It's mid-afternoon on a Wednesday and the smell of malt wafts over a Speke industrial estate.
Inside Big Bog Brewing, found in unit 74 at Venture Point West, brewery manager Chris Riley and production operative Rich Midgley have just finished their latest barrel. The two have spent the day producing Hinkypunk, a pale ale which is the micro-brewery's most successful and popular beer.
Founded in North Wales in 2011, Big Bog focuses on traditional, hand-pulled cask ales, Its sister brand Strawberry Fields Brewery - which also brews under the same roof - produces more modern brews.
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The ECHO spoke to Chris and Rich about the brewery's journey from Snowdonia to Speke and how they themselves got involved with the operation.
Chris, 43, from Woolton, said: "Paul Jeffries (now director and owner) and Gordon Hurst (now distribution and sales manager) were visiting Waunfawr in North Wales pretty much on a weekly basis. They got in with the landlady at the Snowdonia Parc Pub and she had a microbrewery under the pub.
"She asked Paul for advice and she let him brew a few beers himself. He put out Quagmire (a traditional 'old' ale) as his first beer.
"He put it out in 2011 and it won silver at the international brewing awards a few years later. That really took off.
"They were brewing - just Paul and Gordon, Gordon had a full-time job in the NHS and Paul had a full-time job at Hydes brewery in Salford. It was just the two of them brewing in their spare time.
"Eventually sales took off and they required bigger premises. They're both from Liverpool and they were doing it as a side project, so it made sense for them to find something closer to home.
"They found this unit and in 2016 they moved in. There's a purpose-built ten barrel brew kit here and they started production in March of that year.
"The Welsh translation of Waunfawr into English is big bog, or big marsh, hence the name of the brewery. The logo are the two hills you could see from the brewery door in Snowdonia - it all ties in to where we first started."
Having been based in Speke for seven years, the brewery supplies pubs and bars across the region. Big Bog beers can be found in a number of Woolton Village pubs - including The White Horse, The Elephant and The Gardeners Arms. You'll also see them behind the bar at Smithdown Road's Black Cat - of which Rich is a part-owner.
The brewery started to use the Strawberry Fields brand alongside its main line in 2018. It has allowed them to do things slightly differently.
Chris said: "Paul decided to establish a brand and trading name that represented where we are now - we're quite local to the fields site. It's given venues the opportunity to get a different brand of beer onto the bar. At that time we only sold Big Bog products, so it was allowing us to sell two different brands.
"It did well - we wanted it to be a bit more quirky and less traditional than Big Bog, a bit edgier in terms of the beers and the designs on the branding. We were hoping it would be a bit more modern. They're all Beatles-themed - we've got Strawberry Fields Forever, Lucy, Fab Four lager, Penny Lane lager."
Chris became a part of the operation a year before Strawberry Fields was launched. Having worked in pubs while at university, he went on to work in recruitment after graduating. However, he fell out of love with his 9-5 and looked to turn his passion for beer into a career.
He said: "Eventually, I pestered these long enough and they gave me an opportunity to come in part-time. It was of an evening, so I was working at Barclays in the day, then I'd come over here in the evening and do a few hours.
"I was getting up at 7am and getting in at 10pm, but I knew that's what I needed to do to pursue the dream of doing something that I loved. The difference for me is between a job and a career.
"A job is just something you get paid for, but I wanted a career in brewing. It's something I had a passion for. For quality of life reasons, it's just something I knew made me happy.
"I managed to twist their arm to give me a full-time opportunity here. I jumped into it and I was quite quickly made brewery manager."
He has not looked back since. The two brands have won plenty of awards, picking up eight at last year's SIBA Independent Beer Awards.
There are, however, significant challenges. The brewing industry and the hospitality venues it relies on have been hit hard by covid lockdowns and the cost of living crisis.
"Our main product, which is traditional cask ale, is mainly for an older clientele", Chris explained. "A lot of them haven't ventured back out as frequently as they may have done pre-covid.
"That's an element. The cost of raw materials has shot up, we had to put our prices up this year.
"We've put our prices up but luckily our customers have realised it was either that or shutting. Fortunately, it's been so far so good.
"We've been ticking by. It could be better, it could be worse, but it's just a case of finding the business.
"Covid got out of the way and we thought we could start getting back to some sort of normality. And then within 12 months, you had the cost of living crisis, you've got the war in Ukraine which put prices up for fuel and raw materials.
"You were just about picking yourself up after covid and then the rug gets pulled from out under you again. It has been a challenge but we just deal with them as they come along. The fact that we're still here is a compliment to what we do."
However, the focus for Big Bog is quality. They are proud of their beers and want more pubs and drinkers to be aware of them.
For Chris, that is key to generating more sales. Though there are a number of venues who order its beer frequently, the brewery wants to bring in more customers and be found behind more bars.
Despite those challenges, Chris is very happy in his choice of work. Working with Rich on production every day, the two are able to channel their interest into experimenting with new flavours, as well as producing the tried and tested favourites.
Chris is a long way from his recruitment days. He is very happy about that.
He said: "We know the quality of the beer is spot on. They've all won several awards - it's just a case of getting people fully aware of that and getting them on bars.
"Winning the awards is very fulfilling. I do this out of passion. I had it as a hobby and now it's a career.
"It's something I love doing and you've got a really good quality of life. When you're producing something yourself pretty much from scratch, to have that product recognised by other people within the field, there's nothing much better than that satisfaction from the job.
"I think that's the greatest achievement to have and it spurs you on to think what else we can brew, how we can work. It really keeps you going."
Breweries Big Bog and Strawberry Fields are found at 74 Venture Point West, Evans Road, Speke, L24 9PB. Their on-site tap room is open from 4pm to 10pm every Friday and their brewery can be hired for events.
