Ever wonder about how Eight Arch Brewing came to be? Curious about the creation of your favorite beers at Eight Arch? Let’s dive in with the man behind it all: Steve, not only a crucial part of our team but also the founder of Eight Arch Brewery!
Get to know him better and see why he’s passionate about bringing top-quality beers to your favorite glass…
Behind the Arches: A Q&A with Steve
Amidst Steve’s long list of to-dos, we sat down with him to find out a little more about Eight Arch and how it all started. None of us would be here without him, and more importantly, we wouldn’t be enjoying the beer! So, what better way than to have a quick Q&A with him and learn about him and Eight Arch Brewery.
Q1: Tell us a bit about yourself. What inspired you to start the brewery?
“I’m from Wimborne and have lived here all my life, so I was only ever going to open the brewery here! I’ve been married to Ellie for over 10 years and we have two children aged 13 & 8. I love football and have supported Manchester United forever. My son and I also go to every AFC Bournemouth home game and try to attend a few away games each season. I started brewing around 2011 with extract kits before moving onto all grain. I fully got bitten by the brewing bug and decided to start Eight Arch in 2013.”
Q2: What was the biggest challenge you faced when starting the brewery, and how did you overcome it?
“I guess it was the normal startup issues such as finding suitable premises, sourcing brewing equipment that was right for me, and dealing with all the other bits like HMRC and planning. I just got my head down and started to tick off all the jobs.”
Q3: Can you describe a typical day in your life at the brewery?
“Now my day-to-day involves mainly dealing with the paperwork side of things: invoicing, brew sheets, accounts, and you can’t forget risk assessments! I’m also behind the bar at our taproom on Fridays.”
Q4: What was the first batch of beer you ever brewed as “Eight Arch Brewery”?
“The first beer was the original version of Parabolic (4.5% pale ale) brewed with Ahtanum and Columbus hops. It was called Prototype 1. We’ve been asked many times to brew it again….”
Q5: Best moment (So far)?
“Blimey, there have been so many! I’d probably have to pick a few which would be: selling our first beer, winning SIBA National overall small pack champion in 2020, winning SIBA South West overall cask champion in 2023, and seeing so many happy faces every week at our taproom.”
Q6: Who would you most want to have a beer with? (Past or Present)?
“I’ve said this in interviews before, but I’d love to sit down with George Best over a beer. He finished playing football before I was born, but I would love to have had a chance to chat about his career and what it felt like to be a part of an amazing Man Utd team.”
Q7: Plans for the future?
“Keep brewing! We’ve only just moved into our new premises, so it would be great to see people continue enjoying our beers, and hopefully, we can get some new ones out.”
Need to know the taste behind the man, with the sun finally shining and not only have we just freshly packaged Dainty our New England IPA ready to refresh you, we’re offering a special 10% discount across the webstore! In honour of the man of the hour and perfect start to your summer!
USE CODE – STEVE10
Hurry, quantities are limited and this offer expires on Sunday 23rd June at 11:59pm!