Russell Bisset: how Northern Monk is keeping the faith

With 12 years of hard graft under his belt and craft breweries closing up all around, Northern Monk co-founder Russell Bisset could be forgiven for considering an exit.

But despite a recent distribution deal signed with Spanish brewer Damm, Bisset has no desire to sell up to a multinational any time soon. Nor does he want to see his business swallowed by Keystone – the private equity-backed brewing group that has acquired a slew of his peers in the past three years. Instead, he’s hoping to keep things in the family.

“My daughter is three years old and adamant she’s going to be the boss of Northern Monk one day,” he says. “We’re very much still a family business – my wife was here [at the brewery] today, my brother works here, the dog is knocking about somewhere. It’s not going to be easy, but I’d love to find a way to make that happen.”

Independent brewers remain under significant pressure post-pandemic, battered by headwinds including soaring costs, competition from cheaper rivals and consumers drinking less. But Northern Monk – founded by Bisset and Brian Dickson in a Bradford basement in 2013 – has navigated the turbulence better than most. Sales are up 400% since 2018 and expected to hit £20m in FY25.

It helps that the brewery’s coffers were bolstered by a £2m crowdfund late last year. The raise – which saw nearly 2,000 new investors back Northern Monk’s vision to become “the biggest craft brewery in Europe” by 2035 – was anchored by a £500k commitment from PE firm Active Partners, which counts Honest Burgers, Finisterre and Freja among its investments. It’s owned a large minority stake in Northern Monk since 2019.

“We’re lucky that – given the make-up of our investors – we had a bit of extra support,” Bisset says. “But at the same time, we were investing in the foundations of the business, while also growing around 20% year on year [during Covid]. Had we not been it would have been really challenging.”

A local brand that has nationwide appeal

Bisset credits Northern Monk’s success partly to its ability to resonate across the north of the UK. Its strapline ‘fresh from the north’ – plus work with Leeds charities including Pyramid Arts and Holbeck Together – evokes a sense of community and pride that connects with beer drinkers, he believes.

“There’s something about beer and its sense of place,” he says. “Even from a macro lens you’ve got Guinness and Dublin, Estrella and Barcelona, Foster’s and Melbourne. Within craft, I don’t think many people play that role. We’ve got a story that resonates with people.”

But Bisset insists the brand also has nationwide appeal.

“One week last year we sold as much Faith [Northern Monk’s flagship pale] in a Tesco in Brighton as we did in [a Tesco in] Leeds,” he points out.

That’s why a chunk of the crowdfunding money will be used to open Northern Monk pubs up and down the country, starting in York and Edinburgh this year, and London in 2026. It’s part of a plan to grow in the on-trade, where Northern Monk historically underindexes.

Also part of that plan was the distribution deal with Damm, announced in March. The tie-up will see the Estrella brewer add Faith and its session-strength sibling A Little Faith – which together make up 55% of Northern Monk’s volumes – to its on-trade portfolio.

Bisset rejects any suggestion the deal is the first step toward an eventual sale. “It was always about distribution and never about investment or acquiring any of the Northern Monk brand. They [Damm] are someone who we can work with and tap into a team of 60 to help us grow in the on-trade, which will help amplify our brand and our business in the off-trade in turn.”

He remains coy on the prospect of Northern Monk beers being brewed at Damm’s UK brewery in Bedford in the future, however. “It’s not something we’re anticipating, having just put an extra 20% capacity in, but I wouldn’t fully rule it out if they could meet the quality criteria.”

Competition in craft beer

It’s easy to see why Northern Monk is looking to diversify its sales footprint. Craft beer in the mults is arguably more competitive than ever, with consolidation around established brands like BrewDog, Beavertown and Camden making it harder for independent brewers to shine.

“Certainly within some retailers, that’s definitely the case,” Bisset concedes. But “even just in the existing audience within craft, there’s scope for us to grow. BrewDog makes up 50% of the category and with them actively pursuing lager we think there’s an opportunity to get hop-forward, independent beer right at scale.”

Growth is likely to come outside the traditional big four – the brewer has just gone into 400 One Stop stores, is working with Lidl on a seasonal basis and producing some own-label beer for M&S – as well as via a greater focus on larger pack formats.

“Northern Monk dominates within single can,” says Bisset. “We’re in the top two or three fastest growers. Where we’ve got ground to make up is in the fours and multipacks.”

Bisset is all too aware of the risk posed by failing to kick on, having seen Yorkshire peers Magic Rock and North Brewing fall into the hands of Keystone this year. The Breal-backed group has developed a reputation for ‘rescuing’ ailing craft brewers by buying their IP and recipes while closing down local production hubs and taprooms.

The practice has Bisset irked. “Businesses acquired purely with profit in mind masquerading as independent breweries is bad for our industry,” he says. “Just this week we had a key account in Manchester break a two-year agreement we had with them because we had been so significantly undercut by Purity Brewing [owned by Keystone].”

Nevertheless, he remains confident quality will out. “I’d be amazed if they can keep up the level of quality,” he says. “It takes so much passion and dedication to really nail what we do. We’ve just got to raise the bar, and achieve things I don’t believe those brands can.”

Those certainly don’t sound like the words of a man about to throw in the towel.