Life Lessons with Lord Chambray

Let’s start off here… bajtra loves Lord Chambray. 

It’s exciting to see so much passion and effort go into a local brand. It’s also so satisfying to see science and art come together to create a meticulously accurate, yet wildly creative craft beer range. 

A Gozitan brand developing over twenty craft beers for the Maltese Islands to be totally proud of.

Craft beer has been on our radar since 2012, when a family visit to London introduced us to BrewDog. It started with an intense lightbulb moment over Punk IPA and became an obsession with Hazy Jane and Elvis Juice, the latter of which we discovered in BrewDog’s birthplace: Scotland.

The only thing BrewDog and Lord Chambray sentimentally have in common, however, is that open-eyed excitement of discovering something completely new, paired with that sigh-of-relief comfort in relying on something you already love. Lord Chambray somehow delivers both. 

This year alone, 67 Kapitali introduced us to the last bottle in stock of No Limit Barley Wine, while Singita has become our favourite place to watch the golden sun disappear behind a bottle of Here & Now.

Somehow, Lord Chambray has quietly become part of the bajtra lifestyle.

In 2014, the Lord Chambray story—and arguably the Maltese Islands’ growing appreciation for craft beer—began with one simple ambition: to brew uncompromisingly delicious beers using traditional technique, modern innovation and exceptional ingredients. Founder Samuele D’Imperio has always kept his recipe for success in plain sight, adding one extra ingredient that can’t be measured in a brewhouse: unfiltered creativity. Exhibit A: Zen Break. Exhibit B: Defrosting.

The latest chapter of that story comes in the form of newly appointed Head Brewer Winnie Hsu, whose marvelously infectious passion for brewing and wonderful mad-scientist approach to flavour makes it impossible not to get excited about what’s coming next.

Even the way she explains fresh hops, never holding back on information, giving us the full experience — always with the goal of sharing her love for beer making. What we learned in those 30 minutes of playing with, smelling, and in my case tasting the bitter (like extremely bitter) fresh hops, was priceless. I do know that I will need to learn a whole lot more to keep up with her and her processes. 

During the last few months, we’re not entirely sure whether we’ve consumed more Lord Chambray information or more Lord Chambray craft beers. We’ve decided it’s probably equal. 

Here’s what we learned between the pints. 

The First Taste

Usually, starting somethin

g worthwhile is hard. It takes mental, physical, emotional, financial and sometimes even spiritual effort. Every time you solve one problem, another three appear to remind you that you’re only just getting started.

Looking back, it’s almost amusing to hear Samuele admit that when Lord Chambray opened its doors in 2014, he genuinely thought running a brewery would be relatively straightforward.

“I thought running a brewery would be easy. Then I realised beer doesn’t forgive mistakes. One mistake can destroy the batch—and your reputation.”

That realisation shaped everything that followed. Instead of pretending to know everything himself, Samuele surrounded himself with people who did. Brewers, technicians and specialists who all believed in the same mission: if a beer carries the Lord Chambray name, it has to deserve it.

Ironically, Winnie’s journey into brewing began in much the same way—with an opportunity she never expected. While studying Agricultural Economics in Taiwan and working part-time at TGI Fridays, a manager noticed something she hadn’t yet recognised in herself: consistency. He handed her two brewing books, suggested she would make a for a fine brewer and sent her off to the United States to train.

She laughs now remembering that she barely understood the books and that people were cruel. 

“I was the only non-American and the only female brewer. At first, people didn’t really respect me.”

Those parts, yeah, they were hard. The brewery, brewing and beer… they made far more sense. 

Years spent brewing in America, Taiwan and Germany taught her that brewing isn’t simply about recipes—it’s about discipline, repetition and respect for the process. 

Lessons from the Red Dragon

The first sip of Red Dragon, a Sour Ale at Lord Chambray, almost catches you off guard. Your instinct is to decide whether you like it, but then you stop yourself and remember what you’re drinking. It’s meant to be sour. It’s meant to challenge your expectations. Suddenly, instead of judging it, you’re trying to understand it.

That perfectly mirrors Winnie’s approach to brewing.

The moment she first pulled almost 400 kilograms of spent grain from the mash tun, she became obsessed with the process. Not only when creating recipes, but also when cleaning tanks, maintaining consistency, repeating routines and understanding why every tiny decision changes the final beer.

“People think brewing is about creating flavours. It isn’t. It’s endless practice. You have to love the process because that’s where the beer is really made.”

Samuele smiles as she speaks.

“After more than twenty years, she still talks about brewing with exactly the same passion.”

Red Dragon reminded us that curiosity isn’t commitment. It’s simply being brave enough to taste something twice before deciding what you think.

Sylvia and Her Friends

At bajtra, we champion collaboration because the best ideas rarely happen in isolation.

Lord Chambray clearly shares that philosophy.

Their collaborative range has become one of the brewery’s most exciting chapters, bringing together individuals with different perspectives but the same respect for great beer.

Sylvia, brewed alongside Magic Rock Brewing UK, is perhaps the perfect example. Bright, vibrant and beautifully balanced, it proves that two ideas can become something greater than either one could have achieved alone. 

That same philosophy exists inside the brewery.

Winnie describes herself as highly scientific, something strengthened by years brewing across Taiwan, America and Germany, but she also credits her years behind cocktail bars for teaching her how flavour should make people feel, not simply how it should taste.

“I love flavour-forward beers. Clear flavours that never overwhelm. It still has to taste like beer.”

Samuele sees leadership in exactly the same way.

“I don’t need to know everything. I want the best people around me—people who believe in the same mission.”

Perhaps that’s the biggest lesson Sylvia teaches us. Great ideas are rarely about one brewer. It’s about trusting everyone around the table.

Comfort in a Lord Chambray Bottle

For someone who has brewed countless experimental beers, Winnie’s favourite Lord Chambray beer surprised us.

It isn’t the loudest.

It isn’t the newest.

It isn’t the most adventurous.

It’s San Blas.

At first, she admits she didn’t fully appreciate it. Coming from breweries producing endless experimental styles, San Blas almost seemed too familiar. Only after working at Lord Chambray did she begin to understand the philosophy behind it—the ingredients, the balance and the quiet confidence of a beer that never tries too hard.

Today, it has become her comfort beer.

Perhaps that’s exactly what Samuele has spent the last decade building. Not beers people drink once because they’re interesting, but beers people return to because they trust them.

As he puts it:

“The first sale doesn’t matter. The second one does.”

A Classic, With a Twist

By the end of the afternoon, our conversation had drifted away from brewing techniques and into something much bigger. We spoke about creativity, consistency and the strange balancing act between staying true to yourself while never becoming predictable.

It reminded us of A Toda Velocidad, Lord Chambray’s Mexican Lager.

On paper, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a classic lager. Crisp. Clean. Refreshing. Comfortingly familiar. But then comes the twist. A subtle burst of lime lifts the entire beer, transforming something traditional into something quietly unexpected without ever losing its identity.

It felt remarkably similar to the people sitting across the table from us.

Samuele built Lord Chambray on traditional brewing principles but has never been afraid to challenge expectations with beers like White Waves and countless creations that continue to push Maltese craft beer forward.

Winnie shares that same philosophy. Years of scientific brewing, German precision and cocktail creativity haven’t made her abandon the fundamentals. Instead, they’ve taught her that innovation works best when it is built upon strong foundations.

Perhaps that’s the biggest life lesson Lord Chambray leaves behind.

Know your craft so well that breaking the rules becomes intentional.

Master the classics before reinventing them.

Find comfort in what you know, but never become too comfortable to surprise yourself.

Because sometimes, all it takes is an iconic island staple to push you in the direction of greatness. 

The freshly seasonally Prickly Pear Juicy IPA is probably one of the best brews by Lord Chambray — we might be biased, but Winnie also agrees that this IPA is a stand-out in the collection.

We peeled prickly pears, we watched the magician at work, we played with the hops and we tasted the green beer (sediment at the bottom of the tank); and we’re excited to get a proper draught of Prickly Pear Juicy IPA; cold, fragrant and full of local character.