How did you get into the world of beer? The beauty of the sector is that we’ve all come into it from different backgrounds, with different perspectives and with different stories to tell.

For Edd Simpson, he has a wealth of expertise from the world of music, teaching and also the wine industry. Qualifications and lived experience that he draws upon as managing director of two Yorkshire brewing powerhouses.

Edd is the managing director of Ossett Brewery and Salt Beer Factory. Running a brewing business is challenging enough, but he oversees a unique dynamic: managing a 28-year-old, well-established traditional cask regional brewer in Ossett, alongside Salt, a fast-growing, nationally recognised craft brand. Businesses he and the team have helped unify in recent years.

At Ossett, the business is experiencing ongoing success with its flagship cask beer White Rat, while the newer White Rat Nitro is a creamy serve using White Rat’s cask recipe, but kegged and dispensed using nitrogen.

And at SALT, its session IPA Alpacalypse produced in partnership with distributor Molson Coors, has gone from strength-to-strength since launching in January 2025.

Since joining the brewing businesses, founded by industry powerhouse Jamie Lawson, Edd has relished the role of running and helping develop the Yorkshire brewing group.

In this episode, we speak to Edd about his career to-date and how the opportunity to help run such a regarded brewing institution was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. We discuss the company’s success with cask beer, alongside its recent foray into nitro, and how Alpacalypse continues to perform incredibly strongly for the brewery.

Edd also outlines how the UK should do more collectively to celebrate the brilliant beers being made by the brilliant breweries this industry has to offer.

In Exeter’s buoyant and thriving beer scene, consumers are showing an appetite for best-in-class beers that span the style spectrum.

And at Topsham Brewery, this local business is showing why fresh, sessionable beers can lead to sustainable growth, an excellent reputation and lots of happy drinkers.

Under the guidance of head brewer Jamie Duffield, he and the team are presented with a welcome challenge. And that’s how to keep up with demand for their brewery-fresh beers served at the brewery and taproom in Exeter Quay.

At their flagship venue, these beers are served direct from the serving tanks. So that means creating approachable, accessible beers that keep you coming back for more.

And that’s exact what they’re doing. With expansion underway, Topsham is demonstrating that connecting with the consumer and your community is all-important when creating a successful business.

The Green Goddess in Blackheath was named SIBA’s City Pub of the Year, just four years after it opened. Its landlords, Maryann and Stephen O’Conner, have focussed on building a community of beer lovers and locals, and a new South London tradition has been key to achieving this.

On a Saturday this July, an old London Routermaster pub made its way between four South London bars. The bus tour, known as Shirk, Rust and Pray, takes customers between two branches of the Rusty Bucket, in Bexley and Eltham; the Shirker’s Rest, in New Cross; and the Green Goddess in Blackheath. The bus is driven for much of the journey by Stephen O’Connor of the Green Goddess. And the event drives trade to all of the pubs…