I'm a late 30s lifestyle blogger from Hampshire writing on craft beer, food and drink, pubs, restaurants and getting outdoors.
This is an archive of all my posts about craft beer and real ale including my guide on where to buy fresh ale and beer to take away in Hampshire and beer tasting tips for beginners.
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
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
This in-depth guide to Southampton’s best craft beer and real ale pubs, micropubs and bars includes recommended pub crawls with maps and directions, plus information on local breweries, getting around, where to stay and more. Comments, improvements, suggestions, corrections? Leave a comment below or contact me.
A few months back, I popped up to Leeds to check out the city’s oft-hyped craft beer scene.… Read more
Read on to discover five weird and wonderful places to drink real ale and craft beer in Hampshire. Then add your own suggestions in the comments at the bottom of the post.
A few weeks ago on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I popped along to the Bursledon Brickworks Museum near Southampton.
It was no normal day at the museum – today was its first beer festival, and it wasn’t long until I was browsing the museum’s collection of vintage arcade games with a real ale in hand.… Read more
Mention burgers in Southampton and most people think of 7Bone Burger Co or the Rockstone.
I finally got round to rating 7Bone’s offering earlier this year. Now it was the Rockstone’s turn in my search for Hampshire’s best burger.
I regularly visit the Rockstone for a beer or three. But it’s been a while since I’ve eaten there. That changed last week when Tiff and I popped in for an impromptu midweek burger.… Read more