CROSS BORDERS BREWING CO.

EST 2016

We seriously love beer here at Cross Borders Brewery.

We regularly brew our core range of reliably braw beer in 10 barrel batches (that’s around 1500ltrs) alongside exciting one-off’s and seasonal specials to keep things interesting.

Bryan and Jonny standing in the brewery with large brewing tanks in the background. Bryan is wearing a black jumpsuit with rubber boots, and Jonnyis wearing a navy hoodie and jeans. Both are smiling.
A handwritten-style diagram showing the word 'Bryan' with an arrow pointing to the same name underneath.
The word 'Jonny' written in a stylized, cursive font with an arrow pointing downward from the text.

WE CARE ABOUT WHAT WE DO.

Brewing is hard graft, we’re tempted to say we put blood sweat & tears in every batch but that would be gross. Lets just say we put a lot of love into every brew!

Wherever possible we use local ingredients, we’ve even been known to go foraging for special touches!

We only use the finest brewing barley and once we’re done with it a local farmer collects it and takes it away to become cattle feed.

All the water we use for a brew gets reused as does the energy used to heat each batch. Anywhere we can avoid waste, we will.

A brown glass beer bottle with a light blue label from Cross Borders Brewing Co. featuring a white plus sign, labeled as American Pale Ale with 4.5% alcohol.
A bottle of Cross Borders Brewing Co. Southern Pale, an NZ Pale Ale with 4.5% alcohol, against a green background with the label visible.
A brown glass bottle with a blue, gold, and white label featuring a white cross, labeled 'Cross Borders Brewing Co.' and 'Sabro Kölsch, Style Ale, 5% alcohol.' The background has a diagonal split with yellow on the left and blue on the right.
A Cross Borders Brewing Co.beer bottle, featuring a plus sign, labeled as Porter, Robust Dark Beer, 4.2% alcohol content, placed against a purple background.
Bottle of Cross Borders Brewing Co. Dry Hopped Sour beer with Nelson Sauvin hops, 4.7% alcohol, on a colored background divided into yellow and teal sections.
Brown glass beer bottle with a label from Cross Borders Brewing Co. with the text 'Pilsner Unfiltered Lager 4.3%' on it, against a patterned blue background.
A brown glass beer bottle with a label from Cross Borders Brewing Co. featuring a blue and green background, a white plus sign, and the text "XPA Extra Pale Ale 5%".
A brown glass bottle of Cross Borders Brewing Co. low alcohol pale table beer with 2.9% alcohol content, set against a background divided into light blue and light yellow sections.
A brown glass beer bottle with a blue label from Cross Borders Brewing Co., featuring a white cross, labeled 'Session Pale Sublime Pale Ale 4.2%'.
A brown glass beer bottle with a white cap, labeled with the Cross Borders Brewing Co. logo, a white cross, and text indicating it's a heavy, modern 80/- beer with 4.1% alcohol, against a red geometric background.
A brown glass bottle of Cross Borders Brewing Co. India Pale Ale with a silver and white label featuring a white plus sign, set against a green geometric patterned background.
A brown glass beer bottle with a pink and white label featuring the text 'Cross Borders Brewing Co.' and a white cross symbol. The label indicates it is a 'Red IPA' with 'Hoppy Red Ale' style and 5.5% alcohol content. The background is red with a sub
A brown bottle of Cross Borders Brewing Co. Wee Braw, Session IPA with a label featuring a white plus sign, placed on a red background.
A beer bottle label for Cross Borders Brewing Co. Hazy Pale BRAW, 4.5% alcohol, on a yellow background.

Jonny.

The man, the legend, (but most importantly) the heid brewer.

After huge success as front man of legendary punk band, the Sex Pistols, Jonny went on to… no wait, hang on, wrong Jonny.

After minimal success as guitarist in The Fusiliers, Jonny went on to study Brewing & Distilling at Heriot Watt University while also working at some of the UK’s best independent breweries.

He’s a hugely talented and passionate brewer who loves to educate anyone who’ll listen (he’s also a pretty decent guitarist!).

Jonny in a yellow shirt standing in a large stainless steel tank, holding a hose and spraying water inside, with a surprised expression on his face.
Handwritten message on black background states: 'Jonny takes his work very seriously, be like Jonny' with an arrow pointing to the message.

Q&A

Q: Best part of the job?
A: Being in a pub and seeing someone order a beer I’ve made, it’s a great feeling.

Q: Worst part of the job?
A: Cask washing. The casks weigh 10 kilos and the chemicals are nasty. It’s a tough monotonous job but it has to be done!

Q: Favourite beer you’ve brewed?
A: You can’t make me pick between my babies!  Each one has its own individual personality, it’s like asking what is your favourite song?  There’s no one answer to that - what mood are you in, what day of the week is it, what's the weather like?

I can tell you that the one I’m most proud of is the Heavy, it was the 3rd brand we launched at the brewery and the recipe landed first time. Normally there will be trial batches and ongoing tweaks to the recipe, but I loved the Heavy from the first go. To take a much maligned and under appreciated beer style, and create something that is packed with toffee, caramel, biscuit aroma and flavours… I’m well chuffed with it.

Q: What’s next?
A: I’ve got an idea I’m excited about for an upcoming special involving Belgian yeast, Sumac and Hibiscus.  Should hopefully be a nice light pink colour. 

A pattern of small, pink plus signs and plus symbols on a white background.

Bryan.

The newest member of the team

Bryan joined Jonny at the brewery in September 2024. He brings with him keg loads of brewing experience and an imperial stout level of dedication to the braw beer cause. He’s our kind of people!

Bryan wearing green rubber gloves and rain boots standing in a brewery, holding a black bucket, surrounded by stainless steel brewing tanks and equipment.
Cursive text that says "it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it".

Q&A

Q: Best part of the job?
A: I love Brewing, so just immersing myself in the that day to day stuff is all I could ask. But that's a boring answer. I really do like that we can package a beer on Friday morning and we can interact with the people drinking it for their first time in the taproom or one of our bars. Instant feedback, good or bad, really is great.

Q: Worst part of the job?
A: In a past life I would have said anything sales based, but luckily I don't have any involvement there anymore. So it is a genuinely tough question. But Jonny very helpfully cleaning up behind me, which to be honest is generally a good thing. We have very different styles, and being of a certain age, it can be a bit concerning when I put something down one minute, turn around and it's gone the next.

Q: Favourite beer you’ve brewed?
A: Well, we haven't brewed anything with Sorachi Ace yet, so... But as much as I enjoy all styles of beer, I'm pretty old skool and really do enjoy my beer on the clearer bitter side, so the Transpacific Pale is right up my street. But I'm also a sucker for Sabro (don't tell Sorachi) so have really enjoyed the Sabro Kölsch.

GET IN TOUCH.

If you have a question that only the brewery can answer then fire us an email.