Food & Drink

UK on-trade a focus as First Drinks changes its name

11-Jul-2014 By Robyn Black

First Drinks is changing its name to William Grant & Sons UK as it looks to benefit from the group’s international reputation.

Brewing and pubs need to be firmly on the Government agenda

10-Jul-2014 By Brigid Simmonds

In just ten months time, the British public will have spoken. The votes will have been counted and (barring a lengthy series of negotiations in another hung Parliament) a Government will have been chosen.

Robert Humphreys named Beer Drinker of the Year

10-Jul-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

Robert Humphreys was named Beer Drinker of the Year at the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) annual dinner last night.

Aspall to launch its first ever new cyder brand

10-Jul-2014 By Robyn Black

Aspall is to launch four new ciders under a new brand – the first in the company’s history.

Mexican soda brand launches in UK

09-Jul-2014 By Robyn Black

Mexican soda brand, Jarritos, is set for the UK, as it looks to cash in on the growth in Mexican food.

Black Sheep competition winners enjoy pre-Tour de France helicopter ride

08-Jul-2014 By Mike Berry

Black Sheep Brewery, in conjunction with the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) gave two lucky readers the flight of a lifetime on the eve of the Tour de France.

8 great beers for the summer

08-Jul-2014 By Robyn Black

There’s an international feel to the PMA’s pick of the best summer beers. Two new Californian craft breweries make it to the UK; Czech beer Budweiser Budvar launches a Radler with elderflower, and a Brazilian craft brewer joins forces with Everards

Lighting and music can have a "profound" effect on the taste of wine, says study

07-Jul-2014 By Robyn Black

Some 3,000 people took part in a recent experiment to find out how colour and sound affect the flavours in drinks.

Blueberry flavour added to US cider brand Hornsby’s

04-Jul-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

C&C Group is to further capitalise on the growing popularity of fruit ciders by adding a Blueberry variant to its American-style cider Hornsby’s.

Trend Watch

Trend Watch - Lettuce

04-Jul-2014 By Elliot Kuruvita

Still considered the staple ingredient in the majority of salads, lettuce can be used in a number of creative ways in main dishes as well.

The drive for profit is killing pubs

03-Jul-2014 By Pete Brown

Developers are destroying the very thing people want to buy into – Britain’s quirky charm, argues Pete Brown.

Estrella launches first non-alcohol beer on draught

03-Jul-2014 By Robyn Black

The first no alcohol lager on draught is set to hit the UK.

Kent teenager unearths century-old Shepherd Neame beer bottle

02-Jul-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

A Shepherd Neame beer bottle dating back more than 100 years has been discovered by a teenager on a woodland walk.

Theakston's advertises apprenticeship for rare brewing job

02-Jul-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

A North Yorkshire brewer is advertising a position for one of the rarest and highly-skilled jobs in brewing.

Trade figures join Yaser Martini in sponsored walk for charity

02-Jul-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

Leading pub industry figures took part in a sponsored walk, led by Yaser Martini, across the capital’s bridges to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Delete Blood Cancer UK.

Sipsmith launches a vodka for sipping

01-Jul-2014 By Robyn Black

Craft distiller Sipsmith has created a sipping vodka.

Brewery confiscates pub's 'defaced' barrels

01-Jul-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

A Cumbrian licensee, who put beer barrels outside her pub to stop illegal parking, is appealing for replements after they were confiscated by the brewery.

Supermarkets 'still sell beer cheaper than water'

30-Jun-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

Supermarkets are still selling beer cheaper than water and the Government’s below-cost ban is “ineffective”, a Channel 4 Dispatches programme will report tonight.

Glenfiddich celebrates 126 years with £2m campaign

30-Jun-2014 By Robyn Black

Glenfiddich is celebrating its 126th birthday with a new campaign.

Upham Brewery to sponsor Hampshire’s OctoberFest

30-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

Upham Brewery has announced its first headline sponsor - of Hampshire’s OctoberFest.

Pub cashes in on whisky sales boom with dedicated tasting room

30-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

A licensee is hoping to capitalise on booming whisky sales in pubs by creating a room dedicated to the drink.

Heineken unveils new Beauty of Brewing website

27-Jun-2014 By Mike Berry

Heineken has launched a new website that aims to showcase to drinkers the ‘beauty, simplicity and naturalness’ of beer.

New on-trade buzz for JD's Tennessee Honey

27-Jun-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands (BBFB) is to embark on a major on-trade sampling campaign for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, the PMA can reveal.

Trend Watch

Trend Watch – Seafood Bar Snacks

27-Jun-2014 By Elliot Kuruvita

No longer considered food for the brave, seafood is often seen by customers as a chance to experiment with taste and aesthetics - meaning pub caterers have the chance to get creative with their menus.

Fuller's launches a pint of London pride into space

27-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

Fuller’s is to boldly launch a beer where no brew has ever gone before – by sending it into space.

Brains staff to transport cask of ale 150 miles by bicycle

27-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

A team from S.A Brain and Co are celebrating the Tour De France by cycling 150 miles across Wales to deliver a cask of their current seasonal ale.

BrewDog bribes FIFA to bring World Cup to Scotland

26-Jun-2014 By Robyn Black

BrewDog has waded into the FIFA controversy with a beer to “bribe” president Sepp Blatter to award Scotland the 2022 World Cup.

Beer Academy tells MPs 'legislation has shaped the history of brewing'

26-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

Politicians were given a beer tasting masterclass and a potted history of how legislation has affected the brewing and pub trade.

New rye whisky for Jim Beam

25-Jun-2014 By Robyn Black

A rye whiskey has been added to the Jim Beam portfolio, as distributor Maxxium UK looks to tap into the burgeoning interest in this style of spirit.

A short hop to a new home

25-Jun-2014 By Roger Protz

Robert Wicks at Westerham Brewery is keeping old traditions and species alive thanks to his passion for all things local. Roger Protz reports.

Not the time to be unclear about cask beer

24-Jun-2014 By Pete Brown

Cask ales have come a long way but, to ensure it doesn’t revert back to its fusty past, education of staff and customers is key, argues Pete Brown.

Premium bottle ale market 'will be worth £1bn by 2020'

23-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

The premium bottled ale (PBA) market is growing at a faster rate than early thought and has the potential to be worth £1bn by 2020, according to a new report from Marston’s.

Cyclops Beer embraces keg beer and lager

20-Jun-2014 By Mike Berry

Cyclops Beer, the industry body which produces tasting notes for over 1,700 cask beers, has now extended its remit to include all beer.

Whisky the winner as beer sales slide in 2014

20-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

Sales of malt whisky and sparkling wine have boomed in the pub sector over the last year while beer sales saw a dip.

First Drinks launches Sailor Jerry rum campaign to give bartenders a day-off

19-Jun-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

First Drinks is using its spiced rum brand Sailor Jerry to campaign for UK bartenders to have a national day off.

Trend Watch

Trend Watch - Street Food

19-Jun-2014 By Elliot Kuruvita

The increasing demand for street food has seen a spark in pop-up stalls and food markets offering cuisines from around the World and customers are shunning fine dining for plastic forks and boxes of burgers and chilli dogs.

Q&A: New pub food allergy requirements

19-Jun-2014 By James England

Whether or not you serve food in your pub, the balance between your culinary and administration skills are about to be tested further. New European legislation comes into force at the end of this year, affecting the way that operators make customers aware...

Irish cider Magners to headline sponsor two leading comedy festivals

18-Jun-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

Magners is to continue its long association with British comedy by sponsoring two of the UK’s leading festivals.

Trio set to hand over control of brewery to online investors

17-Jun-2014 By Noli Dinkovski

Three entreprenuers hoping to set up the UK’s first ‘crowd run’ brewery have given themselves until mid-July to raise the £50,000 necessary to bring the project to life.

Neame 'more optimistic than ever' about tenanted sector

17-Jun-2014 By Ruth Williams

Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame has said he’s more optimistic about the tenanted pub sector now than at any point during 23 years in the industry, and the time is ripe to make investments.

Pub installs cask ale 'cellar' at the bar

16-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

A pub is hoping to tap into customers’ passion for cask ale with a new innovation.

Bottlegreen launches strawberry cordial

16-Jun-2014 By Jessica Mason

Bottlegreen Drinks has launched a strawberry flavour cordial to replace its strawberry & elderflower variant.

New Fat Cat laps up success

13-Jun-2014 By Roger Protz

Such has been Colin Keatley’s success that there are now three Fat Cat pubs in Norwich, all shrines to the city’s long-lost breweries.

The Big Interview: Stephen Gould, Everards Brewery

13-Jun-2014 By Roger Protz

Innovation is not just the domain of the craft brewer, as Roger Protz learnt when he spoke to Everards Brewery’s Stephen Gould.

Echo Falls launches fruit fusions for new wine drinkers

13-Jun-2014 By Robyn Black

Three new “fruit-fusion” wines will be launched under the Echo Falls label.

West Berks Brewery founders sell shares

11-Jun-2014 By John Harrington

Brewing and pub veteran David Bruce has ruled out operating pubs under the West Berkshire Brewery, which has just completed the sale of £1.2m of shares owned by its four founders.

Dismiss craft beer at your peril

11-Jun-2014 By Pete Brown

How a newspaper article predicting the imminent decline of ‘trendy’ brews left Pete Brown hopping mad.

Crown Cellars updates wine and spirits selection

11-Jun-2014 By Jessica Mason

Crown Cellars, the specialist wine and spirits division of Carlsberg UK, has launched an updated wines and spirits portfolio, along with a new website.

Bombardier star Rik Mayall dies aged 56

09-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

Rik Mayall, the face of Bombardier, has died at the age of 56.

Everards revives historic brewing name in latest Project William partnership

09-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

A brewing name associated with a Shropshire town since the 19th century has been brought back to life in Everards Brewery’s latest project.