Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we\u2019ve got interviews, reviews, and pub guides.<\/strong><\/p>\n First, some news about Jennings via Roger Protz on Bluesky:<\/p>\n More good news re #JenningsBrewery: not only escaped the clutches of Carlsberg-Britvic, the new independent owners have recruited Buster Grant as Head Brewer, highly respected from Batemans, planning to restore Cumberland Ale, Jennings Bitter & Snecklifter. #CockermouthBrewingHeritage<\/p>\n \u2014 Roger Protz (@rogerprotz.bsky.social<\/a>) May 16, 2025 at 6:05 PM<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s more on the story<\/a> by Bridget Dempsey<\/strong> at the Times & Star<\/em>:<\/p>\n Jennings Brewery was closed in 2022, but was acquired by Kurt Canfield, CEO of specialist engineering business Delkia, and Rebecca Canfield, proprietor of wine and spirits company Wine and the Wood in February\u2026 Since the announcement, Chris France has been appointed managing director, and Head Brewer, Buster Grant has been appointed \u2013 he is currently sourcing new brew kit to a more suited size for the relaunch of the brewery\u2026 The company hope to be brewing again by the end of May and beers available by early June.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There have been a couple of interesting interviews with UK brewing industry figures in the past week, which we\u2019re going to bunch together. First, for The Grocer<\/em>, James Beeson<\/strong> has spoken to Russell Bisset of that quiet powerhouse Northern Monk<\/a>:<\/p>\n Bisset credits Northern Monk\u2019s success partly to its ability to resonate across the north of the UK. Its strapline \u2018fresh from the north\u2019 \u2013 plus work with Leeds charities including Pyramid Arts and Holbeck Together \u2013 evokes a sense of community and pride that connects with beer drinkers, he believes\u2026 But Bisset insists the brand also has nationwide appeal\u2026 That\u2019s why a chunk of the crowdfunding money will be used to open Northern Monk pubs up and down the country, starting in York and Edinburgh this year, and London in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Then, for The Morning Advertiser<\/em>, Rebecca Weller<\/strong> has interviewed Georgina Young, Brewing Director at St Austell<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to give the sales teams what they want, and it is harder for them to sell beer in the current climate with the cost of living, so there\u2019s a lot of cost pressures\u2026 We\u2019ve had the energy crisis, there was Covid, the prices of raw material last year and then this year it\u2019s national insurance and the people crisis\u2026 But we all live in the state of \u2018perma crisis\u2019 and we all feel the pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In both pieces, it\u2019s worth attempting to read between the lines. Being interviewed when you have a corporate line to toe, and a message to get across is tricky. For example, how do you get across that you\u2019ve made improvements in the process without it sounding as if you\u2019re saying the beers were bad before you arrived?<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of talk about community pubs, and pubs and community\u2026 but how, in practice, can a pub help people integrate in a new town, and become part of a community? At Pellicle <\/em>Rebecca Crowe<\/strong> has profiled The Little Taproom in Aigburth, Liverpool,<\/a> and its owners Aggy Perreau and Si Perreau:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always welcomed small local groups to use our space as best as possible,\u201d Si says. \u201cThe book club in particular was born from a conversation with one of my best friends Alyssa, something of a book club impresario, that I\u2019d like to host a book club and she happened to be thinking of starting one.\u201d \u2026 Especially in cities, there is a loneliness epidemic. Moving to a new city as an adult with no support system makes it extremely difficult to meet people and make new friends outside of work. With this being the case, people are increasingly drawn to community hubs and extracurricular clubs where they can meet people and bond over shared interests, whether that\u2019s crochet, literature, or bonding over unusual cask [ale].<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Beer Nut<\/strong> has been in Brussels on beer consumer union business and has used the time productively, turning out tasting notes for a wide selection of beers<\/a> you might encounter in the Belgian capital this summer. Excuse the rather chunky quote from this one, which defied our attempts to edit:<\/p>\n I had lunch in Billie, the bar which has taken the space of beloved Brussels institution Monk. Mercifully, it has been left almost exactly as it was before, down to the menu and beer selection. After my spaghetti, I had the house beer, Billie. This is brewed by Belgoo, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if it\u2019s simply a rebadge of something else. It\u2019s a straight up blonde ale of 5.8% ABV with lots of very typical Belgian flavours: both pithy and earthy; grapefruits and farmyards, with a sprinkling of white pepper spice for a savoury, saison-like, finish. It\u2019s not an especially distinctive beer, but is classically constructed and made well\u2026 I had another from Belgoo at the Wolf food market, where they run the brewery. Belgoo Hoppy Pils is beautifully clear and golden. There\u2019s a slightly worrying hint of perfume about the aroma but the flavour goes full-on citrus, with zesty lemon up front, followed by a gentler satsuma or kumquat effect. That\u2019s set on a very simple malt base, properly lager-clean and nicely full-bodied, as one would expect at 5% ABV. To me, it comes across as something in the Italian pilsner style, but regardless of nomenclature it\u2019s very tasty and easy-drinking. Before this trip I didn\u2019t think I liked Belgoo\u2019s beers. These two gave me pause, and indicated why breweries\u2019 beers are often worth revisiting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s also a second post focusing on sour beers<\/a>, to complete the overview.<\/p>\n How\u2019s the beer selection at your local supermarket? \u2018Velky\u2019 Al Reece<\/strong> isn\u2019t very impressed by what he finds at his on his ritual, habitual \u2018bimbles\u2019 around the beer section<\/a>:<\/p>\n I noted a single brown ale, the excellent Tavern Brown from Alewerks Brewing in Williamsburg, just the one amber ale, Satan\u2019s Pony from Charlottesville\u2019s South Street Brewery, and precisely zero milds, hefeweizens, Scottish ales, Czech style dark lagers, and even an utter dearth of Extra Special Bitter\u2026 At last year\u2019s Great American Beer Festival there were 102 categories, and yet an alien visiting a supermarket in central Virginia would be forgiven for believing beer was called IPA, and that was pretty much all that was available.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Lisa Grimm\u2019s<\/strong> exploration of Dublin pubs continues with notes on the beer garden at the Urban Brewing brewpub<\/a>:<\/p>\n Although the branding is different, Urban Brewing is an outpost of Carlow Brewing, of O\u2019Hara\u2019s fame, which means that the core O\u2019Hara\u2019s beers are always available, the gorgeous Leann Foll\u00e1in included\u2026 But there is a rotating lineup of exclusive and one-off beers brewed here on site as well \u2013 there\u2019s often a mild that\u2019s a delight in warmer weather, and a variety of interesting things to try\u2026 And the site is one of the main reasons to visit Urban Brewing: built into a Grade 1-listed former warehouse at Custom House Quay that has been here since at least 1820, it\u2019s an excellent example of thoughtful and creative reuse of a heritage building \u2013 something we could really use more of in Dublin\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As we head into summer, it\u2019s worth adding that Lisa has categorised her posts so you can easily find Dublin pubs with gardens<\/a> or pubs that are good for \u2018pavement pints\u2019<\/a>. She\u2019s also pulled some of this together into a post about the best Dublin pubs for sunny days<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, from Bluesky, evidence that CAMRA\u2019s \u2018month of mild\u2019 is well underway, despite some rather warm weather in the UK\u2026<\/p>\n The pub has 3 dark milds on out of 9 cask. Both impressive and ill advised.<\/p>\n \u2014 Mark Johnson\u00a0 (@marknjohnson.bsky.social<\/a>) May 16, 2025 at 8:04 PM<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n For more good reading check out <\/em>Stan Hieronymus\u2019s round-up from Monday<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Alan McLeod\u2019s from Thursday<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we\u2019ve got interviews, reviews, and pub guides. First, some news about Jennings via Roger Protz on Bluesky: More good news re #JenningsBrewery: not only escaped the clutches of Carlsberg-Britvic, the new independent owners have recruited Buster Grant as Head […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":246936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[7515,2177,75200,1820,75199,34986],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-246935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beer","tag-chances","tag-city","tag-longreads","tag-news","tag-news-nuggets","tag-nuggets"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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