Eating & Drinking

Friday, 18 June 2021 11:30

Brewdog: what is to be done?

Written by Keith Flett

in Eating & Drinking

Keith Flett contributes to the debates around Brewdog If you drink craft beer you are probably aware of the crisis that has hit Scottish brewer Brewdog after a group of ex-employees, Punks With Purpose, published a statement detailing experiences of harassment and discrimination while they were working for the company.…

Thursday, 18 March 2021 20:04

CAMRA at 50: will it combat Big Beer?

Written by Keith Flett

in Eating & Drinking

Keith Flett mulls over CAMRA's history and its options for future campaigning activity CAMRA is 50 years old in March. That is quite an achievement for a voluntary campaign, implying at least renewal through several generations of activists, something which is often hard to achieve. It now has 170,000 members…

Black Lives Matter Extinction Rebellion Burton's Molson Coors

Tuesday, 09 March 2021 11:46

Co-operative, democratically run community pubs? The new Budget announcement

Written by Keith Flett

in Eating & Drinking

Keith Flett considers the recent Budget boost to community pubs The past year of the pandemic has caused massive problems for nearly everyone in the brewing, beer and pub trades area. Nearly everyone, because global big beer such as ABInBev and even large UK-based concerns like Marstons - now a…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Saturday, 09 January 2021 14:14

Beyond Dry January and alcohol: the key role of the pub

in Eating & Drinking

Written by Keith Flett

Keith Flett celebrates the key social role of the pub As we enter the New Year the Dry January campaign is once again active. It is a registered charity and it aims to persuade people to abstain from alcohol for a month, after a supposed festive season of excess. While…

Carlisle State Pub scheme Clarion

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 06 July 2020 16:13

Black Lives Matter, slavery, the Beerage and beer in 2020

in Eating & Drinking

Written by Keith Flett

Keith Flett considers Black Lives Matter, slavery, the history of the ‘Beerage’ and beer in 2020 Following the police killing of George Floyd the Black Lives Matter movement has exploded across the globe. It is nothing to do with beer, but that doesn’t mean that beer isn’t involved. Take an…

Greene King Wilberforce Black Lives Matter

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Saturday, 04 July 2020 16:51

Pubs: a cultural space where you can just be

in Eating & Drinking

Written by Phil Mellows

Phil Mellows muses on the need for more awareness of the value of pubs, places where neoliberal subjectivity and stress can be suspended. The painting is by Norman Cornish A little over a hundred years ago, in his novella The Machine Stops, E M Forster prophesied a locked-down future in…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 03 June 2020 09:16

The future of breaking bread

in Eating & Drinking

Written by Charlie Clutterbuck

Charlie Clutterbuck continues the joint Culture Matters/Morning Star series on the future of cultural activities after the Covid-19 crisis, looking at what will we have on our plates afterwards. Image above: ultra-processed cheese production, photo by Matthias Kabel Food is essential to live but has also been at the centre…

Monday, 20 January 2020 17:31

Dry January, temperance and the Left

Written by Keith Flett

in Eating & Drinking

Keith Flett writes about Dry January, and outlines the history of temperance & the left It’s Dry January – an annual campaign that suggests people should abstain from alcohol during the month, to recover from possible festive excesses and generally to cut down on drinking. It's important to understand that…

Friday, 22 November 2019 20:58

The election: brewing, pubs and beer in Labour's Manifesto

Written by Keith Flett

in Eating & Drinking

Keith Flett sets out some proposals for progressive policies, and discusses how the Labour Manifesto begins the task of addressing a radical overhaul of brewing, pubs and beer Labour has produced a radical Manifesto and it contains some important passages that will positively impact those who drink beer, those who…

Saturday, 31 August 2019 13:01

Big Beer and Big Capital - What is to be done?

Written by Keith Flett

in Eating & Drinking

Keith Flett discusses the challenge of Big Beer and Big Capital in 2019/20. What is to be done to resist and oppose them? Beer writer Roger Protz has noted the strategy of Big Beer: First Big Beer buys up a swathe of independent breweries. Now it’s attempting to control the…

Wednesday, 30 January 2019 09:59

Beer for the many in 2019

Written by Keith Flett

in Eating & Drinking

Keith Flett surveys the beery landscape of 2019, and considers what a Labour Government could do about Big Beer You don’t need a crystal ball to know that beer in 2019 will follow trends already evident in 2018. In craft beer there is a perpetual search for new styles or…