Features

8 January 2018 was a double celebration. Bateman's award-winning strong bitter XXXB chalked up 40 years since it was first brewed and four generations of brewers were in attendance as two beer lovers, Michael and Hannah Borill from Lincoln, helped mash in and boil malt and hops for a batch restored to its original strength of 4.8 per cent

Added: Wednesday, January 10th 2018

The beer world has moved on from the likes of Mild and Bitter. Craft brewers are endlessly seeking out new and sometimes extreme flavours in beer. Some writers question whether adding fruit to beer is a step too far but there's no doubt that wood ageing has brought new dimensions to the pleasures of drinking. And Adnams' Ghost Ship, with its rich hop character, is now the brewery's top-selling beer

Added: Friday, January 5th 2018

Gale's Prize Old Ale, aged in wood, looked to have died when the brewery was bought and closed by Fuller's in 2006. But now the major London brewery has worked with Marble in Manchester to restore the classic ale, ageing it in four oak barrels for a year. Marble head brewer James Kemp has released the beers in four different signatures from bourbon, Barbera, Madeira and Pinot Noir barrels

Added: Wednesday, December 27th 2017

Three men -- Martin Taylor, Simon Everitt and Richard Coldwell -- known as the Completists have a rare passion for pubs. Their aim is to visit every pub listed in the Good Beer Guide -- and they plan weekends and holidays with military precision. They love pubs because "pubs are about people" and they don't enjoy drinking at home. Roger Protz joined them on a crawl of some of Sheffield's finest hostelries

Added: Sunday, December 17th 2017

A former closed Young's pub in Richmond, London, has been restored as a vibrant community local by Chris French (pictured) with a policy of serving beers from outside the M25 along with bought-in pizzas and help from Rudi the cocker spaniel, voted the cutest UK pub dog

Added: Saturday, November 11th 2017

David Bruce, famous as the founder of the Firkin pub chain and Slug & Lettuce, now runs the West Berkshire Brewery. He has transformed the small site in an old bakery into a large new brewery on a former dairy farm with a multi-functional brewhouse producing ale and lager. He has also installed a visitor centre where drinkers can sample the beers and watch brewing through a glass wall. There's a ramped up beer range with Renegade craft beers alongside the original cask ales

Added: Monday, October 30th 2017

Dougal Sharp, pictured outside the barrel house at Inveralmond Brewery in Perth, has achieved his ambition of owning his own brewery. While Inveralmond continues to brew cask ales, Innis & Gunn now has a base for its oak-aged range of beers. But there's controversy surrounding the main I&G beers as they are produced by a method using oak chips and are not aged in wood casks. Dougal Sharp says he's "putting the barrels into the beer".

Added: Friday, October 27th 2017

Liverpool pubs are picking up awards galore. Micro-pub Cask has twice been named Pub of the Year by the local branch of CAMRA while the famous Roscoe Head has been given a framed certificate to mark its inclusion in all 45 editions of the Good Beer Guide. Across the Mersey in Birkenhead, Gallagher's Pub & Barbers -- both Wirral and Merseyside Pub of the Year -- has had to stop offering haircuts due to the demand for its fine range of beers

Added: Sunday, October 8th 2017

Two Italians from Naples, Pasquale Ambrosio and Angelo Chionchio, run a successful pizzeria, Santa Maria, in Ealing, West London and they have now moved next door to run a Fuller's pub, the Red Lion on St Mary's Road. The Neapolitan duo have a passion for pizza and import all the ingredients from Italy, along with a wood-fired oven. They have added their own special beer, Santa Maria IPA from Bianca Road Brew in Peckham

Added: Monday, October 2nd 2017

British hops are no longer in the doldrums. There are now 50 hop farmers producing 27 varieties, with a large proportion going for export. Beer lovers can celebrate the Great Hop Revival this autumn with a raft of festivals, exhibitions and train rides. Get hopping!

Added: Monday, September 11th 2017