The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 is the UK’s implementation of the European Union’s Directives on Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX 153 and ATEX 114) which are derived from  IEC 60079 International Standards for Explosive Atmospheres  that has also been implemented without national variation in many other countries including Japan, Brazil and Australia. DSEAR is intended to protect not only employees at the workplace, but also other persons on sit

Distilling and blending spirits involves a multitude of different occupational risks, from barrel handling to slips and falls. One of the more unique hazards compared to other FMCG businesses is the processing and storage of flammable substances which can result in workers and members of the public being hurt. In order to generate a healthy and safe industry and maintain a positive reputation, it is vital that business leadership takes the necessary steps to manage risks and

My ego wants nothing more than to venerate the picture of the lone figure crafting innovative libations like some maverick radical of mixological creativity. But it probably isn’t something that interests a real brewer or distiller in the slightest, those who’ve truly cut their teeth know that running a production process like a metronome day-in day-out is far more difficult than the exercise of concocting a recipe. I believe that this over romanticised image of what mastery

I’m an adherent of data driven decision making in the belief that anything can be measured. So, I wanted to write about project management and how a clearly defined scope during the planning stage of projects, coupled with performance analysis and stakeholder feedback at the end can drive continuous improvement. Most leadership teams fundamentally understand this already, but some skip the first and last parts of a project life cycle due to resource constraints or, worse, pol

I’ve considered writing again here and there for some time having given up on my old brewing blog five years ago when I moved to London...

Different historic styles of beer and whisky are associated with different cities and regions throughout Europe. This is because different places traditionally would have most likely used local malt but would also have been constrained to a certain extent by the profile of the water supply available to them. The water of Pilsen and Munich is soft and low in salts making it ideal for brewing pale crisp lagers. Dortmund has a lot of minerals in its water and so beers made here