Spa town-based Buxton Brewery punches well above its weight

To say it punches above its weight is an understatement. It employs only eight people, who produce a very modest 3,800 hectolitres of beer per year, but these brews are recognised globally as some of the best in the world. We are talking about the gem that is Buxton Brewery. If ever there was a…

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Around Town with Amateur Drinker

It was entirely appropriate that in a period in which the County Championship triumphantly returned to its rightful home in North London, Middlesex’s finest brewery put on a performance that would have done Angus Fraser just as proud. [Middlesex county no longer exists and Yorkshire is the rightful home of County Championship – ed] It…

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Derek Prentice – not a common brewer at Wimbledon

Wimbledon Brewery is fortunate in not only having a committed owner, who has had the necessary resources to create something of substance, but to also have the services of Derek Prentice. As London continues its brewing renaissance through an explosion of new craft breweries setting up shop Prentice is one of the few people who…

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Around Town with Amateur Drinker

London Beer City week obviously dominates this month’s correspondence. The opening and closing events provided a perfect illustration of this year’s main theme: the exponential rise in demand for quality beer, and the response to the capacity constraints this produces. It is slightly churlish to criticise the Opening party held at Five Points as they…

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Hammerton Brewery nailing it in North London

Brewing seemed like a good idea when boredom set in with the office job for Lee Hammerton in 2012 and it looks like he made a decent decision as the beers coming out of his brewery in North London are of a consistently high quality. At the time he reckoned Islington, despite its high number…

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Around Town with Amateur Drinker

After a month in which the country managed tear itself apart in a dispute, almost, but obviously not quite as, vicious and confrontational as craft versus keg at a CAMRA meeting, this column will concentrate on the beer. It is to be regretted though that some others in the industry did not remember this, as…

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Fire in the belly at Moor Beer Company

Justin Hawke It seems is a man who likes a challenge and a bit of a scrap. Since setting up Moor Beer Company almost a decade ago he has taken on a number of battles – all in the name of producing full flavoured, consistently high quality, drinkable beers. From the outset he championed cloudy…

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Argos blenders killed in Strawberry Hells Forever production

Friday afternoon at Camden Town Brewery in North London looked like the scene of a serious crime. The strawberries picked earlier in the week for the second annual batch of Strawberry Hells Forever were splattered on many surfaces and on numerous people’s clothing. It was also an actual crime scene – certainly for the basic…

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To expand or not to expand – that is the big question

Like many of the generation of British craft breweries that set-up during the early stages of the current beer renaissance The Kernel Brewery in London’s Bermondsey area is now contemplating whether it should put a lid on future growth and remain at its present size. It is driven by an unusual aspect of brewing in…

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Around Town with Amateur Drinker

For beer nerds (and let’s face it, I wouldn’t bother writing this if I wasn’t one) the quality of a tap selection is what makes an occasion. However, for most people, and even for us anoraks seeking variety as the quality of the normal line-up in London bars goes ever upwards, it is good to…

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