Contents
p5
Sally Toms celebrates the life of Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter
In this issue I was going to talk a bit about this year’s Great British Beer Festival and my sad attempts at home-brew.... But this has paled into insignificance next to an extremely sad event.
The n...
By Sally Toms in the section
From the Editor
p7
Michael Jackson, respected author and beer legend, passed away on 30 August 2007. There isn’t enough space in this whole magazine for people’s memories of him, for all the funny stories. Instead we devote these pages to some of our favourite Beer Hunterisms, and hope they convey the essence of the man.
The worldwide tide of bland beers will soon have come as far as it can. After that, it can only ebb to reveal the slow brews of lasting character.
Slow Wine, 2001
The ritual of serving a beer in Bel...
By Sally Toms in the section
Michael Jackson
p14
A selection of letters and postings from our forum www.beers-of-the-world.com/forum
Blind tasting
Dear Editor,
I’m registered blind and I write a short column on beers for a magazine called The Review for an organisation I belong to called St. Dunstan’s (www.st-dunstans.org.uk), a ...
By Sally Toms in the section
The Beer Forum
p16
Daniel Thwaites is celebrating its 200th anniversary but as Dominic Roskrow reports, the company's keener to look forward than to look back.
After 200 years of successfully making and selling beer Daniel Thwaites must have a pretty good idea as to what does and doesn’t make a great beer. But everyone likes a pick-me-up from time to time, s...
By Sally Toms in the section
Brewery Focus
p20
Getting ‘hands on’ with London’s youngest brewer, sounds like it should be fun, right? Our intrepid reporter Melissa Cole thought so too, right up until her first job of the morning was shifting 25 kilo bags of grain around the place
When a good-looking bloke says: “Melissa, why don’t you spend a day brewing with me?” It’s not an offer I have to think about for more than a nanosecond – but a bit of warning about how much hard work...
By Melissa Cole in the section
Spotlight
p22
Would a beer by any other name smell as sweet?
It’s not just wine makers that can come up with evocative or silly names for their products; brewers have been getting in on the act for years. But what’s in a name? Just how do breweries think up the...
By Alice Whitehead in the section
Beer Trends
p25
For years we've been told that Australians wouldn't give a XXX
They say Australian men love a cold beer on a warm day – and if the day’s not warm enough they’ll put on a heavy coat.
In fact, Aussies down about 110 litres of beer each a year, according to figures...
By Nick Moore in the section
International Focus
p30
Modern craft brewers are brave and getting braver. David Gilbert reports on a new wave of experimental brews from the USA and beyond
he United States was once a country known for industrial lagers with expensive ad campaigns.
Cutting edge craft brewers have helped to change this reputation by transforming the US beer scene. This s...
By David Gilbert in the section
Beer Trends
p33
Gavin D Smith visits the Real Ale Shop in Perthshire, Scotland
It is one of those ideas that is so simple it falls under the ‘Why didn’t someone think of this before?’ category.
With new Scottish microbreweries springing up in abundance, and much of their output...
By Gavin D. Smith in the section
Spotlight
p34
In this issue Dominic Roskrow looks at the family brewers of Manchester as well as Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside
The folk of Manchester understand better than most that if something isn’t broken, you don’t fix it. And being a pretty down to earth bunch they don’t do fancy for fancy’s sake. On the contrary: Manch...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Regional Focus
p40
Last issue we got stuck into one of the gastonomic world's greatest creations - beer and curry. Now we explore beer's other perfect partner - a Chinese takeaway! Ben McFarland picks up his chopsticks
Extortionately priced raw fish served on a conveyor belt is the new fast food; we‘re shifting our furniture about in a quest to improve our love life, career and bank balance; we’re necking Chinese he...
By Ben McFarland in the section
Beer and Food
p44
Each issue we’ll feature some of the stranger and funnier stories as well as all sorts of other nonsense
Can car
A student from Hertfordshire, England has built a life-size Ford Mustang from 4,000 empty cans of Bud.
An original 1965 Ford Mustang was being offered as a prize as part of the Bud Bucks pro...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer Matters
p46
Roger Protz goes behind the scenes at the gigantic Heineken brewery in Amsterdam
Small country, big beer. Heineken is a beer colossus, the world’s fourth biggest producer and, the company claims, the most profitable. This success has been built by breaking out of the straight jack...
By Roger Protz in the section
International Focus
p50
The Reinheitsgebot , a 500 year old German purity law, is still held up as a standard for brewing excellence. So how relevant is it? Dominic Roskrow reports
t’s held up as the longest standing consumer protection act in the world. It is championed by its supporters as the ultimate act of quality control, and its supporters maintain that because of it the ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer history
p52
Ted Bruning talks to Martin Sykes from Selby, the Yorkshire brewer that kick started the microbrewing revolution
You might be in a brewpub anywhere in the world, sipping a beer freshly made on the premises. You might be at your local, ordering yet another tasty treat from its ever-changing guest-list. Or you mig...
By Ted Bruning in the section
Spotlight
p54
Austria’s capital has more weissbier breweries than you can shake a stick at. John Westlake reports
Salzburg is a delightful city nestling on the banks of the Salzach river with a superb alpine mountain backdrop, its cobbled, medieval centre and baroque architecture overshadowed by the impressive, F...
By John Westlake in the section
Beer Destinations
p58
Charles D Cook discovers the beers and bars of the Belgian capital
Brussels: the capital of Belgium and also of the European Union, the city is home to many a fine restaurant, museum, and historic site. More importantly, however, from the standpoint of beer lovers li...
By Charles D Cook in the section
Beer Journeys
p62
In the latest of our series on beer styles, Roger Protz takles the ubiquitous pint of bitter
Ask anyone from abroad with a passing interest in beer to name England’s most famous style and the answer is likely to be “bitter.” While British connoisseurs revel in such famous styles as India pale...
By Roger Protz in the section
Beer styles
p64
Melissa Cole speaks to Paul Van de Walle, head brewer at the Leuven brewery and the man behind Stella Artois
STELLA JOB
Stella may have its many critics but offering consistency of product around the world is no mean feat, which is where brewmaster Paul Van de Walle earns his pay.
More of a chemist than a ...
By Melissa Cole in the section
Spotlight
p74
This issue we chat to John Keeling, head brewer at London’s Fuller, Smith & Turner
How did you first get involved in beer?
I did not like school, so I left.
Unfortunately I forgot to tell my mother who got a bit miffed and found me a job in the local brewery – Wilsons Brewery in N...
By John Keeling in the section
Last Shout
