The changing face of wet-led pubs

Reports of the death of the traditional drinking pub have been greatly exaggerated, judging by the levels of trading across the category that shows a relatively healthy trend, as drinkers are increasingly choosing the pub rather than late-night venues including nightclubs and bars. Wet-led pubs have enjoyed a 10% increase in like-for-like sales on a…

Read More

Book Review – Brewing in Manchester and Salford

Manchester and Salford are unusual in retaining a batch of long-established family brewers whereas in other major cities and conurbations they have long since been consumed by global operators. So what’s the story?   The recently-published ‘Brewing in Manchester and Salford’ by Deborah Woodman (from Amberley Publishing) seeks to give you the answer to this…

Read More

Beer for thought at Brewers’ Congress

It was a flying visit this week by Beer Insider to the Brewers Congress, held by the Brewers Journal, but we caught a couple of interesting presentations as well as enjoyed catching up with some familiar faces including some legends in the industry. Mark Tranter, founder of Burning Sky, cantered through the 10-plus years since…

Read More

Book review: ‘A Pub For All Seasons’

My mother-in-law has a strong dislike for the art of Tracey Emin. Although I’m largely ambivalent towards her work I always defend her on the basis that her output is unmistakeably Tracey Emin. It is the same with the writing of Adrian Tierney-Jones. Among all the writers who specialise in beer his voice is the…

Read More

Departing Bohem Brewery

Now we are over the summer season the calendar of beer events including product releases and book launches has made a welcome return. On my recent outings I’ve been asked by various people about Bohem Brewery in terms of visits and news. I’d like to take this opportunity to say publicly that I’m no longer…

Read More

In defence of post-work drinks

During these warmer months, I’ve spent sufficient evenings in Central London, and on my travels around major cities including Manchester and Birmingham, to suggest that the ritual of post-work drinks continues to play a meaningful role for many people. One of the things I missed most when switching from an office-based role to home-based self-employment…

Read More

Book review – ‘Pub Signs – what’s it all about?’

Before most of the country could read or write the easiest way for pub owners to have their establishments recognised was through imagery rather than words. From those beginnings the UK has built up an incredible array of pub signage. Across the country you can find signs whose imagery encompasses history, word play, the double…

Read More

Guiding the guides

When touring Normandy for this summer’s break, I came across Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, which is a ranking of villages across the country based on their beauty and cultural heritage. The 170-plus locations in this exclusive club are judged by an association whose aim is to promote tourism. This seemed to highlight the…

Read More

Are the youngsters being priced out of socialising?

During the Euros match between England and Switzerland I found myself in a historically-rich City of London pub, the atmospheric Viaduct Tavern, that is in the hands of Fuller’s who had a good range of beers on the bar including a quaffable 4% pale ale on cask from a fashionable craft brewery. Although I was…

Read More

Eventually enjoying The Duke of Greenwich

My trip down to The Duke of Greenwich started badly having taken the wrong train at London Bridge (mistakenly to East Croydon) and it continued in this vein when I then took the wrong exit at the correct destination (Maze Hill) train station. The first mistake was mine while the second was down to poor…

Read More