Opinion
Topical articles and pieces from a personal point of view.
Why beer beats coffee for social cohesion
There’s a coffee shop near me that’s a relic of a time before improved transport links made this part of South-East London unaffordable for most poten...
Pub snack perfection
So, I was sat recently in my local with a good pint and a packet of a popular, crunchy, bacon-flavoured snack, which by the way is suitable for vegeta...
How pubs help us to mourn
It was a battleship-grey January afternoon but the mood for one man inside the pub was even more ashen. While the fruit machines luridly flashed and l...
Des de Moor – a man of many words
Des de Moor, who died this month, was a phenomenon. He was a prolific writer about beer and took part in beer judging events in many countries. He del...
Reasons to be cheerful
Speak to the owner of any small, independent brewery and I’ll bet you 50p they’ve got feelings on how tough things are at the moment. Honestly, everyt...
Sense of belonging
The Strong Girls Club. That was the legend emblazoned on the T-shirt of the youngest participant at the Attic Brew Co x Hand Brew Co International Wom...
Fire, fury and campaigning
What staggers me about the furore over the punitive business rates imposed on pubs is the sheer stupidity and ignorance of top politicians and civil s...
Return to form
When I think back to how I first became enthusiastic about cask beer, I fondly remember two distinct experiences. When I was aged about 21, just over...
Beers from the past for now and the future
It’s heartening to find that Britain’s rich tapestry of historic beer styles is recognised, cherished and promoted. While the rest of the world consum...
Pubs: “pieces of community infrastructure”
Shortly before Christmas, I read a letter to the editor of the Irish Times written by Dr Kathy McLoughlin. Dr McLoughlin is a psychologist who has spe...
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