Tandleman's Beer Blog

We were in London most of last week as I was judging beer for the International Beer Challenge.

"Now a drop of good beer is good for a man Who's thirsty and tired and hot, And I sometimes has a drop for myself From a very special lot; But a fat and healthy working class Is the thing that I most fear, So I reaches my hand for the water tap, And I wat…

We had our CAMRA Rochdale, Oldham and Bury committee meeting at the Baum in Rochdale last night.

How has the weather been suiting you?

Boak and Bailey made a point a couple of weeks ago which struck a chord with me.

I was pretty struck by an article in the Sunday Times this week.

In late June, we headed up to the North East last week for a couple of nights to celebrate the E's birthday.

The news broke late yesterday morning that Humphrey Smith had passed away.

Way back in the past I wrote about how the modern mannerism "You all right there" at the bar had become a kind of of substitute for previous greetings such as "what can I get you?"

I was talking to a local pub landlord recently and during the conversation, was disappointed, but not surprised, how in winter particularly, when it is pissing down as it often has been in recent months, just how many times he had to make recourse to his…

Like buses, they all come more or less at once.

It scarcely seems like a year since I last attended the Northern Bar Show, which I reported on here.

I first mentioned the Hand and Marigold in Bermondsey last July.

Leaving the delightful Wilton's Music Hall, we set off along Cable Street towards Commercial Road and our planned stop at the Clement Attlee in Limehouse.

Wilton's Music Hall in Graces Alley, E1, is less than a five-minute walk from our London flat.

I'm a bit of a fan of the Tweedy Pubs channel on YouTube.

We returned to London for the first time this year last Thursday afternoon.

Years ago, we used to visit a pub at the far end of the Minories, fairly near our flat.

Last week, on a visit to London, we decided to walk over Tower Bridge to the Hand and Marigold in Bermonsdsey, and hence along Tooley Street to the Sun Wharf, a new Wetherspoons, in the former London Dungeon.

There has been much coverage in the press - almost all of it sensational - in the past few days about the Government's proposals to review and modernise the laws which govern licensing.

Alright folks, we’ve sorted out what to drink and the limitations of Helles, Munich’s undisputed favourite.

While many members of the Campaign for Real Ale were sceptical about moving the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) from its London home to the NEC in Birmingham, it is doubtful if many of us were prepared for how badly it would turn out.

Since my last post on the subject, I have been reading on social media that the new JW Lees version of Boddies is meeting with much approval from the cask drinking public and, importantly, from publicans.

You’ve already had the lowdown on some of the beers we enjoyed in Munich, but man – and indeed woman – does not live by Helles alone (though in Munich you certainly could have a decent attempt).

A veritable glitterati of CAMRA North West worthies, plus the Morning Advertiser were gathered by invitation in JW Lees Brewery Cottage yesterday to learn about JW Lees newly brewed version of Boddingtons Cask Bitter and, importantly, to taste the product.