Roger Protz

World famous beer writer Roger Protz gives his forceful thoughts and opinions on the brewing world. You can also visit his own website at www.protzonbeer.co.uk

Locals save ‘community asset’ the Ivy House

13-May-2013 - Tessa Blunden held her wedding reception in the Ivy House in Nunhead, south London, and the Victorian pub was dear to her heart. When the young solicitor heard last year that Enterprise Inns planned to close the Ivy House and sell it to a property developer she was outraged and found many other customers shared her anger. Roger Protz discovers the full story.

Why McEwan’s Red was not what I expected

30-Apr-2013 - Roger Protz says Wells & Young’s could be missing a trick with the launch of its new 3.6% ABV beer.

Leaving a legacy of brewing excellence

15-Apr-2013 - Licensee Graham Yates retires from a career championing truly great beer. Roger Protz provides the plaudits.

My daunting date at the Drifty

05-Apr-2013 - Roger Protz enjoys delightful beers and fascinating chat at the Driftwood Spars in Cornwall.

Beware of alcohol consumption hype

15-Mar-2013 - Despite what the so-called ‘experts’ say, alcohol consumption in the UK is falling, writes Roger Protz.

Roar of approval for new Lion

04-Mar-2013 - Hook Norton brewery reveals its mane attraction is brewed with today’s drinker in mind, writes Roger Protz.

Brewers charge more for less

18-Feb-2013 - The decision to raise beer prices and reduce ABV will save the global brewers money, but squeeze our pubs, argues Roger Protz.

Czech brewery bounces back to life

04-Feb-2013 - Thanks to one man an historic Czech brewery has been revived and is thriving, writes Roger Protz.

The eagle has landed... almost

14-Dec-2012 - Truman’s famous black eagle symbol will soon be swooping over east London once more as a new brewery nears completion, writes Roger Protz.

Sainty’s secret of success

03-Dec-2012 - Licensee Ellie Sainty has realised the potential of the Old Badger Inn, Eastington, writes Roger Protz.

Pete Brown's tale of the George will delight beer and pub enthusiasts

19-Nov-2012 - Pubs, inns and taverns are so deeply rooted in UK history and culture that they have often featured in books and films as a backdrop to the dramas enacted on the printed page or the screen.

Protz: Getting hip to British hops

07-Nov-2012 - The French and the Germans must think the British are bonkers. Can you imagine the French allowing their grape farmers to face ruin because wine makers are buying most of their grapes from abroad?And, in a similar vein, would the Germans stand back and watch their hop growers go out of business as a result of brewers getting their hops from the United States?

Batemans tackles the challenges head on

24-Oct-2012 - What would you do if you’re a family brewer in a largely rural area with a large seaside resort a few miles away that few people go to and the local population is made up of mainly poorly-paid farm workers? Reach for the suicide pill?

Protz: Supermarket beer prices study reveals bombshell findings that threaten the pub trade

08-Oct-2012 - This column is about supermarket beer prices and how they undermine the pub. Don’t yawn, say “I’ve heard that all before” and turn the page, because this is new information and it’s devastating stuff.

CAMRA Good Beer Guide: 40 years and still going strong

24-Sep-2012 - We held a party last week to launch the 2013 edition of the Good Beer Guide. We thought a small celebration was in order as it’s the 40th edition of the guide, a remarkable milestone.

Champion Beer Coniston Brewery's No. 9 Barley Wine sets the gold standard

17-Aug-2012 - They’re tearing their hair out at Coniston Brewery in the Lake District. They didn’t expect, in their wildest dreams, that their 8.5% ABV No 9 Barley Wine would be named Champion Beer of Britain last week at the Great British Beer Festival , says Roger Protz.

Britain’s brewing heritage in peril

27-Jul-2012 - Why is it that international brewers seem to lack appreciation for Britain’s great brewing heritage, culture and traditions? A few weeks ago, Carlsberg announced it was stopping production of Ansells Mild on the grounds that volumes were so small there was no point ordering the malts and hops any longer.

Roger Protz: An Open Letter to Chloe Smith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury

13-Jul-2012 - PMA beer writer Roger Protz has written an open letter to Chloe Smith MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, urging her to reconsider the Government's position on beer taxation.

Protz: Statistics reveal we can handle our drink

29-Jun-2012 - The British and alcohol: what images spring to mind? Young people staggering around city centres on Saturday nights, fighting or falling down, and making pavement pizzas in the streets. Some of them engaged in fisticuffs with the Old Bill or ending up in casualty.

Harveys retains mild interest

15-Jun-2012 - A lot of bubbly was consumed during the course of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations but that wouldn’t have been the drink of choice 60 years ago. As commentators endlessly repeated during the long bank holiday, “society has changed out of all recognition over the past 60 years”. That’s especially true where alcohol is concerned.

Elgood's Brewery: Sisters with a survival instinct

06-Jun-2012 - It’s always good to find a family brewery where the family is still firmly in charge and not just a name on the letterhead. At Elgood’s in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, you can’t move for family members.

Sixty years of Timothy Taylor's award-winning Landlord

22-May-2012 - Roger Protz says we should all raise our glasses to 60 glorious years of Timothy Taylor’s award-winning Landlord pale ale.

London’s beer renaissance

09-May-2012 - Pub quiz question: what do Jack the Ripper and brewing have in common? Answer: Truman’s brewery in the 19th century was producing vast volumes of beer at its plant in Brick Lane, east London, while in the side streets and back alleys of Whitechapel the Ripper was committing his foul deeds.

Wishing Marston's Pedigree a Happy 60th Birthday

23-Apr-2012 - It’s good to be noticed. Some years ago, I described the fermenting halls at Marston’s — the famous Union Rooms — as “the cathedrals of brewing”. A short time after these pearls of wisdom appeared in print, I was touring the Union Rooms again with a party of writers when up popped a man in bishop’s regalia on the gallery that runs round the oak fermenting vessels.

We dump on the big brewers at our peril

11-Apr-2012 - Something unprecedented happened at the Great British Beer Festival in 2004. When the winner of the standard bitter category in the Champion Beer of Britain competition was announced, people started to boo.