Beer Hour: Alex Barlow
Alex Barlow has co-founded Triple Point Brewing, has headed up production with some of the biggest names in beer and also finds time to be a sommelier tutor and examiner. Jessica Mason finds out more.
It would be fair to assume that Barlow might feel exhausted by the demands of wearing so many hats, or indeed for having worked for such a long time. Instead, he looks positively energised and possibly more akin to one of the healthiest people in the beer world. Perhaps some work-life balance has been struck.
Asking him about his first initiation into the beer sector, answers: “How long have you got?” But even though laughing at the hours, days and years of dedication he has put in, he admits, far from the sector wearing him down, he’s enjoyed every moment of it.
“I first walked into my local pub and asked for a job in 1982. Since then, I became a master brewer with Bass, ran a brewery for Staropramen and spent 14 years consulting before starting my own brewery.” Barlow has been co-founder and head brewer at Triple Point Brewing, in Sheffield, for the last seven years and, this is where he feels he has struck a good work-life balance. Considering his past endeavours and his life now, he says: “I’m having more fun than I’ve ever had.”
Barlow is, by his own confession, “passionate about beer education” something that started when he began training Bass licensees in cellar management and beer quality many years ago. Then, whilst consulting, he wrote the All Beer Guide and subsequently joined The Beer & Cider Academy as head tutor and sommelier examiner, a role he continues with the new Guild of Beer Sommeliers.
“All this has led to a fair bit of beer competition judging, most often at European Beer Star and World Beer Cup, amongst others,” he explains.
Perspective
There is a sense that Barlow’s approach to work is to take the broad view and then meticulously fine-tune things until they meet the grade. As a brewer, this has stood him in good stead. As a tutor and examiner too. And as a person who loves to travel and meet others and learn new perspectives, the level of inclusivity he upholds is reflected in his outlook.
Meet him in a bar and you’ll soon learn that even though pales ales and Czech pilsners are often his go-tos, though he does “genuinely love almost all beer styles” which once again shows how his perspective is anything but narrow.
Any well-travelled person outs themselves in this way, making amendments to their own assessments as they go, leaning in towards learning all the time and shows that they’re adept at recognising how much personal tastes may differ, even if excellence is easily recognisable. Barlow doesn’t discriminate on style, or even preference – only quality, it seems.
“I really vary my drinking depending on what’s on, my mood and whether, or what, I’m eating,” Barlow says and laughs that he can be “a bit of a beer snob” and, primarily, a “supporter of independents”. But, he admits: “If all else fails, I often end up with a Guinness based upon availability/familiarity and match-day tradition.”
Barlow is an avid supporter of Liverpool FC. Perhaps there is a thread of this underlying in his personality too. You’ll Never Walk Alone feels distinctly apt for someone who enjoys the company of friends.
It’s also evident that Barlow knows the importance of this too. A phrase he lives by is “know thyself” he says and explains that he always tries to “tell it like it is and try to look for the good in any situation”. He points out that these are views he has tried to instil in his family. “I believe that, as we need to eat and drink to live, life is too short to not enjoy quality food and drink, whether they be softs, beers, wines or spirits.” he adds.
Supportive
Ultimately though, as the conversation develops, Barlow’s appreciation of the sector becomes more evident. He is neither complacent nor hyperbolic when he says: “I love the beer business. I’ve been in it, one way and another, for over 40 years and it still excites me and teaches me something every day.”
He highlights that “the main thing that’s kept me involved is getting the chance to know and work with some wonderful people, we have way more than our fair share in this sector, which may be a lesson to other industries”. And adds: “I’ve also had the good fortune to travel internationally judging beer, so have seen the sector from a variety of perspectives too.”
Taking that world view, Barlow says: “It’s really challenging right now in many western markets, but markets in South America, Africa and the Far East are experiencing growth, both with multi-nationals but also with the independent craft sector, which I’m fiercely supportive of, and the more alliances we can make it better, in my opinion.”
Barlow notes that in the UK “there are so many headwinds, with a market structure that still favours the big guys, barriers to entry for independents plus the obvious burdens of high relative taxation and increasing ingredient, materials and utilities costs”.
Here, he admits that “it’s a surprise anyone survives and thrives” yet, the reality is that “Triple Point Brewing is one of those that is, with constant growth each year since the pandemic”. One might say that is a result of the fact that what Barlow creates is extremely good beer. He is more self-deprecating and explains: “We set out after that period, just a year old to ‘just stay in the game’, now six years on, we’ve managed that.”
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What’s the secret? “We’ve found that concentrating mostly on session beers, in particular, lagers, a no-compromise approach to quality, retail through our own tap room and beer garden as well as local and wholesale deliveries have served us well”.
Any more tips? He adds: “I think that with Gen Z’s engaging much less with alcohol than previous generations, so we need to look to a low(er) alcohol future.”
Barlow laughs that this will be “tough when there’s so many beer styles that I love which are stronger than average” but believes there are ways to navigate this as a brewer. After all, he says: “If not exactly necessity, opportunity is also the mother of invention, so re-discovering traditional lower ABV styles like mild and table beer as well as no and low alcohol variants of more happening styles are great opportunities right now.”
What Barlow achieves at Triple Point Brewing isn’t easy, however. “The fact that we don’t pasteurise or filter any of our beers is a technical challenge for keeping no and lows unfermented,” he reveals, but adds that he is currently “piloting some beers, so watch this space”.
Inclusive
Looking back, he says that, at Triple Point, the plan was to always stay inclusive and to never ostracise anyone from being welcome to drink the beers brewed. He explains: “When we started up, we set out to brew only gluten-free beer, not because any of us are coeliac or gluten intolerant, but because we didn’t want anyone to have a reason not to drink our beer, most of which is vegan too. This has helped us gain recognition as a quality supplier of a broad range of gluten-free beers, and the fact that we’ve had six UK and World’s Best Gluten Free beer awards from World Beer Awards over the last four years hasn’t done us any harm.”
Barlow adds: “I’m a big believer that true quality never goes out of style, so whilst moving with the times is important, so is a bedrock of quality, which is why ‘The beer comes first’ is our motto at Triple Point Brewing.”
Who does he admire for their brewing prowess? “In the UK I’m a big fan of The Kernel and Burning Sky’s beers, Sierra Nevada in the US who are creative, not whacky, and a host of Belgian and German brewers too,” he says. And also hints then that the approach he is looking for, always, is “no gimmicks, just great, consistent quality”.
What he values runs through everything though and he has a very people-centric attitude. Place that at the heart of his personality and surround him with good beer and good people and you’ll find a very happy man.
“I can turn out some reasonably handy beers, but it takes much more than that to run a successful brewery, so certainly for us, team work makes the dream work,” he says.
When it comes to the beer, he points out that “in every brewery I’ve worked in or visited, the best beer is what you taste in the last tank, before it’s packaged, so I figure that’s what our customers should get”. Barlow then divulges that he serves the brewery’s “four biggest sellers straight from serving vessel in our taproom” and reiterates that “beer fresh from the tank is as good as it gets”.
Balance
In terms of how he has changed along the way, throughout his career journey, Barlow considers this for a moment and says: “When I worked for big brewers I fell into workaholic presenteeism, which is no good. Not for you, your mental health or those around you.”
But, he reveals, things have changed somewhat. He made some changes to his life and says: “I’d like to think our approach at Triple Point Brewery is much more healthy. Work hard, play hard, enjoy your downtime, which for me is running, yoga and hiking, as well as washed down with great beer, food and live music”. After all, he grins: “Life is to be lived”.
Does he have any aspirations unmet? “I’d love to judge some of the newer beer competitions in South America and the Far East, and use that as an opportunity to travel more widely,” he says. But gives the impression that he is also genuinely happy, busy and also staying focused on the many tasks he has closer to home too.
Barlow believes that while others might consider him to be “a bit of a control freak” he doesn’t feel the assessment would be totally accurate, because he “just likes to ensure things are done properly”.
He laughs and considers this for a moment before adding: “Maybe that makes me a control freak” and agrees that he does “tend to be the one who organises things”. All of them show his warmth and inclusivity though, since his pastimes often involve bringing people together, whether that be his football supporters group (Watching The Mighty Reds) or his hiking group (Hill-Walking Pub-Dwellers). He says: “I often invite others to throw in a pub selection or a route, though they seem happy to leave it to me”.
Perhaps this is because they know they are in safe hands.
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