Your stories: Wigan brewer Natalya Brown’s journey to national award final, in her mum’s words
At just 22, Wigan brewer Natalya Brown has been named as one of only three finalists for the Brewers Journal’s Young Brewer of the Year 2026, a national brewing industry award.
Natalya is the head brewer at State of Kind Brewery in Ince, where she has already brewed more than 40 beers in her own name, graduated with a brewing degree and represented the brewery overseas.
Her mum, Jane Carter Brown, got in touch with what’s happening in Wigan to share just how proud she is of everything her daughter has achieved. Natalya’s journey, in Jane’s own words.
Natalya has always made me proud. She is the youngest and only girl of my four, so she’s always thought she could do anything a boy could do, and better!
She started her beer journey at Wigan Central, working under Joe, who taught her so much and gave her the itch to put her stamp on the world. She was originally waiting for a start date to join the RAF, so took a second bar job at State of Kind. She worked behind the bar but showed a keen interest in the brewing side. She had done home brewing with her dad at home, so knew some of the basics. Stu, who was the original head brewer, saw something in her and started to nurture her. When John, the owner, offered her an apprenticeship, she jumped at the chance and enrolled at Nottingham University on their brewers course.
Three years later, she has achieved so much for just 22 years old.
She has travelled to Lithuania on her own representing the brewery, travelled to breweries all over the country doing collaborations with bigger breweries and making beer friends along the way. She does frequent Meet the Brewer events where she geeks out and talks all things yeast and hops. Her favourite possession is a microscope John bought her to follow yeast cultures. So geeky!
Natalya graduated from university with a brewing degree and won a bronze award for the first beer she brewed on her own.
Her biggest accolade to date is being shortlisted by the Brewers Journal as one of the final three for Young Brewer of the Year 2026. The awards ceremony takes place in London in September.
She currently has more than 40 beers under her belt in her own name that she curates from the recipe, to the brew, to cellar duties, and she can still occasionally be found serving behind the bar.
State of Kind Brewery is a team of three: John and Zara, who have given her a dream and enabled her to have free rein to put that into place, and Natalya, who is just a woman living her best life, making big waves in a world people thought was a “man’s thing”.
Absolutely love this! Proud mum indeed, and good luck Natalya for the awards in September.
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