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Here’s everything on beer and pubs that grabbed our attention in the past week from historic pubs to hazy IPA.
First, a bit of news: Laura Hadland has been announced as the author of a new official history of CAMRA. We know they’re keen for this to be an objective, challenging account that acknowledges downs as well as ups and can’t wait to see what she comes up with. She’s after insight and memories from people involved in the Campaign and, indeed, those very much*not*involved in the campaign, so do follow her on Twitter @Morrighani and drop her a line if you’ve got something to contribute.
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This week saw the release of the now annual announcement from Historic England of which pubs have been listed, or had their list status upgraded. The headliner this year is The Philharmonic in Liverpool which has been upgraded to Grade I, “making it the first purpose-built Victorian pub in England to be given the highest level of designation for a historic building”:
Regarded as a ‘cathedral among pubs’ for its opulence, the Philharmonic was one of the most spectacular pubs to be completed at the end of the 19th century, known as the ‘golden age’ of pub building. It now joins the top 2.5% of protected historic buildings in England such as Buckingham Palace, Chatsworth House and Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ in gaining the highest listed status.
We visited when we were researching*20th Century Pub and were blown away. We keep sending friends there and getting messages that say, in so many words, “Wow”. So, yes, this makes sense to us.
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Mark Johnson is annoyed at retail outlets that don’t open when he’s ready to spend money. This is part of a wider debate about the hours the staff and owners of beer businesses work that kicked off on Beer Twitter over Christmas:
Like high street shops opening to utilise the Boxing Day sale rush, I couldn’t understand why small businesses wouldn’t want to take advantage of this busiest time of year. But of course, suggesting such radical thought makes me selfish and “uncaring of worker’s mental wellbeing.” Aye. Okay… Which is why I take slow sips from my cup of tea when those same pubs/bars that were shut late December start the year with the wonderful TRYANUARY spiel. Support your local business. Support the Beer Industry. A pub isn’t just for Christmas. No, true, but you weren’t open at flipping Christmas time were you when I was there to support you so what do I possibly owe you now?
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As Dave S wearily sighs, “it looks like the ‘expensive beer’ discourse is back.” He’s responding to this by*Tony Naylor but takes, as ever, a measured stance:
I quite like fancy, expensive beers, and I know that many of the things that I like in fancy beers – mixed fermentation, barrel aging, high gravity, expensive hops – add to the cost of the beer… I also like cheap, good beer. I like the fact that beer is an everyday drink, something that large swathes of the population can share and bond over as a routine matter… A lot of the current discussion is about choosing one of these to the exclusion of the other, but like a lot of people, I don’t see any reason that we can’t have both.
https://boakandbailey.com/wp-content...exit_quote.pngSOURCE: Good Beer Hunting/Cooper Foszcz.For*Good Beer Hunting,*Luke Robertson has dug into what it’s*really like to be working at a brewery when it gets taken over by a multinational:
Lachlan Barter is a state sales manager for Green Beacon Brewing Co. in Brisbane, Australia. In 2019, it was announced that Green Beacon would be sold to Asahi, but stories of a prospective sale had dragged on for years. Everyone knew, or thought they knew, what was going to happen—and everyone wanted his confirmation.
“It was a rumor for almost two years. You hear rumors—some have weight in them, some don’t have weight in them,” Barter says. “More and more people started bringing it up. Really random people as well. At the time [of the sale], it was a sigh of relief. No more rumors. I don’t have to deal with that anymore.”
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At*Beervana*Jeff Alworth has been grappling with how to classify IPAs for a new edition of his book*The Beer Bible. What his thinking aloud reveals is how different things are now compared to a decade ago:
It’s impossible to create categories of mutually-exclusive IPAs because a double IPA, for example, may be hazy or not, but this is my best first draft:
- West Coast IPAs. Basically as close to the standard IPA as we have.
- New England (or Hazy) IPAs
- Flavored IPAs. (Will include white, fruit, and milkshake IPAs)
- Strong IPAs
- Session IPAs and Pale Ales
- Brett and Sour IPAs
- Specialty IPAs (will include black, red, Belgian, and brut IPAs)
Finally, from Twitter, there’s this picture which really brings home how big interwar pubs were compared to those they replaced:
The old about to succumb to the new at the Eastfield Inn, Henleaze, in about 1935. The old pub is on the right, still trading, whist its modern successor is being finished behind. You can almost smell the steam traction engine on the left!
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— KYPBristol (@KYPBristol)
February 5, 2020
If you’re hungry, or should we say thirsty, for more good beer reading, check out Alan’s round-up from Thursday and Carey’s from yesterday.
News, nuggets and longreads 8 February 2020: opening hours, pricing, the Phil originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog
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