The country pub offers a seductive account of an imagined country lifestyle – timeless bucolic images and rustic comfortable settings. However, there is a deeper, darker side... Continue reading
by Keith Flett CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, was formed in the 1970s around a fight against an earlier generation of Big Beer. Giant beer companies... Continue reading
The State Management Scheme brewery, 1916-1971 by Keith Flett The grip that global big beer has on what is sold and drunk in bars and pubs needs... Continue reading
2024 saw a string of brewery closures and takeovers. Wild Card in Walthamstow sadly fell victim to an accumulation of COVID debts, while venture capitalists Keystone (Breal)... Continue reading
Jeremy Corbyn is a lifelong abstainer from drink. Nevertheless, he has always shown interest in protecting pubs in his constituency, and so repaired with his campaign to... Continue reading
Is there a way forward for Brewdog? James Watt has stood down as CEO of Brewdog after seventeen years. He has become ‘captain’ and a non-executive Director.... Continue reading
Indelibly racist Roald Dahl was called upon by Hollywood profit-brokers again last year for yet another adaptation of his 1964 children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.... Continue reading
Tim Martin, the public face of Wetherspoons, was given a knighthood in the NewYear Honours list. Officially this was for his services to the hospitality industry. Reports... Continue reading
Cask Ale Week, backed by Cask Marque, is an annual promotion of cask ale which runs in early Autumn each year. Its aim is to get the... Continue reading
Keith Flett proposes some ways of taking back control of brewing and pubs, beyond the reach of ‘Big Beer’ in brewing and pubs. Image above: the former... Continue reading