Posts by Glynn Davis
Desert Island Pubs – Mark Crowther, chairman of Portobello Pub co., The Pub People Company and Heron & Brearley
Mark Crowther, chairman of Portobello Pub co. and The Pub People Company 1. Earliest memory of a pub you can recall? Although I grew up in Cambridge my parents would regularly take us on holiday around the UK. As a child I remember taking the sea tractor across to Burgh Island in south Devon where…
Read MoreTime to scale back on food in pubs
When the smoking ban came into force in 2007, one of the biggest impacts was the widespread move by pub operators to introduce food into pubs that had previously never ventured further into the realm of selling solids than offering crisps and peanuts. It was a revolutionary period that made the once smoky, boozy environments…
Read MoreDesert Island Pubs – Adam Mayers
Adam Mayers, managing director, Hydes 1. Earliest memory of a pub you can recall? My earliest memory of a pub is visiting the Wellington on Tranch road in Pontypool. Known under the nickname the “Sally” and now renamed as that. I remember drinking Coke from a glass bottle and may have even had chicken and chips…
Read MoreRooms for improvement
Settling into the bar of the Royal Forest pub on the edge of Epping Forest on a gloriously sunny Friday evening ahead of a meal in its restaurant would have been a real treat in itself for my family, but we also had the added enjoyment of being only feet away from our comfortable rooms…
Read MoreDesert Island Pubs – Richard Ferrier
Richard Ferrier, CEO, Heartwood Collection 1. Earliest memory of a pub you can recall? My earliest memory of a pub is sipping a J2O and eating Scampi Fries on the wall outside the ‘Captain’s Wife’ in Sully near Cardiff where I grew up. We would walk the dog along the seafront looking out over the…
Read MoreSpot the beer
It is not long ago that beer in cans was regarded as substandard to that sold in bottles but that changed with the craft beer revolution when the top new brewers recognised the value of cans and have largely chosen the material over glass ever since. Cans are increasingly being used to house a range…
Read MorePubs’ roles in tackling loneliness
When The Queen Victoria pub exploded during Eastenders’ 40th Anniversary recently its dire situation mirrored the wider difficulties faced by pubs across the nation. In England and Wales last year six pubs shut for good each week, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA). The future looks increasingly bleak with the forthcoming effects…
Read MoreBook Review – Brewing in Hertfordshire
As a resident of North London I’ve cycled many times around the county of Hertfordshire but was unaware of its rich heritage of malt and maltings for supply into the brewing industry. The short and pithy introduction to the recently-published ‘Brewing in Hertfordshire’ by Martyn Cornell (from Amberley Publishing) certainly fills the deficit in my…
Read MoreDesert Island Pubs – Jonathon Swaine
Beer Insider is pleased to bring you the latest in a new monthly column, supported by Black Sheep Brewery, involving leading figures in pubs and brewing, along with the industry’s wider eco-system, revealing the pubs that have meant the most to them over their careers. These are their Desert Island Pubs. To add to their…
Read MoreHow much fizz is left in the ‘no and low’ beer market?
When staring out the window of Pret A Manger off Trafalgar Square recently, nursing a coffee between meetings, I was distracted by a taxi passing by with a bright advertising banner running along its side. The glitzy campaign was for a new premium non-alcoholic lager called Bero, which included the image of a shiny gold…
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