Rob's Beer Adventure

 Welcome to Rob's beer adventure, the continuation of Rob's beer quest. 

Four years is a long time to be away from blogging and since the days of Rob's Beer Quest much has changed. The world of beer has moved on. I have moved on, and the blogging world has moved on. So much like how Gandalf the Grey later came back as Gandalf the White; the Rob from Rob's Beer Quest is back as the Rob of Rob's Beer Adventure.  Covering a completely new chapter of life conquests, new beginnings and... Beer.

For starters the new Rob is a happily separated co-parent who lives alone,  has slightly more diverse cooking skills, an allotment and a different perspective on life. I also have a (not so) new girlfriend called Susan who has a similar role in my life to that of beer; in the general sense she makes the world a better place.

Life is very much like beer; it's what you make of it

In even bigger news the workplace of Daleside Brewery, where I previously worked has moved site. The run down ageing former premises of the Daleside Brewery that was have been vacated. The contents sold, scrapped or salvaged after 30 odd years on the same site on the east side of Harrogate. The game-changing takeover was made by our old friends and fellow local independent brewing stalwarts Roosters brewing Co. Making Daleside now a sister brand of Roosters, brewed on the same premises. 

At the time this was revealed by the press a lot of outsiders had questions. One of the main ones being what we the staff made of it all? Brewery buy-outs/takeovers/mergers come in different shapes and sizes and with this one the staff reaction was positive in entirety. Many of us already knew and had even previously worked with each other. Furthermore everyone at Daleside knew the company needed change for a long time. 

The status quo working for Daleside always remained the same. Like one of those zombie action movies where after so much futile struggle, the inevitable end game is running out of ammo before everyone eventually gets eaten by the zombies. Don't get me wrong the brewing business is not easy especially not in recent times, and the former shareholders did well to keep things going as long as they did.  

But doomed to a very uncertain failure. Staff numbers dwindling. Premises, brew kit and equipment all withering with age. Staff... also withering with age. 

This set the scene for the revelations of spring 2024 to unfold almost like the end scene of the film Top Gun Maverick. The Daleside team was basically stranded in the hijacked outdated relic F14 tomcat. Out of ammo and hunted by endless maintenance and repair bills. Then out of seemingly nowhere rescued from the brink. 

Daleside are down wind. With no second driver or front roller shutter door.

The parody version of this scene may be in my own imagination but the relief and commoraderie were almost as real and in a metaphorical sense so was the collateral damage to the runway (after all the amalgamation of two breweries was never going to be that straight forward). 

 

But working at Roosters has been a completely different experience in itself. To quote Daleside's lead dray man/distribution master Col; whilst surrounded by the modern brew kit, packaging equipment, shiny vessels, touch screen technology and the abundance of young people.

"it feels like being a rock star" 

It's not dark and dingy, the ceiling doesn't leak in various places when it rains. There aren't bits of kit that are simply impossible to repair because the parts manufacturer ceased to exist twenty years ago. Entering Rooster's is truly entering the world of modern day craft brewing. 

Now that's what I'm talking about

Nine gallon bundles of beery joy being filled for the customer

The modern world of craft brewing yes. Except, there is one significant point of individuality worth mentioning. Roosters are by many peoples standards a very old brewery, alongside Daleside one of the oldest in the local area. Where Daleside never wavered from it's vision, Rooster's remained determined to be both modern day pioneers and committed to maintaining the foundations to make that a reality.

 

 Yet despite all the modernisation the thing that has became obvious over my time getting to know  Roosters, is that it never detached itself from it's roots. After all, the romance and quaintness of the traditional micro-brewing scene was never a bad thing, or anything that needed to be replaced.