Meet the Team
Say hi to Phil...
Name
Phil Riddle
What do you do at the brewery?
Sales Account Management
What led you to a career in sales?
Working in pubs since arriving in UK in 2001 I developed a passion for beer, got tired of pub life so looked for jobs in the beer industry and ended up as an Account Manager for Pig’s Ears before a change in personal circumstances required a shift to Yorkshire from London. I contacted Saltaire, who supplied Pig’s Ears, looking for a job and lucky for me they had a position at the time and here I am, still!
What was your first job?
Electronic Warfare Specialist in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
3 things you spend your time doing / 3 things you love
Travelling, running, eating good food!
Favourite Saltaire Beer?
Polarity in bottle, Unity on cask.
What’s your favourite beer you’ve ever tried?
The beer that got me into beer many years ago, Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
What’s your drink of choice?
I love black IPA’s otherwise a classic West Coast IPA.
What’s your favourite meal of choice?
I love Mexican food, especially a dirty Burrito, pair it with our Full Tilt and you’re on to a winner!
Where’s your top spot for a drink?
Living in York I’m spoilt for choice, my favourites are The Pheonix, upstairs in the original Trembling Madness, Pivni and the Brew York Taproom (am I allowed to say that?!). And of course, our Saltaire Tap!
If you had to describe Saltaire Brewery in three words, what would they be?
Friendly, consistent quality
If you had to pick one place to visit on your bucket list, where would it be?
Seychelles Islands
Your dinner party guest of choice
Iggy Pop, he’d have some stories to tell!
Meet Bex.
Loves beer 🤝 works in a brewery. Packaging operative by day, real ale drinker by night, Bex started working at Saltaire in our Taproom in 2019 and has since moved to our packaging team. Her all-time favourite beer is Honeypot by Old Bear Brewery, but among her Saltaire favourites are Amarillo and Best. If you want to get to know her more, ask her about festivals, gigs and football. If you don’t find her in the pub, you’ll find her having a Sunday roast with her fiancée Debs and spending time with the cats.
Name
Bex Cowling
What do you do at the brewery?
Packaging Operative
Start Date
I worked in the Taproom from Dec 2019 and then moved to packaging in March 2020 at the start of lockdown.
What led you to a career in packaging?
It all started with the Saltaire Brewery Taproom, I had previously worked in hospitality for 12 years. I was only meant to be at the brewery for 6 months before going to open my own bar, but then Covid happened! This lead me to be put into the packaging team and I’ve been there ever since.
What was your first job?
I was a waitress at a local pub and helping out at a brewery (cask washing, racking etc.)
3 things you spend your time doing
Spending time with my fiancée and our cats. I also love going to festivals and gigs. I'm a huge Leeds United fan, so anytime I can I like to go watch them play.
Favourite Saltaire Beer?
Amarillo or Best, Mainline is definitely one of my favourites but it hasn’t made a comeback!
What’s your favourite beer you’ve ever tried?
Honeypot from Old Bear Brewery
What’s your drink of choice?
Any real ale
What’s your favourite meal of choice?
Sunday Roast, with plenty of Yorkshire puddings
Where’s your top spot for a drink?
Locally, The Fox. When I’m in Leeds either Tapped or Belgrave
If you had to describe Saltaire Brewery in three words, what would they be?
Work, challenging, fun
If you had to pick one place to visit on your bucket list, where would it be?
Canada, New Zealand
Meet Dan.
Meet Dan, our Operations Director. Dan looks after the nuts and bolts of the business, including health and safety, HR support, payroll and our business transformation projects. Moving from banking to brewing, Dan became part of the team at Saltaire Brewery in 2017.
What led you to a career in brewing?
The opportunity came along to get involved in the business when it expanded into packaging. I was looking for a new challenge outside of the industry I was working in at the time, I have moved from the banking industry into brewing.
What was your first job?
Working at my uncle’s restaurant as a kitchen porter & waiter. Working there taught me the importance of hard work as there was no room for complacency in such an intense environment.
3 things you love to spend your time doing
Meditating
Swimming
Making / listening to electronic music
Favourite Saltaire Beer?
Blonde, of course
What’s your favourite beer you’ve ever tried?
Tough question as I’ve tried a lot – but, I’m a big fan of DIPA’s as a style
What’s your drink of choice?
Coffee
What’s your favourite meal of choice?
Indian always goes down a treat, especially with a Helles, as its sweet crisp flavours blend well with the spice.
Where’s your top spot for a drink?
A sunny beach somewhere after a hard day’s surfing
If you had to describe Saltaire Brewery in three words, what would they be?
Fun, welcoming, dedicated
If you had to pick one place to visit on your bucket list, where would it be?
Hawaii
Your life motto in three words
Focus on the present (are four words allowed?!)
Your dinner party guest of choice
Joe Rogan
Meet Steph.
If you’ve ever visited our sales office, you might have been lucky enough to meet Steph. Part of the sales team, Steph looks after our export customers, ensuring our beer leaves Saltaire safely and gets around the world to places including Sweden, New Zealand and Singapore. She joined the team in 2017, following her experience in hospitality management.
What do you do at the brewery?
I'm part of the sales team, I look after our export customers as well as helping the rest of the team with sales admin.
Start Date
2nd January 2017
What led you to a career in brewing / packaging / production / sales / accounts / warehousing & distribution?
I covered maternity for 9 months…5 years later the rest is history
What was your first job?
My first job was when I was at college, doing weekend work. I worked in a Silver Service restaurant, which was the start of my career in the hospitality industry.
3 things you spend your time doing
Eating out!
Socialising
Being with my nephew – Arlo, squishy boy.
Favourite Saltaire Beer?
I'm not a beer drinker, but if I had to choose, it would be Citra
What’s your drink of choice?
Amaretto, Ginger Ale and Lime cordial Or Dark rum and Pepsi. Both with lots of ice.
What’s your favourite meal of choice?
Rare Steak, Fries, veg and a Mushroom Sauce paired with Yellow Tails' Jammy Red Roo.
If you had to describe Saltaire Brewery in three words, what would they be?
The whole business has really close teams, which is nice to be a part of.
If you had to pick one place to visit on your bucket list, where would it be?
Disneyland Florida or the Maldives
Your dinner party guest of choice
Ian Sommerholder – Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries!
Next time you’re popping down to the sales office, or when you next give us a call, why not say hello to Steph 👋.
Meet our Production Brewer, Przemek.
One of our production brewers since 2017, Przemek, also known at the brewery as Przemo, is a valued member of the Saltaire Brewery team. So you can get to know our team and the people that make Saltaire, we've been asking a few questions so you can get an insight into life at the brewery.
What was your first job?
My first job was as a baker or confectioner. I started working when I was 16, I always had a passion for cooking, but I'm a bit of a sweet tooth. So, I decided to get into baking. After few years I had to change the industry because of my allergy to flour. From then I started searching for another job that would become my passion. All of this was back home in Poland. After coming to the UK in 2017 when I got a chance to start working in brewing, I quickly realised that brewing would become my job of a lifetime.
3 things you love spending your time doing
I love good food, love studying about beer, birdwatching.
What’s your favourite beer you’ve ever brewed?
California, my own recipe. I hope to brew it again, it’s a nice cask beer.
Favourite Saltaire Beer?
Amarillo.
What’s your favourite beer you’ve ever tried?
I really like freeze distilled beers from Browar Spoldzielczy.
Where’s your top spot for a drink?
I like to enjoy my drink outside, close to the nature. Drinking alfresco gives me a chance to relax and reset after hard day. I'm a green guy and love nature, I like looking at the stars at night as well. This is why outside is the best place to enjoy those things.
What’s your drink of choice?
Nice aged whiskey/bourbon.
What’s your favourite meal of choice? (Food pairing favourites are also encouraged)
Beef steak.
If you had to describe Saltaire Brewery in three words, what would they be?
Home, fun, chaos!
Your dinner party guest of choice
The first would be, Stephen Hawking. My hobby is science, I have a lot of books about cosmos. Stephen Hawking would be the best person to chat about universe, black holes, quantum physics, theory of strings.
Second, Robert Kubica. He is the 1st polish F1 driver, I like motorsport and always wanted to see a proper race. Watching F1 races is like a hobby. Robert is a great driver, after his accident in 2011 he came back to driving, his persistence and passion is unbelievable. I admire him for that. He shows that everything is possible you just need to try and do it.
Lastly, Ricky Gervais. I really like his sense of humour, he is really direct with his jokes. He is really straight forward in life, always wanted to have a little bit of his way of thinking. Life would be much easier If you wouldn’t give a damn about some things 😊
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Przemo, keep your eyes peeled for the next team member.
