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Industry Insight Q&A | Chris Lewington, Brew Resourceful


This week we bring you another of our Industry Insight interviews, a Q&A with Chris Lewington- contributor to  the Horizons 2024 report. and speaker at our Industry Expo & Conference in July 2025. 

With over a decade’s experience in the beer industry, Chris founded Brew Resourceful to offer process based actions to make your brewery more resourceful right now.

Greg Wells:
What do you see as the key trends or challenges shaping the beer industry right now, and what are you focusing on in your work?

Chris Lewington:
The biggest shift I’m seeing in the industry is the transition from the rapid growth phase of craft beer to a more mature market. This doesn’t mean the industry is in decline, but the challenge for brewers is that during the growth phase, the focus was on maximising volume, sometimes at the cost of efficiency. Now, the emphasis is shifting from producing massive volumes to focusing on better margins.

The key now is balancing a high-quality product with operational efficiency. It’s not about compromising quality, but about finding smarter, more efficient ways to produce beer, which improves your profit margin.


GW: What specifically can breweries and professionals do to adapt? And what commercial opportunities come out of this shift?

CL: You can’t improve what you don’t measure. It’s simple, but it’s often neglected. Many brewers don’t track key business metrics like brewhouse efficiency or their utility intensity ratios — water, gas, electricity, and CO2.

Once you start measuring, you can begin identifying inefficiencies and areas for improvement. The commercial opportunities come from reducing waste and improving efficiency. Cost savings are one obvious benefit, but it also supports environmental goals. Beyond that, focusing on efficiency also empowers your team, making them feel proud to be part of a business that’s making a positive impact on both the environment and the bottom line.

GW: You’re speaking at our industry conference next year. Are you looking forward to it?

CL: Absolutely! I’m really excited to be part of it. The topic of sustainability in brewing is incredibly important right now, and I’m looking forward to sharing insights on how brewers can implement easy wins, to make a significant impact.

There’s a lot of talk around sustainability, but there’s a gap between what’s said and what actually happens in the brewery. My goal is to give practical advice on how to integrate sustainability into day-to-day operations without it feeling overwhelming. We’ll also discuss the importance of tracking emissions and how to build a roadmap to get a brewery to net zero.

GW: How do you think the UK government’s efforts to drive investment in clean energy and green tech will affect the brewing industry?

CL: It’s a fantastic opportunity. The government’s push towards net-zero by 2050 is a challenge, but it’s also a huge opportunity. It’s the right time for breweries to start looking at how they can reduce their environmental impact and capitalise on incentives like the ITEF Grant for energy efficiency and renewable technologies.

It starts with looking at the processes in place right now and reducing waste wherever possible—sustainability isn’t just about spending money on new tech and big capital expenditure projects. It’s about optimising your processes first. There’s so much we can do with the resources we already have. Any brewery, big or small, can start making changes today.

GW: It’s about efficiency, then. But how do breweries balance sustainability with the financial pressures they’re facing?

CL: The key is to focus on efficiency first. Measuring your utility intensity ratios, brewhouse efficiency and fermenter to packaging losses is the foundation of improving both your sustainability and your bottom line. Once you have that data, you can start identifying inefficiencies. The commercial opportunities come from reducing waste and cutting costs.

Breweries often invest in expensive sustainability projects before addressing the underlying inefficiencies. That’s where I see a lot of false returns on investment. If your processes are inefficient, the ROI of your fancy new piece of equipment is false, and you are spending your CAPEX sub-optimally. But if you focus on process optimisation first, you’ll maximise the return on any future investment in technology or capital projects.

GW: Finally, as a drinker, what are you loving right now?

CL: I’m a big fan of Small Beer’s range, especially their Hazy IPA. I still love going to the pub, but I’ve found that drinking higher-ABV beers leaves me feeling a bit hazy the next day. There are some great non-alcoholic options out there, but nothing quite matches the feeling of having a pint in a pub, and Small Beer gives me that full pub experience with a lower impact on my next day.

To hear Chris at the We Are Beer Industry Expo & Conference, and see his contributions to our Horizons trends report, become a We Are Beer Industry Member. Find out about it all and sign up here.

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