Opinion
Topical articles and pieces from a personal point of view.
Location, location, location...
One of the most difficult concepts in winemaking is 'terroir’ a combination of the type of soil, location and climate. These affect how and what grape...
An Open Letter to the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Dear Chancellor, I am writing to you with a plea to take wide-ranging measures in your Budget to help our struggling pubs. The latest dire prediction...
Veteran breweries celebrate milestone
Born in the USA was released by Bruce Springsteen, the UK miners’ strike ends, EastEnders premieres on the BBC and Roger Moore’s last Bond film, A Vie...
Carbonnade Ă la flamande (Flemish beef stew)
When I first started writing recipes for What’s Brewing I made a list of the recipes I knew with beer as an ingredient. It was a pretty poor effort. B...
Maybe ask young people
I’m very sceptical when anyone speaks about Gen Z or any demographic cohort with seeming authority. Usually the characteristics of each generation see...
Manchester happening
Manchester felt like it could be the centre of the universe this summer. Thousands of tourists flocked to the city largely to witness and celebrate on...
Mild’s stronger than you think
On my first trip to the Beacon Hotel in Sedgley I found a visitor from Japan in one of small rooms supplied by the central bar. When I asked him what...
The Firkin Saga goes on
The Firkin Saga by David Bruce, Right Book Press, ÂŁ18.99 In July 1979, when David Bruce transformed the boarded-up Duke of York under a railway arch i...
Beer brats with Salcombe Pilsner
The playwright George Bernard Shaw once said that the US and UK are “two countries divided by a common language”. Take for example today’s recipe, in...
Best bitter ploughman’s
I am writing this as the UK basks in another heatwave, whilst a good few of you may have been sat sipping a refreshing pint or two in a bucolic countr...
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