News

Publicans and brewers are worried over what to do with unused beer during the coronavirus lockdown and closed pubs -- can they claim back for lost sales and pre-paid duty? The chairman of a leading regional brewer offers his advice

Added: Sunday, April 5th 2020

Should cask beer be treated as a premium product, as suggested by James Calder, the chief executive of SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers? A pint of Taylor's Landlord at £3.50 in a backstreet pub in Dartford, Kent, keeps in the reach of people on low incomes.

Added: Monday, March 30th 2020

Robert Neame, better known as Bobby Neame, former director of Shepherd Neame, Britain's oldest brewery, has died aged 85. In a long career with the family brewery, he helped safeguard its independence and introduced Spitfire ale that became the company's biggest-selling beer in cask and bottle

Added: Thursday, December 5th 2019

Bass Pale Ale and Draught Bass, once leaders in their field, have been sidelined by owners AB InBev. The draught beer is brewed under licence by Marston's and what was once the biggest-selling cask ale is now hard to find. The bottled version was once sold world wide and featured in Manet's Bar at the Folies Bergeres (pictured) but is now a filtered beer produced at a keg plant in Lancashire a long way from Burton-on-Trent

Added: Thursday, September 12th 2019

Greene King, one of Britain's oldest breweries dating from 1799, has been sold for £2.7 billion to a Hong Kong property developer called CK Asset Holdings.The new owner has no roots in brewing or pubs and there are fears the tied estate of 2,700 could be drastically reduced, throwing a question mark over the future of brewing at Bury St Edmunds.

Added: Tuesday, August 20th 2019

A pint of bitter is Britain's favourite style of ale yet a growing number of major brewers are re-branding both their bitters and pale ales as "amber". The trend started with Marston's Pedigree, which is a classic Burton pale ale, using no darker malts in its recipe, but is now labelled "amber". This is making a mockery of centuries of brewing tradition and traducing a beer style famous throughout the world

Added: Wednesday, May 29th 2019

Carlsberg has created media interest in its new Danish Pilsner and its admission that it may not brew the best lager in the world. It has also unleashed criticism from drinkers that the beer lacks flavour and character. But it has also sparked a debate over what constitutes proper lager beer and whether it can be brewed as quickly as ale or whether long maturation is still best.

Added: Friday, April 19th 2019

Cask beer had a tough time in 2018 but there are signs of a revival. Shepherd Neame has launched Cask Club with a series of new beers, including collaborations with the likes of Sam Adams in the U.S. BrewDog and Cloudwater are planning to brew some cask beers while Thornbridge says sales of its real ales are doing exceptionally well. Multi-prize-winning Timothy Taylor Landlord has become a cult beer among young drinkers

Added: Tuesday, March 26th 2019

The sale for £250 million of Fuller's brewery and brands to Asahi of Japan brings to an end the long history of family brewing in London. Fuller's sold up as a result of falling profits from brewing, with cask sales in particular down by 10 per cent, with far more money to be made from pub retailing. The worry now is that the Japanese giant will reduce the beer range is order to turn London Pride into an "international brand".

Added: Sunday, January 27th 2019

Beavertown Brewery in North London has received a £40 million investment from Heineken in return for a major share in the company. This will allow founder Logan Plant (pictured) to build a new 450,000 hectolitre brewery. But will Heineken end up the sole owner of Beavertown? The omens are not good as "Big Beer" moves in on the craft sector in both the United States and the UK

Added: Saturday, June 23rd 2018