no. 007 | Left Handed Giant

Left Handed Giant never intended on going into commercial brewing. Thankfully, a chance encounter in a pub in 2014 changed that.

It's a stroke of luck that it did, because not long after opening they found Rich Poole standing at their bar with a few of his home-brewed beers. Having convinced his employer to reduce his hours to four days a week, Rich had been operating a brewery from his garage called Rocket Science Craft Ales and his bottles could immediately be found behind the bar for regulars to enjoy.

It took several beer-fueled evenings over several months for Bruce and Jack to convince Rich to quite his job and concentrate on brewing full-time, but by January 2015 the three had made the first ever Left Handed Giant beer.

"From day one, we've tried to cover a lot of ground with the styles of beers we offer as we wanted to make sure Rich was able to flex his brewing expertise", says Bruce. That meant having access to a range of tanks and so, alongside their small brew kit, they also gypsy brewed, making use of other larger breweries equipment in the local area.

Today, a permanent LHG brewery is complemented by their brewpub, which is located in the centre of Bristol and overlooks its floating harbour. The result of an incredibly successful crowdfunding campaign, which saw them raise over £1m from the local community, its also the namesake of their core range of beers.

The immediate answer to how they'd describe their brewing style is wonderfully simple: "modern and enjoyable", says Bruce. "The Brewpub range has been created to beer a constant throughout the year, offering up beers that are both nuanced and drinkable. Our LHG beers, on the other hand, are more experimental and aim to push the boundaries of brewing". We're pleased to present a selection of both inside batch no. 007.

A commitment to the city they call home is clear: "Bristol is where we all came together and its residents  allowed us to build our Brewpub through their generous support and trust, so the city fundamental to Left Handed Giant". That commitment runs through to their team too, and they aim to be 100% employee-owned in the next three years.