CROSS BORDERS BREWING CO.
EST 2016
We seriously love beer here at Cross Borders Brewery.
We regularly brew our core range of reliably braw beer in 10 barrel batches (that’s around 1500ltrs) alongside exciting one-off’s and seasonal specials to keep things interesting.
WE CARE ABOUT WHAT WE DO.
Brewing is hard graft, we’re tempted to say we put blood sweat & tears in every batch but that would be gross. Lets just say we put a lot of love into every brew!
Wherever possible we use local ingredients, we’ve even been known to go foraging for special touches!
We only use the finest brewing barley and once we’re done with it a local farmer collects it and takes it away to become cattle feed.
All the water we use for a brew gets reused as does the energy used to heat each batch. Anywhere we can avoid waste, we will.
Jonny.
The man, the legend, (but most importantly) the heid brewer.
After huge success as front man of legendary punk band, the Sex Pistols, Jonny went on to… no wait, hang on, wrong Jonny.
After minimal success as guitarist in The Fusiliers, Jonny went on to study Brewing & Distilling at Heriot Watt University while also working at some of the UK’s best independent breweries.
He’s a hugely talented and passionate brewer who loves to educate anyone who’ll listen (he’s also a pretty decent guitarist!).
Q&A
Q: Best part of the job?
A: Being in a pub and seeing someone order a beer I’ve made, it’s a great feeling.
Q: Worst part of the job?
A: Cask washing. The casks weigh 10 kilos and the chemicals are nasty. It’s a tough monotonous job but it has to be done!
Q: Favourite beer you’ve brewed?
A: You can’t make me pick between my babies! Each one has its own individual personality, it’s like asking what is your favourite song? There’s no one answer to that - what mood are you in, what day of the week is it, what's the weather like?
I can tell you that the one I’m most proud of is the Heavy, it was the 3rd brand we launched at the brewery and the recipe landed first time. Normally there will be trial batches and ongoing tweaks to the recipe, but I loved the Heavy from the first go. To take a much maligned and under appreciated beer style, and create something that is packed with toffee, caramel, biscuit aroma and flavours… I’m well chuffed with it.
Q: What’s next?
A: I’ve got an idea I’m excited about for an upcoming special involving Belgian yeast, Sumac and Hibiscus. Should hopefully be a nice light pink colour.
Bryan.
The newest member of the team
Bryan joined Jonny at the brewery in September 2024. He brings with him keg loads of brewing experience and an imperial stout level of dedication to the braw beer cause. He’s our kind of people!
Q&A
Q: Best part of the job?
A: I love Brewing, so just immersing myself in the that day to day stuff is all I could ask. But that's a boring answer. I really do like that we can package a beer on Friday morning and we can interact with the people drinking it for their first time in the taproom or one of our bars. Instant feedback, good or bad, really is great.
Q: Worst part of the job?
A: In a past life I would have said anything sales based, but luckily I don't have any involvement there anymore. So it is a genuinely tough question. But Jonny very helpfully cleaning up behind me, which to be honest is generally a good thing. We have very different styles, and being of a certain age, it can be a bit concerning when I put something down one minute, turn around and it's gone the next.
Q: Favourite beer you’ve brewed?
A: Well, we haven't brewed anything with Sorachi Ace yet, so... But as much as I enjoy all styles of beer, I'm pretty old skool and really do enjoy my beer on the clearer bitter side, so the Transpacific Pale is right up my street. But I'm also a sucker for Sabro (don't tell Sorachi) so have really enjoyed the Sabro Kölsch.
GET IN TOUCH.
If you have a question that only the brewery can answer then fire us an email.