Beer Hour: Lotte Peplow
Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American craft beer ambassador for Europe, tells Jessica Mason about her experience within the beer sector, the challenges and trends that are changing it and the education and advice that has shaped her perspective along the way.
Peplow works for the Brewers Association, a trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers. As part of the trade body’s export development programme her role is to create opportunities for international expansion and market development of American craft beer. To educate and inform the sector about it and to promote the quality and variety of beer styles from America’s small and independent craft brewers.
The Brewers Association is based in Boulder, Colorado but Peplow, who is British, works remotely from London in the UK. Known for her dedication and tireless work, which she always delivers with confidence and ease, she is incredibly motivated. You can see this from the pace at which she walks at and how she’s always punctual to everything.
“I first became involved with the Brewers Association 20 years ago by helping to organise a ground-breaking beer and food pairing event in London,” says Peplow and explains that “this led to a long and successful relationship with the Brewers Association starting on an ad-hoc basis”. This grew to a retained status “around 2014,” she remembers and reveals that “then in 2019 I was honoured to be awarded the title of American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe”. This is a position Peplow still holds to this day.
A wealth of experience
Looking back, Peplow has always been in the beer industry but, as she puts it “on the periphery” and has a background in PR and marketing for large international brands. As her role with the Brewers Association began to grow, Peplow then set about studying, learning to brew and advancing her beer knowledge by becoming a Certified Cicerone, accredited beer sommelier, home brewer and international beer judge. But Peplow has many strings to her bow and is also a beer writer and her articles about American craft beer are published in many European and global publications and websites. Plus, she co-authored the book World’s Greatest Beers, published by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) in the UK in August 2022.
Peplow’s work for the Brewers Association spans many areas, but also involves organising events, presenting talks and tastings and generally flying the flag for American craft beer.
Then, in 2022 her work was recognised by the Belgian brewer’s guild (Knighthood of the Brewer’s Paddle) for services to the beer industry and she was knighted as an honorary member.
In May 2023, Peplow was voted one of the ‘Top 100 Most Influential People in the Drinks Industry’ by Drinks Retailing magazine and since then has also, more recently become a mentor to aspiring female beer professionals in the Women in Beer Mentorship Programme.
How does she feel about all of the accolades, the way the beer industry has started to identify her skills and recognises her enormous contribution? “It’s very humbling,” she says.
Understanding and appreciating beer
Visit a bar or a tasting with Peplow and it is clear that she is an excellent drinks companion. Hearing her enthusiasm, interest and pure rapture when first trying an interesting new brew along with her willingness to try styles that are enticing and discuss their balance, complexity and nuance is always a treat. Few people manage to offer the level of shrewd thoughtful judgement alongside such zeal as she does. Her consideration is wholeheartedly genuine too. There have been many occasions where a glass has been proffered and her intuition when it comes to beer quality is, admittedly, second to none.
By her own confession, Peplow is a “massive hophead” and loves IPAs. In fact, she adores “both West Coast and hazies” and says that, for her, “a fresh IPA bursting with juicy hop aroma, that’s perfectly balanced with just the right amount of bitterness to encourage another sip is an absolute delight”.
But, she admits: “I’m always curious and experimental and keen to try the latest seasonal releases. Such as? You might ask. “Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is a must. Big, bold, barrel-aged imperial stouts are also absolutely lovely but tend to be for sharing or special occasions in my world” and then she shows how she knows that beer impressiveness is not always about clout, but moments and adds: “Little beats a clean, crisp, snappy Helles when it’s a boiling hot day.”
Asking her about her development and skillset in the brewing industry and she’ll identify that some of the best advice that she has lived by has been centred around pushing things forwards and always learning.
“Challenge yourself to overcome hurdles or attain something you really want,” she says and this is where Peplow reveals “when I first started with Brewers Association I knew very little about beer or brewing and craft beer wasn’t a ‘thing’, but hard work, study and dedication have reaped rewards”. The other piece of advice is to “always remain humble”. Then she shows how she knows a thing or two about this by her swiftness to note with recognition and gratitude that “it’s a big honour to work for the Brewers Association and I know many people who would like my job”. With this in mind, Peplow says: “I never lose sight of this privilege”.
The US beer sector and what it offers
Admittedly, the beer sector has evolved over time. But Peplow has shown with aplomb how to personally navigate an ever-changing industry.
“It’s fair to say that the American craft beer kick started the global craft beer movement we see today. Back in the 1980s in the States there were fewer than 100 breweries and craft beer as we know it was non-existent,” she explains. Seeing it adapt has been acutely interesting. Peplow goes on to describe how, because it began from the ground up, this meant that new brewers had to be “innovative and creative”.
She observes how “American craft brewers took inspiration from other great brewing nations and set about creating a whole new sector and from here the American craft beer revolution was born”, But, she also points out that “in turn, American craft brewers influenced other brewers around the world and inspired the UK’s craft brewing scene in the late 2000s and 2010s”.
Peplow ponders where things stand now for the scene she represents and describes how “today, the main challenge to American craft beer comes from the UK domestic beer market as it continues to evolve and develop”. Naturally, she assesses that “there are other challenges too, many of which are beyond our control, such as currency fluctuations, political instability and international shipping issues” but ultimately highlights that “the quality and taste of beer is the number one priority”.
Indeed, we understand that continuing to pay attention to what is happening across the US beer scene is fundamental, but really it is as much to do with agricultural access as it is with panache.
“People often ask me: ‘What’s so special about American craft beer’ and my response is ‘because American craft brewers have easy access to some of the world’s premier hop growing regions allowing them to hand-select the freshest, highest quality hops’. Asking Peplow more about this, she reveals that many American brewers “visit the farms regularly and work with the growers directly to create new and exciting hop variants”. Considering this, it makes such sense to pay attention. After all, as she points out “this proximity to raw ingredients helps stand them apart”.
Other reasons range from “the number of gold medals and awards American craft beers win at high profile international beer competitions that are judged by panels of experts” all of these are also “testament to the quality of American craft beer,” says Peplow. She speaks her mind decisively and it’s clear that she has a ‘voice’ in this kind of discussion that needs to be heard and considered.
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Has she always been this erudite and comfortable in sharing her beer knowledge? “When I began my career back in the late 80s the beer industry was a very different place and walking into a pub or bar on my own was terrifying,” Peplow says, but recognises that things have moved forward a little in terms of how she is perceived if she is seen in a bar, looking thoughtfully into her glass and writing notes. “Thankfully, times have changed and solo drinking is perfectly acceptable,” she adds.
An informed approach
The broader issues in the beer sector have never escaped her. For instance, “evolving consumer preferences” have adapted an industry besotted with flavour and variety and now “there are more beverage options than ever before, both full strength and low/no alcohol, health and wellness trends, GenZ drinking less, competition for discretionary spending etc,” says Peplow and reels each of these elements off as the key reasons as to why the market is changing.
“It’s never been easier to stay at home sitting on the sofa, ordering anything with a click of your phone, watching NetFlix and scrolling through social media. Having said that, brewers over the years have shown a high degree of adaptability with innovations in flavour, occasions, and experiences and they continue adapting to the ever-changing consumer,” she says and gives the example of having recently visited Sweden for an American craft beer tour where one of the venues she poured at was an ‘adult playground’ featuring shuttleboard, boules, table football, pool, snooker, air hockey and more where tickets were sold for the games and beverages/food were secondary. “It was packed to the rafters on a Tuesday with all ages,” she says and this is something Peplow has definitely noted has been changing about going out culture: people crave experiences and social interaction and venues are not simply purveyors of drinks.
There are also setbacks that Peplow recognises have been holding the beer sector back from thriving as it might. “Economic and business uncertainty – rising operating costs, years of economic challenges, a highly competitive marketplace and the cost of living have not made life easy for small and independent breweries,” she laments.
But, she adds that times are always changing and we also work within “a maturing industry” and believes that much of what is happening has been “after years of strong growth in consumer adoption of full flavoured beer, and thousands of new entrants to the beverage alcohol space around the world”. This, Peplow feels, is something we need to remember. After all, “a slowdown of that growth is only natural but is harder when combined with broader macroeconomic and geopolitical strain”.
On balance, it has to be recognised that “the industry is constantly changing and evolving” and, as she deftly identifies: “It’s not the first time the brewing world has experienced challenges and it won’t be the last”. But, Peplow reassures: “Beer is not going away any time soon” and highlights how “The Brewers Association strives to support the industry by understanding the current and future realities”. This means that “brewers can stay resilient by adapting to change, focusing on new opportunities and listening to the beer drinker”.
Ever-learning and constantly improving what she knows about beer, Peplow does admit that a lot of this is down to the fact that “the Brewers Association produces a wealth of research itself so it’s easy to be informed”. But giving an example of how she is often learning while working and also sharing her knowledge comes from attending events.
Telling the world
“One of the highlights of my year is attending the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado and sniffing out the latest trends in American craft beer and then writing about them and telling the world. It’s often the case that what happens over there comes over here so I even have editors requesting an article on beer trends after the festival,” she says. Being the informant of new trends in beer is a powerful position to be in, but Peplow shrugs this off and describes the role as “very gratifying” but shows more humility than many would in a similar position.
Asking what we should know, Peplow has most pieces of interest at her fingertips and says: “American craft beer remains in demand in the UK as demonstrated by a raft of activities this summer: Waitrose is running an American craft beer promotion across 220 of their stores featuring Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, Samuel Adams Boston Beer and Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA. The latter is making its debut in the UK and the authentic, genuine Samuel Adams from Boston is returning.”
Anything else? “Tilray, the new owners of BrewDog, is rolling out eight genuine American craft breweries and pouring 18 new beers across the BrewDog estate to maximise the summer of sport and America’s 250th Anniversary.”
Plus, there are lots of opportunities to be had this summer, for instance: “London Craft Beer Festival will showcase a raft of world-class quality, style-diverse, innovative and creative American craft beer most of which are unavailable in the UK so it’s a brilliant opportunity for beer lovers to experience the latest in American brewing expertise first hand,” she adds.
Peplow considers the lessons she has learned along the way when asked if there is any useful advice that she could pass on to others in the sector. Here, she assesses how far she has come and some of the hurdles she has faced.
“I think being a woman in what is still a man’s world remains challenging. Women need to prove themselves to a greater extent than men and go the extra mile,” she says. But, Peplow adds that “education and knowledge are key” so says that her advice would be to “study, learn from experts and always be at the top of your game”.
Then she adds: “As someone in the ‘autumn’ of their career, I have an almost unique perspective and I can tell you that the older you get in the brewing world the easier it becomes”. Then she powders this some more and admits: “I think I would have been taken less seriously performing my role in my twenties or thirties than I am now.”
What are the things she wants us to know the most? “There’s no such thing as a person who doesn’t like beer. They simply haven’t found the style that’s right for them. Beer comes in a myriad of styles, strengths, aromas, flavours, experiences”. Here, Peplow freely admits that “when people trot out ‘I don’t like beer’ it drives me nuts. My challenge is to find a beer they like and change their minds”. Where does she tend to take their palate? “Often, it’s remarkably simple – a tropical fruity, pillowy soft, smooth, hazy IPA with little bitterness or a gently fruited sour usually does the trick.”
Interested and interesting
There is so much you could sit down and talk with Peplow about. Time evaporates in her company because she knows so much, but also does so much with her life and epitomises the kind of person someone would describe when saying a person is “well-rounded”. She is interested and interesting. Still, it’s not all about beer. She has a life – a family, pets, hobbies, adores flavour and travels extensively.
“Outside the beer world, I’m a keen sports-fan and play [field] hockey. I also like cricket and tennis” here she reveals that there are some sports with which she’s still learning about and adds: “I’m yet to fully understand the rules of American football”.
But, when Peplow is not talking about beer, she enjoys cooking and devising dishes which I pair with beer. Or, she can be found walking her dog, a pastime that she says helps her to balance lifestyle with exercise.
“Married with three grown-up children, my husband’s keen on beer and his palate is coming along well but not all my kids are quite as experimental as I’d like them to be,” she says. Added to her hobbies, Peplow is also a member of CAMRA’s London tasting panel and also does some beer judging for them. She adds: “I have a lot of respect for CAMRA and enjoy a well-kept pint of cask ale at local pubs.”
All in all, you couldn’t meet a person who was more passionate or someone who is genuinely on a mission to get more people to enjoy beer on more occasions. Let’s hope she stays with the Brewers Association for a long time and is asked to judge more international beer competitions across all corners of the world because her palate is nothing short of phenomenal, but it’s actually her knowledge, her open friendly manner and her attitude that helps to make her memorable, treasured and genuinely so good to know. More people should know her, meet her, listen to her, taste alongside her and when they do, they’ll understand why Peplow is such an important figure in the beer sector.
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