Welcome to the latest episode of Desert Island Beers which this week features Rob Tod, Founder and Brewer of Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine, USA.

Rob’s interest in brewing began when he worked for Otter Creek Brewery in Vermont after graduating from College. While working at Otter Creek he sampled many styles of beer and was struck by the inventiveness and depth of Belgian beers. Though Belgian styles were scarcely heard of in the U.S.A. at the time, Rob knew that if people could experience them, they would love them.

Rob established Allagash in 1994 as a 15 barrel brewery and sold his first batch of beer in the summer of 1995, beginning his venture with the release of the award winning Allagash White, which he modeled after the traditional Wit beers of Belgium.  (more…)

This weeks Desert Island Beers features beer lover and eccentric Richard Chennells. Born and bred in Zululand, South Africa, Richard has worked extensively in the tourism industry for SA and did a brew masters course through The American Brewers Guild.

He worked in the UK for The London Stock Exchange, Barclays Capital and finished in 2005 at The Bank of America. After brewing school in the USA in 2005, he went home, bought a family hotel and with his brother Graham established the Zululand Brewing Co. in Eshowe, Zululand.

In 2010 Richard was invited to brew Zululand Brewery’s flagship beer Zulu Blonde Ale at Marston’s Brewery for the JDW International Real Ale Festival. Of the 50 ales in the festival Zulu Blonde was voted number 1. Richard was then invited back to the UK to brew a further 120,000 pints of Zulu Blonde but this time at Everards’s brewery to supply the pub chain in time for the World Cup Kick off. Richard has been invited back again to the Real Ale Festival in 2012 and the brewery is launching ZB in bottles in late 2012. (more…)

Welcome to the seventh ‘episode’ of our all new co-produced Desert Island Beers which features Jeff Pickthall. Inspired by the beers of America’s West Coast, and intent on spreading the word about the breadth of style and flavour beyond “industrially produced alcoholic mineral water that passes for lager”, Jeff Pickthall and brother Steve set up Microbar in London, pioneering the term craft beer and creating one of the first havens of eclectic beer choice in the UK.

Having sold Microbar and moved back up north, Jeff works as a freelance marketing advisor in the beer industry. Jeff has judged at many beer events from the dizzy heights of the 2004 Great American Beer Festival to the inaugural Lancashire Cup where he is Chief Judge. Jeff has written for The Guardian, What’s Brewing and Beers of the World, as well as contributing to 1001 Beers To try Before You Die and The Hairy Bikers 12 Days of Christmas. (more…)