Interview: Brewgooder - working to create good beer and a better planet

As part of Bdaily’s focus for International beer day, we hear from Brewgooder’s co-founder, James Hughes. With a mission statement to create a positive impact on the world, Brewgooder is a brewery who’ve set their sights on more than just brewing beer.

The company was founded back in 2016 by James and fellow beer enthusiast Alan Mahon, they have gone from strength to strength, now having a team of 15 working together to create good beer and a better planet. “we launched back in 2016. With the belief that beer could be a force for good idea every can and pint enjoyed could make a tangible positive difference in the world.

“The majority of people will know us for our work within clean water and sanitation, which is so fundamental to that overall mission of people being able to live a good life. We’ve been on this journey that’s seen us go from nothing to the best part of 8 million pints of Brewgooder are enjoyed by drinkers up and down the country. But most importantly, is the impact that that’s enabled. It has been transformative for upwards of 160,000 people.”

“We’ve funded over 150 different projects through our international partner called Charity Water. And that’s helped to provide upwards of 150 million litres of water to communities across the multiple countries.”

Their work hasn’t just helped people internationally. Discussing their initiatives closer to home James added, “just very recently, we launched a new product into Co Op stores with an online recipe platform, Twisted. And that’s a beer that’s effectively brewed and designed to pair with their recipes. But they’re really important purpose of that initiative, is that every every four pack, sold and enjoyed helps to provide families across the UK with affordable access to fresh foods.”

As a company which clearly puts ethics at the centre of everything they do, its no surprise that they were the first Scottish brewery to recieve a B-Corp accreditation. “(ethics) have been front and centre for us in terms of doing our best to evolve the status quo and to try and move things forward regarding kind of how business can be done,” said James.

However, like many industries recently, new strains have impacted how the company has had to operate. The pandemic and it’s subsequent lockdowns have undoubtedly reshaped the drinks industry.

“During lockdown on online sales coupled with really strong support from from our drinkers, in terms of our retail presence meant that we were able to get through. I think since lockdown things reverted quite aggressively, in terms of people wanting to get out of the house more. So we really just thought our best with extremely limited resource in terms of reacting to these behavioural changes and on reflection, you know, our team has done a superb job.”

Brewgooder is also set to be a headline sponsor for live comedy and entertainment producer, Gilded Balloon during this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival. James commented: “We are thrilled to be supporting Gilded Balloon as their headline sponsor during this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The entertainment industry has faced a difficult few years and we’re proud to be part of what will be the biggest Fringe we’ve had in a long time.

“Our mission is all about sharing good times and supporting others through beer, and what better way to celebrate this year than partnering with one of Scotland’s most iconic cultural venues.”

To conclude the interview, I asked James what he believes the future of Brewgooder looks like. He remarked that: “I think the future looks very bright, which is great. We’re really excited for the next next couple of years.

“And I think it’s ultimately a brand that can scale from both a beer point of view and a social impact point of view and be far greater than we ever originally envisaged. So I think that’s really exciting to witness and be a part of over the next couple of years.”

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