Hop, Clip, & Pump

Believe me, a man's (or woman's) choice of beer glass is a vitally important part of the imbibing culture; it marks the transition from being 'just a customer' to being 'a regular' in their favourite pub. When they walk through the door, the bartender's hand is already reaching for their drinking vessel of choice, marking their status at the bar. Here's a handy guide to choosing your own special glass. There comes a point in every drinker’s journey, somewhere between the third pint and the first proper tasting note, when a simple question emerges: Does the glass actually matter? The short answer: yes. The longer answer: far more than most people realise. Why the Glass Matters (More Than You Think) Beer glasses are not just vessels, they are tools. Shape affects aroma, carbonation, head retention, and even how the beer feels in your mouth. A wide rim lets aromas escape quickly; a narrow top concentrates them. A tall glass preserves carbonation; a bo...

Somewhere in deepest, darkest Kent sits The George and Dragon, a pub that feels as though it belongs as much to folklore as it does to the modern beer map. Beneath it, quite literally, lies the engine room: a cave-like cellar where Caveman Brewery conducts its experiments. This is not brewing as a routine. This is brewing as a concept. The Common Ancestor: One Mash, Two Futures At the heart of Caveman’s approach is the idea of the ' Common Ancestor.'  From a single mash, two distinct beers are born, one a stronger IPA, the other a lower-strength session pale. It’s a technique with long-standing roots in brewing tradition, but here, it is not simply employed; it is embraced. Elevated. Made visible as part of the brewery’s identity. Where others quietly use the method, Caveman foregrounds it. The process becomes part of the story, part of the drinking experience itself. The Evolution Series: Beer as Ongoing Experiment Layered on top of this is the Evolution range ,  ...

Few beer styles carry as much history, or as much modern reinvention, as the India Pale Ale. What began as a practical solution to a logistical problem has evolved into one of the most expressive and experimental styles in the world of craft beer. From 18th-century Britain to contemporary global brewing, the IPA is a story of travel, adaptation, and relentless innovation. Origins: Pale Ale and the Problem of Distance The story begins in the 18th century, with the emergence of pale ale as a distinct style. These early beers were lighter in colour than their darker counterparts, made possible by advances in malting techniques that allowed for paler grains. At this stage, pale ales were only lightly hopped, balanced, approachable, and increasingly popular. But as British trade expanded, particularly with India, a new challenge emerged: how to create a beer that could survive the long journey overseas. The Birth of the IPA: Beer Built for the Journey To endure the months-long voy...

It has been a long time since the pub trade felt this exciting. After nearly thirty years behind and around the bar, years shaped by 'old school' landlords, the kind who wore their experience like spilt beer on their shirts, the rhythm of the industry can start to feel predictable. Familiar faces, familiar pints, familiar decline. And then, suddenly, something shifts. That shift came in February, when The Derby Tup welcomed a new landlord, and with him, a completely different kind of energy. A New Landlord, A New Vision Ade Cole is not your typical pub tenant. Younger than most, a local lad rather than an imported lifer, and, crucially, a brewer. Where many brewers remain behind the scenes, content to produce and distribute, Ade made the far riskier move: taking on a pub that had begun to slip into decline and reshaping it from the inside out. The vision was simple, but ambitious. Not just to run a pub, but to transform it into a brewery tap—a living, breathing space...

Some beers behave exactly as expected, and then there are beers like Pica Porter , which seem to delight in unsettling those expectations from the very first glance. Discovered in a local micropub and already causing a quiet stir at the bar, this is a porter that refuses to conform. Labelled as dark, yet pouring brown. Promising weight, yet delivering something lighter. Carrying the stylistic name of porter, but laced with an unexpectedly assertive hop character. It is, in every sense, a contradiction worth exploring. First Encounter: A Porter That Doesn’t Quite Look the Part Visually, Pica Porter challenges the drinker immediately. Rather than the deep, opaque blackness one might expect, it presents as a chestnut brown, clearer, lighter, and subtly at odds with porter tradition. The body follows suit. It is thinner than many modern porters, lacking the heavy viscosity often associated with the style. Yet this is not a weakness; it feels intentional, part of a broader rethinkin...

Not only is Morecambe’s Cross Bay Brewery the town’s only brewery, but it also quietly asserts something more ambitious beneath that fact: a commitment to breadth. Over twenty beer styles emerge from its twenty-eight-barrel plant, suggesting a scale of creativity that extends far beyond the expectations of a coastal microbrewery. And yet, despite this range, Nightfall marks a first encounter. A first step into their catalogue. A first impression of brewing intent distilled into a single, understated bitter. First Impressions: A Session Bitter with Quiet Authority At the lower ABV end of the session spectrum, Nightfall presents itself not as a spectacle, but as balance. It is a well-judged, bitter, smooth, composed, and structurally assured. There is no need for exaggeration here; instead, the beer leans into restraint, allowing drinkability and subtle complexity to do the work. This is not a beer that demands attention. It earns it slowly. The Brewery: Coastal Identity and Lo...

Going Coco Loco Down in Erm Barrow Hill… the title alone doesn’t quite behave like a sensible beer review. It reads more like a fever dream, or the name of a pub crawl that got slightly out of hand somewhere between a railway museum and a late-night decision. And in a way, that is exactly where this beer belongs. Set against the industrial nostalgia of Barrow Hill Roundhouse during Rail Ale trade night, this is not a controlled tasting environment. This is exhaustion, cask ale, railway heritage, and the quiet, slightly chaotic pursuit of 'something dark and comforting' after a long shift at work. Into this setting steps  Coco Loco . From Grafton Brewing . The Setting: Rail Ale and Worn-In Glassware Barrow Hill Roundhouse is the kind of place that already feels halfway between history and theatre. Trains, steel, echoing architecture, and then, suddenly, casks of ale lined up like competing narratives. After a long shift, the intention is simple, find 'dark oblivion...

Continuing on with a love of infographics that even real ale cannot quite quench, we arrive at number 9 : The Chemistry of Whisky . It is a subject that sits beautifully at the intersection of science and sensory pleasure, where molecular structure meets memory, flavour, and fire. Whisky is, after all, not just a drink. It is a distilled conversation between grain, yeast, wood, and time. The Infographic Obsession: Making Sense of the Pour There is something deeply satisfying about breaking complex drinks down into visual systems. Infographics take what is traditionally romantic and opaque, distillation, ageing, and flavour development, and translate it into something almost architectural. Whisky, in particular, lends itself to this treatment. Beneath its amber surface lies an intricate network of chemical reactions, each contributing to aroma, mouthfeel, and character. What looks like a simple dram in a glass is actually the endpoint of a long and delicate transformation. Et...

As it proudly declares on the pump clip, Brewsmith Pale is 'assertively bitter and hoppy,' and it absolutely means it. This is not a gentle introduction to pale ale; it is a statement beer. At 4.2% ABV, it occupies the deceptively easy-drinking end of the spectrum; its sharp bitterness and uncompromising hop profile give it a presence that demands attention rather than passive sipping. It is a beer that challenges expectation: light in strength, but firm in attitude. First Impressions: Appearance, Aroma, and Edge Visually, Brewsmith Pale presents as a slightly grassy, yellow-gold ale, crystal clear, with a milky white head lightly flecked with air bubbles. It looks clean, precise, and purposefully unembellished. On the nose, however, it immediately expands outward. A strong floral aroma rises first, bright and perfumed, followed by a sharper green hop character that hints at bitterness to come. There is no attempt here to soften or obscure its identity; the beer announces ...