Since its creation 13,000 years ago, our love of beer has shaped everything from religious ceremonies to advertising, and architecture to bioengineering, Jonny argues.

The people who built the pyramids were paid in ale, the first fridge was built for beer not food, bacteria was discovered while investigating sour beer, Germany’s beer halls hosted Hitler’s rise to power, and brewer’s yeast may yet be the answer to climate change.

In The Meaning of Beer, award-winning writer Jonny tells the stories of these incredible human moments and inventions, taking readers to some of the best-known beer destinations in the world. Theses include Munich and Oktoberfest, Carlsberg Brewery’s historic laboratory, St Louis, the home of Budweiser, as well as those lesser known, from a 5,000 year-old-brewery in the Egyptian desert to Arctic Svalbard, home to the world’s most northerly pub.

Jonny is a multi-award-winning journalist, author, and film-maker. He’s best known as the founder of Youtube’s Craft Beer Channel. He has written four books. His most recent one, A Year in Beer (CAMRA Books, 2021), won the Fortnum & Mason Drinks Book of the Year, British Guild of Food Writers Drinks Book of the Year, and British Guild of Beer Writers Book of the Year. He was also voted British Beer Writer of the Year in 2019 and 2022.

The Meaning of Beer will be published by Allen and Unwin UK next month.

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He delivers a lively history of brewing traditions with beers seen as global commodities created through borrowing and exchange, from pre-capitalist times to the present.

Pilcher shows how, over centuries, the exchange of technological advances in brewing contributed to regional divergences and convergences in beer varieties. But always in tandem with other social and cultural developments.

“Industrialisation led to easier production, refrigeration, and distribution,” says the publisher. “It also recast strong flavours as a source of potential contamination, turning fresh-tasting lager into a symbol of hygiene and civilization.

“Beers became so standardised that most consumers could not tell the difference between them, leading to competition that bankrupted countless firms.

“Today, brewing has returned to its local artisanal roots, but as we have seen with the spread of IPAs, even microbrewers are driven by the same quest for profit and expansion.”

Hopped Up will be published by Oxford University Press on 30th September.

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8 Secrets to What Makes Great Beer is subtitled The Insiders Guide to Craft Brewing and Beer.

This book isn’t your typical brewing manual — it’s a lively, anecdote-filled brewery tour on paper. Say goodbye to dry tables, graphs, and equations — this is a celebration of beer crafted for genuine enthusiasts. The book offers a refreshing blend of passion, experience, and real-life brewing tales.

“This is a must-read book for beer lovers and aspiring brewers,” said beer writer Roger Protz. “Trevor and Paul have pooled their experience running breweries and pubs to explain, jargon-free, how good beer is brewed.

“They take readers through the stages of the brewing process and then detail the essential raw materials of malt, hops, yeast, and water. The range of malts and hops is portrayed, following guidance on brewing a wide variety of succulent beer styles.”

The book is available in both paperback and ebook format from Amazon.

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Small-batch brew Hygge is intended to be enjoyed instead of wine or port, and goes perfectly with a cheeseboard, says head brewer Mike Mason. The Cognac and marshmallow imperial stout comes in at 14.4% ABV.

“I didn’t set out to brew a really high-ABV beer just for the sake of it, but the flavours just called for it,” he said. “When it was ready I did some research and I think it’s the highest ABV beer ever made by a brewery here in Cornwall, although I’m sure someone out there will correct me!”

Imperial stouts are often around 11% ABV. Sweet malts have to be perfectly balanced with bitter hops in a rich and complex style that has many layers of flavour.

‘We’re recommending sharing a bottle’

Mike and brewery assistant Tim have a pilot brew kit at their disposal, with the 70-litre capacity set-up allowing them to experiment and push the boundaries with beers like Hygge. 

Mike said: “With its marshmallow silkiness and Cognac kick, Hygge was designed to be a luxury version of an imperial stout and, like all good strong beers, the flavour benefits from the higher ABV.”

Louise Treseder, brewery owner and landlady of The Driftwood Spars, said: “Here at the pub, we’re recommending sharing a bottle and sipping it like a wine or port. Our guests are enjoying it with our West Country cheeseboards, with Cornish Smuggler, Yarg, and Brie amongst others.”

Hygge is bottle conditioned and sold in 330ml bottles. Just 100 bottles were produced and are now available to buy in the brewery shop, online, and in selected independent bottle shops across Cornwall.

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The brewers are inspired by new wave brewing techniques and both traditional European and modern styles. They make a point of using superior quality ingredients.

Spread over three floors and 27,000 square feet, the brewery building formed a major part of the mighty Blackness iron foundry.

There is a 25-hectolitre state-of-the-art brewhouse, chilled conditioning capacity of 500hl, canning and kegging lines, laboratory facilities, and temperature controlled storage for up to 100,000 litres of packaged beer.

The year-round line-up includes a flagship Pilsner lager, juicy hazy IPA, sessionable American pale ale, and big double IPAs. Fruition Seasonal Sours are fruit forward, showcasing the best of Scottish and exotic fruits.

Browse the brewery shop here, or for commercial orders visit sellar.io/. For direct delivery click ware-logic.co.uk/

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The purpose of the course is to improve the customer experience and give staff the knowledge to confidently recommend a beer brand or style to a guest. There would also be the opportunity to upsell, and demonstrate their professionalism and knowledge.

Cask Marque says the scheme also helps staff retention. In the first year the cost will be£30+VAT, covering ten learners.

The course takes 30 minutes and is available for a mobile, tablet, or PC. It is a blend of video clips, theory, interactive exercises, and a ‘check your knowledge’ test.

Topics covered

• Prepare yourself
• Prepare your glassware
• The perfect pour
• Present professionally
• Prospect and promote

When a member of a team passes this certificated course they join the Beer Pro Club and receive further opportunities to increase their knowledge and career prospects.

Cask Marque founder, Paul Nunny, said: “Bar staff are such an important part of delivering a great customer experience in pubs. Now we have set standards that allow bar staff to be more professional and rewarding in terms of job fulfilment.

“There are so many new bar staff in hospitality that it is even more important that they receive proper training to give them pride in their job. Already, Thwaites, Stonegate, and Punch have committed to roll out the training programme.”

Course of the year

After extensive trials, it has been named course of the year by Nimble, an e-learning specialist. The judges said: “This is a polished course, well constructed and engaging through use of video and knowledge checks.

“It has been designed with mobile in mind, which is appropriate for the busy industry that the content is aimed at. The interactions are well deployed to reinforce the key learnings that are set out in the stylish video clips. This course stands out visually.”

• Find out more at cask-marque.co.uk/Beer-Pro or email carol@cask-marque.co.uk for information.

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Backing London Black, its new nitro porter, the brewer is aspiring to offer a consumer choice to rival Diageo’s Guinness in London and across the UK.

Since the launch of London Black, in May, Anspach & Hobday has landed 30 direct permanent lines and sold more than 450 kegs. That’s 13,500 litres, or more than 23,500 pints.

The brewery has partnered with James Clay and New Wave Beer for distribution across Britain. Due to the success of London Black, the decision has been taken to raise capital to meet demand.

The upgrades to the production hub in Croydon will include doubling batch volume and improving efficiency, as well as expanding production of London Black. To meet growing demand, the porter will also be available in small pack, with upgrades being made to the canning line. For local pubs wishing to stock London Black, Anspach & Hobday provides nitro line installations as part of its offering.

London Black is a creamy, smooth, and sessionable London Porter, poured from keg but smooth like cask. An easy-drinking dark beer, it has a tight creamy head that lasts all the way down the glass.

Inviting the wider investment community

The raise follows on from a successful 2018 campaign when 524 backers invested £525,250 into the brewery. “We delivered on our plans, expanded our production to a new site in Croydon, transferred from bottled to canned beer, renovated our Bermondsey site, and invested in a new lab-based role that oversees our quality control,” said a company spokesperson.

“These investments have enabled us to grow 31% year on year (2020/2021), despite the pandemic, with the company even reaching the milestone of £1,000,000 in turnover in the 12 months to October.”

Today marks the beginning of the public part of the raise, where the company invites the wider investment community to hear about its plans and the opportunity to invest. Anspach & Hobday begins the round with momentum, having already secured more than £390,000 of investment from its existing crowd.

Alongside equity, investors will also receive a variety of rewards depending on their contribution. Highlights include a 10% lifetime discount, dispense hire, and an exclusive meal at London’s English Restaurant featuring, London Black.

Brewery chairman and co-founder, Jack Hobday, says: “It was a triumph for our brewery to continue to grow throughout the pandemic. We are proud of our team and the success of the beers we brew, but it would have been all harder without the fantastic support of our crowdfunder base built in 2018.  

“We are raising now to underpin that growth and capitalise on the opportunity that London Black offers. It is really exciting to be able to welcome more to join our company in this next step of our journey.”

Head of production and co-founder, Paul Anspach, added: “At the brewery, we are all incredibly excited about London Black. It’s a beer that we have thoroughly enjoyed developing, and the team couldn’t be prouder of the results. 

“The beer represents a legitimate, independently brewed, craft alternative to the macro brand that dominates the sector, benefiting both the publican and customer alike. London Black is about choice. As a brewery, it enables us to answer a genuine need within the industry, and we have absolutely loved watching it gain traction.”

• Find out more about the crowdfunding campaign here.

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Award winners in 2019, when the guild dinner was last staged

Category winners and runners-up, as well as the overall beer writer of the year and brewer of the year, will be unveiled in London on 2nd December.

Judges read, viewed, and listened to some 150 entries, including newspaper and magazine articles, blogs, radio broadcasts, films, podcasts, and books. There is a prize fund of £17,000 across 13 award categories.

The shortlist was compiled by a panel comprising:

• Emma Inch, guild chair
• Keith Bott, managing director of Titanic Brewery
• Sarah Bridge, founder of the A Lady of Leisure travel website, and former Mail on Sunday correspondent
• Joanna Copestick, publisher at Kyle Books
• Matt Eley, communications consultant and former editor of Inapub magazine
• Paul Hegarty, secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group
• Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association
• Ned Palmer, cheesemonger and author
• Valentine Warner, chef, writer, and broadcaster
• Georgina Young, brewing director at St Austell Brewery

Emma: “We’re delighted to have restored our annual awards to their pre-pandemic status, with 13 categories, a record prize fund, and entries from talented individuals across the world of beer and pub writing.

“Entries across all categories were of a high standard, and it was great to see the breadth of topics covered and the diversity of media used. Selecting our finalists was a challenge for the judges, and everyone on the shortlist should be very proud of their achievement.”

The brewer of the year award, sponsored by SIBA, is decided by guild members, who firstly nominate brewers they think should win the accolade, and then vote in an online poll.

The awards dinner will be held on Thursday, 2nd December, at One Great George Street, in Westminster. Guests will enjoy dinner, with beers matched to each course, and beers before and after the meal, provided by awards sponsors. Guild members, both individual and corporate, and non-guild members, are welcome to attend. More information and tickets are available on the guild website.

Industry charity Only A Pavement Away will have a presence in the pre- and post-dinner bar area. The charity supports people facing homelessness, prison leavers, and veterans into careers within hospitality.

The awards shortlist

SIBA brewer of the year

• Stacey Ayeh, Rock Leopard Brewing Co
• Charlotte Cook, Coalition Brewing
• John Hatch, Ram Brewery
• Robin Head-Fourman, Beak Brewery
• Andy Parker, Elusive Brewing
• Jeremy Swainson, Utopian Brewing

Guild award for best beer writer, corporate communications

• CAMRA: 50 Years of CAMRA (Laura Hadland)
• CAMRA: Learn and Discover (Alex Metcalfe)
• James Clay and Sons (Joe Dick)
• Craft Beer for the Geeks: Brewdog (Richard Taylor)
• Women on Tap (Rachel Auty)

Guild award for best book about beer or pubs

• Pete Brown: Beer By Design
• Matthew Curtis: Modern British Beer
• Mark Dredge: Beer & Veg
• James Morton: From Scratch: Brew

Harvey’s Tom Paine award for best citizen beer communicator

• Gabriele Bertucci
• Chris Hodgson
• Douglas Merlo
• Paul Newton

Fuller, Smith & Turner award for best young beer writer

• Matthew Rogers
• Ashley Joanna
• Ellie King
• Helen Anne Smith

VISITFLANDERS award for best beer and travel writer

• Matthew Curtis
• Will Hawkes
• Breandán Kearney
• Eoghan Walsh

Asahi award for best beer broadcaster

• Gabriele Bertucci
• Beth Demmon
• Jonny Garrett
• Natalya Watson

Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I award for best writing about no- and low-alcohol beers

• Martyn Cornell
• Matthew Curtis
• Jonny Garrett
• Will Hawkes

Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company award for best writing about sustainability in beer and pubs

• Matthew Curtis
• Tim O’Rourke
• Hollie Stephens

Allsopp’s award for best beer writer, trade media

• Jeff Evans
• Jonny Garrett
• Hollie Stephens
• Adrian Tierney-Jones

Shepherd Neame award for best writing about pubs

• Pete Brown
• Laura Hadland
• Hollie Stephens
• Adrian Tierney-Jones

Heineken award for best beer communicator, online

• Pete Brown
• Mark Dredge
• David Jesudason
• Breandán Kearney
• Ruvani de Silva

Adnams award for best beer writer, regional media

• Rachel Auty
• Jules Gray
• Breandán Kearney
• Matthew Rogers

Greene King award for best beer writer, national media

• Matthew Curtis
• Anthony Gladman
• Will Hawkes
• Ruvani de Silva
• Sarah Sinclair
• Adrian Tierney-Jones

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Stiegl’s museum brewhouse, Stiegl Brauwelt, in Austria

The event will be the first of its kind in the UK and will take place at the Theatre of Wine shop, in Leytonstone, on 3rd December.

UK and American beer styles will be represented, such as old English porter, double IPA, Scotch ale, and Doppelbock. The bottled will be up to six years aged.

The beers were made in Stiegl’s museum brewhouse, Stiegl Brauwelt, established in Salzburg, Austria, more than 500 years ago.

Guests’ guide for the evening will be Martyn Railton, founder of Euroboozer. Find out more and book tickets via Eventbrite.

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Brewed in accordance with the German Reinheitsgebot purity laws of 1516, Pure Helles uses entirely organic ingredients. There is the finest English malt, Pilgrim hops from Worcestershire, and a blend of classic noble hops from Bavaria, delivering a clean, refreshing finish.

The beer was originally produced as a limited run, in partnership with long-standing partner Bayreuther Brauhaus, part of the Maisel’s family. It follows a traditional Helles brewing process, ensuring it delivers the characteristics of underlying malt sweetness, easy drinkability, and refreshment expected from any classic Germanic Helles lager.

No stranger to international awards Pure Helles previously has been awarded goold at the 2020 and 2021 International Organic Awards.

More medal winners

Purity’s Jimbo Very Best Bitter, Session IPA, and Pure Gold were all awarded silver medals in their respective categories at the International Beer Challenge. This is the first award Jimbo has received since its launch in autumn of 2020, following the passing of Purity’s co-founder Jim Minkin.

Brewed in celebration of Jim’s life and legacy, 5p from every can and pint sold has been donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, raising more than £2,000 for the charity in the past year.

Purity co-founder and chief executive, Paul Halsey, said: “We are incredibly proud to see any of our beers named the world’s best! It is always a pleasure to see, but it is extra special to see Pure Helles win at this year’s International Beer Challenge.

“Pure Helles is a beer we are all incredibly proud of, and we have seen some amazing growth since its conception. Consumers are looking for authentic premium brands that have a great story behind them, and Pure Helles epitomises that in abundance. Flo and his team have done an incredible job to deliver such a great tasting lager that easily stands up against the other continental and world lagers.

“I am also incredibly proud and humbled to see Jimbo, our Very British Bitter, claim its first international award. It’s moments like these when we miss Jim the most. Together we built a business vision to brew only great quality beer. To continue to pick up awards on an international scale ensures Jimbo’s legacy lives on in our beer and culture we have created here at Purity. I know Jim would be incredibly proud of these wins.”

• Pure Helles will be served at this year’s Christmas German Market in Birmingham, the largest German market outside of Germany and Austria. PureCraft Bar & Kitchen, Purity’s taproom on Waterloo Street in Birmingham, will be serving at its pop-up bar in Cathedral Square from Wednesday, 17th November.

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