ABOUT US

Meet Richard - The Chief of Westbrooks Brewery

Why did you set up Westbrooks Brewery?
Well, like many things, the idea came out of pure frustration! I believe one of life's greatest and most simple pleasures is enjoying a nice cold refreshing beer with friends or family. It's a fundamental right of being a human. As a racing driver, I've had to be conscious of my nutrition; at times it has needed to be almost obsessive. Being aware of my carbohydrate intake has helped me over the last 7 years. I'm not here to preach to you about what is right and wrong; it simply worked for me, and it seems it works for many others involved in sports.

Through my work, I've been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time in the U.S.A., where options for low-carb beer are far greater than here in the U.K. Due to the lack of availability of low-carb beer options here in the U.K. I have had to import cases from overseas, so I've done a lot of market research. Low-carb beer can be hit and miss on taste and expensive too.

It has been bugging me for years, so I finally took it upon myself to create something great, and that's why and how Westbrooks was created. To deliver people of the U.K. with refreshing, guilt-free, low-carb alternative beers. The fundamental point of doing this is to make a beer that tastes like a real beer brewed with specific techniques to naturally reduce its gluten and carbohydrate content.

Is a low-carb beer Keto-friendly?
It depends on how many you drink! People on a ketogenic diet tend to keep their carb intake to less than 20 grams per day. However, some have a higher target of 50, Our first brew, Laguna, comes in at 1g per can, so yes, it is Keto friendly.

I try to adhere to a Keto diet (although I'm not too fond of the term), but low-carb beer is not exclusively a Keto thing. However, for my friends who are just trying to fight the bulge, it helps. Low-carb beer is a smart way to help lower the number of carbohydrates you consume through liquids. In reality, you may already be getting more than enough through your three main meals you eat each day.

What’s the difference between Laguna and other low carb options?
There is an abundance of low-carb options in the beer market, but sadly not in the U.K. In the U.S., you have Bud Light (different from the Bud Light here), Miller Lite, and Coors Light as the mainstream. These have also been joined by smaller top-notch breweries like Lagunitas, with their Daytime IPA as its low-carb offering. But, in the U.K., there is Skinny Lager and Michelob Ultra, which don’t taste like a beer to me. And holding a can of Skinny Lager at a party is not a look I think I can carry off.

What is your background?
In terms of beer? Well, I've been a connoisseur for many years. I've always been interested in cooking. I actually studied at the Westminster Kingsway College in London, which has produced some excellent chefs. So, I'd like to think my palette and taste buds are well-tuned, putting me in a good position to deliver tasteful beer.

Outside of this, I've been lucky enough to have a career as a professional racing driver, racing some of the most exciting cars ever-made all over the globe.

What is the brewing process at Westbrooks Brewery?
Let's be clear, this is not a homebrew from my downstairs basement. I'm working with a professional brewer James from Artefact Brewing in Suffolk. We brew in an established brewery also in Suffolk; one day I'd hope to have our own brewery.

I'm not out picking hops and mashing personally, but I'm very hands-on. I did want to brew, and I even went on a few courses, but good brewers are a particular type; there are so many skills that I do not possess, sadly. So, James does all the brewing, but I have had a heavy involvement in shaping the recipe and selection of taste. Laguna has taken 3 years to nail!

James is one of the best up-and-coming brewers in the country. And, although sometimes we disagree on things, I absolutely respect his knowledge and experience and tend to leave him to make the final tweaks as I trust him to brew something brilliant.

Once it's out of the tanks, that is almost all me. Canning the beer, sticking the labels on to cans by hand, boxing up cans for buyers, and even sending it out.

Is low-carb beer gluten-free?
There's little need to be worried about the gluten content of low-carb beer, as the levels of gluten are relatively insignificant. That is unless you're among a relatively small minority of unlucky people with coeliac disease or a known sensitivity. 

I had to learn about gluten in more detail as part of my journey with Westbrooks Brewery. In the U.K. if, a beer has below 10ppm of gluten, it is tested and certified as gluten-free.

Our Laguna brew has below this level of gluten. Hence, it is gluten-free as far as U.K. classifications go. Still, for safety's sake, gluten-reduced is a fairer description.

How do you make low-carb beer?
That’s like asking the Colonel for the recipe for KFC! I’m not going to spell it out entirely here for readers. Still, to give some insights, we use a combination of mashing techniques and special yeast. It’s time intensive and laborious, but it’s worth it. By the time we finished the process, our team has fermented out around 95% of the carbohydrates from the beer. That statistic alone was mind-blowing for me. But, it’s what gives me the assurance I need to consume it, and I hope it gives others the same confidence in Laguna as a low-carb option for them.

What inspired Westbrooks Brewery to create the first brew, ‘Laguna’?
I love racing, and I enjoy a cold beer. That’s why our products play with names linking the two where they relate with the hops, notes, and ingredients used to brew. For example, Laguna, our launch brew, is a light and juicy pale ale. Laguna is also an area of California but home to a legendary motor racing circuit that I’ve been fortunate to drive around many times. So if you’re a car aficionado, you know it, and if you’re a beer fan, you know what to expect from a California brew.

What does Westbrooks ‘Laguna’ low-carb beer taste like?
Light, hoppy, and juicy. The light malt base we have used keeps this beer easy drinking with plenty of soft fruit from the hops to create a divine and refreshing low-carb pale ale with a clean bitter finish. The hops used are: Citra, Amarillo, Rakau, Enigma.

Where can we buy a Westbrooks brew?
We’re currently producing Laguna in small batches sold exclusively on our website for home delivery. We’re doing this to build a following and allow us to develop our brews further. It isn’t just about Laguna; early next year, we’ve got a Pilsner lager set for release, and I’m really excited about getting that out and in the glasses of people.

Does Westbrooks Brewery sell to pubs and supermarkets?
We welcome pubs to get in touch with us as that is something we can support now with kegs. Unfortunately, we're not able to sell to supermarkets right now. And it is not something I ever really want to be involved in. High volume, stacked on a shelf in a warm supermarket, is never the way to store fresh beer. My focus is on how we get on with our word-of-mouth marketing and what kind of a following we can build. But right now, it's regular small batches, and we'll sell as long as we haven't sold out.

Does Westbrooks Brewery ship internationally?
Currently no. We want to see how we are received in the U.K. first, and then evaluate offering the range to European countries later in 2023.

What else is coming from Westbrooks Brewery?
We’ll see how Laguna turns out, but we have a cracking pilsner brewed in the correct way using noble hops that we hope to launch in early 2023. I’ve got no shortage of ideas for other creations and seasonal brews too. I’m a beer drinker with the keys to a brewery, so there will be a lot of creations. Watch this space.

Racing cars and alcohol sounds like a conflicting set of interests. Tell us more?
First and foremost, my profession is that of a racing driver. Still, outside of a race weekend, I’m a husband to an incredible wife, Jess. I’m also a father to two daughters, Millie and Laurel. My newest responsibility has been as a dog father to Keke, arguably the least demanding of them all. It’s important to distinguish that you can be many things to many people.

The context for Westbrooks Brewery being created is delivering a great-tasting low-carb beer. I’m doing so as a microbrewery, not at scale. The fact I race cars for a living is coincidental. Do I feel a sense of responsibility to distance the two things? Not at all. It gives a platform to bring together two communities that have mutual respect and crossover. At Westbrooks and as an individual, we wholeheartedly encourage responsible drinking.

Westbrooks is not engaged in sports sponsorship, but as someone aligned with both worlds now, I feel a responsibility to acknowledge the elephant in the room. I’m not seeking global domination of the beer industry and the sponsorship of a Formula 1 team. Maybe next year… I just don’t want a low-carb beer that tastes like watery dog wee.