Contents
p5
Sally Toms says you can’t be too picky when it comes to your local
I have recently bought my first house and never have I been so grateful for the humble British pub.
In between bouts of cement mixing, plastering and paint stripping, my local has been a watery oasis...
By Sally Toms in the section
From the Editor
p14
In honour of this year's Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, we've organised our own version, Beers of the World style
This year’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 takes place in the West Indies in March and April. What better excuse is there to taste beers from some different countries around the world?
So we took all the...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer Events
p18
Greene King has grown from its Suffolk base to become a national company. Dominic Roskrow went to Bury St Edmunds to rediscover its roots
The two huge businesses that dominate the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds have much in common.
They are both massive employers in the town.
They both have large production centres there.
They both ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Brewery Focus
p22
Gastropubs have the reputation for prioritising food above beer, but is that necessarily true? Ted Bruning reports
Heston Blumenthal’s got one, and so has Jean-Christophe Novelli, although he wants nine more. Gordon Ramsay’s got two. And Anthony Worrall-Thompson has just got his third. So it seems that buying pubs...
By Ted Bruning in the section
Beer Trends
p25
Charles D Cook travels to Bierhuis Kulminator in Antwerp, home to some of the rarest Belgian beers
When the subject of vintage brews arises among beer lovers, there is one café that has a well-deserved reputation as aged beer heaven: Bierhuis Kulminator.
Located in Antwerp, Belgium, the Kulminator...
By Charles D Cook in the section
Spotlight
p26
Beer as a cocktail ingredient might not sound very appealing, but anyone who has tried a Shandy or a Black Velvet has had one. Nigel Huddleston reports
As if beer wasn’t brilliant enough already, increasing numbers of bars in the United States are using beer as a cocktail ingredient.
If you’re feeling a bit adventurous you can have a Skip & Go Naked...
By Nigel Huddleston in the section
Beer Trends
p28
Coopers Brewery in South Australia is making some damn good beer above and beyond thirst quenching lagers more commonly found in bars down under. Will Hawkes reports
Australian beer does not enjoy the best of reputations outside of its home country. Regarded as bland and gassy, it is has become the brunt of jokes (most of which are too rude to repeat here) even as...
By Will Hawkes in the section
International Brewery
p32
The Red Lion in Venlo, Limburg is a magnet for beer lovers. Adrian Tierney-Jones had a look around
Even though it’s in Holland, a Heineken is not the sort of thing you order in the Red Lion (or De Roeëje Lieuw in the local dialect), a classy, cosy, thirst-inducing ‘brown bar’ in Venlo in the Dutch ...
By Adrian Tierney-Jones in the section
Spotlight
p34
Once sampled, quality beers leave a deep impression, as chef Raymond Blanc has discovered. Alastair Gilmour met him at his hotel-restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, England
Every sense gets a look-in on the long, straight path leading to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
The feel of lavender on leg, the sight of the honey-coloured manor house, the aroma of woodsmoke that merg...
By Alastair Gilmour in the section
Beer Celebrities
p37
Several regions of Britain could lay claim to be its most fertile beer producer. One of the least celebrated is the East Midlands. Dominic Roskrow grew up there
For most of us that queasy period when we travel from awkward teenager to young adult is fraught with insecurity and fear. Our first metaphorical fumblings with the bra strap of adult life are ungainl...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Regional Focus
p42
Ben McFarland attends a beer dinner organised by Stone Brewing, a San Diego microbrewery making some big beers
Ten years ago, the Stone Brewing Company burst onto the West Coast brewing scene and defiantly thrust a hot poker into the behind of conventional brewing.
While hundreds of craft brewers were hitting...
By Ben McFarland in the section
Beer and Food
p46
The Yuengling Brewery wasn’t the first American brewery but it’s the longest surviving. Dominic Roskrow looks at its history
The history of American beer is a diverse and varied one, and it has taken a new wave of small brewers to remind us that right across the States there is life beyond Budweiser.
But for one Pennsylvan...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer history
p48
Alright , so it might not be a German beer but we just love puns. Sally Toms gets to grips with some of the true beer styles of Germany
It is widely agreed that there are certain things the Germans can do very well: cars, for example; household appliances; being efficient; and most definitely beer.
Sweeping cultural statements aside,...
By Sally Toms in the section
International Focus
p54
Gary Monterosso visits Dogfish Head in Delaware, a brewery synonymous with the Extreme Beer movement
currently taking the USA by storm
The key to the success of any business is establishing a niche in the marketplace. This can be achieved in a couple of ways. One type of entrepreneur sees a need and fills it; another creates the exci...
By Gary Monterosso in the section
Brewery Focus
p57
Following the recent discovery of some rare, aged beers at the former Bass brewery in Burton upon Trent,
Roger Protz went along to see how they’d aged
Those of us that chip away at the coalface labelled ‘beer’ constantly stress that our preferred form of alcohol deserves as much attention and respect as wine. The juice of the barley can be as comple...
By Roger Protz in the section
Spotlight
p58
City breaks for the beer enthusiast have never been easier, and you couldn’t do better than Prague. But
where’s the best place to find a good beer? Lubomír Sedlák reports
Neither of the two biggest and most famous Czech breweries Plzensky Prazdroj (part of SABMiller) and Budejovicky Budvar (still state-owned) is located in Prague. The first, as most Beers of the World ...
By Lubomir Sedlak in the section
Beer Journeys
p62
Each issue we’ll feature some of the stranger and funnier stories as well as all sorts of other nonsense
Trading up
A canny internet wheeler-dealer has converted a bottle of beer into his dream motor in just five trades.
Pete Genders, brewer and owner of The Beer Cellar in Lincoln, could not afford the...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer Matters
p64
In the latest of our series on beer styles, Roger Protz gets to grips with pilsner
When the disgruntled drinkers of Pilsen in Bohemia dumped a batch of sour beer down the city’s drains in 1840 they set in motion events that were to transform brewing even more resolutely than the bre...
By Roger Protz in the section
Beer styles
p74
This issue, we have a few words with Jonathan Adnam chairman of Suffolk-based Adnams brewery
How did you first get involved in beer?
I was somewhat of a wayward youth and after leaving school at 16 spent time commercial fishing and delivering lifeboats for the RNLI around the United Kingdom....
By Jonathan Adnam in the section
Last Shout
