From French wine country to Cornish surf, a new book tells the story of the many challenges Tommy Barnes faced establishing his brewery, Braslou Bière.
Something Brewing in Cornwall is a sequel to A Beer in the Loire and Trouble Brewing in the Loire, and it celebrates beer, Cornwall, family, and friendship. It will be published by Muswell Press on 11th June.
Four years after establishing Braslou Bière, a British microbrewery in the heart of French wine country, Covid hits and Tommy and Rose Barnes are forced to make the agonising decision to return to England.
Landing in a cramped cottage in scenic Padstow, their animals are rehomed, and their children confused. Tommy mourns the loss of his old life. After winning and losing several jobs — not least at St Austell Brewery — he realises that he is in trouble. In fact, he is depressed.
With that insight, and the kindness of friends — and a rival brewer — he sets about launching Braslou Bière in Cornwall. There are disasters aplenty, but, with his new self-knowledge and energy, life begins to look up. He launches Surfer Beer to celebrate.
Told with biting wit and poignant reflection, this is a story of escape and exile, of finding freedom and losing it again, and of how the places we leave behind often haunt us more than we expect, says the publisher. It’s a deeply human tale about identity, home, and the weight of nostalgia, laced with beer, animals, and a truly indestructible dog.
