Contents
p5
Sally Toms introduces herself as Editor
Here’s a shocker: I’m a girl (wait, that’s not it); I’m a girl who loves all kinds of beer.
Surprised? Not really I guess. The beer world is changing and it’s an exciting time to take the helm of thi...
By Sally Toms in the section
Editor’s comments
p7
And what remedies to apply the morning after
Can you get a hangover from reading about drink?
Our round-up of the beer scene in Japan stirred a wave of nostalgia for the many wonderful beers and brewery tours I have enjoyed there in my dozen or...
By Michael Jackson in the section
The Beer Hunter
p16
The Moorhouse's Brewery in the North West of England has survived through difficult times and is now branching out. Dominic Roskrow visited it
On paper at least, it was a good enough idea: travel to the depressed North West of England and report how the community was turning its back on its traditional past and embracing the future, symbolis...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
British Breweries
p20
Nigel Huddleston visits the smallest beer bar in London
London’s Borough Market has found a new lease of life in the past decade with visitors attracted from across the city and beyond by the fine produce on sale from small producers.
So when the first ne...
By Nigel Huddleston in the section
Spotlight
p22
The Belgian town of Beersel is blessed with not one but two traditional lambic breweries. Roger Protz visited them
It’s a long, steep clamber up from the railway station at Beersel to the small town with its moated castle, built early in the 14th century by the Duke of Brabant to aid the defence of Brussels. When ...
By Roger Protz in the section
International Brewery
p26
The Netherlands has had a rough ride from beer aficionados but is it really that bad? Dominic Roskrow reports
Have you ever wondered whether Dutch beer is better than sex?
Thought not. But some 15 years ago I did.
Not any old sex, either – filthy, depraved, stoned backstreet sex with prostitutes. Perhaps I ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
International Focus
p30
Dark Star is a British micro brewery with a difference. Nigel Huddleston reports
They say variety is the spice of life but it’s the other way round at Sussex brewer Dark Star. The micro uses cinnamon, coriander and ginger, among other exotic ingredients, in producing a range of al...
By Nigel Huddleston in the section
Spotlight
p32
This issue, Nigel Huddleston looks at the history of the humble can
It all started for the can, as you might expect, in America.
Brewer Gottfried Kreuger, of Newark, New Jersey, made a major breakthrough in packaging two beers in metal cans on January 24, 1935. The A...
By Nigel Huddleston in the section
Beer Production
p34
Adrian Tierney-Jones discovers the beers of England’s most northerly counties, Cumbria and Northumberland
Cumbria and Northumberland don’t immediately spring to mind when we think about the great beer counties of England.
Southern neighbour Yorkshire makes a lot of noise about its best bitters, while the...
By Adrian Tierney-Jones in the section
Regional Focus
p38
Each issue we’ll feature some of the stranger and funnier stories as well as all sorts of other nonsense in association with the Little Beer Company
This edition of Beers of the World we bring a couple of cautionary tales about being desperate for a pint.
Our first little tale comes from the vaults of the Darwin Awards. For those yet uninitiated ...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p39
Yet more goggles
Those of you who read these pages closely will know in the beer lovers’ world there is a certain fascination with beer goggles.
Normally these refer to men being lonely at the end o...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Matters
p40
A great deal of thought goes in to the Fuller’s beer and food menu. Purely in the interests of research, Ben McFarland went along to a tasting session
London brewer Fuller, Smith & Turner has a selection of pubs called the “Fuller’s Ale & Pie Pubs.” In these pubs you can get lovely ale. And you can get lovely pies. Put them together, and you’ve got ...
By Ben McFarland in the section
Beer and Food
p44
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 i...
By Christine Green in the section
Beer Issues
p47
No visit to Munich could ever be complete without a trip to Europe’s first public park – the Englische Garten in Munich. Andrew Burnyeat reports
The beer flows almost as quickly as the river which runs through the centre of Munich’s Englische Garten.
Despite being one of Europe’s biggest public parks, you could visit Munich without realising ...
By Andrew Burnyeat in the section
Spotlight
p48
A day out in Masham is always a pleasant occasion made even more so by the company you’re in. Barrie Pepper recently spent a day with Simon Theakston to talk about the renaissance of the family firm
I always enjoy meetings with Simon as I did with his late father Michael. For me they epitomise the real spirit of Yorkshire and in particular the Dales.
Such meetings usually start with a smile, a f...
By Barrie Pepper in the section
Beer Legends
p50
Jack Curtin spends a day discovering the beers and bars of this Pennsylvania city
Sitting at the Standard Tap in Philadelphia on a Sunday morning, happily sipping a pint in an establishment which serves only local beers, and only on draught, it is easy to understand how this city c...
By Jack Curtin in the section
Beer Journeys
p54
Some of England's regional brewers are establishing brewery outposts far from home. Glynn Davis reports
It’s not exactly surprising that breweries look to open pubs that are relatively close to their brewing operations. This makes delivering their carefully crafted beers a simple exercise and simplifies...
By Glynn Davis in the section
Beer Trends
p57
The love of pub darts is being kept alive by two collectors named Patrick. Andrew Burnyeat reports
When the King and Queen dropped in on Slough Community Centre for a game of darts in 1937, the event made the front pages of many of the national dailies.
More importantly, darts had taken off as a n...
By Andrew Burnyeat in the section
Collector's corner
p58
Once upon a time these heavier style American beers were only produced seasonally – now some are available all year round. David Gilbert reports
It is easy to forget that there was a time not long ago when we looked forward to the winter months for the heavyweight styles of the beer world to arrive.
The founding fathers of the craft brew move...
By David Gilbert in the section
Beer styles
p62
Tiger has established itself as the leading Asian beer but what do we really know about it? Dominic Roskrow found out
If Tiger beer is ever looking for a slogan it could do a lot worse than adopting and adapting the opening line from Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining: “We’re everywhere and nowhere baby, that’s where we...
By Dominic Roskrow in the section
Beer Focus
p64
Kent was once the heartland of British hop production. Andrew Catchpole visits the Faversham Hop Festival to report on the future of this vital beer ingredient
There was a nice spot of irony at work as the 8.20 Spitfire Hop Pickers Steam Special chugged into life and pulled out of London Victoria on route for the September hop festival at Faversham in Kent.
...
By Andrew Catchpole in the section
Spotlight
