The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has written to the secretary of state for business as part of its campaign to raise awareness of misleading consumer practices. In the letter, the campaign explains that National Trading Standards has said it doesn’t have the powers to investigate the ‘Fresh Ale’ concept launched by Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company. This involves serving filtered and kegged beer through handpumps that are usually used exclusively for cask-conditioned beer. National Trading Standards reported that it is unable to investigate Fresh Ale at a national level, despite its ..read more

Cornwall brewpub The Driftwood Spars has announced dates for its annual Sausage and Ale Weekender, which will tie in with the first May bank holiday. The event — from 3rd-6th May — is always planned to coincide with major village celebration St Agnes Bolster Festival. This features life-size puppets, a drum band, and a giant effigy of ‘Bolster’, the marauding giant of Cornish folklore whose welcome demise the festival marks. “The Bolster Festival, coinciding with our Sausage and Ale Weekender, is one of the highlights of the year here in St Agnes,” said Driftwood Spars landlady Louise ..read more

The Brewers Association has announced the winners of this year’s World Beer Cup, honouring beers in 110 categories covering 172 styles. The awards ceremony was held on the final day of the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America at the Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas. Throughout 14 sessions spanning seven days, a panel of 280 judges, hailing from 37 countries, meticulously evaluated 9,300 entries. Some 2,060 breweries took part from 50 nations. “Each award represents not only exceptional quality, but also innovation and creativity, driving the global craft beer indust ..read more

The full brewery line-up has been revealed for Gravity Beer Festival, which is returning to Summerhall, Edinburgh, this September. Following its successful debut last year, which drew in more than 900 attendees, the festival is set to deliver an encore on 27th and 28th September. Gravity is expanding the festival’s capacity to accommodate up to 1,500 drinkers across three public sessions, and one exclusive trade session. “We’re really excited about this year’s Gravity Beer Festival and the host of amazing breweries we have in the line-up,” said Andrew ‘Barney’ Barnett, the man behind the fe ..read more

The government has given an update on the plan to introduce deposit return schemes (DRS) for recyclable containers across the UK. There have been two consultation on proposals with the aim of achieving interoperable schemes that work across the UK. “Extensive engagement has been undertaken to explore various proposals and identify compromises,” said Parliamentary under secretary of state Robbie Moore. “Together, we have successfully reached alignment on: joint registration and reporting, labelling, reciprocal returns, deposit level, minimum container size, and low volume sales. “There is an ..read more

Salcombe Brewery Co has seen both its Lifesaver and Island Street Porter beers win gold at the SIBA South West Regional Beer Awards. The latter also picked up a silver in the champion cask category and a best in class award. “These awards are a fantastic reward for the hard work that the team at Salcombe Brewery has put into producing top class beer,” said head brewer Sam Beaman. “We are delighted with Lifesaver’s gold and ecstatic with Island Street Porter’s three awards, which make it our most decorated beer to date! “Last year it won gold and best porter at the World Beer Awards and it i ..read more

Leeds’ iconic Tetley building will re-open to the public tomorrow (26th April), under the management of Kirkstall Brewery. The re-opening is taking place in collaboration with Vastint UK, the developer behind Aire Park. While plans to refurbish the building progress, Kirkstall will take over the lease of the former headquarters of Tetley Brewery as custodians of the landmark of Yorkshire beer culture. It’s Kirkstall’s aim to create a contemporary, fresh, and friendly venue and events space which celebrates the rich history of beer making in Leeds and Yorkshire. As part of this celebrat ..read more

Brewing industry veteran Rupert Thompson has agreed an investment deal with London craft brewer Mondo, securing the future of its brands, brewery and Battersea taproom. Rupert, owner of Hogs Back Brewery, becomes chairman of a new company, Mondo Beer Ltd, working to support the management team, led by Mondo founder and managing director Todd Matteson. Under the agreement, Hogs Back will support Mondo as a sister business in areas such as packaging, sales, and marketing, while Mondo will be the exclusive distributor in London of beers from Hogs Back new subsidiary One Planet Brewing, launche ..read more

Echoing the collaborative spirit that’s become a hallmark of the craft brewing industry, two maltsters separated by an ocean and a continent are embarking on a first-of-its-kind partnership, writes Jesse Bussard. Crisp Malt, with its renowned floor maltings established in 1870 in Norfolk, and Admiral Maltings, an artisan maltster from California’s Bay Area in the United States, are undertaking the collaboration. The seeds of this transcontinental alliance were planted a decade ago when Admiral Maltings co-founders Ron Silberstein, Dave McLean, and Curtis Davenport first visited Crisp’s ..read more

Northern Monk and a historian at the University of Leeds have collaborated to brew Mhór,  a beer inspired by a 5,000-year-old recipe made in Northern England. Working with Dr Samuel Gartland, from the University’s School of Languages, Cultures, and Societies, the brewery, based in Leeds, has produced a beer made using traditional ingredients of meadowsweet, spelt, and honey, combined with modern hops. Although few records of ancient beer drinking remain, Dr Gartland’s research analysed tablets written by Roman soldiers near Hadrian’s Wall, demanding beer. An ancient inscription on disp ..read more