In case it passed you by, last autumn Amazon Prime Video released the first season of Beer Masters. Hosted by Jaega Wise, Brewer (Wild Card Brewery) and TV & radio presenter, and James Blunt, musician and publican, the competition aims to find ‘Europe’s next great beer’. One half of team GB is seasoned homebrewer Mike Garrett, a retired firefighter from Poole, who together with team mate Richard went head to head against teams from Italy, France, Netherlands and Belgium. After binge watching the show I was thirsty for more so I caught up with Mike over a virtual pint to discover more about his brewing experiences and about competing on the show.

How long have you been brewing and how did you get into brewing? 

My first attempt at homebrewing was many years ago with a kit from Boots the chemist. Needless to say, the results weren’t spectacular. I got back into it when I was approaching retirement from the fire service and wanted something to fill my spare time. I went to my local homebrew shop and after some good results with some better quality kits was lured into attending a demonstration of the new Grainfather with the promise of free beer. This was about four years ago and many brews later I now own a nano brewery.

Favourite brews? 

My favourite commercial brew (since trying it on Beer Masters) is Grand Prestige from Hertog Yan, although this is quite hard to find at the moment. A long-term favourite is Jaipur from Thornbridge (was No1 until I tried Grand Prestige), although there are very few beers/beer styles that I would not drink. 

If I had to pick one of my own beers it would be ‘Quintuplicate’ – a recipe devised and brewed as one of the Beer Masters challenges. If you watch the programme, you will see that not everything went to plan, but the resulting beer has aged superbly and is now a very drinkable example of a Belgian tripel. A recipe that I will be brewing again!  

Tell us about Dolphin Brewery Poole! 

The original Dolphin Brewery was based in the historic Poole “Old Town” and at their height included most of the local pubs and their own maltings. They were sadly taken over in the early 20th Century, although remnants of the history remained visible – not least in the form of the bottles and jars that can still be obtained in the area. Dolphin Brewery Poole was set up by my partner in the show, Richard, with the intention of bringing the history to life and recreating some of the old brews of Poole. As he knew I had been doing some brewing courses Richard asked if I wanted to be involved in developing the traditional beer recipes. We have now been working on that for several years together, and Richard now has a wealth of local historical knowledge on the wider company as well as the modern interpretations of the Dolphin range of beers. 

Following the experience of Beer Masters I am looking towards more modern craft brewing, and to explore and develop a wider range of beers. I have now started a brewery with my family. This is Brewhouse Twelve, so named because in live in Poole, BH12.  

Richard and I had a great adventure with Dolphin and this whole experience (from the trial Dolphin brew ups to brewing on television for some of the world’s leading beer experts) has given us the opportunity to develop as brewers and grow our individual styles/brands into the future. Plus there will be crossovers and collaborations once the excitement has died down.  

Best / worst moments of taking part in Beer Masters? 

By far the best part of Beer Masters was meeting the other competitors/brewers. We are all still good friends and regularly chat via social media. Hopefully, when travel restrictions have ended, we will be able meet up for a collaboration brew and more beer drinking. The worst part of Beer Masters for me was when the results of episode four were announced. I won’t tell you why - you’ll have to watch it.

Had you done much competition brewing before Beer Masters?

I had never entered any competitions before entering ‘Beer Masters’. The biggest secret is that I only entered this by accident. Whilst the experience was new to me it was very valuable receiving feedback from people like Jaega Wise, who really know their subject. Entering a few more is on my to do list for 2022. (Although I will probably avoid TV for a while.) 

On Beer Masters things didn’t always go to plan during your brew ups (we can relate to that!) but you still managed to produce some great beers. What are your top tips for correcting mistakes… or avoiding them in the first place? 

Preparation is always key but sometimes things do go wrong and it’s how you deal with them that’s important. The first thing I do is to stop and think. I know its hard sometimes but panicking more often than not just makes things worse. (Years as a fire fighter taught me that a short pause to evaluate a situation can be so valuable.) 

Second, is to remember that in the grand scheme it’s not the end of the world. After that, things can only get better. That said, I do try to avoid making the same mistake more than once. My brewing journal is key to that as I always make time to jot down the honest reflection on how the brew went alongside the recipe. 

Which of the beers brewed by another team on Beer Masters do you wish you had brewed yourself? 

Amy and Maaike’s black IPA from episode one is a beer I would have loved to have brewed myself. I can’t say much more without giving spoilers but I would be proud to put my name to that beer.

It was great to see the brand building challenges alongside the brewing challenges - which of them was the most helpful in developing your brews for the commercial market? 

The challenge that I think was most helpful was the advertising poster. Having to think up a tag line and then trying to find an image to support the brand/idea was quite a challenge for two men with no marketing background. Working with the professionals on the show was a real eye opener and I think resulted in a really brand focused, memorable message. 

What are your plans for 2022?  

The plans for me in 2022 are two fold: 

First and foremost is to develop Brewhouse Twelve and create a range of beers that people like to drink and then to sell them… with the interest that we have had from the Brew Masters programme, I think this is a real possibility. We are looking forward to working with Southcoast Makers Market again this year (Instagram: 

@southcoastmakersmarket). Thank you also to Oakmeadians Rugby Club and the Belgium and Blues bar in Bournemouth. Both have had real faith in my beers and we look forward to supplying them again this year (Instagram:

@belgiumandbluesbournemouth)

Secondly, I am continuing my beer education – I will be taking more courses as a brewer, working with experienced brewers and completing my studies as a Cicerone. Luckily, I am retired from the fire service so should be able to fit it all in. 

Watch Mike in season one of Beer Masters on Amazon Prime Video. 

Keep up to date with Mike and his brewery on Instagram:

@brewerbythebeach_beermasters &  

@brewhousetwelve  

Contact Brew House Twelve: 

info@brewhousetwelve.com