Could beer benefit from a bit of descriptive prose, as found on the back of wine bottles? Or is ‘malty’ and ‘hoppy’ good enough for us beer drinkers? Jonathan Goodall reports
Approaching beer from a background in poncey wine writing, I find most beer labels about as easy to crack as the enigma code.
Do I want a beer that’s ‘hoppy’ or ‘malty,’ or should I really push the boat out and go for one that’s ‘hoppy and malty,’ preferably ‘traditionally brewed’?
Scratching my h...
By Jonathon Goodall
from Issue 18 published on 19/06/2008
Alcohol is being portrayed more negatively than it ever has before. But the evidence
suggests that moderate beer consumption could be good for you. Dominic Roskrow
looks into the issue
A couple of years back Paul Walsh, the chief executive of Diageo, met a group of business journalists to discuss his new role as deputy chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association.
The meeting was held on the day the British Government announced the date that the smoking ban would take effect in Engl...
By Dominic Roskrow
from Issue 18 published on 19/06/2008
The reality of human-made climate change is amongst us. Richard Jones discovers how the beer industry is, in its own small way, helping to tackle the problem.
The nature of scientific debate and the inherent complexity of the subject means that it is virtually impossible to achieve unanimous agreement that, “global temperatures are rising as a direct result of the actions of human beings.” However while it is fair to say that not every scientist accepts t...
By Richard Jones
from Issue 17 published on 30/04/2008
Christine Green looks at the bizarre world of beer legislation
In the words of the inimitable scholar, Oscar Wilde: “Work is the curse of the drinking classes,” or perhaps it was the eminent Ben Franklin who captured the true meaning of beer when he said, “Beer is proof that God loves us.” Words indeed but how true both adages are.
A glimpse back through the c...
By Christine Green
from Issue 8 published on 27/09/2006
Does it make any difference to taste if a beer is brewed under licence in a country rather than imported? Nigel Huddleston finds out
What do the five best-selling beer brands in the United Kingdom have in common?
Well, no surprise that they are all lagers, but more than that, they’re all beers that started out as overseas brands that were imported to the UK, only to end up being brewed there under licence once their popularity r...
By Nigel Huddleston
from Issue 7 published on 28/07/2006
Does it matter that we can trace the history of our beer? Adrian Tierney Jones weighs up the evidence
We live in a world where children think that chicken nuggets and chips grow on trees, while some adults prefer to gloss over the reality of the shrink-wrapped meat from their local supermarket ie, it is part of a dead animal. So it’s no surprise that similar attitudes can be found in respect to beer...
By Adrian Tierney-Jones
from Issue 6 published on 18/05/2006
Nigel Huddleston investigates how brewers get the perfect pint from the brewery to the discerning beer lover
No matter how carefully the brewer exercises his craft, you are not going to get a decent pint or bottle of beer unless it arrives in front of you in tip-top condition.
But how many beer drinkers know, or actually care, when the beer they’re drinking was brewed or packaged.
One of the most forward...
By Nigel Huddleston
from Issue 3 published on 12/01/2006
Theakston’s has gone from hero to zero and back again. Will the real Theakston’s please stand up? Nigel Huddlestone reports
When four Theakston brothers got together in 2003 to buy back the brewery with the family name from the mighty Scottish & Newcastle, it completed one of the biggest turnarounds in British brewing history.
Twenty years earlier, an acrimonious family rift had set off a chain of events which ended up ...
By Nigel Huddleston
from Issue 1 published on 26/08/2005
