Haydn Mullineux What do Boddingtons, Staropramen, Budweiser and Stella Artois all have in common besides being very popular beers? All are owned by colossal multi-national brewing corporations – but who are these beer behemoths? Is My Beer for Real? When you sup a beer many different aspects are absorbed other than simply …
The USA may pride itself on its beer drinking culture but it is poor quality ‘wet air’ beers that dominate. So why do the vast majority of Americans favour flavourless beer? The Lingering Stereotype Any US beer aficionado would enthusiastically point to the country’s thriving microbrewery culture as evidence that …
Craft beer, namely beer that is brewed traditionally and with a taste for distinctive flavours and styles rather than mass appeal, is enjoying a major renaissance in the USA. Out of Darkness Came Light When a handful of brewing behemoths effectively took over the beer industry during the decades following …
Certain beers use their non pasteurised status as a selling point, but how does non pasteurised beer differ and why is it more appealing to the beer connoisseur? Louis Pasteur’s Legacy The triumphant endeavours of French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur in demonstrating that micro-organisms were responsible for souring wine …
One of Britain’s most popular beer styles, India Pale Ale’s name harks back to a time when it was produced to quench the thirsts of Brits abroad in the Indian subcontinent. The Popular Story Although better known today as IPA, its full title of India Pale Ale is an evocative …
A strong malty bottom-fermented lager, the bock beer provides some sweet seasonal cheer when the weather turns sour. Respite From the Gloom During the long harsh German winters light lager offers limited respite from the biting gloom and so brewers have long since decided that beers that offer more in …
The ‘King of Beers’ may be an all American icon but in truth Budweiser is a Czech beer brewed American style. All American Beer? When the US brewing monolith, and home to Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch was bought by Belgium-based Belgian-Brazilian corporation InBev in 2008, a nation mourned the loss of an …
Cask-conditioned beer is the choice of the drinker who likes their beer ‘real’, but what is it exactly and how does it differ from conventionally conditioned beer. The New Beer Standard Whereas for centuries cask-conditioned beer was the norm, it is now a speciality type. This traditional method of keeping …
With a remarkable rise defying the decline of the brewing industry, are microbreweries the saviour of British pub culture? Bucking the Downward Trend Declining beer sales and week-on-week closure of UK pubs has led many to predict the imminent demise of one of Britain’s beloved historical and social institutions, its …
A national drink that has long been derided and forsaken in favour of gassy, bland mass-produced lager is being embraced once again. Are we witnessing the rebirth of real ale in the UK? The Death of the Real Ale Stereotype The stereotype of the ale drinker as a middle-aged man …
