Category: Blog

When is a craft beer not a craft beer? And, for that matter, what is the definition of a craft beer? For me, a lot of it is about how the beer is made. When a beer (or indeed any product) is mass produced, you're always going to lose that hand crafted element. Of course… Continue reading Sunday Sessions #5

I should really start some kind of 'Beers of the World' series shouldn't I? I am very lucky in that a member of my family works for a well known airline, meaning I am constantly treated to interesting beers from across the globe (not all of them tasty, mind). Today's beers come to you all the… Continue reading Yebisu Beer

Oh how quickly these Sundays come around! Today we have another bottle picked up at Waitrose: 1906. 1906 Reserva Especial is a Spanish Lager/Vienna style beer, but, let's be honest, it was a classic case of label seduction. Look at that lovely label! I feel like I'm about to knock back a few with Cromwell… Continue reading Sunday Sessions #4

As we were at Camden Town Brewery for the launch of the new South Town Red Ale, we took the opportunity to try some of their other offerings. Camden Town is a brewery I'll rarely ask for on tap. I've tended to stick to the bottles; the Hells lager and the Wheat (the Wheat goes… Continue reading Camden Town Brewery: US Hells and Tripel

This week's Sunday Sessions take us to B&M Homestores; essentially a huge warehouse full of absolute tat. We go there because they have a pretty interesting alcohol aisle and we once stocked up on bottles of Peroni Red for 30p each (yes they were "going off" the next day, no they didn't last that long). This… Continue reading Sunday Sessions #3

What a beautiful weekend it's been, all blue skies and sunshine; absolutely perfect for the launch of a scrumptious new ale. Camden Town Brewery and Adnams have come together to produce South Town Red Ale (4.9%), an unmistakeably English beverage. Camden Town Brewery were holding a shindig for it, so we popped down to see what… Continue reading South Town Red Ale Launch

This Sunday Session took us on a trip to Waitrose (for the beer selection, obviously) and a couple of bevvies for a quiet night on the sofa.  Blanche de Namur (4.5%)It poured a hazy, golden yellow with a white head. It was hoppy to the nose as you might expect, but there was also a nice… Continue reading Sunday Sessions #2

It's no secret that Wetherspoons have really stepped up when it comes to craft beer/ale. With a vast and frequently changing selection of cask ales they've also been adding some great bottles to the mix including Goose Island and Brew Dog's Punk IPA. Their most recent initiative is with Sixpoint Brewery and the result is 3… Continue reading J.D.Wetherspoons and Sixpoint Brewery

On Thursday evening we popped across to Hackney Wick to attend a Nøgne Ø beer tasting hosted by Crate Brewery. Nøgne Ø are a brewery that I had heard of, but never had the opportunity to try before so I was very excited, almost as excited as when they plonked this cheese board down in front of… Continue reading Crate Brewery: Nøgne Ø Beer Tasting

Another weekend, another jaunt into town to see what we can find. This time we stumbled upon an Italian place; Made in Italy on Old Compton Street. I have to say that our experience there was pretty good- they managed to squeeze us in despite being packed on a Saturday night, the waiters were friendly… Continue reading Birra Ichnusa

I don't know about you, but I love a Sam Smith's. They're always interesting places with great staff and a cosy atmosphere. One of my favourites is the Lyceum Tavern (just on the Strand before Waterloo Bridge) and we popped over for an after work pint last week. Usually I'd just head straight for a pint… Continue reading Sam Smith’s

This morning I was alerted to a blog post on The Guardian about bands releasing their own brews (you can read it here).Band beers are an interesting phenomenon and one that has been steadily growing over the past few years. Given the recent surge in popularity of craft beer, this trend makes sense. Bands would… Continue reading Band Beers