Meet Greg

Greg Pilley
Managing Director, Stroud Brewery 

“Stroud feels like home for me and the brewery.”

Stroud Brewery has been growing and developing in the Stroud district since founder Greg Pilley started brewing in Thrupp in 2004. The brewery uses as many local and regional ingredients as possible and employs 60 people. It also keeps local people and visitors topped up with unique, organic handmade tipples!

Greg explained: “I had lived an itinerant life until I arrived in Stroud, which is the longest I have lived anywhere since 2002 and it now feels very much like home.

“I used to work at the Soil Association, supporting community based local food enterprises as part of their Local Food team. I was invited to Stroud to an event exploring local food production, and as a result, my partner and I became founding members of Stroud Community Agriculture and decided to move to Stroud a few months before the arrival of our first daughter. We incorporated in June 2004 and started brewing and selling beer in June 2006.

“Stroud is a service town to the south Cotswolds - it punches way above its weight. As a result, this small town and the district around it is blessed with many resources. Yet it is small enough to be able to build a network and a personal community.”

A wealth of resources, and a high level of self-employment and independent businesses means there is fantastic support for local and new enterprise, and it’s important to the brewery that Stroud is also well placed for transport, being close to the M4 - M5 junction, and less than 90 minutes to London on a direct train.

Greg added: “We have an ambition to be recognised as an organic beer brand across the UK. Our mission is to put Stroud firmly on the map. We do not shy away from our origins and feel our provenance is an important part of our story and integrity of our brand.”

“We have taken a different approach to finding the people with the skills we need, with an emphasis on training young people in house. This has been a fantastic experience as we have an extremely capable, creative and enthusiastic team which is taking our offering in a great new direction. It has also got us thinking how to embrace this and offer more training to new entrant young employees, and improve diversity in the workplace.

“I would say to business outside Stroud to join us - come to the "New to Stroud" or "Green Drinks" networking evenings at Stroud Brewery!”