Introducing an exploration of beer in Britain

There are many issues surrounding beer and pubs that have been spinning round in my head for a long time. Many times I’ve promised (threatened) friends that I’m going to start a blog one day and put the world to right. Now, after much procrastination, I’ve got this site started and it’s time to put thoughts into words. At the same time as talking about beer (and pubs, etc.) I’ll be working on the look and feel of the website to give it some degree of visual appeal and ease of use. Its look will improve!

The idea of the exercise is to have some fun and promote the positives of the world of British beer; but there will be some gripes and I am keen to encourage a counter-revolution against some developments of recent years. For now, I’ll just say there’s nothing wrong with innovation as long as we don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. The occasional hint of grapefruit (etc.) is fine, as long as I can still choose a pint of the style of beer I’ve grown up with. Two of the key things I intend to explore in these pages are beer styles and choice (or lack of it). This will demand a great deal of research but I’m sure the pleasures will outnumber disappointments, and I’m happy to pursue the subject indefinitely.

I live in Sheffield; a city that’s given birth to many new small breweries and become a centre for the development of a modern style of beer. Sheffield is now an interesting place to be and interest in beer in Sheffield seems to be booming. Sheffield beers and Sheffield’s apparent attitude towards beer will provide plenty of source material for my articles. As will Derby (my home city), and many other cities and regions across Britain, whose great beer drinking histories will be a pleasure to examine. The articles will be kept short, but will hopefully initiate debate and discussion, and I can perhaps dream that they may have some small influence on how the future will be for beer drinkers across Britain.

A final word for now is to say that although this introduction has focussed on beer, I do see pubs and pub culture as being intrinsically linked to beer and, to me, are just as important in their own right. Pubs will have their own set of articles, as will breweries and my allied interest in the art (or science) of home-brewing.

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