Celebrating Six Years of Craft Beer, Challenges, and Growth
/As our sixth birthday rapidly approaches, we at Heist Brew Co. feel it's a good time to look back on our journey so far.
In 2016, Adam and Dan were working in call centre management and had become disenchanted with their current career paths. Although carving out a business from scratch seemed daunting, the growth of the craft beer industry in the UK presented an opportunity for a niche to form, and plans began to take shape.
heist brew co clowne venue
Construction began in 2017 on our first venue in Clowne, Derbyshire, with the initial goal of opening a bar in a growing village that specialized in craft beer, filling a gap in the market for a premium offering. On April 7th, 2017, after months of construction, we opened to the public and received an enthusiastic local response, quickly becoming one of the busiest venues in the area.
From the outset, we had a vision to bring production on-site, and in November 2018, we brewed our first commercial beer, Pirate Material, a 6% milk stout that became part of our initial core range. Over the next 12 months, we worked tirelessly to perfect our product offering, leading to the realisation that we needed to expand beyond our current premises. The search for a second venue began.
In August 2019, we signed the contract to take on our current home at 107 Neepsend Lane. Although the building was in disrepair, we knew it would provide the space and potential to grow the brand and future-proof our plans. Little did we know what was about to happen next.
work begins at 107 neepsend lane
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the UK went into its first lockdown. The week before, the roof had been taken off our new site to install the new cladding, halting all work and leaving the venue open to the elements until November 2020, when work resumed. Our plan to open in time for Euro 2020 was thwarted by delays, including a flood risk assessment that was a sticking point due to our proximity to the River Don. During this period, we were unable to operate and brewed only on our 60l pilot kit while hosting online events.
airtight and watertight; making progress
Despite these challenges, we continued to push forward. In June 2021, we expanded our team from two owners and two part-time staff to a bar manager, seven taproom staff, and three brewing staff. Since our opening in August 2021, our brewing operations have tripled, and sales have grown significantly thanks to the wonderful people of Sheffield as well as our domestic and export customers. Although we've faced challenges, the future looks bright, and we're currently making plans to expand our brewhouse to 30HL (from 8HL) to grow the business and fulfil our export commitments, which we've had to dial back due to domestic growth.
heist brew co. sheffield launch
In 2023, we're anticipating further growth with more exciting products (not all beer-related!), community-focused events, and great times down at the taproom!
heist sixth birthday lineup
Fancy joining us for our sixth birthday celebrations? We are launching a three beer release (Troika) in collaboration with Meltum (Bulgaria) and White Stork (Bulgaria), as well as an after hours party (free tickets below) and a US tap takeover, featuring beers from Hudson Valley, Finback, Hidden Springs, Other Half and more!