Advertise on podcast: Cloudwater Podcast

Deep within the cacophony of noise of a small brewery are intricate details – tones, rhythms, call and response, patterns and evolutions. Using contact mics to hone in on the sounds within the noise, the brewing process comes alive in new and unexpected ways. This is a recording of a collaboration brew at Fuerst Wiacek in Berlin. It uses a LOM Geofòn and Metal Marshmallow Morsel plus Roaster contact mics to capture many parts of the brewing process from grain in, water processing mashing, lautering, transfer, steam generation to the active fermentations of other vessels.

This is an interview between Cloudwater's Paul Jones, Tom Upton (Farm Manager) from Hukins Hops, and David Deacon (previously of Hop Engineering, Kent) recorded at Hukins Hops in St Michaels, Tenterden, Kent. The three discuss the current state of the UK's hop growing industry, including historical highs, contemporary issues, and opportunities for improving the future of the UK hop industry.

This recording is comprised of 41 contact mic recordings of Hukins Hops 1950's Bruff hop picking machinery processing the 2025 hop harvest. The recordings took place on the 9th of September 2025 on site at Hukins Hops in St Michaels, Tenterden, Kent. From hooking the bines, threshing and picking hops, separating cones from leaf matter, to conveying to the oast and packing into bales, nearly all parts of the factory processes of picking and separating hops have been captured. The equipment used was comprised of two Metal Marshmallow Roaster plus Morsel contact mics, blu tac for adhesion to various surfaces on the machinery, with the recording taking place on a SoundDevices MixPre 3 II. Editing has been performed for balance, employing M/S EQ (reducing side bass, boosting mid bass, and sometimes boosting side highs too), stereo mix adjustment (as all recordings started out as dual mono L + R), and loudness adjustment to BS1770.

Dry January's popularity is growing, so Anja Madhvani sat down with Paul Jones to talk over some of the pros and cons of taking a month (or longer) off drinking beer, and to discuss some the opportunities available to businesses that make most of their living from the sale of alcohol.

Recorded live at IMBC, Episode 2 of our podcast features conversation with Jonny from The Craft Beer Channel (who hosted several lager tastings at IMBC), and Chris and Brienne from Notch Brewing in Salem Massachusetts (who specialise in lagers and session strength beers) about lager, and its place in modern beer.

Join us for our post collaboration day Q&A with Jeff Bagby, recorded live at Unit 9, a chat with Lucy, Jon, and Will about JPA as a concept and beer-in-progress, and catch up with Jeff over the finished product.