Opinion
Topical articles and pieces from a personal point of view.
Hidden gems and destination pubs
I think we’re all old enough and wise enough to see that the government’s promised penny off a pint in the latest Budget is quite the insult to our in...
The door’s ajar at the Last Chance Saloon
The grim spectre of Covid still has its bony hand on our shoulders. The impact of the pandemic and the lockdowns that followed delivered shocking blow...
Getting sips to lips
How do we bring cask ale to the masses? It’s a question that CAMRA has been asking since 1971. I’ve spent quite a lot of time recently with the dedica...
Carlsberg juggernaut rolls on
Not content with closing Jennings, Wychwood and Ringwood breweries, Carlsberg now plans to axe the giant Banks’s brewery in Wolverhampton, famous for...
Lakes’ loss of community
Halewood Artisanal Ventures is to permanently close the Hawkshead Beer Hall and Taproom in the village of Staveley. Located on the Mill Yard industria...
Prepare to engage the enemy
There is a moment in the very wonderful film Star Trek: First Contact when Captain Picard picks up his phaser rifle and declares, with all the Shakesp...
Coming up for air
The arrival of Fuller’s Vintage Ale is a cause for celebration, the beer lovers’ equivalent of the latest Bordeaux wine from France. Vintage Ale is li...
Walking the hop walk
It’s no secret, I’m excited about British hops. Being invited to one of the Charles Faram hop walks to get up close and personal with the farms at har...
Other alcohol is available
Working as a sub editor at the Guardian around the time web stories started to become very popular – and the newspaper was losing £1m a week as print...
The Devil’s in the Draught Lines – review
We are still living in the shadow of the Covid pandemic and the lockdowns that followed. The sickness that gripped the country had a profound impact o...
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