A selection of articles I’ve written for other publications.
Back when I worked in advertising full-time, we spent a lot of time doing future trends forecasting. It was kinda sexy, and people who got a little too enthusiastic about it would start trying to make up words to describe all these amazing new things we would be doing, seeing, eating and wearing.
Find out moreThe nice thing about making beer is that anyone can do it: brewing is a naturally occurring process. The world’s first beer was probably the result of some grain collected in a basket or pot, that was allowed to get wet, started to germinate, and was attacked by wild yeasts that fermented the sugar in
Find out more“You’re a BEER writer? Ha! Ha! Ha!” No, it’s OK, I’m used to it now. I’ve been doing this for a decade and I’ve heard it all: “You obviously do a lot of research.” “Where are your black socks and sandals?” “I only drink lager. Does that mean you hate me?”
Find out moreUsed and abused and dressed up in all manners, the brewing industry uses the buzzword ‘innovation’ to introduce to market everything from Guinness’ widget (correct) to a new SKU (not so fast). Marketing editor Pete Brown sorts the wheat from the chaff, and finds that craft brewers, with a need to experiment and an ability
Find out moreSwearing, when judiciously employed, is brilliant. Sometimes, there’s simply no non-cuss word that will do, no mild alternative that can add the same perfect spice and flavor to a sentence. Arguably, one of the sweariest – and certainly one of the most quotable – films of all time is the Brit cult comedy Withnail and
Find out morePete Brown evinces evangelical zeal in his passion for matching beer with food. Here’s the thing: people really don’t know that much about matching wine with food, he says, presenting an opening for the harmonisations and contrasts possible with the fruits of grain and hops.
Find out more“The only people who drink in this bar are sailors, drug dealers and whores. Shall we go in?” Two hours after nodding mutely in reply to the cargo ship’s captain, eating cake at a Brazilian prostitute’s birthday party while my seafaring companion told the gathered ladies how I’d slept through my watch the night I
Find out moreMost people would call it crazy, but the crazies call it ‘living archeology’: if material remains of our past no longer exist, we have to recreate past times as best we can in order to figure out the truth of how people lived back then. It drives some to live as bronze-age villagers, others to
Find out moreA visit to Burton-on-Trent can still yield delights for the discerning beer drinker. These beers may not fit the American idea of what an IPA should be, but they are all heirs to the tradition and have much to recommend them.
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