It's David Bailey day! www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/5/...

Good to be back in the Glen.

So great to see how well this has resonated with people and how positive and vocal the response has been. The Leeds beer scene has always held a soft spot for me and Jon Clark did such a great job reporting this for Pellicle.

Coming to @fyneales.bsky.social FyneFest this weekend? I’ll have a small number of books for sale. Come find me after my talks up at the taproom to grab one.

"Why does one of the leading beer cities in the country feel like a closed shop for small breweries?" Great long read from @pelliclemag.com on the homogenisation of #Leeds' beer offer www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/4/...

Hello from Campbeltown, where I’m six whiskies deep.

Found this to be pretty thought provoking, and a lot of the same things can be said for Edinburgh too. I have a vested interest in selling rakes of beer, but this cannot be at the expense of variety or competition. That's not to say that those breweries named within have done any wrong either.

Pellicle cover an issue that has been bubbling up this decade and as Leeds residents one we've witnessed first hand - the consolidation of the Leeds beer scene and its effect on variety in pubs. 👇

Can a city have too much of a good thing? Jon Clark schleps around Leeds to find evidence of the vibrant, diverse beer scene he used to boast about. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/4/...

Speaking to a friend last night and her concern for her trans son's welfare was so upsetting to hear. He's just not leaving the house. If you have or work in a pub or bar, please can you make it clear to customers that you run a safe space? People are scared and your support isn't taken as a given.

Interesting article, but also: take that, photo of a dirty pint glass!

The Circle Of Life

Moving from Canada to Andalucía for flamenco and sherry seems like a pretty smart move from where we're sitting. Michael Fabro takes us on a tabanco tour of Jerez with his guitar on his back. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/5/...

No hospitality job is worth playing toilet Gestapo. No pub that excludes a specific section of society has any right to call itself a pub. The pub is for everyone or it is for no one. Fuck the EHRC. Fuck Labour.

BREAKING: Five arrested following Mill investigation into Tameside Labour

Seven years ago our Paul performed a heroic act — and then we asked him to make his first homebrew recipe for @pelliclemag.com to commemorate it! www.pelliclemag.com/home/2020/4/...

Very very excited to try the @roostersbrewco.bsky.social/Theakstons Peculiar Assassin, the existence of which I've had to painstakingly keep secret for months (you should all be very proud of me.) Is this the the first Old IPA? Or shall we go with IPOA?

Having a little Linkin Park retrospective in the office today, and its real nice.

What a lovely goal. And what a delivery by former Lincoln City man Morgan Rogers there.

This actually doesn't surprise me at all. Especially as France has about 25% more operating breweries than the UK per capita — and we're supposed to be the beer country.

Yesterday team @pelliclemag.com and I had our second in-person meeting in as many months, mostly to plan our forthcoming print mag which will hopefully arrive in November. More than ever we need our readers to become subscribers and support the work we do! patreon.com/pelliclemag

Ok now I want to drink sherry

My latest column for @whatsbrewing.bsky.social is about Ossett Brewery’s new White Rat nitro, and how it might just be the tip of the iceberg as more breweries look to win over Guinness drinkers with this style of dispense. Read it here: wb.camra.org.uk/2026/05/08/t...

Find me at @cloudwaterbrew.bsky.social slinging books until 3pm. Come say hi!

Can’t get enough of this Die Spitz record. Feels so refreshing to have discovered a band of this calibre in this, our era of slop.

I can today report that I have been successful in this endeavour. Here you can read my opinion on the fortune of nitrogenated beers, and the new nitro white rat from Ossett Brewery. wb.camra.org.uk/2026/05/08/t...

GOOD MORNING! Here's our regular weekly round-up of good writing about beer and pubs with slightly more entries than usual this week, with an emphasis on shorter notes of visits to lovely, lovely pubs. 🍻🍺 boakandbailey.com/2026/05/news...

Hi, KM here. My obsession with Bibendum the Michelin Man has become this. Please subscribe to the Pellicle Patreon. Become legion. www.patreon.com/pelliclemag?...

Who's coming to town tomorrow?

Had the weirdest sense of Déjà vu when visiting the Cardigan Arms in Leeds earlier. Anyway, turns out I played a gig there 15 years ago, and I even managed to find the poster!

I get a lot of pitches (this is not a call for more pitches) but what’s the deal with sustainability-as-an-angle at the moment? Big solar panel have done a number on people.

Sharing this again for important research reasons. Please give us your draught hooch intel.

My locks? They’re all white.

It’s block party in Manchester this Saturday, which means the five breweries of Piccadilly all have a bit of a party. I’ll also be at Cloudwater 1-3pm selling books, so please come say hello and grab a signed copy.

Paul’s homebrew recipes have become so popular we’ve bumped him to our premier Wednesday slot, AND @geterbrewed.bsky.social have put together a recipe kit so it’s easier than ever to try it for yourself.

Important question - is Hooch on draught anywhere in Manchester?? My esteemed pal @totalcurtis.bsky.social spotted it in Rochdale but I'm on the hunt for it somewhere in the city!

A weekend in Dublin to get away from life and chores and honestly, the pubs were great, the beer (bar a couple of notable exceptions) was middling to average to downright depressing.

My latest book, the second, definitive edition of Manchester's Best Beer, Pubs & Bars is available now. It features 220 pubs across the entirety of Greater Manchester, plus a detailed history, maps, and more! Order you copy here: shop1.camra.org.uk/product/manc...

Champion independent journalism and help us keep good, hopeful discourse alive. Support Pellicle today: www.patreon.com/pelliclemag

As the far-right continues to rise it’s people like John who are doing the frontline work to stop them. An uplifting read in dark times

www.patreon.com/posts/157634... Go support these wonderful people creating fab content. £1.50 a month is a small amount to pay for great writing

My latest book, the second, definitive edition of Manchester's Best Beer, Pubs & Bars is available now. It features 220 pubs across the entirety of Greater Manchester, plus a detailed history, maps, and more! Order you copy here: shop1.camra.org.uk/product/manc...

“I’m an egotist in a way: I know best! But once you start doing what people want, you end up with a fruit machine in the corner.” - John Christie, The Golden Smog www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/5/...

Going try to get "The Nitro-Man Cometh" past an editor as a title. Watch this space.

Was not aware MIA had gone full fash. That's incredibly disappointing.

Pleasure to give an amazing pub such a great platform

Oh, you are going to love our latest story. The Golden Smog in Stockton-on-Tees, lovingly and faithfully placed into prose by @davidjesudason.bsky.social www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/5/...

This week I visited a new pub which has only been open a few days. Here's the story.... chrisdyson55.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-...

Fab night at our CAMRA Rochdale, Oldham and Bury branch meeting last night. Our guest speaker @totalcurtis.bsky.social went down a storm and flogged all his stock of books. Come again anytime Matt.

@beer4john.bsky.social It's not competitive*, but @totalcurtis.bsky.social sold more copies of his book at ROB branch meeting than at S&SM. * of course it is.😁