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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Entertainment
Keiran Fleming

The Milngavie micro-brewery and taproom looking to put its stamp on the industry

Situated beside Milngavie train station, Jaw Brew's taproom and micro-brewery have become a well-known business amongst residents in the East Dunbartonshire town.

Since it was launched in 2014 by Mark Hazell and his wife Alison, the independent brewer has gone from strength to strength.

The story of Jaw Brew begins with a student's quest to find affordable alcohol.

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Mark told Glasgow Live: "I was a home brewer as a student because I couldn't go to the pub. I made beer out of those tins from Boots.

"I followed the instructions to the letter but it really was awful. In the end, I started making other things like nettle beer and they were much more palatable.

"It wasn't until later that I found out that nobody had ever made a decent beer out of one of those tins. I started making beer, wine, and whatever, then after 30 years the IT firm I was working for decided they were going to chop the workforce by 25 per cent and I thought I'd volunteer, and to everyone's amazement, including mine, they accepted.

"Voluntary redundancy happened in 2014 and I thought there isn't an independent brewer in Glasgow, so I'll do that.

"I opened in 2014 at the Glasgow real ale festival with my first two beers, Drop and Drift, and then carried on from there."

Since they first brewed their original beers, Drift and Drop, eight years ago the variety of concoctions has expanded, including a recent dive into gin.

The devotion to making alcoholic beverages has allowed the avid brewer to try his hand at making his creations as eco-friendly as possible.

They sell a variety of beers, including beer in a bag (They sell a variety of beers, including beer in a bag)

The Jaw Brew founder said: "I'm passionate about not only beer but sustainability.

"Some of the furniture is made out of recycled wood, bits of old wood and whatnot.

"Two of our beers we make out of leftover bread we get from a local bakery, otherwise they'd have to pay to go to the landfill, we take it in and make it into two different beers now.

"It probably doesn't impact anything in the grand scheme of things considering the volumes we use but it's a good demonstration that there are alternative uses for things that you might think are waste."

With the taproom located near the train station and town centre collaborations between Jaw Brew and other independent businesses in the area have become the backbone of the brewery.

The 62-year-old explained: "We sell stuff for other local people, there is a local artist who sells greeting cards and we have some here.

"There is a lady who's a local author, I've got her book on display. A local person does the home baking.

"The live music I have in here occasionally are local bands. We do try and engage wherever we can with locals, even our spent hops are given away to Milngavie in Bloom so they can use them as a soil conditioner."

The name for the up-and-coming beer brand is derived from the Scots word Jaw which means wave or to pour. It also comes from the name of the Hazell family home 'the Jaw'.


It was dubbed this because it's a 300-year-old miller's cottage and there used to be a mill wheel with water 'jawing' over the top.

The company certainly has enjoyed quite the rise, however, it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the rising stars of beer. The cost of living crisis has hit many businesses hard and Jaw Brew is no different.

The beginning of the brewing process (The beginning of the brewing process)

Mark said: "I've had to put the prices up this year, it also squeezes my margin as well.

"As well as the electricity used to produce the beer, there is the electricity needed to heat and light this place. It has been pegged back a bit with the government cap but come April what's going to happen?

"If I put the price of my beer up the same amount as electricity has gone up I'd be selling a pint for £37.80.

"People will probably carry on spending until Christmas, but we'll have to take a long hard look in January as to what we have to do to survive."

There is another hurdle that is about to have a huge impact on brewers both large and small across the country, the deposit return scheme.

The beer lover explained: "I have said this to members of the Scottish Government, it is a disaster waiting to happen.

"If I sell a case of 12 bottles to someone in Aberdeen. When that person drinks those they can say 'come and get your bottles and give me my deposit back.'

"I have to facilitate bringing those bottles back here, which is just nonsensical because I have to charge about an extra pound a bottle. So I either put myself out of business one way or another.

"I'm going to choose to not sell any further than I can drive the van and deliver."

Despite the current short-term pain that Jaw Brew faces, there are still a lot of long-term goals that the Milngavie-based brewers are looking to achieve.

Mark said: "What we need is a little bit more space and up the production enough so we can start targeting all the small off-licenses.

"We want to target any licenced premises within five miles of here. If this tied pub bill is passed and they are allowed to order directly from me as their local brewery without having to go through head office.

"Then we would be at the stage where we can start pushing beer out and become better known as a local brewery."

To find out more about Jaw Brew click here

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