New head brewer at Cornish pub brewery Driftwood Spars

The award-winning coastal microbrewery, known for its handcrafted beers in both traditional and contemporary styles, has promoted former brewer’s assistant Tim Lawrence to the top job as of next month.

Tim will step up following the departure of Mike Mason on April 1. After four years at the helm Mike is moving on to open his own brewery, Mason Brewing Co.

Louise Treseder, owner of the brewery and The Driftwood Spars brewpub at Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes, said: “Mike has been a fantastic head brewer, and we wish him all the very best in his own pursuits – we’re hoping to collaborate on some ground-breaking brews in the future!”

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She added: “Tim has worked alongside Mike for almost the whole of his tenure, so he’s the perfect person to take charge for this next phase of the brewery’s life.

"Before that he also worked closely with our founding brewer, Pete Martin, and it’s brilliant to know that Pete’s craftsmanship and inventiveness has been passed along.”

Between stints at the brewery, Tim worked at Falmouth’s much-loved craft beer spot, Beerwolf, for several years, and is a passionate advocate of small batch brewing.

He is said to know the unique recipes for Driftwood favourites like Alfie’s Revenge and Lou’s Brew "like the back of his hand", and he has also brewed countless batches of the contemporary canned range, Cove, which includes popular beers Dune, Stippy Stappy, Ocean Pale, Seaberry, and Midnight Skinny Dipper.

Tim was previously brewer's assistant to the departing head brewer (Image: Driftwood Spars)

Tim loves experimenting on the brewery’s pilot brew kit, and outside of work can often be found playing around with other fermentations - from breadmaking to Kombucha, and weird and wonderful vinegars.

Tim said: “I’ll miss working with Mike, but I’m sure we’ll be calling each other up to exchange ideas and arrange tasting sessions!

"However, I’ve got a lot of love for this little brewery and I’m really proud to have inherited the mantle from Mike and Pete before him.

"Owner Louise and I have a similar ethos when it comes to brewing, so I’m looking forward to busy and fulfilling days ahead, as we look to innovate as well as preserve the amazing legacy of the last 20 plus years.”

For their final brews together, Mike and Tim have made a series of four Belgian-style beers, one of which - a 10.5% Belgian Quadrupel - will be available alongside many others at A Barrel of Laughs, the pint-sized comedy and beer weekender at The Driftwood Spars between March 15 and 17.