Beer and dinosaurs make staggeringly good business sense for Southsea brewery

Staggeringly Good owners (l-r) Joe Ross (37) from Southsea and Jonathan Chapman (36) from Worthing, in the brewery. Picture: Sarah Standing

Staggeringly Good was born after Joe Ross, Jon Chapman and Russ Cox supplied their home brew to a stag do held along the Jurassic Coast.

Joe said: ‘We used our flagship beer, Staggersaurus, named after the location and our dinosaur obsession.’

The team was approached by the Brewhouse and Kitchen and began using their equipment to trade with pubs and bars throughout Portsmouth.

Staggeringly Good a brewery based in Portsmouth.

The friends now make 10,000 litres each month and sell to between 50 and 100 venues throughout the UK.

Popular phone app Untapped rates them in the top 10 breweries in the country.

While most start-ups depend on social media to advertise their brand, this was never an issue for Staggeringly Good.

John explained: ‘We never worried. It might sound cocky but we had such a great response from family, friends and fans of the beer. We knew we were onto a good thing.’

17/3/2017 (KB) love your local

Staggeringly Good a brewery based in Fratton, Portsmouth.

Picture: Sarah Standing (170402-4364) PPP-170320-111531001 — 17/3/2017 (KB) love your local Staggeringly Good a brewery based in Fratton, Portsmouth. Picture: Sarah Standing (170402-4364) PPP-170320-111531001

The company was built through word of mouth, however it wasn’t easy getting starting out.

Joe said: ‘Frustratingly, we didn’t qualify for bank or enterprise loans so pulled money from our houses and savings.’

They found an affordable unit at St George’s Industrial Estate, in Rodney Road, Southsea, on Portsmouth City Council’s website and never looked back. The business was kitted-out with help from friends – bar stools made from cushion-covered kegs, surfaces from recovered wood and the ceiling made from pallets.

Joe said: ‘We did nearly everything ourselves, even the drainage.’

17/3/2017 (KB) love your local

Staggeringly Good a brewery based in Fratton, Portsmouth.

Pictured is: (l-r) Jonathan Chapman (36) from Worthing and Joe Ross (37) from Southsea.

Picture: Sarah Standing (170402-4359) PPP-170320-111516001 — 17/3/2017 (KB) love your local Staggeringly Good a brewery based in Fratton, Portsmouth. Pictured is: (l-r) Jonathan Chapman (36) from Worthing and Joe Ross (37) from Southsea. Picture: Sarah Standing (170402-4359) PPP-170320-111516001

Staggeringly Good is passionate about promoting a sense of community. And their feed licence enables them to provide feed to local farmers. They also sell beer to Southsea bakery, Bread Addiction.

At night the brewery transforms into a trendy bar. The tanks are underlit, music plays and people begin to fill the space to sample the much-talked about vegan beers.

However, they’re going one bigger for their upcoming first birthday.

Joe said: ‘We’re renting HMS Warrior to hold a pirate and dinosaur-themed beer festival.

‘There’ll be live music from great local bands. We’ve already sold out all 450 tickets. We’re really excited about it because The Warrior is a jewel in the Portsmouth crown.’

For more go to staggeringlygood.com

HOLLIE O’CONNOR