Buzz Lightbeer
Matt Howgate
Buzz Lightbeer
Brewery: Vocation
Position: Head Brewer
Time at Vocation: 2 years
Annual hL: 30,000
Core range: Our core range consists of Bread & Butter, Heart & Soul, Pride & Joy, Life & Death and Love & Hate
Primary market: We supply most of the major, national retailers in the UK, along with an ever-growing free trade across the UK and into Export.
How long have you been brewing? I have worked in the brewing industry for 10 years, working for both large multinationals and small independent breweries.
What’s the first beer you ever brewed? My first ever brew was a 4.8% Dark Mild, called Midnight Bell made at Leeds Brewery.
Besides contribution to the brewing community, why did you want to apply to Project X? I wanted to be part of Project X to grow my understanding about the whole process of hop production from the field to the brewhouse.
What beer styles do you generally brew? At Vocation we generally brew hop forward beers focusing on bold and punchy flavours.
How many people are in your team? We have a team of 23 at the brewery, which is made up of 7 in the brewery, 7 at head office, and 9 in the packaging hall
What is your brewery’s message? Brewing bold beers from our hilltop in Hebden Bridge and pouring punchy pints from our very own taprooms. We’re resolutely in the business of setting standards, not following trends. We punch above our weight by putting good beer into good people’s fridges, never courting credibility we just let our hop forward, unapologetic beers do the talking. Our core collection is a constant to always come back to, while we show our creative flare through limited editions. We put our heart and soul into every brew – it’s not life and death but it’s up there. We listen to our drinkers, we still make beer for us as much for as we do for them, and we still only brew beer we’re proud to put our name on. It’s still our Vocation.
Who are your current suppliers? We use suppliers from all over the world to source the best ingredients possible, we are constantly searching for the best ingredients possible to make allow us to make the beers we want to produce. We are lucky enough to already work with some of the best people from the best suppliers into the brewing industry.