Oxford is a traditional English city that has produced great poets and thinkers. Oscar Wild, Lewis Carroll, JRR Tolkien and Dorothy L. Sayers are just a few of the brilliant minds who studied here and later earned fame and honor for their masterpieces. The prestigious university town is also home to Ian Faulkner. However, Ian is not a writer, poet or playwright, but a philosopher. And brewers, but more on that later.
So Ian's story began in Oxford, which he left to study philosophy in Manchester. After graduating, he moved to the lively metropolis of London, where he pursued his profession. However, when philosophy turned out to be a pointless art, Ian decided to leave England and explore the planet. With big plans in mind, he turned his back on home only to end up in Berlin. His journey took him to Prague, where he fell in love with a German woman. He followed her to Berlin and, after a few years in the capital, finally ended up in Hamburg. The Danube city wrapped him around his finger with its charm and he began to feel at home there. If it hadn't been for the beer: as an Englishman, tasty ales are in Ian's blood, but in Hamburg a few years ago people drank almost exclusively Pilsner. Because the craft beer movement was still in its infancy, Ian had to take the initiative himself and simply taught himself how to brew. He read stacks of books and ventured into his first brews. His creations were well received and he launched the first small range together with a bar in St. Pauli. Gradually more pubs became interested in Ian's ales and he decided to give it a chance. Simian Ales was born and the fun could begin.
Today, the Brit with the good taste in beer has established himself on the German market and his creations are no longer just found in Hamburg's neighborhoods. Fine brews flow from the brewery with its own taproom in Elmshorn, which cover the entire spectrum of the modern beer scene and, with pale ale, lager, IPA and one or two pilsners, should suit the taste of all beer lovers. By the way, the name Simian comes from Ian's enthusiasm for monkeys: In English, the term Simian refers to all ape-like primates. And his own name is in it too!
