Microbrewery Small Batch Brewing Co launches in Runcorn

That was a big part of the inspiration for the 46-year-old’s journey from a home brewer to the founder of Small Batch Brewing Co.

The Runcorn resident started making his own beers about nine years ago when he bought a caravan to travel around Wales and the Lake District with family.

Daniel liked the idea of summers spent drinking his own beers on the beach and had always been a hands-on and DIY kind of person so had little trouble learning how to brew from scratch.

His day job running chemical plants also gave him the mindset and aptitude needed to experiment with beer styles in his tiny brewhouse at the bottom of the garden.

“My first beers were ‘SMASH’ beers,” said Daniel.

“One grain and one hop, purely to learn the flavours each hop gave. I started off with can kits and did them for about a year but then started to look at all grain.

"I decided to try a brew-in-a-bag and was hooked and the very next week I ended up buying a ‘grainfather’ (an all-in-one system for craft brewing). I’m still learning now, it’s the process and the experimental side I love.”

Since then, brewing has grown from a hobby to a passion project for Daniel – particularly in the past two years with friends and family encouraging him to take the plunge in launching his one-man operation on a commercial level.

“Starting the brewery was a bucket list thing,” added Daniel. “I didn’t want to get too old and wonder for the rest of my life.”

So far, Daniel has 12 recipes he is ‘happy with’ after many experiments with hops and yeast profiles.

And his first two cans to hit bottle shops are New England IPA, Saturation 7, and chocolate porter, Centuries. It is worth noting that this has all been going on while the dad-of-three has been balancing full time work commitments and family life – not to mention a global pandemic.

Daniel, who enjoys St Austell and Oakham beers but has also recently been inspired by craft breweries Verdant and Mobberley Brewhouse, said: “It’s a weird time to start up a business but, to be honest, I’ve been thinking about it for a very long time and it just couldn’t wait any longer.

"Family and friends were urging me to do it so I took the plunge. I feel like a very small fish in a very big pond but to be honest I’ve not thought about the pandemic – I’ve just kept my eye on the end goal.

“How busy I am has definitely gone up a notch since going commercial though. I do spend a lot more hours in the brewery but I’m lucky enough to have a lot of time off with the job so I still get plenty of time with the family.”

As for Small Batch’s style, ‘variety is the spice of life’. Daniel is conscious of the huge popularity of hazy beers, and as he is as much of a fan as anyone else. His New England IPA, Fruit Salad Waterfall, for example is one of his most tried and tested recipes.

But at the moment he is looking at sessionable beers to add to the roster including a pale ale and Munich helles lager. Daniel has also recently been intrigued by the possibilities of Sabro hops and wants to use them in a dark beer.

He added: “I was taken aback of how strange the hop is, I was getting lots of cream and coconut mixed with a tropical vibe. I think cream and coconut would be great in a stout – weird but wonderful. But in the meantime I would like to master sours. I actually kegged my first sour the other day which is a work in progress.

“What I like most about brewing is the little things you can change or the equipment you can add to alter the outcome of the beer for the better. I actually still get excited on brew day.

"I don’t think that will ever change. The creative side has always been there, especially with all these new hop varieties and ingredients. The toughest thing is actually having the guts to try out new things as brewers don’t like putting beer down the drain!”

At the moment, Small Batch Brewing Co very much lives up to its name with between 65 and 80 cans produced per batch in his self-built brewery, which you would be forgiven for mistaking for a rather fancy looking shed. Daniel is keeping it small and steady to start with.

He has built relationships with nearby bottle shops, such as Anchor and Hops in Stockton Heath and Beer Heroes in Chester, and he is getting a premises licence so he can sell directly to the public.

In the not-too-distant future, Daniel also hopes to add four 200-litre fermenters to his brew kit to help ramp up production as he currently only brews two batches a month. That, plus a cooling system he has in mind, would totally max out his space.

What happens after that? Well, if demands grows who knows. But it is not something Dan likes to think about too much. After all, he is still getting used to being a commercial brewer.

He said: “Full time for the brewing would be great but to be honest not essential – I just want to make great beer for great people. This has been a dream for a long time and, after a crazy year, it still feels very surreal that my beers will be in bottle shops. It’s a proud moment but it won’t feel real until I’m in stood in the shop and see them there.”

Dan is working on a web shop to sell and send out his cans direct to beer lovers by March 20. In the meantime, you can buy Small Batch Brewing Co beers at Anchor and Hops in Stockton Heath or order them from craftbrothers.co.uk