So. Things look a bit different, don't they? This newsletter was disrupted for a while by COVID-19, just like so much else in our lives. Rather than just pick it up again where I left off, I took the chance to look at what worked and what didn't. I was using MailChimp to write and send these emails before but it was clunky and creating them had turned into a chore. I've moved over to Substack and I'm hoping this new platform will help me run things a bit more smoothly.
Disruption has been the watchword this year. Things we used to take for granted are on hold or gone forever. Pubs have been hit especially hard by the lockdown. Even though some are open again, they're still struggling to make ends meet now they are forced to run below their full capacity. The usual summer schedule of beer festivals and competitions has been torn up. There's no way of knowing when we will be able to gather at such events again.
Another theme has been change and adaptation. During lockdown we bought beers online, sometimes direct from the breweries, and drank them with our mates over zoom calls. It's not quite the same, but it is a way of connecting I think we'll be glad of come winter, when sitting in parks and beer gardens loses its appeal. Even the Great British Beer Festival has moved online this year.
And there’s exciting news: I will be running one of the tasting sessions, on Friday 11 September at 6pm. Join me if you can to try some golden beers, and learn why this style is so important in the development of modern beers. I’ll also share the proper technique for tasting a beer so that you can get the most out of each glass.
I've still been writing over the last few months, so there's plenty to point you towards down below, and there's a lot of work in the pipeline too. At the moment I have articles on beer, cider and whiskey in the works. I can't visit the breweries, orchards or distilleries at the moment, so there's none of the first-hand experience I usually like to share, but I think I've found some interesting stories for you nonetheless. I'm particularly looking forward to writing the whisky story, which deals with how language can shape our experience of flavour. More on that in a month or two.
I’m aware this edition of The Glass has been dominated somewhat by housekeeping. Future emails will concentrate original writing and even some exclusive interview material. I don’t want to go on too much today, however, because I have a loooot of links to share with you.
What’s good…
If you haven’t tried a cider lately… where have you been!? Perhaps it’s time for you to discover cider by checking out this new online campaign which hopes to show there’s a cider for everyone.
And more cider: Ben Thompson writes in Burum Collective on the beerification of cider. Ben asks whether cider has styles, in the same way beer does, and looks at why wine rather than beer makes a better template for understanding this drink. (More on which to come in a future article.)
Moving over to spirits… I think Dave Broom might be my new hero. I first heard of him when he won a Fortnum & Mason award for his superb writing on his site The Whisky Manual. Read this now: Can a whisky be worth £60,000?
Now beer: Lily Waite wrote a profile of Mills Brewing for Pellicle magazine recently. It goes a long way to explain why they are one of the most exciting breweries in England right now.
I was going to write something about Small Brewers Duty Relief. Then I realised that Beer Nouveau had already done an excellent job, so why reinvent the wheel? TL;DR the way small breweries are taxed is changing, and not for the better.
There is a petition to reverse the changes to this tax, which amounts to a punitive measure kicking small brewers while they’re down. It has been brought about by larger more established brewers, some of whom benefited from these same tax breaks and now want to pull the ladder up after themselves. Thanks lads, that’s just great.
Are you in Lancashire? Check out Corto, a new bar opening soon that will serve ‘great beers, wines and ciders with a focus on deliciousness and oddities’ plus ‘snack plates piled with tasty luxuries from nearby and far away’. Fellow drinks writer Katie Mather is a co-founder so you know the booze will be top notch.
My stuff
Strap in, there’s a lot of catching up to do. This section will return to a more reasonable length from the next edition.
I love German beer, so I wrote about Kölsch for Ferment Magazine. Read why the UK is likely to see more homegrown versions of this perfect summer beer from Germany’s party town.
I also wrote a piece for Ferment on drinking during lockdown. It involves shutting yourself in a cupboard and blaming imaginary flatmates for all your woes.
And one last one from Ferment. The independent beer scene needs to attract more drinkers to survive, and we won’t do it any favours by acting like dicks.
I had four pieces published in Brewer and Distiller International. They’re not online but you can download PDFs from my website. The first is about what brewers can do to reduce their carbon footprint.
Then there’s one on innovative ways of reusing brewery waste to create new materials.
Next comes a visit to Saint Mars of the Desert brewery in Sheffield, where I ask whether you can build house character into a new brewery from the ground up.
And last is a look at diversity, and why breweries should stop looking for a quick fix but focus instead on building inclusion, equity and justice into their day-to-day operations.
Look out for an article coming soon in Ferment on cycling to the pub. I was particularly gratified to walk past a dozen or so bikes locked up outside a local boozer the day after I filed this article. It was like the world was confirming this was indeed going to Be A Thing Now, more so than it was before.
I have an in-depth look at alcohol-free beer coming out soon in Brewer and Distiller International. Why? Because it tastes good now, that’s why. (Well, some of it does.)
I wrote a 1,000 words on private beer rituals and how we amass favourite drinking holes over our lives, only to find some of them drop off the map. I was more pleased about this than anything I’ve written in a while. It comes out in Ferment soon.
Cocktail time
Just a bit of fun. There are so many great cocktails out there, I thought why not share one with you each month?
This month it’s the Hanky Panky, a twist on the Martinez which is itself a twist on the Martini. It’s also pretty close to a Negroni, which is an all-time favourite of mine. To make it you will need…
2 measures gin
1 measure sweet vermouth
1 tbsp Fernet Branca
orange twist to garnish
Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker with ice. Add all the ingredients and stir for 30 seconds to dilute. Pour into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with an orange twist.
Make me jealous
I drink as a legitimate part of my job; sometimes it’s pretty fancy stuff.
Can you do better? Have you got a bottle that’ll make me green with envy? Tweet a picture to me at @agladman and explain what’s so good about it.
I’ll share the best one in the next issue of The Glass.