Friends' hobby brews pale ale success

Thursday 10 February 2022

A group of friends in Guernsey have turned their homebrewing hobby into a business venture after launching a new pale ale.

The beer - brewed by Second Meridian Brew Co., also known as 2M - was added to the menu at Fat Rascal and saw 600 pints sold in its first week.

2M was established in 2016 by Sam Hamperl, Joe Baines, Matt Ashworth and Will Steele-Moore. In part, it was sparked by a lack of access locally to beers they liked from the UK.  

“I brewed a beer in London as part of an experience day and decided to buy a beer brewing kit for myself. Just weeks later in Matt’s kitchen, over a beer, we all decided to form 2M and try homebrewing together,” said Mr Hamperl.

“We keep an eye on the types of beer available in the UK and wanted to brew our own when we couldn’t find the ones we liked from the UK available here.”

The friends started hosting an annual summer party to showcase their creations.

“Joe has a real talent for finding which hops will bring out the flavours in the beer we are trying to bring forward and the annual event we host is a great opportunity to experiment,” said Mr Hamperl.

“We would love to see a return of an annual beer festival event in Guernsey like there has been in the past and would welcome the opportunity to be involved in the Herm real ale and cider festival.”

Pictured: Fat Rascal owner Steve Hopkins

The 2M summer party has become a calendar staple for many. Merchandise, including t-shirts, hats and keyrings, have raised the profile of the group locally.

Fat Rascal is the first establishment to serve a 2M local brew, named the Rascal Pale Ale.

Fat Rascal owner Steve Hopkins said he was delighted to serve the local product.

“We think it’s fantastic to be the first, and currently only, place in the world where you can get the 2M pale ale,” said Mr Hopkins.

“The 2M guys have been regular guests at Fat Rascal since we opened and we were keen to work with them because we love providing something unique for all our guests and support a local venture.

"The feedback has been fantastic. One man even said that it was the nicest pale ale he can remember having and another said he would happily choose the 2M pale ale over Beavertown, which is a huge compliment.”

Mr Hamperl said the friends' brewing experiences were not always plain-sailing.

"We definitely underestimated how difficult and time consuming the process would be and we have had to work through a lot of failed attempts to get where we are now, but it's been a great experience and we couldn't be happier with how it's progressed."