Nice selection in our Spoons today and two Porters kept me happy for a couple of hours. Kicked off with the Hanlons Port Stout. Slightly sweeter than I remember the original O'Hanlons version, as it was, back in the day. The Honey Porter was equally pleasant. Recommend them both 🍻

Friday's arrived. Hoping for a dry and warmer day here in Chelmsford. Off into town later for some shopping and lunchtime pints with a friend. In other news, the two boys 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ are actually side by side on the bed with paws touching. Never thought I'd see them this close 18 months ago 😊 #Adoptdontshop

Beer O'Clock in the sunshine 😎☀️ In and out of Tescos by 7am, had the lawn cut by 9.30am then went on to wash the car for extra Brownie points 😁 Couple of well deserved Leffe Blondes today for me. And in other news Miss Lulu Furball is flirting with Sid but he's asleep. Cheers 🍻

Very sad news from the brewing world. Rob was a legend in many ways and alongside Martin Kemp when they founded the Pitfield Brewery back in the 1980s and won Champion Beer of Britain with Dark Star. RIP. www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2026...

St Peter’s Brewery won 11 medals at the 2026 European Beer Challenge, London Beer Competition and World Alcohol-Free Awards, including Double Gold for Cream Stout and honors for its Without nonalcoholic range.

Ale and Sherry Posset anyone? 😋

An alcohol duty regime change has led to a boom in lower-strength pint sales and 200 million units removed per year since 2023, new research shows beertoday.substack.com/p/sales-of-l... #beer #beernews #tax #duty

New paper out in Evolution 🧫🧬 doi.org/10.1093/evol... with a pretty big crew & @stelkens.bsky.social ! Story started over 20 years ago, fun to jump in late and help wrap it up :)

Allsopp’s, the revived Burton-upon-Trent brewer once synonymous with the rise of India pale ale, has launched a nitro stout. It’s aimed at reasserting an English presence in one of beer’s fastest-growing markets. beertoday.substack.com/p/allsopps-r... #beer #beernews #stout

Wet miserable day ahead here in Suffolk according to the forecast 😕 However, we did have rather a nice day out in Bury St Edmunds yesterday with visits to The Nutshell for a couple of pints of Abbot, then to Vespers Belgian Beer Bar ending up in Oakes Barn for lunch and Oakham's fine Midnight Mild 😊

Beer O'Clock. Indoors today as it's pouring outside 🌧️ Starting off with a Broadside and then something a little special that I found in my stash here at the cottage; Straffe Hendrik Quad 11%ABV from Halve Maan Brewery based in Bruges. Cheers 🍻

Yeast has been growing in Oetzi the Iceman's guts for thousands of years, scientists have discovered. The lead researcher told me they reproduced the yeast to make a "very, very good" sourdough bread -- and are working on brewing beer. My story for @en.afp.com: www.yahoo.com/news/science...

Just 3 g of barley‼️ This open-access study shows a benchtop #malting system that strongly correlates with micro-malting for DP, TMP & malt extract — enabling early-gen screening with minimal grain. Small batch, big malt! 🌾🍺 doi.org/10.1080/0361... #brewing #beerscience #beer

What gives smoked foods their flavour, and where do these flavour compounds come from? This edition of #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social has the answers: cen.acs.org/articles/104...

I know the CIBD Diploma module 3 is notoriously hard, but I doubt many people have written poetry about it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFz8...

Important new archaeological paper on using SEM to identify traces of beer brewing through analysis of starch grain. It's mostly about method, but does include analysis of some new sites. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The Maltsters have published their approved malting barley varieties for harvest 2027 🍻

Summer thunderstorms are hitting here ⛈️ Whenever you see a flash of lightning, you’re seeing the trigger for atmospheric chemical reactions. Learn more in this graphic: www.compoundchem.com/2018/07/31/t... #ChemSky 🧪

Enjoyable day in Sudbury. Spot of shopping and had my hair done. Went to The White Horse and raised a glass of Abbot to Martyn Cornell who left us this time last year. Followed by Skate and chips in the Codfather. That piece of fish was good enough for Jehovah 😁

Sad to see this old Tasmanian brewery closing. Always enjoyed their beers on my trips 'down under'. www.dailymail.com/news/article...

For this paper we took 1760 samples from 44 farmhouse yeast cultures, and found 577 unique yeast strains. www.garshol.priv.no/blog/440.html The question of how many strains there are in there that we never found has bothered me for years. By chance, I found a way to get at the answer. Thread.

Interesting how media awareness of hops vs climate change is spreading. Saaz is an interesting case as the biggest aroma hop in the world by acreage and >80% of Czechia, but tough to breed. I've been saying for years lager hops are a big opportunity for UK industry, but brewers need encouragement

Last Sunday in May but alas no Mild for me today. Currently enjoying a lie in before finishing off the last of the painting on the bedroom window. A visit to our local social club is in the cards for lunchtime. Always nice to chat to a couple of the village old boys over a pint or two of Abbot 😊🍻

Very enjoyable session here at The Maypole, Cambbridge with the home brew guys. Lots of interesting chat about all things beer and brewing. Finished on a Rochefort 10. Cheers 🍻

Saturday Session at The Maypole, Cambridge with the Craft Brewers group and a pint of Shortts Brewery 2 Tone Mild. I met Matt Hammond, the Head Brewer, a few years ago. Very nice beer and CAMRA award winner on a number of occasions. Cheers 🍻

From yesterday’s print version of The Guardian - my obituary for my beloved Des.

Getting organised for tomorrow's Cambridge Craft Brewers Meeting at The Maypole, Camb at 11.30am. New members are always welcome, kit or full mash 🙂. I'm particularly interested in post fermentation pH adjustment using phosphoric acid. This first appeared on home brew forums about 2015 IIRC. 🍻

The effect of CO2 levels in non-alcoholic draught beer on pathogen survival.

Just heard that family-owned Redemption Brewing has fallen into administration amid soaring costs. Beloved since it started in Tottenham in 2010, their excellent cask popular in local pubs inc. community-owned Antwerp Arms. Sad & bad news.

Sid's back! ☺️ Returned home at 2.30am, rather hungry but none the worse for his 2 day disappearance. Big relief to us all. Bit more painting today then a pub lunch at The Hare in Long Melford is on the agenda.

📬 The May 2026 SGD Newsletter is out! ✨ New #BLAST service at the Alliance of #Genome Resources 🧬 #Gene naming guide 🔬 #Yeast #Genetics Meeting 2026 updates #Yeast26 📚 Latest #microPublications 💔 Remembering David Botstein Read it here: www.yeastgenome.org/blog/sgd-new...

Lovely sunny day here in Suffolk. Sad to say our adopted stray cat, Sid, bolted yesterday morning after getting himself caught up in a draw string bag and hasn't been seen since. We've been doing regular patrols searching and calling him but to no avail so far. We're keeping our fingers crossed 🤞

The centre brings the history, craftsmanship, and distinctive character of Timmermans to life in an interactive and technologically innovative way. beertoday.co.uk/2026/05/27/l... #beer #beernews #belgianbeer

Good news! @adnamssouthwold.bsky.social & Ghost Ship survive. Fear of sell-off in 2024 averted. The 154 yr old regional family brewer & cosy country pubs dominating the Suffolk town of Southwold has reduced unsustainable debt. Chair Simon Townsend describes asset disposal as painful but "essential".

Beer O'Clock. Time for a Broadside. Bob's back in his washing up bowl in disgrace. He snitched a piece of my pork pie off the plate when I went back to the kitchen to get my beer 🙄 Feral feline! Cheers 🍻

Better night's sleep but missed out on the predicted thunderstorm. Hopefully a cooler day ahead and painting can commence here at Glemsford Towers🤞 In other news, my little boy has reached the grand old age of 36, a chip off the old block 😊

Bit of a broken night, too hot even with the fan on 🔥 Quiet day ahead, bit of gardening to do while it's cooler but definitely no decorating, that's now postponed till Thursday. I shall nip to the butcher for some BBQ bits and then retire to the shade with a book 😊

The plight of the British brewing industry. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

On the simple, complex joy of good dry, still cider. Adam Wells argues for cider’s fundamental expression (and pretends he isn’t biased). #cider #cidre #apfelwein #perry #orchards 🥂

I don't care if it is 27C outside we're having roast pork and Parmentier potatoes because the joint was a bargain and I've had enough salad this week 😁

Thiol biotransformation is a key focus in hop-forward brewing. Yet, chasing thiol yield alone can lead to unintended trade-offs in a brewer’s final beer beertoday.co.uk/2026/05/24/h... #brewing #beer #news #hops #webinar

For the last 18 months I’ve been compiling a list on my phone of pub strength, flavouring free nitro-stouts brewed by independent UK breweries. I decided it’s about time I shared the list. You can now find it on my website. beerwithtim.co.uk/the-indie-ni...

Despite my best efforts two weeks ago when I got everything working, the Italian Electrics gremlins have returned. I fear a broken wire in there somewhere 🙄 After two hours I thought sod it and now enjoying a fine pint of Abbot Ale in the Baker's Arms, Stock. Cheers 🍻

Interesting find, traces of beer found in 4500 year old vessels in Poland. scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news...

Nice interview with Padraig Fox here on Guinness. A sign of a good podcast on Irish beer is the number of times I shout at the speaker. I think this was only twice? ...

Final Cask Marque visits in May before I take a 2 week break. The Broadside was on fine form at the Great Spoon in Ilford, so good that I paid for it and enjoyed it whilst waiting for my next pub to open. Then came home to Chelmsford, popped into The Railway Tavern for a pint of ESB. Happy days 🍻😊

Beer remains the country’s most popular alcoholic drink, with more than 6 billion gallons consumed each year. But from water shortages to rising temperatures, the climate crisis is putting pressure on beer’s most essential ingredients. Read more: https://bit.ly/4dVBSuv

🍺 One mutation, big benefits: The single amino acid change Gly351Asp in #Yeast ARG56 enzyme dramatically increases ornithine, an AA with health benefits. Chemical mutagenesis + canavanine selection revealed this brewing application 🧬 #YeastResearch 🧪 #SGD 🔬 www.yeastgenome.org/reference/S1...