The Joy Of Beer

I’ve always been a bit wary of becoming a member of CAMRA.  I know they do an excellent job of promoting the cause of real beer, and without them there would probably be far fewer brewers brewing beer of lower quality, and there would be even fewer pubs around than there are now – especially [...]

We all know of pubs that have closed down because they couldn’t afford to continue in business.  Well, it’s going to get worse unless somebody stands up for the protection of pubs and all they stand for.  That’s where the Axe The Beer Tax campaign comes in.  This is an association of companies and individuals [...]

As well as the 4.3% draught version of Bombardier, Wells also produce a bottled version at 5.2% – and they also produce a couple of variants – Satanic Mills and Burning Gold.  The other day I tried a bottle of the Satanic Mills (the name comes from William Blake’s “Jerusalem”) – and it was a [...]

I saw this article in The Guardian last Saturday, about how a small Brewery in Scotland are developing a new beer designed from ingredients decided by online votes.  The BrewDog Brewery have a reputation for thumbing their nose at the “traditional” approach to brewing.  Is that a bad thing?  I personally don’t think so – [...]

I popped down to our local Threshers yesterday evening, to stock up on cold lagers to knock back whilst watching the footie on TV – for some reason I find that I can either focus on the beer or on the footie, but not both, so usually quaff something undemanding when I’m watching footie!
While I [...]

Off to the Jolly (The Jolly Farmer at Cookham Dean) for a pint of Brakspear’s Bitter.  I’ve always enjoyed Brakspear’s ever since I moved to the Reading area in 1975.  It seemed like the end of an era when the Henley Brewery closed down in 2002 – but it came back, and since mid-2004 it has [...]

OK, I know it’s a rubbish play on words, but as the Ronseal ad has it “it does exactly what it says on the tin”.  My intention is to keep a diary of the beers I drink – simple, really.  I hope that it will encourage me to seek out and try different beers, and [...]

Welcome to The Joy Of Beer – a blog and information website dedicated to the enjoyment and understanding of beer.  The focus is primarily on British beer, but I hope that eventually I will be able to widen the scope and include information about beer from Europe, or even further afield.
I don’t work in or [...]