Category: Blog

Ahh, summer. A time for sunshine, holidays and, if you didn't manage to get either of those, a beer festival or two. Last month I attended Ales Tales, a beer festival focused entirely on beers hailing from Belgium. I am, as you might know, a lover of Belgian beer and have made it part of my… Continue reading Ales Tales: a review

It's GBBF this week. Didn't you know? Haven't you been reading my excitable tweets for the past, oh, YEAR? I had to miss GBBF last year because of a prior engagement (marriage unfortch) so this year I AM THERE WITH BELLS ON. Possibly on a hat as I am attending on Thursday which, as we… Continue reading GBBF 2017: Champion Beer of Britain

Orbit are three years old. Yes, it's been three years since Orbit set up shop in their railway arch in Walworth, South East London, and they've spent those years producing some solid brews. But a lot changes in three years, and the evolution of Orbit meant a change was needed. A big change. A change… Continue reading Orbit: The Rebrand

Let me tell you a few facts about one of my favourite places - the National Brewery Centre, in Burton-on-Trent: 1. It's in Burton-on-Trent, birthplace of British beer: Burton-on-Trent is a treasure trove of British brewing history. The town has been brewing since the 11th century, had a little run in with Henry VIII in… Continue reading The National Brewery Centre

I don't know about you, but I've noticed a rise in low percenters recently. Just a few years ago it was positively unfashionable to talk about session beers, at least in the way I know them (6% does not a session make), but breweries are coming out with low and zero ABV pints all over… Continue reading The Fall of ABV

Last month I was kindly invited to a Meet the Brewer evening at 'SMITHS' of Smithfield. And the brewers I was to meet? Orbit Beers. Home of the musically inspired brew (but, you know, actually inspired by music rather than this gimmicky nonsense). I'd not been to the craft beer bar at 'SMITHS' before, but it's a… Continue reading ‘SMITHS’ Meet the Brewer: Orbit Beers

Another month another brilliant beer event. This July, Ales Tales are bringing Belgium to London for some hoptastic fun including tastings of over 60 Belgian beers from 20 breweries (oh, and some food to soak it all up). Ales Tales was founded by two Belgians, Nicolas Tondeur and Sayuri Kasajima, who have lived in the… Continue reading Event Spotlight: Ales Tales Belgian Beer Festival

There was a time, in the not at all distant past, that if you were a coeliac (in other words - allergic to gluten) you just had to accept your beer free future. Well, not anymore! There is a small, but growing number of gluten free beer offerings and I've decided to pop them into this handy guide/blog… Continue reading Crafty Guide to Gluten Free Beers

This month I'm shining a spotlight on the brilliant FEM.ALE Festival. I actually met the two organisers, Charlene and Erica, on International Women's Day, where we came together to brew the delicious Unite coffee stout (it's all gone now, I know because I drank most of it) and can attest to their strong passion for… Continue reading Event spotlight: FEM.ALE Brewster Festival

There was a time when, to find a 'good' pint of beer or, you know, anything other than a few mainstream lagers, you had to go pretty far. Well, in my part of town anyway. Now it's rare that pubs won't have at least something I'll want to drink, and that's expanded to include many… Continue reading TATExMAGICROCK

You might have clocked, from my excited tweets and Instagram posts, that, in mid April, I was invited down to Dorset to spend some time with Hall & Woodhouse, former brewers of Panda Pops (it's true!) and current brewers of the wonderful Badger Beers. I'll tell you more about my visit in another post, but for… Continue reading Badger: An American Venture