As is often the case the Story of Urban Huntsman began over beers. in 2014 original co-founders Alex, at the time a Brewer in London and Ben, a corporate account manager in Birmingham, had been discussing the possibilities of starting a business that could be ran as a hobby, for fun, and to fuel a passion. With a mutual love for beer and with high spirits, it was decided, they would start making Beer. Specifically great beer that could be enjoyed by a wide range of people, whether a connoisseur of craft or someone that just fancied a Beer at that particular point in time. Beers that are laid back, easy going, or equally, completely off the wall. Beers that don't take themselves too seriously.
It really began with Hymir, a wild, wild beer to test some boundaries. A 100% Brettanomyces Lambicus fermented American Pale, hopped with Columbus and Citra and bulked out with un-malted oats. This beer we liked a lot, starting off it was very easy to tell it needed more time. But after a month or two, even six, it improved drastically, a bombardment of flavours that changed with each passing month. This is why we brewed. To learn and develop. We even saved two kegs for our own consumption in years to come and there are whisperings of a third tucked away in a pub cellar in West Midlands, although this can’t be confirmed.
In December 2015 the decision was made to take this hobby full time and by January it was a reality. With a desire to begin this journey the same way theirs did, two traditional cask ales were produced later evolving into more progressive hop-forward Antipodean and American styles, still packaged in cask but with enough Hop character to tickle the fancy of Hopheads and Bitter drinkers alike. Shortly after this The Nomad, The Islander, The Outlaw and The Brigand came into being.
We had stationed ourselves semi-permanently at The Old Pie Factory in Warwickshire a welcome home after darting around London and the rest of the country, trying to get brews done and worked from our homes in neighbouring Worcestershire. On the back of Hymir we received recognition from RateBeer in 2016 for being the best new Brewers in Worcestershire and in 2017 were recognised as the best Brewers overall thanks to a great team, great customers and some luck. We’ll be looking to build on this going forward with more one off beers and kegs just around the corner.