Happy 10th birthday £21bn alcohol cost estimate!
I can’t believe you’re 10 years old already. Why, just last week, you were being talked about in the national press as if you were the biggest new arrival since the royal baby.
Find out moreOther Writing
A selection of articles I’ve written for other publications.
Why expensive beers are way better than pricey wines
How much is too much for a beer? £4 a pint? £5? How about £12 for a large bottle? If your answer to the above is anything other than “Well, it depends on the beer, doesn’t it?” then good news! Broader horizons and untold pleasures await you.
Find out moreWhy my Dry January means I’m Publican Enemy No.1
Oddly, around this time of year I increasingly feel like I’m Publican Enemy Number One. It’s weird, because after 11 months of championing food beer and good pubs as much as I can, both in a professional and personal capacity, come January it’s like I’ve suddenly joined ranks with the new-prohibitionist zealots, the supermarket price
Find out moreWhy I don’t subscribe to anti-alcohol hysteria this January
Ever since we’ve been able to make tools and use language, we’ve understood that the year is cyclical. Behaviour that’s acceptable at one time of year is considered wrong at another. Throughout the history of civilisation – any civilisation – we keep a lid on some of our desires and urges so that we can
Find out moreThe bitter truth about Britain’s pub economy
“One day I’d like to retire and run a pub.” It’s a dream many of us have. Ditching the grind of the nine to five – or eight to eight for most LondonlovesBusiness.com readers – in favour of standing behind the bar, master of all you survey, polishing the brass while waiting for the regulars
Find out moreThe Alma Eviction: A community’s heart is broken
The final weekend at the Alma on Newington Green was fairly typical. As a wet November Sunday gave in to an early dusk, the main bar filled. The large family birthday party, complete with surprisingly well-behaved toddlers, was getting ready to move on, their seats enviously eyed by the newly arrived late afternoon drinkers.
Find out moreHow pubs can seize the day
Something is troubling me about my regular days in town when, between meetings, I need to find somewhere to sit and tap out emails for an hour or so. Increasingly, I’m finding that pubs are shut before 4pm or 5pm, says Pete Brown.
Find out moreCheers to James Morgan for reviving the 300-year-old Truman’s Brewery
We’ve all propped up the bar of a pub somewhere in London that has a magnificent stone eagle perching above the door outside, or has the words ‘Truman, Hanbury & Buxton’ running under the eaves. Or we’ve looked at that magnificent chimney looming over the building still known as the Old Truman Brewery on Brick
Find out moreThe Paradox of Premium Fruit Ciders
The PMA’s feature on cider the other week reminded me of a conversation I had recently with one of the most talented bar managers I’ve ever met.
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