Goatee Phil's Beer Blog

Life goes on, innit Faith, what else? Sometimes it takes an extreme event to make you appreciate what you have.   Here we are, in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, with most of us confined to our homes, and understandably people are complaining. They are also ignoring instructions to stay home and instead are carrying on as if nothing is wrong. But that’s enough about Dominic Cummings. Let’s just think for a moment about this world we live in. We now have 24/7 news coverage as well as an information platform called the internet where you can find anything you want - and sometimes buy it - and on it folks have developed networks of social gatherings where you can hook up with friends, family, even total strangers and talk to them any time you damn well please. And with a beer in your hand you could almost be in the pub! How have you all been coping with the lockdown? I've been surprised at how little I have missed the outside world. I realise that I am luckier than many. ...

Goatee Phil's review of 2019 Prelude to the Cloudwater Brewery Tour Has 2019 been a good year for beer? One of the best. Has it been a good one for breweries and the industry generally? Not so much. It's been a year when London's largest brewery, Fullers , was bought out by Asahi of Japan and the country's largest regional brewery, Greene King , became part of the Chinese company CKA Group. But the biggest threat to the UK brewing industry, craft and other, will surely come from the fallout from Brexit. For all the bullish talk by the current Prime Minister, it's hard to see anything other than new and restrictive trade barriers that will hit imports and exports equally. It's not looking good. Or maybe it is. It is still the case for me that pretty much every other pub visit gives me the chance try a beer that I've never drunk before. The major craft brewers, names like Cloudwater , Northern Monk , Burning Sky and Wylam , continue to produce new ...