John Porter

Portobello Summer Honey Ale

How Sweet It Is

Before there was beer, there was mead. At least, that’s the theory. While archaeological evidence suggests beer predates drinks such as wine and cider as homo sapiens’ recreational beverage of choice, our ancestors may well have been dipping enthusiastically into spontaneously fermented honey from the wild beehives in primeval forests well before they brewed beer.

How Sweet It Is Read More »

Conor Shaw Bizimply CEO

Guest Blog: Conor Shaw, CEO of workforce management experts Bizimply

GMs must be front of house to reassure customers and staff post-lockdown The best hospitality operators definitely took a ‘glass half full’ approach when lockdown was imposed and looked for the opportunities in a situation that was beyond their control, rather than railing against it. Enforced closure allowed for the reflection and review that are

Guest Blog: Conor Shaw, CEO of workforce management experts Bizimply Read More »

It’s a Trappist!

As someone very clever once remarked, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. They were almost certainly talking about something even more important than beer, such as building an atomic bomb or holding a referendum, but there are also plenty of breweries who would be well advised to have the saying inscribed

It’s a Trappist! Read More »

Tasting whisky

Spice up your life! The art (and science) of whisky blending.

In my defence, I wasn’t the only invitee who read “blind tasting” on the email and briefly thought “blindfold tasting”. It wasn’t, however, a 50 Shades of Grey style sensory encounter that bought us to Islington on a wet Wednesday evening, but rather an event organised by the Grant’s Family Reserve whisky brand. As regular

Spice up your life! The art (and science) of whisky blending. Read More »