Philanthropy and pubs 

King’s Cross’ ongoing multibillion-pound transformation has resulted in the widespread gentrification of the area and the opening of many smart new eating and dining establishments, welcoming a more moneyed clientele. But for something a little grittier and grounded in reality, I’d frequently eschew the glitz of the newer places and instead relax in the undemanding…

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Mooring up at Sin Bin

With views over Chatham Maritime Marina and boats aplenty it proved to be an idyllic setting to enjoy a late afternoon drink in the spring sunshine at Shepherd Neame’s new Sin Bin bar. But the backdrop is not the main draw for customers at this new Kentish venue because the former Pier Five Bar and…

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No small beer 

When the story of the sale of independent brewer Innis & Gunn in a pre-pack administration to C&C Group landed in my in-tray recently, it was a surprise to say the least. It came while the drinks industry was still very much digesting the sale of BrewDog to US-based Tilray. In reality, I had long…

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Taps Flashback – 28 April 2017

This is the first in an irregular column that rewinds the clock back some years to see what was on the taps at certain pubs. Too many of these will no doubt be from my local, The Great Northern Railway Tavern (GNRT), in North London that has been a tremendous pub over the years for…

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The future of festivals 

The Mall Tavern pub sits at a busy junction in Notting Hill, and on a Friday evening in late February, it had a queue of drinkers around the building waiting for the doors to reopen at 5pm for the pub’s annual two-day Liquid Dreams beer festival. Each member of the queue was personally welcomed into…

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Mr Turner’s Bar opens in The Porterhouse

The Porterhouse pub in central London has launched the ‘Mr Turner’s Bar’ in partnership with The Covent Gardener magazine to celebrate the site being the birthplace of artist JMW Turner. The new bar sits within The Porterhouse building that reached its 25th Anniversary recently and still looks as impressive as when I first visited the…

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Desert Island Pubs – Ben Stackhouse, founder of PubLove

Beer Insider is pleased to bring you the latest Desert Island Pubs column, supported by Sunrise Beverages. So settle in and enjoy reading the stories behind the selection of pubs from… Ben Stackhouse, founder, PubLove 1. Earliest Memory of a Pub My family owned a pub when I was born, The Nags Head in Northend, but…

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Every day is a beer festival at The Mall Tavern

For beer fans a visit to The Mall Tavern in Notting Hill is always an enjoyable experience because this neighbourhood pub is run by husband-and-wife team Nati and Andy Perritt who are both passionate about the beers they serve. So much so in fact that they went free-of-tie after paying Stonegate a hefty sun. For this…

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