Liz Casserly has been appointed general manager of Acorn Brewery, to take the 20-year-old Barnsley business forward under new ownership.
Liz, a local woman from Penistone, joins Acorn with many years’ experience in hospitality management — and a pledge to champion cask-conditioned beer.
The appointment follows the sale of the brewery to boutique investment company Sonas Capital, with the retirement of former owners Dave and Christy Hughes. Over the years, Acorn has won many awards for its six-strong core range, including flagship Barnsley Bitter and revered Old Moor Porter.
Motorcyclist Liz attended Huddersfield’s Shelley High School before university, studying outdoor education at Cumbria’s Charlotte Mason College. There she grew her love for cask, working in Ambleside’s Golden Rule pub.
Following several summers spent as a canoeing and rock-climbing instructor, with winters working in Yorkshire pubs, Liz joined the York-based Pivovar group at their renowned Sheffield Tap. She worked there for four years, rising to the role of assistant manager, during which time the on-site microbrewery ignited her passion for beer production.
She then managed Abbeydale Brewery’s Sheffield Devonshire Cat beer emporium, while also overseeing the sister 13-handpump Rising Sun Inn at Fulwood. There she organised and constructed a four-day beer festival in the car park, with some 200 beers.
In 2019, she returned to Pivovar in a human resources role to direct recruitment and training across their Tap pub chain. A post with Hickory’s Restaurants followed, as head of bartending, opening three new venues prior to joining Acorn.
”I have a passion for hospitality, brewing, and beer,” said Liz. “I have known and loved Acorn beers for years, so I am delighted to have this opportunity to take the brewery forward, building on the past 20 successful years.
“We have a top-class core cask range. That that doesn’t need to change, but we will look at other opportunities for development. I would really like to brew a dark mild — Moorhouse’s Black Cat saw me through university. We will continue to develop the highly successful single hop IPA series, perhaps with new processes.
“Exports are also another opportunity. We already send beer to Italy and will look at building on that within the European and Scandinavian markets.”
For the industry generally, Liz would like to see cask ale championed with more marketing initiatives — especially to reach younger people — and plans to work with pubs on meet the brewer evenings and education events.
She said: “Lots of young people have never sampled cask ale. I would like to see them falling in love with cask as I did when I was 18, drinking to enjoy the flavour of beers rather than simply drinking.”
Brendan Fitzpatrick, director of Sonas Capital, said: “In Liz, we now have a first-class general manager to lead the excellent Acorn team forward and grow the business in the face of an extremely challenging environment for both brewing and hospitality.
“Liz brings a wealth of management experience to the post, with the energy, enthusiasm, and imagination to match these challenges.”
