Episode 16: Ned & Charlie Braxton from Brewing Brothers

Hello and thank you for tuning in to this latest episode of Be Your Business where I meet local business owners and find out how they created their business and what they love most about it. This week I travel by bicycle (and up a very large hill) to meet the fabulous Brewing Brothers, Ned and Charlie Braxton at their sparkly new brewery up on the Ridge in Hastings. They talk about their first job as publicans, managing their family owned pub in East Sussex and the fondness they have for those formative years, where they made more than a few mistakes but had so much fun. We discuss how those mistakes taught them invaluable lessons when it came to setting up their own business, and the West Coast road trip they embarked on in 2014 that inspired them, opening their eyes to the concept of micro-brewing, which celebrated the craft of beer making and the brewer.  They talk about how their friend Bill, an amateur brewer, who joined the team right at the very start and how they started brewing their own beer shortly afterwards, before opening the doors to their first pub, The Imperial on Queens road in 2016. I find out how the business was extremely well received in Hastings before the lockdowns, and how they pivoted the business model overnight to a delivery service, quite literally getting on their bikes and personally meeting customers.  They discuss the fantastic bond they have developed with their customers and how a creative crowdfunding campaign enabled their latest move to the new brewery site and tap room.  By their own admission Ned and Charlie had no idea what they were doing when they first started their business and they’ve winged it on more than one occasion, but good fortune has followed them and they’ve had a fantastic time in the process. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and catching up with one of the most fun businesses in Hastings, we hope that you enjoy the show..