Who’s behind Lost and Grounded Brewers, and how did it all start?

Our journey began over 25 years ago with our co-founders Alex Troncoso and Annie Clements, who started out homebrewing together before travelling the world, with Alex working for some of the best craft brewers across the globe including Little Creatures Brewing and Camden Town Brewery. When it was finally time to set down roots, Alex and Annie chose Bristol as their adopted home as a place bursting with creativity and independent spirit, opening the brewery in 2016.

Right from the start our vision was to brew the best and most unique lager in the UK, starting with our flagship Keller Pils, and now we brew lager every week of the year!

What has stayed important to you as Lost and Grounded has grown and evolved?

When we started out 10 years ago we had a clear idea on who we wanted to be as a business, as a brewery making fantastic tasting beers but also focusing on the people around it.

We’re proud to have been a Living Wage employer since we established in 2016, having started out with 7 of us, we’re now a team of almost 35 who all share the same vision for Lost and Grounded.

What does Sustainability look like at Lost and Grounded Brewers?

Brewing uses a lot of energy and raw materials, so from the beginning we’ve tried to make thoughtful decisions about how we run the brewery. Over the last 10 years we’ve gradually introduced systems and processes that help us reduce waste and use less water, gas and electricity.

In 2022 we installed a 30-tonne malt silo, which saves around 15,000 polypropylene sacks being thrown away each year. Then in 2023 we added an energy recovery system that captures steam from the boil and reuses it elsewhere in the brewery. Most recently, as part of our 2025 expansion, we introduced CO? recapture technology, allowing us to collect, purify and reuse CO? created during fermentation.

We’re always keeping an eye on how we can improve further, brewing the beers we love in a way that feels responsible, practical and sustainable for the long term.

What do you think sets Lost and Grounded apart?

We’re kind of an outlier in the fact that we focus on brewing lager, which is a family of beers that is incredibly difficult to master, but we love the challenges that brewing this type of beer brings! It’s really about our entire brewing philosophy. From the choice of ingredients, to how we treat the water, brewing techniques, fermentation and lagering methods. Of course, the most important part is time – and all great beers need this.

We celebrate the natural haze in our beers, sometimes they appear slightly hazy, sometimes brighter, but always with the same flavourful character and personality you know and love.

Do you have a favourite beer or one that’s really popular at the moment?

It has to be our flagship lager Keller Pils! This is the beer that really turned Alex and Annie’s dreams into reality, and is what our brewhouse was built for. We use Pilsner malt from Germany and Belgium as a base to this lager, and combine with three traditional hop varieties; Magnum, Perle and Hallertauer Mittelfruh. The result is a clean, crisp, Hop-Bitter Lager Beer inspired by the traditional Kellerbiers of Germany. Keller Pils is also award-winning having picked up Gold at the 2023 World Beer Cup Awards^® in the Kellerbier/Zwickelbier category.

Where do you draw inspiration for new flavours and designs?

We’re very much advocates for sticking to the classics, but brewing them in our own style. We are a lager focused brewery, drawing inspiration from German recipes and techniques, but our core range is also includes Belgian style beers as well as firm favourites such as Pale Ale and IPA.

We’re always asked about our can designs and we’re proud to have worked with some amazing creatives on these. Our visuals are translations of our core values as well as the story of Lost and Grounded, starting with our humble mascot – the flying hippo. As we see it, our hippo isn’t the rock star of the animal kingdom, but is a quiet achiever who believes in himself and, who knows, if he works hard enough, he can carry the world.

What do you hope people feel when they pick up your beers at Better Food?

We hope people pick up our beers and feel curious, but with a sense of familiarity. Whether it’s a Keller Pils for the fridge or something a little more adventurous, we want every drop to feel thoughtful, balanced and genuinely enjoyable to drink — something worth sharing with good food and good people.