E528 – Andrew Bullied, The Annex Story: Passion, Practice, and Bold Flavours
“The biggest thing for us from the get go was the ability for Annex to be able to have a tap room that people could engage with.”
At first glance, Annex Ale Project might seem like your classic craft brewery story. But look closer, or open the fridge, and you’ll see something refreshingly different. Under Andrew Bullied’s co-leadership, Annex has evolved into a beverage brand as known for its small-batch sodas as its hop-forward beers.
In this episode, Andrew reflects on how a pandemic-era side project turned into a full-on second pillar for the company. Driven by a passion for flavour and a thirst for experimentation, the sodas allowed Annex to reach new customers—from kids to sober-curious adults—while still aligning with their ethos of creativity, quality, and local love. He unpacks the science of carbonation, the storytelling behind soda labels, and what it means to build a product with emotional resonance. This is a conversation about beverage as identity, and why sometimes, the best way forward is to crack open something entirely new.