Regardless of your religious persuasion, there has always been a bond between religion and ale. Back in the far mists of time, when we didn’t really understand the role of yeast in fermenting grain into an intoxicating, thirst quenching liquid, we truly believed a bit...
I first started pulling pints behind a bar in a little market town called Ossett. What can I say about Ossett? Well, it’s mentioned in the KLF song “It’s Grim Up North”. The legendary pop duo Black Lace (yes, that’s Black Lace of ‘Agadoo’ fame) were born in Ossett, as...
This week saw the start of the Wimbledon Championships, when many people go bug eyed staring at the telly, listening to the thwack of the ball over a net. The breakfast news channels send reporters to broadcast the scenes of queues and crowds buzzing around the All...
This weekend I’m going to a Beer Festival at my old pub. The current owners run an astonishingly well organised Festival every August Bank Holiday, which put my own amateur attempts to shame. They rig up a long outside bar with cask, keg and cider available, all...
I had a crisis of confidence a few weeks ago. I was in the middle of doing some technical beer training with a bunch of enthusiastic industry peeps and they started talking about brands I hadn’t tasted. Niche, small batch, experimental and one off brews. Double IPAs,...
