I'm a late 30s lifestyle blogger from Hampshire writing on craft beer, food and drink, pubs, restaurants and getting outdoors.
Although overall UK beer sales have dropped in the last few years, there’s still evidence that the popularity of craft beer and real ale is still on the rise.
For instance, almost 3 in 5 small brewers expect their turnover to increase in 2017 and big beer companies like AB InBev and Carlsberg continue to buy smaller breweries to snatch back some of the market share craft beer has nicked from their big brands.… Read more
Read this review of a light lunch with a cake dessert at the Corner House – a cafe/restaurant a few minutes from Winchester city centre.
The centre of Winchester can get a tad busy on a weekend. Luckily, there are plenty of places away from the hustle and bustle of the High Street and Cathedral Close to escape to for a drink or bite to eat.… Read more
It’s handy that we can now pick up bottled and canned real ale almost anywhere – supermarkets, corner shops, even some cafes an tea rooms now stock it.
However, while there are some nice bottle-conditioned ales out there, drinking real ale from bottles and cans doesn’t really do it for me. I much prefer it how it fresh, straight from the cask or keg.… Read more
Find out how I got on exploring six of Portsmouth and Southsea’s craft beer bars and real ale pubs on a mini Portsmouth pub crawl.
I’ve been raving about Southampton’s craft beer and real ale scene for a while. And with good reason.
What about it’s south-coast neighbour, Portsmouth? Its football club has faced a decline in recent years – has Southampton left it behind in the beer stakes too?… Read more
Some people say Southampton has too many burger restaurants. I disagree, obviously.
The latest burger joint to open in Southampton is Vospers, over in Centenary Quay (aka Woolston Waterside).
Vospers is run by the same team that set up the Mettricks chain of coffee houses in the city. Most Sotonians will know that it’s named after Vosper Thornycroft, a company that built and maintained ships on this site until 2003.… Read more
See what I thought of our visit to the Bean Below cafe in Twyford near Winchester for brunch.
For a little village, Twyford’s got everything you need – a great pub (The Phoenix), river walks (Twyford Meads and Berry Meadow), a well-stocked shop (Twyford Stores) and, er, a clock maker (Hampshire Clock Works).
There’s also a cafe called Bean Below nestled under the shop.… Read more