Live from Penzance… it’s Saturday Morning! Which means it’s time for some links to go with your Fruit’n’Fibre.
→ Vice‘s Ali Gourley spent a day at the new ‘PoundPub’ in Atherton, Manchester, questioning whether the bargain boozer is really, as per the media moral panic, a recipe for binge-drinking disaster. The conclusion (spoiler…) is eloquently expressed: “PoundPub is not an exemplar of Broken Britain – it’s a rare and welcome boon for broke Britain.” (1500 words; via @RoryElsome.)
→ Bob at Anchor Brewing grapples with the question of which ‘style’ category Liberty Ale belongs in — it’s not called an IPA, but everyone has decided it is one.
→ Pete Brown’s extended polemic on the subject of poor handling of ‘craft beer’ in pubs and bars makes some good points:
The situation is often little better with craft keg: beers pour cloudy, flat and lifeless, and because it’s ‘craft’, most bartenders and drinkers, for whom this is a new experience, assume it’s meant to be like that… At six quid a pint, this simply won’t do.
In concrete terms, the clear and visible mention on each label of the brewery where the beer in question was actually made. Along similar lines, only those enterprises who possess their own equipment for the brewing of beer, which is used to manufacture the entirety of their production, should be permitted to use the term “brewery”.
(Via @RobSterowski whose commentary on it is here.)
→ For obvious reasons, this was our favourite Tweet of the week:
Brilliant news book Brew Britannia by @BoakandBailey out late June — can't review yet but grab a copy. @aurumpress
— Roger Protz (@RogerProtzBeer) May 9, 2014
→ In other Brew Britannia news, the first (partial) review has landed, and our promotional tour is almost upon us, starting at the Port Street Beer House in Manchester next Sunday afternoon (18 May).
→ Finally, after a three-month hiatus caused by technical difficulties, veteran Liverpool-based beer and music blogger RedNev is back online. Phew! Though there are always plenty of interesting new bloggers around, it makes us feel a bit lonely when other veterans abandon ship, so we’re glad Nev’s not gone for good.