I want to start off by saying this: I am not interested in starting another “define craft” debate. At all. In fact, I can think of a million other things I’d rather do, and topping that list is being chased down the Amazon by a hungry caiman, or having dinner with a drunk and handsy […]
Craft Brewing and Snooping at Moorhouse’s
I’m an enthusiastic student if the subject interests me. If you’ve caught my attention, you can be assured that I’ll do my best to make you proud – I’m the human equivalent of a golden retriever. I’m hoping this came off as endearing when I spent the morning with the team at Moorhouse’s in Burnley […]
Moorhouse’s and “embracing the craft beer revolution”
Burnley-based Moorhouse’s Brewery has undergone some grand changes in recent months. Back in April 2017, they appointed new Managing Director Lee Williams, a distinct strike out into fresh new waters. Williams had previous success bringing rival brewery Thwaites into craft beer contention with popular hop-forward 13 Guns and the big success of Wainwright, which I […]
You’re answering the wrong questions about craft beer
If you follow me on Twitter, you might already know that I successfully completed my first bar shift in more than 7 years recently. No mean feat, considering my customer service and mental arithmetic skills have been made slow and lazy by desks. I’d been tentatively excited about it. Working behind a bar is something […]
Fear Beers
For avid travellers, both Tom and I are massive scaredy cats. You’d think an aeroplane engineer would be fine in the sky, but he’s not a fan of aviation once it leaves the ground. I’m much worse – arriving at Manchester Airport train station fills me with dread and things don’t get much better until […]
A refuge
What’s in a pub that makes it a pub? There are hundreds of odes to the warm, inviting local, a shelter from the tumultuous skies of life, a welcoming place to anchor yourself to in the aftermath of a bad day. There are pubs as worn as your oldest pair of docs and there are […]
Kirkby Lonsdale’s got a tap room!
Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery has a tap room. Did you know that? I didn’t. I go to Kirkby Lonsdale pretty often – maybe twice or three times a year, maybe more if it’s a good summer and we want to look at the bikes – and I had no idea. Kirkby Lonsdale is a place I […]
When an afternoon turns into a weekend
One sunny Friday both Tom and I took the afternoon off work and rattled our way to Manchester on the straight-through train. Tom’s my fella, if you didn’t know. The straight-through train to Manchester is one of the reasons we decided to live in Clitheroe, but we hardly ever use it. This was our chance […]
Hipsters: My unpopular opinion
You there. You don’t like hipsters do you? No. Nobody does. Hipsters are a scourge on society, what with all their strange facial hair and their penchant for foods and drinks you’ve never heard of. What’s wrong with a pint of Fosters anyway? Exactly. Posers. Showoffs. Get back to Shoreditch. Except hipsters don’t just live […]
Beer tasting #2 – this time it’s Christmassy
What makes a beer Christmassy? Round 2 of our beer tasting saga was heralded by a picture message from Jason (Menzies, cellar manager of Bowland Brewery’s Holmes Mill bar) of four Christmassy beers. November is the new December. The aim was to judge how Christmassy each brew made us feel. The intention wasn’t to judge […]