Time to celebrate wonderful beer

It’s been months in the planning but it’s finally here - a consumer magazine devoted to beer. And, argues Editor Dominic Roskrow, about time too

Welcome to the first issue of Beers of the World, the international consumer magazine dedicated to celebrating beer and the people who make it.

We’re well aware of how ambitious we’re being by taking on such a vast subject. But let’s be honest, there couldn’t be a better time to do it.

Across the world, from the microbreweries of New England to the traditional producers in the Czech Republic, great beer is being produced and an information-thirsty public are seeking out new and exciting products.

Retailers everywhere are seeking out unusual and exotic beers to sell, and drinkers are demonstrating their willingness to try strange and alien concoctions.

And yet in many countries the mainstream media has continued to turn its nose up at the world of beer, paying most developments and launches scant attention and often choosing to promote only the most elitist beers, and then just occasionally.

What a strange attitude! You only have to look at the shelves of a good supermarket or liquor store to know that the consumer is demanding quality beer and is prepared to try different styles and tastes. There is exciting growth in the burgeoning number of specialist beer shops.

Talk to the producers and they’re dynamically investing time and energy in promoting beers in new and exciting ways.

They’ve been screaming out for a platform to announce what they’re doing.

Beers of the World magazine is quite simply a title that sets out to tell good news stories about the world of beer. We are here to champion the sector, to guide the curious to new and exciting products, and to help beer regain a place at the publicity table after years of being pushed aside by wine and other drinks.

It makes no difference to us whether the beers we feature are ales, lagers or stouts, or whether they’re from Budepest, Boston or Barrow on Furness. As long as they’re good enough for you, they’re good enough for us.

Our aim is to entertain and educate, to help our readers seek out great beer and the places that serve it, and to introduce them to the people who have created it for them.

We’ll write about the great and legendary names of the industry past and present, and focus on the rising stars.

In this first issue alone we’ve looked in depth at Fuller’s in London and the Cantillon Brewery in Belgium, have focused on the award-winning East Anglia region of England and The Czech Republic, told the story of Theakston’s and focused on the maverick Alistair Hook of Meantime Brewery. Add in tasting notes on recent new releases and bottled stouts and weissbiers and it makes for a heady brew.

The Beers of the World team is thoroughly looking forward to serving up a similar mix in future issues, but we also want to get your thoughts and feedback so that the magazine truly represents the interests of beer drinkers everywhere.

Please feel free to email me with your thoughts, views and suggestions. Or visit us at www.beers-of-the-world.com for more ideas and to join in our forum.

But in the meantime, pour a glass of your favourite beer, go and find a quiet place to take a look at Beers of the World. Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we did putting it together.

Cheers!

By Dominic Roskrow

Section : From the Editor

Page number : 5