The Slice: Somerset

Talking with Cheryl Ford, CEO at The Quantock Brewery

• Lynne O'Halloran • Season 1 • Episode 7

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After losing her mother, Cheryl sat with her partner and her father to contemplate the future. Lucky for us all that, on the toss of a coin, they decided to work out their grief by setting up a microbrewery in the heart of Somerset. The Quantock Brewery was born and has flourished; nestled at the base of the hills after which it is named, Cheryl, Rob and Ken now employ a brewery team that has produced several award-winning ales including Will's Neck, Titanium and Sunraker. Cheryl talks candidly about how her passion for brewing evolved and the challenges and opportunities brought about by the COVID pandemic...and reveals some of her own personal passions too.

Find out more about Quantock Brewery www.quantockbrewery.co.uk
Find out more about the Somerset Bakehouse www.somersetbakehouse.co.uk

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Lynne O'Halloran:

Hello and welcome to The Slice. Each week I'll be eating a slice of something nice time to listen, relax and discover more about the people who are making Somerset life simply great. Shall we start with the cake?

Cheryl Ford:

I've got one of the most amazing cakes that you've brought me today because

Lynne O'Halloran:

I've got a Belgian bun thing I think. I picked these up at Riverside Bakery in

Cheryl Ford:

As soon as you got out the bag and you told me what it was, I knew I was gonna like

Lynne O'Halloran:

Good almond flavor actually. And it's huge.

Cheryl Ford:

That is awesome because they've got a good, that's the best tasting. that honestly,

Lynne O'Halloran:

My Bakewell -oving guest is Cheryl Ford Managing Director of Quantock Brewery foothills of which the brewery nestles and from where of course it takes its name. But the heart was in baking and she wanted to open a village bakery. But Rob was an engineer with a

Cheryl Ford:

So literally Lynne, the whole proper story is we sat around a table, I wanted to open a particular time, we went down the brewery route. Couldn't have been at a worse time really, 2007 and everything else! And then it just gradually started to grow and it's really difficult you can

Lynne O'Halloran:

I guess winning that initial award must have been a huge boost?

Cheryl Ford:

It makes people sit up a little bit and I suppose then the business started to turn done that, I wasn't interested in doing it at the time. It was one of those things where, well you

Lynne O'Halloran:

So did you find that you enjoyed?

Cheryl Ford:

Really funny cos then I really did and I didn't realize what actually goes into bills and going to do some banking in Taunton. We'd gone to Wetherspoon's and there was this can taste a bit and you think I'm gonna make that, but its a bit like you saying and now this my

somebody else less:

James. It was obvious by that time that the unit was getting too small. Rob's really interested in trains, he's is a bit of a geek, obviously. I mean, I love steam trains. direct, we needed to, you know, bring more into the business, rather than having the middleman all and come into the brewery and buy some beers and everything else.

Lynne O'Halloran:

And Rob was in heaven?

Cheryl Ford:

Rob was drooling! Close your mouth, there's a bus coming! But it was financial. It was to literally strip our savings, strip our pension pots. Flip the coin, heads came up. And here we when you go downstairs now, and for the fact that here we are seven years on, and we're running out know, drifting, but there was nothing coming in. So James then ran and carried on brewing over at

Lynne O'Halloran:

Your branding is all about the outdoors. It's about the hills.

Cheryl Ford:

It's rooted in the heart of Somerset, we've always pushed the Somerset brand. I think

Lynne O'Halloran:

Yeah, I moved from London to Somerset and I mean, I wasn't raised in London,

Cheryl Ford:

It's so beautiful really because it really is beautiful. It was only just sort of like where I was brought up this is like.... We obviously like to push the local aspects you know, if you are visiting Somerset you want a point on the Quantocks. Quantock Ale, Quantock Stout, Royal Stag. So we've had quite a lot, hop again, it's all about flavor. It's always about that. We're always wanting to go that little turns, and then literally, we transfer it over to the fermentation and then we add fruit. And then

Lynne O'Halloran:

And so Rob has had to kind of move with the times?

Unknown:

Yeah, we actually made a beer called 'Rob doesn't like sours'! And it was one of the most

Lynne O'Halloran:

Yeah, just like you said at the beginning that, you know, there's something about

Unknown:

Yeah, people are looking for new all the time, they want something different, so you know,

Lynne O'Halloran:

So there's a lot of focus on knowing what's going on in the marketplace and

Unknown:

You've got to be true to yourself. You've got to be true to what we want to do. There's lots We'd gone to BeerEx, it's like a massive convention, which is run by CIBA which is an were literally stood there talking. It was really weird...and then they put the telly on and then market had just been wiped from us.

Lynne O'Halloran:

And right on the back of winning an amazing award. Because you must have thought you were, you know, moving closer and closer to success with winning

Cheryl Ford:

Yeah, we were we were talking about our beer festival, you know, which is the biggest Yes. And we were one of the only brewers to have done that, because we'd won that back in 2012 bed and I sat at the bottom of my bed with my head in my hands thinking what are we gonna do? and sobbed for about a couple of minutes. I don't normally admit that; they're all going to be

Lynne O'Halloran:

So right on the back of winning one of the biggest awards in the UK beer industry

Unknown:

Our e commerce, I mean it's a wonder it didn't go pop and go on fire! The actual website

Lynne O'Halloran:

So you'd always had the online offer, but all of a sudden people were really

Cheryl Ford:

Yeah, it was just literally crazy. There was the horrible furlough, that was, you You're off furlough! Then I bought Teresa back because I needed someone to man the phones because less instantly, within the first two weeks. But then when the Tap Room came back, I don't think we

Lynne O'Halloran:

It really got busy then? Everyone was ready to embrace it?

Cheryl Ford:

Yes, everybody was allowed out. Yeah. So I think it was all about us having a And obviously you're serving wine and gin and all that too? straight from the source and you can't get our beer any fresher. People can experience the trying to do is when you talk about, you know, like local communities and everything else, I Yes, yes, all that is behind the bar and that's all local. So when you're talking about local, we to make a lager so there would be different things. We have our own cider. So it's just trying

Lynne O'Halloran:

So the larger's brewed here?

Cheryl Ford:

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. We've made it a dozen times and it's now like nectar! It's

Lynne O'Halloran:

The brewery Tap Room existed before COVID. But as the lockdown restrictions

Cheryl Ford:

We've had Sri Lankan, Jamaican Nepalese, Italian, Mexican, Indian, all sorts of electricity, outside water.

Lynne O'Halloran:

So on a hot Friday evening then, how many customers would you get?

Cheryl Ford:

Our busiest Friday has been 580 covers. It's so humbling for me, I'll be sitting We do a lot of things for charity. Papyrs is a prevention of young suicide charity; we choose a Against Violence. We always try to pick something that's close to us. So Dan, who's my lead brewer, stood next to you with the biggest smile on their face, but noone knows what you're going through.

Lynne O'Halloran:

And that's a local charity is it? I've not hear of Papyrus.

Cheryl Ford:

We hadn't heard of Papyrus. To be honest, it's one of those charities, isn't it?

Lynne O'Halloran:

So so they work with people and families?

Cheryl Ford:

Yes, supporting families and talking to people and classes and everything. So we've come in on a trivia night, £2 or £3 a head and they take all that and can do a raffle and we you I will say this on your podcast, there's the dreaded dry January... I think what people don't ordering hops and grain from my hop merchant. And you know, it has a whole effect on a business

Lynne O'Halloran:

So it doesn't have that that knock on effect?

Cheryl Ford:

Yeah, it's a huge effect for us. So we're then battling through. January and February

Lynne O'Halloran:

So you want people to drink moderately through out January and February!

Cheryl Ford:

Year, and carry on with sensible drinking, I'm always for drinking sensibly,

Lynne O'Halloran:

But if you're drinking a quality product, then you wabt to enjoy the taste.

Cheryl Ford:

I truly don't think, honestly, we've never had any trouble with anything downstairs.

Lynne O'Halloran:

One thing I'd like to know, Cheryl, is you know, the process that you go

Cheryl Ford:

We'll sit around the table talking, we're very, very team orientated. I'd like to

Lynne O'Halloran:

You looking for feedback!

Cheryl Ford:

Yes, I'd like your feedback but no, I don't agree! But no, honestly, it's very, very ask people to write something down. think of a name for beer. When we're looking at new beer, no do and their drive and they get really, really well you know, let's do this, lets do that! So happening, that's how it's getting out there, people are trying these. So we still got a core stout, and it used to taste really sweet. So yes, we've just made a milk stout, so this is going to That's one of my favorite films, is Jaws. I love it I just really do. But years ago, I remember this tiny little 8 barrel and you know what, guys, we're get really busy, now we're gonna need a overall UK keg, and it came back. So we went from an eight barrel plant and we're now on a 20 maize. So we're trying to really do our best, you know, obviously, you can imagine our energy bill, wouldn't and it's not going to be massive, but we have to because if we don't we won't survivor as a

Lynne O'Halloran:

So what do you hope for the next three to five years in terms of your business?

Cheryl Ford:

Definitely, definitely, without a shadow of doubt, we're gonna be doing some expanding the Tap Room a little bit more. Ideally, for me, I'd like to then expand our tap rooms so a it's brilliant. You can walk from one end to the other! And then that might be the right time to

Lynne O'Halloran:

Something like your your sort of personal Desert Island Discs?!

Cheryl Ford:

I did that in lockdown,m di you do that thing in lockdown where you pick your albums? lost my mom and that. He can tell a story through the words of what what he sings about. I find that

Lynne O'Halloran:

Well you just need to get that into the calendar then. But there's always,

Cheryl Ford:

I swear to God as a product itself, so many challenges. There's been a lot of exciting you're listening by local, you know, come out to the brewery come and see us. But you know, when

Lynne O'Halloran:

Is there anything, you know, obviously, you've said you're very rooted in

Cheryl Ford:

More support for hospitality places. I'm really excited obviously, for the things that the economy eases , you don't want to have it so you're walking around town and there isn't support hospitality.

Lynne O'Halloran:

Aside from your own beers, are there one or two local brewers who you'd recommend

Cheryl Ford:

Yes, try out Utopian brewery, they're not very far from here. So if you're saying within it really unique and different. It's a nice place to visit as well. There's the New Bristol brewery, good traditional better, this is a real rounded bear and putting that in a can. And that's really

Lynne O'Halloran:

So Cheryl, final question. What makes the ultimate pint?

Cheryl Ford:

To me an ultimate pint is... you've got to have consistency. So to consistently keep about it. I'm so proud of what they do, and how meticulous they are about what they do. But

Lynne O'Halloran:

Yeah, yeah. Fantastic to speak to you Cheryl and the ethos that you've got for

Cheryl Ford:

Come and visit! Yes come down to the Tap Room.

Lynne O'Halloran:

Well, that's what you need from the local community most isn't it? Keep drinking

Cheryl Ford:

Yeah, regularly and sensibly.

Lynne O'Halloran:

Thank you for listening to The Slice, the show for lovers of Somerset where I www.pixelbay for the music.