The story of Porter and Witbier are well known. Traditional styles overtaken by the popularity of newer beer (in one case pale ale, the other pale lager). Brewers of the beer withered away until no one was left brewing it…. Continue Reading →
Once a year or so, my editors at Planet S Magazine like me to offer a “what’s new in beer” kind of column – a piece that identifies future trends and things to look for. As I sat down at… Continue Reading →
When you quaff your favourite pint, do you ever get to thinking about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution? Probably not. But recently I did. I was struck at the parallels between his explanation of how species change and the history of… Continue Reading →
My Vue Weekly column, which ran last week in the Hot Summer Guide (plus you can read here), was a profile of some summer-y fruit beer. As I have said before, I am generally not a big fruit beer fan,… Continue Reading →
In my latest Beer 101 column (which you can read here) I take a look at a beer style with a long history but for which the recent explosion of craft beer interest has passed it by. I am talking… Continue Reading →
Last month in my Beer 101 column I came to the defence of quiet beer. In the interests of balance I decided this month (which is now officially last month, but don’t sweat the details) to offer equal time to… Continue Reading →
Much to my surprise, my last CBC Radio column has been posted on line. They haven’t been posting my columns on the website very much (the last one before this was January) so I haven’t been checking it regularly. Anyway,… Continue Reading →
My latest Planet S column takes a bit of a different tack around beer (read it here). My job often involves drinking intense, complex beer. I truly appreciate the opportunity to sample a one-off, out-there beer knowing it is a… Continue Reading →
I remember a few years back having a conversation with a well-known professional craft brewer and being surprised when he said that he really respected the brewers at the big corporate breweries. He argued that it is very hard to… Continue Reading →
Don’t ask me why, but on St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday rather than quaff a Guinness or even a Yukon Red (which is very much an Irish Red Ale), I opened a bottle of Scottish Ale. Maybe it is the… Continue Reading →