A SHARED JOURNEY The STEAM MACHINE was founded by husband and wife Nick & Gulen, but assisted by an entourage of helpful friends and family. With a home brewing background of over ten years, they were no strangers to brewing, and Nick especially as a science teacher had always been fascinated by the chemical and biological processes behind brewing. Inspired by the International Craft Beer Revolution, and by the exciting New World beers and wines the couple sampled whilst touring the world, Nick & Gulen were eager to create beers to excite their new extended taste palates. A NEW IDEA Determined to be in charge of their own destiny, and with a great desire to work creatively with each other, Nick studied modules of brewing chemistry, and attended courses on industrial brewing to learn how to scale up their experimental recipes. Seeking advice from TEDCO, they returned to Nick's native North East England and began developing their business idea: Great tasting Craft Beers, unfined, unfiltered, unpasteurised, and bursting with flavour. Supported by VIRGIN STARTUPS, and having the nod of approval by Sir Richard Branson himself in March 2015, the STEAM MACHINE was slowly assembled in the red-brick wing of an old WWII munitions factory in the heart of industrial Aycliffe. THE MACHINE GROWS With a Summer 2015 launch, the STEAM MACHINE beers have gone down extraordinary well and are frequently rated highly on beer review sites such as UNTAPPD and RATE BEER. Their kegs and bottles are now in over twenty-five unique craft beer venues from Northumberland down to Huddersfield, including such superb places as VESUVIO'S Darlington, BODA HOME Whitley Bay, COPPER'S Gosforth, LION'S DEN Yarm, RAYNEVILLE STORES Leeds, and even the Michelin-starred RABY HUNT RESTAURANT. They have an ever-growing diverse range of quality craft beers, spanning from a California Common Lager to an Earl Grey tea-infused IPA. They are constantly experimenting in the same fashion they have always done at home to come up with new and exciting flavours to challenge the taste-buds of beer lovers all over the North. Their philosophy is a simple one. Experimentation to create beers that are uncompromising in flavour, and a refusal to strip precious flavour compounds from great beer by unneeded industrial processes. WHY CRAFT KEG? Whilst Nick & Gulen could sit and drink cask ale all evening long (and have done so frequently!), that is not what the STEAM MACHINE is about. The majority of their beers are high strength, with often ten times more hops than most cask ales. Having the beer cold prevents a cloying stickiness that can be apparent at warmer temperatures, and the higher than normal levels of dissolved carbon dioxide provides a refreshing bitterness to contrast the heavy malt-induced sweetness, as well as an uplift in aroma by funnelling bold hop oils straight into the nose from the glass. Because of this, they believe their beer is best enjoyed cold and sparkling straight from the keg or bottle. Don't let the word keg fool you though; STEAM MACHINE beers are completely unpasteurised, unfiltered, unfined (they don't even use fish-bladder isinglass that's present in most cask ales), and carbonated only through a natural secondary fermentation. To retain all the great properties of their top-quality ingredients, they refuse to strip precious flavour particles from their product, and as such, STEAM MACHINE's beers are designed to have a natural haze - in fact, if ever you find one of their beers is crystal clear it's probably by accident! THE BRAND The STEAM MACHINE worked with Newcastle's superb SUMO DESIGN to come up with the striking labels that play a huge part in the success of the beers. THE FUTURE The STEAM MACHINE will continue to develop experimental recipes of uncompromising quality and flavour, to grow their ever-expanding craft bottle and keg market, and to push their brewing techniques beyond common conventional practice. Look forward to a host of exciting new seasonal beers in 2016 to compliment their popular core range.