Founders Story

I’m Stewart Rowley, the founder of Crafty...

Like many former athletes, I learned the hard way that you can’t keep eating like a rugby player when you’re no longer training like one. After I stopped playing, the weight started creeping on, and my daily routine didn’t help—working at the top of the drinks industry meant I was drinking most days.

Before long, I found myself struggling to perform, both personally and professionally. That’s when the idea first hit me: surely, there had to be a way to keep the flavour, the nutrients, and the satisfaction of a full-bodied drink, but without the excess calories and sugar. With a background in culinary arts and a Yorkshire-born appreciation for bold, wholesome flavours, I wasn’t about to settle for something that tasted weak or artificial.  I looked at the market and saw two extremes—low-calorie, low-fat products that were either tasteless or pumped full of ultra-processed ingredients. There had to be a better way.

So, I turned to my brewer at the time and laid it all out. After a long, serious conversation, he politely told me it was impossible. Forget it. Move on. That only fuelled me further.

I spent the next year proving him wrong, experimenting, refining, and pushing the boundaries of what was possible. And in the end, I did it.

That relentless drive to challenge convention is what led to Crafty and the breakthrough technology we now call Rowleyisation—a process that redefines how beer is made, slashing calories while keeping the flavour intact.

This isn’t just about beer. It’s about giving people like me—those who want to enjoy life without compromising their health—a better choice. And I’m just getting started.