In a recent blog post published this week, Cloudwater announced head brewer and co-founder, James Campbell, had left the brewery to pursue other interests.

If you’re unfamiliar with Cloudwater, er, where have you been? Founded in 2014, the Manchester based brewery rose to prominence as one of the leading lights in the UK craft beer scene and were named as the second best brewery in the world at this year’s RateBeer Awards.

James has no doubt been an integral part of that rise, so it will be interesting to see where Cloudwater go from here – and what James turns his hand to next. We’re sure both will continue to be successful based on their pedigree, but this does feel like a pivotal moment for both. The end of a chapter – so let’s see where the story goes next.

“The evolving tastes of the consumer have made the last 5 years the most exciting time to be a brewer in my lifetime. Trying to evolve the beer, with the public palate, whilst seeking constant improvement has been a great challenge and a huge pleasure. Over recent months, however, I’ve been missing the freedom of self employment. The time is now right for me to move on to seek greater autonomy, with a return to consulting, and raising capital for my own brewery.” – James Campbell

Cloudwater have decided to continue without a head brewer – perhaps unconventional but not unheard of. Beavertown haven’t had a head brewer since Jenn Merrick left in January 2017, and they’ve not done too badly since then…

James is available for consultancy, so if you’re in the beer industry and looking for advice from one of the best, give him a shout.

So, some big news for me & exciting times to come.

Please RT, I'm on the market for consulting, and will be actively seeking investment. https://t.co/vkQP1hosqW — James Campbell (@jdcbrewhouse) September 20, 2018

Find out more about Cloudwater by visiting their website and follow James on Twitter to keep up to date with future plans!