This weeks Desert Island Beers features the founder and owner of  Lovibonds Brewery Ltd, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, Jeff Rosenmeier. Jeff caught the brewing bug back in the mid 1990’s after tasting a friends homebrewed stout. His successful career in software engineering gave him the opportunity to move to England. The job entailed traveling all over Europe, giving him the opportunity to sample many of the great European beer styles during the week and at weekend Jeff would then be busy cloning them in his garden shed.

Finally, the hobby put a strain on household resources (not enough water pressure, not enough electric phases) and Jeff packed in his successful career to start Lovibonds in his adopted home of Henley-on-Thames. Lovibonds is one of only a handful of craft brewers in the UK that kegs 100% of its production, despite disapproval from the self proclaimed Consumer Rights Group CAMRA. (more…)

I occasionally take a brewery tour around All Gates but the recent death of my father and having to play catch up at work has meant that I have not for a good couple of months. These have all been hosted in recent weeks by our very capable Wigan Africaaaaner sales lady, Cheryl. That changed this week and I hosted my first for a long while.

I like to think I know a fair amount about beer. I don’t know all there is to, for sure, but do know that the majority of people know very little about beer, or for that matter care to. That a small minority know a lot and likewise there is a tiny minority who live in the fantasy world of thinking they know a bit but don’t realise this is not enough to make them an expert. (more…)

This week’s Desert Island Beers features Fal Allen the Brewmaster for Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Northern California. From 2000 to 2005, Fal worked as General Manager and Head of Production for Anderson Valley returning in 2010 as Brewmaster.

Between 2005 and 2010 Fal was the Brewmaster and brand ambassador for Archipelago Brewing Company in Singapore (a division of Asia Pacific Breweries). During that time he developed many new and unusual beers brewed with local South-East Asian spices and other ingredients.

Fal started brewing professionally in 1988 for Red Hook Brewery in Seattle and in 1990 moved downtown to Pike Place brewery where he was the head brewer for 8 years. In 1998 he was awarded the Brewer’s Association’s Russell Schehrer award for innovation and achievement in craft brewing. (more…)

The 25th Wigan Beer Festival for the third year running forms part of the Wigan Food and Drink Festival. The beer festival is organised by the Wigan branch of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale).

The beer festival runs from Thursday 1st March to Saturday 3rd March and the Food and Drink Festival from March 1st to March 11th inclusive and there are events every day.

The venue is Robin Park Arena, Loire Drive, Newtown, Wigan WN5 0UH; opposite the DW Stadium.

Over 80 real ales, a cider and perry bar, fruit wines, draught and bottled continental beers and lagers will be available and food over all sessions. (more…)

Meet Tim O’Rourke, Master Brewer and all round beer expert. Tim has been brewing for over 30 years, having worked in International Breweries such as Bass (now Coors) and Courage (now Heineken) and more recently as a consultant. He works for Microbreweries both in the UK and overseas and has set up breweries in Canada and the Falkland Islands, and is currently acting as a consultant and brand advisor to breweries in the UK, Ireland and Malaysia.

For the last ten years he has also been involved in providing technical education to the brewing industry, mainly on behalf of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling but also through his own company “The Brilliant Beer Company”. He was one of the founders of the Beer Academy and one of the core lecturers. He is passionate about good beer, and really enjoys passing his knowledge onto people not necessarily connected with the brewing industry. (more…)

Cold weather sucks. We keep losing brew days as NO fermenters to brew into!!

If we never have to face another -6 degree morning that would be OK with me.

Global warming, f^:!*+g great.

I don’t care if a normal day in summer ends up at  30+ degrees, as long as the winters don’t dip below -6.

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Welcome to the latest episode of Desert Island Beers which this week features Dan Carey co-founder and brew-Master of New Glarus Brewing Co. Wisconsin, U.S.A. which he founded along with his business partner and wife, Deb in 1993.

Dan has an extraordinary brewing pedigree. He shoveled out his first mash tun in 1979 at the age of 18, in Helena, Montana, while earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science at UC Davis. Dan was Valedictorian of the Siebel Institute Course in Brewing Science and served his apprenticeship at the Ayinger Brewery nr Munich. In 1992 he became the first American since 1978 to pass the Master Brewer Examination of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London. He then spent time as an engineer for brewery manufacturer JV Northwest where he built or consulted on the breweries for many of the 1980s craft-beer pioneers. (more…)