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Pete Brown

Treating beer with the respect and irreverence it deserves since 2003. Dubbed the "Beer drinkers Bill Bryson", and author of four best-selling books, Pete is the current Beer Writer of the Year and has his own blog

Avoid the gloom, hail the pubs

20-May-2013 - The reaction to the latest pub-closure stats was negative and, in some cases, short-sighted, says Pete Brown. We must accentuate the positives and remind people what’s great about the pub.

Forget the feuds, love the beer

06-May-2013 - We should celebrate the diversity of the beers we have and not get caught up in needless debates, Pete Brown argues.

Embracing new ideas with Brains Brewery

22-Apr-2013 - Brains’ micro ‘test plant’ is allowing free rein for experimentation. Pete Brown gets stuck in.

Fighting the new evil of binge-drinking scare stories

09-Apr-2013 - Why must we put up with this relentless tide of poorly-researched scare stories about binge drinking, asks Pete Brown.

No, cider is NOT the new beer

25-Mar-2013 - The misinterpretation of Mintel’s cider category research left me wanting to cry into my pint, says Pete Brown.

A watching brief at the Beer Oscars

11-Mar-2013 - Pete Brown samples the buzz, and some of the beers, at the International Brewing Awards.

Salvation through beer innovation

20-Feb-2013 - Claiming a new idea is revolutionary when it’s not ultimately stifles true innovation — which is something that beer badly needs, argues Pete Brown.

Call time on unhealthy pub food

11-Feb-2013 - As someone who loves pubs and thinks we spend too much time drawing attention to what’s wrong with our industry and not enough championing what’s right, I always feel a bit bad about using this column to criticise pubs.

Campaign against alcohol unfairly and falsely denigrates beer

28-Jan-2013 - As overall alcohol consumption and binge drinking behaviour continue their long-term decline, the campaign against drink is getting increasingly creative in its attempt to convince us that Britain is drinking itself to death.

Serve cask ale correctly or risk losing customers

15-Jan-2013 - I had a brilliant Christmas and New Year, thanks for asking. As you might expect, a great deal of it was spent in the pub. This year I had the choice of more different beers in more decent pubs than I’ve ever had before.

Anti-tie brigade could learn a thing or two from beer duty campaign

12-Dec-2012 - When I worked in advertising, my life was full of smug aphorisms and parables. Creative directors especially loved to throw out comments that seemed unarguable, and then sit back like some coke-fuelled Buddha and watch you squirm.

The true spirit of the Great British Pub

28-Nov-2012 - The industry may be facing some ‘stinking issues’, but you need look no further than the George in Southwark to fully appreciate the tenacity and dauntlessness of the Great British pub, writes Pete Brown.

Celebrating drink in the Food and Farming Awards

14-Nov-2012 - A few months ago, I wrote a column urging brewers who read the PMA to enter awards schemes that recognise beer within a broader range of food and drink. This was part of a general call to arms to attract interest in the BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards, for which I’m one of the two judges in the drinks category, along with wine writer Victoria Moore. Boy, you guys listened and took it to heart.

Raise a glass to legendary pub licensee Ian Rigg

31-Oct-2012 - Ian Rigg, formerly of the Taps in Lytham, is one of the most respected figures in the pub trade I could never run a perfect pub. I know that, and it sometimes gives me pause when I find myself trying to tell other people how to do it. I don’t have the full complement of skills you need, and more than that, I just don’t have the will.

Cask Report: Different beer factions should unite and celebrate growth of cask ale

17-Oct-2012 - The latest edition of The Cask Report was launched two weeks ago. We had a great evening in the Parcel Yard — the stunning new Fuller’s pub in the rebuilt King’s Cross Station in London.

A great licensee makes us forget that anyone is running the pub

28-Sep-2012 - I am filing this column from the departure lounge of Toronto airport after helping to celebrate Toronto Beer Week (last night’s ten-course beer and food-matching dinner was a particularly memorable highlight), on my way to visit the celebrated ice cider makers of Montreal.Tough gig.

Hop-portunity knocks in Slovenia for UK brewers

18-Sep-2012 - How Greene King head brewer John Bexon’s golden ale dilemma led Pete Brown on a pilgrimage to Slovenia to devour cured meat and rub hops.

Let's herald an era of positivity about pubs

03-Sep-2012 - Last week I appeared on a Radio 4 programme called What’s the Point of Pubs? It had a favourable reaction on Twitter, but I was struck by the number of people who highlighted my positive, optimistic sign-off about the future of the pub as being particularly noteworthy.

Time for the drinks industry to do its own research on minimum pricing

02-Aug-2012 - Minimum pricing looks likely to be introduced despite a lack of evidence to suggest that it would help eradicate problem drinking — so why doesn’t the drinks industry produce its own research?

Why music is a match for beer

24-Jul-2012 - Beer and music have always been natural bedfellows. Bands are now coming together to create tasty beverages after getting tired of downing woeful lagers on tour, says Pete Brown.

Craft-beer pubs deserve to be sound-proofed

10-Jul-2012 - Maybe I’m getting old. I’m starting to make witty, derisive comments about young people on TV that aren’t witty at all, and I’ve started talking back to the ads between the programmes, like my nan used to.

Social media can be a Twitter pill to swallow

25-Jun-2012 - Facebook and tweeting are good for pubs, but don’t alienate customers, warns Pete Brown.

Beer needs to be celebrated outside of industry awards

11-Jun-2012 - One thing that frustrates me about beer (and being a beer writer) is that outside our little bubble of interest, we still have a credibility problem with trying to persuade people to take beer seriously.

Cask Report enters a new era

28-May-2012 - With cask now taking centre-stage in any new pub worth its salt, what became a bible for the cask-ale sector is evolving, as the PMA takes news of its impact down a different track

The beer-duty escalator: my final thoughts

09-May-2012 - This is going to be my last column on the duty escalator for a little while. It’s not that the issue is going away — far from it. I just don’t want to turn into one of those zealots you start trying to avoid.