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BBPA awards deadline is looming

By: JimOldfield

July 14th, 2016

The deadline for entries to the BBPA awards for 2016 is looming! Brewers, pubs and other hopefuls have only until August 26 to submit their bids for victory in this year’s revamped competition. The British Beer & Pub Association and Pub & Bar magazine are continuing the partnership that began last year, and the BBPA’s Read the full post…

Quaffing record broken at Wye festival

By: JimOldfield

July 12th, 2016

A record 21,000 pints were supped at last weekend’s twelfth Beer on the Wye beer and cider festival, with some 6,300 ale lovers turning out to make the three-day event the best ever. On offer were 130 UK beers, 40 world beers and 137 different ciders – and a third of all the drinks served Read the full post…

Hand-Pumped news: pub roundup

By: JimOldfield

July 8th, 2016

The White Horse, in the tiny Lincolnshire village of Marshchapel, hosts its fourth annual beer and music festival this weekend. The fest – in aid of the Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Trust – runs on Saturday and Sunday, with more than 1,000 people expected to turn up. A total of 18 beers and ciders Read the full post…

Wheaty McWheatface is top wheat beer research vessel!

By: JimOldfield

July 6th, 2016

Hard on the heels of Boaty McBoatface being picked online, as the name for a new polar research vessel, the golden touch of McFace has struck once again! This time Wheaty McWheatface – the brand new brew of West Berkshire Brewery –  has come out on top, winning the 2016 Imbibe Wheat Beer Challenge.   Read the full post…

Moody moggy takes North-West crown

By: JimOldfield

May 29th, 2013

Cumbrian brewer Barngates of Ambleside has taken the Northwest Regional Champion Beer of Britain title, with an ale named after a moody moggie that took over a local pub for 14 years! Cat Nap ale now goes onto the national final, hoping to be crowned the Champion Bitter of Britain 2012. Brewer John Lloyd revealed Read the full post…

Beer tasting notes

By: JimOldfield

March 26th, 2013

Once again these take many forms – and indeed there are literally hundreds of adjectives used to describe beers. Here is a selection of categories you may wish to employ (starting with the all-important name and strength!), together with examples of some terms in use for each: Name and brewery Strength (ABV) Type of beer Read the full post…

How to taste and rate real ale

By: JimOldfield

March 26th, 2013

There is no set method to perform this most delicious of tasks, and even the most accomplished tasters, tickers and ale judges all have their own ways. But here are a few tips which may help you along the way: Don’t drink pints if you want to rate more than the first two! Drinking halves Read the full post…

It’s Rule Britannia at International Brewing Awards!

By: JimOldfield

February 16th, 2013

British ales rule the world… after UK & Channel Island brewers won almost HALF the medals up for grabs at the prestigious International Brewing Awards. UK-based brewers scooped a staggering 47 medals out of 96 awarded at the world’s oldest international beer contest, including a clean sweep in the cask ale category where British brewers Read the full post…

Brit muscles in Brussels as our ales top beer contest

By: JimOldfield

November 25th, 2012

British brewers showed their brewing muscles to Brussels as they won five medals in a new international beer contest in Belgium. North-west brewers Joseph Holt and Daniel Thwaites both won gold medals for ales at the first ever Brussels Beer Challenge held this month, while Leicester’s Everards took a silver and a bronze. Joseph Holt’s Read the full post…

So who’s got the X-Factor beer of Britain then?

By: JimOldfield

November 24th, 2012

Regional brewers are gagging to see whose beer has the “X” factor, as SIBA publishes the finalists for its National Beer Competition at BeerX. The brewers association has compiled its annual list of winning pints from its regional heats, after the Northern and Midlands champions were the last to be announced last month. The listed Read the full post…