Meet the Makers

Genevieve and Jonny met in Bristol. Gen booked Jonny's blues/fuzz band for a halloween gig, and they proceeded to bond over a love of loud music and bitter beer.

Many trips to the Senne valley followed. The medicinal powers of breakfast Geuze was discovered, and plans for a spontaneous brewery were hatched while planting biodynamic vinyards in matching outfits in Somerset, and drinking dry cider on a farm in Herefordshire. 

Unphased by a complete lack of capital, they swapped the rent on their Bristol flat for the lease on an old timber yard in Berkeley and a kitchenless flat above the nearby Salutation Inn at Ham. Genevieve set about drawing the logo and whipping up sales. Her father Martin was tasked with producing artwork for the labels. Jonny started making wort and worrying how on earth they would take in a pallet of Champagne bottles on a single track country lane without a forklift.

During the next four years they kept their full time jobs in the industry to fund brewing activites at Mills, slowly building up fermenting barrel stock and packaging the nacsent beers. Their wedding was held in the brewery yard, and a further living standards downgrade was enjoyed, spending thirteen months in a caravan on the brewery site, before they were finally able to make the jump, commit full time to Mills Brewing, and return to life within brick walls.