THE AMAZING BIRTH OF A NEW BREWERY

STROUD LAUNCH: PAGES 30&31

Growing up in remote parts of the world, Greg Pilley came to understand how social drinking was often the catalyst for bringing people together in rural communities. His interest in beer grew alongside a passion for the environment until inevitably he started his own business producing organic beer. As Stroud Brewery opened the doors on its new premises this week, he told Sue Smith how it all started

FOR a real ale fan, the idea of owning a craft brewery is a bit like a child dreaming of having their own sweet shop.

But while the fantasy for most people remains just that, Greg Pilley has not only turned it into a reality but a runaway success, due in no small part to the unwavering support of his local community.

In 2006 having just arrived in the Five Valleys and with his first child on the way, Greg launched the Stroud Brewery on an industrial area, just off the London Road.

And this week after outgrowing its original premises, the brewery moved into its spanking new £1.9 million home, 300 yards away from the old site, created with money raised locally and ethically.

A victim of its own success, the brewery had been bursting at the seams for a while, so when a patch of wasteland came up for sale next door, Greg grabbed it.

When he first started the business, he was brewing entirely by himself but he now employs more than 20 people. A crowd funder last summer launched with ethical bank Triodos, saw £300,000 pour in within just a few days, with many people left disappointed that they had not been able to invest.

The ecologically designed industrial building officially opened its doors to a fanfare on Wednesday and Greg is hoping this move will meet the needs of the business long term.

“I am certainly hoping it is going to see me well into my retirement,” he says.

When Greg started the business there were only six other local craft breweries and 700 in the country. Now there are 45 in Gloucestershire and 2,500 nationally.

“There’s never been a better time to be a drinker,” he says as he recalls the leap of faith that led him to start up the brewery.

Greg had enjoyed an expatriate childhood in remote villages in Argentina, Iran and Jordan while his father worked as an engineer and it was during those formative years that he began to observe the role alcohol plays in rural communities.

“I have always had a bit of a disproportionate interest in beer. When I lived abroad, I became very aware that social drinking is often the catalyst of the community,” he says.

After a degree in marine biology at Swansea University, Greg worked for various conservation organisations in the UK and overseas, later becoming a VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) Project Manager helping to protect elephants in the Yankari National Park in Nigeria.

But eventually he traded the elephants to research the alcoholic beverages of Africa. With each African country developing its own beer, Greg had a passion to explore and see how these beers were produced and the social context in which they were drunk.

In a twist of good fortune, he persuaded Guinness Brewing Worldwide to back him, and his partner at the time, to travel the African continent researching how each variety of beer reflects the geography and climate of each country.

“I still can’t believe we pulled that off. Someone obviously rescued that proposal out of the wastepaper bin. We honestly couldn’t believe our luck,” says Greg.

Managing to eke out the £15,000 payment over four years and subsidising their living costs by updating sections of the Rough Guide to Africa, he says it was an amazing adventure.

A stint on a Kibbutz and a fish farm followed until Greg returned to the UK 20 years ago and began working for the Soil Association in Bristol.

At the time there were no farmers’ markets and Greg pioneered the organic veg box scheme, landing him the job of writing a technical guide for the Soil Association. It also became the blueprint for how farmers’ markets could run.

“My own destiny has always been managed by me. My background has centred around projects with all of my work self-created – the common link being the landscape and the environment,” says Greg.

Back then with fatherhood looming, Greg and his partner, Jade, decided to move out of the city and into Stroud.

“The prospect of family life was a bit daunting but at the same time it drove me to wanting to create something that would give us a financial future,” he says.

There had previously been a brewery in Stroud which had fallen by the wayside but Greg was not daunted in his hopes to bring a brewery back to the town.

“I became a bit possessed by the idea at the time and I was spurred on by the amazing support we got from the community about the idea. Everyone at the time seemed genuinely excited about Stroud Brewery being in Stroud again,” he says.

Within two months of opening, the brewery’s launch brew, Budding, was awarded Champion Beer of Gloucestershire at the Cotswold Beer Festival.

The creation Budding is a nod to Edwin Budding, one of Stroud’s favourite sons who invented the lawnmower and the beer is described as having “a grassy bitterness with a floral finish”.

The idea that locals should be able to go along and try the beers was soon born and originally there was