Work with HoppyGeek
HoppyGeek is an independent homebrewing project by Espen Acklam Solberg.
I write practical brewing guides, recipes, experiments and honest notes about the equipment I actually use. I also make homebrewing videos on YouTube.
The principle is the same in both places: use the gear properly, brew with it, measure what happened, and say what I found.
I’m open to working with brewing shops, manufacturers and other companies when the product or idea is genuinely relevant to homebrewers and fits naturally with HoppyGeek.
Who reads and watches
HoppyGeek has two parts with slightly different audiences.
The YouTube videos are in Norwegian and are primarily aimed at homebrewers in Norway and the Nordics. English subtitles make the videos accessible to viewers outside that audience as well.
The website is written in English for homebrewers anywhere in the world who are interested in practical, technical-but-accessible brewing content.
What kind of collaborations make sense?
I’m interested in brewing equipment, fermentation and kegging gear, measurement tools, brewing technology and other products that solve a real problem in a home brewery.
A collaboration can take different forms:
- Loan — equipment sent to me for testing and returned afterwards.
- Gift or long-term supply — equipment I keep and use over time.
- Paid collaboration — a sponsored article or video where the subject genuinely fits what I already make.
I’m particularly interested in testing equipment through actual brewing rather than making quick unboxing or first-impressions content.
Some products only become interesting after several batches. Testing can therefore take weeks or months, and I do not normally commit to a publication date before I have had enough time to use the product properly.
Alcohol-related collaborations
I do not accept collaborations whose purpose or effect is to market alcoholic beverages or alcohol brands.
That includes sponsored or gifted commercial alcoholic drinks.
Any collaboration must comply with Norwegian alcohol advertising rules. Where alcohol may appear incidentally as part of testing brewing equipment or process, I reserve the right to adjust the format or decline the collaboration if there is any doubt about compliance.
Editorial independence
Sending me a product does not guarantee coverage, and it does not guarantee a positive review.
I decide what I test, what I say about it and what conclusions I draw.
Poor results can be published.
A company is welcome to provide technical information, specifications or point out factual errors, but I do not offer approval of my opinions or conclusions before publication.
I do not promise specific wording, links, keywords or positive coverage.
I also do not accept arrangements where receiving or keeping a product depends on a favourable review.
Disclosure
If a product is loaned, gifted, discounted or sponsored as part of a commercial relationship, I will disclose that clearly.
Commercial content is labelled clearly as advertising or sponsored content where required under Norwegian rules.
On YouTube, disclosure is made clearly in the video and/or on screen where appropriate, in the description, and through YouTube’s paid-promotion tools when relevant.
Transparency matters more to me than making a collaboration look seamless.
Shipping, returns and import costs
Please do not send products without prior agreement.
I do not cover shipping, return shipping, customs clearance, import VAT, duties or carrier handling fees for products sent to me.
The sender is responsible for arranging and covering these costs.
For loan equipment shipped from outside Norway, any required temporary-import or customs documentation must be handled correctly by the sender.
Sending a product without prior agreement does not create any obligation for me to publish coverage.
What I look for
A product needs to make sense for the kind of brewing I actually do.
I’m much more interested in equipment that improves the process, makes something more repeatable, solves a practical problem or gives me something genuinely useful to test than in adding another gadget simply because it exists.
If a product is a poor fit for HoppyGeek, I would rather say no than force it into content where it does not belong.
About HoppyGeek
I’ve been brewing since 2015, starting with BIAB, moving through DIY equipment and eventually to the Grainfather G30 I use today.
HoppyGeek is built around practical experience: brew something, measure what happened, taste it, and work out what I would change next time.
Got something worth brewing with?
Email [email protected].
It helps if you include:
- what the product or idea is
- whether it would be loaned, gifted or part of a paid collaboration
- whether you have any expectations around publication or timing
- which country the product would ship from
- who the contact person is
- how return shipping would work if it is a loan
I’m happy to have a conversation first and see whether it makes sense for both sides.