Features

Harry is the landlord of the Dock & Duck in rural southern England. He has a lease with Enterprise Inns, the country's biggest pub company, now known as Ei Group. Harry is not his real name as he wants to renew his lease but he is keen to show how difficult it is to run pubs when they are tied to their landlords for beer. Harry says he pays some £60,000 a year more than if he bought his beer on the open market.

Added: Thursday, February 14th 2019

Jaega Wise has sprung to fame in a few years with Wild Card Brewery in East London. She and her fellow directors William Harris and Andrew Birkby are from Nottingham and moved from home brewing to full scale production in 2012. They have won awards for their beers and Jaega was named Brewer of the Year in December by the British Guild of Beer Writers. She's also a regional director for the Society of Independent Brewers and finds time to sing in a group called Hell and Hope

Added: Monday, January 21st 2019

After years of growth in the pale ale and IPA sector, dark beer is making a comeback. Tesco stores sold out of stout during the Christmas period as consumers relish the rich flavours of beers made with roasted and caramel malts. There are some fine porters and stouts available but you will need to rush to get a bottle of the annual Goose Island Bourbon County Stout before it sells out

Added: Monday, December 31st 2018

Jeffrey John Bell is one of the best-known pub landlords in the country who built his reputation with two London pubs, the Gunmakers and the Finborough Arms. But now he's running the ancient Ypres Castle Inn in Rye on the Romney Marsh in Sussex where he offers a range of beers from local breweries, including Three Legs on a local farm.

Added: Friday, December 7th 2018

Most beers are meant for immediate consumption but there are some strong versions that should be treated with the same respect as vintage wine and which will improve with age. Two such recent additions are the latest Thomas Hardy's Ale and Fuller's Vintage Ale. It's claimed the Thomas Hardy's will improve over 25 years while samplings show the Fuller's beer with deepen its complexities if laid down for a few years

Added: Wednesday, December 5th 2018

A group of four beer lovers called The Completists take on the onerous task every year of visiting every pub listed in the Good Beer Guide.They visited St Albans, a small city with 50 pubs, and joined Roger Protz on a selection of some of the pubs in the 2019 guide. When news leaked out via social media, a few more drinkers came along for a crawl of pubs with not only good beer but also some fascinating history

Added: Tuesday, November 27th 2018

The small market town of Waltham Abbey in Essex once claimed, with 27 inns, to have the most pubs in Europe. The number has declined to 10 but they include the ancient Welsh Harp, with links to the abbey, the 17th century Sun, and the multi-award-winning Woodbine on the edge of Epping Forest that has won 27 awards from CAMRA for beer and cider and now plans its own brewery

Added: Monday, November 19th 2018

Paul Theakston, seen with is sons Jo and Rob, left the family brewery in Masham in the Yorkshire Dales when it was taken over by Scottish & Newcastle. He nursed his wounds for a few years then opened Black Sheep in a former maltings just yards from the rival brewery. He devised a new course for his brewery: he owned no pubs and relied on the free trade. It's been a rocky road but the brewery is flourishing. Paul has now handed over the reins to his sons and can reflect on his tumultuous brewing story

Added: Friday, November 9th 2018

John Keeling has just retired as head brewer at Fuller's but he has a new mission in life -- to boost the fortune's of cask beer. He says Britain's unique contribution to beer is seeing sales fall by 10% a year. His recommendations include greater quality control, with no cask served longer than three days, and a special differential rate of duty when Britain leave the European Union

Added: Tuesday, October 30th 2018

Greece has a vast number of islands and several of them are now home to new craft breweries. They include the Nissos Brewery that concentrates on organic lagers and Mikonu on Mykonos, where founders Angelos Ferous and Janos Bako (pictured) learned the brewing skills at BrewDog in Scotland. Other islands with flourishing breweries include Crete and Santorini

Added: Tuesday, October 23rd 2018