short hop from the vineyard
to world 
of beer
brewing

“Sorry,” she says. “Because of this cold weather the water wasn’t warm enough when we came in to brew with and so everything got put back.”

Nothing stands in the way of a girl and her beer.

This sort of problem, which is all part of life now for Ilkley Breweries’ newest recruit, could not be further from the kind of problems Harriet has been overcoming in the last few years.

In 2009 she left Yorkshire to study viticulture – wine making – in the sunshine of Australia, rather than brewing beer in freezing Ilkley.

“I did a business management and hospitality degree at Sheffield Hallam University but when I graduated in 2007 I just couldn’t find a job.”

For more than a year Harriet searched for work and although she did get it there was nothing that she wanted to make a career out of.

“The banking crisis was at its worst and graduates were having a tough time.

“I realised that I had to do something that made me stand out from the crowd. That is just the reality of life these days.”

She had always liked wine and was interested in learning more about how it was made and so applied for courses both in the UK and Australia.

“I’d got a place on a course in Australia and my visa sorted even before I heard back from the UK courses so the decision was made really.

“I had a fantastic time. You wouldn’t believe how complicated it is to grow a grape.”

After her two-year viticulture course, Harriet, now 28, decided to turn her attention to brewing beer.

“I knew that I wanted to come back to the UK and so I wanted to learn something that would be of more use in getting a job back home,” she explains.

“There was a small brewery close by and I started helping out there and eventually got a job helping brew the beer.

“It is a bit different to over here as the Australians don’t have cask beer, like we do, but I really enjoyed it and learned loads.

“There are quite a lot of transferable skills from wine making to brewing. But the best thing about brewing is that you can play around with the recipes and come up with your own.

“In wine every year a vintage is different whereas with beer its more consistent. I really like the fact that you can give the customers consistently something they like – the customers know what they are getting.”

After a year working in the Australian brewery she decided the time was right to return to the UK.

“I didn’t have a job to go to but I applied for a number of jobs in breweries including Ilkley Brewery. No-one had a position although a few breweries were interested in me.”

Eventually she did get a couple of job offers including Ilkley – which is based in her home town. “I really wanted to work for Ilkley Brewery.

“I really liked the people when I met them and the fact they were quite small and really progressive.”

Harriet never really wanted to work for a big brewery.

“The big breweries don’t give the freedom to come up with new beers and try them out. That’s one of the things I love about working at Ilkley Brewery.”

Harriet is also passionate about re-establishing women as the original “brewsters”, which they were during the pre-industrial age.

“Women were traditionally the ones that brewed the beer.

“They were the original witches – depicted stirring the beer with a broomstick and accompanied by a cat to stop the mice eating the grain.”

Earlier this month she invited Project Venus, a collection of female brewers from around the world, to come to Ilkley to spend the day brewing a new ale. The finished IPA, Venus Voyage, will be available for each of the Project Venus brewsters to take back to their respective breweries to sell under the Project Venus banner.

The Project Venus collective is not limited to these shores, however, and member Megan Parisi, head brewer at Bluejacket Brewery in Washington DC, flew over especially to be part of the collaboration.

Harriet firmly believes that one of the principal factors in helping to increase the popularity of ale in the female market is emphasising it as a natural companion for food.

“More and more women are realising that beer has subtle and varied flavour profiles which offer almost limitless food pairing matches.

“Due to its lower alcohol content, compared to wine, it is possible to match a variety of beers throughout a meal making beer a truly diverse and flavour-filled choice.

“One of my jobs is to come up with new beers – I’ve just developed an exciting one which I think women will like as it has chocolate in it.

“Here at Ilkley Brewery we are constantly looking to spread the word that Britain should be proud of its brewing heritage and embrace the idea of food and beer matching as one of the many ways to appreciate its diverse appeal.

“Women are discerning drinkers, and appealing to their unique palates is important when designing a new beer. The involvement of food is a crucial tool in turning around preconceptions.”

Despite this she does have to convince people, especially the men, what she does for a living.

“Most of them think I am exaggerating when I say I am involved in the whole brewing process from beginning to end – even to drinking it down at my local.”

Snowy Yorkshire may be 
a far cry from the warm climes of Australia she it used to but Harriet has brought a little bit of the Antipodes back with her – her boyfriend.