Before the London brewing revolution…

Let’s turn the clock back to London in September 2009 and a piece published in the Financial Times. Off a main road, close by a housing estate in a densely-built corner of south-west London, stands a non-descript 3,000 sq ft industrial unit. It houses two stainless steel fermenting vessels, a large water tank and a…

Read More

The Supporters Club

On a recent Sunday morning, with an ever so slight hangover, I climbed out of my tent suffering from what had been a very good night. Within seconds I was presented with a cup of tea from a friend and good colleague who went on to randomly inform me that I am always late because…

Read More

A beer for all seasons

One of civilisation’s greatest agricultural success stories, beer has naturally always found itself tied closely to changing of the seasons. From the ‘need’ of a warming porter or stout in winter to the craving for bright, crisp pales and lagers in summer, beer is a drink we have clear notions of when it is best…

Read More

More focus needed on freshness and fridges

The desire for fresh beer is something that’s important to every American beer drinker yet, as residents of the British Isles, it’s not something that’s part of our beery landscape – but why? The main reason is because of refrigeration (or lack of it) in the UK and Europe. Many British breweries actually brew beer…

Read More

Dog Bless America – BrewDog to Open US Brewery and Bar Chain

The explosions, the hop cannons, the language… Given how many cues it has taken from America’s beer scene, it would be weird if BrewDog didn’t have plans to take its beer and considerable brand there. Still, the plans formally announced at its 2015 AGM (and hinted at numerous times beforehand) indicate a bold undertaking indeed.…

Read More

Throw out your drinking conventions

Convention dictates that when tasting beers we go from dainty lagers and lighter golden ales on to maybe sours and saisons, before moving on to more hoppy brews and darker beers. And then finally ending on the hoppiest double IPAs or the richest, blackest imperial Russian stouts. Not in my house thank-you. Yes, rules are…

Read More

Not Applicable: Belgium’s Beer Rebels

There is a playful glint in the eye of Stefaan Soetemans, one of the co-founders of Troubadour, as he explains why one of its beers, Antigoon, is called a ‘dubbel blonde’. Their brewery is called The Musketeers brewery, and there is undoubtedly a romantic and buccaneering attitude directing the brewery’s efforts. “People see Antigoon,” a…

Read More

You thought you knew about tasting…

Renowned brewer Stuart Howe gives us his thoughts on the supposedly simple task of tasting beer: Tasting beer is a serious business, even if it’s being done for pleasure. I’ve been sampling as a brewer, where to order ativan https://ativanusa.com/ description: Unexplained feeling of anxiety and uneasy panic attacks can significantly destroy the quality of…

Read More

The standard unit of measure

For many years, dispensing beer in pints has served us well and we knew that anyone drinking less than the standard unit of measure simply wasn’t playing the game. However, times have moved on and we’re now saddled with a legally defined unit that’s simply unfit for purpose as most drinkers see a half pint…

Read More

The Bad from the Good old days

I fondly recall my halcyon childhood memories of warm summer evening visits to the local pub beer garden with my dad. Of course in those days children weren’t allowed inside the pub so there was always a sense of mystery and intrigue as to happenings behind the firmly closed lobby doors. My dad would disappear…

Read More