Plant breeding has centred on building in increased resin yield, disease resistance, exotic tropical and citrusy aromas as well as hedgerow varieties that grow to around 2.5m tall rather than the traditional 5-6m. However the hop plant does not breed true from seed, each seedling is unique in its genetic make-up which means a lot […]

There are many good web sites for generic CV writing tips and formats…..but there are a few additional tips you may wish to consider if you are writing a technical CV. WHO IS READING THE CV? In many cases, HR may make the first screen of CVs and may not have a technical background. This […]

As autumn morphs into winter, the UK hop harvest is safely gathered in. By now some lucky ale drinkers will be savouring the delights of a fresh hop brew. There is a mad dash from the hop garden with 80% moisture ‘wet hops’ aiming to coincide with a copper just about to come on the […]

Many in the brewing and distilling industry are considering a change of track for their next career move. This might be from brewing to distilling, a move away from production, or sideways moves into related fields such as auditing or into the allied industries doing technical sales. Based on my research with the industry, and […]

To combat ongoing theft, the industry has signed up to a code of practice so that kegs may only be disposed of by the brewer and scrapped by accredited bodies so new brewers can only buy secondhand from other brewers or keg suppliers. In theory there should be no illicit usage as car park markers, […]

Life used to be so much easier; most pubs were owned by a single brewery, containers were delivered, sold, picked up by the local draymen and returned for washing and refilling. The Big Six of Bass, Allied, Watneys, Courage, Whitbread and S&N were emasculated by the Beer Orders and are now no more. Today getting […]

If you are working in a global company, international experience is one of the key skills that is highly valued in more senior roles. The ability to demonstrate that you are ‘culturally fluent’, able to work with and lead an international team and are able to understand the broader global context e.g. in supply chain […]

Cask beer is not chill proofed by brewery conditioning nor is it filtered or pasteurised so there are both haze and infection risks unless good pub practice is rigorously followed. To recap, you package the beer into a cask straight after primary fermentation with enough sugar to promote a secondary fermentation which encourages the remaining […]

What makes a good pub? Is it good food or a cosy open fire in winter or a pub garden in summer or even clean toilets? Is it mine host or the choice of drinks behind the bar. Does it come down to space to park the car or the proximity of a bus stop […]

Some 41.1% of UK beer is packaged for draught dispense in the pub (6.6% in cask and 34.5% in keg), bottles make up 24.6% and cans 34.3%. These figures are from 2019 and it remains to be seen whether our Covid experiences will alter the pack type spectrum once things get back to normal. While […]

Over the last year, I have been interviewing industry members to get their tips on how to build a sustainable career in our industry. One of the emerging themes is that building a career in the craft industry can be tricky. While the craft industry offers the benefits of a dynamic, creative environment it can […]

The only additions before filtration might be the use of isinglass finings to remove any remaining yeast and protein from suspension more rapidly than relying on natural sedimentation through a depth of perhaps 10 metres. Without finings you may have a couple of hundred barrels of hazy material at the base of the tank; this […]