A craft beer brand which started in "pots and pans" in a Stoke Newington kitchen, has blossomed into a subscription service where loyal customers become share holders.

Milo Oddi's Standard Brew Co originated with the parties he would throw in his Hackney garden.

"I'd make beer in my kitchen and give it to all my friends," says the 27-year-old who grew up in Queen's Crescent, Kentish Town.

"We're talking pots and pans then into a cool box with a tap on it. They liked it but were more impressed that it tasted of anything at all. It was great fun, but it's hard to get consistency when you are fermenting in a cupboard."

%image(15007682, type="article-full", alt="Stoke Newington based Milo Oddi launches the Standard Beer Co craft IPA subscription service")

The former William Ellis pupil has worked for a decade in craft beer pubs like The Stag, in Belsize Park, and Beer and Burger.

"I'd go on brew days and ask lots of questions. The brewers were always willing to share."

Then while working for a group of bars, he noticed their house pale ale" didn't taste very good".

"I said 'I can help you guys improve your recipe'. We ended up working with a local brewery, One Mile End in Tottenham. I was there a couple of days a week and they let me in on their brewing secrets."

During lockdown Milo decided to start his own IPA specialist company, calling it Standard because "there are lots of pretentious beer names in the world so I decided to keep it simple."

He's gone from brewing a few litres, to 1500 litre one batch-only beers at One Mile End. Subscribers pay £20 a month for a different case of six IPA, and after a year are awarded 12 free shares. Beer No 3 is made with barley, wheat and oats and hopped to give citrus and pine flavours with a smooth, sweet balance.

%image(15007683, type="article-full", alt="Milo's IPAs are numbered. Each is different and "when they are gone they're gone".")

"The first was a scaled up version of the one we did in our garden. They are all different and numbered so you can see where you joined the journey. They are all very drinkable, I find it annoying when you get these lovely beers but can only have three sips because they are too much. I wanted to bring people to new and interesting flavours and find a way of sharing the business with customers. The shares may be worth nothing or something in years to come."

With their colourful jackets, Milo's IPAs are on sale in a few bars such as The Stag, but most are delivered fresh to subscribers.

In the meantime, he's quit his job: "It feels fantastic, hospitality is a stressful industry with crazy, long, unsociable hours. Brewing is a passion and very gratifying. I just want to keep making beer and sharing it. It's really nice when people love it."

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