for, okay, how do I tick your boxes to still get what I'm looking for? Yeah. 'Cause if... I think a lot of the time people assume, oh, no you're on the same page as me, then, down the line find out, hold on, no we're not aligned at all. Yeah. 

Becks: And I think if there's those little easy wins that people can do, like you say, those little steps, it's gonna lead to more steps. Because once you start you can't stop- You can't stop ... so then you just keep on wanting to go and do more.

And I think as well for you being with the product-based and also physical based space that you can share with people, there's a lot more that you can go into sort of the details, like with materials that you're using- how you're powering it. And I know you did the transition, didn't you, from the glass bottles to the- ... tin. 

Nick: Yeah. 

Becks: How was that? 

Nick: So for me, this is all part of, we, we all recognize the power of storytelling, right? So people buy into stories and journeys and things that they can feel resonate with them and feel they can be part of.

And we saw that in quite a few different ways in the first few years of the business. So at the very start, we were very open about [00:28:00] who we were and what we were doing, why we were doing it. So on the 31st of May, 2021, forever etched on my mind we sold our very first beer commercially made. Middle of lockdown still, we had a little bit of respite 'cause it was summery weather and, we had a pop-up bar that we'd made out of- Old pallets, and we set up shop at some friends of ours who ran a hospitality business and, we were in the car park.

Had all the right licenses and things, but we were there- And the masks ... and we were, yeah. And we were selling beer and say, "Look, hey, this is us. We want to build something with a strong sense of place, with a strong sense of purpose. We think we've got a good product.

We think we, the brand's good. Tell us." And that was our year in 2021. It was doing a whole series of very, rough and ready pop-ups, but we were getting feedback. And then, we very much focused on the social media following, getting people to see what we were up to, where we were next.

And then in 2022, the story was, look, okay, now we've got a place of our own that we want to build something special. And look, it's pretty rough and ready. It's a barn. It's half full [00:29:00] of dangerous farm machinery with a few hay bales. Br- bring your kids down. You know what I mean? It was very much okay, so small steps in the right direction, but what we wanted to do was say, "Look we'd like to develop something that looks more established and pretty, but we don't wanna just go and build it- and then open the door. We want to get the feedback. And again, people liked following that story. They liked seeing- 

Erica: and growing with you, right? Yeah. 

Nick: Growing with you. Exactly 

Erica: that. Growing with you. I think people- Yeah ... like that. They like growing with you. 

Nick: And that then extended into our sustainability journey.

So as we started adding our production capability in and different technologies, we had stories to share, and we would use them through social media. We'd use it for impact reporting that we're doing. We'd use it for conversations we'd have with others in the sector businesses in the local area where you could try and share some practical stories about, wins that we had.

I think it helped us to build some really credible proposals for different grant funding that we were successful in receiving 'cause we could show this journey that we'd been on. It became an embedded part of the brewery tours that [00:30:00] I would do on a regular basis. So all of a sudden you can do sustainability with a small S, in the sense of look, people are here for a brewery tour, but you could drop in little facts about things that we'd just done just to nudge the bottom line cost impact for us and why it made sense even though, we're a very small producer in the grand scheme of things.

And what I found increasingly having done, most of those tours is that people really liked it, and these weren't sustainability enthusiasts coming for a sustainability tour. They were coming to probably drink as much beer as they could get for free from us and understand the story.

But as part of that story, it was absolutely the ability to share the small wins we had as a business and as this thing that they were clearly finding some connection with. And it didn't matter to me- why they came to be part of the story. All that matters- ... they wanted to connect with our story, and we had some interesting things to share.

And I was always surprised with people who went away with a real enthusiasm for, "Oh, I never really thought about that with a brewery," and, [00:31:00] "And that's really cool that you've done that, and actually it saved you money over here," and, "Why don't more breweries do this?" And if you got somebody thinking about all the stuff that goes round the ecosystem of the end product, you're onto a winner at that point because that's a mindset shift for people that, it goes beyond where does my product come from.

It goes into all those other things about the challenges of how that product is made. And I think the more you can get people to think about that, and in a nice relaxed setting obviously relaxed with a bit of beer in their hand as well. But, it's a really nice way to engage on some more serious topics, but actually in a way that people will probably feel a stronger connection with, I think.

And it's just fun. It's fun talking to people about these things as well.

Erica: If anyone listening to this could take away one thing from your journey and do this week, what would it be, Nick?

Nick: Be curious. Be curious and build connection. I think a big part of [00:32:00] purpose for me in life and in business is genuinely being interested in what people are doing and why they're doing it, and using that as a basis to learn. I think in business generally especially in the corporate world We're not great at listening- to each other. I think if people took time to listen more, to understand, rather than listening to wait to just jump in with the next thing that they want to say in some form of discourse, meeting, forum, whatever, I think the world might be a bit more of a tolerant place than it maybe currently feels.

And I think the importance of listening is still quite underrated, I would say. And curiosity is a starting point for that for me. Quite fresh in the mind having just come back from walking on the Camino where people from all over the world are there to meet interesting people and listen [00:33:00] and understand different perspectives, I think it's the bit that's resonating most strongly with me at the moment.

But that, I think, is the place that you can start with building that sense of purpose in, in, in what you do in life. Yeah. Slightly longer answer to- Love it ... a very short word, curiosity. Be curious, yes. 

Erica: Love that. 

Becks: Yeah.

On the purpose pin wheel we've got six sections. So we've got people, planet, processes, policies, profit, and performance. So we'll do a spin, and then ask you a question. See where you land.

Okay. So we've landed on processes. So what does purpose in processes mean to you?

Nick: Be clear on the why behind a, a process. So this could be something new you're building, designing for the first time, or it could be something that's embedded that you've maybe not paused and questioned. But I think when it comes to the way that things are being done, I think, again, it's back to that curiosity theme, really.

[00:34:00] It's being open-minded to question what's the reason that sits behind that, in terms of that particular thing in your business. So yeah, be clear on the why when it comes to embedded processes or maybe new processes that you're designing. 

Erica: Brilliant. Any last words you want to leave for our listeners?

Nick: Have fun exploring your own purpose in business. I think one of the most rewarding things for me personally in the last few years is probably spending more structured time just thinking about how my sense of purpose has evolved and how I'm being deliberate about the projects, initiatives I get involved in.

And there's something really satisfying about pausing and taking time to check back on that and how you're feeling about it, 'cause we're all busy people in life. I for one am not very good at slowing down, so embracing that chance to slow down and reflect on purpose and how I'm being [00:35:00] purposeful with what I do is something I always value when I do get the chance to do that.

So I think just, yeah, enjoy exploring how purpose can be more at the center of what you do in life and in business. It should be fun.

Erica: And where can people get hold of you if they'd like to know more? 

Nick: Get in touch with me on LinkedIn. I think I'm possibly the only person that I've come across in the UK with the title of chief beer officer, so if you search that then probably find me straight away.

But yeah, if not through LinkedIn, then drop me a line nick@cotswoldlakesbrew.co.uk. And you can find me on Instagram at nickcotswoldlakesbrewco if you'd like to follow my purposeful adventures in beer and elsewhere.

Erica: Thank 

Nick: you so much for joining us. It's been an absolute pleasure, Nick. Yeah. It's been really good fun. Thanks so much for having me. Really enjoyed the 

Becks: chat. 

Erica: Thank you. Yeah. Thanks, 

Becks: Becks. All right. We'll see you 

Nick: soon. Bye. Thanks, both. Take care. 

Becks: Take [00:36:00] care.