Hopulist Issue 1

Go|n’
go nzo
A true pass|on for
qual|ty beer, a steely
entrepreneur|al
determ|nat|on and
a love affa|r w|th
Belg|um. Comb|ne these
elements and you
have a gl|mpse of the
ethos beh|nd one of
the Uk’s best-stocked
onl|ne beer shops Beer
Gonzo. We f|nd out
how th|s bus|ness |s
r|d|ng the front of
the beervolut|on |n
the country.
There was a time, not that long
ago when if you wanted to go
out for a beer in the UK your
options were pretty limited. You were
left either staring into a brown, swirly
and stagnant traditional English ale
or trying to contain your over-inflated
internal organs from several pints of
an obscenely gassy lager. It was a rock
and a hard place. But in some hidden
corners of the country there were
some trying to change that. Anthony
Akers is one of those men, and his
hidden corner happens to be the very
centre of the country in the historic
city of Coventry. Anthony and his two
business partners, Martin and Mick
Leape, ran a small bar called Inspire,
which majored on a wide selection
of quality Belgian beers. Things
weren’t easy, but the trio saw an
opportunity to evolve their business
into something special.