Liverpool indie brewery named best in UK is opening its doors to drinkers for one day

A Liverpool independent brewery, named the UK’s best new indie in the industry Oscars, is opening its doors for one day to show drinkers how its award-winning beers are made.

Colbier Brew Co. was started by Mike Corbett, his partner Vik Williams and friend Stuart Rumble last year, with the idea of making ‘Proper Sound Beers’.

And already it’s won the Best New Independent Brewery in the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) Awards 2025 and been shortlisted for Best New Brewery with the Brewers Journal magazine later this month.

Its unique Korean Omija Berry Sour was also recently featured in the Sunday Times top sour beers.

Now 18 months after launch, Colbier is having an open day, giving behind the scenes access to the brewery so people can take tours, enjoy a selection of keg, cask and can beers and play some outdoor games. There’ll also be a chance for someone to design their own beer.

Mike said:

“You can suggest your beer idea, submit it and if it gets selected you can come and brew it with us,”

Colbier, which is based on Bridgewater Industrial Complex in Canal Street and now run by Mike and Vik, has been a very personal project for Mike especially.

His background in music, in bands and selling vinyl, not only inspired the company’s ‘Proper Sound Beers’ tagline, it also provides names for the beers, such as Overture hazy pale, Baritone best bitter and Forte West Coast IPA.

“I’ve been brewing for years for various breweries around Liverpool like Love Lane, Handyman and Carnaval, Vik was also an avid home brewer, and Stuart worked in bars,” explains Mike.

“I used to work in music and at weekends I’d work in a craft beer bar on Hope Street where all the brewers hung out. When Brexit happened and all the record prices went up, because I had a lot of friends who were brewers I started working in breweries.

“From there I did brewing courses and because there’s a lot of scientific knowledge needed, I ended up studying that over lockdowns.

“I’d always wanted to start my own brewery so in 2024, when I found myself out of work, I thought, why not? I got offered a brew kit that was affordable so we just went for it.”

With a 2000 litre brew kit on site, Colbier usually brews one day a week, two batches per day.

They don’t currently have a permanent taproom of their own, so currently sell mostly to pubs and bars across Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Lancashire.

In Liverpool, Colbier beers are served in pubs including The Grapes on Roscoe Street, Roscoe Head, Denbigh Castle, Pen Factory and The Bridwell, and Little Tap Room on Aigburth Road.

There’s a core range of around five or six plus seasonals which they produce once a year and one-offs which are more experimental or collaborations. Overall about 48 different beers have been brewed from the Bootle brewery in the last year and a half.

So, with one major award already won and the chance of another soon, what makes Colbier special?

Mike explains:

“The SIBA judge said we stood out by a mile, and we looked very professional, A lot of small breweries have started off as a hobby and got a bit bigger whereas I’d obviously worked in the industry before.

“We wanted our branding and our website to be good straight away, and we have a big range as well.

“I was serving certain types of beers about 10 years ago to those brewers in the craft beer bar, and since then beers have changed quite a bit. We’ve been making beers that are more of a throwback so they’re different to now, but similar to 10 years ago.

“It’s like a new old thing, going against what other people are doing, and that’s what has helped us get noticed, not just in Liverpool but more nationally.”