Contents
p5
Previously on Britain’s worst brewer: our hapless heroine has 40 pints of homebrew quickly developing off-flavours and absolutely nowhere to put it. She is beginning to wonder if she might have screwed up somewhat…
Alright so I timed it badly. Just as I was due to rack my homebrew Wherry into bottles, I left the country for a few days.
My cask was useless without the necessary plastic bits to make it watertight...
By Sally Toms in the section
Editor’s comments
p12
A selection of letters and postings from our forum
www.beers-of-the-world.com/forum
The best letter or internet posting in each issue wins a London Pride Rugby shirt & a London Pride coffee mug.
LETTERS
A bit of praise Dear Editor, Thank you, once again, for making my day with BOT...
By Sally Toms in the section
The Beer Forum
p16
Neither the United Kingdom or Ireland has a team at the European Championships in Switzerland
and Austria. Could this, and the local hospitality, be the best reasons for going?
It’s pretty safe to say that for the vast majority of the readers of this magazine, Saturday June 7 is going to be at best a non-event and at worst a hollow, empty and depressing day.
That’s the date...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer and Sport
p17
Switzerland It’s a country of two halves, Jim. Switzerland embraces a number of languages and cultures in its make-up, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to discover that it has something of a schizop...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer and Sport
p18
Marston’s is eating up outstanding British regional breweries faster than Beers of the World can visit them. But could this guarantee the future of some of England’s best premium ales? Dominic Roskrow reports
Don’t look now, but a giant is stirring and it’s got its eyes set firmly on the future.
Whatever you might think of Marston’s and the way it is eating up English brewers there’s no denying two things...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Brewery Focus
p22
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 b...
By Jonathon Goodall in the section
Beer Issues
p26
Beers of the World comes to life this June with its first show – Beers of the World Live.
The ultimate beer sampling event, Beers of the World Live will provide the chance to taste some of the world’...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer Events
p28
Des de Moor shows that the Dutch have more to offer than just Grolsch and Heineken
Think of a once-proud brewing nation that not so long ago had become a virtual desert for discerning beer drinkers, where a handful of huge commercial brewers dominated the market, offering little cho...
By Des de Moor in the section
International Focus
p33
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...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Issues
p36
Will Hawkes visits the Brooklyn Brewery in New York, at brewery at the epicentre of innovation in the USA.
The mobster was angry. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he squeaked impatiently, Joe Pesci-style, as he sat in the warehouse of the as yet unfinished Brooklyn Brewery.
“We’ve had enough of this bullshit. We’re he...
By Will Hawkes in the section
International Brewery
p40
Ben McFarland looks at wheat beers in all their forms, and how to pair them with different dishes.
Most brewers are wheat intolerant. Not because it puffs up their faces, bulges their eyes and makes them come over all weird and queer, but rather because it’s a nightmare grain with which to work. Wh...
By Ben McFarland in the section
Beer and Food
p43
Last year we gave you an introduction to British apple cider, but what about the rest of the world? And, for that matter, poor old pear cider? Our guide gives you more...
...
By Sally Toms in the section
Cider Special
p44
Ben McFarland gets to grips with cider producers in France, Spain, America and beyond.
Synonymous with roast beef, Morris dancing and the gentle thwack of a cricket ball on a village green, cider is, for many, a quintessentially English tipple.
Lest we forget, however, cider making is ...
By Ben McFarland in the section
Cider Special
p45
With increased consumption comes increased respect, and cider is slowly edging its way onto our dining tables. Adrian Tierney-Jones reports
There’s more to cider and food than a Ploughman’s lunch or a leg of pork braised in the stuff.
In the Asturias region of Spain, the local sidra is a commonplace companion with the gorgeous cuisine of...
By Sally Toms in the section
Cider Special
p46
Ted Bruning understands the ciders of France as he explores the Contentin peninsula in Normandy
All that British tourists usually saw of the Cotentin peninsula – Normandy’s cheery little thumbs-up in the English Channel – was the N13 trunk road.
After a seven-hour crossing, the Cotentin was nev...
By Ted Bruning in the section
Cider Special
p50
Apples are not the only fruits to be turned into cider. Adrian Tierney-Jones looks at pear cider
While cider takes all the glory, spare a thought for its close cousin perry. Pear perry is one of the greatest and yet unsung drinks in the world.
The recent success of cider has reflected well on pe...
By Adrian Tierney-Jones in the section
Cider Special
p52
Each issue we feature some of beer's stranger and funnier stories as well as all sorts of other nonsense.
Fancy dress fun Costume party coming up? Or just fancy dressing like can of beer for a few days?
Then look no further!
www.buy costumes.com supplies all sorts of beer related apparel.
The keg costu...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer Matters
p53
Our kind of pump clip All right we know this issue publishes in summer and Easter was a long time ago – but we just had to mention the seasonal pump clip produced by Bateman’s to celebrate its Easter...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer Matters
p54
BRAISED SHANK OF LUNE VALLEY LAMB WITH MARSTON’S ‘OLD EMPIRE’ GRAVY From the George & Dragon at Tarvin - Marston’s Pub Company Serves 4 people METHOD Roll the lamb in seasoned flour. Sear and brown i...
By Sally Toms in the section
Beer recipes
p55
Des de Moor visits Beer Mania in Belgium, a magnet for international beer lovers.
Browse the impressive framed collection of international press coverage on display at Beer Mania and you’ll find that most journalists who visit Brussels’ best specialist beer retailer write at least ...
By Des de Moor in the section
Spotlight
p56
High House Farm is a microbrewery and working farm in rural Northumberland. Ted Bruning went there.
Steve Urwin never really planned to become a brewer. He was quite happy running the 200-acre family farm at Matfen on Hadrian’s Wall, which he was just taking over from his dad, Geoff, and where he gr...
By Ted Bruning in the section
Beer Micro
p58
Matt Kirkegaard embarks on a Sideways-style beer romp in Western Australia, an area more commly associated with wines.
GO WEST YOUNG MAN Oddly enough for a nation with a permanent place in the top five beer drinking countries, Australians are just starting to discover beer.
It’s true that beer is a backdrop to our so...
By Matt Kirkegaard in the section
Beer Journeys
p62
In the latest of our series on traditional beer styles, Roger Protz looks to porter and stout.
Beer is a convivial drink, yet sit a group of beer writers down to discuss the origins of porter and the fur will soon start to fly.
There are many arguments for how the beer style acquired its name,...
By Roger Protz in the section
Beer styles
p64
Prosaic images of England’s north west – rain, flat caps, black pudding, Vimto, hot-pot, meat-and-potato pies – are easy to bring to mind but are evidence of lazy thinking. Exploration of the north we...
By Jeff Pickthall in the section
Regional Focus
p69
If you're a coeliac or have a gluten intolerance, then you have to avoid cereals like wheat and barley. But what happens if you're a beer lover? Daniel Cooper reports.
For many of us beer is only beer if it is made from four ingredients, the finest malt barley, choicest hops, pure spring water and specially selected yeast. However, for beer-loving suffers of coeliac...
By Daniel Cooper in the section
Beer Production
p72
Daniel Neilson goes in search of rural England and some splendid ales on the south coast.
You may imagine the South Downs Way is all about blisters, stinging nettles and traipsing through amusingly named villages (Cocking, Winding Bottom) and, well, it is.
But it also offers great opportu...
By Daniel Neilson in the section
Beer Journeys
p82
Alastair Gilmour speaks to Stuart Cail, head brewer at Harviestoun Brewery in Scotland
How did you get involved in beer?
Like many people, as a student! My two industrial placements were at Harp Lager (I know, but I was a student) in Moss Side, Manchester and Moray Firth Maltings (as w...
By Alastair Gilmour in the section
Last Shout
