Welcome to The Craft Beers of Covid Conversation, a time capsule for the ages between Joey from Beer in the City and Simon from Simon’s Pub Tour. And by the ages, we mean the past half-decade, because it is exactly five years since the first Covid lockdown started. Trauma? Yes. But we are determined to dredge up the good times […]
In recent decades, beer lovers have had a challenge in France as most people there are really focused on drinking wine, but I think we can all agree that wine ultimately tastes like a small handful of grapes that have been squeezed into a cup of acid. Fortunately, it’s 2025 and grain is making a long-awaited renaissance in what once […]
Situated conveniently on the train line between Prague and other common interrail destinations of Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest, Brno unfairly receives short shrift. This is Moravia in pure time capsule form, with charming 19th century buildings, the echoes of Communism (including a well-integrated Vietnamese community giving the local cuisine a welcome uplift) and pubs, pubs, pubs. The city is small […]
They say Spanish beer is a great hangover cure for too much Sangria. Madrid has never been known as a beer capital, but the scene for indie beer here is as underrated as the city itself. Incredibly affordable by global craft beer standards, here are the top stops to hydrate yourself during the summer heat, all dotted around various neighbourhoods […]
It’s a richly immersive little bit of the USA, is New England. Maybe because it’s closer to old, O.G. England? It has culture, it has “history” (by North American colonial standards) and it has the softest of water which means they make the softest of beers. It also has a very, very long coastline full of edible sea creatures, all […]
Don’t worry, the anti-tourist protesters will let you in if you drink high quality local beer. If you’re seen with a Mahou, however, you’ll be blasted with water that tastes better than the Mahou. To find the good stuff, Barcelona has four top stops to cool off after a long sweaty day wondering why the Sagrada Familia hasn’t been finished […]
The sights and sounds of Vietnam’s capital sometimes sit unfairly in the shadow of its Southern equivalent, Hồ Chí Minh City (Sàigòn), and when it comes to craft beer that stands true too. Hanoi’s spectacular, relentless café and coffee culture is simply so ingrained that any boutique establishments are based around the beans, but that hasn’t stopped a handful of enterprising […]
“Craft” beer in Berlin is a little ironic (well, isn’t everything?) given that bottles of German Lagerbier from any corner shop are delicious, with plentiful choice and at half the price of something more “indie”. You want Kellerbier, Helles, Dunkel? It’s all there, in those slightly oversized glass bottles in all shapes and sizes, staring out of the fridges like […]
It’s hop harvest season and anyone within a ten mile radius of a hop farm will be able to smell it. For the rest of us, which, let’s face it, is most of us, it’s up to our imaginations, aided by sticking our noses into a freshly poured pale ale. Earlier this summer, however, I found myself in Seattle on […]
“You wouldn’t believe the number of tourists who stick to the bars in sight of their cruise ship. We get barely a trickle up the hill, so we started this shuttle”. Matt, of Alaskan Brewing, stroked his predictably long beard. “I love bringing people up on it, though. Means I can play tour guide a bit too. Did you know […]