'Life-changing' brewery given the go-ahead

A microbrewery providing training for adults with disabilities and neurodivergence has been given the green light.

The Count Me In Collective brews and sells beer at The Castle Tap, and now Reading Borough Council has approved the use of the organisation's own premises.

Founder Becky Whinnerah said the project had already been operating by collaborating with other breweries, but the approval meant the project could go ahead "all guns blazing".

"This brewery is going to happen. We're really excited," she said.

She said the trainees were "a great group of people".

"We've got this fantastic bunch of trainees, so we've got people with learning disabilities, we've got people who are autistic, we've got people who are wheelchair-users, people with anxiety, ADHD," she said.

"We work closely with them to give them the work experience, but also training in how to brew from start to finish with all aspects of brewing.

"And they're an absolute privilege to work with."

She said there had been "a huge amount of goodwill", and the support of other local breweries had been invaluable.

"As a result, the beer that we made, one of them ended up being pulled at the Great British Beer Festival," she said.

"To be able to take one of our trainees there and for him to see that beer be poured was life-changing."

With planning permission approved, Ms Whinnerah said the collective could now start getting their premises ready, and were hoping get it up and running by the summer.

"There's still some bits and bobs that need doing but fingers crossed let's aim for that," she said.

Despite the challenges, Ms Whinnerah said she was determined.

"We are so bloody minded," she said. "Nothing is going to stop us."

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