Inside Nature's Window Brewery

In this edition, I’m bringing something slightly different - taking a look behind the scenes at a brand-new business for Fowey. I sat down with Bradley Aldridge to find out more about his exciting plans for Nature’s Window, a craft brewery and taproom already brewing excitement in Berrills Yard.

Rachel Roberts

By the time the first glasses are poured at Nature’s Window this summer, the road to opening will have wound as tightly as the Cornish coastline. With planning finally granted, founders Brad Aldridge and Lilly Mulcahy are transforming the old boatyard this spring, ready to fire up the brewery and slide open the taproom doors at the former Boat Yard, right on the Fowey waterfront opposite the RNLI lifeboat station.

"It feels like we’ve been holding our breath for years,” Brad laughs. “Now we’re ready to exhale – and fill that breath with the smell of mash and hops instead of paperwork.”

A window on the world, rooted in Cornwall

Nature’s Window takes its name from the sandstone rock arch in Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia, a natural frame looking out across the Murchison River and red-earth gorges. Brad’s vision crafts a similar perspective in beer form: a window onto the places he’s travelled, viewed from a firmly Cornish foreground. The logo captures the stunning lakeside vista of Cultus Lake, Canada, where Brad and Lilly lived, and where he honed his craft as a brewer over two years, mastering every stage from recipe design to quality control.

“We’re obsessed with the idea that a beer can hold a memory,” Brad explains. “That first crisp lager beside a lake, a hazy pale shared in a beer garden, the citrus snap of an IPA at golden hour somewhere you never want to leave - we want to bottle that feeling.”

“But it has to make sense here,” he reflects. “This isn’t a theme park of global styles; it’s a Cornish microbrewery. So we’re weaving in local ingredients: fruit, honey, even tea, vegetables and chocolate, and working with producers who know this landscape better than anyone.”

Launching full tilt: brewery and taproom together

The launch skips straight to the heart of Brad and Lilly’s vision: opening with both in-house brewery and taproom in sync, housed in the converted 18th-century former boatyard, a vacant riverside site owned by the Treffry Estate, steeped in Fowey’s waterside heritage.

“From day one, guests get the full experience: brewing in view, taps flowing, the whole sensory rush. It’s ambitious, but that’s the point, I want to hit the ground running with quality and control from the start, drawing on everything I learned brewing in Canada.”

The 500–1,000-litre brewhouse will feature three fermentation tanks and four to five brite tanks, supporting core beers and six to seven rotating seasonals. Over time, Brad hopes to bring on the next generation of brewers through apprenticeships and local recruitment.

“For me, growth isn’t about chasing scale,” he adds. “It’s about depth - deeper roots in the community, deeper relationships with regulars, deeper creativity in what we brew.”

Berrills Yard: Fowey’s working waterfront heartbeat

This prime waterfront position, steps from the lifeboat station, with estuary views and easy access for locals and visitors docking or strolling in, carves a niche as a working brewery hub amid Fowey’s historic pubs and eateries.

“We want Nature’s Window to feel special,” Brad explains. “If you’re arriving by boat or foot, it will be a proper Fowey welcome. If you’re local, we hope it’ll become a regular favourite.”

Sitting alongside Captain Hanks and North Street Kitchen, the area already has real food and drink creds, creating the opportunity for a natural kitchen-brewery partnership. Guests will move between venues, with the taproom as a shared living room: think quiz nights, games nights and good conversation.

Waterfront theatre, Brad and Lilly’s way

The space channels Brad and Lilly’s vision of earthy, immersive style without pretension; a place that feels like a magazine spread you can actually settle into. A cinema-style tap list guides pours; the “hat wall” baseball caps from global travels add storytelling flair. Wood grain, stone, and water-ripple textures nod to Kalbarri’s canyons and Fowey’s tides. The glass-fronted taproom turns production into riverside theatre, with guests watching mash tuns bubble against the estuary backdrop.

“We wanted it to feel like a place you’d happily see in a magazine, but not so precious you’re scared to put your pint down,” Brad says.

Craft, community, and adventure

Cornwall’s craft beer scene thrives on small-batch producers and tourists seeking local flavours. Nature’s Window adds a fresh note - global wanderlust fused with local belonging, shaped by Brad’s two years in Canadian brewhouses.

“At its heart, it will be a social place,” Brad reflects. “We’re building a space where a solo sailor feels at home at the bar, locals claim their favourite table, and quiz teams return weekly as seasonal taps evolve. My time in Canada taught me brewing isn’t just science, it’s about creating moments where people connect.”

“We want people to step through the door, exhale, and feel like they belong. And if they leave with a new favourite, a story, and maybe some merchandise, we’ve nailed it.”

This summer, as the first brews are created at Berrill's Yard, Nature’s Window opens not just as a microbrewery, but as an invitation: to travel, to linger, and to enjoy Fowey and craft beer in this idyllic spot.

We’re really excited to see this project as it develops - and of course to taste the beer once they’re open. To find out more, follow them on Facebook and Instagram @natureswindowbrewery.