Mike orders the first beer-making kit and uses the bath tub as the fermentation room. The first few batches didn’t make anyone sick, but more importantly it sparked the interest of good friends James and Dev, which set everything to follow in motion..

• Very soon after, the three mates had joined forces to make beer on a weekly basis from Dev and James’ basement in West London, with the goal being to improve the process every week. Quickly, fresh wort was subbed out for all grain – they now had extra flexibility with their recipes and were getting adventurous with hops varietals too! In an attempt to eliminate variables, the kit saw frequent upgrades, adding wort chillers, fermenter jackets, bigger kettles, and other items.

• Friends joined on Saturdays to help brew a batch, bottle a batch, and try a new batch – the community was born, along with the name Co.bru!

• The first Co.bru braai and beer tasting took place, involving some absolute cracker beers – Bek Oil, T-Money Honey, Gabriel’s Lucky Pot, Tomb Stone Fruit, among others! One was bitter enough to knock your socks off and we’ll never know the ABV of another, but all round there was enough “gees” to warrant making more and ramping up the production!