Charlotte Cook has been appointed as the new Head Brewer at the Uile-bheist Brewery in Inverness.
Cook, a Masters Brewing graduate from Nottingham University, started out at BrewDog, worked at Cloudwater Brew Co. in Manchester and Põhjala in Estonia, and has spent the most recent part of her career in London, brewing with Trumans and Coalition, one of the biggest independents in the city.
She arrives in Inverness to take over from Lukas Pretzer, who has returned to Germany to work for Kaspar Schulz.
Cook will focus initially on producing Uile-bheist’s core range, but her ambition is to see the £7.5 million Uile-bheist centre grow to become a must-visit location for beer aficionados.
“The market for our beer is very unique, with lots of tourists and consumers year-round,” said Cook.
“I’d really like to see Uile-bheist become a destination for beer lovers – a place where they can experience something individual and for locals to come any time and enjoy our products.
“The role appealed to me in terms of how well the overall brewery is constructed to high specification and also the sustainability side of the operation.
“Moving to a new brewery and adapting to the philosophy, and mutually adapting, is always a challenge but I think we’ll make great beer that people will want to enjoy.”
Returning home to Scotland – her parents live in Elgin – cook admitted that the aesthetics of her new workplace had been a factor: “The view from my work before was an industrial estate in Croydon,” she said. “Now I see the River Ness daily.”
Uile-bheist co-owner Jon Erasmus said: “Charlotte brings a wealth of experience in the UK brewing scene and we are excited to see how she develops our existing range but also to hear her ideas for seasonal beers and collaborations.
“We are a genuine craft brewery and working in partnership with other like-minded local breweries is attractive. We are also looking at expanding local markets.”
With the £47m Inverness Castle Experience set to open directly behind Uile-bheist – potentially attracting 400,000 new visitors – the brewery hopes to welcome more tour and taproom visitors.
“The opening of the Castle is going to bring a new vibrancy to the city. We want to be a part of that.”
