How did you come to work at North?
After becoming too tired and grumpy to manage late-night bars anymore I switched to auditing them instead. I worked independently in London for a while, then luckily moved back to Leeds just as John and Christian were considering bringing the stock auditing of their bars in-house. Four and a bit years later, and here we are.
What was your first memorable beer experience?
Late 90’s, my mate calls me on his Nokia 3210 and says, “there’s a place in town selling some French beer that’s SEVEN PERCENT!!!!” The place was North Bar. The ‘French’ beer was Chimay Rouge (Belgian!) We popped down, drank what we could afford, had our minds blown, then bussed it back to Regent Chapel Allerton for the safety of Carling and Caffrey’s. The seeds had been planted though.
What have you been listening to recently?
I’ve just discovered Them Crooked Vultures, they’ve been playing in the car for a while. Like a lot of people, my podcast consumption has increased a lot lately. Elis James and John Robins for the company, Athletico Mince / Matt Morgan’s Funny How? for the laughs, Melvin Bragg’s In Our Time / The Infinite Monkey Cage for the old brainbox.
Where’s your favourite spot for a drink?
Sharing a Hardywood Park Craft Brewery Gingerbread Stout with the lovely Joanne, in a hot tub, outside a Welsh cottage, on a freezing cold winter’s night. Yes please.